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miquellaluciscaelum · 4 months

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"Pure and radiant, he wields love to shrive clean the hearts of men. There is nothing more terrifying".

I warn you! It gotta be long, very long. And it's of course mostly my personal opinion, speculations, theories, ideas about my fav character in this game!

If you are ready, let's go!

A rather interesting and ambiguous set of phrases, especially in combination with the visuals.

I'd like to think about what these phrases mean for Miquella in the context of his character. In the fandom, Miquella is actually a pretty unique character. The main reason is how contradictory people's opinions about him are. He is perhaps one of those about whom we know the least, but at the same time people usually attribute some things and qualities to him with such conviction, as if we have his entire biography laid out on the table instead of a set of very ambiguous descriptions of items that often don't even have a direct relationship to him or they aren't reliably verified belonging to him.

First of all, objectively, Miquella is perhaps one of the most sinless characters in the world of the Elden ring. He is not a warrior who killed for the Golden order. He is not a person who has been proven to have organized and committed a conspiracy to kill another person who is a killer's relative by the way. He did not curse the whole region with rot and slow decay. He wasn't engaged in some super vile heretical practices, wanting to gain at least some power. He didn't even burn Minor Erdtree, do you understand? Hi, Rykard! And most importantly, he was not voluntarily associated with any outer god, who bring mostly destruction on Lands between, at least as far as we know.

We know for certain about Miquella that:

1. The main goal for him was to cure his sister from the curse. He was ready to renounce the Golden Order in trying to seek answers elsewhere, in other branches of magic and faith. It costs a lot. Considering than the closer time came to the Shattering, the more rigid and radical the rules of the Order became under the rule of Radagon. Blasphemy, and this is blasphemy, was punished very severely. Radagon was literally at war with his own son because he had renounced the Golden Order. Hi, Rykard again! And it was Miquella who rejected the Golden order and its practices in order to save his sister, and later most likely completely refused from faith, realizing how much the order was rotten from the inside, from its roots literally.

2. Miquella is a genius. Most likely, he is the smartest of all the demigods and people living in Lands between. His inventions in the fields of magic, engineering, and botany are either rare or legendary items in the game. Prosthetics, armor, needles, lilies, spells. The pure gold needle alone is capable of suppressing the influence of outer gods such as Goddess of Rot and God of Frenzied flame, this actually calls into question their power in the lands between. In this way, this confirms Malenia's words about the most fearsome Empyrean. And indirectly it can make it clear where Miquella's curse came from. Here I agree with @miquella-everywhere that the most likely candidate is Greater Will, which probably saw in Miquella the same threat as in Marika. Anyone who can overcome the influence of at least one god can potentially overcome them all.

3. Miquella is known for hosting all those abandoned, rejected and forgotten by the Golden order. Omens, crystalians, demi-humans, albinaurics, tarnished, assassins, wandering merchants. From his face or under the name of his alter ego Saint Trina, he helped and saved more creatures and people than we know for sure anyone else did. The fact that this content was cut from the game at the final stage of production does not mean that it does not exist.

4. He has a reliably good relationship with most of his family members. He and Malenia feel like two parts of the same soul. He should also have a fairly close and warm relationship with Godwyn, it is shown through the statue in his Haligtree and the description of the sword Golden Epitaph. For a while, he must have had a good relationship with his father, with whom they learned the wisdom of the Golden order together. There is also reason to believe that he had a good relationship with some part of the Carian family. Considering the swords of Miquella's knights, made according to the Carian pattern, and knight Loretta, who guarded Elphael in the end.

5. Miquella definitely has special abilities. Whether it's the properties of his blood, or the traits of his character.

Speaking about this property of endearing people to themselves, I think it is logical to assume that until proven otherwise, that:

- first of all, his role as a CHARISMATIC LEADER. Understand that when his curse revealed, he objectively could not become a warrior like all the other members of his family. He was most likely trained to become a ruler, sage or adviser, commonly a politician. This is charisma training, the ability to win people over, the ability to lead people, the ability to convince and achieve your goals. This does not mean that he is a liar or a manipulator, it means that he is a good person in bad conditions, who uses the tools available to him, can sometimes make gray borderline decisions, but at the same time do it for a better future. In an environment where his curse puts him below everyone else and the military career ladder, the faster way to the top, is inaccessible to him, he has to struggle with acquiring some kind of position even more. In the end before and during the Shattering, by the way, he ruled the entire fucking city with his sister, speaking of charisma and leader characters.

- secondly, the possibility of a special persuasion arose from some kind of natural magnetism exists, perhaps even uncontrolled by Miquella himself. We could all have noticed some insect-like features that Miquella has, wings, cocoons, etc. It is quite possible that there are some special pheromones that soften people's reactions to him and cause instinctive affection, like butterflies have, for example. I.e. partially it may be uncontrollable.

- thirdly, this "gift of persuasion" can be completely hereditary, i.e. it could have come from Marika herself. She still somehow forced the last giant to obey her and guard Forge of the Giants.

That is, his so-called manipulation could be partly uncontrollable, and partly caused by his upbringing and the initial limitations of his position due to the curse, which he absolutely needs to overcome because otherwise he will not have enough knowledge or resources to cure Malenia or himself. Can you blame him for using the tools available to him and perhaps even using his innocent appearance to achieve his goals more easily? I wouldn't. (Honestly, if in the end his darker and more ominous side will be revealed to us, and the guess that he bewitched people will become the truth, I won't start love him less🤣, but now all of these are still just speculations) Moreover, it is not mentioned anywhere that he compeled and controlled people on some cosmic scale, deprived them of their will and forced them to madly love him and follow his ideas. He didn't want to put himself on a pedestal, create a new order, or become an almighty god. If he has the kind of potential that you believe he has, if he is one huge reference to Griffith as you believe, he probably could, but it literally contradicts his whole character, goals and motivation.

But what I absolutely deny and hate is the version that it was Miquella who bewitched Mogh in order to use him for his own purposes and achieve a breakthrough in breaking his curse earlier. I think this is absolutely a piece of SHIT and smacks of VICTIMBLAMING. All Miquella got from his kidnapping was a cursed body; an abandoned and slowly degrading sister, whom he was actually trying to save; a dying rotting tree, he tried to grow with so much effort; and he, who fell under the influence of an outer god, the thing he tried to avoid himself and from which he is still trying to save Malenia. Moreover, we know literally NOTHING about what Mogh did to Miquella while he was with him and in what condition. And believe me, you don't want to know what they write about this in fanfiction and what boarders it sometimes goes beyond. I can't imagine any way in which Miquella could have planned something like this.

Returning to the set of phrases at the beginning of the trailer.

"Pure and radiant, he wields love to shrive clean the hearts of men. There is nothing more terrifying".

Two interpretations.

One based on his "special influence on people." Then it can literally be said here that he is able to change people's consciousness and worldview for the better or for the worse. To free people's hearts from evil and evil thoughts, perhaps any thoughts in principle. This means that he has great power. Whether he uses it or not is another matter. This interpretation echoes Malenia's words and seems to be the most obvious and quite ominous.

However, when I watched the trailer over and over again and this moment in particular, I realized something. The words about a pure innocent soul and strength contrast very strongly with the visual. He is literally so disgusting and repulsive compared to the image of Miquella that they create in our heads that it becomes strange.

And then I thought, what if there is another meaning?

What if it means that such a pure innocent soul has great potential to make the world a better place, to make people living there better. But the higher you fly, the more painful to fall. The more hope you have, the more terrible to experience the defeat. What if this literally means:

Such a pure innocent soul with enough love in her to purify people's hearts. That makes the end of these aspirations even more terrifying.

And they show us Miquella's bloodied, emaciated hand from the cocoon. All his desires: save his sister, save his brother, save himself, make the world a better place for the abandoned and rejected, let life and abundance flourish, ended here. In the hands of a pervert and his perverted god, in a stinking bloody swamp, buried deep underground without a single ray of sun, deep in a dream that has no end, abandoned and left alone. The road to hell has been paved with truly good intentions.

Fuck, I'm crying. Let me save my boy😭

I really don't understand how you can compare Miquella to Griffith when it's literally the same type of character that Miyazaki uses in every bloody game he creates. If you want to call it a rebirth of the world, let it be. Gwyndolin, Lothric, Kuro, Miquella. A boy cursed or weak from birth, different from generally accepted norms, with great responsibility and duty on his shoulders, a defender of ideals in spirit and a fighter against fate in fact, with problems in the family and a legacy more burdensome than beneficial, but most often with loving brothers and sisters and a strong warrior behind his back, master in magic or science, cold-blooded, but very naive at heart. Unwilling to give in to fate, gods, and the world that always expects something from them. Unwilling to surrender to death. These are very similar stories and there is no place in them for what you are looking for. I just hope that there will be no place for a bad ending in the new story either. 😭

Thank you for listening to my Ted talk about some cute soulsborn femboy✨. I even cried at the end. Hope you didn't get bored in the process. Trailer touched me on many soul layers.

#elden ring #elden ring dlc #elden ring miquella #miquella #miquella the unalloyed #long post #lore #shadow of the erdtree #Spotify

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starfreak · 3 months

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Random Elden Ring Rant (Contains Spoilers, VERY LONG)

So, the Numen. We can choose it as a character preset, which tells us they come from another world, or another land. I say "or another land" because historically, America is referred to as the "New World," but it's not a separate planet. However, translations from the Japanese version of the game suggest that the world they come from is one of spirits, the dead, etc., so it could definitely be a Literal other world.

Marika is (rumored to be) a Numen, as are the Black Knife Assassins that participated in the Night of Black Knives.

If Marika is Numen, then it stands to reason so is Radagon, since they are the same person in the same body. This means their children together, Malenia and Miquella (and now presumably Messmer since he has red hair like Radagon, but Miyazaki said that he's the child of Marika, so unless there's another red-haired hottie running around the Lands Between, Radagon is the father), are also Numen. This also means that other children of Marika/Radagon are half-Numen.

It seems Numen are not a single ethnicity, but a whole race of people, with various different contradicting skin tones and hair colors. The template in the character creator has medium-dark skin and brown hair. Marika has pale skin and golden hair (possibly changed to be gold from the Greater Will's influence) and Radagon has the same skin with fiery red hair. We know from the Giant's Red Braid item description (below) that Radagon was either cursed by the Fire Giants or simply born with red hair. I mean...no item descriptions suggest he was born with it...but if I was born with hair I hated, I would blame it on a curse too. Though, to be fair, it IS the same color as the Fire Giants' hair.

Also the Black Knife Assassins have no physical form, so we can't discern their hair or skin colors.

So skin tone seems like a non-factor, but Hair is much harder to parse, due to half the Numen in the game having fiery hair and pronouns. The game says nothing about Marika's hair changing to gold, so it may have always been that color, leading me to believe that indeed, Numen are just...magic humans from a land far away...she's just blonde.

WELP.

