#also marika grafts herself

[edensvalentina]

ok so, this ironically has to do with what I see as biblical connections in the text. which grrm isnt above, though the metaphors are getting crossed with her being crucified but thats honestly better than a one to one.

I feel like theres a connection between marika-godfrey-radagon, and adam-lilith-eve. which tldr in biblical apocrypha adam and lilith were made at the same time, she wasnt subservient, so she was cast out and eve was made from adams rib

it seems like marika was in need of an empyrean heir and the biggest issue was that godfrey couldnt deliver. the twins were born omens, and godwyn might have had a fish tail (or just wasn’t an empyrean and the twins being omens was enough of a big deal the greater will threw a fit idk) and so he was cast out to become the first tarnished.

meanwhile i dont think radagon was made with the intent of him ever becoming elden lord. the carians didnt follow the greater will and where likely seen as a threat like the giants or dragons. this is where me theory on grafting comes in. for some reason marika needed to take a more active role in this conflict and couldnt, so she grafted part of herself with part of a fire giant thus creating radagon. why? i dont know! maybe shes just a control freak, maybe she was doing fucked up experiments because whos gonna stop her, shes fucking god.

my reasoning mostly boils down to the imagery of marika being crucified shes missing part of her side dipping into her stomach where her stomach is, and we have the giants red braid which says radagon hates his red hair because of its connection to the fire giants. which if hes only the other half of marika (naturally occurring or not) doesnt really make sense. also have you seen radahn??

i dont think radagon was created with the idea of being marika’s husband. frankly neither seem exactly keen on the idea. but during the liurian wars radagon ended up marrying rennala (and isnt it funny the astrologers carians are descended from and the fire giants got along?) its unlikely marika LIKED this, but the greater will seemed fine absorbing other factions and it worked out in the end

the issue is marika has three children so far, two of which have been thrown in the fucking sewers. at the same time radagon and rennala are actively having children and ranni ends up being born an empyrean, and doesnt that get marikas fucking goat. so i think the greater will had godfrey cast out and bid marika to take radagon as a husband.

ranni is made a demigod stepchild and has her own two fingers, but i think the greater will was hoping for an heir raised within the golden order and ruined marika and radagons lives to do it. as for them sharing a body at this point? radagon obviously opposed marikas plan to shatter the elden ring and I think she ended up assimilating him either on purpose or like she killed his body and his spirit ended up possessing her or something idk.

my personal elden ring head canon propaganda is that the first person in the golden lineage to graft was not godefroy but marika herself

[bellepeppergirl]

Marika, the Hornsent, and the Cycle of Hate

In the base game, our knowledge of Marika was thus; she seemed to be a genocidal tyrant who actively opposed a people who were once considered to be blessed and thus had them killed, tortured, or locked away in the sewers. She also seemed to desire to control death for herself.

Now that we have the DLC, we were able to learn more about Marika's past. Namely, we learn she was a Shaman or, more accurately to the original Japanese text, a Miko; essentially shrine maidens, typically depicted as kind, helpful, and quiet. Marika's village seems to have been genocided by the Hornsent, and her people were chopped up and placed into Jars. From item descriptions, we learn that the flesh of these Shaman, these Miko, easily melds with others, making them ideal for combining in the Jars to create saints, and also explaining why Godefroy and Godrick were able to do their grafting.

Marika made a wish the Grandmother, an enigmatic figure who seems to be within a tree. We know not what this wish was, but we know Marika would leave her village and never come back. Not that there was much to come back to anyways, as the item description for the Minor Erdtree incantation implies Marika to be the sole survivor of her village, as there was no one left to heal. But after that wish, Marika would eventually become a Queen; a God.

And with her newfound Godhood, she would seek revenge. This revenge led to the genocide of the Hornsent, the outlawing of anything Marika deemed "unholy" to her Golden Order, and eventually, her oppressing the Omen and the Misbegotten. The Omen and Misbegotten likely reminded Marika of the Hornsent who once harmed her, which is likely where they get their names from. Omen in particular could seen as an omen of the Hornsent's return. We even see Marika employing the same methods that the Hornsent once did; people are packed up into jars to become disgusting flesh monsters that are later sacrificed to the Erdtree Avatar's in order to ensure the Erdtree's prosperity.

Miquella, seeing the cruelty of his mother, and that his mother and father's order could not help him nor his sister, was eventually sent down the exact same path. He hated how Marika and her order handled things, and so he wanted to created a new order; a better order that was a safe place for everyone. But to do that, he would have to do horrible things. He would have to abandon his other half, St. Trina, who is considered the embodiment of his love. He would have to brainwash and eventually cause the death of Mohg, who likely had noble goals beforehand. And he would have to take his desired lord, Radahn, whether Radahn liked it or not.

Though Miquella's goals were noble, his methods were awful, and much like Marika and the Hornsent before him, likely to only cause more pain and suffering, which is why we, the Tarnished, needed to step in and stop him.

This cycle of hatred could also be seen in Ranni, who hated the current order and the control it had over her life so much that she literally discarded her own body and destroyed her half brother's soul so that she could also bring about a new, better age where the gods and their cruelty would have no influence upon humanity. Once again, while her goals are noble, her methods are, in their own right, cruel.

[drenched-in-sunlight]

very opionated talk underneath the cut

this is what I get for keeping checking out the fandom tag, but oh well 😭

seeing the reasoning behind the “Marika and Godfrey would have been proud of Godrick for the grafting” take is so wild to me like… are we just going to ignore the fact that Nepheli - who is implied to be Godfrey’s descendants, said Godrick’s deeds “taint the very wind” and helped us beat his ass and it’s her who later becomes the rightful Lord of Stormveil ?

+ Roderika, who is thematically a reflection of the girl Marika was pre-Godhood, losing all her companions and being left alone scared shitless and heartbroken in a shack, blaming herself for not being strong enough, brave enough to go die with her friends, all because Godrick is making a mockery of Godfrey’s name and enacting the same tragedy that befell Marika’s people ?

Like, I can sorta see why people refuse to see the Living Jars in the Lands Between as Marika reclaiming a practice that was tainted by the Hornsent deeds, returning it into something done to honor the dead and let them be returned to the Erdtree to continue the cycle of life - death - rebirth (is scattering ashes of the deceased to the sea not a thing in many irl cultures anymore or am I going crazy), cuz if one has certain…views on her, it can be hard to see anything she does in a positive light (actually even if you don’t see it that way, equating jar innards made of dead warriors in a ritual to honour them with living ppl being cut up and forced to meld together as a form of torture is… a choice), but to completely ignore Nepheli and Roderika’s stories and their role in the narrative? 💀

Plus, where in the game is it even stated or implied that Godfrey being a battlefield maniac means he is ok with *read writing on hands* some guy sending his lackeys out to hunt Tarnished (Godfrey’s own warriors) and making them into unwilling extra limbs?

