Elden Ring - They were made to fail

[@ZullietheWitch]

Although Messmer was evidently tasked with the slaughter of Tarnished, it seems he may not have been too fussed about those born without grace to begin with, considering Gaius is evidently a close friend of his. Either that, or it's another example of human bias making exceptions in what should be hard rules. Either way, his friendship with Gaius humanizes him somewhat, and shows the camaraderie he shares with those who fought alongside him, even in his war bereft of grace or honor.

[@AntonsVoice]

If Gaius learned gravity magic with Radahn, does that mean he was a friend of Ogha?

[@bleuasphalte4270]

"i can't be racist, i have an albinauric friend!!"

[@Neremworld]

@@bleuasphalte4270 Huh, I never even noticed his red blood.

[@nundulan]

​@@bleuasphalte4270Even the funny Austrian painter had a Jewish friend, pretty sure he was his driver or something

[@tiacool7978]

I think his focus was on actual Hornsent. Killing those without grace was just the overarching excuse for it. He obviously looked the other way in regards to Gauis.

[@CuriousLumenwood]

FromSoft lets out a deep sigh of relief every time a development error is seen by the fans as more lore

[@john_michael97]

That’s the kind of lore they have built though. Quite a large portion of what we “know” about the lore in Fromsoft games is speculation based on small details. The fact that it can be read into as lore significant is a positive thing for the games as a whole in my opinion 🤷‍♂️.

[@Playradise]

​@@john_michael97absolutely wrong! It just shows humans pathetic tendency to find meaning where there is none. How do you know souls games "stories" are not just some technical errors that people misread as lore?

[@generallyupsetfetus]

@@Playradise Pathetic tendency is a little absurd. Let people have fun, that's the beauty of interpretation. You don't need to belittle people for having an interest. Maybe the real bad part about humans is their tendency to think them higher than civilized members of their own species.

[@Playradise]

@generallyupsetfetus history has proven it in case you haven't noticed, all religious violence and cruelties were committed bcause people are desperate for meaning for their pathetic suffering where no meaning actually exist. It is a scientific fact that humans crave meaning for their existence but unfortunately we live in a meaningless life so people are desperate to make their own meaning. In the case of dark souls, people thought there are some meaningful lore about the izalith boss fight and the area when in fact it was just the result of a rushed development, do u want to deny it?

[@CuriousLumenwood]

@@john_michael97 never said it was a bad thing, I just think it’s funny. Personally I love it

[@JEEBUSxHIMSELF]

always loved his pants description Black iron greaves made for Commander Gaius. A cruel joke, for he could not wear them. Riding atop the boar he called his other half, Gaius was in fact a warrior of albinauric extraction.

[@prinnydude5864]

"Hey Gaius, here is your leggings" "Piss off"

[@Greywander87]

As an additional detail, defeating Gaius makes his armor set available for purchase at the Roundtable Hold... except his pants, which are found separately elsewhere.

[@Hydra_X9K_Music]

​​@@Greywander87Specifically in a hut, held by an Albinauric woman. Was that his wife/girlfriend? XD

[@rodo1252]

I think its a great way to reveal it. I hadnt stopped to think about it during the fight, and the reveal after defeating him that he was an albinauric with the leggings made so much sense in hindsight.

[@Kevvv890k]

@@Hydra_X9K_Music oh that's a cool idea!

[@VictorIV0310]

Ironic how an Albinauric, a people so hated and scorned throughout the Lands Between, enjoys a high rank in Messmer’s army and commands great respect from the troops.

[@joshuakim5240]

It seems that, while he was respected by Messmer, he wasn't respected by the troops considering how the leggings they made for him only exists as a cruel joke.

[@AntonsVoice]

He may have also been secretly respected by the Redmanes. Or at least one. Ogha, who also learned gravity magic at Radahn's side.

[@metalmonster9536]

Commander without personnel to command. Maybe he was a lone warrior and Messmer gave him such a title just to protect or commemorate his friend.

[@weeferooni]

his troops could easily have been all the corpses laying around his boss arena but someone can easily correct me if im wrong about that.

[@LordDragox412]

@@joshuakim5240 But what if they weren't intended as a cruel joke? What if the cruel joke was that they were so ugly Gaius cut off his legs to rub it in the face of the maker of the leggings? They're so terrible not a single tarnished uses them. /s

[@thecommentguy9380]

Gaius: Becomes one of Messmer's commanders Messmer: As a gift for this occasion, my friend. I will give you this set of pants and boots Gaius: You for real bro? Messmer: yes

[@warcoder]

That's how you know they were real bros.

