#so. malenia and miquella are twins right

[benevolentslut]

wait i just had a theory

#so. malenia and miquella are twins right #obv they look different ages because of miquella's curse but they're twins #what if. #what if they were originally identical twins #and malenia is trans #and also her hair turned red from the scarlet rot's influence but it was naturally the same blonde as miquella #im headcanoning this now you can't change my mind #'but you see her naked and she clearly doesn't have-' that area is covered in rot scars obv it rotted off #the outer god of rot gave her free bottom surgery ig lol #hey with the way the golden order is it adds more to why her family didn't give a shit about her being cursed by the scarlet rot #they're just transphobic #that's in character considering they locked away two of their children for being born with horns #doesn't surprise me that they'd look at malenia coming out and just go 'oh well shame about that rot that's gonna kill you' #adds in even more reasoning for miquella to be outraged at them neglecting her situation #and deciding to form his own society where he accepts and cares for all the people shunned by the golden order #yeah no okay this started out half as a joke hc but i think im gonna die on this hill now #malenia is trans and that's that #ALSO adds more reason to why malenia is so devoted to her brother #he's the only one from her family that accepted her #yes in canon he's the only one who tried to help her with the rot (and his success is what earned him his title/nickname) #and that's plenty reason why she would be #but this works out in my mind

[miquella-everywhere]

Godwyn the Golden and the Cursed Empyrean Twins

So starting off, Godwyn the Golden is simultaneously one of the most important and enigmatic figure in Elden Ring Lore. What we do know is that he a charismatic and powerful Demigod, having lead the War of the Ancient Dragons to victory while also befriending is enemies, but at his end becoming a Martyr during the Night of the Black Knives and subsequently the Prince of Death, which has caused, so many problems throughout the Lands Between.

But I am here to analyze the relationship between Godwyn, Miquella and Malenia, and how much of Godwyns influence made the twins into in the people that they are currently.

Godwyn lorewise is a pretty fantastic dude. He was a valiant warrior, he befriends one of his greatest enemies and their friendship was so string said enemy turned friend, loved him so much he went inside of Godwyn to fight literal Death, and more importantly, he is clearly a revered and beloved figure between the Empyrean Twins, Miquella and Malenia.

Godwyn was close with the twins and the statue of him in the Haligtree Promenade has the Golden Demigod depicted as a protector and possible nurturer of the Twins, so he cared for them a great deal and Miquella and Malenia loved and adored Godwyn in turn.

In Leyndell there's a house in the far corner of the city that has several Miquella's Lily's growing in the front implying that Miquella lived there along with Malenia in their youth, and the fact that it's segregated from the rest of the city, and that you have to go by the apothecary building to get to it, it was likely that the rest of the populace was afraid of the Twins, but more specifically Malenias Rot.

But there was probably one person who wasn't afraid. That was Godwyn. And it wouldn't surprise me if Godwyn was Miquella and Malenia's primary caretaker in the beginning of their lives.

So when I think about it, Godwyn was probably there for them at the very beginning, he empathized with their afflictions and how their curses practically stunted and crippled their lives.

But I also believe that Godwyn was an encouraging figure and gave hope to the Twins. Godwyn was a fierce warrior in his own right and Malenia, who grew up to be just the same, was likely given instruction in the art of battle from Godwyn in her younger years, and he was likely her main tutor before she set off on her own journey in her adolescence and met her Blind Master.

The one thing that I love about this statue is the fact that it is Malenia who is embracing Godwyn, with her remaining arm wrapped tightly around her older brothers chest

Godwyn and Miquellas relationship is an interesting one to look closer at because the one thing that we know about Godwyn is that he was likely very kind due to his relationship with Fortissax, and Miquella too is kind, as he is well known for his acceptance of those rejected by the Golden Order. So if anything, it is a strong indicator that Godwyns kindness heavily influenced Miquella.

Not mention the fact that, at this point, Godwyn is the oldest of all the Demigods, the years that he has behind him and the wisdom/historical knowledge he has about the world would have been immense. And Miquella who is very curious by nature, had Godwyn there to answer the many questions Miquella had about the world. Miquella without a doubt looked up to Godwyns heroic demeanor and worldly knowledge with absolute awe.

Godwyn: *talking about how fast he can go on fortissax before the sheer wind force yeets him off*

Miquella: :D✨

And now, whatever the truth is behind the Night of the Black Knives, it very clearly was a tragedy that weighed heavily on the Twins as Miquella went on to create Golden Epitaph in commemoration of Godwyns death.

A golden sword imbued with the humble prayer of a young boy: "O brother, Lord Brother, please die a true death."

Golden Epitaphs description explains to us that Miquella wishes for Godwyn to be free from the horrific curse that has been placed upon his flesh, and the commemorative sword wasn't the only thing that Miquella has done for Godwyn after his death.

The Wandering Mausoleums are a bit of a mystery, but the more you read into them it becomes very apparent that they are in some way connected to Godwyn and Miquella devising a way to either free Godwyn from his state of Undeath, or to somehow restore his soul to his body. And this ritual involves the Eclipse

So we can easily deduce that one of Miquellas primary goals is to save Godwyn from the terrible fate that has been handed to him either by restoring his soul to his body or by granting him a true death. And with the new trailer shedding more light on the DLC, I am almost certain that Godwyn will have a pivotal role and more information will be revealed surrounding him.

But what can be said for certain is that Miquellas motives are driven by the love that he has for his older brother.

And now we can only wait.

#míquella ABSOLUTELY wept the night godwÿn was killed #mal would have wept if she could but her emtions were just as tumultuous 😭 #elden ring #miquella the unalloyed #godwyn the golden #malenia blade of miquella #elden ring theory #uri posts

[blaiddfailcam]

Thoughts on the Shadow of the Erdtree's first trailer

You know I have to, lol.

I'm going to avoid anything that's likely well-trodden territory, so a lot of this will pertain to past theories of mine, or just general ramblings. It's not going to be all that organized, but here goes.

