The Eclipse | Elden Ring Lore

The Eclipse may be one of the most interesting, yet unexplored concepts in Elden Ring. Miquella and the forces of Castle Sol aim to have the Sun devoured and drained of its color, but is something like this really possible? The fate of Godwyn and the soulless demigods, cradled by the wandering mausoleums, seem to depend entirely on the success of this project, so a solar eclipse may be their only hope.
The names of all music used are listed at the end of the video.
#eldenring

[@AlexHyena-dv4mb]

“Hear me, Demigods. My children beloved. Make of thyselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord. Be it a God. But should ye fail to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken. Amounting only to sacrifices...” - Melina, quoting Marika at the Capital Outskirts

[@Demokaze]

Goddamn, Marika is like the personification of natural selection. Explains why that ghost says the wandering mausoleum is cradling her unwanted child... he was a failure in her eyes.

[@THE_MOONMAN]

One of the most interesting quotes of the whole game honestly. Really puts Marika's motivations into perspective as far as why she would have involvement in the night of black knives

[@LL-yd8zz]

@@THE_MOONMAN I think it's a really cool quote but I don't think it relates Marika to the black knives, Godwyn was an accomplished general beloved by all, I don't think he would've become a sacrifice

[@scleless1342]

@@LL-yd8zz Exactly. In fact MOST of the demi gods we meet were defintitely more than "aught". Miquella literally created am alternative to the Erdtree, became a haven for an entire species, almost resurrected several soulless demi gods etc.. and even found a way to eliminate the influence of freaking OUTER GODS!!Malenia became the greatest warrior of all her children and even attained godhood. Radahn literally stopped the emtire solar system from moving, knee-capping fate itself. Morgott became a role model and beloved monarch l, having defended the capital amd holy ground of the erdtree from being tampered with for decades etc.. The only Demi-God who you could say amounted to very little was Godrick.

[@cloroxusthestainlessone4324]

@@LL-yd8zz with the sealing of the giants flame, Goldwyn's tenure as general is over. A general is neither a lord or God. With his half sacrifice on the other hand he does become a god and then becomes worthy to Marika. The golden order has the potential to absorb contradictory beliefs, Goldwyn became one of those beliefs.

[@SpookeyGael]

The near-complete absence of the sun in Elden Ring is probably the strangest aspect of the setting, and imo provides the strongest thematic evidence of the Elden Beast/Erdtree being an alien/foreign invader. Why else would it have essentially supplanted the role of the sun if it didn't see it as a direct competitor?

[@Leonard-Mazet]

Yup i feel that way as well

[@kawailook]

Out your opinion

[@Kammereer]

The sun is up there in the sky, though outside of Limgrave it's not always easy to see.

[@stuartcarter4139]

During the frenzied flame ending the flame blots out the sun

[@Zantetsu13]

@@Kammereer The only place I could clearly see the sun from was on Crumbling Farum Azula, which is stuck in time; otherwise all shadows that should be cast from the sun come from the Erdtree. The gravestone for one of the jellyfish sisters states "She never saw the sun" , however the sisters were old enough to be able to talk when they died and promise each other to go watch the stars. The warming stones description state that the erdtree was as warm and gentle as the sun, but the dialogue in Casle sol describes a frigid sun.

[@jetpropulsionlabrador3615]

- Trees love sun - Erdtree is a Tree - Stop the sun from reaching the Erdtree - Erdtree’s influence stops - Miquella and Malenia stop the meddling of outer gods Ranni also wants to stop the outer gods meddling, but she and Rennala relied on the two moons. Her ending was a lot more successful. Curious about how it all ties together and why…

[@darielvillatoro8365]

Goldmask's ending can achieve this too, if I'm not mistaken

[@LastProtagonist]

Yoyoyo, there's a bunch of stuff that relates to the imagery of eclipses that's a bit hidden in the Japanese. The term for eclipse comes from 蝕 *shoku*, which is the same kanji for 蝕む *mushibamu* which means "worm-eaten; corroded; deteriorated; etc." This comes up a lot in Dark Souls to describe the way curses and the Dark eat away through things, like in "Gnaw," "Dark Fog," "Wolnir's Holy Sword," "etc. In Elden Ring, the term also comes up with items attached to Godwyn (the "Weathered" Dagger, the "corruption" of Fortissax, etc.) This all ties into the Eclipse Shotel which is described as being a sun "drained" of color. It might imply that there is or was a connection between the sun and the grace of gold, and might coincide with the Sun Realm Shield or how Warming Stones say the Erdtree was "as warm and gentle as the sun." I know that's not a ton of tangible information, so I apologize for that. One thing I've wondered about Dark Souls specifically is how "Darkmoon" Gwyndolin was also called the "Dark Sun." With the kanji for it being "陰の太陽," it may be that rather than just being "dark," the sun was "shaded" i.e. a sun in eclipse. Is this meant to coincide with the "dark moon" of Elden Ring? It's hard to say, but it is notable that the "Dark Moon" Ranni was responsible for Godwyn's death.

[@VLimit11]

I never knew that fact about Gwyndolin's name, that's especially interesting to me. All of this stuff about the Black Moon, Dark Moon, Darksign, Eclipses, etc. makes me wonder if this is all meant to call back to previous games, or if it's just FromSoftware being partial towards certain themes

[@LordKnightBane]

Just wanted to say I really love yours and V-Limit’s channels. Thank you both for the work you do.

