The Erdtree & The Weirwood ⚜️ Elden Ring & ASOIAF Parallels

What aspects did George RR Matin contribute to the lore of Elden Ring?
What parallels do we find between the story of Elden Ring and his landmark series A Song of Ice and Fire?
Which real world myths did George draw on for inspiration for the creation this lore?
And can we learn anything from the mythos surrounding one of these amazing universes to inform us about the other?
💀 Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
03:10 - The Lore of Elden Ring
05:26 - Empyreans & Greenseers
07:19 - One Eyed Beings
08:30 - Shadowbound Wolves
10:28 - The Shattering
11:50 - Trees of Life and Death
15:30 - Tree Warriors
17:01 - Trees Watered with Blood
19:09 - Trees as Mothers
21:03 - Catacombes & Crypts
22:01 - Guard Dogs of the Underworld
24:31 - Heroes Buried Amongst the Roots
25:31 - Resurrecting a Hero from the Roots
26:26 - The Eclipse
30:22- Outro
💀 Watch The Greyscale Kings beneath Winterfell playlist :
• The Greyscale Kings Be...
💀 Elden Ring cover recorded by Waves of Europa:
/ @wavesofeuropa
💀 Thumbnail Art by Sofiia Bondareva & Chase Stone
💀 All Images from HBOs Game of Thrones used here under fair use
⚜️ELDEN RING LORE⚜️
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⚜️Godwyn Prince of Death - SmoughTown
• Elden Ring Lore | Godw...
⚜️Fia EXPLAINED - Elden Ring Lore - Miss Chalice
• Fia EXPLAINED | Elden ...
⚜️Why Does Miquella Want An Eclipse? - AgtJake
• Why Does Miquella Want...

[@elleofmusic]

I am SOOO thrilled that ASOIAF lore folks are starting to pay attention to Elden Ring! There's such a treasure trove of parallels!

[@deeplydownside]

YES 👏👏👏

[@SymSne]

It's the only fuel for ASOIAF theorycrafters that's come out in the last 5+ years, and maybe for the next 5+ years as well.. I'm not sure why it's taken so long to get in, but I'm also very glad it's happening.

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you for making this video! I am so happy to see more ASOIAF fans using Elden Ring to enhance our understanding. With Shadow of the Erdtree nearing its release, I am confident that we will be able to deduce which ASOIAF theories were correct, and which weren't, allowing us to predict the two books that we may never see lol Looking forward to more videos from you!

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Hey Jack, I’ve watched a couple of your videos mate, thanks for watching! Yeah I think Shadow of the Erdtree is going to tell us a lot, I can’t wait tbh, it looks amazing

[@VAL420]

I'm never going to stop being glad that over the last year (and truly, last month or two), comparative analysis of ASOIAF/ER had become more popular. Thank you so much for being part of the changing culture. ♡ I think of the similarities between The Old Gods and The Outer Gods is pretty much parallel, and I think going on about Odin with the name Valkyrie naturally redundant, so I wanted to compare these to Dune. I originally considered Miquella a Bran figure as well, but the longer I consider it I think he plays more accurately the role of Bloodraven. In turn, both these have parallels to Leto II. "The Golden Path" is in essence, a breeding program influenced by a being outside the genetic pool. I think this also ties in well with Miquella's darker history, and making kinslaying a more likely theory for him. Bran and Jojen bear a certain similarities to the Albinaurics in a weird, very shallow way, who in turn have relations to wolves. Them being created by the Carians, our essentially-Stark counterparts. It stands out to me that the Haligtree seems to have some sort of magic power to call forth anything not made of the purest gold - broken things, such as the Albinaurics, like Malenia, like the Misbegotten - and that it in essence is a tree in the North, when the point is to find "unalloyed" gold. It feels vaguely like culling the herd, a bit like sending people to the Watch accomplishes. I think you're absolutely right that the trees in both of these media's share the same purpose and function, the reuse of souls, down to even the undertones of music being of great importance (bells, whistles, horns, singing). Which is one of the reasons I don't think Marika has given natural birth. I think she grafts/clones (in a plant sense) her children from former gods. I tend to think that the Weirwoods in ASOIAF being the evolved version of the golden trees spoken of in The Reach, but in Elden Ring it stands to reason that the golden tree is a mutated version of a more weirwood tree, with white/silver trees and red both seeming to be referencing the Crucible, and that the Haligtree follows the more "natural" method. Either way, sacrifices are made for the purpose of magics. In regards to the burial watchdogs and how they look like cats, I always got the feeling thst GRRM plays fast and loose with the similarities between the two - and the differences. Evolutionary, they aren't so different, so I think he uses it to symbolize a same-but-different family line, much like the Fossoways having the red and green apples in the Hedge Knight. In Elden Ring, that almost seems like the note of a schism over spirit-tuning vs. magical technology, with the catacombs being where these two paths share their similarities. Thank you for comparing Fia's champions to Mellisandre's shadow babies. That was one of the first points I made but this is the first I've heard of it by someone else. ♡ I personally think his soulless companion is Malenia, but I know I'm an outlier there and will rave on about it elsewhere. Thank you again, I really enjoyed it and can't wait to see your next installation!