That's all cool, but what is the culture of the Numen like? Well we can see that they have a very strong affinity for women and femininity. Not only is Marika, the most powerful Numen we know, a woman...all of the Black Knives are women. Additionally, if we choose to believe that Malenia and Miquella are Numen, this fact is further evidenced by Malenia's being a strong warrior woman (she is literally a Valkyrie) and Miquella's own complex gender identity. Miquella was (supposedly) born male, but presented as rather feminine/androgynous all his life. While Malenia is a masculine woman and reflects Radagon, Miquella is a feminine boy reflecting Marika. Not to mention that Miquella is ALMOST DEFINITELY Saint Trina, who is exclusively referred to as feminine.

In addition to the stong feminine aspects of Numen society apparent in the overabundance of strong fem-presenting characters, the description of Marika's Hammer suggests that women in Numen society (like Marika) have a role as destroyers and warriors, while men (Radagon) have a role of construction and repair.

"Queen Marika shattered the Elden Ring and Radagon attempted to repair it."

Again, this is just speculation, and the mythological actions of Radagon/Marika are likely motivated by a mutlitude of things (namely, the Greater Will constantly looming over them, the presence of the Elden Beast constantly lurking just under the surface), but I'm making do with what I have.

Also, back to genetics of the Numen again for a second, of all Radagon and Marika's children outside of the ones they had together (Messmer and the Twin Empyreans), most of them seem to inherit Radagon/Marika's hair.

Radagon and Rennala's kids, Radahn, Rykard, and Ranni, (presumably) have red hair. We never actually see Ranni's hair pre-doll form, so I'm assuming it's red lkke her brothers'.

Marika and Godfrey's kids, Godwyn, Mohg, and Morgott, all have either pale hair or no hair (Mohg has no hair visible on account of all the omen horns).

So it seems like the genes of Numen are incredibly dominant, even dominating the gene pool multiple generations after the first. Godwyn's kids, Godrick and Godefroy, have the same hair color as he does. Malenia's "daughters," although not genetically related to her, all seem to have gained her red hair through exposure to her Scarlet Aeonia. This may also be true of the Cleanrot Knights, but they could also have plucked the red hairs from Fire Giants or Leonine Misbegotten and used them as decor for their armor.

Even merely interacting with a Numen as powerful as Marika, or her direct children, can change one's appearance irreversably. Sure, this could all likely be from her status as a God, but who knows how powerful the average Numen could become if granted the strength? We become Elden Lord after all.

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miquella-everywhere · 1 month

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okay so i see that your one of the few sane elden ring fans who understands miquellas character and i wanted to ask how you think miquella will end up being in the dlc & if you think if he ends up getting "corrupted" in what way :P

How I think Miquella will be?

Well obviously I have my biases because he's my favorite character lol But I would personally like for Miquella to be a companion character and we will be able to assist him in his goals when we eventually find him in the Realm of Shadow (fromsoft plz 😭)

But in terms of how I judge his character....

If anything I hold Miquella in the same regard as I do Ranni in terms of "the end justifies the means" I see Miquella as someone who deeply understands that in order to enact great change a great sacrifice is needed to achieve it. Like regarding Miquella sending Malenia to kill Radahn to free the stars, it would not surprise me in the slightest bit if Miquella anticipated that Malenia would have had to unleash the Rot in order to gain the upper hand on Radahn(the dude is a beast) Miquella probably wouldn't have wanted it to come to that, but in the end Miquella trusted Malenia to make the call if necessary.

And when Miquella's whole plans hinge on the very stars being freed, desperate times call for desperate measures. Especially when one of his enemies is a Golden God that has a strangle hold on the very fabric of reality of his world.

Mah boi is nuanced to hell and back and that's why I love him. He wants to create a world where the outcasts can live in peace and he will do anything to see that it happens.

But now in terms of if Miquella will be corrupted?

Well, he kinda of already is technically, thanks to Mohg and the Formless Mother.

I've said in a previous theory post about how I think that Miquella is waging is own personal war against the Outer Gods and that he is legitimately the biggest threat to every single one of them thanks to Unalloyed Gold, and who knows what else he is capable of...

But then you hear those theories(😒) about how Miquella is manipulating Mohg and how he's secretly evil and stuff....

But my theory is that it's actually the other way around, and that it is in fact the Formless Mother who is manipulating Mohg, using his weird obsession with Miquella, to essentially corrupt and cripple the young Empyrean because he is just that dangerous to them.

Malenia is right when she said he is the most fearsome of all....

BUT

As the DLC summary has explained to us Miquella has just straight up ditched his body, and, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Miquella has effectively juked the Formless Mother and her meddling bullshit, and has gone off to the Realm of Shadow to achieve something that has likely been a big part of his Grand Scheme for a very very long time now.

So then Miquella is basically unbothered, moisturized and in his lane lmao 😂

And so, okay this is heading into heavy speculation territory, but with the Ranni and Godwyn situation it's been established in Elden Ring canon that there is a Body and Soul dichotomy is going on. And I find it interesting that when I look deeper into Miquella and Malenia curses, that seemingly, Malenia was cursed in soul and is harboring the Scarlet Rot/God of Rot within, meanwhile Miquella was cursed in body, to remain forever a child.

But now that Miquella has left his body he is practically a wandering Soul, and that one voice in the trailer that refers to Miquella as "pure and radiant" I think that could also be applied to Miquella's Soul, meaning that Miquella's Soul at this point is completely pure and practically untouchable, at least from Outer Gods meddlings.

So no, I do not think that Miquella will end up "corrupted" as in turning evil and becoming a boss fight, because for now, there is just not enough substantial evidence pointing in that direction. And in terms of him pulling a Griffith and betraying everyone and doing something/becoming God for his own selfish gain is just dumb and bad writing 😒

Like I don't know how else to convey this, but the absolute biggest piece of characterization regarding Miquella is his dedication and love for Malenia. And he will do anything to keep his promise to her.

#i love him #míquella is so cool i cant wait to meet him lol #hilarious that you think im the most sane about miq 😂 because i think im the most insane about him akdhsjsjd #elden ring #elden ring theory #miquella the unalloyed #uri answers #shadow of the erdtree

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val-of-the-north · 4 months

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Also what is up with this dude lol

I find him and the woman behind him a bit more interesting than Messmer at the moment, if only for the fact some things about him have been revealed by Miyazaki in a few interviews after the trailer, while those two could be anyone.

The man seems to slightly resemble Morgott, and I've seen a few people think the same. I really doubt it's him or a form of him but they could be related. The sword he is pulling from himself also reminds me of a deformed ribcage or spine of sorts, which wouldn't be the first time something like this happened in Elden Ring (see Sword of Milos). It's also really golden, which coupled with the fact it looks like bones to me ends up reminding me of Ensha's armor, which was made of golden bones that belonged to an ancient soulless king of the same name... I doubt this is that same lord, but it leaves me wondering if there's any correlation. He is for sure someone of important status at the very least.

The woman is truly interesting also. I've heard it suggested that she could be pregnant in the painting with the way she holds her womb. It could be a possibility for certain. I think it's interesting how her eyes are explicitly covered, I wonder if it's to hide something important about them... I mean, could she be (or at least be related to) the Gloam-Eyed Queen? Maybe she is just a separate character and I'm completely off-base, lmao... still, there's no harm in speculating a little bit.

#elden ring #shadow of the erdtree #elden ring dlc #who are youuuuuuuu!!!!!!#aaaaaaaaaahhhh the wait will be KILLING me lmaoooo #I hate it but I also love it #val-post

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wanderingmausoleum · 3 months

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My latest Shadow of the Erdtree theory:

Could Messmer the Impaler have been partially inspired by Cú Chulainn and his spear, the Gáe Bulg, from Irish mythology?

This will be a long post with a lot of heavy speculation so buckle up!

According to the Táin Bó Cúailnge via Wikipedia (which I apologize for using as a source; I don't know much about this topic and other results seemed untrustworthy or were behind paywalls), the spear Gáe Bulg was made from a sea monster's bone, and it "entered a man's body with a single wound, like a javelin, then opened into thirty barbs. Only by cutting away the flesh could it be taken from that man's body."

Which brings me to this iconic moment in the trailer:

Although the thing impaling this person doesn't look like Messmer's spear, it looks like it may have impaled them similarly to how the Gáe Bulg is described: spear-style, with extra barbs erupting out of it afterwards. I'm not sure how the living corpse in the trailer would have kept their head and body somewhat intact unless the barbs extended from the central spike after the impaling happened. Although it doesn't look like this was done with Messmer's spear, this gruesome injury's similarity to what the Gáe Bulg was said to do makes me think it's worth mentioning.

In some versions of the legend, the Gáe Bulg had seven heads with seven barbs each. Thus it may be worth noting that Messmer's spear has 6-7 metal barbs (depending on the angle and whether you count the spear point as one) formed by its fire design:

And, right after the trailer's scene of the impaled corpse, Messmer is shown to have an attack where he stabs the floor with his spear and a bunch of identical spears erupt from the ground around it, which is another slight similarity to the Gáe Bulg's multiplicity.

Now onto the even more speculative part of this theory...

Messmer and Shadows

We know Empyreans in Elden Ring are given guard dog-like Shadows to be their guardians: Ranni has Blaidd, and Marika has Maliketh. However, Malenia and Miquella are both Empyreans, and we are given no information about their Shadow(s), a significant absence in the lore and a topic which has been given much discussion in Elden Ring spaces I've participated in.

There has also been extensive theorizing about Messmer's place in the lore, with his red hair and M initial leading many to believe he may be another of Marika and Radagon's children, alongside Malenia and Miquella.

While learning about the Gáe Bulg spear, I learned its owner, the mythical warrior hero Cú Chulainn, "gained his better-known name as a child, after killing Culann's fierce guard dog in self defence and offering to take its place until a replacement could be reared," after which he obtained his well-known spear (Wikipedia).

With this and my prior speculation about Messmer's spear and lineage in mind, this makes me wonder: did Messmer kill Malenia and Miquella's Shadow(s), and possibly become their replacement himself (whether he later defected from that position or not)?

It may be notable to mention again here that the DLC's title is "Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree" and Messmer features prominently on its cover. Considering Shadow characters are an important part of Elden Ring's lore, with Blaidd being crucial to the game's most popular ending and Maliketh being necessary to defeat to complete the game, I wouldn't put it past the Elden Ring team to give the word a double meaning here: shadows meaning literal darkness as shown in the trailer, and Shadow meaning an Empyrean's guardian.

On the other hand, of course, Messmer with all his various heretical symbolism (fire, snakes, etc.) seems to exist in opposition to the Erdtree, so if the DLC title is referring to him, him being called the Shadow of the Erdtree doesn't make much sense lore-wise.

In conclusion:

There are no conclusions yet, really! Everything I'm theorizing here is based on a lot of speculation and vague connections. There are contradictions in the Gáe Bulg's lore itself, too (such as how it "had to be made ready for use on a stream and cast from the fork of the toes" [Wikipedia], something Messmer is definitely not doing in the trailer—although, since Fromsoft decided to give so many of their character models toe articulation and Messmer's toes are out, this could be a very funny way to make use of that). On the other hand, since Fromsoft very rarely takes inspiration 1:1 from existing mythology, I still think it's possible Messmer was influenced by it even if it doesn't fit his known lore with 100% accuracy.

