Elden Ring Lore | Astel and Cosmic Mysteries

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks everyone for watching my take on Astel and other cosmic mysteries. Let me know your thoughts below!

[@Spazz4170]

also another reason why it's a black hole astel could come thru, would be that the cities are under ground and there wasn't a hole near nokstella, but idk the timeline for when astel came down, i just always assumed it was way before we come into the other cities.

[@sneekmuch]

If Radahn halted the stars to save Selia then why isn’t Selia destroyed after we kill Radahn and they resume their movement? Just my opinion. Maybe I’m missing something?

[@Diamon_Boots]

One interesting point about how a magnetic field is used to represent gravity magic is that, in our own world, Earth's magnetic field acts as a sort of "shield" against the stream of charged particles emanating from the sun known as "solar wind", and back in Elden Ring we can see from Radahn and the whole "starscourge conflict" that gravity magic has been used, in a way, as a ward against the stars, so that might be another influence as to why they chose to go with a magnetic field as the symbol instead of a gravitational field. Love the videos, keep up the good work.

[@darksh1ne1]

Great video, as always! In my discussions of Elden ring lore most people lean heavily to similar theories that Astels are either by themselves or creations of Eternal city. However, I've long came up with a theory of my own, which I've never heard anyone even talk about yet, and which not all of my friends accept. But I still like it the most ^^ If you're interested, check my video, I wouldn't mind some fresh opinions. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZbUg5x9aMiWiMk

[@The_Fluffy_One]

I'm surprised you didn't talk about the red glintstones in the first chapter, considering their nature tainted by blood as well as their connection to the mysterious blood star mentioned in the Briars of Punishment sorcery. Then again there is so little to talk about with the red glintstones and aberrant sorceries that it probably isn't worth mentioning unless more info comes out with the DLC.

[@dylanvickers7953]

Before I watch this whole video, I just wanna say I love Myazaki’s trend with Bloodborne and now Elden Ring of putting Aliens where we’d least expect them. Bloodborne was like “what if we put Aliens in a twisted Dickensian city. Then in Elden Ring he upped the ante and put like 4-5 alien species in a Northern European high fantasy. Dude is a menace, I love him.

[@SmoughTown]

Same, researching this video and watching Quelaag's stuff I was just like....yeh they really went ham on the Cosmic elements

[@dbfzato-1327]

I think in elden ring it's more like primordial beings like from greek and norse mythology than aliens, they come from the chaos and creation that was probably the first fracture (the big bang of there universe), like how the lands between had the crucible that led to life, these games all about cycles, I know they come from space but I think that's a simple way to look at them. They are deeply connected to magic and the elements of the universe, The ones in bloodbourn are debatable as aliens tho I've give you that one lol. Seems like they are body snatcher inspired lol Just my take on it tho

[@whirlwind872]

I think BB has much more of a cosmic element but it is undeniably present in Elden Ring too. They're just kept a bit more arms length, where in BB the entire story directly surrounds the great ones and the use of their blood, as well as different factions trying to communicate with them or outright ascend humanity to their level. The cosmic beings in Elden ring are mostly one layer removed from the main events of the story, they're moreso existing in the background and we only hear about them through item descriptions or dialogue, rather than meeting them. Other than Astel / the Morningstar beasts, most of the enemies we deal with in game are more "downstream" from the influence of the outer gods, for example in Elden Ring we know Malenia houses the ancient god of rot, but the main focus of Malenia is really just Malenia herself as a character and her relationship with Miquella / Radhan / etc. She very much has her own will, and makes her own decisions. Whereas in bloodborne, Gehrman is mostly just a puppet of the moon presence. He is enslaved and for the most part not doing any of this out of his own will. And if we attain enough power, we eventually see the moon presence and directly combat it. Maybe not the best example, but I still feel the cosmic beings in BB have a much more direct and hands-on influence in how they affect individual people. As opposed to elden ring where these gods just send vassals and fight proxy wars in the lands between

[@mysteriousstranger5873]

Can’t wait for him to put aliens in armored core

[@Ethanisthatotherguy]

Can't forget about the "Alien" at the bottom of stormveil castle, atleast I hope it's an alien

[@golemofwill4728]

Astel is what made my Elden Ring experience game of the year. Going through hell for Ranni just to find an abomination hidden underground spooked me. Rotting bodies? Blood? I already expected that. I had my jaw dropped seeing it. It's horrifying but also beautiful in a way when looking at the arena, it's attacks, the tail area, and the track. It's a very odd combo that I hope is explored more. It's probably one of my favorite depictions of a cosmic level horror because it feels truly alien and on another plane.

[@SmoughTown]

Yeh the way they weave the cosmic elements as an overarching narrative is sublime

[@nathreetimesnineequalstwen7172]

I just found it to feel completely out of place, but not in a good/shocking way. Just more of a: "does this game have an actual flow to the environment/boss fight transitions?"

[@LSB44446]

It's so well designed with how it has both human and ant elements (everything from the underground) blended with stars in it's body

[@jhoelt2922]

Agreed! He was such a unique fight. The only thing that took away from the experience is having to fight another one in mountain top of giants :/ It only got like one extra attack other than that it was a copy n paste. And I understand that due to the size of ER they had to reuse alot of bosses. Imagine having to fight main bosses like Melania of Radahn clones? :/

[@automaticwriting4220]

Highly gay

[@dana.9377]

I love how Miyazaki incorporates life’s natural laws and unnatural laws of nature in his games and how he makes it all fit together to make these masterpieces of art and story.

[@trice286]

I've always liked the theory that one of the reasons Radahn held the stars was to prevent fallingstar beasts and astels from entering the lands between. The fact that there is an imprisoned fallingstar in Sellia tunnel, as well as the meteor ore blade being specfically made to fight cosmic beings is found in Caelid, Radahn's home turf.

[@seanslaysean7097]

Good catch!