The "Ring of Miquella"

A loooong long time ago, I settled on a theory that the Great Rune of the Unborn was actually Miquella's rightful Great Rune, but given to Rennala in the form of the Amber Egg by Radagon before he was even born. The Great Rune itself matches the shape of his twin sister, Malenia's, albeit smaller and of pure gold, akin to Miquella's traits as an eternally youthful demigod of Unalloyed Gold. Miquella's role in the base game as a comatose Empyrean who failed to be reborn further relates to the Great Rune of the Unborn, as it is required to perfect the process, otherwise the reborn loses their memory as if to a deepening slumber.

I take this as a damning vindication, lol.

Possible insight into the Cuckoo

Some have pointed out this character's evident relation to Raya Lucaria. Already, many have jumped to the conclusion that she must be a Carian based on the crystals and bird cages strewn about their chamber, but I don't actually think this is certain. These could also pertain to the Cuckoo, the original headmasters of Raya Lucaria. (After all, some of the cages in Raya Lucaria even contain warbling cuckoo birds.)

The Cuckoo are a somewhat overlooked dynasty, but there are slight hints that they may be related to the Nox in some way. It would be very interesting if we got to see some semblence of their former glory, before Rennala descended from the Mountaintops and overtook the academy. Perhaps then we might glean more on the primordial current so coveted by Lusat, Azur, and Sellen?

Messmer the Impaler

Where to even begin with this latest addition to Miyazaki's divine freakshow.

The first thing that jumps out to me is their name, "Messmer." Given the context of Miquella, St. Trina, and the yet underexplored concept of dreams, I'm reminded of 18th century physician Franz Mesmer, the pioneer of hypnotism. Mesmer dabbled in astronomy, and believed all beings were connected to the inanimate world through "animal magnetism." In his practice, he developed the first inklings of hypnotic suggestion, then known as Mesmerism.

The use of serpents in Messmer's designs could relate him to the Eternal Serpent that wished to devour the Erdtree and the world, which later became Rykard's obsession. In fact, the red flame Messmer channels bears a striking chromatic resemblance to the Taker's Flames. Perhaps he could be related to the ancient heretical cult of Mt. Gelmir...? (I still wonder what the hell is going on with the volcano's peak, as it does resemble a gnarled tree.)

The red hair would relate this figure to the Fire Giants and/or the Fire Monks, which is particularly strange. Then again, we do find the Fire Giants impaled on briars, though these supposedly pertain to Radagon himself.

The most enthralling detail to me, however, is Messmer's sealed eye.

Eyes are diegetically symbolic, and thus far we've met two characters with sealed eyes: Melina and Lunar Princess Ranni. It's likely that both of these characters are Empyreans, and as we've never seen any other Empyreans' eyes (Malenia's are covered by rotten scales, and there's no official depiction of Marika with her eyes open or intact), I take it to be a cosmological signifier of their divine status. If so, might Messmer be yet another Empyrean...? Their open eye is golden and draconic, though I'm not sure what this could entail.

I'm sure I'll be mulling it over for a while, lol.

Other random thoughts

The wolf-lion-mage thing is frickin' sweet, but I like that it appears to be a puppet of sorts, and that whatever puppeteers it is relatively human.

HIGH MONK

CRUCIBLE WINGS

SPECIAL DUAL-WIELDED WEAPONS??

BUTTERFLY MAGIC (purple....)

That definitely looks like Deathroot crawling across the landscape

RUNEBEAR INCANT (so probably even crazier runebears lmao)

Just kind of gesturing at everything because what the hell how is this even the same game it looks insane and fuckin JUICY

June isn't all that far off...

#elden ring #my ramblings #shadow of the erdtree #miquella #messmer

[arx-aru]

the way the cleanrot helm's plume is like. so weird in comparison to other plumes is so cool actually .

listen. it's IMPORTANT okay-

because because BECAUSE-

cuz AT FIRST you're probably disappointed it isn't the super pretty, detailed hair the banished knights and others get but then u realize

it's obviously shaped like hair right. but also it's split into 2 solid clumpy bits almost like

like malenia's weird ass phase 2 hair-wings!!

and their model is definitely meant to emphasize this because the set is tailored exactly so their unique limp walk cycle / idle animations splits the clumps 😭 😭

ft finlay cuz wild cleanrots are flighty(hahaha get it)

and !! the fact the helm ALSO has the 2 feathered white wings, and their full set has a Miquellan unalloyed gold necklace / Miquellan eclipse halo scythe, and obviously the way they favor their left side / wield their sword in their right hand--

forget the item descriptions; their very design says they're all in for Malenia, no matter what sobriquet and form she claims. They're so endlessly loyal they give themselves to the Goddess of Rot, and they share the Blade of Miquella's love of her twin, accepting her choice of subservience, and they're even right beside the Severed in her lopsided form. they hold themselves in her image, no matter how monstrous, crippled, and forlorn she may be

And none of them deserted. Like the Black Knights burned to ash beside Gwyn, they dedicate their being and eternal soul to their liege--and like their successors, their scarce surviving number stride even now with purpose and intent.

They even protect their lord's daughter, be it the illusory Gwynevere or the manipulated Millicent, the vestiges of the world they tried to build.

They are left but ash and rot, yet still they stand, unto the end of the world.

they are, in their chosen fate, triumphant

(what i mean to say is these bitches gay)

#cleanrot brainrot #cleanrot knight #malenia blade of miquella #malenia #elden ring #elden ring lore

[phantasia69]

Miquella's Fate

During the final parts of Seluvis' questline, we learn of his plan to turn Ranni into one of his dolls. To do this, he asks us to retrieve Amber Starlight.

"Then I'd like you to procure something. A rather unique starlight shard that glistens with amber. With that, my special draught will gleam with nectar-sweetness. And even a demigod would be slave to its charms..."