I welcome thoughts/theories expanding on or contradicting this, especially from anyone who knows more about Irish mythology than me! I do not know too much about Cú Chulainn's story or this mythos in general, so I'm sure there's a lot of notable information I missed.

#elden ring #shadow of the erdtree #messmer the impaler #elden ring lore #elden ring theory #elden ring dlc #messmer #there are other VAGUE connections i could mention such as the mythical spear being made from a sea monster bone vs--#godwyn and death being themed after the deep ocean #but that seems like a stretch even for me ajhgsdhjad #i simply enjoy thinking about this. i saw one post mentioning the Gáe Bulg earlier and went on a 2-hour theorizing rampage immediately #oops #speaketh

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theomeganerd · 3 months

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Video Game News Stories for February 25th, 2024

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Soars to Critical Acclaim, But Questions Remain

Square Enix's highly anticipated Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second installment in their reimagining of the classic RPG, launched yesterday to generally positive reviews. However, the critical reception has been mixed, with some praising the game's stunning visuals, emotional storytelling, and expanded combat system, while others criticize its pacing issues and deviations from the original narrative. Regardless, the game is already a commercial success, topping sales charts worldwide.

Elden Ring DLC "Shadow of the Erdtree" Announced, Pre-orders Discounted

FromSoftware surprised fans by announcing the first DLC expansion for Elden Ring, titled "Shadow of the Erdtree." Details remain scarce, but the teaser trailer hints at new areas, enemies, and challenges. Interestingly, pre-orders for the DLC are already discounted on some platforms, sparking speculation about a potential release date in the near future.

Surprise! Dead Island 2 Launches on Xbox Game Pass

After years of development hell and numerous delays, Dead Island 2 unexpectedly launched yesterday on Xbox Game Pass. The game picks up the zombie-slaying action in Los Angeles, offering a gruesome and comedic open-world experience. While reviews are still trickling in, early impressions suggest it might be worth checking out, especially for Game Pass subscribers.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Gets Leatherface DLC

Gun Interactive's asymmetrical multiplayer horror game, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, is getting a chilling new DLC character: Leatherface himself. This iconic slasher joins the roster of playable killers, bringing his brutal chainsaw and signature mask to the hunt. The DLC is expected to arrive in March, just in time for Halloween season... or should we say, Massacre season?

Baldur's Gate 3 Mod Support Comes to Consoles

Rejoice, console RPG fans! Larian Studios announced that Baldur's Gate 3 will be receiving mod support on PlayStation and Xbox consoles later this year. This opens up a world of possibilities for user-created content, allowing players to experience new quests, stories, and even custom classes.

Other noteworthy news:

Twitch was hit with a hefty fine by South Korea for failing to properly classify and filter gambling content.

A popular 2018 RPG is finally coming to the Nintendo Switch, with details expected soon.

A Red Bull ad cleverly reimagines the iconic Final Fantasy VII intro with a twist.

Sea of Thieves is on the verge of breaking a 39-year record for consecutive weekly content updates.

Looking ahead:

Mark your calendars! The next Nintendo Direct is rumored to be happening in March, showcasing upcoming Switch titles.

The highly anticipated open-world Pokémon game is expected to be revealed soon, potentially during the next Direct.

The debate surrounding the controversial Hogwarts Legacy continues, with both supporters and critics making their voices heard.

#elden ring #shadow of the erdtree #baulders gate 3 #the texas chainsaw massacre #dead island #dead island 2 #final fantasy #final fantasy vii #final fantasy vii rebirth #video games #gaming #gaming news #news

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dragon-communion · 18 days

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Okay so here's my wild speculation on the DLC.

The major fault in the current Golden Order, and what caused it to fall to shit, is the separation of life from death. Marika tries to hold the land in a ceaseless golden age, a ceaseless citrinitas, that is entirely unsustainable, though she supports it well with bread and circuses. That's the point of coliseums- turning conflict into entertainment, and her early reign was very characterized by war. Hence marrying Hoarah Loux, and then civilizing him into Godfrey to maintain her preferred image.

I digress.

Elden Ring has a constant theme of twins and duality. Malenia and Miquella. To a certain extent, Ranni and Godwyn. Marika and Radagon. But we know that there's something false and unnatural about Marika/Radagon, or else their children wouldn't have been cursed.

Here's my opinion on the childhood curses:

I think omen children come from making babies the "primal" way. I think Marika literally banged Godfrey, and the result was omen children. It's said that omens could happen in any family, and I really think that's because it's unnatural to have babies come from tree amber or flowers or whatever, so people would do it the animal way sometimes, and then omens would happen. Sex has just been... phased out of the Lands Between entirely by the time we get there, to the point that hugging Fia is "vulgar".

Marika and Radagon, no matter what the real origin of their duality, are incomplete somehow. They don't count as two people anymore. Children born of a singular god leave room for a second influence to attach to them regardless. We don't know what attached itself to Miquella. Based on the trailer, his "fate" involved St. Trina somehow, but we really don't know enough about what she is to him or what her real goals were. Malenia, obviously, had the metaphorical gap in her filled by Scarlet Rot.

However.

Each of Marika's children has expressed a variation of Death. She excised Death from her Order- now Malenia presents with Rot, Miquella has some affinity for Sleep, Godwyn is the Prince of Death (yes it was Ranni's fault, but still), Melina has something to do with Destined Death and has that strange eye.

I don't think that's an accident.

I think the seduction/betrayal mentioned in the trailer involves Marika's own duality. Separating light from shadow, life from death. She's the light. The Lands Between are bathed in light. She tried to peel out the pips in Yin and Yang and deny that each exists within the other. And following Fromsoft's theme of endless light and endless life probably being a horrible idea, it's all breaking down now.

The Numen are stated to have come from a different land, possibly a different world. Marika's people. What if the Land of Shadow is where the Numen came from? What if it's only called the Land of Shadow because she tried to quarantine everything that would obstruct her light there, and then she left her most fanatic son there to play Satan and burn the unworthy forever in a hell away from her and her Order?

I'm not sure what Miquella is looking for there, though he obviously is searching, but I think it would make sense if he's looking for the Gloam Eyed Queen. Yes, he probably feels pity for everyone subjected to Messmer, and I think he would support the idea of helping the people there, but his chief motivation has always been his sister and their curse, and I think it would be a wild departure of character for him to abandon Malenia. His flesh, sure. His power, sure. But unless we're wildly mistaken about who and what he is, Miquella's interests involve defying the gods and fate so that he can cure his sister. And who would be more diametrically opposed to Marika than the Gloam Eyed Queen, the woman who specialized in killing gods?

She obviously might be dead, but death doesn't really seem to be stopping anyone from being present or causing problems.

I think Miquella is investigating the nature of Death and Shadow, because the existence of these things proves an existence outside of the Order and Light, and therefore something removed from the influence of an outer god. Hell, he has to make us his own sites of grace, from what it looks like.

What do you think?

#elden ring #elden ring theory #miquella the unalloyed #queen marika the eternal #the gloam eyed queen

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katyspersonal · 1 year

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It is a really a cool reoccurring bit of lore for me that Elden Ring sort of reused the "conflict" between Choir and Willem's teachings from Bloodborne with Raya Lucaria's primeval current and the ideas that Carians brought!

Imposter Iosefka is the best example of the Choir's generic mindset we have, speaking about transcending the "stupidity" and forcibly turning people into cosmic Kin! More or less Sellen is a very good successor to this character, especially with the fact that Choir and ancient sorcerers (?) both have history of experimenting on children (Choir's Orphanage + little Aurelia and Aureliette being implied to have their souls cut with a glintstone blade). And in general, Raya Lucaria and Research Hall (that IS the past of what is now the Choir) are okay with experimenting!

But Willem, after all, suggested that humanity is better evolved and improved than abandoned completely, he said to possibly level with Great Ones as men! I can see this sort of parallel with Rennala and generally Carian standards being brought back; interest in the 'Moon' suggests something closer to the human plane. Like, instead of obsessing over stars and nothing but stars and sipping that cosmic horror and "returning" to them as "fallen children of the stars", it brings more attention to THE satellite that is close to humans and is less otherworldly both physically and philosophically! Both games have their academy that fell for its own hubris to propose the conflict of 'do you see humanity as useless shackle to cast away and become something bigger, or as something you should cherish but also improve and evolve with the wisdom you can get from otherworldly sources?' . And this is so cool!

Again, I guess it is the question players should answer to on their own. Both games try to nudge us to sympathize with 'humanity is not a liability' side of the question, saying that Willem was different from Choir and would be heartbroken about Mensis, and posing Carians as more sympathetic guys with showing Sellen (that speaks for primeval current) as this kinda... callous, determined woman... But you still COULD say that true discovery and knowledge demands great sacrifices and people that can't choke their human morality won't bring TRUE progress. Just... Elden Ring opened and explored the conflict way better, it is much plain to see advantages and disadvantages of both sides! It is less of intuitive speculation with subtle details than in was in Bloodborne, I am just DELIGHTED that they revisited the interesting issue in the next game. Basically nothing shows caring about the messages they want to deliver and discussions they want to raise in the fandom than "We didn't say that loud enough in the previous game, let's try again but better".

#bloodborne #elden ring #bloodborne choir #raya lucaria #soulsborne #fandomry rambles #elden ring headcanon #elden ring observation #2 AM is a great time to overthink the stuff xd #just not so long ago me and val butted heads on who was cooler #naturally i side with azur lusat and sellen fgfhyhhj #but he said that if studying a big ball in the sky is too much for them they suck too xd #i am the worst devil advocate ever though!!!!#because despite always siding with the 'bad' guys in these issues i tend to lose xd #maybe i just cherish humanity more than i like to admit lol #i am pretty cynical from not fitting in yeah but like i said earlier 'i cant enjoy it but OTHERS should'

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warsofasoiaf · 3 months

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Per your request: Godfrey character analysis please?

There's a lot to Godfrey, which is almost confusing given that he swoops in almost out of nowhere after your Tarnished has done all the hard work of collecting the pieces of the Shattered Elden Ring, burning the Erdtree, and releasing Destined Death in combat with Maliketh. The game almost encourages you to fight him down before he swoops in to steal your hard-earned victory right from under you. But Godfrey is far more complex than that, and if you include cut content, he ends up being one of the principal architects behind Marika's scheme.

The Lands Between was not simply an empty land waiting for Marika and the Erdtree. There were rival gods with their own rival orders that Marika had to conquer. Well before the Golden Order, the Erdtree was wild and chaotic, and everything was in opposition to the new way of being. Marika took a fierce barbarian chieftain, Hoarah Loux, whose bloodlust and ferocity knew no equal. As a chieftain, Hoarah desired nothing more than to fight and destroy, and fought with overwhelming strength and beast-like cunning. While we do not know what exactly led Marika or Hoarah Loux to be fine with the arrangement, since everything was in opposition to the Erdtree, it was a perfect place for someone who wanted a never-ending series of battles to fight. He was crowned as King Godfrey, and his axe tells us that knew his own truth, "that a crown was warranted with strength." Through countless victories, Godfrey and Marika turned the Erdtree into the embodiment of Order - far from the wild primeval current that it started out as, where the dew and blessings thereof flowed freely.