The guy that gives his all to fight the player by himself and compliments us on a battle well fought… will see honour in gaining strength via kidnapping ppl and stealing their strength, instead of fighting your own battles, honing your own skills and getting stronger on your own? Huh?

And even ignoring all that, Kenneth - a mere nobleman, not even demigod or anything, fr called Godrick a “jumped up country bumpkin” who fleed from Leyndell, holed up in Stormveil to hide from Radahn (why are we forgetting this…bro can’t even pass the Godfrey’s no.1 Stan vibe check) and then got beaten up by Malenia?

To add insult to injury, Godwyn’s body lying beneath Stormveil will literally stab anyone coming close to him (which is sth I have an interesting conversation with ppl on twitter about. there’s one person bringing up an interesting interpretation that Godrick probably took off with a relic of Godwyn’s body hoping to graft a piece of the Golden Prince onto himself, but Godwyn body was like “no” and infested the castle ground like a disapproving ghost 😭 but Godwyn is cool with us because he knows we have Marika’s sanction 😊).

Godrick… has no support whatsoever from Marika and Godfrey’s direct descendants, other than maybeeee Morgot who probably was only there to keep an eye on Stormveil - a place of importance to his dad and maybeeee a bit family pity for Godrick, definitely not because he’s proud of the stuffs Godrick is doing (he astral project there to scare us a bit then leave. We gonna kill Godrick? None of his business.).

And there’s also Godefroy who literally got locked up in a gaol… by a Leyndell Knight who later got the highest honour of Erdtree Burial after he passed away - specifically because of his feat in capturing Godefroy. Why are we forgetting Kristoff???

No one in Leyndell likes the Grafted guys, no one in Limgrave likes the Grafted guys, there are numerous items in-game expressing disappointment and sadness at the decline of the Golden Linage…. it’s a real damn no one likes you situation 😭

Then later on, Godrick got replaced by Nepheli.

So who are the ones being proud here ????

I’m not even a Godrick hater, I think he’s a fucked up, but compelling!, conclusion to the linage that Marika has with Godfrey - who is probably one of few people who actually knows what she used to go through.

I could even see the kind of pressure and struggle he must have gone through, humiliation after humiliation, hiding from and losing to Radagon’s children of all guys, carrying a legacy that is too big for him to handle. But to say that Marika and Godfrey would have been proud of him? Or that grafting is somehow a reclamation of the trauma Marika’s people went through and turning it into strength ????? He doesn’t even know that Marika was once not a God, let alone anything about her people’s suffering to reclaim anything ? That’s not his pain to reclaim ???

Someone else already did that. Marika herself. Rakshasa herself. You really do not have to give a man all the flowers for something women (who actually suffered and went through that trauma) already did.

[wordslikesilver]

Okay but why mohg and Radahn I hear you all asking, I get it, that seems odd to me too until I realized, they are the ONLY demigods that don’t reject and remove a single part of themselves. The only ones that are “whole”. Rykard becomes snake man. Ranni rids herself of her body. Godwyn loses his soul. Malenia gives up her memories to the scarlet rot. Morgott not only shaves his horns but he also purges himself of his entire curse at the end of the fight. Let’s go beyond siblings. Godfrey gives up his savagery. What HASNT Marika given up. Rennala has lost her faculties to heart break and more. Godrick grafts. Messmer has a bajillion seals on his body. Melina’s body has been burned away at some point leaving her just a spirit.

There is a huge significance to the fact that Miquella has taken the only two demigods who gave up nothing… and forced them to lose a part of themselves. Mohg lost his soul and Radahn lost his body (and his horse 😭). It’s fascinating how they both gave up nothing. Mohg let his horns take his eye out and just left the golden order without any real retaliation (yet, his dynasty was still growing ofc, there’s something to be said for growing one’s forces after all). He really seemed to just accept a lot happening to and around him and then firming it. He’s got shit to do. A cult to run. Blood to, idk, bathe in or whatever. The bloodflame is fascinating though. More on that in a moment. Radahn embraces his heritage just as much as Mohg embraces his own. He embraces the red hair AND he embraces the lion. He doesn’t even give up Leonard! That’s actually story significant symbolism! And the symbolism I think is that Miquella wanted demigods who would not reject. If they didn’t reject any part of themselves, then they would truly embody compassion.

What got me thinking about this was Morgott actually and I was sitting here wondering, what is the significance of him vomiting during the bossfight? Like what was the decision there from a director perspective, why isn’t he just doing a big explosion of Omen Bairns or something and then it occurred to me that this is WHY he’s completely purged of his curse at the end of the fight. Morgott is blessed in his final moments after giving his entire life to the Erdtree by having his curse that stains the very throne he sits on purged from his body and he doesn’t even realize it. “Thy part in such shame shall not be forgiven!” And there is so much omen curse in his body, you don’t understand. He has more omen blood on his hands than anyone else alive. He has to vomit GEYSERS of it out. We are the agent of his mother and we push him to the breaking point where at last he can be purged of this critical mass of omen curse. Morgott’s story is defined by FEELING alone, but in truth, he is loved by the crucible of life, by the Erdtree, by his father, even by his mother, misguided as she was. His final words ache so much in my chest. “We are all forsaken” and “Thy deeds shall be met with failure just as I” NO MORGOTT YOU SUCCEEDED. THE ERDTREE EMBRACED YOU, YOURE FREE OF YOUR CURSE NOW. ITS OKAY, ITS ALL GONNA BE OKAY, YOU MADE IT.

I sit and wonder how many times he polished the thrones himself on hands and knees, worried that some of his curse may have fallen upon them. I wonder if he felt the curse leaving his body and felt disgust because he thought he deserved to suffer longer.

[ghostofashina]

"An affair from which gold arose and shadow too was born"

This was clearly about Lands Between and Lands of Shadows, how these two places coexist in different aspects. But also, I think it can give us a nice perspective about Godwyn and Messmer births.

This is just a small theory I made while trying to built up a timeline, because these two births tend to blend into the other and I think it's on purpose. And I know, where Melina fits in this? I still think Melina is one of the youngest of the pack, as a secret weapon of Marika recalling Messmer's kindling being out of her reach, but this is another theory for another post. Now, I'd like to bring a small theory about Godwyn being the child born from the seduction and the betrayal.

SOTE SPOILERS ahead.

We know, for certain, Godfrey was Marika's true first Elden Lord. But, even it being a common sense that Godwyn was their firstborn, there's actually no true evidence claiming he was born before the omen twins. Except that now, after one piece of dialogue in the DLC, can shows us this and a little more.

First things first. Messmer's dad still is the great mystery of Shadow of the Erdtree, and again I think this is on purpose, because considering Godfrey's evidence, the game wants to tell us he was already there when Messmer came to life. And I, personally, don't think neither Radagon or Godfrey are Messmer's father. I think, in a parallel to christian God, sacrificing his son for the sins, Marika birthed Messmer alone — and Melina, that's why they both share a vision of fire and are direct siblings.

