Who is Astel? | Elden Ring Lore

[@Lightice1]

Just a note, a "naturalborn" is a polite euphemism for a bastard child, and Astel's Remembrance allows us to get a weapon called Bastard's Stars, further emphasizing that connection. This implies that Astel is something not wanted or intended to have been born of the Void, but something born outside the Golden Order, or whatever order it is that rules among the stars.

[@colbybrown5333]

Best insight I’ve seen in these comments.

[@Veckoza]

Damn man, good catch. That kinda throws this video an entire curveball to its logic.

[@AdrianFPS]

Right on the money, I would even go as far as to say that Lusat might have been inspired by the "birth" of this creature and gotten ideas to replace his entire brain with a Glintstone crown. I believe that Astel is the corruption of the missing 3rd Nox Lord, he tried to "consume" or "implant" a REAL star, into his head, or an Elden Star, hence the "Third Eye" or only eye, that Astel possesses. This Nox Lord did this in a last ditch effort to rise above the others and lead the Nox into a new Age, only to fall to the Greater Will's scheme. Purely speculative though, I love this...

[@greaterdog4256]

Yeah,and in chinese its name translate to abandoned child of the void (黑暗棄子）

[@___.51]

This comment needs more likes.

[@Bretzel81]

I think you got pretty much everything sorted out here except Astel’s origins. If Astel was created I don’t think he would have “Natural-born” in his title. I think maybe the nox may have accidentally summoned him, maybe they saw how strong the fallingstar beasts were when fully developed and wondered if they could summon something else from among the stars. I think the lore is awesome because its just like Bloodborne where everything was fine until aliens showed up and everything went bananas.

[@schizoidmeme5470]

Absolutely this. Makes me wonder WHAT Rahdahn was afraid of/way of from the Stars. Astel, I believe, is only a peak into the horrors of the Void of the Stars. Perhaps future DLC could be horror themed for more connection the Bloodborne?

[@GrievyRZ]

But isn't it stated that Astel was sent by The Greater Will? Besides, the Elden Ring is known to "command the stars".

[@MrRADicalOfficial]

Well to be fair being born from a void is still being created. You can't be born without something initially creating you, therefore, bringing you into existence.

[@Skibbutz]

Astels ARE fully developed Fallingstar beasts

[@thegk-verse4216]

@@Skibbutz But the one you fight on mountain top is a fully grown one already

[@Bannerman1903]

I love the line "The endless struggle of Silver against Gold"

[@ongabonga4378]

Yeah same that was super cool.

[@bowley4]

Same!!! That is so awesome!

[@cosmosofinfinity]

Maybe unalloyed (unpure) gold that is Miquella's symbol is the comingling and mixing of silver and gold, so that they can finally get along for once. Nox/albinauric ways (who are not from the Erdtree) mixed with gold grace of the Erdtree via their own custom Erdtree nurtured by his own demigod blood. And perhaps Miquella's needles which resist outer god influence are made from Astel, who is a being similar to the Elden Beast

[@cobaltCarnivore]

@@cosmosofinfinity Unalloyed would actually imply that it's pure. Alloys are mixed metals.

[@benhaze7468]

In Alchemy, Silver and Gold are also used to represent sun and moon btw.

[@invyt]

My thought was that Astel is what you get when a fallingstar beast matures in space, and a full grown fallingstar is what we get if it matures after falling. This would explain why Astel has "naturalborn of the void" in his name, since he was born in the void (space) and influenced by it while the fallingstar beasts fell before birth/maturity.

[@ShinyAndyy]

I like this idea, especially because you can tell that Astel is more adapted toward moving around in space. Plus, this would explain why the "falling star" beasts are named so, they've fallen from what they could've been in the stars.

[@DaFiestyBanana]

Thats cool but it makes even less sense that astel would have human features if that were the case

[@metalsonick8]

@@DaFiestyBanana Since when is having humanoid features an indicator of a creature less eldritch in FromSoftware games?

[@DaFiestyBanana]

@@metalsonick8 wut, i was saying that a creature born in the void likely wouldnt have human features. Never said anything about other games nor eldritch either

[@metalsonick8]

@@DaFiestyBanana Okay, yeah, sure, but then by that same logic, the Elden Beast shouldn’t have humanoid features like legs and arms either then. It just seems like faulty reasoning to me to suggest that creatures simply having humanoid features means that they cannot originate from the void.

[@EnsignGeneric]

I think there might be a clue in the use of the term, "naturalborn." It doesn't just mean "born of natural processes", back in the day that was a polite way of saying, "bastard child." So another reading of Astel's name would be, "Astel, Bastard of the Void." If that's what they were going for it might imply that the Astels are born from the mixing of the powers or two or more gods or forces, likely the Primeval Current and the Greater Will. This does line up with the Nox tendency to merge powers to try to create weapons. Their use of gravity magic also kind of implies that, since despite its obvious celestial implications Radahn's mastery of gravity magic means that at least symbolically it's not exclusive to either side. The term, "bastard," also implies an accidental act of creation, or at the very least one that wasn't thought through properly. If they were created by the Nox then whatever process they applied to create the first Astel they were probably very surprised by what they ended up with.

[@EclipsaEldrich]

The remeberance weapon is literally called "bastards stars" how did I not realize this

[@isaacjones748]

That would make sense as I believe it's stated that when Azur/the other dude looked into the primeval current, they were horrified to learn it was basically a void. And he's called the naturalborn of the void, so I'd say the mixing of 2 influences makes a lot of sense. I'd bet on the primeval current as one, not exactly sure about the other though

[@fenixchief7]

I like this theory.

[@CarlNiemi]

Is this why his body contains those ambery blobs too? Since amber is to "normal life" what glintstone is to the vitality of the stars?

[@winstonsmith3703]

Backed up by his remembrance weapon too this has to be accurate.

[@headwired]

Something to consider, Sellia has a giant throne, like Nokron and Nokstella, but it sits empty with Lusat's staff underneath it and is guarded by a Nox swordstress and a Nox Priest. Maybe Lusat has something to do with it as well

[@maximumcockage6503]

Would go along perfectly with her quest. She wasn't interested in Glintstone or Carian magic and wanted to dive into "terrestrial taboos", and at the end of her quest line she turns into that abomination "graven mass". As the video points out at 8:54 the talisman says they're seeds of stars. What if the nox you see in the town were collecting the sorcerers from town to fashion them into star seeds for their "scientific inquiries"? What if those sorcerers are the reason Astels have human like features instead of just being beasts like the Falling Star beasts? Would also explain the Massen Grave near the Ainsel river well.

[@colorpg152]

@@maximumcockage6503 will sellen turn into an astel?