[@LordDragox412]

Gaius cut his legs off just so he didn't have to wear those ugly leggings. No tarnished can match his level of dedication to fashion souls!

[@Spookatz.]

​@@LordDragox412if you aren't a coward they can actually look peak

[@kode-man23]

This is basically a Monty Python sketch hidden in the lore, and I am so here for it 😂

[@goldengolem4670]

Those stripped of the grace of legs shall all get pants!

[@Majere613]

For what it's worth, Loretta is riding in a conventional manner with her legs in stirrups and she's holding something in both hands, so traditionally she'd control her horse with her legs and knees. If her legs didn't work, riding in that manner would be very difficult indeed, let alone fighting that way.

[@niscent_]

for what it's worth, we see plenty of albinauric mounted archers who wield their bow with both hands while their wolf is running around you... we rarely get any hard proof, only hints that or more or less dismissable.

[@CPU9incarnate]

But she also serves the Haligtree, and thus would have access to prosthetics.

[@joshuaa7266]

Would it be possible for Loretta and other mounted albinaurics to have enough strength in their legs to direct their mounts, but not enough to hold their own weight?

[@ltcaphide]

The wolf riding albinaurics have their legs like that too despite the fact that they're unfunctional

[@vemto9643]

​@@joshuaa7266 From my Little experience, directing mounts Is a hard job for legs and hips

[@Issengan]

its simple, they just injected him with a ton of red food coloring

[@joshuaconnall4237]

One of the many activities conducted by Messmer and Gaius on their drinking nights

[@davidhong1934]

"It took three days before we realized that someone spiked the remaining beer with red Kool-Aid" _--Messmer "Snakey Boy" the Impaler_

[@Outofrealman]

Btw Romina bleed red on her human upper body and bleed white on her insect part so...

[@mrafishonascreen2986]

​@@Outofrealman buddy what things do you have to look up for insect to auto correct into "incest"?

[@Issengan]

@Outofrealman ok?

[@metalmonster9536]

Forefathers, one and all, BOAR WITNESS!

[@sabotower1792]

YEEAAAHHHHHHHH

[@dude_who_likes_3d_modeling]

boarfathers*

[@tropezando]

I am the Lord of all that is bacon. I command thee, SQUEAL

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

Peak

[@gestalt7529]

She may be a young albinauric whose legs aren’t completely gone yet. Alternatively, she might not be an albinauric at all, as she possesses holy damage reduction, while other albinaurics typically have the opposite. The shield description refers to a “trivial” rumor. This suggests that helping the albinaurics, who are frowned upon in this worldview, is something that would likely only happen if one were also an albinauric, indicating a deep-seated prejudice.

[@gestalt7529]

Damn, the world of Elden ring has a lot of racism 😅 Frenzied flame might be up to something

[@atomicbanana55]

They could also be false or prosthetic limbs to help make her disguise more believable if she is an albinauric.

[@nowelk4110]

Womens albinaurics have legs

[@stephenjenkins7971]

@@gestalt7529 ER racism is pretty minor compared to real world racism, tbh. Stuff like pogroms are extremely common back in the day, and they still happen with some frequency.

[@tatuvarvemaa5314]

@@atomicbanana55 I don't see her needing to disguise herself since she sided with Carians originally and later joined the Haligtree, neither having prejudice towards the race. It could be that her armor was originally fitted to have the legs as a part of the set, but later of course they became a redundant part that couldn't been/didnt need to be removed.

[@EuclideanAl]

Friends with Radahn, friends with Messmer... The only one Gaius won't be friends with is us :(

[@Toluj330]

Nobody wants to be our friend 😞

[@thewolfofthestars1847]

I think Gaius would be a great friend tbh. I'd invite him out for a pint

[@lyssandrefinge4721]

@@thewolfofthestars1847 MAY THE SUN SHINE UPON THIS LORD OF CINDER !!!

[@tropezando]

Only goth girls like the Tarnished in Elden Ring, the guys never invite us to the LAN parties

[@jim0_o]

Surely its actually the Boar Gaius' is riding that can't stand the sight of us when we enter the arena.

[@corneliusdwyer1824]

Your cinematography has gotten so good, that shot of Messmer and Gaius is incredible

[@NA-ke9sl]

Should be noted that every time you riposte an Albinauric, red blood comes out. There's no lore reason for this its clearly an oversight.

[@michaeliniga7958]

Boost this comment to the top. Itd be funny if fromsoft came up wit some goofy lore, like for some reason being parried granted grace and humanity to the albinaurics all along😂😂 You could say the parry pose was secretly the pose of the rune of rebirth 😂😂😂

[@GideonOfnirTheAllKnowing]

Fr

[@boonius]

It’s because they just ate tomato soup

[@metalmonster9536]

When you parry the Untouchables they become attackable. Behold, the power of granting human form!