According to Marika's own words: "[Radagon] Thou'rt yet to become me. Thou'rt yet to become a God. Let us be shattered, both. Mine other self."

Knowing that Marika comes from the Shaman Village, and that her people was "grafted" to each other in seek of the divine, he is a part she divested herself later in the story and Messmer was some sort of manifestation of this, but not necessarily a child of Radagon.

And I guess we can agree Messmer was born in the Lands of Shadow, because he knows very well the sins committed against his mother and her own modus operandi. He was there before her godhood and that's why Godfrey's offspring got the title of first demigods. And Godfrey, too, was there with Marika since the start.

I won't get into the timeline of events, because it's a mish-mash in game, and I don't have the tools to explore assets and files. But, one thing that the DLC gives importance is the act of a vow. And we know Marika and Godfrey did a vow.

Leaving his past of Hoarah Loux, Godfrey took Serosh upon his shoulders to ease his bloodlust and accept the role when he sworned a vow with Marika to become a Lord. Which can reminds us of the Secret Rite Scroll, found in Shadow Keep.

"A lord will usher in a god's return and the lord's soul will require a vessel."

We can argue here about the roles of vessel and soul, because it feels Godfrey became the vessel to the Beast Regent (some sort of lord), which recalls the amount of lion representation in Hornsent culture. So, I tend to think that Serosh was part of the "betrayal" in order to ascend Marika to godhood with Godfrey as her lord consort.

That's when I imagine Godwyn was born. After the vow, to consumate the idea of Godfrey being named a lord of the golden lineage once Marika achieved godhood and started the Age of Erdtree.

If we recall the Minor Erdtree, left to the matriarch at Shaman Village, it's said:

"Secret incantation of Marika Only the kindness of gold, without Order."

I can see this as Miquella divesting himself of St. Trina, his love. Marika bathed her home in gold, knowing there was nothing left to heal. Alongside with her braid, it was a departing gift, because she was leaving for a new era. She is leaving her kindness of gold, to built the order. Godwyn was her last act of kindness of gold before the Order. That's why we have so many evidences he, alongside Messmer, was her beloved child of gold.

Going deeper, once we advance the questline of Hornsent Grandam, she tell us a very specific dialogue line, that can show us why Godwyn was curseless when he was born, different from his siblings.

She spoke of a omen curse. Curse upon her children, each and all. Messmer as her own flesh and blood, which I believe, carried the grafting curse upon her people over and over again, being a vessel to an outer god "grafting" into Marika's child. But Godwyn was curseless, because he was conceived outside cursing eyes, in secret. He was born of a vow that, once came to common knowledge, was called "the seduction and the betrayal" in the eyes of the Hornsent.

The birth of Godwyn was the start of her ascension to godhood. The affair from which gold (golden lineage, golden order, the golden prince) arose and shadow (abyssal serpent "shorn of light", shadow keep, shadow tree) too was born. And everything about them is represented of golden and shadow. From the eclipse to the golden ring in their symbols (as we see in the Death Knight's cloak or battle axes and alongside Messmer's spear and flame). So, I keep thinking they both were born at Lands of Shadows. One to purge her enemies and protect her kingdom, the other to represent a new era and maintain her glory. Godwyn is the Golden and Messmer is the Order.

[miquellaluciscaelum]

why was everyone so damn pissed off that Miquella was called "kind" twice in the trailer? I still don't see any reason for him to be compared to Griffith, I've seen Marika compared to Griffith somewhere and it makes more sense to me than Miquella. I do not dispute that he clearly dealt with making rather controversial decisions and that he can be a master of manipulation, play 5d chess, arrange events so Tarnished goes the way that Miquella needs to achieve his goals, even participated in the conspiracy of the Night of Black knives himself, but it still does not fit with the "pure evil" or "hidden evil" that everyone imagines him to be. All these things actually fit well into his character and the goals he sets. and anyway, hypothetically, what evil does everyone think he could do? especially compared to Marika, who more than once staged genocide, usurped all creatures beyond grace, encouraged the murder of omens and omen CHILDREN, supposedly organized the most destructive war in the Lands Between and killed her own son, and now also apparently stole divine power from another being or god in order to become a god herself. It's unlikely that Miquella's sins can match at least 1/5 of this, but everyone is so eager to see shit where it doesn't exist. and in general, "the Kind" is the same common title as "the Grafted", "the Last king" or "the Witch" for Godrick, Morgott and Ranni and for some reason there are no questions for them. The funny thing is that for some reason people really have more questions for Miquella than for Marika or the same Ranni. Or if she is sexy, wifu material, and all this shit, you can turn a blind eye to her actions and crimes?

[art-from-within]

My dadfrey hc is that he is honestly the most ACCEPTING chill parent/partner man you can have in the lands in between but like in the most fucked up way. Because he himself is a blood thirsty, genocidal might makes right sigma male, his idea of a "moral-line-we-should-absolutely-not-cross" is astronomically far and thin.

Radagon is Marika? Okay so he has two wives now cool. Radagon marries Rennala? Ok so she wants in too cool. "Slay those groups of completely innocent people for me " "yes babe thank you babe"

Mohg does blood cult and is the king of sh twt? Yes go son slay (I mean he himself is filled with bloodlust). Might even commit a bloody genocide in the name of the formless mother for his son, just another Tuesday for him. The whole 'kidnapping step bro to become his consort and gain power' plan has his head scratching tho. Like..why? What is the need? Just learn his feet smashing technique and he could get there, but oh well

Rykard fed himself to a snake to become a god devouring serpent? He did what he had to do. Ranni killed his son? Yeeeeaa that's sad but he has also killed many sons ya know? *head scratch*. It's not that he didn't care for Godwyn, its just that he is good at placing his affections in to neat little boxes that he can store in the attic to protect his emotional health better.

Godrick grafts himself into oblivion? Now Godfrey will judge him, but only because those grafts look UGLY(and because he didn't earn his strength the RAW. ALPHA WAY). Look at them!? Not even size/symmetry coded. Serosh is way better

Malenia is at the verge of unleashing a nuclear weapon every waking moment of her life? Tells her to "be herself", and "not to be scared". He will accept his step daughter "even if she was a worm"

(Finding out she nuked Caelid) it would suuure suck to be Radahn. That's a shame, he was fun to grill with (moves on with his life)

[tarnishedinquirer]

Stormveil Hall

Leaving the church, I noticed something down below. It looked like another glowing painting. I'd need to find a way down there, and there didn't seem to be any stairs.

The walkway outside the church had a wall to the left and a bottomless pit to the right. The strange part was, down below I could see a soldier guarding the pit. Locked on the other side of a fog door, it seemed. Is he just stuck out there? Nah, they have to have a way to get through it. Hell if I know what though. So why do they need a guard for the bottomless pit?