[@IHiggs]

2 Grand Masters of the Academy pre-Carian era, Azur and Lusat = 2 Separate Astels

[@berserkboi1217]

The orb on lusat's staff looks an awful lot like a star beast eye

[@elissalesse8320]

@@maximumcockage6503 you mixed up Sellia, the town, with Sellen, the witch, but either way, cool stuff

[@sullychow4123]

Astel always reminded me of Ungoliant from Lord of the Rings lore. Ungoliant (essentially an unholy godlike spider being, mother of Shelob, even scared Melkor who's the big bad). Tolkien stated that Ungoliant was born of the void, aka, something that God did not intend or desire, an unholy chaotic insidious birth. I see Astel the same way, unintended and not linked to any outer god. The Nox, in their defiance of the greater will, desperately sought a god from the stars and instead were given an abomination, even by Elden Ring standards. Not sure if Ungoliant influenced the game Devs or not but either way, very cool.

[@MarcelATYIB]

Thank you!

[@GreenFalcon926]

That's a good point. This world and lore was created by GRRM and he adores Lord of the Rings, so i'm not surprised if he wa influecned by it.

[@ceilingleak]

I felt like this comment explained Astel the best compared to everything else I’ve seen. When you put it this way, I think that was all we were really meant to understand about Astel, anything beyond what you said is just extra thought and theory.

[@ceilingleak]

This makes the most sense to me, because throughout these series, creatures that are created mistakingly generally seem like a last resort/act of desperation, intended to try and fix the problems the world is facing, only making things worse. Every time we see the attempts at immortality, godhood, power/control, last desperate efforts, there are always insane consequences, cause and effect. Interestingly, Astel could’ve been the result of the nox’s absolute desire and will to protect their people and beliefs, the immense negative energy collected and fed into the creation of this other worldly creature, and just backfired in their faces and became their own undoing.

[@ceilingleak]

Not sure if you’re familiar with “Berserk” it’s a dark fantasy manga that had a lot of influence on these games, and one thing I think of specifically from that story is a chapter similarly about the “greater will” or god. In the chapter, the idea is that the greater will didn’t actually create humanity, humanity was alone, and the world was fucked up. As a result, humans needed “reasons” for everything bad happening, all the hate, murder, rape, greed. Enough of humanity desired “reasons” so badly, for why bad shit would happen, the desire for “reasons” were so strong, that it literally manifested a “greater will”/ entity, so that there could be “control” among the chaos. This “greater will” was neither good nor evil, it was simply just everything, and it’s sole purpose was to give “reasons”, weave fate and destiny. Ironically this god, fed off all energy and emotion from humanity, so despite giving humanity reasons for things, it made shit worse by weaving in fate and destinies that would cause the most chaos, so it could feed.

[@altromonte15]

It was my understanding that the solution is much simpler: there are creatures that live through/among the stars. Astel is no different from the elden beast, they're all just star creatures of different races. the golden ones are worshipped by the golden order, the others are worshipped by the Nox. falling star beasts and naturalborns are simply "foreigners" that arrived in the world, there is no indication they were created by anybody. the "eye" on astel and the fallingstar beast follows the same eye theme that the fire giant and the golden runes have, it's the symbol of "outer gods" and other greater entities

[@Drudge_Lord]

So with that in mind it would be safe to assume that when Ranni talks about bringing an age of stars she must mean with the worship of creatures like Astel? The connection between Ranni and Nokron feels more important than people may think, I kind of have a theory that the snow witch that originally taught Ranni everything she knows may have been a denizen of Nokstella or Norkron, and when The Golden Order destroyed the two cities Ranni may have taken a bit personally?

[@altromonte15]

@@Drudge_Lord right now we really don't know, I hope it will be expanded in a DLC, but it's possible. we know that there is a connection between ice and nox, through the ice lightning spells

[@Voldrim359]

@@Drudge_Lord That could be, but not worshipping creatures like Astel, but outer gods that can manipulate these kind of monsters and make them simple gods. With that in mind, the Elden Beast is a full grown god, meanwhile, Astel is a god in the process... The naturalborn of the void is not even in his full grown form yet, and was able to destroy an eternal city (Because, even after a buttlerflie came out of his cocoon, they need to rest for three or four hours so the wings can be rigid to fly. In the case of Astel, this process can take years if we are talking about a fictional creature capable of having eternal life)

[@Lord0x]

@@Daboy804 naturalborn is another way to say bastard

[@Hyperversum3]

@@Drudge_Lord You can add to the mix the fact that Ranni explicitely says that she doesn't want the Order to be a physical thing you can touch and see, so her plan is probably to *not* have a physical location like the Erdtree where a physical entity is there to kick the ass of the Goddess and Elden Lord if they dare to do things differently. She is trying to do something more esoteric and less explicit... But how does she goes to do this, isn't known at all

[@bonusbone5118]

This is what Radahn was holding back

[@Faviomec]

Has no one else noticed the Astel faces on the meteors in Caelid? The same meteors that Radahn was holding back all, or most, have Astel faces on them. It's likely the whole reason Radahn was holding them at bay to begin with, since they're there before you defeat Radahn and more appear after you do.

[@starcore7507]

Wait... So does this mean that there could have been many many more astels if they fully matured?

[@icantbelieveitsnotbutter8851]

Wow, I like this.

[@Faviomec]

@@starcore7507 Pretty sure, yes. In-game descriptions talk about how Radahn subdued the stars and held them back, and thus sealed their fate. I think that because he subdued them and held them back they essentially died in stasis, unable to hatch into the forms they take once in the Lands Between. Astel's species seems to have a life cycle similar to antlions, but because they were held in stasis for so long they died in their cocoon or their egg forms, and their dried husks is what we see as the meteors in Caelid. Antlions go from egg to larvae to cocoon to adult, with the adult mating and then laying eggs once more. IMO the meteors are likely the egg form, with the Falling-star Beasts being the larvae and Astel being the adult form. Maybe the Full-grown Falling-star Beast is like a walking cocoon? Or maybe we just don't see the cocoons in-game, or they just don't go through that phase like antlions do.

[@Yokonato]

@@starcore7507 I mean there is 2 other astel like creatures when you travel through the underground they both hang from the ceiling and throw rocks at you.

[@cchristianjeremy]

Holy shit.

[@timanderson3312]

I think it’s possible that, in lovecraftian fashion, some of astel’s features are presented to us in a way that we can perceive. Since he is a cosmic entity it’s possible we can’t possibly perceive his actual form so our brain converts in a way that we understand. This could explain why he appears as an amalgamation of irreconcilable biology (butterfly-like wings with a rattle-like tail, gems and bone) It’s our perception attempting to convert and categorize the inconceivable creature.

[@Adonisius_Kavata]

This makes Astel even more terrifying than they already are

[@hassansyed4135]

I don’t know about the wings, it reminds me more like a dragonfly with human limbs and skull with stag beetle mandibles and a scorpion formation.

[@melomet3789]

the beasts are like all scrunched up versions of Astel. could be that the ones that fell to the lands between and began to assimilate traits of local fauna, while ones that were summoned by the Nox maintained their original form. i think the existence of both of these types of creatures in the lands between led radahn to "challenge the stars" to prevent more of these creatures from coming

[@jonnymario771]

I think Astels are the perfect form of the falling star beasts, they resemble a lot from antlions.