[@Fierce0Deity0Link]

>random FromSoft dev watching this video: "Fuck, we forgot something again!"

[@darthplagueis13]

Still not really convinced about the Loretta theory. If you compare her to other mounted Albinaurics, the wolfback archers ride their mounts sidesaddle and Gaius has a specialized saddle and is noted to be incapable of even wearing his greaves. Loretta on the other hand is mounted like a normal knight, with her legs in stirrups. For an albinauric, it would probably not be possible to stay seated in a stable manner like that.

[@bargainbrandmilk9858]

i saw another comment saying that gaius and loretta are just the more completed versions of the albinaurics, gaius came first but since the leg degradation was still happening to him they threw him away but loretta was a success, i also just assume that since you have to go to the big albinauric lady in snowfield to get loretta shield that loretta was an albinauric because of that

[@DrunkenEros]

@@bargainbrandmilk9858 Is there any evidence of this at all or is it just that commenter making up things

[@bargainbrandmilk9858]

@DrunkenEros i mean it's just a theory, you'll find that a lot of theories are heresy, it's just fun

[@rainbowkrampus]

@@bargainbrandmilk9858 hearsay* Heresy is something else. Though I will say I do find some people's theories heretical lmao

[@bargainbrandmilk9858]

@rainbowkrampus minor spelling error

[@31Moth13]

Personally I think that Loretta having red blood was an oversight due to late-in-development lore changes. We know from the 1.0 build that Loretta was originally not a named character, but a simply one of the (presumably many) "Arbor Sentinels" who served Miquella. If that change happened late enough, it was probably easier to just change her lore and add implications that she was an Albanuric than it was to change her actual model to match it with the new lore.

[@LordDragox412]

No no no, FromSoft is perfect and would not make such a glaring oversight, you just don't get the genius behind the lore implications! /s

[@sorensouthard927]

That's probably right honestly.

[@fifzeppelin]

​@@LordDragox412 reddit comment

[@LordDragox412]

@@fifzeppelin I'm actually referencing an actual KZbin comment I saw here a few months ago :P

[@robertspeedwagon982]

Changing blood color is probably only a minor thing, as it's only a vfx change (and a color change at that). I wouldn't be surprised if the blood's color is just dictated by a single value for each NPC. I highly doubt it's an oversight, as it would literally take only a few minutes to change that. (especially since Loretta only appears once with blood, and one other time as a ghost contrary to other ennemies who may have 1 version per area).

[@DrentifulGaming]

I think for Loretta I like the idea of her not being an albinauric and just caring for them. Also she has her legs so there’s that. Lol

[@maximedaunis8292]

I have seen the absence of her legs, therefore she has no legs which means that she is a horse woman of artificial origin aka...

[@DTGeorge]

Remember when everyone thought we were getting horse armor in the dlc?

[@commaJim]

No lol

[@KingArthur31]

I really wanted torrent with the tree sentinel Armor or something familiar , given the dlc announcement artwork included Miquella riding him .

[@metalmonster9536]

Definitely would have been a lovely addition. My Torrent was always jealous of Night Calvarys' cozy black veil.

[@Zanemob]

And new mounts like dragons lol.

[@lharsay]

Maybe we are getting a golden horse armor micro DLC.

[@videocrowsnest5251]

With hindsight - For all the runefarming those albinaurics got subjected to, they deserved a bit of payback. Gaius coming along with some retribution makes sense.

[@kode-man23]

Omg I never even thought of this, but it is officially my head cannon now 😂 The only sad part is that I’ve played SotE so much that I think Gaius is now objectively the easiest boss in the DLC 😕 Sad for Gaius/ the Albinurics, or sad for the guy who played to the point where Gaius become easy… it’s up for debate.

[@8SwordStyle]

Easily one of my favorite youtube channels. No BS, just awesome lore and intelligent insight. Thank you!!!!

[@Battleguild]

Imagine if Loretta rode a Red Wolf of Radagon instead of a regular horse mount.

[@your_neko]

Imagine Rennala riding actual Radagon to the battle.

[@tropezando]

The corpses from Gideon's attack on the albinauric village also bleed red.

[@hanifloka130]

Torrent when you press the circle button: "I am speed" Gaius' Boar, normally: "I'm fast as f**k boiii!"

[@waveburner1254]

The Albinaurics served the Carians so i'd say it isn't to far fetched that she was indeed a Albinauric herself. And the promised land all Albinaurics want to visit and her protecting the city of said land only backs up this theory.