[@scleless1342]

Well its pretty obvious that Miquella was inspired by Gwyndolin. Hell even Prince Lothric was. The idea of a pale sickly feminine/child-like Demi-God son born of the head deity is identical in all three of these characters. They also all had "high hopes" that they would become lord of cinder/empyrean god candidate etc.. that werent met. They also all have themes of a dark eclipsed sunm Gwyndolin literally by name, Lothric by the fact that he supported letting the fore fade (a.k.a. let the "sun" eclipse as it does at end of DkS3), and Miquella via connections to the rotuals of Castle Sol and the Mausoleums.

[@AS-dx3kw]

Wow, this Japanese orgin provided something new to the whole picture - the first thing came across my mind is the Wormface, who had a bunch of worms attached, or gnawing through their round shape tube mouth. And it surely make the Wormface's face look like an image solar eclipse...

[@user-zp8kj2cl9g]

Two of my favorite loretubers collaborating. I'm fanboying hard right now

[@daydreamer2257]

I always interpreted the dead demigods in the mausoleums to be the descendens of Godwyn the golden that came before his line ended in Godrick the Grafted, since we know there where other people in that family line like Godefroy. And it would explain why they are linked so tightly to undeath if they are literally related to Godwyn.

[@brianquijada6574]

This is the most plausible thing I've read about the demigods inside the mausoleums and I feel bad because I never thought about it, lol

[@pjderouen]

They could have been those that died to the Godskins

[@brianquijada6574]

@@pjderouen something doesn't add up to that, sadly: Godwyn is the first dead demigod registered in all history. If the demigods inside the mausoleums were victims of the Godskins, it means they died before even Maliketh defeated the Gloam-Eyed Queen; which contradicts the in-game evidence, because no demigod could be killed without Destined Death

[@Canaanitebabyeater]

Isn't Gostoc the bastard son of Godrick?

[@FunkyDeleriousPriest]

@@brianquijada6574 who would they be victims of? Black knife assassins?

[@thecryingwolf2352]

Very rare to find such a gigachad lore youtuber

[@forkgodsdescendant61]

True

[@MoreLoreThenThereSeems]

True

[@cynically_insane]

True

[@theinquisitorisamage1653]

True

[@MidnightatMidian]

if you look closely at Seluvis hat, you'll see a representation of the elden ring solar system. One of the planet has a WTF orbit that go all over the place even leaving the solar system. I think that's why the sun is so small, we are very far away from it. I think Radahn gravity power displaced the rotation of the earth. During the scene when the meteor falls, it seems the whole earth goes hyperspeed lol.

[@xenasaur520]

it's not the lands between moving, it's the stars moving. radahn was holding them back the entire time

[@MidnightatMidian]

@@xenasaur520 MMh not sure how it really happened, but Radhan gravity magic seems to work on mass and antimatter, but it's an interesting question indeed.

[@wildmoose3979]

@@MidnightatMidian it's stated that radahn "challenged fate itself, and brought it to its knees" and considering the stars represent fate and how ranni is powerless to do her journey against the fingers until the stars are allowed to move again, I'd say Radahn was holding up the stars and not the earth/lands between

[@TyrGUN]

I actually like the idea that the planet is stuck better than the stars because of Radahns gravitation powers, but it wouldn't work either because it would change the face of the planet too drastically or it would crash into the nearby star. It also isn't until after you defeat Radahn that you can get to the moonlight alter and witness a second moon possibly giving evidence of celestial halting, or like the video suggested a central planet instead of the sun, but for that to work would seem almost impossible given what we know of astronomy and astro-physics. A planet with the sun in it's solar system orbiting would have so much mass and density that it would start to produce hyrogen fusion and continue the stages of stars and I believe that is why The Lands Between couldn't feasibly have a rotational star, unless the sun is in fact not a star. I love all the theories on this game and cannot wait to learn more about the universe in it.

[@SixBeark]

I think you can talk a bit more about the Sun Realm medium shield, item description says; "Shield of honor depicting a city crowned by the sun. It has seen better days. Much like the wear upon the shield, the Seat of the Sun is long faded away." Imo this is evidence that the sun we see in game has been altered in some major way by the time we get to it.

[@sypher3492]

It is just a reference for Anor londo I think

[@ThePhrog714]

@@sypher3492 elden ring is separate from dark souls

[@sypher3492]

@@ThePhrog714 ik I’m just saying it is an Easter egg

[@ThePhrog714]

@@sypher3492 they wouldn’t put an “easter egg” like that unless it was connected to the lore, fromsoft doesn’t do that in games. not in item descriptions. this is referring to something in elden ring, not anything from dark souls, even if there are similarities

[@brianquijada6574]

@@ThePhrog714 friendly reminder that Deracine, a FromSoft game for PS VR, literally has a squid-like figure and it's description says it's supposed to be a godlike creature that would guide humanity to a new age. A direct reference to one of Bloodborne's endings on a game that has nothing to do with BB at all

[@miomio6890]