[@TheReapersSon]

It is interesting that Radahn's lore involves the falling of the stars, and his prevention of the destruction of the lands between via holding back a literal heavenly apocalypse. It is possible at one point, the meteor destruction was going to be part of the revenge gift for the surface from the denizens of the deep? I'm just pulling stuff out of my posterior, but your comment really got me thinking and connecting dots. Indeed, the meteor that crashes to the planet's surface punches a backdoor entrance into Nokstella... it seems like controlling the falling stars in this regard would provide the Nox residents with a perfect window to view the night sky again; although it wouldn't make sense to destroy your own environment in the process.

[@NoConsequenc3]

@@TheReapersSon a massive hole above their city would allow them communion with the true stars once more... it's likely the Nox summoned a meteor upon themselves.

[@1014p]

There are no bulls in Elden Ring. So if it really took on local animal traits. It would be sheep, wolves, dragons, crow, dog beast thing, and beetle. Probably missing a few animals in list. Definitely are no bulls, Oxen, or Buffalo. If anything maybe from a constellation that is themed after Bull like creatures.

[@blazaybla22]

Radahn did that because the stars control fate in Elden Ring. No stars, no fate (this is a gigantic part of Ranni’s questline). As for what Radahn aimed to accomplish specifically, we can only guess, but holding back the stars stops fate

[@The_Jomonge]

If you look at the falling star beast the growth on its head is actually a head similar to astels, same cracks where the eye is and it's hard to see but you can see where the left eye socket of the skull is

[@lov_eli]

Another interesting thing is that it resembles the eye that became the head of one of the great sorcerers in Sellen's quest

[@pranavbharadwaj521]

Another thing that supports this theory is that you encounter Gravity mages in the vicinity of both the Malformed Star in Ainsel River and the Fallingstar Beast in the Capital Outskirts

[@colorpg152]

lusats head is one such eyes

[@tnorki]

It's been said in the video...

[@bmg6229]

I like the idea that the Astel were creatures that exist in the void of the cosmos, not obeying the law of any god or civilization, and that during some times, several fell into the lands between, either dying or falling into slumber The one in the Yellough Anyx tunnel seems to have frozen and then discovered through mining So, it's entirely possible this cities and it's scholars tried to harness the power of the Astel, signalling the start of the school of gravity magic But they probably awakened them, and the cities were destroyed It seems to be an species of some kind, a true Lovecraftian horror, since it isn't only one massive and destructive god, but it's an entire race that could fall into the lands between at any moment Which is why the theory that Radhan learned this truth through his gravity master (which is also an alien) and decided to stop the stars

[@anii2987]

I had so much trouble with Astel the first time... there is no word to describe the utter horror and displeasure I felt when entering the boss room of the second one

[@golemofwill4728]

Fallingstar Beasts seem like the caterpillar stage. The mid stages are the astels that seem to be unable to fully move and are stationary in multiple areas. The true butterfly form is Astel, naturalborne of the void. My weird theory is that they are the giants or at least the corpse/skulls of giants being possessed by something else. That weird eye in the middle of their skull implies that is what controls the skull. Hope we see more of the void in the dlcs.

[@XKathXgames]

Unless the attempt wasn't to create an astel but to take control of one from its first stage. Maybe it worked at first but as it evolved and grew more powerful it became impossible to control 🤔

[@Faviomec]

@@hhjhj393 they're not, go to Caelid and take a look at all the meteors laying around, a whole lot of them have Astel faces

[@insertedgynamehere___969]

Well, the wrench in this theory is that the falling star beast on Mt. Gelmir is called "full grown falling star beast"

[@Faviomec]

@@insertedgynamehere___969 it's not really a hole in the theory, antlion larvae have a few stages of their own, and they shed their exoskeleton several times before being ready to go into the cocoon stage, the Falling-star Beast and the Full Grown one could just have gone through a few layers of shedding and the full grown one may be ready to become a full Astel or go into the cocoon stage for it. If you look at the life cycle of antlions they seem to fit the stages that the Astel species goes through.

[@victorpedrosoceolin3919]

@@insertedgynamehere___969 actually, It supports the theory, If you look closely, the full grown fallen star beast has a part of a cranium with a hole in the middle os it's "head", and that cranium is just like astel's

[@Lanaestra]

So, this is admittedly pretty speculative still, but I think there's another place to look for a connection to this thread- Primeval Sorcerer Lusat. The bulbous eye on his head piece is more than little reminiscent of the eye that Astel/the full-grown fallingstar beast share. And there's a connection, through Sellia and its night sorcery, between Lusat and the nameless eternal city, as you noted. Another element that I think we need to consider as possibly related to this line of inquiry are the alabaster/onyx lords.

[@headwired]

Sellia has a giant throne that's empty, and Lusat's staff is underneath it, guarded by a Nox priest and Swordstress

[@Hyperversum3]

The Onyx Lords are said to literally come from another world, and I suppose that It doesn't simply means "from beyond the fog".

[@lockepersonal]

If you agree that Numen are Nox as evidenced by Rogier, it could be speculated that Marika herself is one of the plots of Nox to take vengeance on the Greater Will.

[@josiahgarber3761]

Wait, this could make a surprising amount of sense. Let me try to parse this out for a second. Buckle up because this is going to have a pretty decent amount of speculation. So we know that at some point long before the Age of the Erdtree the Greater Will desired to assert its influence upon the world, sending the Elden Beast and manifesting its power through the Elden Ring. We also know that before this time, there was life and civilization. One of these civilizations was the Nox. Now, let's assume that the Nox are the Numen, beings that are "long-lived", "seldom born", and "of the same stock of Queen Marika herself." It's not quite possible to fully know where they come from, but this isn't too important. What is important is that they are quite powerful in one way or another, and that they, if they are the same as the Nox, worshipped the stars as opposed to the Greater Will. Eventually, the Greater Will incarnated its power into the world through the Elden Ring, the Elden Beast, and its vassal Two Fingers, servants meant to guide the denizens of this world towards obedience to the Greater Will. Having committed to the stars, the Nox/Numen opposed the Greater Will and were forced underground for it. Meanwhile, the cycle of Elden Lord began as the Greater Will chose mighty dragons to safeguard the Elden Ring. Wishing revenge, the Nox built the three Eternal Cities under false night skies and plotted. They created weapons to slay the fingers, dragonkin soldiers to mimic the power of the dragons and possibly one day become Elden Lord and turn on the Greater Will, silver and mimic tears to create powerful beings capable of becoming lords, and they called upon the power of the stars, which sent the Fallingstar Beasts and Astel creatures to them. After hundreds or even thousands of years of plotting and living in their false night, their own machinations caught up to them and Astel rebelled, leveling the Nameless Eternal City, stealing its night, and rampaging through the other cities. After a while, the Nox were able to seal Astel, but their plans were seemingly ruined. At this time, the Greater Will was looking for a better way to impose its...will upon the world, a god in which its power may be housed in order for the Elden Ring to be safe and secure and a new age to prevail where the Will is in full control above all. The Fingers expressed their desire to do so, and many candidates were brought forward. Among these was Marika of the Eternal City. She was chosen by the Greater Will to become a god and soon housed within herself the Elden Ring itself. However, she was the Nox/Numen's final attempt at revenge. She would dismantle the Elden Ring and usher in an age of stars. To this end, she orchestrated the birth of Ranni, the stealing of the Rune of Death, and the Night of the Black Knives. After all this, she would disappear and shatter the Elden Ring, hoping that the Tarnished she banished and orchestrated to return, would one day find the Elden Ring, kill the Elden Beast, and usher in a new system, possibly even an Age of Stars. I'm not sure if this is possible within the lore. It's probably wrong, but I haven't found anything to contradict it yet and some decent stuff to at least justify this being a valid view. Hopefully as time goes one we'll be able to better understand and come up with a completely accurate view of the Nox, Numen, and Marika. Also, don't ask about Radagon; I have no idea how he works into this at all, and he is clearly a MAJOR piece of the puzzle