[@tatuvarvemaa5314]

I agree. I think that her ties to Carians is a very important thing to consider about her lore I haven't seen a lot of people talk about.

[@DigiZees]

Plus we know trolls were allowed to serve as knights for Caria suggesting they were more accepting of other species

[@thewitchrenna]

00:10 his helm also mentions "Gaea", and I don't remember this character being mentionned anywhere else. Who tf are they ?

[@radiantramsy9220]

I believe it's his boar.

[@aifos5171]

Could be the albinauric lady that drops his pants, his boar or someone else entirely that was added just because

[@Sinhsseax]

@@aifos5171 I feel like the boar is most likely. If you look at Gaius animations you can actually see that the boar is itself performing a lot of gravity magic, like with its tusks. It's funny to think though, that this pig was there in the classroom studying too. Also, it probably has high int stats.

[@Paddy656]

I mean, pigs are pretty smart ​@@Sinhsseax

[@icetide9411]

That boar has a really good int/str build

[@DrunkenEros]

Sometimes things are just errors. Fromsoft isn't infallible and not everything is a lore detail, like how if your riposte an regular albinauric they bleed red

[@metalmonster9536]

True. Though sometimes these kinds of things do actually have meaning(which is why I like its games too), it seems From is too much deified these days-as if everything they make are carefully placed with reason. I still remember when people were debating about a Gwyndolin-looking statue in another Zullie video but it turned out to be a random thing from real life.

[@crazyyobbo]

Gaius and Messemer are the og trauma bonders

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

2:30 kinda unrelated but Loretta is one of my favorite character designs in any game. It's both beautiful and cool af

[@danprentice7073]

Nice to know more prefrontal lore for everyone's favourite living armoured freight train, who is also a wizard . Also I believe his bore is taking revenge on players for the unspeakable things we have done to their piggy brethren.

[@razz2625]

gaius was the hardest boss in the dlc for me tbh

[@apophisstr6719]

Solely because his attacks had some really mad hitboxes, though if you use the deflect mechanic and guard counter, he's not that bad.

[@Loafster_P]

Especially before they patched it so he didn’t immediately charge you when you went thru the fog wall. It was an instant deletion of 75% HP on higher NG’s

[@Soulute367]

​@Loafster_P that was super annoying. Also the golden hippo did that too and that suffered the same problems.

[@ghoulbuster1]

It's way easier if you use torrent.

[@KingArthur31]

Tbh i was really surprised Gaius dropped a rememberance , him and Romina are kinda just waiting there for you in their arena unlike other side bosses having actual buildup like putrescent knight being st trina’s protector and scadutree avatar being the manifestation of the scadutree itself.

[@Kryptnyt]

Rellana is also kind of just there chillin

[@carlthegreat9621]

It feels like some of them were added just so they could have more bosses. Extra painful knowing the cut voicelines.

[@Sinhsseax]

Well, so are Astel, Fire Giant, Ancestor Spirit and Fortissax. I feel like whenever Fromsoft can't think of any valuable information or gesture (like the Abyss Watcher raising his sword at you) they just don't bother with a cutscene. Also Romina actually has quite a lot of build up. There's an ash representing her stinger down in the Scorpion river and basically one half of the Rauh Ruins is filled with her red buds. I do feel like she's the logical end point for the area. Gaius not having build up is fair though. His moveset definitely supports his remembrance status in complexity, but his OST and build-up don't.

[@NA-ke9sl]

@@carlthegreat9621 The voicelines added nothing. I'm a bit tired of this criticism given the majority of bosses in the Ringed City did not have cutscenes or voices either. A lot in Sekiro don't even, just a handful of the very major ones. Its really base-game Elden Ring and Old Hunters that are the outliers here.

[@KingArthur31]

@@Sinhsseaxthey could made gaius guard the entrance to shadow keep outside instead of the hippo but I think it would discourage people accessing the area and finishing the dlc

[@barasmin7759]

Wouldn't it be utterly amazing if you took off Gaius' helmet and he was a second generation albinauric all along, masking his tiny stature with the huge armor Could explain why the boar is so fast, if its rider is a very light frog person

[@venturelord32]

Cinnabar, the red crystal ore, is a naturally found form of the silver liquid metal mercury. Make of that what you will.

[@kanardy]

For some reason I want to play Pokémon Red now

[@ShadowReignhart]

I think maybe Gaius, and by extension Loretta, may have been the most "Successful" Albinaurics. What I mean is that Gaius may have been the First Complete Albinauric, but due to the degradation continuing, they threw him to wayside to make another, which could have been Loretta. It's fascinating to speculate on really. But it could explain why they have Red blood instead of Silver, as they were closer to true people than all the rest that seemed to fail automatically.