You can find the Amber Starlight in the Altus Plateau in a small crater. The AS sits right in front of a statue of Malenia and Miquella. The same statue is found all over Elphael, the brace of the Haligtree.

So, what exactly is Amber Starlight, and why would it appear in front of a random statue of Malenia and Miqualla? I couldn't find any reason why this statute would be so far away from the Haligtree, but I think the devs put it here so that we could make some kind of connection between the Amber Starlight and the twins, specifically, Miquella.

Here is its item description:

We know that the stars hold peoples fates in Elden Ring, that is why Ranni instructs us to kill Radahn, so that her plan could be completed and her fate would no longer be at a standstill. We also know that Amber Starlight represents the fate of a Demi-god/God.

In my opinion, I think that the Amber Starlight we find holds Miquella's fate. Origionally, Miquella put himself in the Haligtree so he could undo his curse of eternal childhood. However, before he could fully complete his "process," he was ripped out of the Haligtree by Mohg and taken away to Mohgwyn Palace. Mohg's reasons for doing this could be an entirely different post on its own. Anyways, we see Miquella's cocoon and he looks....wrong.

Clearly, some kind of transformation has happened to him. He looks way bigger, and if you look inside of his model you can see a fully formed human in there. When we speak to Gideon about this, he states that Miquella is "slumbering," not dead.

I think that the Amber Starlight we find could mean that Miquella's original fate was so heavily altered, that after Radahn released the stars, his fate fell to the Lands Between. However, just because his original fate is gone doesn't mean that's the end of his story. After Mohgs interference, Miquella could have gained a new fate/star. I definitely think the DLC will elaborate more on Miquella, since there are still so many things we don't know about him.

He's genuinely so interesting and it makes me sad that he had so much cut content. Originally, Miquella was going to have a much more active role in the story. There was even going to be a special ending of the game for him, similar to Ranni's ending.

#fromsoftware #soulsborne #elden ring #miquella #miquella the unalloyed #seluvis #ranni the witch #ranni #elden ring malenia #malenia blade of miquella

[maranull]

If you're still doing this, Malenia please (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

Have a wonderful day!

\(￣▽￣)~ Hi! Sure am! Asks are always open, I'm always up to talk :P

~

First impression: Beautiful. Fantastic voice. The first time I got her to second phase, I was left with my mouth open and immediately received a bloom to the face cause I forgot I was holding a controller. I spent quite some time just running around the arena and looking at her animations. Probably the coolest character Fromsoft has ever made.

Impression now: Basically the same. Her resilience and determination are off the charts and she's one of the only demigods that her reason for marching to war wasn't for her own gain. I also think she's a very proud character, but at the same time has none of the aspirations of power and godhood the other Demigods have. Very down to earth for a Demigod.

Favourite moment: The opening of her second phase, hands down. I'm still looking in awe every time. It's so beautiful and at the same time heartbreaking, seeing her succumb to the Rot a second time, all to protect a brother that's not even there.

Idea for a story: Just some domestic fluff. Just her and Finlay and Miq and all her five daughters living a peaceful, Rot-free life in Elphael. Like, no Rot mentions whatsoever. Just a peaceful, uneventful life. I think she deserves it.

Unpopular opinion: I don't think it's an unpopular opinion on tumblr, but it might be now that reddit is slowly moving in here as well. I think she clearly defeated Radahn (her blade pierced his chest for gods' sake, she most definitely hit a lung or even his heart, the man had lost before she even bloomed), and that her march to Caelid was well within reason, given that Miquella's trail led there (Mohg's area is right below the red beach).

Favorite relationship: Her and Miq. They both love each other so much, and each has gone to extreme lengths to help each other. I think that before building Elphael, they only had each other to rely on and yeah... I dunno. I just love that while the rest of the Demigods are a mess and fight with each so much, the twins are just looking out for each other in every way possible. Both their life goals are basically to help each other.

Favorite headcanon: That she can't cook to save her life. I don't remember where I first read it, but that headcanon has stuck in my brain and I can't get it out. The woman needs someone to cook for her or her only substance would be fruits.

~

So, yeah. I don't talk about her often, but she's actually one of my favourite characters. A lovely day to you too, Hug!

#elden ring #malenia blade of miquella #asks

[catcas22]

Time to throw my hat in and ask a question too- so.

How does Godwyn feel about his kids? Like, it was probably pretty obvious that Godrick was building a major inferiority complex to Godefroy, and they both seem to idolize grandaddy a LOT. Did all this just spring up in Limgrave?

There were a number of factors contributing to make Godrick and Godefroy the terrors they eventually became.

For one thing, Godwyn and Fia's parenting. Godwyn grew up as the family Golden Child, constantly pressured to conform to an impossible standard of perfection. He overcorrected with his own children, letting them get away with far too much. There was a crucial point in which someone needed to metaphorically knock their heads together and tell them to get over themselves. And given his own harsh upbringing, Godwyn just couldn't bring himself to do it. Fia/Fortissax was in completely over her head. Ancient dragons don't really raise their young, like at all. She had the vague idea that you need to feed and water human children to keep them alive, but her parenting knowledge stopped there.

For another, they ended up in a sort of one-way feud with Malenia and Miquella. The twins are about the same age as Godrick, with Godefroy being a bit older. After their curses manifested, Godwyn started splitting his time between the twins and his own children. He had to step up even more as Radagon got a lot more depressed and withdrawn and Marika became increasingly paranoid and unstable. While Godwyn was just trying to be there for his little brother and sister when they desperately needed a stable adult in their lives, Godrick and Godefroy read it as "Dad loves the twins more and wishes they were his kids instead of us because they're freakishly talented prodigies." That planted the seed of Godrick's inferiority complex, and the rest is history.

And finally, Godrick and Godefroy grew up steeped in the culture of the modern Golden Order. They fully embraced the might makes right, will-to-power philosophy that the Order (particularly the holdovers from Godfrey's tenure) runs off of. Add that general philosophy to a pair of rather spoiled lordlings with a massive inferiority complex and... Yeah.