I passed through a study, and then the upper mezzanine of a grand dining hall, and then something I never expected to see. A dead troll, butchered and hanging upside down. On the floor beneath was a pile of bodies wrapped in sheets being gnawed on by dogs.

I'll look at the bodies when I get three, but for right now I took a closer look at the troll. I'd noticed before that they have stone slabs in their chest, but this dead one was missing its slab. Does it decay upon death, or was it extracted for some purpose?

Rather than going through the door in front of me, I hopped a short wall and found another guard with a torch looking down into the abyss. Just what the hell's down there, anyway?

I'd found a cookbook on the broken bridge past Stormveil that told me how to make soft cotton that could stick to the feet and muffle your footprints. All you had to do was roast a rowa pod over your torch and it'd split right open. I applied some cotton to my feet, then climbed in through a window to sneak up on the patrolling Banished Knight.

With him out of the way, I could look around freely. It seemed like a council chamber. A long table piled with books and scrolls, overseen by a raised platform with three chairs behind another table. Behind them was a prominent tree symbol, and a chest to the left. There were two paintings by the fire, one of which was a smaller reproduction of the Stormhawk painting, and the other was a Banished Knight. Or at least, their helm.

Perhaps this is where the day to day operations of the castle were performed, back when the Banished Knights occupied it alone. It occurred to me that I've met three such knights of prominence." Edgar, Engvall, and Oleg.

Or maybe Godrick himself sat on one of those chairs, though from what I understand about him, he would likely not accept anyone else as equal.

With no further insights forthcoming, I checked the chest. Inside was a veil, which the voice called the Mimic's Veil

Golden veil of intricate design. When Godrick was hounded from Leyndell, the Royal Capital, this was one of a multitude of treasures he took with him. Also known as "Marika's Mischief."

So, a treasure looted from the Capital, used for disguise. I have to wonder if turning people into a chair is all it can do. Maybe it lost power over time, or maybe someone more skilled with it than I could use it to disguise themselves in other ways? Fits with what Kenneth Haight said about Godrick disguising himself as a woman to flee the Capital.

Speaking of, it says he didn't just flee with the refugees out of cowardice, he was hounded. He must've committed some crime, or at least been suspected of one.

Calling it "Marika's Mischief" comes out of nowhere. There's gotta be a story there I'm not privy to. A legend of Marika disguising herself to test mortals, or something like that.

The council chamber led right into an open kitchen attached to a feasting hall. Smoked meats hung from the ceiling, but I wouldn't trust any meat from this place. The bodies stacked up near the cauldron said that was a good decision.

Stalking the hall was a Grafted Scion. It was time for me to actually kill one of these bastards. Unfortunately, I very quickly ran out of Cerulean Tears and had to fight it in close quarters. There was a pattern to its flailing, and only two of its arms were actually dangerous. It leaped at me, and I lunged underneath it, scoring its belly open.

Only now did I get a good look at the abomination, and I realized with horror it was a child. All of these things, these spiders, were children.

Grafted Scion. Dammit.

The entire hall was stacked high with sheet-wrapped bodies. The "Chrysalids" Roderika spoke about, I assume. Hanging from the ceiling were grotesque amalgamations of limbs. Experiments in grafting, presumably. I hope they weren't still alive.

But dominating the entire scene was an enormous portrait of a lord in his splendor, a lion attached to his back. I was reminded a little of the image of Horah Loux from my death dream, who also according to legend had a lion on his back. At the foot of the painting was a burnt corpse, carrying an axe. It almost looked like a burnt offering to the portrait.

It was the spitting image of the axed depicted in the Axe Talisman, which mentioned a Lord who led the Long March into exile.

Pieces clicked together. I didn't even need to look at the title plate below the portrait, but I did it anyway to confirm my conclusion.

Godfrey, Lord of Stormveil

Crap. I'd gotten that one completely wrong.

Who were the three chairs for?

Who were the Scions' parents?

What lurks in that abyss that they have to have guards at nearly every ledge?

What mischief did Marika pull with that veil?

Why was Godrick driven from the capital?

Who is depicted at the Chapel of Pilgrimage, then? Likely Radagon.

What's the connection between Horah Loux and Godfrey?

[miriel-pastorofvows]

Gods, Family and Lineage

The first demigods were The Elden Lord Godfrey and his offspring, the golden lineage.

The Gods and Demigods of the Lands Between hold complex relationships, frequently changing loyalties. To better understand these relationships, we can start by looking at the family tree. As a definitive chronology is hard to be certain of, I have instead chosen to format these images in the way which I believe best illustrates the connections.

(Beware - some spoilers and speculation ahead)

Rennala and Radagon

Married here at the Church of Vows at the end of the Second Liurnian War, Rennala and Radagon appear to have brought about three demigods - Radahn, the Starscourge; Ranni, the Witch; and Rykard, the Blasphemous. While Radahn and Ranni have no known offspring, Radahn appears to have sired at least one child after offering himself to the vile Serpent God. 

There is some speculation about who the mother could be; some think his consort, Tanith, as she is referred to as Rya’s mother. However, this could be purely an adoptive status. Another theory points towards a woman known as Daedicar. This woman is mentioned only in passing, but it is stated that she gave birth to “a myriad of grotesque children“. It is important to note that this is only a rumour, and we have no solid proof here.

Marika and Godfrey

Some time before our own Queen was married to Radagon, the “Eternal” Queen Marika waged war against the Giants of the North, and afterwards granted Godfrey the title of Elden Lord, the first of this rank. Together, they had 3 children - the cursed Omen Twins, Morgott and Mohg; and Godwyn the Golden. These children of Godfrey were the first of the Golden Lineage, which continues to this day. The youngest of this lineage is Godrick, the Grafted, but other ancestors include Godefroy, who seems to have been the first to discover the power of Grafting. It is currently unclear who, if anyone, Godwyn had his children with...

Marika and Radagon

This leads us into perhaps the most contentious branch of this family tree; the dual-identity of Marika/Radagon, and the children they had together. Whether the two were once separate beings, or their children were born of  parthenogenesis, it is unclear. However, this is far from where the strangeness ends...

Firstly, the cursed Empyrean twins. Miquella the Unalloyed and Malenia, Goddess of Rot are the most well-known children of the pair. Both were afflicted with curses from birth; Miquella lived eternally as a child, and Malenia was afflicted by the Scarlet Rot. Seeking to end their curses, Miquella worked alongside his father to develop and grow the Golden Order. Once he saw that it held no cure for their afflictions, he instead turned to more drastic measures. Both the Unalloyed Gold and the Haligtree appear to have been attempts to remove the curses from the pair, but these methods went against the orthodox of the Golden Order and the sanctity of the Erdtree.

Malenia does not appear to have given birth willingly or intentionally, but it appears that the blooms of her scarlet rot have given life to at least five children, who do not seem to have inherited (or grown into) the Demigod status: Millicent, Polyanna, Maureen, Amy and Mary. They, along with the Scarlet Rot, are a topic for another day...