[@LSB44446]

It would be really cool if none of the falling star beasts or astel could be fought before Radahn.... this was probably not chosen to keep the game from being linear

[@Faviomec]

@@LSB44446 it also makes sense that they would already be there, since their presence in the Lands Between would have warned Radahn to keep them in check

[@AuralAzure]

I can't find it but I distinctly remember there being a reference where an Alabaster Lord, probably the one Radahn received tutelage from, specifically warned him of a great danger and impending doom approaching from the cosmos. Maybe it was just a theory that sounded good, but either way I've looked through every description I can think of and found nothing aside from the vague inference in the Meteoric Ore Blade.

[@will2fite34]

I remember at least that it is said somewhere in game that Radahn learned gravity sorcery to save Sellia

[@monroerobbins7551]

Honestly, I never would’ve thought of Glintstone being like a radioactive element, that’s bloody brilliant!

[@Late0NightPC]

I think the reason for the Rotten Crystallians showing up inside the Haligtree is actually what you mentioned just a sentence or two later after bringing them up, they think. Some of the Crystalians you find are guarding the Rotten Crystal sword, which(similarly to the other rotten crystal weapon versions) lacks the description that the unrotten versions do, which talks about what their purpose is. To me, that seems like it would suggest the rotten ones have lost that purpose, and being self-aware, and knowing that the Haligtree is a home for all the unwanted and outcast, they may have chosen to go there in the hopes of finding a cure. After all, Scarlet Rot will cause you to rot, something distinctly biological, and yet they are somehow infected despite being entirely artificial beings. They are something that shouldn't be possible, and it may have scared them. Hearing that Miquella, the greatest of the Demi-gods was searching for a cure, I would imagine they would want to go and support him to both protect their non-rotten brethren from being infected like they were, as well as potentially to get a cure for themselves so they could return to their duties without fearing they'd spread the rot. Though this is reliant on the assumption that they are 100% able to act on their own desires, and not that they are "intelligent but still forced to serve the "programming" their creator gave them to guard the crystals".

[@IdToaster]

Yeah, the Scarlet Rot can seemingly infect everything that has physical form* and isn't born from the rot to begin with; even dead beings like skeletons, powerful living beings like demigods or minor Erdtrees, or even the very land itself can rot. The Crystalians being affected isn't surprising, in the face of that; they might have been exiled for the good of the rest of their kind. *Not entirely sure if the Elden Beast counts as a physical thing or not, but its own divine nature may be enough of a counter to the god of rot's power. Sewer Mohg is one of the few other major enemies immune to all status effects, so that just makes it easier to assume it's a projection of some kind.

[@iboofer]

@@IdToaster Jerren also mentions Iji's forged weapons, although lacking any sort of an edge, naturally resist the rot. The intrinsic fire quality to the Troll's Hammer he uses implies maybe the power of the Fell God can also resist rot, at least if I'm pulling at a thread here or there to tie my supposition together. But then again, Iji can make a weapon from self-regenerating ice, so maybe it's just something weird about him.

[@etherflask6380]

Actually this is a good point, since in the mohg fight in the bloody rune farm he bleeds just fine. It would need to be a projection of some kind down in the sewer

[@daemonlordmagnusthered6213]

Interesting point, but I wonder if the infection either corrupted their programming (so they would guard rot/rotten objects) or caused backup/just in case something weird happens “infection protocols” to force them to isolate from the rest?

[@humblelootfarmer]

I’m glad you said something about Lusat’s crown when talking about astels “eye”. I thought it looked all too similar and the fact that there are 2 Nox guarding his staff under a chair crypt from the other eternal cities also that he is basically imprisoned behind a magic barrier near Sellia makes me think that Lusat may have had a hand in the appearance of Astel. He also gives the Stars of Ruin sorcery upon finding him h which states in the description that when he glimpsed the primeval current, he saw the end of a star cluster, possibly summoning Astel or creatures like them.

[@dylanschmeichel2008]

I do like the idea of Astel being a sort of Smaug; due to the Nox meddling, he is beckoned similar to how greed beckons dragons in typical European mythology.

[@theonetrueqstudios5828]

There is also the Golem Crafter in the description of the Crystal Dart as a possible option for the Crystallian’s creator. He even worked with Glintstone to make his known creations; likely the Golems, Imps, and Watchdogs. Another possible point of connection is their clothing. A red cape; something also worn by Sorcerer Watchdogs.

[@theonetrueqstudios5828]

Ooo, and on the Onyx and Alabaster Lords, and their swords being opposites, one gold, one blue. The Gold of Erdtree, and the Blue of the Moon?

[@nathreetimesnineequalstwen7172]

Spirit tuning girl had a red cape too... Scheming little bi*ch

[@theonetrueqstudios5828]

Finally at the end of the video; if the Astel have come from a black-hole, then who created this black hole? I believe the Nox did. The Memory Stones and Moon Talisman speak of the Nox’s “Black Moon.” Which was seemingly destroyed. Perhaps the Nox we’re trying to recreate this Black Moon; by pulling its piece back together with gravity magic, or by trying to make something similar. A moon, from our point of view, is a circle. A black circle; a black hole.

[@noahhaller4540]

@@theonetrueqstudios5828 I can't remember whose video it was, but they mentioned the Moon Talisman, as its description says it guides the stars (which is reminiscent of black holes already) and then a Nox city is destroyed by a malformed star. Which would be in-keeping with the 'unwanted' description of Astel, as they were trying to beckon stars, but they got an abomination instead. However, notably, the 'Moon of Nokstella' is from Nokstella, not the unnamed third city. Additionally, the talisman and memory stones are made of a obsidian-marble esque material, and dont look much like black holes, but actual dark moons. Finally, about 'Eternal Darkness', the description reads 'the despair that brought about its ruin made manifest.", suggesting that Eternal darkness, the Nox's own black hole, was created in the aftermath of Astels assault, as it is the manifestation of the despair caused by Astel's ruin.

[@theonetrueqstudios5828]

@@noahhaller4540 makes sense; these are just random dots my brain-pan made while shopping for groceries.