Godwyn genuinely does love his boys, but he overlooked a lot of early red flags. Due to the aforementioned Golden Child syndrome, he couldn't bring himself to give them the discipline and structure they so desperately needed. He realized his mistake after his sons were already grown, but by then they had come to look up to Godfrey -- or more accurately, the version of Godfrey still worshipped by the Golden Order -- more than they ever looked up to their own father.

Of course, this is just the interpretation I settled on for the Prince of Death-verse.

#elden ring #headcanons #answered asks #godwyn the golden #godrick the grafted #godefroy the grafted #prince of death fic

[toweringclam]

Who is Godefroy? FINAL

So a while back, I started a series where I tried to puzzle out who Godefroy the Grafted actually was. I got a bit lost in the weeds and burned out before I could come up with a coherent theory, but it turns out the answer was stupidly simple and sitting right in front of me the whole time. And the story of Godefroy is a key to understanding all of Marika's offspring.

Godwyn, Godefroy, and Godrick are brothers

If there's one thing that's incredibly important for understanding Elden Ring lore, it's patterns. The same motifs will repeat again and again, and if something doesn't seem to fit the established pattern, it's probably worth a second thought.

One thing that seems to be accepted without question is that Marika's children with Godfrey were Godwyn, Morgott, and Mohg. But the problem should jump out at you immediately: every other group of divine siblings have names that start with the same letter. The pattern becomes even more apparent now that we have Messmer, presumably Miquella and Malenia's brother. This adds some new rules. Assuming this is replicated across all her offspring, the pattern is:

Three siblings

All start with the same letter

Twins and a spare

That brings me to:

Rykard and Radahn are twins

While they're never called twins, looking at their portraits side by side, it becomes pretty obvious.

Their different sizes could easily be explained by something like twin to twin transfusion syndrome, a concept very familiar to fans of the Locked Tomb series. We have the overgrown twin and the withered twin, plus their sister Ranni. We now have a pattern.

Melina is Mohg and Morgott's sister

This just leaves Melina, the potential Gloam-Eyed Queen. The strangest of Marika's children. May seem odd since she looks so young compared to them, but remember, she's a spirit. Her body was burned long ago, so there's no reason for her to age. That puts her in the second batch of demigod children, likely around when the Erdtree was burned for the first time.

The Grafted Twins' were born first

In fact, the age thing is a major clue to the timing of the Grafted Twins' birth. They are old and wizened in a way that none of Marika's other children are. If they are Marika's offspring, that must mean they were born before she gained control of the Elden Ring. The first child she bore under the new order was Godwyn the Golden, perfect in every way. More than anything else, this represented a shift in power.

The Golden Lineage is Godfrey's own

In all the Golden Lineage items, there isn't a single mention of Marika. Go back and look. Godfrey is mentioned, but not Marika. Rather than saying that this means she wasn't involved, i think it represents the shifting power from Elden Lord to God (or whatever Marika's position was before). There's barely any mention of Placidusax's god, so the title must not have been that important back then.

The M's are Marika's own

Following Marika's ascension, she started to wonder if she even needed Godfrey anymore. So she started to experiment. She sent her other self Radagon to Caria and used the power of the Crucible to create children on her own. The result was the warped Omen Twins and Melina, the Gloam-Eyed Queen.

Godfrey, Chad that he is, loved these divine bastards as his own, as seen when he gently cradles Morgott. This compassion was even extended to the children of Radagon, as Radahn shows great admiration for him. But Marika wanted her Empyrean offspring, so he had to go. She called back her other half and had another batch of kids, two (three?) of which came out as Empyreans.

I'm getting tired and rambling, so in conclusion:

Godefroy is Marika's first-born. Godwyn was just the first-born of the Golden Order.

#radagon of the golden order #mohg lord of blood #mohg the omen #morgott the omen king #Godefroy the Grafted #godrick the grafted #elden ring #shadow of the erdtree #elden ring lore #godwyn the golden

[lichdragon-fortissax]

Why do you think Radahn and Malenia went to war?

Miquella. My theory is that the war between the Redmanes and the Cleanrot knights came about after Mohg kidnapped Miquella, as the Swamp of Aeonia (where Malenia bloomed for the first time) is almost directly over Mohgwyn Palace. Malenia and Miquella are hinted to have that supernatural twin bond going on, considering how all their lore speaks about how close they are, so it wouldn't be surprising if Malenia was able to sense where he was being kept and made a beeline for his location. The battle between her and Radahn likely resulted from Radahn rightfully not wanting to let an armed force from an enemy faction into his lands during a time of conflict, especially since he likely has no idea that the Mohgwyn Dynasty exists- or, if he does, that its located under his lands.

There's also no other explanation as to why Malenia and her forces would march all the way from the Haligtree to Caelid to fight with Radahn, considering the fact that the Haligtree is naturally closed off from the rest of the Lands Between, and its primary directive is to allow persecuted peoples to escape from the Golden Order. Malenia and Miquella would have focused their military forces on defense instead of offense, and as far as we know, the strike against Caelid is the only active offensive maneuver that they made in the entirety of the Shattering (all of the activity trails in the Lands Between, such as the alliance of the Shaded Castle, the march through Liurnia, and her beating Godrick's ass can be attributed to her going on a march to recover Miquella)

Malenia fighting to recover Miquella would also explain why she went to such drastic measures to win, as pride is not a sufficient enough explanation for her to be pushed so far. Malenia loves her brother more than anything in the world, enough that the years spent battling the rot could be cast aside in a last-ditch effort to save him (if that was even her that triggered the bloom). Sure, she blooms again when we fight her, but by then she's in a trancelike state that indicates that she's not entirely in her right mind as a result of her battle in Caelid. I can't really think of any other reason why she would go to the opposite end of the continent to fight to a bloody standstill tbh