[@Kalicer]

Without knowing why albinaurics were made, we can't say how successful any of them are.

[@cybertruckeralpha]

The rare unknown lore of the Rubinaurics

[@infhyperdeath7133]

thank you Zullie

[@taylorbrecht8049]

This theory's got legs

[@Dagarar]

Stop 😂

[@redwitch95]

must've stolen his

[@pafunciobatista8244]

unlike gaius lmao

[@shirdool6202]

1:46 seek paleblood transcend the hunt

[@synthraofficial5366]

Albus died when his legs withered away so my question is: if Gaius has legs that have withered away, how is he alive? Albus literally said "My legs will soon fade, and with them, my life. Alas, this is the immovable fate of all Albanaurics." I have so many questions.

[@takingiteasy17]

One of your best videos. I learned something new on almost every slide!

[@NotSpoiledMilk]

We needed armor for torrent that would be sold by someone after killing the tree sentinels, loretta, draconic sentinels, and gaius.

[@celestialarrow462]

SUCH INTERPRETATION. THIS WAS ***NOT*** MY INTENTION.

[@specialnewb9821]

I'm going with error. From can and has made mistakes, and I think fandom reads to deep into things sometimes.

[@KamilMalach]

0:45 This shot is so cinematic

[@EpicFroggz]

I was about to comment that too! it’s sick!

[@Endonae]

So much of SotE didn't get the full polishing treatment. Given how there's so little explanation for the Albinaurics, I'm not surprised that there are errors. The discrepancy in the color of Ghostflame (gray vs blue) is a far more pronounced example, but then you go down the rabbit hole of what the Shadow Realm is actually supposed to be. The Suppressing Pillar suggests it's a sort of underworld, but Death is largely ignored here compared to its prevalence in the Lands Between. It's conflated with sleep and a measure to quarantine the Flame of Frenzy. It's also striking that Messmer doesn't look very alive, and he has this arbitrarily small yet still independent archetype of fire. What if Messmer's flame was originally meant to be Ghostflame? He'd be blue rather than red, hair included. He would not resemble Malenia or Miquella as much, but we'd see a new kind of kinship as the children of Radagon and Marika are crimson, gold, and cerulean...

[@falgalhutkinsmarzcal3962]

There was a more interesting story for Miquella at one point, indicated by vers 1.0. He would have been an Electrum/Ivory Gold Empyrean, meaning a being of Gold AND Silver. This would have explained why there are Albinaurics cocooned in the Haligtree, transformed into Cleanrot Knights with red blood because Miquella would have been using his own blood to transform them, and would explain why they are so loyal. This would also explain why Gaius and Loretta have red blood as Albinaurics; because he imbued them with his blood, as he did the Haligtree. It would have also explained why he wanted Mohg's blood. Originally the dlc was supposed to be part of the main game, but development changed, and it became too large (hence why vers 1.0 refers to the Shadowlands in a map fragment as Tenebrae). Anyway, they had to patch the story and write it in a different direction to accommodate how they split the dlc content from the main game. This would also explain why they cut Messmer for the dlc even though GRR Martin had written the pre-Shattering lore already.

[@Necromancer-CC]

Yahaha! You found me! Wait, you're not hestu. Well, if you see him, make sure to give him this.

[@Notarobot1006]

I like the Mohg bit at the end. It's entirely possible that some of the red Albinaurics did join willingly because they're treated so poorly in the Lands Between that even the spooky blood cult that turns them into spikey mutants is LESS awful to them than the Golden Order.

[@кипок]

This video goes so hard at 2x speed 🔥

[@Mazapine]

I wonder if they were made that way to make sure that they wouldn't easily be able to rebel against those who created them

[@fosterbennington6405]

I wonder if Loretta’s legs on the horse are like Lord Farquaad’s in Shrek and she’s really got nothing in there

[@robertspeedwagon982]

The craziest thing with Loretta imo is that most people feels that it's more logical for her to be an albinauric (with the only "evidence" being a quote that directly describe that idea as "an absurd rumor") rather than just be a nice person

[@screech5212]

But hee niceness is a lot tbh. She abandons her duties as a royal guard of the carians to go help a race which is seen as impure Snd disgusting. Unless she was of that race.

[@robertspeedwagon982]

@screech5212 She abandons here duty protecting the wealthy/powerful to help those under Carian (and everyone else repression). That's a character that I think is much more interesting than she's just an albinauric who leaves at some point because she feels like it

[@CPU9incarnate]

It's called "an absurd rumor" in a way specifically intended to make it sound like a defensive lie.