[@purplenova7690]

12:25 Another thing is that glintstones clearly have a larger range of color, as described by the staves. The Prince of Death has a yellow “sullied amber” which probably eludes to a glintstone corrupted by Death. And Gelmir and Metoerite has fiery red and purple glintstone respectively. Which I find fascinating, glintstone can not only be corrupted by external sources, but be different colors as well. What could this mean for the true potential of glintstone? Who knows.

[@Tom_Fuckery]

Corrupted or simply shifted to one of many forms of existence? The wording of the glimpse of the Primeval Current and It's glimpses produced by both Astel and the Elden Beast has me connecting that to the lore of the outer gods and forces and their "radiation". Are you familiar with the Colour out of Space?

[@purplenova7690]

@@Tom_Fuckery I believe that's an HP Lovecraft book about colors humans never seen. If so, then that makes a lot of sense. The Gold of the Greater Will and its Rune of Death could make glintstone yellow, and the red could tie into the hexes of Gelmir/Serpent of Mt Gelmir, and so forth. Showing that their radiation per se warps the properties of glintstone. Maybe the red glintstone of Alberich is tied to the Formless Mother, though maybe indirectly as Alberich doesn't seem to be a devout of Mohg. But he still went "mad" like how the knights of Mohg go mad from bloodlust. Though Rot, the Fell God, and some other Outer God I'm forgetting out of tiredness seem to not have "created" any glintstone colors from their "radiantion"/aura/influence. Maybe this could be seen in later DLC?

[@Shadorenify]

Lightsabers, that what

[@Scrinja45]

Lightsabers

[@viktor_v-ughnda_vaudville_476]

Miyazaki is an absolute genius the way he manages to not only masterfully weave things like cosmic horror into high fantasy (the first Time I experienced the twist in bloodborne was phenomenal and blew my mind) but also the way he applies a deep understanding of alchemy and stuff is just unreal the amount of knowledge he puts into the smallest details

[@SmoughTown]

Yeh it's unbelievable tbh, and how it happens constantly across a massive game like Elden Ring. Quelaag's videos have really shown how prevalent the attention to detail is.

[@viktor_v-ughnda_vaudville_476]

@@SmoughTown I know quelaag videos are great plus max Durant just had a great video about the occult in dark souls plus previous videos showing how they had an incredibly deep understanding of alchemy and its concepts and imagery plus how it ties into gameplay and the lore

[@csam9167]

@@viktor_v-ughnda_vaudville_476 *Max Derat

[@stferguson88]

Just regarding the naming of Astel, and the english translation - the term natural born can also be used to denote a bastard (also a term used quite readily by GRRM in some of his writings, with this meaning in mind).

[@gonfreecss6002]

thanks for sharing, thats interesting

[@Ahrimane]

I studied a lot of Early Modern English literature like Shakespeare and Sir Thomas Kyd and you will see the word "natural" being used in this manner so I agree with you.

[@whitneybarnes256]

​@@AhrimaneJane Austen too; Harriet Smith is described as the natural daughter of somebody, Mrs. Jennings wrongly tells Elinor that Eliza Williams is Col. Brandon's natural daughter.

[@TrueSkyblueClouds]

This is backed up by his boss soul weapon being named The Bastard's Stars

[@boxisbest]

Wow you’ve really opened my eyes to the connection between Master Willem and Lhusat/Azur in their need to ascend to the beings among the stars, basically killing themselves in the process to do so. Willem with his eyes, Lhusat and Azur w the Glintstone.

[@Aerinndis]

So eager to pursue the power of the stars above all else that they become brain dead... A pretty horrible way to go. :S

[@ZonicCeasor]

the connection with the star scourge conflict and the onyx lord was my “holy shit!” Moment. I love your lore dives dude. Always drawing conclusions that sound so obvious after you say them. Keep up the great work

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks so much my friend, been a fun one to do and I'm really glad people are enjoying it

[@beardfistthegoldenone7273]

Found a few of the pupae Astels this morning, such an ominous presence in the game. Makes me think there's so much more to this universe we don't see. I love this game.

[@SmoughTown]

Yeh same, the way they move...super creepy

[@meloneatingwolf1882]

The undeveloped Astels are known in game as Malformed Stars. Thank god they can’t respawn.

[@philipvargas2605]

Astel and the more occult themes in Elden Ring are so intriguing. Really hope there's more of it in the eventual DLC. Also, and I mean this in the best way, your videos put me to sleep. Started watching this the other night, fell asleep. Decided to finish it up on my lunch at work, fell asleep in my car. I will finish this damn video eventually, lol. Keep up the great work sir!

[@n8doggy733]

Wow, what a morning for me! I get to play my favorite game while listening to my favorite lore content creator. Thnx for the vid dude

[@SmoughTown]

My pleasure my friend! Hope you have a lovely morning!

[@Vash141]

So you’re playing Stray?😹

[@n8doggy733]

@@Vash141 haha, Stray was alright. Elden Ring arena baby! I got a level 150 for the crazy pokemon battles, and i got a level 60 for more melee focused mayhem.

[@menouba9416]

Your game hmmmm A reskined ds3 ?

[@Vash141]

@@n8doggy733 the arena is fun but it’s hard to lose because people are just bad. I never find activity at 60 lol

[@sebastianmorin9780]

Seeing the Age of Stars ending, how the Darkmoon is essentially a gateway, and Ranni’s connection to the Nox, that quite possibly the eternal darkness spell was casted en masse to attempt to create an artificial Darkmoon or portal and force the Age of Stars to occur in their respective time. However, unbeknownst to them they only created a void by which Astel came to the Lands Between.

[@samuraigames4125]

I freaking love and fear astel at the same time, getting to face him for the first time is just so epic and chilling and terrifying, a feeling where you have your whole mouth opened without saying a word for the whole fight

[@SmoughTown]

Such an unnerving experience the first time.

[@jas3.14]

This is awesome, big props to you, quelaag and every other lorehunter! Without you all I wouldnt have gotten this insight into elden ring's magnificent tales

[@SmoughTown]

Much appreciated my dude! Lucky we have such a great community

[@Jw_mein_channel]

Astel’s design and animations are so mesmerizing and satisfying to look at.