That the sun is metaphorically "past it's zenith", meaning that it isn't as important as we see the Moons being (but the Full Moon and the Dark Moon, as well as the stars), is fitting considering its purpose in our world. The sun is the life giver, nearly all life forms need it, and those who don't had to adapt to be without it. It gives life, but it also burns, taking it away. However, in a world where that process had been stopped by Marika (one could even say that it had stopped orbiting, coursing in it's natural path, if we did not know there are other lands where death is still the rule, not an exception) nothing *can* die so nothing *can* be born. Death is sealed, so all the "life" we encounter is recycled through the Erdtree, instead of dying and new forms being born. Thus, the purpose of the sun has become redundant. You could even argue that the Erdtree, in this way of "recycling" supplanted the Sun, doing the bastardised version of its actual function. In part, Ranni's ending feel like finally true "death" being delivered to the entire lands, a long night if you will...after which it is certain that the Sun will raise again (new life being born). Those at Castle Sol failed not because prayer was insufficient, but because the rules and law of the land (the Rune of Death being removed from the Elden Ring) did not *allow* for an Eclipse to occur and give new life. We see the suffering this halting of death has caused others. it also impacted the spreading of the Scarlet Rot (had Melania simply succumbed to the illness, she'd have simply died like Milicent, but in attempting to prevent the natural course of the disease, instead she became a Goddess of Rot, infecting the world).

[@VLimit11]

This is another one that ended up taking longer than expected due to a combination of a storm knocking out my power, a couple of family occasions, and a collaboration I recently did with The Ashen Hollow (go watch his most recent upload!) I tried adding a bit more personality to this video, so feel free to let me know which parts were a step in the right (or wrong) direction :)

[@joshuawood1082]

I think the personality you’ve displayed in the form of meme imagery in this video was brilliant. Your descriptions and voiceover were not detracted by the edits, I think they added to the video’s entertainment greatly :)

[@FingerinUrDaughter]

and you having no fucking idea what youre talking about. seriously, like half the words you use you dont even understand the meaning of. you sound borderline retarded this entire video.

[@chucklebutt4470]

I'm an elderly person (in my 30's lol) and I thought the amount of absurdity/memes was perfect tbh! 😄This was great, dude. I'm kind of done with the super serious vids Vaati puts out sometimes.

[@hhowdy]

I liked it with out memes I mean like a don’t mind them but I also like the serious theory’s

[@kanra5216]

I liked the visual gags because they gave me a chuckle without breaking immersion :) really good video

[@AintNobodysBusiness]

Untouched here, it's very likely that the the true Eclipse is the Frenzied Flame ending. In it, your character becomes headless, and in it's place is an Eclipse. In the following scene, the Eclipse is in the sky, at the center of the Frenzied Flame. I suspect that the reason the worshipers of the Eclipse failed is because they didn't understand the nature of the Eclipse at all. In true Dark Souls fashion, the Eclipse doesn't just bring new life, but also an end.

[@razorfinch6555]

I don't think that's an eclipse during the FF ending. I think it's just some sort of black hole. It doesn't seem to be circular or look like there is an object in the sky. I think likely if the eclipse were going to be in the game it would have been involved in the cut miquella ending.

[@deltacitus]

or a dlc

[@goodfood722398]

Yo u had the balls to cover something as vague as the eclipse lore mad respect bro

[@miomio6890]

Description of the Warming Stone: "It's said that the Erdtree was once as warm as the gentle sun, and would gradually heal all those who bathed in its rays." Sun Realm Shield description: "Much like the wear on the shield, The Seat of the Sun is long faded away." Both of these suggest that Leyndell was once called the Seat of the Sun for the brightness of the Erdtree's glow during the Age of Plenty. It's no wonder then to think that the Erdtree would have supplanted the real sun since it could do you one extra aka heal you (showing that it's better).

[@Supercohboy]

9:25 I love the irony of this moment. In the Elden Ring world, we're likely experiencing what it's like to be a character in a world that sits somewhere between the Dark Ages and post-Renaissance technologically. Therefore, it would be logical for the world to be designed in a manner to make us CONVINCED that the celestial bodies orbit our planet, not the other way around (over-simplifying, I know that the planet orbits a sun that orbits other stuff yet the moons should orbit the planet separately). It's unlikely that this was the design intent, but it would be pretty great if so. It's more likely imo that everything else does genuinely surround the terrestrial world in ER. The Outer Gods literally live in unfathomable deep space, which is far removed from the terrestrial (singular) World. The underground is vaster and goes deeper than the diggable crust of a real planet possibly could. The spirit world is literal and separate. Etc.

[@vervetwrydavigy3006]

much of the lore of Elden Ring is influenced by outdated and archaic ideas of how the world works, for example Deathblight works on the defunct theory of spontaneous generation, so it could be possible that the solar system of the Lands Between actually is Geocentric.

[@MoreLoreThenThereSeems]

I feel like the context of old death would really help contextualize a lot of Elden ring.

[@nothing4youhere540]

The second moon could be the presence of the outer god of the moon, and thus not a physical object, while the primary moon could follow an orbit that makes it tide locked with both the planet and the star, resulting in an orbit that never forms an eclipse. Alternatively, both moons could be following one another in this tide locked orbit parallel to the star, which would have the same effect.