#elden ring #miquella the unalloyed #malenia blade of miquella #starscourge radahn #anon #reply #elden ring theory

[maletofujoshi]

the more i look at elden ring the more it feels like certain concepts- which are separated- are in fact one. blood, rot, and fire specifically. consider miquella, mohg, and malenia. mohg had an encounter with the formless mother, a being who blesses those with accursed blood. this meeting lit his blood on fire, or something. blood and fire are unified in bloodflame. mohg covets miquella, to raise him into godhood for an age of blood under the formless mother. miquella, for his part, isn’t some kind of aesthetically pure and uncomplicated being. miquella possesses an eternally youthful and abundant stream of blood. this is a curse of blood, and is inherent to miquella and has no origin in mohg’s meddling. miquella is the twin of malenia- and twins in this game have inseparable fates or are governed by the same concepts. where miquella is eternally in a stage of growing, and maturation, malenia is eternally in a stage of decay. she describes the scarlet rot as affecting her blood. accursed blood again. the most rotted area was home to the bloodiest battle, and that blood seems to have seeped directly into a lake of blood below the earth, where mohg hold miquella. rot, and malenia, are worshipped by many who see rot as the death that begets life. rot is an agent of transformation, and nurtures new life nearly as much as it brings suffering. fire is able to stall rot, but fire itself is also ruinous, and like rot, is creative- it drives craft and civilization, which are closely linked to life. blood too nurtures, and isn’t just associated with pain. in caelid, fire is the enemy of rot. but in the most hidden places, where rot is strongest, you can find ulcerated tree spirits which spew… a rotting flame? blood can be rot, rot can be flame, flame can be blood. all of these 3 things are closely linked to the formless mother- and the colour red. miquella and malenia’s curses likely Aren’t stemming from a different place. the scarlet rot is the formless mother is the flame. the same logic governs all of these and they can mix. mohg has a twin too- morgott. who shares the exact same cursed blood. morgott rebukes his curse, and it is expressed as black and gold wraith magic. this complicates things. it’s red into gold… malenia has deep red hair, but wields “gold” (her sword) to exert her will. gold makes up many of her limbs, and is woven into her skin. miquella has practically white golden hair, but pronounced veins, he wields “red” to exert his will (the nurturing of a tree, or a civilization), coursing blood under a thin layer of skin. there is a pronounced connection between the colour red and the colour gold. the formless mother is a hidden god- and governs red, and all red things are rejected under the golden order. the greater will is the origin of gold, and is outward facing, and radiant. marika, the golden god, who serves as the vassal of the greater will, IS radagon, an identity differentiated by sex and red hair. radagon rebukes his redness, and clings to gold, where marika feels nothing towards her goldenness, and shatters gold to reach understanding. morgott rebukes his redness, and is granted grace, but is spurned by what he loves. mohg rebukes his claim to gold, but his ambitions of redness are impotent. malenia holds onto an identity in relation to gold, but falls into red, and can be pulled back into gold, but will inevitably become red again- rising as a goddess of rot on her third bloom. miquella seeks a path that can only be claimed by severing his link to gold, and uses red to achieve that (sorry mohg), but so far seems to continue to gleam with gold in the trailer.

there’s something being expressed here- through the simultaneous union and separation of ideas. i’m… not sure what it is lol. idk is dualism right or is non dualism right does someone know

i saw one person online say that the greater will is the daddy to the mother of truth’s mommy. and that’s true i fear. but what if they had a nonbinary thot daughterson. what’s good with saint trina?

[miquella-everywhere]

i think miquellas curse is more then just eternal childhood. i find it very interesting that it seems none of his plans ever came to fruition, the hailigtree never became an erdtree, the eclipse didnt happen, his knights sword was never given to a knight, he was torn from the trees womb, malenia failed to defeat radahn in caelid. i think his curse then is a wider reaching thing that causes both him and all his work to stay in an infant state. in the same way malenias rot causes things to decay around her miquelas eternal childhood effects everything he does too.

🤔🤔🤔

I have to say that I think you are right anon.

I have my own theories but personally, I see that Miquella has been fighting and uphill battle since the very moment that he was born. Not quite on the same physical sense as Malenia, but more in regards to how he is being purposefully stunted from achieving his true potential.

What makes Miquella so interesting to me is just straight up the existence of Unalloyed Gold; a metal so pure that it can purge the meddling of an Outer God. And as we can see, by looking deeper into what's truly going on, is that several Outer Gods are all vying for power in the Land Between. And amazingly the only one that has the power to truly put a stop to their meddling; is Miquella.

Miquella has faced resistance all his life from the looming presence of the Outer Gods. Be it the Rot that has a strangle hold on his beloved twin sister, the Greater Will which dominates the Land and terrorizes those it deems lesser in the eyes of its Order, the Frenzied Flame which slandered the Grand Caravan and wishes to burn the world to ash, or the Formless Mother and her Avatar Mohg, who has left Miquella's body as nothing more than a withered cadaver.

Miquella has been fighting an uphill battle against the Outer Gods since day one, and he is without a doubt the biggest threat to every single one of them. And that is precisely why they fear him, and wish to make him weak.

But at the same time: Miquella has vowed to become exactly what it is that the Outer Gods fear of him.

And all he needs is a Tarnished that is too stubborn to die to make his plans come to fruition.

Edit:

Okay so in terms of Malenia, she too was stunted from birth.

Like, if Miquellas whole deal is is his intelligence/faith, then Mals whole deal is her dexterity/strength. Malenia was purposely stunted with the fact that the Rot hinders her physical growth and strength, along with the fact that she is constantly losing her body/limbs to the Rot, and that she is in an eternal mental battle to make sure that the Rot does not claim her mind/very being.

Miquella and Malenia are two halves of one whole, and both of the Empyrean Twins are hindered from achieving their full potential thanks to the bullshit of the Outer Gods.