[@NekMinuteG]

The lore in this game alone hooks my mind so easily, it's just so fascinating...I've always been inspired by Fanstasy fiction. Magic, Gods, Ghosts, Demons, monsters. The lot.

[@macandcheeseofficial]

If you didn’t know, Gravity actually isn’t a force, it’s a change in 3 dimensional direction. Magnetism is a force and this is why I think “gravity magic” is a clustered term of Space-time + Magnetism. It seems whenever a portal is opened, it is just opening space from one point to another. Then, magnetism is used to push it through and at something. Gravity well and Collapsing Stars may just be sending something through said ports to displace them. While rock sling is used by pulling ore from the ground and pushing it outward. The actual gravity maybe only play into directing.

[@eldenring_area]

Man, awesome work! I love it!!

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks so much dude!

[@Robocopnik]

The emphasis on 'gravity', the dropping meteors on stuff, and Placidusax hiding 'beyond [the] time' all come together to give Elden Ring a bit of a 'Char's Counterattack' feeling.

[@LordBackuro]

One thing i want to mention is that the fact that Astel and fallingstar beast are the only reoccurring Alien race, besides the Onyx and Alabaster Lords as well as the fingers but their origin is less a mystery now since they are associated with the greater will. That must mean a few possible scenarios: 1) they live probably in the same solar system as the world of the lands between and beyond the fog probably either from a planet nearby or a asteroid 2.) they are scouting drones for something more big and malevolent

[@kingjohn8980]

Basically, they are the children of an outer god. Maybe an outer god of gravity.

[@scribesorcerer4967]

Sellen’s Glintstone implies that the souls of Sorcerers are actually glintstones. So Lusat and Azur may have been turned into that form because of their glintstone growing the more primeval current they wielded.

[@gabez95]

Content creators like u keep me obsessed with elden ring, astel is definitely my favorite boss fight in the game!

[@tamethegame2989]

Fighting Astel, for me, was akin to finding and fighting Ebrietas or the Amygdala in Bloodborne. Since playing years ago I’ve loved cosmic horrors and eldritch abominations, and Astel was like seeing an old friend. His design fits in-world while also being “out of this world”, meaning that, it makes sense why the boss looks and moves as it does in world, while also being entirely separate and different from it. It leaves so much unexplored, like if “the greater will” is much like the Moon Presence, or if perhaps there just IS something like the Moon Presence that is pushing back against the greater will, trying to expand its own control over the universe or dimension it’s in by employing the tarnished to kill all the other gods/beings in its way.

[@chimerakid78]

Another creature affected by glintstone that I'd like to point out are the glinstone fireflies, their abdomen is all glintstone. It also makes them unable to attract mates :(

[@mh6n19]

Being really honest, first time I saw an fallingstar beast I didn’t like the idea of space and aliens in a game like Elden Ring but man… I completely underestimated FromSoftware capacity of creating a story with such elements. Watching this video and learning more about Elden Ring overall made me realise that these guys really know what they’re doing. Great video, keep up this awesome work.

[@knuckleheadwestwind3585]

I think you should cover Limgrave, Godfrey’s conquest, Godrick’s role in the shattering, his forces, and anything else that could fit in that umbrella

[@nothanks9503]

He’s god riiiick he turned him self into a god morty

[@Kool_handshake]

Ever notice that the sphere in Lusats Glintstone Crown looks whole lot like Astels eye inside his skull or a Fallen Star Beasts eye. Thought that was pretty interesting. Love all your videos by the way, keep up the good work.

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks Lucas, really appreciate the support

[@kalzero3319]

What a great way to start off a new run in Elden Ring. Haven't played in a few months so a Smoughtown video playing in the background while I run around Limgrave is what i would consider a pretty great Saturday morning.

[@SmoughTown]

Sounds awesome Kal, I am actually starting a new character as well! Enjoy the video and your weekend

[@kalzero3319]

@@SmoughTown by the way your Soulsborne Lore colleague TA is an absolute beast. The work you two have done over the last 4 or 5 months has completely changed my outlook on the World and story of Elden Ring. The idea that most people in the Lands Between aren't born through a natural mother...that was an eye opener. I knew about the scarlet buds but that really was a turning point in my understanding.

[@GoochberryPie]

Yoooo big props for the Event Horizon shoutout. Top-tier sci-fi horror for its time. Sam Neil was just fantastic.

[@seanslaysean7097]

We need more proper cosmic horror in videogames

[@menouba9416]

You can find it everywhere buddy

[@jnev5572]

Do you mean like all out lovecraft or just inspired by? Have some reccomendations for either

[@mikkoleinonen9846]

Possible spoilers below. One of the games that totally surprised me with cosmic "horror" was rhythm game called THUMPER. At first glance it is just a weird rhythm game where you play as a beetle that fights alien like things while riding on a track, but you get glimpses of this big fuck off pyramid that looms over you. The twist in the game is that after you finally beat the final alien boss, you enter into this void with nothing but the pyramid in front of you. Then you get totally annihilated by it if you play the game for the first time. The trick in the game is that whatever is happening on the screen, you can trust in the rhythm. It is like a force of nature through the whole game. If you learn to master the rhythm, you can beat any level with ease. The thing that messes you up after entering the void is that the whole rhythm ceases to exist, and the pyramid throws completely alien beats and obstacles at you. When playing it for the first time it feels like the physics of the universe just ceased to be. You can't rely on your skills that you've worked on for the whole duration of the game. A total shock. Just like that the devs made otherwise mediocre looking game to something that I still replay on regular basis. And just because they sprinkled a bit of cosmic elements into their game.

[@ThommyofThenn]

I wouldn't say we need more. In fact i would say we need less. Fewer, higher quality examples like Elden Ring. A lot of games dabble or have a few Easter eggs which has kind of caused cosmic horror to feel played out. As such, i agree that we need more *proper* examples in games. (Always cracks me up how brits use "proper" as a passive aggressive shade throw)

[@seanslaysean7097]

@@menouba9416 yeah sure I can find spooky aliens in a bonus level of a game, I want bloodborne level “break your mind it’s so screwed-up” horror

[@miomio6890]

This was a very interesting video. I'm always grateful for you digging through lore and bringing us these tidbits that most would have missed. The crystalion backstory was especially interesting. I wish we got more! Especially about those giant Nox skeleton haha. Thank you for your hard work, and happy early holidays!