[@DigiZees]

@@CPU9incarnateagreed, it’s interesting to note that FromSoftware rarely use hyperbole in their descriptions without some level of irony. That line of text is what actually seeded the theory in my head originally

[@michaellevesley3578]

Yeah but like there are other things pointing to it too. She's also a mounted warrior who's favored weapon is the bow. Like every other albenaric woman we've seen

[@Neptunequeen42]

I've always loved the way you're able to so matter-of-factly discuss the story of these games. You have a great way of neatly summarizing complex lore topics without misrepresenting them. Idk, your text in these videos always has the voice of someone who's very confident about the factual events they're describing, which is very different from how most people talk about fromsoft games as though even the most basic information should be treated as speculation.

[@monsieurdorgat6864]

Oh wow I didn't notice Gaius's boar has armor with gravity magic emblems on it! Always was a bit too preoccupied to see...

[@flanerqstro3531]

So basically depsite being of one of the most hated race in the game... gaius was able to become friend and be respected by the best and most feared characters 😤

[@duquette1792]

This pinecone on a boar gave me more trouble than literal gods. Funny how Fromsoft chose to model him after a pinecone considering how they're affected by forest fires. That'd probably be why Messmer loves this dude so much lol

[@fernandyux3000]

You know who else is forever bound to his mount? Radahn, he doesn't even have proper feet!

[@DigiZees]

I would like to add some points that point in favour of the Loretta being an Albinauric: 1. She was focused on finding a safe haven for the Albinaurics. The Albinaurics were generally looked down upon and we’re not really given any reason for why she would care about them. Unless she has a personal investment being of the same species. 2. She was a royal night of Caria and we know the house of Caria have a less elitist view of non-human races than others. Quote from the troll knight sword: “the trolls are treated as true knights of Caria, and fight arm in arm with their human comrades.” Suggesting Caria wouldn’t have had a problem with enlisting an Albinauric. 3. After leading the Albinaurics to Miquella’s Haligtree she switched allegiance from Caria to Miquella and had the glintstone in her staff replaced with unalloyed gold (source: Loretta’s War Glaive). Given Miquella’s aim on providing refuge to shunned creatures it would make sense for her to switch allegiances to someone who wanted to protect her people. 3. Her sorcery Loretta’s great bow states it was her favourite weapon. Albinauric women all seem to have an affinity for archery as seen with Latenna and the archers found in Ordina. Also this seems like an odd detail to mention given in both boss fights she mainly uses her glaive. 4. First generation Albinaurics are unable to use their legs and we only ever see her riding her horse. 5. Latenna and Loretta are very similar sounding and there’s a trend of naming related characters in this game with similar sounding names. This is by far the weakest link in my opinion but I wanted to bring it up. I posed this theory on Reddit when Elden Ring first released only to be shut down by the blood counterpoint. So I’m feeling very validated right now, thank you Zullie! ❤

[@BarlioneManobolge]

Gaius and Loretta just eat a lot of red food dye.

[@LordDragox412]

My red cabbages!

[@Dagarar]

Another banger video, Zullie ❤ Your work is the best in the game. 😊

[@paralam2175]

I mean the shield calls the rumour "absurd", so Loretta might not be Albinauric. At least that's how I view it.

[@softlyraining2025]

the tone of the "absurd" part feels defensive though, which is why people believe it in the first place. maybe if it said "unfounded" it would be a less popular theory

[@spleenczar]

The one thing that makes me think Gaius isn't an Albinauric at all is that his legs aren't fading, they're totally gone, and first-gen Albinaurics legs pretty explicitly *fade* away in a magical sense as opposed to it being a purely physical defect (especially considering how Albus says that their legs fading is tied to their lifespan). I'm not really sure what the point would be to misrepresent Gaius as an Albinauric though, so it might just be random inconsistencies and none of it is really deep.

[@KaiserMazoku]

So they're some kind of living failures?

[@safetyboots]

They seem pretty successful to me.

[@LordDragox412]

No, that would be me.

[@somersaultinggiraffe1901]

Bloodborne main theme starts playing

[@_Rhyst_]

love your videos, thank you for main em! its just so intresting to dive in the world of the from games :D currently replaying dark souls 2

[@GearShotgun]

A couple ideas here. 1. Spending so much time beneath the Shadow Tree may have caused Gaius to be infused with its power, like the troops who drop the blessed bone fragments. 2. Gaius may have been granted grace in return for his service and close connection Marika's son Messmer. If the Golden Order allowed penal troopers like those of Messmer's army to keep their grace, I can't imagine they wouldn't let an Albinauric who was there of his own choice have it as well. 3. Gaius and Rellana serving together may have a connection to the Albinaurics in Liurnia and Loretta. What if Rellana promised the Albinaurics sanctuary in Liurnia as a favor to Gaius? Alternatively, she may have tasked Loretta with finding a safe place for them.