But regardless of the Outer Gods meddling, Miquella and Malenia have managed to rely on each other to enhance their strengths, and cover their weaknesses, so that they can make their ambitions come true.

#sorry i started rambling lol #i have so many feeling about miq and his beef with the outer gods #like DAMN #if rannís whole deal is giving the middle finger to the Greater Will #then miqs whole deal is giving a double bird to every outer god there is and vowing to become exactly what they fear from him #mark my words the dlc will be explore this crazy beef #míquella despises the outer gods and wants to rid the world of them #uri answers #miquella the unalloyed #elden ring #elden ring theory

[blaiddfailcam]

Random thoughts in the wake of killing Mohg again lol

So Morgott and Mohg are twins born of Marika and Godfrey, both cursed and abandoned. Their brother, Godwyn, was regarded more highly, unafflicted by the Fell Curse.

After Godfrey's exile, Radagon joined Marika in his place, and together they produced Miquella and Malenia, another set of twins afflicted by a curse, but as a result of Radagon and Marika's shared soul.

Both Morgott and Miquella are emblemized by gold, whereas Malenia and Mohg are associated with red. Despite Morgott's Omen curse, his Great Rune reveals he is the rightful lord of Leyndell; Miquella was regarded as a pure, perfect Empyrean and the most likely chosen successor to Queen Marika. Both Mohg and Malenia are regarded lesser than their twins, at least by the Golden Order.

In a sense, Miquella and Malenia read as the "perfected" versions of Morgott and Mohg, not just mere demigods, but Empyreans worthy to usher a coming age of their making. This makes Mohg's obsession with Miquella all the more interesting, given Miquella's resonance with his brother, Morgott. Mohg covets his perfection, and I wonder how much of his desire was fueled by envy of his own twin brother...

#my ramblings #miquella #mohg

[scarletrotted]

How does Malenia feel about the devotion shown to her by her Cleanrot Knights? Do the people of the Haligtree consider her with that same reverence, or do they live in fear of the Scarlet Rot?

@tacetnix

// I hate that I finally felt more confident in answering this more than a year later and, coincidentally (not), right after the DLC trailer dropped. There were some things I was slightly suspicious of but wasn’t sure how to phrase at the time that became more evident once I watched the trailer. There definitely has been numerous implications regarding Miquella, the Haligtree, its denizens, and of course, Malenia. While a more marginalized group can strongly feel compelled to align themselves a certain way and support a cause, one of the things that remains a focus is self-preservation. In this case, there appears to be a gap in between the Albinaurics, Misbegotten, Loretta and her sorcerers, and the Cleanrot Knights who may also have been a part of other marginalized groups or just those who strongly come to support the twins. It seems difficult to branch their pledge to Miquella’s cause and Malenia’s Scarlet Rot without some fears or doubts. 

This is where Miquella’s influences likely come into play and bridge that gap. I use the term “abilities” to encompass several things: his overall allure that he exudes himself through speech, gestures, and his unalloyed holy magic. In short, there seems to be various implications that the Haligtree is a cult-like establishment with Miquella as its head.

I imagine it’s a difficult thing for Malenia to come to grips with. She might not initially be fond of the notion that such admiration could ever be paired with such a lethal affliction. I think dedication to the cause of having a sanctuary for those cast from grace is one thing, but maybe it can take one so far. Some things to consider as far as exposure or contact with Scarlet Rot is both physical strength and willpower to commit to a purpose along with being able to withstand a ruthless disease and try to bend it to your will (can be seen when Cleanrot Knights vomit. I see it as a constant struggle to expel it while wielding it as a bioweapon). The Misbegotten and Albinaurics, for example, simply do not have the constitution to serve the Haligtree as how the Cleanrot Knights would. I can see the weaker denizens being more prone to be afraid of the Scarlet Rot. Miquella would more likely have a hand in putting them at ease as well. 

The Cleanrot Knights know that taking on Scarlet Rot is by no means similar to Malenia, who was born with it; but once taken in some way (my guess ingestion), they will eventually succumb to it. 

A lot of things point out that the Cleanrot Knights may live in fear of the Scarlet Rot, especially without Miquella’s influences, but the fact that we have Cleanrot Knight Finlay as a summon may indicate there may be a few who truly honor Malenia even after death. Had Finlay been afraid of Malenia and the Scarlet Rot, she would not likely have saved her when she’s k.o’d and take the arduous and risky trek from Caelid back to the Haligtree. Finlay probably did not have the medallion so she would have to take the longer route. In the cutscene before we fight Malenia, she was sitting on the chair with her prosthetic and helm placed in front of her. She would not have been able to set herself in such a position or remove her armor while she was unconscious.

#'Corpse after corpse left in my wake.' ( Answered ) #tacetnix #// Very very sorry for how late this is #Beneath the gilded helm. ( Out of Character )

[slavonicrhapsody]

Personally I’m biased because Dog but.

Branching off an ask you recently answered, do you think Malenia and Miquella have their own shadows somewhere?

Come to think of it, there is One other shadow in the game, and it IS right next to a very large rot area.

MAN I DON’T KNOW because you would think that they’d have shadows since they’re empyreans… Ranni “received Blaidd, In the form of a vassal tailored for an Empyrean,” which kinda implies that it’s a thing for empyreans to receive shadow vassals (like Maliketh was for Marika). Also, both Blaidd and Maliketh are described as brothers or half-brothers to their empyrean… maybe it’s significant that Miquella and Malenia are the only known twin empyreans? maybe they never needed shadows because they already support and protect each other? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they’re cursed? I just think that since Blaidd and Maliketh are so significant to Ranni and Marika respectively, it would be really weird if Miquella and Malenia had shadows and they were just irrelevant and never mentioned at all in the story… GRRM I need answers

Also, what shadow do you mean is next to a rot arena? Did you mean the baleful shadow near the lake of rot? If so, I think this shadow is specifically a version of Blaidd that the Two Fingers are using to assassinate Ranni. lmk if you were thinking of something else though!

