The Ancient Elden Empire is Revealed Thanks to a Road | Elden Ring Lore

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

This is my first video, and will serve as the first in a series entitled "The History of the Lands Between." We'll use the construction of the Gold Road as a major benchmark to create a timeline. Shadow of the Erdtree's release is imminent, I already have a bunch of ideas how things fit together. Get hype! MAJOR UPDATE (7/2/24): We may know which demigod was responsible for building the Gold Road. I was going through the text dumps of the base game and found a cut content item "Carrier Pigeon Letter [2]", which says "Traces of silvery slime found on Godwyn's Highroad." "Highroad" seems to be another name for "Highway", but most highways in the game are PLACE names. Calling it Godwyn's Highroad, a person not a place, suggests that GODWYN was responsible for building the Gold Road. This suggests that the original name for the Gold Road was "Godwyn's Highroad". Though, Carrier Pigeon Letter [2] did not make it into the actual game. Maybe not the best idea to rely on pigeons to deliver important lore. EDIT (SPOILERS FOR DLC): - I sincerely apologize for misgendering Ymir, but he seems like he might be genderfluid at least. - The gameplay trailer was misleading in who the "Erdtree faithful losers" were. It is not Messmer's culture, though he was certainly a victim, he and his army were the ones performing the genocide, the hornsent were those on the losing side of a war. However, as Enir-Ilum shows, there was a tree-worshipping culture in the Shadow Realm which may have been related to the later Erdtree culture. - I found Gold Road tiles in the Church of the Crusade near the Shadow keep, suggesting that Messmer's invasion happened post-Goldroad creation, supporting evidence in this video. - Each of the churches with headless Marika statues have the same pillars as those we find in Sellia, Lower Leyndell, and Ordina.

[@DC-xl5qj]

Gold in the lands between (and indeed our world) is far from good, though it serves as a great disguise.. So Godwyn the golden then, however wise and knowledgeable, was a tyrannical conquerer?

[@brunovacherot5786]

I was thinking that the knight statues in the Gold Road near Leyndell have similar designs as the Death Knights (helmet + longhaft axes/halberds) -- perhaps the DK, or a previous iteration of them, were those rendered in those statues. Or, the Death Knights as we see them in game, have styled themselves post facto after the character's rendered statues. This could further establish a further link between Godwyn and the Gold Road you suggest. What do you think?

[@geordiejones5618]

Godwyn is my favorite demigod. He was both an amazing warrior and an amazing statesman. He was clearly Marika's favorite too.

[@palesmichael]

Can you connect the goldroads with the ones inthe land between?

[@ultraburger2198]

FIRST!? This is fantastic and I look forward to seeing more!

[@ilikeoranges1408]

This game must trully be something else when the fans can make videos of this quality about the STONE TILES on the ground

[@LifeCompanionDogs8083]

From software is one of those game companies that truly value their product and customer.

[@johneverimanne3986]

Your missing out on probably George Martins best story. And Fromsoft has a rather unique way of telling stories, which I feel only serves to add to the immersion. If you showed up in these lands, what are the chances that the first person you meet is going to be 100% clued in on the history and and events that have taken place over the last 5,000 years, and what lead to them being so busy trying to survive a world that's been chaotic hell, forever.

[@doitfaster9553]

Saying it's George Martin's best story is laughable it's a good story but damn it's not even close to his best​@@johneverimanne3986

[@titaniumteddybear]

13:52 that Hexafoil is Radagon's sigil. That's why, in his statues, he is portrayed with the hexafoil behind him. Additionally, the hexafoil closely resembles the type of trellis one might use to help a tree grow. This might be symbolic of his chosen role as a "supporter" of the Erdtree.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I like the trellis idea a lot, actually! The regression matrix as the trellis that the causalities grow in... that also fits with what we see in Elphael where it is the "brace" of the Haligtree.

[@Nemo12417]

Personally, I think Radagon adopted the trellis sigil after his time studying sorcery with Renalla. He was the originator of Golden Order Fundamentalism, which requires Intelligence to cast and can launch fast projectiles (not unlike sorcery), so it makes sense that sorcery might be part of Golden Order Fundamentalism. I'd also note that if Radagon studied Carian astrology at all, he would know about the power of the stars to guide fate, which seems similar to the determinism implied by the Law of Causality incantation (which Tarnished Archaeologist noted is more or less Newton's Third Law).

[@render4426]

Its also angular in shape which could represent his opposition to Marika? Or rather his opposing nature and personaility. I'm not articulating that very well, but there's a point there somewhere. i really like the trellis metaphor though. Hadn't thought of that. Nice! I've also seen a "stitching" or "patching" comparisons made too that make sense.

[@nightscout9979]

@@Nemo12417 I agree that Radagon likely adopted his sigil from the magical barrier on Raya Lucaria's gates, but I don't think he founded Golden Order Fundamentalism. Based on the "echo" of Marika at the Minor Erdtree Church, Marika likely founded Golden Order Fundamentalism there, though Radagon's time in Liurnia no doubt helped those pursuits.

[@TABrunoAuthor]

Excellent video! My dad is a Roman history buff, and when we visited Italy together he pointed out a lot of what you mentioned here. You nailed it! Great attention to detail!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Walking around Rome was like being transported to Leyndell, it was like I was walking around inside Elden Ring. I can't wait til I actually get to use some of the photos I took

[@johndeighan2495]

This is how it's done! Not dreaming up "theories" about this or that aspect of the game, but carefully analyzing the geological, archaeological and architectural features of the Lands Between. After all, that's how we piece together the history of the real world.

[@frozengoat5834]

Well it's a bit of both, you craft a theory to explain what you observe, then continue observing and shaving off/ adding on/ abandoning your theories as needed

[@BBRocker75]

Whole agree. People talking bull$hit about wacko theories forgetting the lore and the facts are disgusting. Here is a whole world to analyze.