[@ruperthart5190]

I never noticed the sun was so faint, but it explains why the nights are so bright. I had thought from soft did a bad job of darkness, but actually it's making the point that the erd tree is far more powerful than the sun. Also, I totally thought both commander nial and O'Neil were the same guy until you put their names side by side. That's a deliberate troll right there :)

[@FirstLast-cg2nk]

There's a guy on Reddit who put forward a few theories, one of which was that the Sun is the Greater Will. Since the gods all seem to be stars, it would make sense for the "biggest" star to be the top god. Since those Who Live In Death supposedly rise due to a flaw in the Golden Order, and the Greater Will is effectively considered to *be* the Golden Order, an Eclipse would be a moment when the Golden Order's power would be negated. Just a thought.

[@jst5280]

To me, it kind of seems like they wanted Godwyn (or the death blight itself, which is an incantation btw! Which directly relates to prayers)to drain vitality from their sun and be reborn from it. Godwyn and his spreading vines are designed to be like an amalgamation of different forms, but with the heavy emphasis on growth and spreading, transformation, and vines (which take life from things by stealing their sustenance), it almost seems like Godwyn's body grows and hungers to be made whole again... searching for its soul, and for life in general beyond just its physical form. The symbol of the solar eclipse is not unlike that of the death mark, it almost seems like the death mark surrounding a dark sun, which could be emblematic of the Prince of Death absorbing it or feeding off of it. We know that the stars are all alive, and from their vitality is glintstone sorcery channeled, but also that they have some way of weaving fate. It's the reason Radahn stopped the stars, and the reason Ranni was stuck like she was... funny enough, destined death seems to be specifically named with a synonym for fate, which is of course the "destined" part. If the sun is a star, are the star is unable to see part of the worrld due to an eclipse, maybe it also loses the ability to shaoe fate in an area like that? Either way, removing an area from the visibility of one who shapes fate also seems to prevent destined death, and allows for new beginnings and rebirth, which seems pretty important. Also, Castle Sol seems to be guarded by souls, and it is their goal to cause a solar eclipse, hoping to return souls to the demigods without them? It seems like some neat word play might also be important here, given how those words are so closely related to the lore from the looks of it, and in sound/spelling too. It makes you wonder if the only thing powerful enough to restore the soul of a demigod would be to remove fate from the picture entirely, but in that case, Radahn should have been enough. It really seems like the goal is for death blight to make its way to the star and consume its vitality during the eclipse... if Godwyn could die, he would have, but at this point it seems his horrifically stunted and unchecked growth into the abomination he is now will only be remedied by finding something capable of returning his soul, or maybe even giving him something with such vitality, that he could have or make a new one. After all, if he seeks undeath, growth, and transformation... and his vines spread across the land, looking for something, feeding on something... Godwyn will likely be reborn, and the eclipse is what they all seem to be banking on. I think we know why, with all of these things in mind.

[@SmoughTown]

Interesting subject mate, really enjoyed your presentation

[@kamionero]

This is the only video I found that actually addresses the eclipse when exploring the lore of the mausoleums. By far the best vid on the matter!

[@ahmedyousry7788]

that was amazing, love your lore videos

[@dornez2106]

Appreciate the may-mays in between, while still maintaining to be coherent and informative lorewise :^)

[@charmygreen665]

This is the first video ive seen to even touch on the topic. Really like your presentation and style too. Good shit

[@mrrd4444]

You mentioning how the Eclipse would welcome a new age is interesting. It shows how much harm the Eternal age the Golden Order made really brought. Interestingly, this can initially be blamed on Marika The Eternal, but she eventually wanted to bring about a change and new age and the Greater Will punished her for it - or at least for destroying the Elden Ring. We know that Radagon and the Golden Order wanted to keep things the same when Marika no longer wanted to. So the fact that the heavens didn't move and an eclipse could not happen, to save the soulless demigods, adds another layer to how broken the world is because of the Golden Order.

[@tyleryoung8049]

Great video, I love diving into Elden ring lore and your videos are great at connecting pieces of lore spread across the lands between. See you for the next journey Tarnished

[@aranthur]

Great video! I've been very curious about this topic for a while, to be honest Like, I wonder if maybe there is a connection between the sun and the forge of the giants, given that the forge was built in the furthest northeast point of the Lands Between, the closest place to the sunrise you can possibly be. Not to mention, the eye of the giant god has a centril pupil surrounded by 8 others, potentially representing a solar system? Or the planet in orbit around the sun, or vice versa? Maybe the sun and the flame within the forge are reflections of each other, pitiful little remnants of something that was once much greater but still refuses to go out completely, and the ritual to cause the eclipse would have involved going to the forge and putting out the flame. But the knights of Castle Sol were repelled by the fire giant and the monks and whatnot guarding the path there

[@Protomanis]

I know this is 5 months late, but the circles in the eye of the Fell God is actually probably a reference to the north pole of Jupiter. It's exactly like the cyclones that circle around the pole

[@Nick-rh9fo]

So glad I discovered your channel! The lore points, the spooooky ghosts and nice delivery! Looking forward to more. Also random thought, but I keep thinking if there is any significance to the mending rune of the perfect order looking like an eclipse.