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks Mio! Have a nice holiday as well

[@chrisp.9380]

Love the video! One thought I had was that considering we encounter a Fallingstar Beast that is called "Full Grown", and that Astels are called malformed, I think it's most likely that Astels are a mutated version of fallingstar beasts, rather than being their full grown form. While the full grown fallingstar beast is just that, the full grown version. I think this is also supported by the fact we seem to see Astels going through their own growing process, the colorful vs color drained ones. As for the ant lion connection, I think that they clearly are the inspiration for Astel and the fallingstar beasts, but not in so literal a sense as to mirror the exact growing process, more so in the way that different versions of the same species, non-malformed vs malformed, both had their designs inspired by the same real life species in different growth stages, but are still differentiated in their own way within the game's lore, by mutation instead of age/growth stage.

[@donewithprecision785]

Just finished the video and in conclusion, it’s a game based on “I do what I want cause I can…oh the cosmos has a problem with it? I have a problem with the cosmos…I do what I want”…just smeared all over every story I binge in this game. Haven’t played it, love the story, love the vids. Keep it up 💯

[@QCynic]

Great video! I've always taken the pull/push of the Onyx and Alabaster Lords to be a thematic, cosmic foil for the Law of Regression / Law of Causality of Radagon and Marika respectively

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks Glenn! Yeh that certainly would make sense to me!

[@V01DShinigami]

New lore video to wake up to?this is a great morning

[@SmoughTown]

Indeed! I hope you enjoy it

[@swagzsunfire6645]

good morning friends

[@SmoughTown]

Morning!

[@Jersus856]

Morning!

[@codydolak1946]

Morning!!

[@lostinmymind7488]

Evening for me but morning non the less

[@tyrlant2189]

Changing demographics have destroyed America's future. A good example is how white and Asian men are paying for everyone else's health care and social security retirements as they are the onlyNetTaxpayers, which will become unsustainable as demographics shift further. Cities and states like California with high POC populations are losing quality of life and becoming unsafe. Trust is low. But, Places like Maine with low POC populations are doing great and are the safest places to live. White ppl can onlyBabysit so many POC before things start going bad. Worse, there is no guarantee POC won't use the system to harm white ppl as they gain representation-- given whites have taught POC to see them as colonizer, nazi, innately racist, enslaving, villians of history. look at S. Africa or brazil for a vision of the future.... we were sold a lie: racial diversity is not a strength at all-- diversity of thought and opinion is. Importing so many ppl with different vales and opinions has ruined our unity and belief in our founding fathers plan. We will lose everything that made us great in return for promises of benifits and percieved safety. Whites taken alone have test scores and crime rates on par with European countries, even though they have guns and bad schools. Africans have similar Rates and scores to African countries. Same with hispanics and asians. Ignoring genetics was a mistake.

[@juss_jay7436]

Love the vibe bro appreciate the care u n ur team put in this is great white noise aswell.

[@Darkflo23]

I like the theory that Astel (not the name of one creature, but of it's specie) is the late stage of the Fallen Star Beasts life cycle since they also have his eye and even a skull visible behind their jaws, with the upside down weaker Astels beeing some sort of mid stage like a cocoon, and thus far weaker and immobile. Would also explain why their is two Astel. edit: Nevermind, you adress it at the end.

[@jeambeam3173]

I was going to say that's not really a theory if it's cannom

[@theDoctorwitTardis]

Smough, I have to tip my hat to you for all the great work you do. I can clearly see how putting all of this information together, connecting it and forming possible explenations takes immense effort. On top of that, you manage to relay all these dots of a mlti-layered topic in a both evidance based yet still easily digastable and entertaining way. Bravo. Also hats off to all those who learned about white holes from that Red Dwarf episode xD

[@SmoughTown]

Thank you my friend, it is comments like this one that keep me going. So happy you enjoyed it, I had a lot of fun making this one

[@theDoctorwitTardis]

@@SmoughTown You're one of the glues knitting this community together wth how much you bring in other creators ideas and build on them the next steps to entangle this amazing lore that fromsoft and GRR Martin made thgether.

[@SmoughTown]

@@theDoctorwitTardis Honestly thats so kind, I am just so privileged to be part of this amazing community

[@restlessundead9366]

I wish we could see astels attack on the eternal city. Imagine the absolute chaos that happened when he fell upon the city and just start raining down meteors. So the nox try to fight him I’m pretty sure normal conventional weapons don’t do much or anything at all so they try sorcery. Then dread really starts to set in as he absorbs their magic.

[@simeonfromberg]

Hell of a comment 👏

[@cfh23666]

Yes!!! I was not expecting to see the electromagnetic universe in an elden ring video. This is awesome.

[@SmoughTown]

Haha neither was I, but kept going down the rabbit hole. Glad you enjoyed it

[@vexthegreat9167]

The Crystallians were brought to the Haligtree by the Glintstone mage who uses the Glintstone spells Gavel of Haima and Haima’s Cannon. One of them protects the secret tunnel where we find Lusat’s body and can be found in the room right before the Crystallians who are protecting the Terra Magica spells.

[@BENIS8D]

The perfect content to work/study/clean/fall asleep or just nerd out to, thank you for all your posting Smough my man 🥰

[@SmoughTown]

My pleasure dude. Enjoy!

[@deepism]

One *enormous* thing that you're missing is the fact that Astel isn't a singular creature, it's the name of a race of creatures. The Astel that we see before the Moonlight Alter and the Astel that we see in the Yelough Annex tunnels are two totally separate creatures. That's why they 2 have totally different names. It isn't a lore inconsistency. We also see juvenile Astel hanging around the underground cave ceilings.