[@DonnyKanone]

ONE HUNDRED PERCENT. NGL the amount garbage that is now vomited on youtube by ignorant fools is ridiculous and frankly, insulting to the game, its creators and audience. If i hear the word evidence one more f****** time... Instead of judgment they display impetousness and diminish us in the eyes of our enemies. Ill-considered! Trifling!

[@johndeighan2495]

@@frozengoat5834 For me, theory crafting needs to come last, downstream from careful analysis. We need to understand what we're looking at before asking ourselves what it might mean.

[@TriforceWisdom64]

​@BBRocker75 This video, which is very good, includes about 10 minutes of wild theorycrafting based on the trailers for the DLC, all of which was completely wrong. Speculation and theorycrafting will always be at the heart of Fromsoft analysis. For better or worse, that's often how real world history is, too, just on a slower timescale.

[@z56113]

The DLC added even more weight to your previous observations on the links between Snakes and the Giants/Fell God, I hope you'll be covering it ! It definitely feels like there's something tying Marika, GEQ and the godskins, the Fell God, the Serpents (base and Gelmir), Messmer and Melina together in motifs somehow.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yes there absolutely is. I am so excited to revisit the Serpents/Giants connection with the new DLC information! The DLC's lore was deeper than I expected, and it's great to see!!

[@sethstewart9704]

Nameless Singer, your contribution is massively appreciated. I bet I speak for us all when I say that a post-DLC part 2 would be lovely. Your presentation is of a high standard. Keep going. We're here for it.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thank you so much. I will keep going, for as long as it takes, until we get a timeline that we are happy with. We will be doing a post-DLC part 2, possibly in context of figuring out when exactly Messmer's Crusade took place. It won't be for a while, because I want to flesh out some more parts of the architectural analysis first, but we will get there. I also need to figure out how to keep track of the timeline. Idk if just a big graphic would do it, or if I need some sort of timeline software, but I think I need to really look into that.

[@Iamgooch]

This is super well made! Youre about to get a whole lot more lore to study with DLC in two days, good luck!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

The trailer already gave us so much, I already have a bunch of ideas how everything fits into the timeline!!

[@Lamajmassar]

​@@NamelessSingerEldenRing the dlc will probably also habe gold road part considering the land of shadow wasnt always seperate

[@chrisabili3040]

Thank you so much for explaining the hexafoil design! We also see it where we find the cinquedea, in the midst of a sacrificial beastman ritual (with the dragoncrest shield talisman nearby). I was wondering why these hexafoil stone circles ended so abruptly on the way to Leyendell...Marika probably built over it...great video, looking forward to seeing more

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

thanks so much!!

[@joshs8230]

This may just be me, but i assumed the large main road from leyndell to raya lucaria was built far later in the timeline over a similar simpler road akin to the one that meets up with it outside the gate. Likely as a symbol of the "new" unification of the sorcerers and leyndell and to allow nobles to get to raya lucaria faster

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yeah many people have pointed this out and I am totally fine with that interpretation. I had it in my notes and should have included it as an alternative explanation. I'll be sure to mention it in the future!

[@luckyowl6432]

Insert yellow brick road joke here

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I think i had one in the original script hahaha but settled for the wizard of oz shot alone

[@TheFeralFerret]

This was a really cool video! At first I hesitated to watch because I'd seen TA's video on the road network, but this is on a whole different level. Love the detailed architectural breakdowns and analysis. Have fun with the DLC! The lore implications of some things I've seen are already incredible.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

TA was referencing my original lore post from Reddit in that video! I hope that our videos won't overlap too much and I don't think they will because the lore goes so deep

[@TheFeralFerret]

@@NamelessSingerEldenRing Oh awesome, I totally missed that! I think your videos compliment theirs perfectly and have a charm all their own. Keep up the great work!

[@TheScottWolcott]

@@NamelessSingerEldenRing Even if you cover some of the same topics, I really value different perspectives on this stuff. As a student, not a researcher myself, it helps to have multiple "professors"

[@TriforceWisdom64]

The Gold Road predating Godfrey's crowning as Elden Lord fits right in with the idea that what is modern Leyndell was built around the nameless Eternal City, which was originally on the surface.

[@Henry-vr5gv]

sorry but what video are you talking about? i’d love to learn more :)

[@Detriax]

This is it! The Gold Road is finally out!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

[@glockenspeel5326]

I can’t help imagine Scarlett Johansson talking. Amazing analysis and editing 👌 thanks for adding to my never-ending love and wonder of ER lore

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

WOW that is a huge compliment!! i was incredibly self conscious about my voice but everyone has said its good!! I really appreciate it.

[@joeyc2323]

I never even thought to look at the architecture of the roads. Fascinating aspect to focus on. Great job.

[@adawg3032]

It was right in front of us this whole time

[@preflightsage1342]

11:17 my immediate thought of the different depictions of the elden ring, was that the one less “missing” ring is the rune of death. Since during the time of the dragons, the elden ring still included all four of those major rings which could include the rune of death. So then once marika sealed it away with maliketh, she completely changed the way it was depicted.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I think that is a good analysis of what happened! Maybe a reason why Maliketh is in Farum Azula and we find him with the Rune of Death in the room with that design.

[@Ontos99]

I've spoken about this gold road sigil and its implications for the 'primeval crucible era' that even predated the Farum azula ring sign we see in Maliketh's room. Similar to how the early erdtree sigil predated Marika's current golden order sigil. Great video. Really happy to see a new channel get traction

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yeah I've seen some posts on the FA symbol looking like the Crucible, its definitely related, though I am not exactly sure how yet. I feel like I don't truly know the lore until I've written a theory up about it (or in this case now, a video). It's like the lore won't solidify and is just a bunch of loose connections in my brain. But there is legit some cool fucking stuff with the FA ER design.