[@Nick-rh9fo]

Wait the mending rune of the death prince also looks like an eclipse and would tie in more neatly to the points discussed in the video I suppose

[@ipoopmuffins]

funny editing and good research, nice stuff man

[@RENDAN_iel]

I have been hoping for a lore video about this 👌🏼

[@joshhayes3433]

Great video - I learned a lot more about Elden Ring than just about the Eclipse, thanks!

[@magma_man750]

First time I saw one of your videos and got to say I love it more than all the Vaati videos I've seen .

[@cynically_insane]

Love what you do man!

[@PrinceAzizHunt]

Your content never ceases to inform me on incredible well thought out theories and then kill me with laughter in the graphics you use for explanations. Thank you, for the laughs and the videos

[@windsgrace688]

Great video. I've always thought the celestial bodies were somehow tied to the outer gods and their influence meaning that the reason the sun seems so far is that the Greater Will's influence is getting weaker and weaker and considering how long it takes the two-fingers to attempt to reach it and how small it is, it could be that it really is moving farther and farther away (or the world is moving away from it). I believe there's mention that Morgot's god also has a star but I don't remember the exact quote and where it's from.

[@SuperMaster000X]

It would be so cool that the elden ring dlc happens with the eclipse. Imagine Godwyn waking up in a monster body, falling into madness for it.

[@ragnarmeh8156]

So how come there are soulless demigod bodies lying around in mausoleums but we've never heard about them? You'd think with the amount of name drops we get from characters around the world, we'd know about them. The only demigods we know to have "died" are godwyn and princess Rani and it'd be weird to have more dead without being acknowledged in the plot

[@azeria1]

Well it calls them unwanted children so imagine them as like godefry weak demigods with even less power then him minor players in the war and a lot easier for people to kill be that the black knives or stronger demigods but they are still demi gods so they still have a dignified resting place

[@mateuszsotys3912]

We kinda hear about them, at least that's my assumption. Godrick is the last of the Golden Lineage, Godwyn was the first, there was Godefroy somewhere in-between, but what about others? Godrick is still considered a Demigod, so all of the Golden Lineage would be too. And there were other shardbearers in the past, we know that because the Fingergranny tells us she once saw two great runes with the same person in the past (probably Vyke).

[@SlavicusVile]

This video does an excellent job of noticing a side story, and then fleshing it out and showing its importance to the overall tale, bringing to the forefront explanations for things that seemed without purpose. 10/10

[@talaloona]

great video! one thing I thought is interesting is that miquella is pretty much the closest analogue to Griffith from Berserk that FromSoft has ever made (which is pretty huge considering how influential berserk has been on them) and he was the one trying to bring about an Eclipse in the game. I'm not sure if this has any larger implications with Miquella (probably not) but it's definitely a cool detail.

[@jst5280]

I was just watching another video a moment ago that showed the Elden Beast's entire body. It's got limbs like terrestrial creatures, leaf-like wings, and fins like aquatic creatures, and its tail looks like an Erdtree.I wanted to come back here and pose a question after having seen that... is the purpose of Godwyn and the eclipse, as well as rebirth after his radical transformation, meant to be for the purpose of creating another Elden Beast? (Or maybe something like it?) Godwyn shares many of these features too, though in a more grotesque way, and considering his aim seems to potentially be devouring the star, it would make for another interesting parallel considering the Elden Beast came from a star, though maybe not in the sense of what we know stars to be in our world. Not only that, but his corpse, too, is at the foot of the Erdtree, seemingly affixed to it as if it could be part of his body as he grows and mutates around it. Also, just another weird little detail, Godwyn's head hangs off of his corpse in a way that is very similar to the way the Elden Beast's eye/head/thingy seems to hang off of it's long neck to the side (you can check the fextra life wiki if you wanna see what I mean about the Elden Beast)

[@zabiannaibaz649]

It seems to me that his body is slowly turning into a basilisk, but the idea of consuming the Star is interesting. If he's looking for his soul ( or life ) then maybe he is trying to devour the elden beast and since both his corpse and the beast are connected to the tree it was just a matter of time.

[@FirewoodGingerAle]

I wouldn't even consider reddit a forum, it's an social media ego booster and power trip simulator. You unironically get more thoughtful and informed Elden Ring lore discussion on 4chan than there lmao.

[@Justintime8838]

I keep getting recommended the Elden Ring subreddit but knowing how the community behaves on Twitter alone to any critique or differing opinion I don’t even want to know how bad it is on the subreddit.

[@bdemar2k12]

Reddit is garbage. It's exactly as you described it plus an echo chamber. There is no point in conversing if you can't have different views, but every sub removes posts that are slightly critical meaning free speech is essentially banned

[@ianyoung4999]

What I don't understand about this aspect of the lore is why the Eclipse Shotel inflicts death blight if the Eclipse is supposed to repel death. Maybe the Eclipse would actually STRENGTHEN death instead of neutralizing it, and it was actually a good thing that the Eclipse never occurred. After all, the Eclipse can also be viewed as the "death of the sun" as opposed to rebirth.

[@TheAshenHollow]

Aye, great work dude! =D Oh, oh, do you think all the headless demigods were killed by the Godskin and they're missing their heads because the Godskin used them to make their skin armor have faces? =O

[@VLimit11]

I've yet to hear that perspective, but it definitely sounds plausible! I wanted to dedicate some time to say what I think killed them, but there were so many possibilities that it would have just been an insanely deep rabbit hole to go down

[@doogallas]

Your editing is so funny. I'd watch a video about any topic you choose.