As warlord for the Golden Order, the newly-minted King Godfrey restrained his bloodlust but kept up his aggressive campaign of expansion. He sired a son upon Marika, named Godwyn, the Golden, first of the demigods. He turned to the north, to where the Fire Giants kept their Flame of Ruin and worshipped a rival god, the One-Eyed Fell God. Marika had her own rival churches built in her wake, and on the evening of the campaign against the Fire Giants, she implored Godfrey and his warriors, which included allies like the Crucible Warriors, the icy warriors of Zamor, and turncoat lesser giants called trolls.

In game, trolls are hulking brutes typically used as dumb labor (except in Liurnia) with literal swords driven through them as draft animals for caravan pulling, but aside from being an early game headache, they're also full of lore. Their exposed viscera is not a mere visual design choice, it's meant as a comparison to the Last Fire Giant who has the eye of the Fell God on his chest. By cutting it out, they turned their backs on their god and fell in with the Golden Order. In true FromSoft fashion, we're left to speculate why they would make such a radical choice. Their minds are gone, and although it's not said why, the fact that the trolls mutilated themselves to turn away from their god (a wound that doesn't heal), it's not hard to see why. Following Godfrey's victory, Marika kills the Fire Giants save one, and forces him to be the tender of the Flame of Ruin. He still maintains a connection to his god, but he guards his fire relentlessly. Perhaps, like Hewg, Marika's supreme presence (and the failure of his own god) so impressed upon him that he becomes devoted to his mission to the point of losing all sense.

While ceaseless battle suited Hoarah Loux, an Elden Lord to a god and the champion of a Golden Order required more than just might. To suppress the bloodlust that consumed him, he bound that part of himself within a spiritual councilor, Serosh, the beast. Beasts were known to be drawn to lords (and prospective lords, like Bernahl). In many ways, Serosh is a model for early civilization, a transition from tribal belief to civilized life, requiring a command of agriculture enough to build a population surplus. This requires more than warring with the world for daily sustenance, hence, the civilizing effect of agriculture and scientific development mirror Godfrey binding his bloodlust to become a lord.

After his victory, we can chart a rough path of Godfrey's expansion via the numbered Churches of Marika. The First Church is in the Mountaintop of the Giants, then they head west to the Altus Plateau, suggesting that this is when they started to build up the capital city of Leyendell, to create a grand splendor and dispose of the Omens beneath. The Third Church is in the east of Limgrave, suggesting that this is when Godfrey faced the Last Storm Lord in Stormveil Castle in single combat. After that, the Fourth Church of Marika shows that his trek led him to the Weeping Peninsula, where a lone hero seeking vengeance fights Godfrey, only to fall at his hand. Vengeance is one thing, but a crown is only warranted with strength.

After there were no more worlds to conquer, Godfrey wept like Alexander for there were no more worlds to conquer. As they returned from Castle Morne, they were stripped of grace and became Tarnished, exiled from the Lands Between. Where this happened is a mystery. The actual echoes are heard in the Third Church of Marika, but the command continues in the Church of Pilgrimage, where they are commanded to fight, die, and after death, return to the Lands Between. This seems heartless (and in fairness, Marika has her moments of brutality and callousness), but in cut content, we see that at some point, Marika desired to overthrow the Golden Order. She tasked Hewg with designing a weapon that could slay a god (presumably the Elden Beast, as opposed to herself), and she tasked her demigod children to grow strong or be forgotten. Given that some of them pursued paths directly in opposition to the Golden Order, there is a strong suggestion that she knew what was going on and hoped for someone to become mighty enough to slay the Elden Beast. In a cut dialogue, she shares her plan with Godfrey, and he in turn seeks to help her, to become mighty and be granted audience once more. And so Godfrey left, becoming Hoarah Loux once more, fighting until his axe broke and his body was crucified, dying in a nameless world.

One of the most telling hints of how far you've come in the game is in his introductory cutscene. After Morgott fades, the faint hint of grace can be seen in the background. This has been your constant companion, pointing the way to the next objectives. Yet if you see the pattern in the spectacles, it's coming off of Godfrey, and toward you. In Marika's scheme, Godfrey's next task is to go through you, to assert his claim, as "a crown is warranted with strength," and a lord can brook no rivals. In battle, Godfrey fights as a regal lord, with strong axe attacks. He cuts a majestic figure with his spectral lion and flowing blue cloak. He looks like a lord, and fights with strength, but honor. There's predictability and rigidity to Godfrey, the First Elden Lord. If you knock his health down enough, he gives pause. He realizes that his limited strength is not enough. He tears Serosh's head from his shoulders, the councilor that had advised the Golden Lineage, and becomes Hoarah Loux. And fittingly, his stance completely changes. His cloak is in tatters, and he leans forward with a bestial snarl and savage stance. He fights savagely, with big sweeps, wrestling moves, and earth stomps, drenched in blood. This is Hoarah Loux, the warrior that desired to subjugate all before him with no thought of what happens next. It takes the Tarnished's full measure to defeat him. When you do, he falls, but he acknowledges his own mantra to the end. If a crown is warranted with strength, then the superior strength of the Tarnished befits a crown.

Thanks for the question, Mistland.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#elden ring #elden ring godfrey #character analysis

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yournextflame · 2 years

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Are outer gods really evil?

It amuses me how Elden Ring community by default made villains from the outer gods without any attempt to udnerstand them or their motives. Typical american/western audiences.

外なる神 is used in Japanese culture for lovecraftian beings, sometimes used interchangeably with "cosmic horror.” Nyarlathotep is a good example of an outer god. However, in Elden Ring deities with the obvious connection to the space - Dark, Full, Black Moons (celestial objects) and the Greater Will (nebula-like design of Elden Beast) are never described as such. Confirmed outer gods (Rot, Twinbird’s outer god of Death, Formless Mother) represent natural elements or processes: decay, bloom, birth, bleed and death.

On a different note, in the most Lovecraft inspired game made by Miyazaki, Bloodborne, the local equivalent of the outer gods, Great Ones weren’t evil. They were pitiful beings, who craved for children because they couldn’t have their own.

From Miyazaki’s Interview:In the world of Bloodborne, babies that are treated as “special” in one way or the other are offered as lures to the Great Ones. The Great Ones have all lost their children because of their positions, and as a result, they’re attracted to these ‘special’ babies. This story setup was something I came up with pretty readily in my mind. When it comes to living creatures, the stronger or more advanced you are, the fewer offspring you produce in your life. Even with human beings, the birth rates in more advanced countries lower, right? Looking back, I wonder if facts like that were at the root of the idea

(this theme of advanced beings having fertility issues continues in Elden Ring)

GRRM is also not a fan of good vs evil stories and gods being active participants in human wars.

What I’m trying to say with my poor English is that how come a collective project of two authors, who are notorious for subverting good vs evil tropes and aren’t using deities as major political players, is viewed like a Hollywood-esque story about good guy Tarnished, who saves the world from Ancient Evil and marries stunning and brave rebellious Queen or cute anime doll, both are holier than Jesus and saving the world from influence of the evil alien outer gods?

After all, who decided that people of the Lands Between need protection from the “evil” outer/ancient gods, when there are several occurrences of ostracized and wronged members of society asking for their help? Mohg, who was rejected by his biliogical mother, is coping with Formless Mother. Nomadic merchants summoned Flame of Frenzy after they were genocided by the same woman. Sage Gowry wanted to estabilish Order of Rot. The people of the Lands Between aren’t showing any particular concerns about outer gods, all intention to reduce their influence comes from Empyreans and gods, meanwhile, even the Greater Will accepts outer gods as a part of Order system.

But let’s return to the nature and motives of the outer gods. It’s a mystery. The most well documented outer god, Formless Mother, likes to be wounded.

The mother of truth craves wounds. When Mohg stood before her, deep underground, his accursed blood erupted with fire, and he was besotted with the defilement that he was born into

Sure, Mohg uses power of Formless Mother to estabilish his dynasty, but he is a raving lunatic after all. It’s never stated that Formless Mother herself wants to enslave humanity or influence it in any way. It’s a masochist god.

What about Rot? Or the outer god of Twinbirds?

Nothing.

Same goes for other entities. I can speculate that the Greater Will is about Order and evolution and the Frenzied Flame represents Chaos and want to melt influence of the Greater Will. But I can’t say anything about Moons or Fell God. There is not enough info.

My key point is that reducing outer gods to LE BAD aliens is not quite right. Or using them as a scapegoat to vilify hello, Malenia or whitewash certain characters looking at you Ranni and Marika simps. I have no idea why in Bloodborne, a game where lovecraftian gods were actively involved in the story and gameplay, community wasn’t so obsessed with painting them as evil alien invaders. Suddenly, in Elden Ring entities that a mentioned a few times in armor descriptions are the root of all evil because people are desperately craving for someone to redirect responsibilities from corrupted humans and gods.

#elden ring #Ranni #miquella #malenia #outer gods #lore theories #longread

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yolowritter · 3 months

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A perspective on understanding Gideon Ofnir

Hello there everyone! This post is going be what it says on the tin, a character analysis/perspective piece on Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing. I'll happily admit that he's one of the most interesting characters in Elden Ring, and I've wanted to discuss him for a while now. Hence the post, obviously. I won't go into any extreme detail here, there's people in the community that have done this far better, I simply want to offer my two cents on why Gideon is a good character. Not "a good person", but "a good character". What's his worldview? What makes him interesting? Why do I personally like him? Without any further ado, let's begin!