#elden ring #asks #malenia #miquella

[warsofasoiaf]

Could you write an essay about Malenia, the Goddess of Rot?

Sure thing. Malenia is actually a character with a significant amount of lore to her, so there's actually a lot to cover. Malenia might have been a Shadow to her brother Miquella, but she was an earnest believer in his vision. Her curse continued to hound her steps and so Malenia's story is ultimately one of supreme personal will against a relentless foe that ends tragically.

Malenia was born of Marika and Radagon, the twin of Miquella, and both were Empreyeans due to their godly pedigree, having been the fruit of the union of two aspects by the same god. Yet this divine union also afflicted both with a horrible curse. Malenia's case was as simple as it was horrific - she was cursed with the Scarlet Rot. Over the course of her life, her body slowly rotted away from the inside out. In her Goddess of Rot form, we can see that she had to wear several prosthetics to retain functionality as her body rotted away. Much of her left leg and the bottom portion of her right were gone, and her eye sockets are rotted over. Her right arm was rotted away, requiring a prosthetic arm and blade attached to it to fight.

At one point in her life, Malenia met a blind swordsman, and from him, she learned swordsmanship and his philosophy of flowing water. To this blue-garbed warrior nomad, flowing water was the essence of avoiding stagnation, as "just as still waters turn foul, stagnation leads to decay. Warriors must remain ever-drifting." To Malenia, afflicted by the very result of divine stagnation, this was no mere philosophical platitude but real power to stave off the rot, as is told to us with the item description of the Prosthesis-Wearer's Heirloom: "though born into the accursed rot, when the young girl encountered her mentor and his flowing blade, she gained wings of unparalleled strength." These wings are shown to us in the Hand of Malenia, her weapon: Malenia's war prosthesis symbolized her victories. Some claim to have seen wings when the weapon was raised aloft; wings of fierce determination that have never known defeat." While the master is not specifically identified by name as the supreme swordsman that vanquished the god of Rot and sealed him away, it's strongly hinted that these two are one at the same. The Flowing Curved sword is found in the Consecrated Snowfield escorted by the Night's Cavalry, and his blade specifically says: "Legends speak of a master of the sword garbed in blue, and his curved blade that was patterned after flowing water." This sword's placement, and the direction of the caravan toward the Haligtree suggests that this weapon, and perhaps anything else inside, was being returned to Malenia. The Flowing Curved sword is the weapon of this blind master, as told to us by the Blue Dancer charm: The dancer in blue represents a fairy, who in legend bestowed a flowing sword upon a blind swordsman. Blade in hand, the swordsman sealed away an ancient god — a god that was Rot itself." So if this is true, Malenia learned how to defeat the Rot from the very swordsman who defeated the god of Rot in ages past. She established "the dignity, the sense of self, that allowed her to resist the call of the scarlet rot" as told to use by the Unalloyed Gold needle. This sense of self, this conviction, was essential as a mental bulwark against the internal corruption. Malenia's life was then defined as a constant battle, a supreme manifestation of her own will to prevent the rot from claiming any more of her. And this was very much necessary as seen in the description of the Scarlet Aeonia spell: "Each time the scarlet flower blooms, Malenia's rot advances. It has bloomed twice already. With the third bloom, she will become a true goddess." Therefore, if she blooms three times, the God of Rot takes her and she becomes the goddess of rot much the way Marika was a goddess of the Greater Will.

This will could arrest the progress of the rot but could not cure it. A divine curse from a god is not an easy thing to overcome in most any fiction. Her twin brother Miquella was sympathetic to her plight, and when he found that Golden Order fundamentalism could do nothing to cure Malenia's affliction. Thus, Miquella sought to develop his own method of resisting the Outer Gods, and his solution was to develop unalloyed gold, mentioned in the spell description for Radagon's Rings of Light: "And yet, the young Miquella abandoned fundamentalism, for it could do nothing to treat Malenia's accursed rot. This was the beginning of unalloyed gold." By an unknown means, Miquella crafted a material that could "ward away the meddling of outer gods." Malenia had this unalloyed gold crafted into a suit of armor so that she could use its strength to help ward away the meddling of the outer god of Rot. In any case, Malenia swore fealty to Miquella, becoming his Shadow, desiring not to become a god but the chief enforcer of Miquella, who she says possesses the "wisdom, the allure, of a god – he is the most fearsome Empyrean of all."

Unalloyed gold became a statement against the Outer Gods, but also a means of defiance against the Golden Order that had failed Malenia, just as much as the Miquella's Haligtree, watered with his own blood and grown via his own Empreyean power. As I've mentioned in other character analyses, the Shattering was a clash of visions among the demigods to see which vision would prevail in the world. The Haligtree was established as a haven for those outside the Golden Order and those who were shunned by the Erdtree flocked to it. The Albinaurics made pilgrimage and guard entry in Ordina, Liturgical Town, and Misbegotten prowl the town nestled within its branches, even seen offering prayers, praying for their nascent god Miquella. During the Shattering, Malenia was known to have faced down Godrick the Grafted, sparing him only after he begged for his life, and the final battle between Malenia and Radahn. I've speculated before in my Radahn essay that Malenia fighting Radahn has two potential theories, but I believe I've come up with a way for all of the myriad pieces to make sense in a coherent timeline.

During the Shattering, Mohg steals Miquella away. Malenia, upon discovering Miquella missing, temporarily loses control, creating the small bloom found near the base of the Haligtree. However, Malenia attains her purpose, to find Miquella, and reasserts her will. Malenia goes on a long journey to find Miquella, and when she reaches Radahn (which as I've mentioned, is directly above the chamber in Moghwynn Palace where he keeps Miquella), she faces Radahn. The two are ferocious fighters and evenly matched, and when victory does not appear to be achievable, Malenia despairs that she will not find Miquella, that she had failed him. That failure caused doubt, and that was where her will faltered. That loss of will caused the second great flowering that destroyed Caelid, as the lifetime of holding back the rot erupted from her body and blighted the lands around her. Nearly defeated, she is recovered by Cleanrot Knight Finlay and returned to the base of the Haligtree, where she recovers, and hopes for Miquella to return to her.