[@Faviomec]

@@josiahgarber3761 except the Numen are mentioned to come from OUTSIDE the Lands between and the Noks are clearly from the Lands Between

[@josiahgarber3761]

@@Faviomec Not saying that you're wrong, but do we know that the Nox cannot have originally come from outside the Lands Between?

[@Faviomec]

@@josiahgarber3761 The game mentions that they were there even before the Golden Order, they're old enough to have been driven underground and built a city considered 'Eternal' even before Astel led to their destruction. At what point are they considered no longer foreigners to the Lands Between?

[@j.pedrotti1649]

This is most likely the case, in fact game files practically confirm this by internally referring to the Nox and silver tears as "MarikaLineage" enemies. It's probably also no coincidence that Marika is called Queen Marika, the Eternal.

[@Kalnigma]

Could it be that the Star of Darkness variation is Nokron's attempt on Astel ? Considering that Nokron is pretty near by Mohgwyn's house, whose location can be reached through a teleport gate also at the Consecrated Snowfield, maybe it was another failure of the Eternal City, but they weren't as heavily destroyed as the one in Deeproot Depths since Mohg was there to help the Nox imprisoning their second failure ( due to the fact that if Nokron is screwed, his Palace would also be affected ). After that, they sealed Astel at the Consecrated Snowfield and had a Sanguine Noble guarding the place so that no intruders would be able to approach and release the Star of Darkness variation.

[@HeavensRipper-he4sz]

Mohg's palace is unrelated to the Eternal City itself. Nokron is the part with the more ornate buildings inhabited by the Nox. The Mausoleum Mohg lives in belongs to the 'ancient dynasty' which we have very little info on. Other than the description of the Claymen, and their existence in Uhl and Urd Palace Ruines, and the Lake of Rot.

[@dad5004]

interesting theory, while i dont agree nor disagree, I do think it is worth noting in the dead center of the boss arena there is a giant luminescent meteor encased under the ice. I am of the mind that these things naturally (no pun intended) fell from the sky as did their brethren, the fallingstar beasts. I think the onyx / alabaster lords worship these entities, and Radahn was definitely holding back the stars to prevent further "visits" from taking place.

[@MrAdamo]

While Fromsoft does like to use proximity to show related lore, I think this specific case may be unrelated since it’s a teleporter.

[@Faviomec]

The Noks ain't making them, you can literally see meteors with Astel's face all over Caelid, meaning they're literally born in space and drop down as meteors, and it appears that some never make it past that point.

[@lewispooper3138]

Nah that’s just fromsoft being lazy and copy/pasting a boss

[@thelaststraightguy990]

I've noticed the moon in the age of stars ending looks awfully similar to Astel's true eye. and the way it shifts makes it look like it's focusing on Ranni.

[@homelessrobot]

lol yes i kinda thought that too.

[@cptndunsel3364]

Another reason for me to be wary of Ranni I guess.

[@victorprati7908]

It doesn't look nothing alike to me

[@halloweenjack95]

I personally dont see the similarities.

[@trustee8503]

Astel and the falling star beast have striking resemblances - both have one eye that glows yellow when you’re able to stun them - both have mandibles/pincers - both have a spiked tail that is black and same shape - both use gravity magic and have some of the same attacks - both have connections to falling stars/meteorites

[@trice286]

Furthermore, the soundtrack for Fallingstar Beast has a lot of audio similarities to Astel's theme.

[@Skibbutz]

You can litterally see Astels face poking out of the FullGrown Fallingstar beast. Its pretty safe to say that they're the same species

[@nullandvoid7524]

I'm just going to look at it as a different chain of evolution. So the Falling Star beasts are what happens when one of these beings fall and mature on the lands between. While Astel is when one of these beings mature in space. Think of it like the initial evolution of the first land creatures, started out as fish and slowly grew limbs, in Astels case he grew to fit in his environment hence the wings and whatnot.

[@bigcurly3881]

That kill on astel when you had 1 health at the end was mad ballsy

[@xxreyoxx]

As the Eternal Darkness sorcery spell indicates, i think that the Eternal City brought upon the wrath of Astel in the process of trying to produce this spell to completion. The mimic stuff couldve been done around the same time, being the Nox and whoever were inspired by catching a glimpse within the void.

[@BlueMagicite]

An important detail is that Astel Stars of Darkness is found in a tunnel dungeon, where you often find a Meteorite at the end of these types of dungeon in the boss room. Seems these things like to be near cosmological stuff like stars and meteors. The glint of gold in these meteors echos back to what Sellen says regarding golden amber and its relationship to Glintstone and how it too falls from the sky. The implications get wider when you remember Onyx and Alabastor Lords are either from meteors or are life forms that arise from meteors making impact in the Lands Between. You even see them in the dungeon where you find Stars of Darkness.

[@colorpg152]

miners and even troll on mines get some weird stony skin effect maybe its infectious, the glintstone dragon breath says he got covered in glint stones by eating sorcerers so there is even more evidence for that

[@HexagonThatReallyLikesVinegar]

I feel like Astel is just the name of a species which resides in meteors which crash into the lands between and spawn it.

[@gudmundur-heimisson]

The Latin word for star is aster, which later morphed into the Medieval Latin stella, Astel is kind of halfway between.

[@MeldinX2]

I think Failing beast star is the young stage of Astel. It then grows up and enters a metamorphasis phase where it later becomes a fully grown astel.

[@mojosjojo2951]

I really, REALLY, love your style of lore videos. No grand claims that pretend to be something they aren't, upfront honesty about assumptions and missing information, no awkward and obvious uses of a thesaurus to make use of big words that just sound weird, and well written, efficiently presented ideas. Wonderful work! I hope you keep at this! Edit: In response to a few replies, roasting individuals who work hard and can't defend themselves on the internet isn't cool. I mention that V-Limit avoids a lot of lore video tropes that bother me, but never intended to point fingers. I hope you all can choose to do the same. There is no need. We all have people whose content we don't like. That doesn't mean we need to publicly denounce them.

[@batman-hv9wp]

Is that a jab a vaatividya

[@mojosjojo2951]

@@batman-hv9wp I haven't watched a Vaati video in 5 years or more so I wouldn't know.