[@edd4131]

This is dope. The Gold Road is what I followed on my very first play through, always referring to it on my maps. The Tarnished maybe centuries later, walks the road that was paved by The Golden Order to eventually become the New Elden Lord.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yeah I like it! We find many lost groups of aristocrats wandering along it, that has something to do with it too. Definitely a Pilgrimage type deal

[@fflipfflop]

I spotted at least one instance of these road tiles at the Church of the Crusade in the DLC. Perhaps a part 2 is in store? Solid video, by the way.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yes in that Church along with the other two churches that look like it you can find Gold Road tiles (so 3 locations iirc). The pillars in those churches are the same ones as the ones in Sellia/Lower Leyndell. Which makes me believe that the crusade came after Lower Leyndell was already built and part of the Gold Road was as well.

[@fflipfflop]

@@NamelessSingerEldenRing Dang you're already on it!

[@thexdfacedgamer2306]

*_~ "ONE DAY WE'LL RETURN!!!! TO OUR ROAD'S. BAAAATHHHEEEDDD IN TILE'S OF GOLLLLDDDD!!!!" ~_*

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

LOL

[@Farron6]

Bloody impressive work especially for a first video ! As a Roman/Byzantine enthusiast I think the parallels between the Roman road system and the Pseudo Rome/Constantinople architecture in Leyndell itself adds further evidence to your video. The curved dome architecture in Leyndell is very similar to the Hagia Sophia a key surviving piece of Byzantine building design.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Making a note of this for the future Leyndell video, because I haven't looked deep enough into the Byzantine side of the Roman Empire. I went to Rome last year and found a TON of shared visual motifs between Leyndell & Rome, which was amazing, but there's other motifs unaccounted for and I truly believe that many of them in the game have IRL historical parallels

[@Farron6]

@@NamelessSingerEldenRing The Roman theme continues with the games own theology as well. Before the rise of the Golden Order its very clear there a multitude of Gods ; The fell God of the Fire Giants, The Serpent God of Mt Gelmir, The Dragon God who abandoned Placcidusaax, potentially even a Moon God in Raya Lucaria as well as the Gloam Eyed Queen. This reflects the Pagan Pantheon of Gods before Christianity in the Roman Empire be they Mars/Ares, Athena etc. Marika conquers all the others or they are quite literally driven underground. Spreading her faith by the sword or by diplomacy just as was done by the Romans after Emperor Constantine adopts it as his own faith. On the surface you now have 'Churches of Marika' whereas the Greek style temples are buried under the earth. Marikas symbol being akin to a Crucifix combined with her literally being Crucified with a spear through the abdomen completes the parallels between the Golden Order, Christianity and the Romans.

[@JeremyDeere]

Well done. The only other person I've seen pay this much attention is The Tarnished Archeologist. Awesome video!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thank you so much!!!

[@TheScottWolcott]

Great video! Looking forward to more. The use of surplus gold road tiles in places where roads already existed is a fascinating observation.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I actually found those as I was already in the process of making this video. I love that detail because it goes to show how deeply the devs thought about this lore.

[@masontrl199]

It's great to be here - to witness the first in what I'm sure will be a long line of badass lore explorations. And my comment will be here to mark this occasion long after you blow up.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

screenshotting this comment for posterity. it's gonna be a great journey, fellow tarnished

[@MooseMan198]

Very surprised when i heard this was your first video. I was sucked in. great quality and excited to see more

[@OscarTheStrategist]

When the game is so good, we out there looking at the roads for lore. Fucking love it! 🔥🔥🔥

[@northernwolf9196]

Feels like you've just begun with ER lore videos, looking forward for more. Great start!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

More to come for sure. And thank you!!

[@patsfavorites5931]

Extremely well done. It inks so many things together

[@loyalkingshound7369]

18:47 and I'm enthralled by every second of it

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

:D!!!!

[@braedenaldridge8452]

The fact Fromsoft even makes it possible in their games to do this is a testament to their ability and dedication to their craft and their fans.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

They are seriously gods at this. I am even shocked by the attention to detail that we keep discovering

[@lukeszatmary1840]

I love vaati and the work behind the scenes that he and his team and all the other KZbin creators do is top fucking notch; his cinematic-ness is bested by none but you have taken the cake in terms of academic-ness. The fact that so much of the evidence used to support your assertions comes from in game renders of architecture, symbology, and the like took me straight back to Humanities 110 and by god I loved it. Absolutely everything you said was backed up by incontrovertible evidence presented in a clear and straightforward manner. To have all that presented with excellent framing/cinematography and very clear voice work is the icing on the cake. In short, lovely view ahead!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

The "lovely view ahead" just made me smile so big. I was taken right back into the game, but that imagery was convolved with my own channel's future and I feel it so hard. I do work in academia and I try really hard to only present stuff that I think has strong evidence. That is the main goal of this channel, to present the patterns that my friends & I have found, and do our best to present the most likely story, and offer alternative explanations when we don't have that. Thank you so much, this comment made my day!

[@JacobBradley-n6w]

I would have assumed the more advanced road to Raya Lucaria is a later built road, possibky after Radagon and Rennala’s union forged peace between Leyndell and Raya Lucaria.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yes some other folks have brought this up and I may rethink the timeline in the future. I found some of the dragon evolution motifs in the RL Grand Library, so it seemed like there was dragon/Farum influence at that point, which made me think it was earlier. i also thought the statues in the road made me think it was earlier. but maybe what happened was that there was a war, the Liurnian Wars, which could have destroyed the OG road and let to the fancier one being built. The name of that part of the road is called the "Bellum" Highway, and "bellum" ~ "war" in Latin. We'll have to revisit it in a future vid!

[@RedCrusader-ph2vk]

This is your FIRST VIDEO!? This is a great lore deep dive! Instant Sub! Criminally underrated, I dare say!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yes I have wanted to do this for a long time, so I wanted to come out of the gate with some high quality stuff. Next one will include lore from the DLC, I am super stoked!! Thanks for the sub!