[@eldric.stoneskin]

You got me thinking of the Oracle Envoys now, who sound horns to “herald the arrival” of a new god, sounds similar to what I’ve suggested the horn of winter does, waking giant old gods from beneath the earth I’m also wondering if the Erdtree is actually red and black like the crucible as youve said underneath the veil, I think in the DLC we’ll see beneath the Erdtrees “glamour” and find its not a beautiful golden tree at all and that the golden order was built on something horrific The watchdogs looking like cats is also interesting (and I was going to bring this up but cut it) as Cerberus was said to have the claws of a lion, giving it feline features as well Thanks for watching! 💀🍻

[@KarlKarsnark]

Greetings! I've only just started to learn a bit about EG, but there certainly are a lot of "parallels" to asoiaf. LOL! Several things that come to mind are the names "Erdtree" where "Erde" means "Earth" in German and the IRL Japanese name Marik(o), which means "child", "truth", "Truth-Child"/"Child of Truth". There are several characters that seem to have the literal word "god" in their name, including one called "Godfrey", I believe, which is simply a compound of "God" and "Frey"("Lord" in Old Norse), along with "Godwin" being made up of "God" and "Win"/Victor(y)/"Victarion", if you like. The dragons in EG apparently have magical stone scales, or "Stoneskin", if you like, as well ;) You're a dragon aren't you? The deity impaled with a spear, hanging from a tree is a quite obvious Odin reference, as you noted. Similarly, one of the many titles for Jesus Christ is "The Truth"/Son(child) of God ("Truth-Child"), as it were, who was also a demi-god crucified and impaled on a "tree", just like the character in the game making her a sort of "She-sus", if you like. GRRM's Catholic upbringing popping up again. Even the postures are the same, along with having the concept of a "Sacred Feminine" (Madonna/Venus/Isis). Blood(Red) and Bone(White) meals are great IRL fertilizers and many cultures have practiced various forms of stone "jar"/vessel burials, as well(e.g Tophet burials of Carthage). They're essentially miniature stone "tombs", which are also "wombs" in these stories, just like in Winterfell per your previous vids. The spooky, WW-related Red & White motif, along with the color Black, crops up all over asoiaf, but I'm not sure about the game. Indeed, Red, White & Black are the most common and powerful esoteric color-symbols found throughout all of real life History and Mythology(e.g. "Snow White" has "ebony" hair, "snow" white skin, and "blood-red" lips, etc....). Wolves, dogs, hounds, "devil dogs", etc.....are classic Cthonic symbols dating back to Cerberus in Greek Mythology, as you mentioned, and so-called "Foo-Dogs"(dog-lion hybrids) are also used to guard temples in the Far East, as well. You'll often see a pair of them out front "guarding" the entrance with one paw raised. As for Eclipses(Black Suns), I'm rather partial, but it's also especially pertinent for a Japanese, like Miyazaki to include it considering Japan is the "Land of the Rising Sun" and they have a Red Sun on their White flag. Their primary solar deity is, in fact, a Solar-Goddess named Amaterasu, as well. She is most often depicted wearing Red & White robes with long, Black hair and a halo surrounding here. It looks nearly identical to the same depictions of Mary/"Virgin Mary"/"Our Lady of Guadalupe found in Catholic iconography. Again, we see the esoteric use of Red, White and Black colorings, along with the Solar King/Queen Motif of dying and rising again, found in both Christian and Easter religious traditions. Shinto also places great importance and reverence on the countless Kami("spirits") that can inhabit almost all "things" from stones to trees. Indeed, it's not uncommon to find "shide" (lightning bolt banners made from rice husks) wrapped around tree trunks to denote their sacredness. Small, stone figurines are also another popular practice wherein each sculpture represents a "spirit", in the broadest sense. Some are even used as memorials for large-scale tragedies, like natural disasters and war. More than any particular theme, I'm most impressed at how they've woven together the various "East & West" (European and Japanese) mythologies into a seemingly cohesive story. Very "Anime", indeed! I could go on, but I've weebed enough for one post :) Cheers! Keep up the great work. I'll post a link to the vid in the Livstreams.