[@Legs_]

I remember managing to jump on to one of the wandering buildings, trying to open the door and being shot underneath the map. Guess that's not how you're supposed to open it huh.

[@Linkarcus]

Great video. The Eclipse and Castle Sol lore has always stumped me, but relating it to Godwyn was very smart. I think you're correct about for sure. One thing that probably isn't important, but I think is neat, is that Deathroot (and maybe the Rune of Death) seem related to water. The Mariners are obviously related to water, Godwyn's body is fish like, and the deathroot itself we see around has tentacles sometimes. Water (specifically the tides) are related to the moon, and in this case of the Eclipse, the Sun would be what cures Godwyn.

[@theargawalathing]

Love the tasteful use of memes amidst the lore. Nice video m8

[@Llenterak]

The Outer Wilds track is very relevant -- as the Sun Station similarly failed to work, after all their effort. Very well put.

[@travisoliver6741]

I feel the lore around the eclipse to be _really_ odd, and I only learned abiout it a few days ago. Beyond the obvious Berserk reference, I hadn't looked into it all that much, but this video was very informative. You mentioning the unnaturalness of the sun (Which I hadn't noticed on account of focusing on the two moons), plus reading the Item Description, paints another sinister aspect to add to the Greater Will. The fact that the sun cannot form an eclipse is incredibly suspect, as you mentioned. It has to have been possible at some point, since the iconography of everything involving it is spot on, and similar meaning is ascribed to eclipses like they are in our world. Considering that at least one of the Moons in the Lands Between involves an Outer God of some sort (As the Dark Moon relates to Ranni and the Eternal Cities), and stars are living beings (Astel), it stands to reason that most Celestial Bodies have unnatural aspects to them. The Sun Realm Shield makes mention of the "Seat of the Sun" having long since faded away, and a city that was once crowned by the sun. This realm is almost certainly Farum Azula, which is notably always sunny even if it is night, and is the city closest to the sun that existed before the Erdtree. To those who might note that Farum Azula is outside of time to explain the anomaly, only Placidusax's arena is, as that is the only place where Miquella's Needle works. Everything points to the sun having significance in the past, but in the current day, it doesn't have a strong presence, and the Erdtree seems much brighter than it...one can even say that the Erdtree *eclipses* it. So, here's my theory: 1. Lord Placidusax and his Dragon God ruled the Lands Between from Farum Azula. Their Outer God was linked to the Sun in some way. 2. The Greater Will arrives, usurps the position of the Sun via the Erdtree, expels the Dragon God, and Placidusax flees. 3. By taking over the sun, it is linked to the Erdtree, which is unnaturally bright. If the sun goes behind the Moon and an eclipse happens, it is very possible that the Greater Will's authority will wane. This idea of the sun god being weakened or in mortal danger from an eclipse is a fairly common theme throughout the world, and the Ancient Greeks believed eclipses to be ill omens. 4. Erdtree Burial, despite what the Golden Order claims, is unnatural, and the original method was either the Deathrite Birds or whatever the Ancestor worshippers are doing. Considering the Erdtree parasitized the Crucible, and artificial species and those not born of the Erdtree are reviled, it is likely that the Erdtree feeds on souls for power. 5. If an eclipse happens, as Miquella (An intelligent person who left the Golden Order behind) and the Church of the Eclipse believe, then the Erdtree's soulsucking can be reversed. The sun, which I believe to be a stand-in/aspect of the Erdtree, was said to be "drained" of color in the Eclipse Shotel, which sounds like that Erdtree losing its power. Whatever the meaning is, the end result seems to be that the soulless Demigods can be returned to life, and Godwyn can be freed fom his current existence. 6. The Greater Will realized this, and made certain that an eclipse can never happen by messing with the orbit of the Sun, and quite possibly screwing with the moons.

[@DiavalloX]

Eclipse as an uncorrupted child: wow cool natural phenomena Eclipse after reading berserk: *pain*

[@MadLuigi]

Great video!

[@Oroan]

Dude you're incredible, thank you.

[@everts2997]

I liked the vid simply because you used the telitubbies sun. And because the vid is great :')

[@TastelessMeat]

Oh man that Bioshock song caught me off guard with old memories

[@eldenringpvpenthusiast1710]

Omg thank you for this amazing video. It might be nothing, but if you look at the reflection of the sunset on the ocean on the southwest coast, it looks like a path of light leading to roundtable hold. I also wonder if the erdtree could have in a way eclipse and absorb the golden sunlight.

[@darksh1ne1]

Thanks a lot. Thanks to your video I finally figured out what's the deal with the walking mausoleums. Still not sure where all the headless demigods come from though

[@crestfallenhussar895]

Finally, a lore video where my compatriots are given their due. The editing in this was great by the way.

[@ZanukaV]

the dlc might take place in the eclipse, since its the actual tree that illuminates the lands between, and the eclipse might refere to an obscuration of the tree like we see in the teaser

[@torbinbornhammer2180]

it seems like the different areas are the same areas at different times and some characters are the same character at different times. I know that doesnt make much sense but if you think about it that way, and think about Niall and Oneal being the same person, Radagon, Marika, and St Trina being the same person it's almost like the lands between are a singularity explaining a timeline that happened but you can witness it all simultaneously. Maybe killing Godwyn is "the eclipse". Maybe you are Marika. Maybe Marika's death is the eclipse. Maybe the two death runes together are the shape of an eclipse.