[@SmoughTown]

I mean, I literally say this in the video. That it's a species. Do people just not listen to a video before commenting? At 46:01 I speak about the species life cycle 😂 honestly this is the most exausting part of being a content creator. People commenting without even watching

[@deepism]

@@SmoughTown My bad I thought I heard otherwise G

[@SmoughTown]

@@deepism No worries bud

[@northerncricket5199]

The gravity magic isn’t really a matter of push and pull, much like gravity itself isn’t really a force being exerted. Gravity is a distortion of space and time. You explain exactly how the magic users are distorting space, they’re tearing the fabric of space and stitching it back together in different ways connecting two different locations together; these portals allow meteors from the dark reaches of space to appear on a collision course with their enemies. It’s a lot more impressive to alter the continuity of space-time as an attack than it is to push and pull rocks around with telekinesis or magnetism. The symbol on radahns weapon is a depiction of gravitational fields and has very little if anything to do with magnetism. The enemies who use gravity magic aren’t pushing and pulling when they teleport, they’re distorting space itself using gravity magic. Black holes don’t exert a pull, they distort space so that things fall towards them which seems like a very fine detail but it’s fundamentally very different. Black holes curve space to the extent that light cannot escape, which is different from pulling photons towards themselves faster than light can travel

[@StylesX]

Thanks for the video Smough, we appreciate all your hard work!

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks dude, I hope you enjoy!

[@Diamon_Boots]

Gravity magic was not something I expected to find in this game, but quickly grew to be one of my favourite aspects of it ever since a certain chest in limgrave led me to an encounter with Rock Sling. It is such an interesting concept, and I wish we had gotten more related to it, like push versions of the pull spells and maybe generic versions of a few of the exclusive weapon arts, but what we have is still amazing. The designs of the enemies are very good, with the Lords having a very imposing and regal presence in their movements, Astel just looking incredibly weird and cool, and the Fallingstar Beasts looking... honestly pretty cute, wish you had a baby version as a spirit summon. I would definetly like to see more of it if we get a DLC.

[@brooksjourney2351]

You know, I really always thought that considering Graven-Masses were called the seeds of stars and they are ostensibly formed not only of the crowns but organic bodies of sorcerers, that perhaps the species relied on corrupting the minds of primeval sorcerers into creating star seeds, perhaps the eggs of their species. Perhaps some explanation of the human bone-like structures in their bodies.

[@Ninjabob568]

Yet another great vid smough. The alabaster Lords are one of the few entities where I wondered why they were even in the game and how they connected so this really helps

[@Ignatiusofantioch87]

Something that’s kind of terrifying, is if these Onyx and Alabaster lords really are born from meteorites, and they can open a rift into space to call meteorites down to the Lands Between, they could essentially flood the Lands Between with their kind. Which kind of makes me wonder, why haven’t they?

[@ladonmccabe]

Damn, playa! Wasn’t expecting a video this quick! Can’t wait to get into this!!

[@SmoughTown]

Hahaha thanks Ladon! I hope you enjoy it my friend

[@ladonmccabe]

@@SmoughTown you know I will! Also, I have some good news on my situation as well! I got my equipment and a place to do videos. It's not perfect, but things are looking up! When I get to a good spot, imma dive in and shit up your comment section with my theories in a bit!;)

[@jessegabbert7017]

Awesome video. I want to mention the moon of Nokstella, and how that can help to support the narrative of a black hole being created or harnessed by the Nox, and eventually guiding Astel to the unnamed city. The description says that the black moon was lost, and that it guided countless stars.

[@prawn1717]

Hey! Amateur biologist here, a little late to the party. As the name suggests, the primary prey of ant lions in their larval state are ants, which the Eternal Cities have an abundance of. This could support either theory, that the voidborn are biological beings who stay underground for a rich source of food, or that the Eternal Cities cultivate and grow their naturalborn with an endless food source. Other things worth noting are that the pale Astels hanging from the ceilings do not look like cocoons at all, but rather recently emerged adult ant lions who must stay still in order to dry their wings and harden their exoskeletons. It would seem we caught them in their weakest moments, right before they became full-blown Astels. This being the case, I don’t think we’ve found anything that would resemble a true cocoon in game. It deserves another look for sure. Finally, the Antlion’s life cycle is one where the larval form takes up 99% of the insect’s time in the sun, as an apex predator, whereas the adult is purely driven to mate and lay eggs in the precious hours it has left. They do not even have digestive systems in this state, expecting to starve within a day or two. This aspect of ant lion development does not seem to have translated in game, as the adult Astels do have mouthparts and, as far as I can tell, are not concerned with reproducing, isolated as they are. This could simply be a product of them crashing to the earth though, their life cycle has been disrupted and thus they can only reproduce in the stars. Definitely one of the most interesting designs in the series, and I’m so glad Fromsoft are exploring aspects of cosmic horror that differ so much from Bloodborne!

[@kurioshopp]

One think I love about SmoughTown's lore videos is that as I watch them, I frequently put together pieces of what he is discussing and come to a realization, but before I can comment my discovery he quickly reveals and expands upon that very idea!

[@attacpowdergaming7098]

The coolest things in my opinion are the part about crystalians being sapient life forms and the difference of glintstone sorcery among the carians for example and other entities like the onyx and alabaster lords/astel. Great video 👍

[@Turtle_School_2689]

Elden Ring is still one of my favorite games, ever. Thank you so much for the exceptional lore!

[@matteoflamigni550]

Another good video, especially thoughtful when going deep in the part about the Astels. I user to think that the GW bombed with meteors whoever displeased it (Nox) or outlived their use (Farum Azula) but nowadays I am not sure of it anymore. I think that astel(s) were "unwanted" in that the nox did try to replicate the GW's doing by taking another star-living beast down to earth, so as to make a new ring. In that respect could we think the Nox were the ones to bomb Farum Azula? I wouldn't think that far because Marika was apparently of Nox/Numen race but still aquainted with Azulans as the statue suggests, nothing hints that the Numens would suddenly decide to annihilate Azulans and nothing indicating that a conflict took place - by the time Marika had issues with Azulans (Gransax & co) she had little love for the Nox as well, it seemed. If Marika "stole" the azulan ring she did so on her own, we can assume. Generally speaking the GW is amoral, and I think it is fair to at least certify that maybe the GW sunk the cities but Astel was called upon them by their attempt at summoning another alien demiurge. The onyx/alabaster lords grew from meteorites WHEN it landed on the planet, solidifying the idea that the planet is the source of life as we know it. Life yes, but not order (an indistinct One Great). The order came from another kind of life entirely, from space, so it makes sense that you just have to take another spawn of space to replicate and replace order. It lines up I think.