[@junoknight7374]

Fantastic breakdown!! Such a small detail has gone unnoticed for so long and was waiting to tell a story. Thank you for making this video!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Right under our noses :^D

[@WritingBlab]

Great work. Incredible eye for connecting details. Can’t wait to see more!😊

[@shurley96]

Regarding the few gold tiles and Old Gold road pillars in Caelid and Selia, I think the inverse is true, that they were once part of the Gold Road (Faram Azula/Leyndell) Empire, but when Empire receded, the roads fell into disrepair, and were repaired with regular non-golden Tiles. The historical counterpart I'm thinking of is how empire receded from Roman Britain, leaving ruins. In fact, overall, I would consider that this Faram-Leyndell alliance is akin to Rome and Byzantium - Rome was the Original power, but later, (and after a religious conversion to Christianity), Byzantium/Constantinople became the Dominant centre of Empire - the western Empire recede and eventually fell, but the eastern Roman Empire remained - I'm thinking how Rome fell in 479AD, and Faram Azula literally began to fall out of the Sky, while Leyndell, this glorious golden city has much in common with Constantinople.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Hmmm this is not out of the realm of possibility. I didn't consider this because of the technology gets more advanced idea and because Farum predating the Gold Road explained why there was so much early dragon influence in Leyndell. And damn I need to read up on my Byzantium lore, so many people have mentioned it and I have not spent nearly enough time reading about it.

[@Eagle_SFM]

Really well done. I recall seeing some of your reddit posts 2 years ago and I'm not surprised at the high quality of the video.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yeah I waited a long time to make the vids because I wanted to 1) learn enough to produce high quality vids and 2) to have high quality lore theories with evidence that would hold up. Thanks for being a fan of the theories from way back when!

[@andresakra1283]

I never thought about this. I was literally going to make a comment on Roman built roads and you covered it anyway

[@Pitchfallis]

Is it possible Granssax attacked Leyndell when Marika removed the Lands of Shadow? It seems incredibly likely that a huge portion of dragon territory was obliterated (the giant peak), and Farum Azula was unceremoniously ejected into the sky, and also Bayle’s escape was facilitated. For another empire to throw around nuclear bombs next door and all over your territory is a great reason to attack!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I do think there could be some truth to this because we have the Land of "Shadow", which is described as Shadow because it is obscured by the Erdtree, and Farum Azula which appears to be the realm of "light" - it's always sunny there, we find sun realm shields, Plac is all about light etc. So perhaps the creation of the Land of Shadow, the separated Land of Light (Farum Azula) and the "Lands Between" came from this split. However, it was also pointed out to me that the "Lands Between" may just be the lands in the center of all of the other lands beyond the fog like the Land of Reeds. The alternative explanation is that Gransax attacked when Farum Azula was struck by a meteorite. Based on the pattern of debris being mainly in Limgrave/Weeping Peninsula the meteorite likely hit from a line opposite to the densest parts of the debris field... which does kinda seem like Leyndell.

[@martinrilak7993]

I never thought I would watch a documentary about the Elden Ring roads

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I know even to me it's wild that I made a whole video about roads lol

[@BPond7]

I’ve been on an Elden Ring lore binge, these past few weeks. I continue to be astonished at how much detail Fromsoft packed into this game! Layers upon layers. I wish that it was a bit less opaque for dummies like me, but then again, when channels such as yours go on these deep dives, it makes the revelation all that more impressive. Thanks for what you do! 🖖😀

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

This is what we're here for!! Lore content is its own industry now hahaha

[@brigandboy1425]

You know, Cellia and Laynedell being of the same culture and the same construction (and maybe even of similar age) might go a ways to explain why Radahn was so loyal to Laynedell. Sister cities, basically. It also adds a bit more weight to Miquella's betrayal.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yeah I like that a lot actually. I need to revisit how the cultures would have interacted pre-Shadow Realm disappearing, may help explain how Sellia came to influence Lower Leyndell better

[@TheCronesEye]

I have read & enjoyed many of your Reddit posts. So glad to see you add video! Very detailed and specific; you also have a clear, pleasant voice & speaking style. Great work! I look forward to more from you & your lore-spelunking group, so I’ve liked & subscribed. Thanks! 👍✌️🎉💜

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thank you!!! I am looking forward to turning the published Reddit posts into videos, along with a ton more stuff i didn't put on Reddit. I've got a whole plan to build up to figuring out who built the divine towers, but first up is the Leyndell puzzle

[@alexandergigliotti7327]

while watching, I was thinking “how have i never heard of this creator???” until i saw this was your first vid 😂 fantastic insights and look forward to more!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yes it was! Working on the next one!!!

[@LeleSHHHHHH]

I see the "Old Gold Road" as part of Radagon marrying Rennala and combining their cultures. He couldn't defeat or assimilate them with military might, so instead he slowly parasitized them under a guise of cooperation.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yeah I think that's totally fair and something many people have pointed out so I'll have to include that in a future video.

[@ivanvazquez9642]

Great video documentary. Im surprised you're still a small channel, the production and narration is professionally done. Wish you great success and exposure to grow. You already have the skill in video production and investigation to do so.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thank you so much!! Yes I am very proud of the production and I am suprised by how much I actually like capturing the footage and doing the editing. Only issue is that it takes a long time haha

[@arthurbuffon430]

With this, i'd like to add Yura's vouceline: "it's no wonder dragon comunion brings ruin" said by him after slaying agheel

[@lorddervish212quinterosara6]

"This woman", well...he is a mother at least

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I KNOW I KNOW I apologized to him in the pinned comment. It was pre-DLC, I didn't know his pronouns!!

[@someguynamedgreg8828]

I loved this video! It's an extremely well made video, interweaving real world historical practices as well as lore from the game itself. You're extremely talented, and as your first video it's extremely impressive what you've accomplished.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

This comment made me emotional. I think especially in the context of "what you've accomplished." It does feel like a real accomplishment. For so long I wanted to make videos but wasn't ready and I thought it would be too late and the community would move on but I finally did it and it wasn't too late. I finally did it, I accomplished this thing, and I am so so deeply happy and grateful for everyone's kind and supportive words. Thank you.

[@whootywhoo6274]

Follow the yellow brick road.