[@giverdend1416]

Goldmask's Rune of Perfect Order resembles a total eclipse and encircles all of the Elden Ring once placed.

[@saulitix]

Thank god for this video. The whole Sol Castle area and its plot were so confusing to me, as were the walking mausoleums.

[@claymore2323]

Just picked up the Greatshield while looking for stuff to use on my frost paladin, liked it cuz of ds3. Seems like an even better fit for the char now who rejects the erdtree. Great vid

[@bohba13]

can I just say how smooth that transition from the NASA image of an eclipse to the eclipse shotel was? dayum.

[@coolrock3733]

outerwilds music + lore explanation = noice

[@evilfungas]

It seems likely to me Malenia fought Radahn to allow for Miquella's eclipse, because Radahn was holding back the movement of the heavens.

[@lutfiiqsannugraha4936]

man kingdom edge's music fits really well with castle sol

[@SixBeark]

Such a good video!

[@saintxerxes3465]

What I really like is that you took the extra effort to actually show why the eclipse is not possible instead of only reading item descriptions. really sets this lore video apart from traditional content found on KZbin

[@Jasar25]

I love how you used sr Pelo sun, great video.

[@motherloosegooseTV]

Background song at 6:00 is from the game Outer Wilds - Echoes of the Eye.

[@aclassicusername2174]

I always figured the dead Demigods in the Mausoleums were the victims of the shattering, those slain by the remaining lords, as seen in the opening. Also, I saw in another comment somebody mentioning that as the sun is so small, perhaps most light is provided by the Erdtree itself. This is an interesting way to look at it, and my thought is then its the moon eclipsing the Erdtree which shouldn't be possible, however, with the implication of Ranni's ending, perhaps that is the eclipsing of the Erdtree, with the moon swallowing/replacing the erdtree, letting only a small amount of light to remain. This would also work with Ranni's true meaning of dialogue, not the mistranslated version, which I believe talks about leaving the world as without gods, thus restoring them all to equal status as myths and returning their literary "souls," allowing myths and legends of them to flourish anew, remembered by the godless humans who remember the mythos of the shattering.

[@craigthebrute2068]

There's nothing better than watching this before sleeping. Bro has a very soothing voice.

[@SwirlingVOD]

I firmly believe the reason Malenia incurred a war with Radahn was to force him to move the moon and /or stars to create the eclipse. It would explain why she traveled so far just to challenge him as well as give merit to why Malenia refers to herself as the blade of Miquella as she is doing his bidding to help him in his quest to bring back Godwyn. It would also explain why Ranni didn't assist either side in that territorial aggression as Malenia would have had to march an army through Ranni's territory meaning she should have been aware beforehand. But if Ranni sided with Malenia, Malenia would not have allowed Ranni to kill Radahn and if she sided with Radahn she would not be a match for Radahn solo at the time and she would be putting herself in Radahn's path as well as Miquella's bringing attention to her situation regarding her body and the use of the death rune.

[@MetalCaffeine56]

I wonder if any potential DLC will be about The Eclipse. Maybe we help Miquella summon The Eclipse to give Godwyn and the other soulless demigods a true death.

[@xxblackmagic1574]

Lmao i loved how you used majoras mask moon in the vid😂😂😂

[@Pearl-Slug]

Interesting, I hadn't considered the idea that the soulless demigods in the mausoleums had died post-Godwyn. I always assumed that they were, perhaps, Marika's stillborn children - that they didn't die, so much as they never even lived in the first place, making Godwyn's death that much more of a big deal. But... I had never noticed that bit from the mausoleum soldier ashes description. The soulless demigods are just so fascinating and mysterious to me. If we were to say, get a DLC that starts with that eclipse finally happening and reviving them... that means seven new potential demigod bosses! (A number which also happens to line up with the number of Marika/Radagon's direct offspring that are either half-dead or potentially killed by the player.)

[@redheadsilver8041]

Maybe Marika and Radagon tried to have children multiple times, but ended in failure because they are the same person. Eventually they got lucky and birthed the twin empyreans, and even then these were born cursed.

[@DarkElfman05]

Huge work, thanks for this theory I love it! It's a little far-fetched but some points makes me think that the eclipse is a metaphor about the burning Erdtree; in first the Erdtree is currently glowing even in night, and as the warming stone description teaches us the Erdtree was "warm as the gentle sun". So, in the same way as an eclipse "lights off" the sun, my opinion is it's a prophetic vision of the death of the Erdtree, and so also the Golden Order reign. There is already some traces about this prophetic vision: in the candletree wooden shield their description said "Thought to represent a surreptitious prophecy of cardinal sin, the lit candle-tree design was forbidden." More, it's maybe a pretty trivial detail but theses candle-trees are already present in the map as the ghostly candlesticks that can be found all over the Lands Between (the ones that make a ghost appear to guide you to a well hidden cave) and as normal candlesticks in Elphael (and only there), with the same identical design. It leads me to think that Miquella included this prophecy in his cult as a step to build a more egalitarian society on the Golden Order and Erdtree ashes (literally and figuratively), wich is not incoherent with your findings, isn't it?