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Another excellent comment Karl! Yeah the dragons having stoneskin is rather interesting and I’ve got a script started to compare the ancient dragons and the idea of people becoming dragons in both series The Jesus comparisons are very clear too as you’ve said with the crucifixion pose, the spear in the side, even the idea of his death and resurrection coinciding with an eclipse came up in my research I think we’ll learn more about the Erdtree in the new DLC, as the one we see in game is actually an illusion (you can see right through the trunk during the gameplay footage while I speak about other Elden Ring KZbinrs) and I think we will go “beneath the veil” of this illusion very soon The Foodogs being dog/lion guardians of the east is interesting, as Cerberus was meant to have the claws of a lion as well, and the Erdtree Burial Watchdogs also have a feline character design despite being dogs as well, very interesting…. And the combination of both Western and Eastern influences are truly amazing here as you’ve said, and I think is a big part of why the lore feels so rich Really appreciate you sharing my videos too mate, your an absolute legend Thanks for everything Karl!

[@Jesus-jq5zw]

First time a lore video that talks about the pararell between george rr martin novels and elden ring pops up in my list

[@ScadrianGhostblood]

Great video and summary of most important comparisons. I believe that crucible is a reimagination of primordial weirwoods and old gods magic. Omen horns look like roots and branches of weirwoods and combinations of different animalistic traits remind me of skinchanging. Root resin looks like red sap of weirwoods. Crucible was also the original form of Erdtree. That is a big reason why I believe that Mohg is the strongest connection to Bloodraven in elden ring even without being trapped in roots. (He was at the beginning trapped under the capital where Erdtree is located) He also: -has wings like a raven (animalistic traits being a version of skinchanging), -has one eye penetrated by his horn(root), -is obsessed with royalty, -serves a higher power, -is very targaryen(incest), -abducted miquella underground(Bran in the cave), And his death or/and influence on miquella will be connected with miquella rising in power (what I theorise we see at the end of the original dlc trailer) how I theorise death of Bloodraven is needed for Bran to rise as a sorcerer king. Bloodraven being Odin that was eaten by Fenrir supports it. What did you think of the dlc story trailer?

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Yeah that’s a great comparison between Bloodraven & the Lord of Blood (it’s even suggested in their titles I just realised!) with both essentially abducting a magical being to use them for what they see as the greater good Excellent comment! 💀🍻 And I cannot wait for Shadow of the Erdtree, I think we’re going to get more lore than we ever have tbh, the trailers look incredible

[@ScadrianGhostblood]

​@@eldric.stoneskinI am the most fascinated by the beginning of the story trailer. My theory at the moment is that Marika seduced a goddess of the crucible and than betrayed her. We can see a pregnant belly under the cloth and Marika takes golden threads out of it and seems to make a new form of elden ring. As a god Marika had elden ring inside her stomach and that is why I think we see a pregnant belly. It would be very simillar to the legend of Nissa Nissa and Azor Ahai. It could support the theory that forging of the lightbringer was connected with corruption of weirwood net

[@eldric.stoneskin]

@@ScadrianGhostblood yeah there are a lot of Nissa Nissa/Lightbringer parallels to discuss, I’ll probably make a video around this after the DLC when we have a bit more info

[@mr_peach7704]

Thank you! I'd always wanted to see a deeper dive into GRRM's influence in Elden Ring and this is a masterpiece. Well told and well shown with your use of fan art as well as trailer clips and whatnot. I look forward to catching up on your ASOIAF videos. Subscribed

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Thanks very much! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@cullysloy2705]

Please make more of these it helps my soul

[@eldric.stoneskin]