[@jdmmike7225]

Great video dude. One of my favorite bosses in the game. Super informative.

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks my friend, really enjoyed focusing on this area of the lore.

[@jdmmike7225]

@@SmoughTown I have an idea that I can't drop. The "Fingers" of the Greater Will are Two Fingers which alone can not grasp or interfere whereas the Fingers of the Frenzied Flame are Three Fingers which can grasp and interfere. Symbolism abound lol. Also that the Frenzied Flame maybe the remnants of The One Great.

[@mhiggs8001]

I just want to say how much I love the way these games make me feel: full of wonder, curiosity, and fear. It’s very unique and not something I’ve felt much in other games. Sure, I always have a lot of curiosity when it comes to world building and the like, but the way these games make me feel is unique to them. It’s hard to describe, but I just savor the way we are only told so much and then left to extrapolate and theorycraft. It’s amazing, my experience with this game is now among my most treasured. It touches on how games and thing made me feel as a child and it’s not so easy to replicate that kind of feeling in a person.

[@yael4171]

Another awesome video. Nice to learn more about the Lands Between and Cosmos from you. Also happy holidays in case you take a break!

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks as always Yael! I hope you have a wonderful holiday too! (one more video before the end of dec tho!)

[@ShardofWant]

Why do people always keep Rennala out of the discussion of the astrolergers. She struck a concord with the trolls, she calls the trolls giants despite them being lesser giants and having the faces cut out of their chests, and she is described as an astrologer in the stargazer talisman. So she would be around during all these events, she even uses primeval sorceries.

[@DaBogDweller]

Love forgetting about a Smough upload, what a pleasant surprise!

[@mahasura9667]

i like to think with Lusat and Azur, that instead of the glintstone completely replacing their brains, the two sorcerers actually manually transitioned their organic sensory materials with the glinstone, a sort of physical manifestation of the primeval current, thus letting them directly perceive the current

[@Neo2266.]

I hate the jump to conclusion that people constantly make, when they say that Astel is an adult Fallingstar Beast. Why? If I looked at a Dog and Bear, who both have very similar features, my assumption shouldn't be that the Bear is the adult form of a Dog. Alien creatures would share similar-looking bodyparts, just like creatures on earth do. Astel is as likely to be an adult Falling Star Beast, as he is to be from the same planet/region of space, that the Falling Star Beast is. He doesn't **have** to be the same species just because they have the same mandibles and eye

[@candycabe6655]

Astel is my #1 favorite boss because the world building and just the theme of him is so cool and chilling to me

[@moonflower2565]

best lore youtuber posts another banger

[@SmoughTown]

You honour me, thank you!

[@bensenneff7238]

I always jump with excitement when I see a SmoughTown video pop up in my feed :)

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks Ben! Hope you enjoy this one too

[@PersimmonHurmo]

You do not need a white or black hole to instantaneously travel between two points in space-time. You only need a wormhole. A black-white hole conduit cannot be traveled backwards. Only one way. If those lords used black holes to travel, they would not be able to return where they came from.

[@jacksonbenincosa3759]

don't even have the time watch it at the moment, but went ahead and dropped a like, because I know its gonna be another masterpiece of a vid😂

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks Jackson, hope you enjoy when you get around to it

[@coroarc8423]

I love your videos! Very well done, like always! 👍

[@SmoughTown]

Thank you so much, means alot to me!

[@abeard1]

Great video, very fresh take on Astel. Love that

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks my friend!

[@chocomilk3428]

Thank you for the consistent lore! Love your content man it puts me to sleep

[@SmoughTown]

Thank you my friend! Very grateful for all the support I get

[@professormurdoc1359]

Your content is absolutely supreme! Thank you for all your hard work, mate.

[@SmoughTown]

Much appreciated Professor! It's my privilege

[@miomio6890]

It's interesting how Astel doesn't leave the region we fight him. Yet, stealing the sky, he clearly did it with some motive. Unlike the Hubble teleskope pictures most of us are familiar with, traveling in the void of space, these celestial bodies are so far apart that we'd probably see nothing at all. Being a star himself, and leaving whatever stellar nursery begot him, Astel would've been alone in sightless darkness, the void. I imagine that when he got to the Unnamed City, he saw what appeared to be his home from a distance, one where he did belong, and decided to enjoy it in a way he couldn't before.

[@HoyaDon]

Thanks again for an amazing video. You have an uncanny way of ending your videos in a really satisfying and poignant way.

[@SmoughTown]

Thanks Jordan, really appreciate that

[@dogebestest7187]