[@JonathanKanelis]

You might have noticed it but around the 4 Elden Ring circles on the golden road pavement there seems to be an other circle that looks like Marika’s braid from the Shaman Village!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

OOH that's good! OOH that gives me a spike of dopamine. I hadn't heard that before. Someone else had been saying how it looks more like a Celtic knot, BUT... given how we now know that on Messmer's sigil there is a golden circle braid, that is particularly compelling that THAT is actually the symbol we are looking for.

[@mohammedrazaesmail6934]

“Old gold road” is gonna be stuck in my head rent free for a while. Anyways you got one more sub. Excellent video.🎉

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I love a pun. Though I said "gold road" so many times in this video I would be happy never saying it again. Thanks for the sub!

[@starbomber]

I like the Anthropology approach to this. Taking it on like a case study

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Dude GRRM is such a big history nerd and obviously he was involved in the world building here but Miyazaki was a big fan of his for a long time before that. GRRM's The World of Ice & Fire/the books themselves have so much IRL archaeology, anthropology & history I think ER basically did the same thing. TLB map is legit Italy but reversed and a big part of me thinks that the history is highly influenced by Italian history as well

[@whitejester]

Interesting part about Cellia is how the Socerers are Gravity Sorcerers who lift stone for combat spells. What if, Leyndell and Azula hired them for the ease and expertise of using Gravity Magic to shape stone into roads and buildings? Just a thought

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

yeah I wondered about this. like who made some of these structures? is it possible that the gravity sorcerers are the ones who moved the stones and allowed for this kind of construction? I especially wonder about this for the Divine Towers, because the rocks they are carved out of look like they have been raised up from below.

[@whitejester]

@@NamelessSingerEldenRing if Radahn who learned from Alabaster Lords can halt the meteors before his great rune gave him power. It’s not a stretch a construction team of Alabaster Lords can tower and carve stone monuments.

[@danielkubicek1323]

Wow! You took the VERY GROUND we walk upon and take for granted into a cohesive and amazing theory video! Bravo!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thank you so much!! I am happy the ground got to have its day to be appreciated hahaha

[@gabebernhard4601]

I’ve always thought that the Altus and Bellum Highways were constructed during Marika’s reign to link Leyndell and Raya Lucaria after the marriage of Radagon and Rennala, as a sign of the alliance between the Erdtree and the Carina Royals

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I think that's a fair point and is probably true. I didn't want to get into it fully in this video because I didn't have all the evidence to say for sure.

[@nitoyep3366]

Beautiful video, I even came across your old Reddit post just because I wanted to do research mid video. Beginning to end absolutely perfect, can’t wait to see you up their with vaati and zullie

[@ravendelacour1917]

By this timeline, the Golden Order was the Byzantine Empire to the Farum culture's Roman Empire. A remainder empire that inherited the massive infrastructure and culture of a previous larger empire that suffered a massive catastrophe to it's capital. Rome fell to the barbarians, Faurm Azula got nuked by a meteor.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I am not super well read on the Byzantine Empire but I think I will need to brush up because there likely is something to this. i think the GO connection is far more to Christianity in the west post-Roman Empire. I don't find enough Greek influence in the game to make me believe that we're dealing with too much Byzantine influence, but that also may be because IMO the map of TLB itself is Italy reversed. I wouldn't be surprised if a future Fromsoft game was about Greek/Byzantine influence though, that would be SUPER interesting. Oh but I do think the barbarians thing is legit and in the game's historical influence somewhere, but I don't have a complete theory for this yet.

[@ravendelacour1917]

@@NamelessSingerEldenRing The Byzantine Empire was where Emperor Constantine I adopted Christianity as the state religion, convenined the Nicean Council to ratify the Christian religion as single inflexible creed, shifted Christianity into a more fundementalist arm of the state and established the militant Orthodox church. Replace Constantine with Marika/Radagon and you've got some solid parallels. If you follow Tarnished Archeologist, he points out the later division in the Orthodox Church was a conflict between the nature of a particular hand ritual blessing. One that turned quite bloody. The difference was between whether the gesture used two fingers or three fingers. Sounds familiar. 😎

[@TheKeyser94]

You had forgotten about the roads that the Targaryen, descendants of the Old Valyria built in Westeros connecting the continent from North to South.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Ah yeah thank you that's such a great point. They brought the road technology with them when they moved to Westeros, I love it.

[@austincrowmusic2378]

Ahhhh the Flower of life. I was waiting for someone to bring it into elden ring since I first saw the cover lmao.

[@HarryVoyager]

Lore videos like these are pretty much the only reason I got Elden Ring. It makes me want to get back into it and go wander around the Lands Between, just observing everything. :)

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

You should :) a lot of the architecture is pulled directly from real life architecture so wandering around TLB is a bit like taking a tour of the world. And its such a beautiful game. I remember when I first played Twilight Princess I would just ride around on my horse after I had beaten the game because it was just all so pretty. This game gives me the same feeling.

[@davidwunderlich6361]

This is such a good video! I can't even imagine how you began to think about this road and what implications for the history of lands they hide, but I am happy that you did. I loved this 25 minute video about a road in a video game

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Dude how did I find that originally....? I think I looked down and noticed the design on the tile and then realized the road was special. But the bigger reason is that I've done ASOIAF lore theorizing for many years and the Valyrian roads gave me a heads up when it came to these roads. This video loves you too.

[@jroden06]

Incredible work. I will be watching your videos with great anticipation!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thank you, Chancellor!!