I absolutely will! I’ll be putting some ideas up for a vote soon to see which video to make next

[@ATEAO]

Sick intro dude, I need to play this game asap

[@eldric.stoneskin]

You do mate, it’s honestly the best game I’ve ever played

[@SSolemn]

About the tree as a mother: Bran thinks of his mother last kiss when eating the weirwood paste, and Dany think of it like "mother's milk". Plus if they are wed to the tree, it implies having babies (that is what marriage "is for")

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Yes! That’s a great point! Bloodraven also calls the darkness beneath the weirwood “Mothers milk” too, well done! 👏

[@Azaganna]

Of course I’m not disappointed. Great observations and video once again 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Cheers! 💀🍻

[@DomsGameRoom]

Final boss is Miquella in Godwyns body I’m calling it

[@eldric.stoneskin]

I 100% agree with this, Godwyn has a body but no soul, and Miquella has abandoned his body and has become just a soul, and it fits with my theory that Bran will slip his skin into the Kings of winter on their Weirwood thrones to fight the Others

[@Azaganna]

That would be craaazy

[@bradwolf07]

Ooh, I like the idea of an eclipse being the catalyst for the resurrection of the Stone Kings. That does seem like the sort of thing George would do. Very cool theory

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Yeah it does make sense, and there is a lot of talk about “the moon kissing the sun” in ASOIAF as well

[@DEANOpics]

Another banger!

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Thanks mate 💀🍻

[@gLobbZ]

I wonder if GRRM knew what the characters he was writing would look like. Like did he see Morgot the first time and go "What the fuck?!" 😂

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Hahaha I was thinking the same thing about Godwyn on his throne of roots 🤣

[@bradwolf07]

I haven't had a chance to play Elden Ring, so this entire video is fascinating for me. Thank you

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@eviesholette]

So mad that I didn't get the notif about your upload! I could have watched almost a week ago if youtube didn't refuse to let me be happy 😂

[@eldric.stoneskin]

🤣

[@justtheboysboppin]

Super interesting parallels! Makes me want to look into Elden Ring. Also the audio in this is👌🏼

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Thanks! I tried something different with the audio so that’s good to know, cheers 🍻

[@void.lawyer]

Everyone is everyone and when everyone dies they become everything.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Very interesting, great work!

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Thanks!

[@SingingSealRiana]

​@@eldric.stoneskinit is always fascinating to see what parallels and details others find. Even if one does not end up to agree at all points with the drawn conclusions, it always evolves and enriches the own experience and views! You make aome really thought provocing points

[@umwha]

5:00 this is the best, most succcinct, straight to the point summary of Elden Rings lore ive ever heard. Well done. It also highlights the faults of Eldern Ring - too may ideas, too many stages just to set up the world - none of which logically flows into one another. Great Will > God > Star > Beast that looks like an ameba dinosaur> great Tree > gold tree > crucible (?) >runes >Ring (which is what?)> Empyream > Marika (who is also Radagon?)> Radagons two marriages, marikas two marriages > shadow wolf guardians > Ring Smash > Demigods war > Marika getting stuck in the tree being crucified and turning to stone... LIke WTF these are random worlds ..... I'm hoping it will all tie together in a more logical way someday. Geroge would tie it together with beautiful simplicity - Miyazaki is known for including too many ideas that arent explained or explored

[@VAL420]

I think the only way to understand the trickle down you described is via alchemy, specifically starting with V.I.T.R.I.O.L.

[@umwha]

@@VAL420 I know there’s a lot of alchemy symbolism in Elden Ring, but I don’t think it’s used any more logically than all this other stuff. I know Marika and Radagon represent rebis and the philosopher‘s stone. But nothing else about this story fits with alchemy very well at all apart from general ideas about rebirth. V.I.T.R.I.O.L. stands for a sentence in Latin: Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem. Translated "Visit the interior of the earth and purifying you will find the hidden stone" An alchemy vitriol also meant sulfuric acid, which was thought to dissolve all metals apart from gold, therefore it was used to purify gold alloys, as represented by a green lion, eating the sun. How this explains the creation law of Elden ring is beyond me how do space dinosaurs greater will primordial current , gold trees, multiple marriages, all list of about omens, a person stuck as a child, Scarlett, etc. what does this have to do with any of this?