First off, let's begin by establishing a baseline of who Gideon is, what era he has lived in, and what we know about him before the Tarnished arrives in the Lands Between. As with all things in Elden Ring, stagnation is a big theme in Gideon's character, if in subtext at least. His design itself is reminiscent of an owl at first glance, with the dark greys and soft browns. His armor especially is littered with eyes and ears, giving way to his matle of The All Knowing. Gideon is very much like an owl, in the metaphorical sense at least. He's ancient, portrayed as wise and clearly very knowlegdeable in the happenings of the Lands Between. His eyes are sharp and his ears wide open, as he often has spies and men at his employ to assist in his endeavors of collecting knowledge. Now, personally I think there's a comparison to be made here with the Norse God Odin, the All-Seeing (amongst other titles), but I'll save that for another, more specific post. The point is that from the moment we see him, Gideon is presented as a wise mentor type of character, and this is immediately reinforced when he moves from the Roundtable's central room to his office/library. In my many, many playthroughs of the game, I eventually realized that he actually does so without needing to kill a Shardbearer, and Gideon even has specific dialogue once the Tarnished interrupts his reading, explicitly stating he's got no time to waste on them, and that he will welcome them to the Roundtable once they've gotten their hands on a Great Rune. Now, at first glance this might make him seem cold and even rude, but think for a moment of where Gideon is coming from. He is old, old enough to have been Leader of the Roundtable for a very long while. He's seen countless Tarnished embark on the same journey as the player character, and one after the other they fail, go mad, or abandon the search for Great Runes. Think on Bernahl, whose related cut content helps us understand he had a Finger Maiden once, and was on the journey to become Elden Lord. Think on Vargram, one of the first Tarnished to sit at the Roundtable, now delegated to a...something in the physical Hold within Leyndell. Admittedly invasions are a tricky thing to explain in-universe, even they clearly are meant to be considering the Recusants and Bloody Fingers actively make use of "multiplayer" items like the Festering Bloody Fingers, which is how the Tarnished gets invaded when travelling the Lands Between. I digress, the point is that other Tarnished (and most famously Vyke) have come very close to becoming Elden Lord, even if how exactly our favorite Dragonspear got to the Erdtree without killing Morgott is unclear. Gideon has been there the entire time, watching one after the other get so very close...only to fail at the last step. It's no wonder then that he dismisses all the current residents of the Hold as weak, or accuses them of seeing the Roundtable as a "mere shelter from the rain". He isn't even wrong in that regard! Diallos and Roderika are soft-handed nobles who were exiled for their Tarnished heritage. They aren't warriors, and Roderika admits this herself. Diallos does so as well, later in his storyline. Corhyn clearly has no ambitions for the throne, instead seeking to "counsel" the would-be Elden Lord once somebody else makes the journey. D rests at the Roundtable partly between his hunts of Undead, and partly because of Fia also basically occupying a room and giving out her blessing. Neither of them care about the throne. Rogier also has his own interests, and until we come along it is completely natural for Gideon to see this drivel and lose faith in the Tarnished. Gideon Ofnir seems to me like a tired old man who put his faith in people time and time again only to get no results. Isn't it natural that he considers us all a joke until someone finally gets a Great Rune? I'd say it's worth pondering him further, and I'll make another post soon about the events of the actual game. See you all soon!

#elden ring #gideon ofnir #character analysis #pre game analysis #elden ring character speculation

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prototypelq · 7 months

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Random idea: If Trish and Lucia became Devil Arms, what would they be?

Hi @cbros5, thank you for the ask! I'm sorry for answering this almost a month later

Your question prompted me to look up the moveset of both ladies` in their respective entries, and I am quite impressed! Not so much with Trish, sadly two thirds of her moves are recycled Dante's Rebellion attacks and Vergil's Beowulf combos, but that's the sad production reality of DMC4 there. Surprisingly, Lucia's moveset is quite well done! All of her animations look so elegant and fluid, I am even more in love with her now than I was before.

Short answer: Trish would be a spear-gun (themed around lightning and with projectile attacks), and Lucia would be a curved sword. That is, if they even can have a Devil Arm form as they are artificial demons.

Long answer - below cut.

Trish is harder to speculate as, again, her moveset is mostly recycled animations, however her lightning and Electric Dance moves are very cool and the highlight of her abilities for sure! Oh, also she has a triple jump, her bare knuckle moveset indicates she is quite a fan of close combat brawling, and some of her attacks can leave lingering 'thunderclouds' behind to continuously damage enemies. Hopefully, this doesn't sound too predictable, but I think a Spear would be the form I would assign to her Devil Arm form, but like, a super cool transformer spear (p.s. I am a Big fan of multiple-form-shifting melee weapons like King Cerberus my beloved).

If I had to design her Devil Arm moveset, which could double as ideas for her playable character core gameplay mechanics, I would say the spear fits the most with her playstyle. Long-range thrusting attacks are the forte of spears, and they could leave the thundercloud effect behind, allowing the wielder to quickly cover the battlefield with them. I would also give her a bigger focus on air combat, mostly because of the triple jump inspiration from Trish's own moveset, and there is no character built around air combat/diving attacks (that is excluding jump cancelling, as it's a movement tech fr advanced players, rather than a game mechanic in of itself, Nero comes very close though, I believe he has the most aerial mobility out of all the characters, dmc hardcore fans correct me if I'm wrong). I'd love to have a weapon with a damage mechanic scaling with the height from which the dive attack was initiated. Also, as a treat I think the spear should be able to shift forms into a railgun because every game can be improved with a railgun and it could act as a big damage DT super combo move. With the extended mobility set, I would think that her Arm form might need more setup before executing such cool moves - perhaps a meter that gets filled the more enemies are thundercloud-damaged and with diving attacks multiplying said meter. Also, going with the thunder theme, I would love to give her a quick unlimited teleport the likes of DMC5 Vergil has when in DT, so the time required for setting up the big damage moves would be cut.

Sadly, I don't have much inspiration for her other than what is stated above, and Fury's lightning form from Darksiders 3.

youtube

tldr I think playable Trish should have a moveset centered around aerial combos and setuping big damage railgun move with thuderclouds or diving attacks, and her Devil Arm would be a spear with a similar moveset.

As for Lucia, her elegance and grace have captivated me. I find it hard to pick a specific weapon form that might capture the beauty she executes her moves with, however one, uh, infamous example does come to mind - Waterfowl Dance. Either you know exactly what this is, or you might have heard the originator of said move - Malenia from Elden Ring.

youtube

Long story short, Waterfowl dance is a swift chain of attacks inspired by a flowing-water swordsmanship style, which has every move seamlessly flowing into the other, from my understanding, curved swords are the preferred weapons for this style. Sadly, don't have as much thoughts on her gameplay mechanics, but yeah, they will be very graceful and beautiful to watch. Might also draw some inspiration from her throwing knives attack. Oh, another inspiration comes to mind here - Lord Shen from Kung Fu Panda 2.

That is one badass pigeon right there, and again, the bird theme! Works with Lucia super well! Maybe she could have a backstab damage multiplier as a special treat, and more focus on 'dancing around' her enemies, instead of teleport-dodging. Like, a slide move (cause I never ever use Coyotee's slide shot, might be a skill issue though), or a forward flip to quickly get over the enemies and be in the perfect backstab position. Maybe she could use enemy jumping not as attack cancelling, but like actual 'running over the crowd heads' move.

tbh I am 100% spitballing here, and I am no game/combat designer, no idea if any of this would make sense gameplay-wise or would be fun to play. It is fun to think about though!

#all the dmc ladies need so much more love I swear #dmc trish #dmc lucia #dmc #again - thanks for the ask! this was very fun #please share/comment your ideas too

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miquella-everywhere · 8 months

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Miquella Theory: Lenne's Rise

Marika's Tits.... Where do I even BEGIN with Lenne's Rise!? There is SO much to unpack about this place. So let us begin with the obvious: The Lily.

If you've read by previous theory post about what I think the Lily's and Butterflies represent, then you know that I believe that the presence of a Miquella's Lily means that Miquella has physically been to that specific location at some point long ago.

So then let us proceed under the assumption that Miquella was indeed here, and used Lenne's Rise as their own place of study:

The seal on Rise cannot be broken no matter what, and Imp Keystone is ruined so whatever puzzle that was used to unlock the Rise is inaccessible. In my opinion I would dare say that the statue was intentionally destroyed, to keep what's hidden inside locked away.

Not to mention the rather convenient location of Spiritspring that allows Torrent to give you access to the Rise.

And when you finally do enter the Rise you are greeted with this sight:

So many books!!!! Even spilling out into the hallways!

Miquella, likely in the pursuit of knowledge on how to cure Malenias Rot, lead them to gather and learn from many many different sources, and as I speculated in the Caelid Lily Hunt post, that includes the sorceries of Sellia, and, more importantly, the Eternal Cities that lie beneath them.

Which is why at very top of the Rise, a Memory Stone can be looted from the chest, yet another connection to the Eternal Cities.

And the single toppled chair set off alarm bells in my brain as it is the only seat found in the rise and the fact that it is eerily similar to how Rannis chair is in her own Rise.

But then you get to the first floor of the Rise where things get really weird:

These Golden Glintstones are literally found nowhere else in the Lands Between. Like what in the world are these things? Could this be an experiment with glintstone??? Could it perhaps even be Beta Unalloyed Gold??????

Oh the possibilities.

But what I found next in Lennes Rise really started to paint an even bigger picture of what was going on, and it made me realize that something big was probably happening here.

The next thing you come across is a Graven Mass:

To be honest I didn't think much of the Graven Mass at first. I killed it without a second thought, it was just another enemy to fight. Nothing of importance.

But then, I read the description of the Graven Mass Talisman and my Elden Ring conspiracy theory brain went absolutely bonkers:

"The primeval current is a forbidden tradition of glintstone sorcery. To those who cleave to its teachings, the act of collecting sorcerers to fashion them into the seeds of stars is but another path of scientific inquiry."

like wtf?????? this is absolutely insane lol the implications of this are maddening

So as I said before; Miquella likely gleaned into other sources in order to find a way to cure Malenias rot, potentially even their own curse, so could this mean that Miquella was also interested in the Primeval Current????

But if this were all true, it almost seems a little too cruel don't you think? A little bit too out of character. Does this mean that Miquella went out of their way to essentially collect sorcerers and force them all into becoming a Graven Mass, to satisfy their own scientific curiosity and to find answers on how to break a curse????

Well...

Perhaps they didn't...

#elden ring theory #miquella the unalloyed #elden ring #uri posts

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fancytrinkets · 1 year

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Elden Ring | Grace and monsters

721 words / POV Second Person / Lore (Elden Ring) / St. Trina (Elden Ring) / Vague speculation about Miquella and St. Trina leading up to the DLC / Malenia battle, the exact way I played it / Radagon is Marika / Light Angst / Temporary Character Death / Memory Loss / Blood Loss / Poetry

Altus Plateau

The Grand Lift of Dectus shakes the earth as its ancient gears unlock and begin to move. You stand alone on a platform built to hold an army, and you rise.

On the plateau above, you follow the path towards the capital, slaying creatures as you go. The afternoon sunlight is as golden as the Erdree that looms above all. In its shadow, you feel bereft, bathed in an all-consuming grief that emanates from every corner of this broken landscape. With golden tendrils, it reaches down into your viscera and calls to mind a half-remembered grief that is your own.

The sun sets and at night you grow weary, but you find no rest. Your campsite is close to the road, chosen not for any strategic virtue, but for the remnant of Grace that rises, a flowing pillar of light. It moves like water, pooling in its hidden font. With nerves on edge, you watch it for hours as you listen, alert to every sound. There is danger in the night.

By day, you fight your way through camps of Leyndell soldiers, guarding the capital with sword and shield and trebuchet, with crossbow and ballista. They are the sputtering embers of an age-old flame for war. They fall, one by one, impaled on your blade.

At night, again, you watch the light of Grace, fearful that if you were to camp elsewhere, you'd lose the knack for seeing it. You'd become like the others, substituting some obsession of your own to fill the darkness. And yet you grow so very tired. Desperation rises and you pray to St. Trina for sleep. But she isn't there or doesn't listen. You can't understand what's gone wrong.

Leyndell Royal Capital

You stand before the statue and cast the Law of Regression to reveal a hidden truth.

Radagon is Marika.

And, implicitly, you understand. Because you are that way also, though perhaps you didn't know till now. Someone else exists beneath the surface of your skin, some other person who lived their life and died in exile. And when they were called back by Grace to the Lands Between, it was you instead who woke, disconnected from that other self — the same being and yet altogether different. With Rennala's gift, you changed their form to match the shape of you.

Two and one.