[@TheLyricalCleric]

Excellent video! I especially like the positing that the two and three fingers were once a five fingered hand. I know that’s a contentious theory, but it seems to me like the “creative” two fingers and “destructive” three fingers seem to go together (hand in hand, to make a pun). It would make sense that Marika attempted to excise the destructive power of the three fingers by locking it away at the bottom of Leyndell, perhaps as part of her attempt to seal away destined death. Regardless, I’m going to enjoy seeing more of your videos and how the dlc content expands upon all of our lore theories. Good work!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I love you pointing out the "creative" 2F and "destructive" 3F, I don't think I had heard it phrased like that before but that totally checks out. Creative also fits with the "causality" of the 2F, and destructive kind of fits with the "regression" of the 3F because regression is all about pulling things back to one meaning. And yes, I totally agree that she wanted to lock away the "destructive" aspect of flame, to just have causality, just creation, just life. Yet she clearly doesn't watch Game of Thrones, where a key law of the universe is that "Life comes from death." I suspect this could be a big part of her oversight and why the Lands Between ended up in the state that its in.

[@zetsumetsu1176]

This is so good! I feel like when Placidusax was elden lord farum azula was the home of the dragons and the people built leyndell. Then way later marikas lot moved in and the ancient dragons attacked.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yeah I think this is getting at the truth. Like Leyndell could have originally been a place with a ton of Farum influence when the Erdtree was around and it didn't become the "Age of the Erdtree" until Marika officially took over and conquered everything else. Not totally sure!

[@CenteredTarnished]

This was incredible work! Massive fan. This helps me massively with a theory about Marika. Much love.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thanks so much, much love to you as well and good luck with the theory!

[@CenteredTarnished]

@@NamelessSingerEldenRing could I pick your brain a bit? Do you have discord?

[@MrCortar]

this was a joy to listen to, the part where you said I was watching a 20 min lore video about roads got me good lol

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

hehehehehe

[@Nagria2112]

tarnished archeaology has some amazing stuff on that theory. revealing an ancient history

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yes TA has cited some of my essays in his videos, including the one that this video is based off of. I think there is still so much lore to be found in the architecture and I have so many videos to make, but I think he & I will do a collab in the future. Fingers crossed!

[@Nagria2112]

@@NamelessSingerEldenRing omg i just realised you are THE "nameless singer" he mentioned from reddit i think. nice to see you on youtube - hope to see you grow :D

[@jonaswest6993]

Spot on love these architectural lore videos. And given how often it rains in the Lakes that could be why the drainage channels are more prevalent in that area

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Oooh i kinda like this, that would make sense. Actually an interesting detail I didn't leave in is that the gold coloring of the stone tiles in the Weeping peninsula has worn away, likely because of all the rain

[@multiverserift]

I was so fucking starved of good old fashioned tarnished archeology. I will so god damn enjoy this. Thank you!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Bon appetit!

[@torinwilliams4671]

I love how you use froms environments to try and piece together the story of the world!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Environmental storytelling rocks!!

[@AshArashi-tg]

Oh no! Now I must run around every corner of Shadow realm looking for road to make see that Land between, Shadow realm, and Farum were onece whole Pangaea

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Hahahaha I did find the tiles in the floors of the Churches of the Crusade, Consolation, and Benediction, but no Gold Road paved road, specifically. There really aren't any paved roads connecting different regions of the Shadow Realm, but we do find roads within the cities themselves. So the Crusade/Shadow Realm seems to have been split much younger

[@liam8593]

Stoked to see more of this, so awesome

[@Greaseball01]

That close up of the cobblestones into the wide shot of limgrave was so cool

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Glad you liked it! I want to try to do cool shots and I kinda can but the free cam mod I am using is not perfect, but it's good enough for stuff like that

[@sidewaysfcs0718]

19:22 I think that's when the Ancient Dragons were RE-introduced in the Leyndell Culture, i think the entire empire went from being a single political entity under Placidusaxx, to then growing apart under Marika, only for Godwynn to re-make the alliance later, when the Ancient Dragon attacked for reasons we might not know for sure now. So indeed, If anything i think Leyndell took from Farum's culture early on, before Marika.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

It's possible that there was a unification under Plac, and then a Shattering-like event where Marika emerged the victor/new god, and then there indeed was a re-introduction later. But this doesn't explain the Gransax attack, there must have been a betrayal at some point. But yes, I do think that at minimum we can say that Leyndell took from Farum culture early on at the very least. One lead may be that Vargram, who wields a Godslayer's Greatsword and desires to be the Shadow to an Empyrean/GEQ, has dragons (possibly ancient dragons) on the back of his cloak. So that may help dating the last Shattering-like event.

[@KeylimeTim]

I am so glad I was recommended this video on my lunch break.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I hope it was delicious!

[@knasigboll]

Incredible! While I wondered about the gold road while playing it always was more of a passing thought. Cool to see how much lore was hidden behind it all!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

yeah I was shocked when I went back to Sellia to double check the road tiles and found the whole Sellia section of the road was super weird and it led me to look into it deeper which led to that entire section of the video. There's a LOT of intention put into the environmental storytelling, especially the architecture, in this game!

[@cake2806]

The hardest thing to know is if FromSoft had this exactly in mind and wasn't just asset reuse 😭

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

You are not wrong. I studied a lot of history while doing ASOIAF lore theories (which I never posted because I'm dumb) and when Elden Ring came out and knowing GRRM was involved I saw some of the same historical patterns in the architecture and visual symbols that I saw in IRL history. Then when a few other theorists and I got together we started putting together the patterns they seemed not random and to line up with lore we already knew. Not every visual symbol matches with lore or is useful for a theory, but some of them do and that's good enough. Ultimately I will do my best to present the evidence as a good story but the judgement of whether its legit will be left up to you, the viewers!

[@NetherStray]

The "Old Gold Road" just so happens to be near the two wealthiest and most powerful factions in the Lands Between, both of which were within the good graces of Radagon, one of which was at one point married to him. Let's be real, I don't think these sections of the road are different due to their age.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Fair point, and one that a few people have brought up about the Radagon/Rennala business of it all. I hadn't considered the wealth angle but I like that a lot. I think that the difference in roads still reveal that something took place between two separate time periods, but the sophistication may just be the wealth between the two of them.