Finally, Melina. I am not the first to propose this idea, but I understand that it may be something new for some people, so I will do my best to explain the reasoning here. Firstly, we have some simple statements from Melina herself in which she claims Marika to be her mother: “Me, I'm searching for my purpose given to me by my mother inside the Erdtree long ago, for the reason that I yet live, burned and bodyless.” This quote directly references the fact that Melina’s mother is inside the Erdtree, which we know to be occupied only by Marika/Radagon and the Elden Beast. We also know that Melina can recite the “spoken echoes” of Marika, and she also makes reference to her “mother’s designs” later in the game. I believe that this is enough evidence to cement Melina as the daughter of Marika.

Being the daughter of Marika does not prove her to be the daughter of Radagon however, and here we must begin to speculate. The first, and most visually appealing idea, refers to the three types of butterfly found across the Lands Between. These are the Aeonian, Nascent, and Smoldering variants. The first has a clear connection to Malenia; the name refers to a region blighted by Malenia and her rot, the butterfly appears rotten itself, and it is often found around areas afflicted with rot, but also within the Haligtree.  The second may not be immediately obvious, but the connection is solidified when we look to the item description: “This butterfly appears as if it's just emerged from its cocoon for its entire life“. This makes clear reference to Miquella, who put himself in a cocoon to try and advance his cursed life to adulthood.

This leaves only the Smoldering Butterfly. This cannot refer to either of the other gods, but it also does not appear to have any connection to Ranni, the other Empyrean child. The description also doesn’t give us much to go off, though it does mention that the butterfly serves as “kindling”. Various items in the game make reference to a “Kindling Maiden”, and we know that titles like this hold much importance in the world of Elden Ring - enough so that Fromsoft have corrected and altered the descriptions of various items to provide a more cohesive picture. This could, at the end of the day, just be a coincidence - but I think it is unlikely.

The identity of this “Kindling Maiden” is all but confirmed to be Melina, who (from her earlier quote) we know was burned and is now bodyless. This leaves us with three butterflies, each linked to a powerful being in the Lands Between. The fact that two of them are siblings, and all three of them have the same mother, points a finger at the three of them being more closely related that it may first seem.

The other key piece of evidence I will be using to make this case hinges on the identity of the Gloam-Eyed Queen. This woman rose to power, alongside her Godskin cult, during (or possibly just after) the Age of the Erdtree. The Incantation “Black Flame Ritual” declares that she was “an Empyrean chosen by the Fingers“, which strongly implies she was a child of either Marika or Radagon. We know of most of these children, and none of them appear to fit the description; the only daughters are Malenia, who was afflicted by rot, and Ranni, who we can find atop the Divine Tower of Liurnia, slain but not burned. This means that, barring the technicalities of the ambiguous gender of Miquella/St Trina (a topic for another time), there must be at least one daughter of either Marika or Radagon who we do not know about.

There may be some subtle hints throughout the game, but the additional scene granted at the end of the Frenzied Flame ending if Melina is still alive provides a clear view of her second eye; an eye coloured as a gloam sky. If you prefer textual evidence, it is said that it was the Gloam-Eyed Queen who fought Maliketh in an attempt to steal Destined Death, and once it is unleashed, Melina tells you that Destined Death is exactly what she will return to you.

I’m not really sure how to close this off - if you read this, or even just the trees themselves, then I hope you enjoyed. I’m open to new ideas, as we all should be, and so I welcome debate and discussion below. I understand that the idea of Melina being the daughter of Radagon and Marika is not universally accepted, but I believe we have been given a lot of evidence to support it so far.

Next, I plan to discuss the demigods in more detail, including their families and their roles in the wider plot of Elden Ring. 

[miirshroom]

Renowned Tarnished and the Shardbearers they Champion

Why does the guidance of grace point towards the greatrunes, but also Millicent, Castle Sol, and Castle Morne? A process of elimination with the shardbearers philosophies and the renowned Tarnished of Elden Ring:

Firstly - ignore the Empyreans (and Rennala) for now. If Ranni is any example - the endings that align with their philosophies would have been something truly something unique. 

Secondly - assume that the endings are exactly as shown. The fractured and broken version of Marika is never repaired. The Elden Ring may be fixed, but she herself never is - in the four standard endings we become Lord to a dead god.

Mohg - Dung Eater - Mending Rune of the Fell Curse

Mohg revels in being an Omen. The Fell Curse aims to create a world where everyone lives a cursed existence. No notes. By which I mean, yes there is nuance to Mohg and I have many notes, but no I don't think it is needed context for this connection.

Morgott - Goldmask - Mending Rune of Perfect Order

Morgott is also called the veiled monarch, to hide that he is an Omen. Goldmask is hiding a frankly emaciated and undead looking face behind a brilliant mask of gold. Also notably, Goldmask is not aligned with the hunters of those who live in death. His goals and Fia's are not in opposition. Both Morgott and Goldmask see that there is an inherent problem with the Golden Order - but continue trying to prop it up by any means necessary rather than allowing for change to a new kind of Order. Marika is Radagon and we just killed them - god is dead, but let's put on a good face and pretend that all is well.

Godrick - Fia - Mending Rune of Death

This one is most easily understood through methods - they are both about reanimating corpses to restore a gruesome version of the Golden Lineage. Godrick grafts body parts onto himself with corpsewax. The yellow in the wings of Fortissax the lichdragon demonstrate that there is little difference between corpsewax, amber, and "gold". In all endings the rune of Destined Death is returned to the Elden Ring - but it's Fia's end that introduces the new centipede looking rune of Death. Those who live in death are exalted in the upcoming age.

Rykard - Sir Gideon Ofnir - Age of Fracture

They also actually have a lot in common, but it's subtle: Neither wants to restore the Elden Ring. Both are associated with orders of knights, both are only interested in prolonging combat. They've positioned themselves as arbiters of god's will - Gideon through claiming to know Marika's intent and Rykard through declaring himself a god wanting to devour and replace Marika. 

Radahn - Hoarah Loux - Relics of the Age of the Erdtree

It can't really be said that we meet "Radahn" in the game - his mind has long since been rotted away by Malenia. Similarly, when we first encounter Godfrey, his eyes have lost grace. He only regains the light of grace after the defeat of Morgott - who had been striving to prop up the failing Golden Order. Morgott is the face of the Golden Order as it is, and Godfrey the face of what it was at the height of its power. Also Radahn was said to idolize Godfrey, and they both have that lion theme. 

So, given that understanding of how we can unwittingly choose to side with various demi-gods through the renowned Tarnished, I think that the guidance of Grace has something to do with ideals. To fight any given shardbearer requires stepping into their domain - to consider the world from their point of view. Ideals are infectious - the act of engaging with them may be subtly influencing the perspective of the player Tarnished and impacting the ending that they choose to lock in.