[@_ariosto1519]

Excellent video, thank you! Not sure if a bug or a feature, but the Sun does not set on the west but southwest, incidentally where the roundtable is. 🤔

[@hhowdy]

I remember when I thought the Erdtree lit up the land between because there was so much golden clouds you couldn’t even see the sun

[@Amara87387]

Yooo that’s both hollow knight and outer wilds music!! Both of my favorite games

[@TheMuzca]

O'Neil is supposedly Niall's son. Something to do with the "O' " and how names work in Ireland ir something like that.

[@KoEnder]

Guts from Berserk: *Vietnam Flashbacks*

[@dangerpin4162]

Love that lil dancing ghost

[@benwil6048]

I think you have it the wrong way around; the black knives do not seek to mend the death rune imo. They broke it, they had to break it. It was the only way for Ranni to be free of her body, she used the spirit killing part on Godwyn and used the body killing part on herself. It is Fia that seeks to mend it. Edit: I also think they had to use the mind killing half just to contain it. I can imaging just letting it loose would have been far worse than unknowingly(?) letting it slowly leak from Godwyn

[@WarPigstheHun]

You're wrong. Ranni betrayed/deceived them.

[@benwil6048]

@@WarPigstheHun I suppose that is also possible :P

[@Johtho]

amazing as usual

[@tarenmauga9582]

That ghost gif and the sun baby from Teletubbies killed me. I love this vid.

[@jaysonthompson1215]

i always wondered if Godwyn was the Champion of the Sun. Like Rennala the moon. It brings a lot of points togethor and seems cool but thats it XD Godwyn being Marika's spawn could be why the eclipse of the sun would have something to do with destined death. but i really am just spitballing

[@lawsontake7383]

Thank you so much for explaining the curse mark ruins of death

[@takoyakiiii]

Love the intermittent memes lol

[@Felipe-zp9tk]

I have a theory that the eclipse may have be halted by Radahn's arrest of the stars, since the sun is a star after all. It would explain why Malenia marched to Caelid to defeat him, but ultimately failed so the eclipse never happened

[@VLimit11]

That definitely makes more sense than the theory of her just doing it for more power. Huge fan of this perspective

[@filippogrimaldi7228]

Though, we are not really sure if Radahn held the actual stars, since it seems only meteors are released from stasis in the post-Radahn cutscene

[@guntere1004]

Couldn't it it be that Radhan only held everthing in the planetary system, so the Moons and Metoerites? Then it would be well possible that the Moons on point of their orbit were an eclipse is impossible.

[@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668]

Maybe initiating the Eclipse will be a subject in a future DLC

[@coldbacon4869]

This whole time I thought stuff on the mausoleums were barnacles 🗿

[@mateuszsotys3912]

I believe that Soulless demigods are what happened to some part of the Golden Lineage. Godrick is the last of the Golden Lineage, Godwyn was the first, there was Godefroy somewhere in-between, but what about others? Godrick is still considered a Demigod, so all of the Golden Lineage would be too. And there were other shardbearers in the past, we know that because the Fingergranny tells us she once saw two great runes with the same person in the past (probably Vyke). Maybe after the night of the Black Knives the Black Knives were hired by other parties to murder other Demigods?

[@WynterLegend]

Hmmm.... now THAT would be an awesome DLC. "Elden Ring: Eclipse of Dead Gods"

[@goldenbough6563]

Great video. The mausoleums are a juicy mystery and don't receive enough attention. A few points for consideration. In Elden Ring, the Erd Tree itself is a solar entity and represents the power of the sun. Being the heaviest object at the center of the system, the sun has the power to attract objects from the periphery such as malformed stars and send them on a collision course with the lands between. Gold commandeth the very stars. As regards the idea of soulless demigods residing in the mausoleums, Godwyn was only soulless because Ranni killed herself at the same time. This ritual would've have to been repeated with each of the other demigods for them to be soulless and that seems a little . . excessive. And if the mausoleums were built after Godwyn's death, why are they constructed in an ancient architectural style from the eternal cities? An interesting detail about the mausoleums is that two of them - the ones next to the mausoleum compound - don't appear to duplicate shardbearer remembrances. The number of mausoleums is possibly relevant to their true nature. There are seven. Setting aside the phantom great rune, there are seven great runes we encounter in-game. I've spent some time just looking at these runes recently, and one of the ideas that crossed my mind was whether they could be interpreted as some kind of astrological or astronomical symbols for different kinds of eclipses. Anyway, don't take any of these ideas as criticism, they're just talking points. I love your videos and that cool philosophical rigor. Keep them coming.

[@TeaGarrison]

I heard the Risk of Rain 2 soundtrack and i knew I had to stick around for the rest

[@velvetisis]

The completed mark of death could also be seen as an eclipse with the two half circles becoming a whole circle.

[@tricks177]

The ghost animation had me dying

[@Monsata.]

A little late to this video, but i always figured that the skulls affixed to the legs of the Mausoleums were the severed skulls of the Mausoleum Knights.

[@adamyohan]

It just occurred to me that the mausoleums' constant motion ties in to the themes of flowing and stagnant waters. That's such a cool detail man.