Perhaps you should go back to the broken queen in her darkened library and tell her: Radagon didn't leave the way you think. But no, it would not matter. She is lost in grief and you cannot help her. Since last you met, you have killed both her sons.

The Haligtree

You die a thousand times.

And yet you are chosen by Grace to wake up anew. These many deaths are the only sleep you've managed for a month of nights or more, and so you don't begrudge the loss. You simply get up. You walk down the stairs, down the corridor, and past the doorway arch to the roots of the Haligtree where you face your greatest foe.

You were slow at first, but you have learned. Malenia does not touch you as you slide past her blade. Your knife is small, but where it hits, your enemies bleed. In this, Malenia is no different. In her desperation, the scarlet rot blooms once more. She is fiercer now, but with a thousand deaths behind you, you can see her every move. Nothing hits you.

In the end, it is she who falls dead.

Moghwyn Palace

You have killed the Omen, Lord of Blood. In the stolen cocoon, Miquella lies still, subsumed by sleep or stasis. Perhaps it is best that he does not wake. You have slain Malenia, his beloved sister, in your relentless purge of the broken Order and its demigods scattered across these lands.

Perhaps you could kill Miquella also, cutting him free from his slumber. But here, the child god is no great threat. He is locked away from the world. And you did not kill Rennala either. You are a monster, yes, but not always. And right now all you want to do is rest.

In this blood palace, you sit by the light of Grace that moves, not like flame, but like water. You pray to St. Trina, and you drift off to sleep.

(ao3 link)

#elden ring #tarnished elden ring #elden ring fanfic #miquella the unalloyed #malenia blade of miquella #st. trina #rennala queen of the full moon #radagon of the golden order #queen marika

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miirshroom · 7 days

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An Elden Ring Word String Theory

I was thinking a bit about the anagrams of the name "Radagon". As it turns out "a dragon" is far from the only functional anagram that can be spun from this short 7-letter name. And on the one hand I understand the perspective that asks: why? Why make one name an anagram and no others? Or are words meaningless and we should look for anagrams in all Elden Ring names now? This would certainly contradict everything else I've found regarding how character and place names are selected for the sum total meaning of their syllables and translations, that leaves little room for more secret scrambled meanings. But here is an actual argument in favour of the anagrams of Radagon:

TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

One name split into meaningful anagrams is I think the only instance that FromSoft/GRRM would really need to bring into focus some parallels to a certain other story that called attention to a single plot important anagram. And it was in the name of the main villain of the book series. That and the way that both Radagon and Voldemort split their souls into 7 or so pieces (i.e. Great Runes) and were trying to become immortal. But a deep dive into the way that psychological alchemy can reinforce a toxic worldview dissociated from reality deserves a separate post. This one is about anagrams.

The Literary Tradition of Anagrams

Regarding Voldemort specifically, I did a search to confirm that I am correct that there is only the one anagram name, and the answer is - yes and no. If there is any other name that JKR cared to make an anagram of she only did so unofficially and using the English language. Fans have apparently found some odd plot coincidences buried in names from the mountains of sludge of possible anagrams - so who knows. Regardless, there is a self evident thing about making a declarative statement into an anagram rather than simply a scrambled name - it doesn't work across multiple languages. Which is awkward when the anagram features in a dramatic moment of the book. And so I did behold a list of Voldemort anagrams, with a few selections as below:

Tom Elvis Jedusor = Je suis Voldemort

Tom Sorvolo Ryddle = Soy Lord Voldemort

Tom Vorlost Riddle = Ist Lord Voldemort

Anton Morvol Hert = Archon Voldemort

Romeo G. Detlev Jr. = jeg er Voldemort

Marten Asmodom Vilijn = Mijn naam is Voldemort

Tom Gus Mervolo Dolder = Ego Sum Lord Voldemort

It's a strange solution to a manufactured problem. "Vol de Mort" has meaning - it is from French and translates to "flight of death". So paradoxically the "pseudonym" of the name cannot be compromised and seems to be what was selected first. The rest of the name exists in service of "Voldemort" - you can tease meaning from the name-shaped word of "Marvolo" but wasn't there an easier solution? What about "Tom V Rolde"? With that you get a whole middle initial to work with - maybe "Vincentius" or something. Perhaps "Thomas Vincent Enigma Rold" is also opaque enough with "Rold" passed off as a portmanteau of red-gold that suits the alchemy theme (that's a speculation on how Elden Ring uses it for the "Rold Lift Medallion"). There is a long literary history of authors using anagrams, and it is rare to find that they use filler words like the addition of "I am Lord". I imagine because they do things the logical way around for cause and effect and start with a mundane name that is then scrambled into the fake name. When we say that JK Rowling was never a very good writer, short-sighted anagram planning is just a drop in the bucket next to her regressive social politics, British colonial view of all countries outside of her home, and racial stereotyping word association used in the selection of other character names.

Often, but not always, anagrams are used for comedy - as in the way that Lemony Snicket uses anagrams - or a means of having a legally distinct name from some source material used as inspiration - think Da Vinci Code's "Teabing" being an anagram of "Baigent" - the man who popularized the psuedo-history that was then used for the thriller novel. Or else it's used in a fantasy and/or multicultural setting where exotic sounding nonsense names just blend into the other odd names - like "Dandelo" ("Odd Lane") the psychic emotion-stealing vampire who appears in the last volume of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. And then again in Gulliver’s Travels, where “Tribnia” and “Langden” (Britain and England, respectively) are mentioned in passing in the section of the story dedicated to the voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib and Japan. Although there is something off about a name that is used by no person in the real world, few people will pause in the middle of reading to search and find that all results point to the fictional character (or even expect to find anything when placed beside sich an obvious fake name as “Glubbdubdrib”), so no drama is sacrificed. That's suspension of disbelief at work.

A Case for the Anagrams of Radagon

All this to say that there are writers out there who like to play with anagrams. And I think that perhaps the writers of Elden Ring took that concept to an extreme. In the examples above and most others it is one meaningful English language anagram extracted per name. In contrast, I'm currently at a count of 24 different anagrams of Radagon that are all consistent with other information from FromSoft’s body of work. Because I have been playing the FromSoft word games with other character names and I am not satisfied with just considering modern English. Archaic words, other languages, even abbreviations are on the table as far as I'm concerned. There are three that seem to me particularly strong evidence that "Radagon" is indeed a name with a multitude of anagrams that were spun out into characters and meaning throughout the history of the Lands Between: "D Aragon", "A Narog D" and "Gor Adan".

The first came about when I was browsing through the history of alchemy and witch hunts. The Dominican priest (i.e. "D") Nicholas Eymericus is best known for being the Inquisitor General of Aragon and for writing the Directorium Inquisitorum (1376) an instructional guide for identifying and prosecuting heresies including witchcraft. And here can be extracted another previously known facet of Radagon - as an Inquisitor who went out to hunt the witch Queen of Raya Lucaria. I see an immediate connection here to D, Hunter of Death, who has long been suspected of hinting at something about the dual nature of Radagon and Marika due their description along with D, Beholder of Death of being a single being in two bodies. And both have the very odd decision to be introduced as an initial rather than by name. In particular, D Hunter is on a mission to hunt down unnatural creatures. D Beholder directly calls Fia a "rotten witch". The idea of an Order of witch hunters is elevated from subtext to text with witch-hunter Jerren in his pursuit of the witch Sellen. And there's the symbolism in the hammer wielded by Radagon - another major text of the witch hunts was the Malleus Maleficarum (1486) or "The Hammer of Witches". Which itself has a direct line of connection in Recusant Henricus near the Limgrave Colosseum who drops the Hammer Talisman - Henricus Institor is the latinized name of the churchman and Inquisitor who wrote that book. It was swiftly denounced as heresy by the Church for its cruelty, but escaped containment and became well known after widely spreading among the people and secular courts.

And as for “A Narog D” that is a word string that seems meaningless at first glance, but I see it as the complement to Aragon D. Its significance came up while I was looking into Tolkein’s histories regarding the linguistic connections of Gelmir and Faroth. Contemporary with the War of the Silmarils, the Narog river passed through the area called “Taur-en-Faroth” or “the Hills of the Hunters” from its upstream origin point at the Pools of Ivrin. Also found in this area was the hidden underground city of Nargothrond, which was originally constructed by petty dwarves, then occupied by elves, and then turned to a dragon lair after its fall. And then sank into the ocean along with the rest of the continent at the end of the pre-history. So with the context of an underground city rendered inaccessible by time and the Narog river, “a Narog D” would be D, Beholder of Death, who is found in Elden Ring at the underground city of Nokron.

If there’s one name that I would give special attention it is "Adan Gor". Firstly the obvious: Adan is a Spanish variant of "Adam" - presumably with connotations of "Adam and Eve" - and "Gor" is a dialect version of "God", with well known uses including Moby Dick ("And, by Gor, none of you has de right to dat whale"). To get biblical for a moment it evokes the thought of the first Man Adam created in the image of God. The character “Adan, Thief of Fire” also incorporates the image of Prometheus bringing fire to humanity, having in his possession the Flame of the Fell God, which appears like the 3D orb of the sun. A merging of religious connotations on multiple levels, with a hint of the scientific in how the orb is reminiscent of the modern images that we can obtain of the sun and its corona. Element 61, Promethium, was so named at around the time that humankind first demonstrated the terrible power of the nuclear bomb. Radagon also rearranges to “and a Gor” - further emphasizing that Radagon was made in the image of a Creator and rose to be a “god” in his own right, in some fashion.

And that's neat, but "gor" is a versatile word and I think that it can be squeezed for more understanding of the nature of how Radagon modifies the conceptual Adam. In the German Ore Mountains dialect, "gor" means "refined" in the sense of metal or "cooked/ready for consumption" in terms of food. In Old Norse and Faroese it means "the old portion of food brought from the stomachs of ruminants to be chewed a second time". In Middle Welsh it means "over" or "next to". From Irish there are several along the lines of "to hatch, to heat, to burn, to inflame, to incubate, to brood". In Rohyngia it means "upwards" and in Slovene it means "do". Altogether, Radagon is not the base form of the first man, but one that has been grown and reiterated and improved upon over time. In German "gor" can mean "has agitated" or "has seethed". Seethewater Cave is found at the base of Mt. Gelmir filled with mushrooms and pests and deliberately sealed with two stonesword keys. What is sealed in this cave are items connected to the scarlet rot with which Radagon’s daughter Malenia is afflicted.

But there are still more meanings and I am going to go through every single one from Wiktionary. From Azerbaijani and North Kurdish there are "the grave/the afterlife". Radagon is man made in the image of his Creator, but what he is created for is to watch over an afterlife - hence the strong theming of death and graves in the Lands Between (and in Dark Souls and Bloodborne games as well, as will be apparent in the next paragraph - consider this a warning for spoilers ahead). In Old English "gor" means "dung" or "feces" and in Middle English "muck" or poetically a "weapon with a sharp point" like sword or spear, or the act of piercing with this weapon. Radagon is made in the image of his Creator that was a terrible god rooted in violent bullshit. This theming comes through strong in the Dungeater and Golden Tinged Excrement. And for a George RR Martin tie-in - see his novelette “Sandkings” which is a microcosm of this exact scenario. In Carribean Hindustani "gor" means "foot". How often is it a joke that Miyazaki loves rendering bare feet? In Armoured Core V the legs parts are named after mountains - characterized by solid foundations. In Elden Ring there is an interplay between various demigods who attempt to compensate for their failing feet. Feet are associated with deep roots and origins and agency and willpower.