This purpose would explain the presence of the 3 outlier guidance of grace: Millicent and Castle Sol are both important to understanding Malenia and Miquella's perspectives. Completing Irena's quest at Castle Morne is the mandatory first step in understanding the perspective that culminates in the Frenzied Flame. Which is also important to Miquella's - it is afterall his needle that can stop the frenzy flame ending. And for Melina, going through with the Frenzy Flame reveals a side of her that otherwise would not have been seen.

[tarnishedlambkin]

Adelina, Daughter of Blood:

Disclaimer:

Don’t like, just scroll.

Your character isn’t obligated to do anything, even if you play as any character listed in her lore.

Her having feelings for a character doesn’t mean you’re obligated to love her back!

She isn’t a wonderful, perfect person and I don’t condone her or her fathers actions.

Aliases:

Adelina, Daughter of Blood

Ada the Runt Omen

Ada, short for Adelina

Race:

Omen, Demigod

Tarnished? (Using my logic she is a descendent of Godfrey, so, to be technical, yes.)

Powers, stats, weapons and attacks:

Accursed blood: Ada has the ability to inject her accursed blood into one, driving them mad.

The Bloodboon Incantation: Akin to her father, she harbors the ability to perform the hemorrhage incantation.

Blood Heal incantation: She draws blood from her foes to heal herself or her allies. This is a fan made incantation.

Winged scythe

Extra: She has a shackle one can use for combat RP, but I see the use of shackles for omen fights as low effort and pitiful. H

She is weak against blood but strong against flame. She lacks the strength full size omens do but has the ability to fly, so she’s quite agile.

Loyalties:

Mohgwyn Dynasty

Mount:

A large sheep named Bolfor

Lore:

Why was she born?

Ada was created by the Formless Mother and Mohg, and was born before he had left the Shunning Grounds but while he was planning his escape. She was created because the two wanted a strong heir for their dynasty. To their great dissatisfaction, she was born a runt, as an Outer God and an Omen Demigod didn’t seem to combine as well as they hoped.

I personally headcanon that the Formless Mother can take a physical form, but for cunning reasons, she typically chooses not to. I also headcanon that Miquella was abducted because the Formless Mother needed an empryan body as a vessel for her to possess. This was for two reasons:

1 - To rule the lands between and replace Marika, holding Mohg as Elden Lord.

2- To create powerful heirs instead of a runt like her first born.

Early life:

Akin to many other omen, she spent her childhood imprisoned in the shunning grounds for a crime she hadn’t control over — her graceless birth of accursed blood, with horns and a tail to match. She had attempted to escape the shunning grounds a multitude of times, but was caught and drug back to her father, Mohg, who would scold her for attempting to escape without him. Despise the backlash she received for escaping, Ada was steadfast and eventually, in her adolescence-young adulthood, managed to successfully escape. She spent a few years taking advantage of her humanoid looks which allowed others to not suspect she’s an omen as long as she covered her tail, hooves and pretended that her horns were just a part of a headband made of flowers and omen horns. Unfortunately, that game of hers only lasted a few short years and she was eventually captured by the soldiers of Godrick.

Captivity and escape:

Ada was held captive in Stormveil castle for decades, if not centuries, by Godrick. He immediately grafted her wings to his body so he may gain the omen strength and so that she may not fly away. Had he known she is the grand daughter of Godfrey himself, she wouldn’t have made it out alive and she was made well aware of that by Morgott, who she encountered on her way to Godrick’s lair. He also was the one who advised that she creates an alias for her own safety, which is why she is called by many “Ada, the Runt Omen”.

During her time enslaved and in captivity, the omen endured various forms of abuse and was an emotional and physical punching bag as well as a scapegoat for her status as an omen. Said abuse eventually changed her to become insecure, skittish, meek, and reclusive, as well as easily agitated and distrusting. She is a vessel for great power but seldom tapped into it simply because her confidence was quickly squashed.

During her captivity, Mohg had escaped, formed his cult, and kidnapped a mass amount of white masks and Tarnished’s to turn into his bloody finger cronies. One of his uses for his hostages were to help find his daughter, as it would put himself in far too much danger if he were to go by himself.

This is how she met Varré, who gave her a Pureblood Knight Badge so she may transport herself back to Mohg (though her anger got the best of her and she did beat Godrick nearly to death before she went back home; she left assuming she killed him and arrived back to the palace in critical condition; she eventually may return back to Godrick so she may kill him, get her wings back, and steal his great rune off of his worthless corpse, even if a graceless omen like her cannot makes use of it). This prompted her to hold the white mask up in high regard, becoming infatuated with the simple surgeon.

Post escape:

Adelina went on to become one of the most devoted and highest ranking members of the Mohgwyn Dynasty and oversees the sanguine nobles.

She kept warning Varré of the Tarnished of no renown, fearing that his trust of the tarnished will be his demise as well as her father’s and the rest of the dynasty’s. His ignorance of her warning prompted her love for him to switch to resentment, anger and grief.

Trivia:

Her two names have a meaning. Ada means “Firstborn Daughter” and Adelina means “Noble”.

She was named after the a24 film “Lamb”

Varré’s nickname he gives you, Lambkin, prompted her creation (hence Varré’s importance to her and her sheep-like appearance)

She’s supposed to look like a Huldra (mythical being).

Her sheep like appearance is fitting to her being a cultist.

Her intentions are to free the omen. She may be lawfully evil but she is convinced that she’s doing what’s right. Granted you’re not a threat she will be friendly and sweet towards you (she’s very similar to Alfred the Executioner in that light).

She has a phobia of canines.

Ada is only the size of the tarnished (give or take some inches).

[katyspersonal]

I also would like to add though, that it is not just Godrick, but also Godefroy (someone of similar importance)!

He kind of reuses the model, not some awful crime on Fromsoft's part in the slightest! But, it is an implication that he was doing the same! Lore doesn't state whether he is younger or older than Godrick or even collaterally related; since Godrick's anchor rune is "inherited", it could be either way but I'd bet on Godrick being the holder of the shard to be the initiator of grafting in this part of the family! (Again, it can be interpreted any way, and even IF Godrick picked something from older family members, no shade to him!)

Another interesting thing is that Living Jars, a sort of the same concept as Jar Innards, are Erdtree-approved! The large one is at the Colosseum, which were a thing of Godfrey! Marika is definitely an interesting person in this. I like bringing up the fact that Fire Giants remained depicted within the Erdtree people as a reminder, as well as a huge chance that Godskins' Prayerbook most likely was one of the treasures Godrick took from Leyendell with him. She seems to have a habit of preserving even her enemies for the history one way or another, but the case with Living Jars might be preserving an """interesting""" practice despite having traumatic memories of it!