[@VAL420]

@umwha Well, because (to me), they're very akin to the world of ASOIAF. Down to meteors (looks at David Lightbringer) then a religion started under the Bloodstone Emporer, Shade of the Evening tree/Weirwood/Heart Tree. Runes seem to be just life essence. The same resource that is King's Blood in ASOIAF. Smashing the ring could be akin to "breaking the wheel" in ASOIAF. Greenseers get stuck to the tree. They're the same picture. VITRIOL seems to be the precursor to the Elden Ring version of this same storyline. Unalloyed gold is, essentially, the aim for Miquella and swallowing the sun is a theme. We also, among lions, see an emblem eerily similar to the Twin Birds. It seems to me the iconography from VITRIOL is symbolic of the outer gods. I see the Elden Beast as anything but a dinosaur, but instead a meteoric parasite akin to the black oily stone in ASOIAF, very Lovecraftian in nature.

[@edenromanov]

There's also the fact that ASOIAF is an overall low fantasy setting whereas Elden Ring is a High Fantasy setting which ultimately leads to a lot more wackiness in its world, though knowing Miyazaki there absolutely is some kind of method to the madness of this world.

[@umwha]

@@VAL420 Elden ring is big bright and very inelegant in my opinion. Fromsofts storytelling has gotten worse even as the material has gotten bigger and seemingly more rich

[@brianmcfeeley9382]

Never played it but loved the video my man keep em up

[@edenromanov]

As someone who dislikes Souls likes games due to their difficulty I'd suggest the game if you like RPG's, of all Souls-like games this is absolutely the easiest to get into, doesn't make it an easy game but traversing this games world is something you just have to experience for yourself.

[@roberthollar3409]

So much excite

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Haha cheers 🍻

[@Jesus-jq5zw]

4:18 what if this Empyrean was Radagon and not Marika? What if Marika is an "usurper" ? That would explain why the greater will has her imprisoned and why Radagon attempted to repair the Elden Ring

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Yeah the whole Marika/Radagon aspect is very interesting and hopefully we get a bit more info in SotE, Marika does seem to be working against the Greater will and the Erdtree sometimes so yeah you could be right

[@Jesus-jq5zw]

@@eldric.stoneskin in this scenario that would mean that Messmer is Radagon's heir, therefore making him an enemy of Marika, but who is Marika standing with? We see Messmer fighting the crucible ,so this means that Marika was by their side and that she is the figure surrounded by fire in the trailer? My head hurts 🥺

[@eldric.stoneskin]

@@Jesus-jq5zw haha so does mine, I can’t wait

[@DomsGameRoom]

MIQUELLA WANTS GODWYNS BODY

[@marianomur4107]

you are correct with the paralels, but if brann paralels miquela then godwyn should be John

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Now that you mention it Godwyn is a child of royalty that was murdered in a conspiracy like Jon to then be ressurected, pretty good parallel too, and Jon is a King of Winter character who I compared Godwyn the Golden to so yeah that all comes together nicely, great comment 💀🍻

[@Eizengoldt]

Someone tag Trey the Explainer

[@eldric.stoneskin]

Please do! Is he into Elden Ring?

[@Eizengoldt]

@@eldric.stoneskin haha yes he is! But he very controversiallly doesn't believe GRRM had any influence on Elden Ring :P it's become somewhat of a running joke

[@eldric.stoneskin]

@@Eizengoldt ahhh well he is very very wrong 🤣

[@Eizengoldt]

@@eldric.stoneskin I would love for his to see your video and hopefully change his stance! I'll Tag him

[@andrewryan1825]

Latest Fromsoftware release is armoured core 6 man, come on

[@edenromanov]

Awesome video loved seeing all the parallels, only critique I'd give would be your speaking cadence, you seem to pitch up your voice every time you finish a sentence regardless of the importance of what you're talking about. Just something to keep an eye on for your future videos m8, good luck hope to see more videos like this soon!

[@dim391]

????? 😂

[@nemesissuperhero2078]

Oh🤔 hmm

[@krisr4285]

0:47 did no one play Armored Core??? Tf

[@eldric.stoneskin]

I’m talking about the games he created, Miyazaki created the Dark Souls series, he didn’t create Armoured Core

[@skyfatherproductions4929]

Its rhe same universe follow the perfect order ending