[@KamadakeX]

Zulie may not have the longest and most comprehensive videos as other Lore KZbinrs, but Zulie definitely has some of the most well thought out, analytical, and concise observations out there. It's no wonder other creators consistently reference you. 🙂 Every time I see a new post from you, it's an instant stop what I'm doing, and watch. Thank you Zulie!

[@hesperides12]

Gaius not wearing pants is just him losing bet with Messmer wether Miquella can succesfully catfish Mogh or not. Ofc Messmer knows his brother better.

[@Did_No_Wrong]

I don't care how unfortunate Gaius was, screw that armored boar and his ridiculous hitboxes

[@aifos5171]

Gaius is another boss that needed some voicelines imo. Maybe somenthing along the lines of MYYY NAAAAAMEEE IS GAIUS THE WILD BOAR RIDER. AS I BREATHE, YOU WILL NOT REACH THE SCADU CHALICE

[@goldie1573]

lol

[@pietrocatalano4285]

I recently did a run where I was cosplaying as all the bosses, and for Gaius (and Loretta, though she was much more annoying) I decided that I couldn't walk, since I was emulating them in lore too. I could only use Torrent and if I was ever knocked off, I had to crouch and couldn't roll before resummoning him. Sounds bad, but it was honestly a ton of fun to have a jousting duel with some gravity magic tossed into the mix, even if the start was a bit messy due to me not figuring out how to fight him properly.

[@Nerthos]

Such fun whimsical little guys

[@ladonmccabe]

I know it’s a boring answer, and to some that means it should be wrong, but I do believe it’s an oversight. He’s stated to be an albinauric in multiple sources, his model supports it, and even his elemental and status resistances match the typical albinauric.

[@softlyraining2025]

I mean it's either an oversight or fromsoftware is saying he's a special red-blooded albinauric

[@JoeL-mm2lc]

A prime example of why you can't create a deep dive on every tiny detail in souls game.

[@Demokaze]

There is also the albinauric archer (Latenna model) corpse in Liurnia surrounded by froghead albinaurics which bleeds red when striked and the silver tears bleed red as soon as they transform to the player model. And I think Loretta is indeed an albinauric because I believe the Miquellan knight sword was meant for her but never given to her because longswords are meant for combat on foot and because she lost her ability to walk she never accepted it and opted for a weapon that's more suited for mounted combat. And before anyone asks why would it be meant for Loretta and not a needle knight: the Miquellan knight sword is modeled after Carian knight designs (Loretta's original oath) and it is embedded with amber instead of glintstone exactly like Loretta's shield.

[@lyssandrefinge4721]

This boss is just the Miyazaki version of the King Bulbin in Zelda Twilight Princess. This boss fight on the Ordinn Bridge is probably a thing that had a great influence on the child i was. It made me dream about and love epic things

[@Tyanus2]

Oh I wonder what type of a gravity spell we get from him, it has to be something juicy looking at how he studied with Radahn

[@lionheart4424]

Great observation about Loretta!

[@weeseet]

Bethesda: "It's not a bug, it's a feature!" FromSoft: "It's not an oversight, it's lore!"

[@DarkHypernova]

They just drank a lot of Kool-aid.

[@MrMoreshoe]

Silly Zullie, have you forgotten the pants lore? Loretta wears pants, so clearly she cannot be an Albinauric.

[@BobBlibor]

Just an interesting observation that might be related - none of Renalla's children have working legs. Radahn's are withered away, Rykard is obviously consumed by the serpent, Ranni's are broken at her corpse (although she might not be a child of Renalla), and you only see Renalla standing in Ranni's memory - her legs do not seem capable of supporting her in her actual form. I do think Renalla herself, and her children are somehow linked to Albinaurics, and might be "of albinauric extraction", much like how it's speculated Marika is "of jar extraction". It's evident some attempts to create fake gods were quite successful.

[@umbek]

This detail about Gaius draws an interesting parallel between him and Radahn, being that they were study partners and friendly rivals - while Leonard isn't technically crippled, in his wretched state he relies on Radahn's use of gravity magic to still be truly useful in battle since he's too small to be ridden now. Even though Radahn has no feet anymore, he clearly doesn't really need them to get around given how easily he flies through the air. So Radahn's mount relies on his rider to fight properly, wheres Gaius is the opposite, relying on his mount to be able to fight properly, since he's basically immobile without it.