At the very least, Living Jars seem like they consented to exist like this...? I do not think they're Jar Innards she saved and helped to recover, personally! Whereas Hornsent Gaols do have similar Living Jars without Shamans included, those ARE of just convicted Hornsent. The ones including her people are very distinct, broken and erratic, and if nursery in Messmer's Shadow's Keep is of any indication, attempts to recover them didn't go anywhere! Now, cultural appropriation of the culture of those who once killed her people, with a spiteful twist of having them be her husband's warriors and growing bigger using the flesh of those who lost a battle against them, instead of "punishment + attempt at becoming a saint" nonsense.... 🤔

This post definitely was inspired by the takes of how much Godrick's grafting makes things even worse and in "poor taste" regarding his great-great-great-great-etc-grandmother's trauma, but that claim really falls apart at the seams because Marika herself turned that into her power! Godrick does do an eerly similar thing too. Jar Innards are a Shaman + multiple chopped parts of convicted Hornsent, and he is pretty much this with all these limbs attached. Except he is the one in control, he is the warrior using those he killed to become stronger, not to be "rid of his pitiful state" or whatever Potentates would say. The only way Marika would've been upset with him is the notion that after marriage with Radagon the Golden Order moved onto scholarly territory, past the "fight and let the strong take" practices, I think? Godfrey, on the other hand, would not mind xD Serosh just made him less blood-thirsty, not erased his personality!

Godrick, Marika and grafting

With the new shaman & Marika lore, we found out that what made the shamans weak, having (diluted but) of the same blood, Godrick essentially turned that weakness around to use it as a weapon. He turned what made the shamans weak, into strength. He took that oppression and is now using it as a means to fight anyone who tries to harm him.

But of course, since it is Godrick, fandom once again sees the situation in the worst possible light & often reminds others that it's the only right way.

See that text above? See how it's possible to give nuance to characters that you don't like / are conventionally ugly / are the lowest hanging fruit?

Reminder people, just because a popular account (be it a youtuber or artist) establishes among their sizeable following that a character can be only interpreted in their way only, which in Godrick's case is usually in the worst faith, doesn't mean you can't challenge that. It doesn't mean you can't have your own ideas, despite most of the fandom excelling at herd mentality and fanatism towards big creators. Don't be afraid to talk about your ideas and interpretations, especially if those ideas are considered uncommon.

[eldenringslut]

I like how the ‘Mad taint’ of the Great runes power doesn’t just make the demigods murderous, but instead affects them by enhancing their existing qualities in excess.

Godrick’s inferiority complex is enhanced to the point of him turning to grafting for power, calling himself ‘the lord of all that is golden’ to affirm his strength to himself.

Rennala had great love for her family and children, and this is ironically turned against her as she repeatedly births and rebirths the scholars, believing the Amber egg to be her ‘beloved’.

We have to speculate a bit for Radahn, but I think it’s likely that the rune enhanced his aggression and willingness to go into battle. I believe this because I think it would likely be a contributing factor into his battle with Malenia, and his earlier battle with Leyndell (that we see in the opening cinematic with him fighting Margit).

Morgott is a deeply loving and protective individual, even when those he loves do not deserve it. So he defends Leyndell, a city full if people that would hate him if they knew he was an omen, under an order that shuns his kind. He even goes so far as to defend the weakest demigod Godrick in spite of his disgusting grafting (which I believe he does particularly out of love for his family, perhaps subconsciously).

Rykard has a multitude of different traits that could be made excessive by the Great Rune. His innate cruelty (evidenced by the inquisition he controlled even before the shattering), his anger at the Golden Order (likely him projecting his hatred of Radagon for abandoning Rennala) and his desperation to gain enough power to fight back against the Erdtree (which eventually leads to him becoming impatient enough to feed himself to the God-Devouring Serpent).

Malenia takes immense pride in her skill with a blade, as this is what allows her to stand alongside her brother as his blade. It also gives her something to focus on besides the rot, even helping stave it off through the waterfowl dance. Additionally she is absolutely devoted to her brother Miquella and will do anything for him. It is a combination of these factors that I believe led to her conflict with Radahn and her unleashing of the scarlet rot. It is also why the dreaded phrase ‘I am Malenia, Blade of Miquella’ is the sentence she chooses to fixate on to help retain her mind from the rot.

Miquella is similar to Malenia in that he is absolutely devoted to his sister and finding a cure for her rot, going so far as to try and establish a replacement erdtree and embed himself in it to overcome both his and her respective curses.

Mohg is interesting because aside from his rejection of the Golden Order we know little of his characterisation before being enthralled by Miquella’s power and becoming obsessed. Although I speculate that he, much like Morgott, is a deeply loving person who unlike his brother chose to abandon those who clearly did not love him and give himself to the Formless Mother (I don’t think it is a coincidence that his mother Marika cast him aside and he chooses to serve a different, surrogate mother).

Ranni is a slightly ironic figure in this regard as her obsession is with freeing herself and the Lands Batween from the outer gods (as well as fulfilling her fate). But this obsession leads her to ironically abandon her Great Rune, which I believe allows her to play the long game and not get caught up in the shattering like the rest of the demigods.

[lichdragon-fortissax]

Godwyn fucked Fortissax

(a joke theory that is kiiiinda supported by canon)

Anyways. We all know that Godwyn and Fortissax were bros, right? I mean, Fortissax fought the death in his body until they themselves were corrupted, which indicates pretty damn strong devotion for an ancient dragon.

With that being said, here's my proof.

-Fortissax's rememberance lists Godwyn as their 'companion', which seems like a light word to use for someone who fought the death within him until they themselves were corrupted and turned into a mindless lich that STILL continued to guard his corpse even after Death rooted itself in them

-Fortissax's sister was Lansseax, who was known for concealing herself as a human to lead the dragon cult in Leyndell. She loved Vyke dearly, too, so it's not really improbable that Fortissax might have done the same

-Fortissax and Godwyn don't really need to have strong romantic ties between them because it's very likely that dragons don't really do romance the way we do. It could have been a fwb relationship on Godwyn's end and an actual mateship on Fortissax's end and it probably would have worked just the same anyways. I mean, they're dragons, what are you supposed to do, marry them?? There's no way in hell they'd take the concept of a wedding ring seriously

-Godrick's line when speaking to the corpse of the wyvern in his arena is 'Oh mighty dragon, thou art a trueborn heir. Lend my thy strength, oh kindred', which yeah it's supposed to point to how he's this runty little thing that's a shadow of Godwyn's glory who's talking to a similarily runty little thing that's a shadow of its ancestor's glory in a fucked up perversion of Godwyn's allyship with the ancient dragons, but also what if it was canon. What if Godrick's ancestors had dragon blood in them, and that's what makes him even more of a dissapointment, for the ancestor of a demigod and a dragon to be so feeble

-Information about Godwyn's lineage is surprisingly shady for someone who's technically super important and prestigious. Which isn't really a surprise, because the effects of Godwyn's death far outweigh any importance of Godwyn himself, and we're supposed to feel that in-game, but also what if it was very hush-hush for a reason. That reason being that Godwyn fucked a dragon. Marika def. wouldn't have liked that, but it's not the first time that shit's been hastily covered up with this family (cough cough the omen twins cough)