For Welsh "gor" is a mutation of the word "cor" meaning "dwarf", "pygmy", "little urchin", "spider", "shrew". And this may perhaps be a hint to just how long FromSoft has known that they would be making a villain named Radagon. Because these can point directly to the oddly named Furtive Pygmy (a diminutive bald man who rather resembles Elden Ring's statues of man cultivating a single golden shoot from a tangle of sunflowers). Even a nod to "Patches the Spider" as he appears in Bloodborne, where Patches himself has been something of a multiverse traveler in FromSoft games dating back to Armored Core: For Answer (2008) and may even be a deliberate callback to a character from Shadow Tower Abyss (2003), and has himself been speculated to be a form of the pygmy. FromSoft has tended to work economically like this - if they find something deep in the catalog that they can call back to they will use it. In the anagram breakdown section below I can point directly to Kings Field (1994) as providing inspiration that was pulled all the way forwards to Elden Ring.

In Basque "gor" means "deaf". This synergizes well with the long-run running theme in FromSoft games that ringing bells allow communication with the past. It can even be seen in the title of the game - the Elden Ring. Because what is a man to do who is deaf and cannot hear the ringing? He must work through proxies - and the inherent drawbacks this has for communication. This theme of deafness comes into focus in Bloodborne with Ludwig the Accursed - who according to Occam's Razor is most likely named for Ludwig van Beethoven. It is from Ludwig that the FromSoft staple of the Moonlight Sword is received, and one of Beethoven's best known works is the Moonlight Sonata dedicated in 1802. Famously, from his late 20's and onwards - shortly after writing the Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven gradually lost his hearing and developed tinnitus (persistent illusory ringing), until he could no longer hear voices or music by 1812, but continued to compose even while on the edge of being totally deaf. An odd environmental occurrence early in the Old Hunters DLC is when a snail person drops from the sky, just before the whirligig saw pickup. The inner ear has the spiral shape of a snail shell. Bloodborne is more dense with bells than any other FromSoft game - I would hazard a guess that part of the madness of the Hunters is that they develop tone deafness and become unable to distinguish between the various beckons of bells that call them to hunt monsters and the ones that call to hunt fellow hunters.

And here's one more thought to shelve and see if it makes an appearance. There is at least one proper and complete name that I have extracted as an anagram: Gordana. It is a feminine Cyrillic name from the areas in and around present day Serbia and North Macedonia and from the word "gȏrd" meaning "proud". In the 300's BCE - at roughly the same time that Alexander the Great was active - present day Serbia was at the southern limit of the lands occupied by the Celts. Before the area was conquered by the Romans. It interests me that this name ends in the suffix "na". There is a quite large subset of names in Elden Ring with that suffix. And afterall, “burning the Erdtree is the first cardinal sin” which in the Catholic tradition is: pride.

Elden Ring and a Theory of Word Strings

And it can be said that this is all a matter of confirmation bias and that I am selecting meanings. Which is true. But I did spend a significant amount of time doing the research into the intersection of language, history and science that led to these conclusions. At risk of explaining badly (see acollierastro for an actual physicist's explanation), I think the point is that it's like String Theory of physics, but applied to word strings.

If I were to show an English speaker who has never engaged with Elden Ring a list of 400 anagrams ranging from "a dragon" to "a ag dr no" then there is a preference to latch on to the immediately identifiable word strings and dismiss the rest. It is only after experiencing the game and the many linguistic frameworks that it encompasses that the possibility for other significant word strings is revealed. To my understanding, string "theory" of physics is more of a validation tool for completing elegant math on already known parameters and outcomes. String theory is not predictive - and similarly the majority of word strings generated are likely meaningless. And so the 'Word String Theory of Anagrams' is - in the case of this one trickster character themed around mimicry - perhaps only useful as a way to validate character traits and connections that are otherwise intentionally obfuscated.

To tie the topic back to the contents of the game itself there is indeed a game item which alludes to String Theory, hiding in plain sight. In one of my previous posts I discussed the symbolism behind the Cracked Pot item with regards to physics Crackpots. Well, "String Theory" has generally proved to be an unsuccessful model of physics, such that anyone currently still taking it seriously as a "theory" rather than a mathematical tool might be described as a crackpot. The Roped Pot items in Elden Ring are not crafted with pot + contents + rope as one might expect, but instead with an item called string. String leaving behind it a trail of crackpottery.

String

Boasting no special qualities, this is merely a goodly length of string. Material used for crafting items. Often carried by demi-humans. Used to make certain items easier to use.

In fact, strings have always had a central importance in Elden Ring. The trailer for the original game showed fine strands of golden light strings trailing from Marika's Hammer, and DLC trailer has provided a recent reminder of the significance of "strings" in the narrative with the golden strands being manipulated by the central figure.

And words also have a power for those who are faithful. The Cipher Pata is a weapon retrieved from the Round Table Hold and is comprised of a string of words written in golden light.

Cipher Pata

One of the weapons originating from the Two Fingers. A formless sequence of ciphers comprise its blade, and as such no shield can repel it. Deals holy damage.

The furtive inscription appears to hang in the air; the language of light spoken by the Two Fingers.

Another significant component of this Theory of Word Strings is that it is also a multi-verse theory. Notice how I did not limit to just Elden Ring in the previous section discussing anagrams of Adan Gor. This is also tied directly back to the real-world reference point - providing a framework for the existence of multiverses was one of the things that people found exciting about String Theory.

Radagon Anagrams Examined

The first 3 anagrams were presented in such a way as to tie in directly with named characters in Elden Ring. Consider that a validation check or proof of concept. The remainder of these are used as launching points to discuss whatever concepts that I feel match most closely in Elden Ring and other FromSoftware games.

Several of these were previously covered in another post, but I browsed through a second time and enough more to add that for the sake of presentation I think that it's worth keeping the whole set in the text of this post.

"rand oga" - "rand" and "oga" are both Old English/proto-Germanic meaning altogether "on the edge of terror". As blacksmith Hewg says of Marika (who is Radagon): "The sheer terror of her…". In the deep FromSoft history, there was once a minor miner NPC character in King's Field (1994) called "Rand Ferrer" whose name means "on the edge of a blacksmith". Blacksmiths are creators, and have been explicitly equated in FromSoft games as the “Hands of God” at least dating back to Demon’s Souls, where blacksmiths Boldwin and Ed drop the fist weapons of this name.

"a dog ran" "a god ran" - the dog part is self explanatory as Radagon is described as a leal hound and here we see that Radagon was a dog god who fled - to borrow the language of Placidusax’ fled god. And there is a specific dog god who fits surprisingly well - Xolotl. From Aztec mythology, Xolotl is the dark personification of the planet Venus, which is the “gold star” in Japan. Also a god of fire (“heavenly fire”) and lighting, twins, monsters, misfortune, death, sickness, and deformities. The later half of that description fits well to the afflictions of Morgott/Mohg and Miquella/Malenia. Common depiction of Xolotl is as a dog headed man, sometimes with a blade in his mouth to symbolize death. This is echoed in the knife-dog design of the wolves of Radagon, but also the design of Gurranq. I am not certain if it is hearsay that Gurranq will place his blade in mouth when executing the Ground Rupture attack with both hands, but I do know that the Cinquedea dagger can be found after platforming below the Bestial Sanctum in Caelid and the item is sitting conspicuously posed in the open jaws of a broken beast pillar that has been knocked to the ground. Another feature of Xolotl depictions is to show him with empty eyesockets in acknowledgement of the time that Xolotl wept so much at the sacrifice of the gods required to start the motion of the newly created sun that his eyes fell out of their sockets. Every depiction of Radagon shows him with empty voids in the place of eyes, and this also extends to the depiction of 5 of the 6 stone imp masks obtainable in game - which are themselves evocative of the Aztec style of stone carving. Similar to the Norse god Loki (who I believe has many other parallels to Radagon), Xolotl is also characterized as a shapeshifter, and with his shapeshifting extends even further to becoming plants as well as animals. Conflating Radagon and Gurranq/Maliketh is something that I take for granted - after all Maliketh is the shadow of Marika and Marika is Radagon.

"Ra Dagon" - "Ra" Egyptian god of the sun and "Dagon" the principal deity of the ancient Middle Euphrates region. Also the Lovecraftian Dagon fish god thing. There is a dense mythology around the sun throughout FromSoft’s games and only the faintest hint of Egyptian mythology in places such as Oceiros (Osiris) the Consumed King of Dark Souls 3, the eye of Horus used as emblem for the LYNX pilot Joshua O’Brien in Armored Core 4, and the appearance of scarabs in Elden Ring. I am guessing that this is so that it is hinted but not immediately obvious that characters with their eye of Ra open - the left side eye, from perspective of onlooker - have a close connection to the sun and characters with their eye of Horus open - the right side eye - have a close connection to the moon. The Euphrates region is referenced directly in Elden Ring with the copy of the Imago Mundi at the feet of the bearded tree man statues found in underground areas. And then there is the Fishing Hamlet in Bloodborne which seems a nod to the Lovecraftian story of “Shadow over Innsmouth” in which the inhabitants are worshipers of Dagon - in this case with Kos taking the place of Dagon. Unpacking intent here will likely lead to circular logic, but a broad guess is that Dark Souls as a series examines the eclipsed sun in tandem with Bloodborne examining the eclipsed moon.

"naga d'or" - "naga" is Hindu meaning "a member of a race of spirits recognized in Hinduism and Buddhism that have mingled superhuman and serpent qualities, are genii of waters and rain, and live in a subaqueous kingdom", and "d'or" is French meaning "of gold". There is a particular snarl with the Naga, as with all living religions, that it is rather disrespectful to invoke them by name as a beast to be slain in a fantasy context. But there are still many ways to use the aesthetic without the name, such as in the case of Mytha the Baneful Queen from Dark Souls 2 - a silver serpent-woman perhaps as counterpart to an absent gold king. After looking beyond the specific hinduism lens, an example of a being with mingled superhuman and serpent qualities can be found in the story of Eglė the Queen of Grass Snakes who lends her name to the Temple of Eiglay. Eglė herself was no serpent, but her husband was King of the Grass Snakes and could transform back and forth between man and watersnake. In the abstract, the Elden Beast seems to exist in a plane of endless water and is a creature of the Golden Elden Ring. Though it is also tempting to guess that this might be a DLC payoff one.

"Ra Gonad" - Ra is god of all of the sky (and earth and underworld), not just the sun. Venus was born of the testicles of Uranus - god of the sky - thrown into the sea. The second phase of Malenia's fight is styled as an allusion to Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus". So technically this one can work with Radagon as a link between his own father - the old god of the sky and/or sun - and his daughter Malenia.