[@crayons9120]

Well done. I enjoyed it a lot. The visual story telling is so important in Fromsoft. We know stuff is placed for “Game reasons” sometimes, but honestly, very few things are placed without a lore purpose in Fromsoft games. I liked the ideas, I like how you don’t overreach and say any “so this definitely means x-y.” You show what you’ve found, and ask questions and invite us to ask too. Brilliant.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thank you so much. Yeah I am trying to keep a skeptical voice to say "this possibly means X" or "this means Y if X" etc etc. It's just safer and so much more true to be skeptical because you never know what you might be missing because there's so much lore in the game and so many pieces to fit together. I think I want to lean more into the "asking questions" part in the future and drawing up more counterpoints, but this can be dangerous because if you aren't confident then neither will the viewers. But that's why this is a learning process!

[@nightscout9979]

This is a fabulous look at the architectural stories of the Lands Between! I agree that the "gold road" was built by Leyndell, but I think the artistic leaves tell the story of who made it. Four branches extend from the Elden Ring design, reminiscent of the three major branches of the Erdtree incantation sigils, and these branches end with a kind of canopy feature on both the tiles and the sigils. The winding pattern in the circle around this tile design also resembles the line work of the "modern" Erdtree sigil seen with incantations like Golden Vow, as well as throughout the Golden Order's artistry. As such, I believe that the Golden Order, the government founded by Marika, created the extensive roads seen throughout the Lands Between, at least in their modern and most thorough form. The lack of Elden Ring designs on the roads of Sellia is interesting, but I wonder if the Scarlet Aeonia might have a part to play in that. You noted that at least one Elden Ring tile can be found in the lookout towers, but the rest of the worn stonework lacks this design. Perhaps the image eroded away from most tiles? If so, then the Scarlet Rot may have devastated parts of Caelid's roads, and the Elden Ring tiles in Sellia might not be replacements, but the tiles holding up the best against this cosmic fungus. As for the shape of the Elden Ring itself, the dimensions of the tiles might play a part in that. The triangular design of the Great Runes is usually shown when the Elden Ring is given a good deal of space as the central emphasis of something or otherwise can link into the three main branches of the Elden Ring sigils. In contrast, the square, small road tiles could make the Elden Ring look off-center, particularly in regard to a surrounding circular design. Thus, the Elden Ring might have had its configuration slightly changed as an artistic liberty to be the central point of the tiles, and to look the same regardless of which direction a traveler was walking on the road. Regarding Farum Azula's Elden Ring mural, the Great Runes there might have had a similar artistic liberty. The overall mural emphasizes both the Elden Ring and what appears to be a system of roots either growing from it or around it. The roots grow far and wide from the Elden Ring, perhaps implying a span across the dragons' territory and one day the Lands Between itself. If so, this might be the earliest depiction of the plant that would become known as the Erdtree. Keeping the Elden Ring's Great Runes closer together might help to emphasize the reach of these roots in that regard. While the Elden Ring might change its formation, I think evidence suggests it keeps a standard triangular pattern. The various Great Runes collected in the game seem to layer over each other, with Radahn and Rykard's runes being the right ring, Rennala, Malenia, and Miquella's runes being the left ring, Morgott and Mohg's runes being the top ring, and Godrick's rune being the central ring and parts of both the left and right rings. There's also the matter of the central line, depicted in all of these runes (the especially shattered remains of Miquella's rune notwithstanding). Even the one rune said to be removed from the Elden Ring, the Rune of Death, looks like it could be placed on either the top or central rings and the central line, provided that it isn't some ancient form of Mending Rune due to its shape. Ranni's rune is never seen, so we don't know what shape it would have had, but it likely would be on the right ring to give three runes on each side or, based on the "rune on the moon" theory, the central line and the rune arcs. Speaking of the rune arcs, if the Elden Ring could change the position of its Great Runes, the arcs would seemingly have to change as well, but they generally appear to be left out of artistic depictions and only acknowledged as part of the actual Elden Ring. Additionally, looking at the Mending Runes, they don't appear to change the Elden Ring's shape either. The surrounding circle that is Goldmask's rune could be complemented by the Great Runes taking a diamond-like formation, but they instead remain in their triangular formation. Fia's rune likewise doesn't change the Elden Ring's formation despite its improvised nature and cursed components. Finally, the Dung Eater's rune is kind of just tossed right into the Elden Ring without even trying to humor its alignment or even match its coloration, be it innately like Goldmask's rune or changing when added like Fia's rune. Despite the Dung Eater's ending even getting an extra camera angle and lamentation by the narrator, this blatant sabotage to the state of the world cannot change the alignment of the Great Runes. As such, the triangular design has likely always been the Elden Ring's state of being. For some other tile patterns, I think the hexafoils are actually just meant to resemble blooming plants to pair with the large central bloom designs. Farum Azula and Leyndell do have a few artistic elements shared between them, but in the case of the beast murals, those only appear on the arches above the open passageways in the outer walls, on the brown elevated platforms flanking the stairs, or on the arch above the gate to the Fortified Manor. A few details in Leyndell might have been added after the ancient dragon war, though I personally believe that Leyndell was first built by a scattered diaspora of people in Farum Azula's culture or aligned with it after the nation fell. The architectural and artistic styles feel too unique and Altus Plateau lacks too much of a dragon or beastman presence to be a colony or proper expansion of Farum Azula, IMO. I'd say more, but this comment is getting very long as is! Thanks again for an insightful analysis of Elden Ring's more subtle stories! As a closing note, Gransax's pose might have a tale to it. We know that ancient dragons fall limp when defeated, so Gransax's head and neck seem to have been leaning on something before he petrified. Perhaps there was a tower in front of the gate to the Fortified Manor at one point, or the gate was built to replace the tower once Gransax had petrified? Anyway, this was a very enjoyable watch.

[@zora508]

I haven't finished the video yet so you might already mentioned it but I'm gonna say it anyway lol. I love that you can see the road of the long march Godfrey and the tarnisheds took from Lyndell to the weeping peninsula.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yeah like I kinda feel like the Long March was along this road. Or maybe the Long March was the name of his campaign which is when this road was first built, and it ended with him deciding to fight Placidusax and become Elden Lord.