-Fortissax is referred to as an 'it' in lore, while their sister is a 'she'. This is probably just because they're a dragon so gender doesn't really matter, and Lansseax went out among people so she probs got the gender virus by proxy, but that doesn't close the possibility of Fortissax themselves being impregnable

-Even if fucking a dragon wasn't really something that the Golden Order would have liked, Godwyn having heirs with the dragon who was once known as the 'mightiest boulderstone' that hailed from the previous rulers of the Lands Between certainly would have been a much better match for the son of Marika and Godfrey than some random person who never got a mention in lore (as we know pretty much everyone else's husbands or wives are notable for some particular reason, and you can only become Marika's consort through a show of great strength/after you take the throne as Elden Lord)

Case in point: Godwyn fucked a dragon and Godrick is the descendant of Godwyn fucking a dragon, which is why he can graft a dragon head onto himself despite all his other grafts being relatively humanoid

[witch-in-the-water]

Shower thoughts: In elden ring when the death rune is working as it should people die and there life force rejoins the erdtree ( I think at least I could be wrong) and the edtree uses that to create new life , this in speculation would mean that no one would be born because no one is dying , but what if there just born "wrong". For example we have to assume that godwyn was born before the death rune was removed from the elden ring( at least in this instance) and he was the golden child literally, and renallas children all in terms of state at birth were all healthy normal children, but suddenly after the rune is removed Marika's children who are the only children we really know of are suddenly being born cursed in someway ie omenishm, Scarlett rot and eternal youth, but Godfrey was marget and mogh's father were as, radagon was malenia and Michelle's so its not strictly and " incest" thing ( if literally being the same person counts). Now what is an omen , it's a sign of tragedy or warning of strife ahead her first children after the death rune was removed were omens they were her warning from the greater will like hey umm let's not do that, and she didn't listen and look what happened. So in conclusion Marika in removing the rune froze the cycle of life and death and the erdtrees ability to recycle that life into the proper forms it should take was also halted this doesn't mean that no new life started ,just that the tree didn't have what it needed to do the job right anymore. I'm also interested in the idea that radagon and markia used to be seperate but when she gave him the rune of order she grafted him onto herself or the rune in some way because the Marika was meant to be the vessel of the elden ring and she started breaking pieces off and giving them away the rune of order and the rune of death, but who is to say that just because they are separated from her , that she can no longer control or influence them.I also dont believe it was markia that created the tarnished, they say that it's Marika but she is under the control technically of the greater will and she very obviously didn't have any interest in the ring being completely whole again so why would she bring in champions to do just that , it's also said as some point the the erdtree wasn't always golden it's some sort of parasitic coating over the whole tree, and it's also stated that the erdtree we see was not the first one there ever was but that they were always a higher power so I think that the gold on the tree is the presence of the greater will after it took over, with this logic in the dusk born ending the tree in so longer golden because the greater will is no longer in control, and touching on both points I think the lack of ambient life energy is one of the reason miquella's tree never would have succeeded, there was no energy left for it to grow and it was probably using miquella and malenia as it's fuel as we see that miquella is gone from the tree, but malenia is still there and rot has started spreading over it this could be from exposure to malenia herself or it could be because that's the only kind of life energy it can get with only her there.

[sananaryon]

The manga is great and i really think it manages to strike a good balance between comedy and sincerity (as any good parody should). Most of the time the focus is on being funny, of course, but it's very obvious that the mangakas have a lot of respect and love for the source material, and the sincere moments just feel all the more sincere.

Case in point, Godrick being reinterpreted as a bit of a bumbling grandfather/boss who wants his underlings to be happy in their work even while still doing the whole grafting thing? Really funny.

Godrick breaking down after his defeat because he already felt like a complete failure of a demigod and being defeated by a lowly tarnished just made all his insecurities all that worse? Oof, my heart

Godrick's soldiers standing up for him and cheering him on because of how bravely he had faced Malenia herself to protect them, leading him to decide that he doesn't need a stupid great rune when he has his men, and accepting his defeat with grace? Holy shit character development!

Also gotta say, this manga is I think the first time I've seen an adaptation really get the core appeal of FromSoft games.

At the start of the game, Aseo (the Tarnished) is a cowardly wretch who runs away from mosquitos, evne Melina thinks he'll amount to nothing. But, like a player character, he gets stronger as the story goes on. He picks up on weapon arts in the Weeping Peninsula, learns how to use Carian Grandour just by watching Moongrum do it (which also pays off a running gag that Melina only levels up his intelligence, truly the epitome of high Int, low Wis), and by the time he faces O'neill he is badass enough to face him down with no hesitation

Not that he's an invincible badass or anything, he puts up a good fight but needs Polyanna's help to win (Polyanna gets dialogue, wooo!), and he really doesn't wanna meet Radahn, but he's grown so much and I'm so proud of him.

Not to mention that he's just a good guy, as i mentioned. First Fromsoft protagonist who's actually a decent man. And he and Roderika are besties<3

Also the manga just has a lot of fun with reinterpreting the characters. Obviously they're a lot different from canon cause comedy, but they're reinterpreted in really fun and good ways! Blaidd is a doofus who can't read a map AT ALL and half their interractions is just Aseo guiding him to where he's supposed to go, Ranni is a bit of a spoiled brat who tries to act cool with her whole mysterious ice witch persona and then immediately loses her patience when Aseo doesn't immediately kiss the ground she walks on (and also her mysterious fading into snow whenever she's talked to the Tarnished is just her hiding in the bush next to where she sat)

And Melina...

Well, she's her mother daughter. Manipulative, condescending, no patience for people who annoy her, outright threatens the Tarnished if he's taking too many detours for her liking, and beats people to death with blunt weapons when they try her patience. She's great, Marika Junior (can't wait to see what Marika is like in the manga)

also god damn the mangaka are going through the item descriptions with Vaatividya-esque obsession because wow do they keep referencing really obscure lore. Like, some of it is obvious like Rennala and Radagon's marriage or Ranni and Radahn being siblings.

But then there's stuff like Rya being mad that Boggart's "prawn" is actually crayfish (and Boggart saying it doesn't matter since it's delicious anyway) or Aseo thinking Lionel is a creep for randomly delcaring himself Fia's dad

Also Fia's Deathbed Companionship is chiropracty, cheers on them for not going for the obvious sex joke

In conclusion, amazing manga, really funny but also really sincere and clearly cares a lot about the source material. 10/10, everyone should read.

also

get his ass

Just wanted to let you know that the manga is still incredible and the best balance of genuinely emotional moments and ridiculous fuckery that has ever been put to paper

also making a soulsborne protagonist who's above all else kind and compassionate is just an inspired touch

I really do need to read the manga at some point, it looks amazing. I'd been avoiding it because I thought it was going to be jokey all the way through. But it's capable of being sincere as well as funny? Sign me up!