[@the-annoyinator]

@@batman-hv9wp I sure wished 😂

[@Jinuku]

@@batman-hv9wp ought to be, vaati does some great work but has always spoken with too much authority even when he's just totally wrong or wildly speculating and his (very large) audience takes it as divine rulings

[@JohnDoe-jr5mp]

@@Jinuku His last video he corrects some of the points in his prior ones, and he even says some things are left for interpretation. I know its cool to hate what's popular, but he does not claim his theories as fact.

[@saltmines5761]

I don’t really have anything to add, but it was badass, in that last clip, to see you kill Astel with a sliver left of your own hp

[@VLimit11]

Finally double-checked my pronunciation of any characters or places that were said aloud in-game. I'm still trying to improve these videos wherever possible, so feedback is still always appreciated! Thank you for watching, and I hope you enjoy both this and the future content that I have planned.

[@OrangeJuiceDripping]

Doing a great job my man 🙏

[@tsusami69]

I would like to mention that "technically" the text in game "an falling star" is correct, since falling is pronounced with more of vowel sound it works. In other words English is hard.

[@padraigdonelan]

@@tsusami69 an falling just sounds wrong plus "falling" begins with the fricative consonant /f/ meaning you would use "a" instead of "an"

[@NarcissistMargarine]

@@tsusami69I'm an English major and, while I completely agree English is hard, it's definitely not "an". You wouldn't say you "took an fall" down the stairs. No offense intended. The dude who replied to you above my reply has got it right, however.

[@l.apastore4208]

Don’t know if you mentioned, but Astel destroyed Farum Azula

[@apothecarysteed1566]

I was fascinated to see the similarities between the Miquella egg in Mohgwyn Palace and Salvatore Dali’s painting “Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man.” It’s definitely worthy a quick google search or for mention in a future video.

[@denry100]

I would like to point out a small detail missed in the video. In Astel's rememberance, it's called "malformed" star. I think it's likely that the Nox tried to harness and weaponize the fallingstar beasts but instead mutated it with the counter-power to the Greater Will, whatever power they draw from the Stars. In a form of cannibalism, since it itself is made up of Star-Stuff, when fed the worshipped star power of the Nox, it gestated and mutated to be the eldritch horror we see.

[@DillySenpai]

Something I've noticed, Both Astel Have Eyes In their skulls. The Giant face underneath Stormveil Castle, Which is identical to the face In deeproot depths commonly believed to be godwyn, is missing both of it's eyes. Perhaps in addition to crafting the finger slayer blade from the corpse of Godwyn, They used his eyes to create Both Astel Variations. In addition, The malformed Star Enemies are identical to the fakes Summoned by astel, Star of Darkness, meaning they could possibly themselves be projections of astel, Naturalborn of the void, Which may explain why they do not appear in his boss fight.

[@Thebestplacetobe619]

Such good idea

[@TheGayling2]

I always just assumed that the “Fully grown Fallingstar beast” meant that it was the fully grown larval version and that it would be transitioning to becoming a Malformed Star soon. I like the theory that Astel and the other Malformed Stars could possibly have some sort of genetic mutation or something causing it to become super powerful. Personally I now think that the whole “naturalborn”(bastard) name combined with getting the “bastards stars” from the remembrance could imply that they tried to combine a Fallingstar beast DNA with Godwyns DNA somehow to create some new kind of god and it worked but backfired on them.

[@Ryan-cs3uc]

Before u fight Astel, u can loot that chest that’s being guarded by the crimson rot insects and u get a dagger that has a scorpion stinger attached to it. It’s supposed to of been taking from a outer god which then was sealed away. Coincidently, Astel has what looks to be a giant scorpion’s tail. Astel is obviously not a outer god but giving its appearance with the human like skull, I think it came into contact with the outer god (maybe even killed it) and assumed some of its features. Same with the Nox in assuming the human like skull. I don’t think Astel looked like what we saw when it first fell down. I think it was all stars and a eyeball since we see it’s eye in the skull. As for the falling star beasts. Most of them are above ground so I guess it could be safe to assume that they took on the appearance of animals that are above ground? It’s a bit ironic that the race who wished to create mimics of things were nearly wiped out by beings that mimic their surroundings as well

[@cosmosofinfinity]

If you put Astel into Google Translate, you get sting, thorn, dart, and goad (a spiked stick used for driving cattle)

[@ZachM-20]

If you look closely at the full-grown falling star beast's model it has the same "facial" structure that Astel has, just underneath its fur. You can see the two set of mandibles (fairly obvious), but you can also see the human-like skull with the 'eye' in it. I really think they're related despite the naming "full-grown". Anyone even have a translation on that?

[@colorpg152]

true it could be matured just as natural born means bastard

[@Osonyth2003]

Basically same species. One was grown in space one was grown on earth (lands between in this case.) Astel being grown in space hence longer skinner body with wings. And the fallingstar beast was forced to evolve differently since it had to grow on land turning into more of a bull, wide and more muscular in a since. Same species just different environments

[@matf6661]

My thoughts considering that natural-born implies bastard or unwanted child and the lore that the Nox were trying to create their own lord (creating the mimics) are that Astel was an unwanted side effect created during these experiments. It seems like the Nox were trying to re-create weapons based on what the other side had and this happened

[@gabrielpasquino4270]

I forget which item description this was, but I think one mentioned that the Nox tried to make their own "elden lord", the albinuarics and mimic tear being a product of that. Along with the description of how the Nox are waiting for their Lord of Night, it would make sense that Astel was their failed attempt to create not just something to combat the elden beast, but to replace him too

[@unamusedrohan1666]

Seeing as how the eye on Astel and the Fallingstar Beasts kind of moves independently of what the normal face is looking at, it could be a similar situation to the Fire Giants, where the eye belongs to an Outer God whose power is being channeled through them.

[@fall5923]

Tarnished: *enters boss fight.* *Sees someone in the distance muttering* Hunter: There's one left huh?

[@REVLISLNSG]

Great video I love hearing people's interpretations of this incredible games story. Also was thrilled af when I found out there's another Astel to fight, I loved his design

[@chibigoji5080]

"Who is Astel?" A pain in the goddamn ass that's what

[@Demokaze]

It's curious how you find that scorpion dagger speaking about a sealed outer god right before Astel's arena and how there are no scorpions in the game but Astel's tail is fashioned after one. And even more curious that the blue dancer charm speaks of a blind swordsman, presumably Malenia's mentor mentioned in the prosthesis-wearer heirloom who sealed an outer god that was rot itself. Then the game claims we are at the lake of rot when we arrive at Astel's arena but it's void of it. And Astel doesn't have any rot attacks. It's like they're implying that Astel is this sealed outer god and that dagger was crafted from a spike that broke off during the fight with the swordsman. Furthermore the blue dancer charm icon appears to be fashioned after the blue cloth cowl/vest and the sword it mentions is likely the flowing curved sword. And all these items have water associated with them which is what's cleansed in Astel's arena if its name is not a mistake.

[@Cth-k9n]

My favorite boss! Design wise. Also lore wise

[@plasticreplica]

The fingerslayer blade looks exactly like the end blade the that the elden beast uses in our combat... Expect it's twisted... And that blade seems to have spawned from a body so...