This second flowering also birthed the offshoots of Malenia, the most notable being Millicent, who the Tarnished has a long questline with. Taking the form of Sage Gowry, a Kindred tasks the Tarnished with recovering a needle of unalloyed gold to arrest the progress of Millicent's Rot, to allow her to grow in strength and become a vibrant bud, then to flower. Gowry dispatches Polyanna, one of the other daughters, to help you on your quest to dispatch O'Neill. Once you acquire the needle, you can help Millicent grow, eventually giving her a prosthetic and fighting several strong foes in concert. Once she reaches the Haligtree, Gowry's true plan is revealed. He wants you to betray her, so she may flower on her own to become a Scarlet Valkyrie. Millicent's own response is to remove the needle, dying as herself rather than be reborn to spread the Rot, killing her sisters in order to do so. That physical removal of the needle is an act of will, and in that, she tells you to return it to Malenia, that will is reunited to become Miquella's Needle, in its completed form. Yet unalloyed gold is unfinished, it requires the clarity in the center of the storm beyond time - thus providing a reason for Miquella to seek the power of the Elden Ring, to complete unalloyed gold and banish the Outer Gods from the Lands Between.

When the Tarnished reaches the Haligtree, the player can see that Miquella's dream has failed. The Haligtree is dying, afflicted with pools and growth of Scarlet Rot, either leaking from Malenia herself or from the first flowering. The soldiers of the Haligtree are lost, looking out on the horizon hoping to see a glimpse of Miquella returning. The music itself is mournful as the Tarnished surveys the rotting carcass of Miquella's dream, infested with the Rot that he desperately wished to cure. At the bottom of the tree, Malenia awaits the return of Miquella as well, still recovering even later from her flowering and the fight with Radahn. When the Tarnished shows, instead of Miquella, she prepares for a fight as she resolves to defeat the Tarnished and resume her vigil, and the fight is no mere rehash of Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower in Bloodborne (although the small elegant swordmaster destroying you with grace is the spiritual predecessor to Malenia's fight). True to her swordsman's teachings, Malenia's attacks are sharp and flowing, and her resolve to win shows itself in her attacks - when she hits, she gains health as her victory becomes more assured and her will is strengthened by her skill. Fighting Malenia is an intense affair, it demands precision dodging to avoid her Waterfowl Dance. To beat Malenia in melee is the true test of a master swordsman just as defeating Owl the Great Shinobi marks you as the true greatest shinobi in Sekiro. It's a difficult fight that demands the mastery of a great swordsman, mistakes are punished in this fight in a way that they are not in any other.

When Malenia is defeated, the despair falls again. While her swordsman's pride certainly would be hurting from her loss, the true despair is that she would die before Miquella could return to complete his vision, before he was even found. Her entire lifelong struggle would end without victory, and that's when Malenia finally succumbs to the rot. She blooms for the third time and ascends as the Goddess of Rot, just as the Scarlet Aeonia spell said she would. In this new form, she has powerful Scarlet Aeonia explosions that she unleashes, spreading the rot, in addition to her sword attacks that she maintains. Her rot attacks though, do not heal her the way her sword attacks do, because this is no longer an expression of her will - it is the will of the Scarlet Rot god. Once again, FromSoft delivers lore through gameplay to show the struggle within Malenia - the will she has is present but struggling, fighting against the Rot. At this point, she is dangerous to the Lands Between, and the Tarnished must take her down lest the entire world become like Caelid. Thus, Malenia's story ends in tragedy and failure. A lifetime of resistance, only to fail when despair looms and the corruption creeps in, dying just as Miquella's vision did.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#elden ring #elden ring spoilers #elden ring malenia #character analysis

[velvet-apricots]

I've had this story of morgott and mohg in my head for a while that i also previously shared with friends. it gets angsty though so I'm sorry if that isn't something you're looking for right now. but in case you'd be interested:

so, as evidenced by the mohg illusion in the leyndell sewers, mohg and morgott definitely knew each other. they likely grew up together below the capital. i can imagine what they went through, twins who have been cast out by their family and clearly having widely different perspectives on it.

one thing i really like to think about is morgott's regal omen bairn. the doll was made to resemble him as a baby. was it given to him by his parents, as a small consolation? could it be why morgott ever held the delusion that his family might love him, that this world might accept him? where is mohg's doll?

i like to think then, this is something they argued about as kids. mohg threw his doll away one day and morgott was angry when he found out. "why do you care, it's not like they love either of us?" but morgott jealously clutches the doll tighter to his body, distressed. even as they are now he struggles to think of himself as not a mistake and not a disgrace who deserved to be cast away. the young mohg sees this and frowns, trying to tear the doll away from mohg, to throw it down into the mass of pipes and filth below. but morgott refuses, and as they struggle, he accidentally pushes his brother harder than he should and mohg hits his head against the walls hard. he starts to cry, but morgott doesn't move to comfort him. he walks a little further away and curls inward, clutching the doll tight and wrapping his tail around himself protectively.

(more incoming)

Sad that in the end, Morgott left the doll behind anyway. I suppose he 'accepted' that he was unloved and unwanted by that point.

(personally I think he and mohg were wanted, but I will admit, Marika would have favored Godwyn over both of them, and Morgott over Mohg. I think shes a bit vain and likes 'pretty things' and Morgott's only grace is that he looks mildly like Godfrey. She loves all her kids and gives them alll the same things, but she subtly favors those that take after her or something she cares about deeply. So Miquella and Godwyn get things first, then Malenia, after her is morgott, and last, Mohg. Ragagon's children with Rennala? Well... She made them Demi-gods. (radahn is her favorite))

#asks #mohg #morgott