Great vid as always Buy I do have some concerns. I think people can be a little bit too scientific when it comes to understanding Elden Ring lore. What I mean by that is illustrated well in two points in your video and countered by one. First is the description of glintstone as a stuff of stars, and thus burning plasma dense with energy as a justification for its magical power. This seems rather wrong, as stars in elden ring do no appear to be the same thing as irl. A sun of any kinda is mysteriously gone from the firmament (although there is the eclipse place... hmmm I don't remember, you gotta make a vid on the celestial bodies of the universe) and any other stars we see somewhat lose by are the Astel and a meteor esq thing that smashes a way into Nokron, not a very burning plasma looking object, mind. And much smaller. Similarly, the description the the glinstone transformation as analogous to radiation is rather lacking. Like, just blantly, irl radiation doesn't really work that way, right? Now you could say it's more analogous to a more fantasy idea of radiation,like some STALKER shit, but even that's tangential, especially when there is a much better analog to this type of influence in full display in the game already Another point comes from the peculiar wording of the Founding Rain of Stars. It says that the glimpse of the primeval current the astrologer saw "became real" and manifested in the rain of amber (here is some weird tree anology, that's where amber comes from, kinda thematically out of nowhere tho. Or is it?) Now this seems to me more eldrich in nature that you let on, as if some sort of info hazard from scp lore, or a lovecraftian entity made of different matter, that first need to be glimpse in the dreams and visions of distant stars to then be made manifest in the real. And warp its surroundings For the glinstone corruption seems much more akin to the influence of an Outer God that to radiation. The crystals, mists but also the blue flowers you see around , are they not like the growths the Scarlett Rot? We don't know I don't think of an Outer God of Space, and in anyway Radagon was persuaded to include Glinstone Sourcery into the Golden Order so they would be Outer in that way either, but the forces of the stars do still seem alien and hostile not only to the Golden Order, but maybe even to the Greater Will itself, as for example Star gazing Nox make the finger slaing blade, a tool to challenge not the servants of Marikas rule, but rather the vassals of the Freater Will itself, the Two Fingers. Now the same forces can spew life giving amber, aka sap of a tree, like an analog erd tree maybe, once they invade the lands between reality via the thoughts of the og astrologer. Kinda spooky. On the other hand, the scientific approach can also produce great effects, such as the lion ant life cycle as an illustration of the astel. Very cool stuff, gard to argue with that as an inspiration at least

[@wazkangz955]

I liked the connection between energy and magic grounded in glintstone. As all substances contain energy and since energy cannot be destroyed, only altered, any spells or being grounded in glintstone is just manipulation of energy/electromagnetic fields.

[@SmoughTown]

Yep - such a great bit of lore in a throwaway line from the meteorite of Astel

[@maniacalmurderer4123]

Ever since I fought astel I’ve been fascinated by him and everything else that lives in the depths of elden ring, reminded me a lot of bloodborne which I loved to the core Thankyou for answering all my questions on these mysterious space travelers

[@dasme8210]

one thing i'd like to add, stars have their own lifecycle, forming from gas and dust to become stars, then growing in size to become red giants and collapsing into a white dwarf and creating another stellar nursery to form again. However in some situations if a star is too massive it can collapse and turn into a blackhole instead. Perhaps the Nox meddling of fate has upset space in some way causing what would normally form into a normal star into something akin to a blackhole by which a being like Astel can form within.

[@seanpoore2428]

"Natural Born" is a term George R.R. Martin uses to describe bastards in westeros(as opposed to "trueborn") which was definitely a deliberate choice and the translation only enforces that

[@LSB44446]

Astel's Radahn-dive attack would've been brilliant as an entrance immediately after we kill Radahn. However, it may take the spotlight from Radahn's fight

[@christophercounts6173]

Great video!!! I love the level of detail you went into. A lot to think about; and it will make the game more fun to play after watching this!

[@aut1stickid]

Just discovered your channel and your lore videos are my favourite things to watch now

[@SmoughTown]

So happy you found me and glad you enjoy the content!

[@justinkroboth360]

"Where the titular ship is capable of faster than light speed by using a blackhole generator to travel from one point in space to another instantaneously. Of course, it doesn't really work out, but we won't go into that," is probably the best/cutest description of Event Horizon I've ever seen.

[@derekeikekoehler5387]

The wisdom of stone concept reminds me of castle in the sky. The stone and crystals in that movie also can communicate in a esoteric way.

[@SwedetasticGames]

So, the Void spoken off that the Primeval Sorcerers saw in the Primeval Current reminds me alot of the once-calm Warp of the Warhammer universe. It seems like an empty canvas for creation, like a forge or workshop of sorts, upon which outer powers can assert influence to create "life" from ideas. Something once created the Stars, and born from the same crucible was the Onyx and Alabaster lords. So, given this, if the Nox of the annihilated city peered into the Void with the intent of looking for or creating a powerfull weapon, and poured not just thier wants and ideas through this "hole" but also a ton of magical energy, thier malevolence would've created Astel, who then breached through this very same hole and brought utter ruin to the city. Which, with both Gravity Magic and Magnetic Magic having a sort of yin and yang aspect to thier effects, would make for a real good piece of gallowshumor karma; the Nox peered into the void so intensely the void did not just stare back, it lashed out. On a similliar note, look at how many of the Aspect of the Crucible traits the Elden Beast seems to mimic. I think the Outer God of Order did some similliar experimenting with the Void, where the Crucible was the pure and wild thrashing form, and once defeated, the potential was bound into the seeking branches of the Erdtree, and the Elden Beast was forged in it's image.

[@ChouxThePastry]

Really enjoyed this one! Haven't been able to play as much elden ring as of late as a result of school/studies, but I'll take any SmoughTown upload whenever i can

[@SmoughTown]

Really appreciate that - glad you took the time to watch it

[@Sour_AppIe]

I was hoping for more cosmic horror when hearing about magic being related to space and then later on I didn't find much going through the game Until walking in the underground and seeing this grotesque butterfly creature firing meteors at me and a familiar feeling of unsettled filled me with delight Can't wait to see what horror we may see that the primeval sorcerers glimpse

[@tuckerhiggins4336]

I saw someone's video explaining that Astel could have been a punishment from the Greater Will. Since the Nox were trying to create their own life and have some control, they were punished. It was either your Greater Will video of Eckharts Ladder's video

[@sammysam5947]

best lore channel out there!

[@SmoughTown]

You humble me! Thank you so much

[@chrisp.9380]

Wooo, early morning upload!

[@MasterNyx]

The design of the Astels partially reminds me of descriptions of Yog-sothoth. "Congeries of iridescent globes"

[@doyltruddy902]

I just wanted to say that the black hole engine in Event Horizon works by traveling along geodesics after bending space-time using a singularity (black hole). It doesn't go through a wormhole it just bends space using the intense gravitational distortions from the black holes the engine creates to make the trip essentially instantaneously. They don't actually go into the black hole.