[@MrNamenamenamename]

Say from godwyns corpse?

[@PBart7]

Oh SHIT I think you're right!

[@TheWetToaster]

They both came from corpses, but the fingerslayer blade is likely from Godwyn, and the sacred relic sword was made from the corpse of Radagon. You even watch the Elden beast grab him, plunge him “underwater”, and pull him out in the form of a blade.

[@Stvn-tm1vj]

This is such a great intro to the characters that appear later in the story, while I am still stuck at the first Boss fight.... I hope I can meet Astel in my game some day in 2023...

[@IIzanagii]

Astel is such an interesting character

[@Epiousios18]

11:28 You are an absolute mad lad for not healing there. Nice gameplay.

[@vectorfox4782]

*As Above, So Below.*

[@alexanderortiz472]

U can literally see the top of the skull on the fully grown falling star beast.

[@blancbg]

I haven't played ER in a decent while, but damn do I love lore videos like this

[@Sweg177]

this guy just popped out of nowhere and started making lore vids like a pro. Hope hes got a bright youtube career ahead or i loose faith in humanity

[@eldenringpvpenthusiast1710]

I think this is legit one of the best lore videos and very eye opening. Good stuff dude!

[@4x4von]

Failing beast star and Astel are space antlions…look up an antlion life cycles

[@yofomojojo]

By gum, I think you're right! I don't think these things fit into the machinations of anyone's plans, I think they're just symptoms of the disease Radhan was trying to hold back. (Not Scarlot Rot, to be clear, I just mean the malformed stars falling from the void). I think the Elden Beast and Frenzied Flame probably also came raining down like that, all operating separately from each other like the great ones from bloodborne. Also, it said the Dragonkin never saw the light of day, didn't it? Doesn't that mean the Greater Will had already locked them below ground before the formation of the Golden Order? When the Dragons had an Elden Lord and the Crucible had yet to make way for the Erd Tree?

[@jonnymario771]

Much likely.

[@samuraiwarren4475]

I'm definitely on board with the theory that Astel has something to do with the Fallingstar beasts, but has just evolved more. You can even see some evidence of this by looking at the differences between the Full-Grown Fallingstar beast, and the normal one. In the full grown version, we can start to see a blue eye and skull start to form(similar to the one on Astel's head) I love videos like yours, and I love looking deeper into the lore of in-depth games like Elden Ring, so thanks for this video!

[@DanielSilvaWTFDAN9]

I don't believe Astel was created by the Nox, in fact, I believe Astel came to them as an eldritch punishment. Regarding Astel's form, my theory is that of assimilation, there were 2 main living species in the eternal cities and rivers, humanoids and ants. Astel assimilated part of the biologies of both types of species (the pincers and many legs from the ants, and the skull and arm bones from the humanoids), while at the same time having their own eldritch characteristics, such as the star pieces on its tail and the gigantic eye.

[@ImperialGuardsman2]

My response after fighting it for the first time and dying to it by way of its grab attack was, "Sad to know that you're very real and *very* pissed!"

[@RIPToNateDoggIHadToRegulate]

Astel looks like a sea fruit.

[@samuelleumas3283]

Astel is also one of the handful of enemies that, upon death, give you the message “legend felled” instead of “great enemy felled” or no message at all (you don’t get messages for the shardbearers), the other bosses who give you this message all seem tied to the stars/eternal cities with one exception. Both Stag Beasts, Rennala, Lichdragon Fortissax, and Astel give you this message, the only battle with this message that is not tied to the cities is the fire giant, who also gives you the “legend felled” message. My original thought was that this message occurred when killing enemies that you fought in a dream/alternate plane (Rennala transports you for the second half of the fight and also does not die, both stags teleport you to a dreamlike arena, the Lichdragon is literally in Fia’s dream, and Astel Naturalborn is also in his own secluded dreamlike arena). I don’t know how to account for the Giant though maybe I’m looking into all of it too much but the idea that these enemies are all being fought in dreams/some strange plane and you are simply fighting the embodiment of a “legend” is really cool. Maybe you don’t actually kill Astel and have to find his true form in the snowfield just like you didn’t kill Rennala.

[@damianblu]

I think you're overlooking the most important part of Astel. His title as the Natural-born. It's possible he is the result of breeding something like a falling star beast with, idk, maybe one of those giant skeleton dudes? Two giant skeletons. Two Astels. Less developed versions hidden away. Just a thought.

[@nohonor5564]

Two giant skeletons? Ive beaten the game and I "think" ive been everywhere but I only remember one giant skeleton on the throne...

[@tvdvd8661]

@@nohonor5564 the skeletons are everywhere in Cailid... just because it's not sitting on a throne doesnt mean they're not around....

[@damianblu]

@@nohonor5564 there's one in each eternal city

[@dr.falcon3520]

So something interesting I’ve come to realize, the Fingerslayer Blade is just a malformed version of the Sacred Relic Sword. If you look at the handguard design and coiled look of both the weapons, the Fingerslayer blade has just been cut down in size.

[@Shmethan]

Interesting! I'd always seen the fingerslayer blade as the black knifes blade without the lil side spikes, they have a really similar outline

[@Crash-lm4zb]

I can't help but feel that every clone monster found in dungeons well outside their area of origin, like this one, are just placed there randomly. I appreciate you acknowledging it in a professional way but I wonder how many of them were just placed far enough away from their "main" form in order to keep boss fights relatively fresh

[@voidinheritant]

eh. it’s just how fromsoft does things. just like how a random misbegotten in a cave somehow has Radagon’s Greatsword, there a plenty of stories and history simply lost to time or out of reach to the player. i think it makes the game feel more alive

[@theblackbaron4119]

@@voidinheritant The mismanagement of development time and the lack of focus, specifically finishing features is again the same problem fronsoft seems to suffer from since demon souls. Maybe even before that. No need to be pretentious about "story" they suck at managing their focus. The game is wide as an ocean and deep as a puddle.

[@Faviomec]

@@theblackbaron4119 you can go to Caelid and see a whole lotta meteors with Astel faces, meaning they should probably be even more common considering they literally fall in a meteor shower after killing Radahn... Or you can bitch and moan more about From and their development, I guess

[@lewispooper3138]

@@voidinheritant not with this game. The copy/paste is so heavy that it doesn’t have that. It just reeks of laziness

[@Faviomec]

@@lewispooper3138 that the only thing you can complain about isn't it? Lemme guess, a Horizon player who's mad ER overshadowed your shit game

[@UnholyWrath3277]

Maybe astel was initially seen as a blessing that the noks took and tried to make a mimic tear of. This mimic tear becomes stars of darkness version.

[@Vanstaples]

They do seem to favor a mimic tear!

[@jamieli4138]

If you check the JP version of the name: 暗黒の落とし子アステール (the one under moonlight alter) & 暗黒の星々アステール(the one in the tunnel). It is unclear whether more of the JP side or more of the George R.R. Martin side takes more responsibility for creating this boss. I don't understand why the English version has such a different name in the title (For English version, 暗黒 is translated to void and darkness on 2 monsters) but the Japanese one is apparently much more closely related, therefore I'm actually leaning towards these names originally coming from Japanese and translated to English. If we take the JP naming, the prior one has a meaning of darkness' abandoned/illegitimate child. This means that it could be that both Astel was one giant comet but because of some reason (hitting the Nox cities maybe), it split into 2.