[@jouhomato1983]

the road was most likely built when marika rose to power and conquered the lands between, tiles look like one of the sacred seals used to cast incants and gold overall is usually the sign of marika and the golden lineage

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yeah I think you are right about this. But I am not 100% on the timeline, we'll have to come back to it in the future once we've done some more investigation.

[@jouhomato1983]

@@NamelessSingerEldenRing good job w the theory and good luck in the future

[@b2fsu18]

Awesome video =) Love the deep dive into seemingly inconsequential details that create deep lore implications. The style of Farum Azula stones compared the ones found in Caelid basically confirm the theory of Radahns arena being the ol' non-crumbling location of Farum Azula. This channel got me hooked!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Oh yeah I remember that essay. I still kinda like the idea that it was floating in the middle, but perhaps the truth is that it started out on that beach in Caelid and then floated on over to the middle, was destroyed, and went out east.

[@twilitblade]

Your videos are impeccable. I will be looking forward to more uploads. You’re so insightful.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thank you so much!!!

[@markriosn7589]

The few descriptions of the reason the dragons attacked Leyndell does suggest it was done out of revanchism, like they sought to reclaim lost territory.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Yeah probably a similar betrayal to Marika coming for Raya Lucaria/Rennala during the Liurnian Wars. There's also Protection of the Erdtree which says "In the beginning, everything was in opposition to the Erdtree. But through countless victories in war, it became the embodiment of Order."

[@dionysus326]

Really enjoy your lore videos, felt like you deserve more views

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

At the time of this comment I've got 2 vids and they're both over 60k views, that is way higher reception than I was expecting to get at this point in my KZbin career, so I am over the moon about it. Hopefully I will be able to earn more views with future vids!!

[@NeilPatel-eh8ig]

Can’t wait for more content!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I'll churn it out as fast as I can!

[@ImBarryScottCSS]

The world building in this game is actual insanity.

[@ImBarryScottCSS]

Loooool I made this comment about 30 seconds before you did your world building speech 😂

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

LOL it is seriously insane!!! god i wish all games were like this. it's just, in a whole other universe of lore compared to every other game

[@volpilh]

Hi ! The bestial symbol on the Fortified Manor, I think actually might be a symbol of Serosh, as explained in the Golden Beast Shield, which bears a very similar crest: « _Shield of dull gold with a beast engraved as its crest. Lighter than_ _most greatshields, and subsequently easier to wield._ _The beast depicted is Serosh, aged counselor who guides the_ _golden lineage._ » This also makes a bit of sense seeing as parts of the Fortified Manor seems to be of a different strata from that of Leyndell in general. However ! That doesn't mean that Serosh is younger than the diamond Elden Ring strata, as Serosh themself has been described as "the Lord of Beasts" in the Beastclaw Greathammer, which is awarded by the Beast Clergyman. There is very obviously some connecion between Serosh and Farum Azula The symbol of Serosh, or indeed Serosh may very well be much older and part of the Farum Azula civilization. This obviously begs the question of whether this was before or after the attack of Granssax, before or after the Imperial Dragon Cult, or before or after Marika his the Shadowlands, and the relevance of Serosh' friendship with/guidance of Godfrey and the Golden Lineage, to the diplomacy between Farum Azula and Leyndell.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thank you for these pieces of evidence, I don't think I was aware of them and I definitely want to include them. You are totally right that the Fortified Manor is of a different strata than the rest of Leyndell, and I'm not sure exactly when yet. There's a lot of interesting stuff in the Fortified Manor and a bunch of different motifs, its a total hodge podge of stuff. And now that we have the whole beast culture/hornsent, how does that fit in? Because yeah, the timeline is SUPER complicated. The only way I can think of to unravel it is to go bit by bit through the architectural evidence, starting with the strongest stuff first. And I do NOT have a good intuition for the beast culture stuff yet, but it is probably pretty old.

[@herou987]

awesome video with very interesting comparison of 2 empires and their similarities, great job everyone who contributed to this

[@sr.lontra]

This was amazing. The team really did a great job. It's so fascinating how much information we can get through aesthetics and architecture

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I'm really proud of everyone I've done lore theorizing with over these past two years. The entire ER community is incredible

[@anoby1175]

Been waiting for someone to analyse the architecture. I always felt it could fill in the gaps in the current knowledge of the game.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

yeah i may know more about the architecture than anyone on the planet outside of the devs. the characters, items, religions, they are ever changing. but rocks and buildings? they just kinda chill in the same place. so i think there's a level of reliability there

[@MEGA7155]

I have a lot of theories, more than 1000 hours into the game I’ve become mad at this point, but is always welcoming and cool to have new perspectives and more importantly people wit passion to find the lore

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

I have spent so much time thinking about this game I have lost track, and there are still so many questions to answer!

[@Rishith198]

Elden ring's world building and details really are something!! Great analysis and attention to detail btw!!

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thank you so much!!! I love how deep this game's lore goes

[@patchwilliamson]

Your brain is magnificent for being able to dedicate the time and energy to something thats seemingly meaningless, but also massive, and the video itself is clean af 👌 Bravo to all involved

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thank you so much!! I have believed since the beginning that everything is connected and any weird details the devs chose to go with are not coincidences but mean something

[@Hellosh]

What an amazing essay with such dedicated work. The team did great and the narration is awesome! It blew my mind a couple times how things are so connected and it makes so much sense from a perspective of architectural history. Applause all around

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Thank you so much!

[@SIRslipperyasp91]

Fantastic vidoe, I'm honored to be your 127th subscriber. Can't wait to see where this goes in the future.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

o7 I shall remember you, #127!! And thank you!!

[@liamodahl1205]

Aaaaaand I can't wait to binge whatever you have in store.

[@NamelessSingerEldenRing]

Working on it!!

[@JunkheaDxX]

This is very impressive work! Didn't realise that there were everywhere pieces of Farum Azula... :o