[@DJAlphaOmega]

We really need another fully loaded Elden Ring DLC. It's the largest game within the Soulsborne franchise & should definitely be given more attention along with longevity.

[@morgoth4959]

That's why the guy's armor has no legs...

[@ImawandererIroamaround]

Makes me wonder if the tree sentinels are albenaurics

[@NoirRaven]

I think they left the blood red so you can see it on the silver armor. This is why the spider's blood is white on the black head, but red along the mostly whote body.

[@darklordauron]

Or, perhaps a mount and rider will merge and share blood after a long enough time. The removed mimic tear NPC could bond with a host, so perhaps Albinaurics can naturally interface symbiotically with their mounts if they stay attached long enough.

[@mark0183]

Commander Gaius One shot me in a single race Such devastation!!!

[@Raptor747]

Loretta's legs are both sturdy and very proportional, so the notion that she's an albinauric seems absurd. Her head is also not large enough to be frog-like.

[@darthplagueis13]

Well, head aside, she couldn't be a second gen albinauric simply based on the fact that she uses a wide assortment of sorceries that require a lot of intelligence, whereas the second generation of albinaurics is barely even sapient. If anything she would be a first gen, though I agree that her legs and the way she is seated in the saddle don't seem to line up with that.

[@ghoulbuster1]

Thicc thighs you say

[@Dradeeus]

My theory was that both Gaius and Radahn were more successful albinaurics than all other generations, with Radahn being "perfect" probably due to his godly origins. I figured this is how he survived so long with Scarlet Rot, and his inhumanly strong gravity magic. Gaius may have been given the same treatment, maintaining some of his humanity, but he's not a god so he probably did succumb to some of the common side effects. I used to think Radahn had trouble walking (even though he does use his legs, sorta, in his first battle) but of course I was proven wrong when he's walking just fine. That COULD be solely because of being resurrected by Miquella, though.

[@GigachadCrusader]

I never realized it was up for debate wether or not she was an albinauric

[@leohardcal117]

Gaius' helmet looks like a trina lily

[@Ashlevon]

Given that both Gaius and Loretta are extremely proficient fighters and very strong to boot, it could be that their blood gained the red hue. Red is typically associated with strength and vitality, so it would definitely fit them. This is also not to mention that Mohgwyn 2nd gen Albinaurics are literally red and wield their (or maybe the Formless Mother's?) red blood as weapons and thorns.

[@manurz1]

Black iron greaves made for Commander Gaius i think those were made with good intentions it had wheels...so he dont have to drag his legs.... but his illness were to advanced that he couldnt wear them

[@timothywilcox1539]

Hey, I dunno if you take video requests, but I have an elden ring question that has been really bothering me, involving the War Torn Tomb in Radahn's Area. So, spirits of Cleanrot Knights and Radahn's soldiers and Knights are fighting in the central area, simple enough. But whenever you kill them, they seem to respawn. And it doesn't seem consistent as to how many times they respawn, as I observed the knights dyijg permanently after 2-3 attempts, but sometimes the enemies can persist for 10 lives! I just wonder mechanically how this works, and you seem like the right woman to ask!

[@BonePapi]

2:57 the game itself calls it an absurd rumor, one of the few things that Elden Ring states outright and honestly.

[@ZullietheWitch]

There are times where the item descriptions aren't fully literal, and this is potentially one of them. Usually the writing is very matter-of-fact, but it's when it starts using more opinion-based language like "absurd" that it becomes suspect.

[@voraito]

​@@ZullietheWitch This makes me wonder about the Japanese text on that item. The wording here sounds like it was meant to convey the slander of the rumors. That it is the norm to be accused to be hiding one's origin by the populace if one goes out of their way to help the Albinaurics.

[@chrisspeight1473]

It's fascinating how such a tiny detail as the colour of a blood splatter can lead to such a deep analysis. Splendid video as always Zullie

[@sicksabre]

my friends have affectionately dubbed Gaius as Yes King for obvious reasons

[@samarkand1585]

1:44 I feel for that albinauric who went like "oh f*ck I can't believe you've done this"

[@LordDoom10]

You know, it is kinda interesting Radahn also has his legs decaying away as well. And is so attached to his mount. While he is very much not an Albinauric, he has quite a few parallels with them.

[@softlyraining2025]

his legs are "decayed" because they've been dragging through the sand for so long they've been sanded off basically

[@mr.kittysavestheworld695]

The real failure is Gaius' stupid-looking pinecone armor. Who at From ever thought that was a good idea?