[@ghostspartan0182]

I just thought the malformed stars were sort of like the alabaster and onyx lords being born out of the debris of a malformed star instead of being the whole entire star, although I don't know the lore other than reading item descriptions

[@L7CK7]

This is such a concise summary of Astel, the three Eternal Cities, and the hand the Nox would have in bringing about the Age of Stars. A much better video than other creators. Just a correction or two as mentioned in the comments already, but otherwise solid. Good stuff.

[@justanormalcat1839]

I really hope we get a DLC that explains more about the Stars and the Greater Will.

[@AWESOMO5]

The clip at the end of fighting astel with only a sliver of HP was intense

[@noahriecher3392]

I hated this boss, These aoe attacks were so annoying. And then you have to fight 2 of them. However the optical design is cool.

[@fathercosmic8061]

I've already seen this video in the past but I still love coming back and watching it because astel was just that interesting to me

[@uldaman5376]

Why do you call it "they" if it's just a digital giant alien space monster? It's not gonna complain on twitter on why you mispronounced it

[@sakdavith6969]

should have use "it" instead.

[@Jack-ku3bt]

I think the Malformed Stars are actually projections by Astel. The reason being is 1.) Rennala's illusion by Ranni and 2.) The projection of Margitt by Morgott (Which we know is a projection because Morgott doesn't die when Margitt dies and Margitt re-appears in the Altus Plateau). With this in mind, I think this gives credit to the full extent of Astel's abilities, and makes it seem as though Astel knows we are coming. Likewise, the existence of an Astel in the Yelough Anix tunnel is likely not the same entity. Astel, Star of Darkness has been there for longer (since before the war between Marika and the Fell-God) and thus has had more time to refine its abilities and wait in anticipation. It's also worth noting that Radahn holding up the stars could be interpreted as preventing more Astels from invading. This leads me to believe that Astels are the vassals of the outer god of the stars, in the same way the Elden Beast is the vassal to the greater will, and Radahn was holding up the stars for the benefit of the Greater Will, in order to prevent an invasion by multiple Astels. While one Astel would surely fall to the Elden Beast, multiple would be able to dethrone the Golden Order and usher in the Stars of Darkness. The reason we fight and kill Astel for Ranni is simple. Ranni wants to dethrone the Golden Order, but she also doesn't want the outer god of the stars to take over and replace the Greater Will as another tyrant. So, her ending can be interpreted as striking a balance, and ushering in an age of stars that she can control and influence (as opposed to the total destruction an army of Astels would bring forth).

[@florintanase9348]

Why do you use THEY instead of IT? are you afraid to offend people who identify as a freakish space bug?

[@ckmondaviable]

This eldrich horror gives us a new meaning to the the line “put a ring on it”

[@sidlohman178]

Man´s afraid to misgender a cosmos being lmao

[@anasomar4970]

Heeee

[@cameronmcintyre5891]

The quality of your content is well beyond your subscriber count. I look forward to your growth as a channel and content creator in the future. Keep up the good vids homie

[@danielfaraoanu9515]

Imagine if Radahn and Astel would fight...

[@haythemfarhat6100]

Wow, this channel is criminally underrated

[@dogs-game-too]

Great video! I also believe the theory that the fallingstar beasts are like larvae, the ones we see hanging from ceilings are the pupal stage, with the Astels being the equivalent of a butterfly. That doesn't touch on their origin, but I like the idea of them being connected phases. It's also cool how the nameless city had its false stars removed from the sky, with Astel hoarding them in its arena

[@derpata4734]

what a great video. Thanks!

[@MayorMcC666]

You did a good job not making any absolute claims you can’t defend, those types of claims usually make me dislike lore videos.

[@joeyjones9041]

Another interesting detail about the Nameless Eternal City and the Age of the Erdtree. The Roots of the Erdtree grow throughout the Nameless Eternal City, maybe the Two Fingers planted the Erdtree close to where the Nameless City was destroyed as a reminder to the Nox. Great job on this dude, fascinating stuff.

[@blazaybla22]

This makes the fact that the Asimi the silver year questline was cut so much more frustrating lol, since she talks about how you both could have been lords, you being the elden lord and her of the Eternal City

[@wafledonkyproductins]

that save at the end was so crazy

[@onathezema5821]

Awesome! Lore is great and all, but anyone going to mention that 1HP play at the end?! Good stuff!

[@NWolfsson]

Additionally, the lesser Malformed Stars strike me in one aspect: They're grey. Or, rather, silver. Whatever Astel's origins are, the Malformed Stars are surely a mimic version, be it the first stage of the experiment leading to an Astel, or Astel being the original (the latter being plausible since the Malformed Stars are apparently unable to move, akin to the first generation Albinaurics)

[@Coast2CoastFlyin]

I also feel that there is definitely some significance in the name "Natural born of the void" and the weapon forged from Astel's remembrance, "Bastard's Stars." Natural born refers to one born from a married couple, whereas a bastard is born out of wedlock. No idea what that significance would be, but that seems too intentional to be a meaningless addition

[@zachialadams9279]

Astel represents the aspect of the Outer Gods that Ranni seeks. The part that WE as humans can reach through effort and suffering. Him being found in areas afflicted by the effects of other Outer Gods is likely because an Astel's influence degrades that of the Greater Will to some extent, but not enough to influence it himself.

[@darkkislich]

I always thought starbeast evolves into astel and they came from outer space, landed on the land between, inhibited the place. All Astel form hide from the sun and go underground because they don’t have the thick skin protection; while the starbeast form land on the surface but fail to find underground to fully evolve.

[@samuels1245]

I love your speculation! It's wonderful to have more From Soft loremasters now that Elden Ring has reached such a broad audience.

[@jellydarling1008]

Your video was recommend to me from MadLuigi. Got yourself a new subscriber

[@xVibra]

I always imagined that Astel just burrowed it's way into a human body. I imagine that the Fallingstar Beast happened to be in a chunk of rock that fell to Earth(?) and just used the rock as a shell to protect itself, or just got stuck inside it. It's possible that Astel just used to skull and arms of a dead Nox to use as a tool. You could also imagine that they might have been consumed if they were smaller in an earlier form leading to the human skull being stuck on its head with arms coming out from the side. Golden Centipedes are consumed when you make them into Rejuvinating Boluses, and you can also get them to drop from the Erdtree Guardians(the plant dudes with trees coming out their back), although it doesn't necessarily mean they consume them. Centipedes lay their eggs in logs and holes in their ground. They may be making nests in these Guardian's tree hunch, similar to how these space bugs could be making nests in the "holes in the ground," or potentially in the worshippers. It makes sense that in the same way these Golden Centipedes are worshipped and consumed, the golden order and its followers might have moved on to consuming these space bugs since you also see people worshipping the Fallingstar Beast in front of Leyndell. Since we do see that giant Nox body on the throne, we can imagine that the mimic tears created giant people as well. We don't really know if they die and leave human bones though. It's entirely possible that the Nox aren't mimic tears, and there were just giant humans. Although, Fromsoft does play with size difference to symbolize importance, and it doesn't necessarily mean they are actually that size. That being said, the skull on its head is likely not its own skull, and Astel is probably not human in any way. Another thing is that the space bug tails have little orbs that look like centipede eggs leading back to the idea that they are using the underground as a place to reproduce.