"Agro DNA" - from the slang term "agro" meaning "aggressive". Perhaps that Radagon has an aggressive nature in his genes. He is something of a Beast.

"And Agro" - as in "Radagon and Agro" - the name of the horse from the Shadow of the Colossus (2005). Elden Ring similarly has the player form an attachment to horse. Notably, The Shadow of the Colossus was directly cited as an inspiration for Elden Ring. Perhaps even a response to it - that game is focused on preserving the life of a deceased maiden at all costs and has an inevitable grim conclusion at the end. In contrast Elden Ring lets the player choose wrong 5 out of 6 times, but there is still the 6th more hopeful choice once you learn to read developer intent - a choice that will try to break the cycle by moving past everything that has come before. Also, Elden Ring has 15 Remembrance Bosses in base game, which stops one short of the 16 Colossi that leads to that inevitable conclusion in SotC.

"Argo DNA" - Argo was the ship sailed by Jason to find the Golden Fleece. Note the golden sheep in the Altus Plateau area of Elden Ring. It is also the name of a gigantic constellation that was split into three parts in the modern day - thus Radagon's lineage is found in the stars. Afterall "It is said that long ago, the Greater Will sent a golden star bearing a beast into the Lands Between, which would later become the Elden Ring".

"Ag Ra don" "Ag adorn" - "Ag" is chemical short form for Silver, so "Ra dressed in silver", I suppose. One might recall that "Radagon" seems not to have been needed as an entity until going to Liurnia to confront a house of the moon (traditionally associated with silver). Also "Ag" derives from the French "Argent" and another major use of French that I've noted is in the name of "Seluvis" forming "se lu vis" meaning (probably with broken grammar) "To read one's own face".

"Argon AD" - "In the Year of our Lord, 18" - Argon was isolated in 1894 by William Ramsay ("Will I Am, Ram Say" - see Golden fleece above). It is element 18 on the periodic table and has a lavender/violet glow when placed in an electrical field, evocative of the visual used for gravity magic. Notable event in the year 18: "Winter – Germanicus Caesar arrives in Syria, as new commander-in-chief for the Roman East." I'm going to pull on Gideon Ofnir for this one, as he is partly named for the Germanic god Odin and also the visual of his intro screen echoes the opening of the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar: "lend me your ears, I come to bury Caesar". Much of Radagon’s concern in Liurnia seems to have been involved with refining the purple gravity magic, judging by the scholars who use in Rennala’s fight, the Alabaster Lord on the grounds, the hands using it at Caria Manor, and Radahn’s overall skill set. As mentioned in a previous post about Loki, it makes sense for Gideon to have also been around at the time.

"ad argon" - "Ad" is a Latin modifier as in the case of "ad absurdum" or "to the point of absurdity" and etc (much like this post!). "Argon" is a Greek word meaning "lazy" or "inactive". Overall perhaps stretches to "to the point of stagnation"

"Argon Da" - Argon is an obscure semi-canon character in Tolkein's Legendarium but his father is King Fingolfin who is known for wielding an icy sword called "Ringil" that he used to cut Morgoth's foot and cause him to be lamed (many characters in Elden Ring with this condition). In Elden Ring, the icy blade called the “Frozen Needle” is found in the Kingsrealm Ruins. Ringil is also the name of a mountain stream in the area called "Taur-en-Faroth" which was already discussed above, but an added note here would be that Fort Faroth is where Radagon's soreseals is found.

"A Angrod" - Another Tolkein reference - Angrod is the Sindarin form of “Angaráto” meaning “champion”. Thus “A Angrod” means “O Champion!”. The character Angrod belongs to the “Golden House of Finarfin” and is nephew of the previously mentioned Fingolfin. Radagon first appeared as a Champion of the Golden Order.

"A Do Rang" - FromSoft has a recurring thing about bells. "do" is a syllable used in the Solmization music scale: do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti. After "ti" the scale wraps back to "do" again for a full octave. So the "do" rings at the beginning and end, at the start and at the eighth note. Perhaps hints to Radagon's involvement with the 4 Belfries and the Mausoleum bells in Liurnia, at the eighth era corresponding to the octave. And it is an open question as to how many characters may have meaning embedded in their names relating to the musical scales. Dolorus could easily also correspond to the eighth. Farum to the fourth. Miquella to the 3rd and 10th.

"a DGN aro" - DGN is an representation of the Egyptian word meaning "dwarf" or "pygmy". "Aro" is Spanish for "ring". A pygmy ring. This one actually brings more to mind the Ringed City DS3 DLC, since that game also teases the Egyptian connection with Oceiros ("Osiris"). And the Ringed City being euphemistic of the City of Gold (the alchemical symbol for gold is a ring) that Spanish Conquistadors tried to find in the Americas.

"Aaron G-D" - Specifically Aaron Kosminski - a man who was one of many suspected of being Jack the Ripper, though never formally convicted. He suffered from aural hallucinations and was committed to a psychiatric facility for a separate event. I learned of these recently through the video "The Enduring Mystery of Jack the Ripper" by LEMMiNO. Three connections here to Bloodborne: 1) One of the questions of the Ripper was "does he or does he not have medical knowledge?", which suits the medical theme of Bloodborne presented by Charred Thermos. 2) Aural hallucinations. I find this to be a theme in Bloodborne where the various types of bells are representative of tinnitus (relating to Ludwig van Beethoven being afflicted with this - see "Adan gor" above). 3) Kos. Kosm-. Kosminski. In Yiddish "Kos" means "goblet" or "cup", and may have been an occupational name for someone who makes glasses or cups. Minski has meaning of "from Minsk" which is a city in present day Belarus. The Nemiga river that flows through Minsk was buried in the early 1900's (diverted through underground pipe culverts), and its name means in Lithuanian "the river that never sleeps". As for the "G-D" this aligns with one of the abbreviations of God commonly used in Jewish print, but keeping on the aural theme these are also musical notes.

"Rán goad" - Rán is a Norse goddess and personification of the sea. Her name has come up a few times in FromSoft's body of work ranging from Ciaran ("who is Rán?") to Ranni ("Rán not/Rán two"). A goad is an English word meaning "long pointed stick used to prod animals (typically cattle)", or a Scots word for "god", or Swedish for "had tricked someone to a place and then beat up or murdered them". Taking Ranni as a manifestation of Rán, this could allude to Radagon manipulating Ranni into the state of mind where she would want to carry out the dual assassination of Godwyn and herself. Note that Ciaran's Gold Tracer blade resembles the Blade of Calling that is held by Melina (with minor differences at the hilt), who herself is noted to have similarities to the Black Knife Assassins. It could simultaneously refer to a much older event that was alluded to with the cut mimic tear quest. In the abstract, the previous "Rán" was tricked into shedding her aspect of water and adopting the persona of a fire giant - a form of ego death or murder of self to appease a god of fire.

"a grand O" - oh Elden Ring

"a dragon" - I think that the Elden Beast is a fine example of a dragon. The dragon is also a symbol of the never-ending cycle of alchemy, as both prime materia and the end product. The dragon is endlessly splitting into brother and sister parts and recombining into the divine hermaphrodite - so says Carl Jung in CW12 "Psychology and Alchemy". And the connection that I make personally is that the red-haired Rand al'Thor as ‘The Dragon Reborn' is the main character of the Wheel of Time books (1990-2013), whose name means "on the edge of a god" because that's really just his whole character arc in a few words. What does it mean to be “The Dragon” in the Wheel of Time? This is revealed quite early, but in the kind of offhand way that only makes sense in hindsight: "The land is one with the Dragon, and he is one with the land". The Dragon is the amnesiac avatar of the Creator (in this case, the author) experiencing his own Creation. When the Dragon suffers the landscape physically undergoes a Breaking and years of chaotic weather patterns - but when he achieves balance he has the Deus Ex Machina power to cause improbable good fortune wherever he goes. The last obstacle at that point is to confront the Shadow that has been the source of the suffering - see Jung again. One of the two most significant supporting characters is a blacksmith named for the god Perun - another hammer wielding god that stands a lateral shift to the side of Thor. Although Thor may wield a hammer to protect or destroy, he is not known for craftsmanship - thus requiring another aspect in the blacksmith who completes acts of creation. There may be only one author avatar elevated above the rest, but all characters that an author creates are splinters of their own thoughts. See also above usage of “Rand Ferrer'' - my guess is that this is one of the deepest literary influences for everything that FromSoftware has ever produced.

Conclusions

I believe that the name of “Radagon” and only that one name is intentionally used as a cornerstone around which much of the worldbuilding was completed. For multiple games leading up to and including Elden Ring. I believe this because it is more interesting than the belief that all of these incredibly specific coincidences are unplanned. Radagon is the villain after all, and symbolic of all of the faults of the Lands Between. If there is one thing that anagrams are good for, it is generating fantastic nonsense, as in the supposed case of "Naga d'or" or "Argo DNA". It's a shortcut to creating a surprise twist ending. It might be said that FromSoft/GRRM went hard into making a web of cause and effect to justify the twist when working backwards with the knowledge of hindsight - but in the worst case I can see this being used as a crutch. Perhaps as a prompt generator by an author who isn't sure what to do with a character and uses anagrams to inject "noise" into an otherwise formulaic story. Rather than having considered psychologically motivated reasons for their actions, it would be a way to get a character to do something unexpected to generate drama. It strips away causality and meaning for the sake of "originality".

Unfortunately, words and literature are messier and more ambiguous than the mathematical models we use to describe the physical properties of the real world. I can suspect that at least some of the worldbuilding of Elden Ring was influenced by selecting anagram word strings and spinning meaning from them, but it is still is not an explanatory theory of everything. The flaw of string theory is that it cannot make predictions and cannot be proved. As much as FromSoft may pretend that Elden Ring exists in a parallel universe to all other game franchises that they have created in the spirit of the parallel worlds predicted by string theory (and I know that this is by no means a popular theory in the fandoms), that too is a lie. There is only one universe - the real world in which a videogame company creates fantastical worlds “from software”. Which is probably why the closest I've gotten to actually piecing together the FromSoft metanarrative is by consulting my absurd spreadsheet that lists the initial release date of basically every game made by FromSoft and tracks information and trends for each date - zodiacs, tarot, moon phase, etc.

The year 2007 corresponds to tarot #7 - The Chariot - which represents "overcoming challenges and gaining victory through maintaining control of your surroundings". In a move never seen before or since, the only two original IP's that FromSoft released in the year 2007 were word puzzle games called Nanpure VOW and Iraroji VOW. And since this is the year after the release of Armored Core 4 - for which I find the "Lynx" AC's to be referenced in the "Loux" of Hoarah Loux and thus correlated with Godfrey's rise to Elden Lord - the year of word games is perfectly positioned for the origin of 'Radagon' as an entity riddled with anagrams.

#elden ring #media analysis #fromsoftware metanarrative #this post does not support JK Rowling but for the sake of the arguments made (that Elden Ring is one-upping her on purpose) it was necessar #tbh I feel like the multiverse anagram thing is kindof like cryptography where the keyword for the encoding is “RADAGON”#I wonder if I should have mentioned Kryptos - I watched another video by LEMMiNO about that recently after writing most of this post

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