[@bowley4]

So something I found yesterday was the aesthetic similarity between the Fallingstar beasts and the immature real life bug, the Antlion, which eventually goes into a cocoon and becomes another more dragonfly looking version of itself that GREATLY resembles the Astel! Given that the gelmir “fully grown” Fallingstar beast has that protrusion on its head that resembles the face of the Astel, one could surmise that the Fallingstar beasts are a pre-pupae form of Astel and through metamorphosis become the malformed stars, that are not fully formed Astel yet, hanging from the ceiling as some butterfly/moths do as they emerge, with weakened bodies/wings until they become fully finished as the natural born and yelough versions of them are.

[@MalkuthSephira]

sorry to reply to a 9 month old comment but THANK YOU. i don't blame most people for not randomly knowing about the antlion life cycle but as somebody who does know that (for basically no reason, it's just trivia i happen to know i guess), it is always great to see someone bring it up, because it is super obviously a big part of what's going on with the fallingstar beasts and Astels. it's fine to not know about antlions but i have seen so many complaints about it not making sense that there's more than one Astel, because i was definitely surprised to find it in the tunnel and i hadn't magically known that Astel was going to be the name of the species, but to me it was just a really damn cool reveal that the Astel fought after the lake of rot wasn't the only truly fully grown example still existing in the lands between. i also feel like a LOT of salty people read Fromsoft in weirdly bad faith and i find that extremely frustrating, especially since it's usually people who are at least claiming to be Fromsoft veterans. even if you don't know how antlions work, if you're not basically searching for things to get mad about on purpose, it's pretty clear that the second Astel is a reveal that more than one fully matured version survived for those who knew about antlions, and a reveal that Astel was the name of a species and not a single creature for those who didn't. people say they love that Fromsoft doesn't handhold about its lore, that they love having to fill in pieces and put things together, but an awful lot of those people are pretty clearly lying to themselves about that considering the tantrums they throw whenever Elden Ring contains a Fromsoft-typical amount of not handholding about the lore.

[@bowley4]

@@MalkuthSephira I appreciate your well written reply! So when I posted this I also posted about it on FB with picture of the two and also the before and after of the Antlion process next to it… and you’re right!!! A handful of people were really cool and we had some really insightful, great conversation about lore and Nokstella etc etc. But the other couple hundred comments were a bunch of mouth breathers whose argument basically boiled down to… “if I don’t know what an Antlion is, it’s not that,” and also, well the lore doesn’t EXPLICITLY TELL YOU, therefore, it’s “not that.” Some people really can’t put the pieces of the puzzle together themselves… it’s a shame. For instance, it doesn’t outright TELL US that milliscent (and sisters) are the daughters of Malenia, but they sure alluded to it enough times… it’s like WELL OBVIOUSLY!! They’ve done everything BUT tell us outright… and on that tip, I’ve been thinking lately that I think Gowry is most likely the father… he says it like he’s sort of “adopted” milliscent, but he cant keep himself from commenting on Malenia’s beauty and “followed her to caelid” for the radahn fight and stayed behind. There’s also lore that points to him originally being a great sage in Elphael… so maybe he was banished from there? Or she cut him off via her insanity/doesn’t recognize him any more etc etc. Could be that he’s the actual father but doesn’t want to bring up a shit sandwich of lore to “some dude” who walks up to his shack… One thing that has confused me still is that if you “kill” him, he turns into one of those pest thread insect creatures… maybe that’s his real form? Or maybe a spell to disguise his corpse as that upon death? But he also comes back to life if you kill him so… idk!

[@dwirtz0116]

Great Video!!! 👏👏😎😎🤘🤘 Yeah I gotta say that Nox Flowing Hammer is probably one of my favorite strike weapons. 🤔🤔💯💯

[@johnokazaki7967]

Great video! Alas, the origin of these beats is quite different. You see, both astel and the star beasts come from the stars themselves. Selia was bound to be destroyed by one of these stars, and that's why Radahn stopped the stars from falling.

[@jonnymario771]

My favorite boss design. It looks like he is based in the antlion, the entire metamorphosis.

[@jordanquigley6794]

Perhaps the falling star beasts are a larval form, they also seem to bare a single eye which is also visible within Astels skull cavity

[@CJusticeHappen21]

We've seen that Elden Ring plays host to not just the Greater Will, but other otherworldly God's. The Formless Mother, and the Scarlet Rot God. Both of these entities are housed within, or act through, agents. I think that whatever Astel is, it had a human agent, but their influence on them has twisted them into the form we now see before us. This explains the vaguely human elements that are present.

[@piterpraker3399]

I think it's the primeval current, acting as another source of "un-life". The sorcerers become nearly inorganic trying to achieve this, and I think it's the compressed knowledge that those meatballs have that attracts the attention of the current. When the current "bends" towards them it summons a meteorite fallingstar beast, or a naturalborn. The beasts are just that, and the naturalborns are a grotesque approximation of pure agency from the current - similar to the guardians of the erdtree. The void itself recognizes the world as a foreign entity and is attacking it, like a star devouring a planet that's too close. Radahn was killing these things left and right with his ridiculous (but wholesome) horse in orbit, and was holding them off until you defeat him.

[@danielruiz2051]

the nameless eternal city is part of leyndell. its evidenced by the giant hole just beyond the main gate of leyndell,

[@dn1159]

Heyo i just wanted to say thanks fam, this was a great video, keep it up :)

[@TheBlaringBlue]

Loved the video - very thoughtful and well done. Love the theories, too. Only problem I have with Astel being a creation is that his remembrance specifically says he was born in the lightless void far away. Those two things just don't add up, despite how much I love the theory.

[@depressedpacito7024]

I mean. Like. You literally defeat Radahn who then causes the stars to fall across the sky. This is hence where the naturalborn are from. Or translated as "Bastard of the Void" So Astel in this case is the malformed child of the stars. Frozen in time to mutate and mature from a normal fallingstar beast into something else. As the stars fell upon the land Nokron and Nokstella become more accessible, there is another type of these mobs inside a cave in the northern ice zone, literally in a random cave. Not an Astel, but the Malformed. It sleeps inside the ice cave, but theres no impact point from a falling star, therefore these creatures can exist wherever they see fit, or they are the subterranean Apex Predators and thats why we rarely see large wildlife (or any for that matter) underground.

[@fenrisfenrir5573]

I dont even play elden ring but i like how they designed astel, It look like creature born from the void, lurking around edge of space, eating or using dead planet as its body. The usage of space skybox inside a cave (void) so perfect for it