#both bewitched and fearful of the abyss | headcanons and lore

[izar-tarazed]

Once she noticed that Ensha liked coffee, Izar made it a habit to bring him a steaming hot cup in the morning.

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THIS. I found it so strange when she just casually mentioned it in her dialogue and didn't seem bothered at all by the fact. Maybe she gets to know because she's the one person among Miquella's followers who would be able to frame the charm entirely as a positive thing, from a pragmatic point of view: She outright tells us that without the charm, they all would likely be killing each other, and therefore it's good that they're charmed. The charm is the one thing that allows them to work together. (Whereas for Ansbach, for example, the charm probably made him forget his loyalty to Mohg, so being aware of it wouldn't have been a positive thing.) Now it's somewhat ironic that Leda turns out to be the one who's dead set on killing the others as soon as the charm is broken. But maybe her usual wariness/bloodthirst was so extremely strong that for the charm to work on her she also needed the reassurance that the others were under its effect, and that she could be completely sure they wouldn't turn against her (or Miquella)? Other than that, I'd agree it's likely her loyalty to Miquella that allowed her to know (he seems particularly fond of her) or deduce it. But I really think that her being the one person who'd view the effects of the charm as positive might play a role in her being aware of it (or being allowed to be aware).

I find it interesting that Leda knows she and everyone else is being charmed, yet everyone else seems to have no idea. Like, Sir Ansbach doesn't remember his attempt at fighting Miquella or anything.

I wonder why she gets to know. Is it because she is loyal to Miquella? or did she know about his abilities and was able to deduce it by how everyone seemed to be working well together?

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There is something akin to winter solstice in the calendar of the nomadic merchants; the coldest, darkest days of the year, and they gather around their campfires, sharing food and light and exchanging gifts.

The tradition, with some variations, has spread throughout the Lands Between, even though not everyone partakes, and those who do are sometimes unaware of its origins.

Izar, being close with the merchants and fond of their tradition, knows, and celebrates in her own small ways.

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I don't have a lot of lore/headcanons for Ashen Izar but I know for sure she's the lousiest Blade of the Darkmoon you have ever seen. Genuinely eager to assist those in need, but when she's actually summoned to a fight, more often than not, she can't even find the combatants.

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My newest headcanon is that Izar develops the habit of thinking "what would Ensha do?" fairly early in their friendship (especially, although not exclusively, when feeling out of her depth against enemies) but realizes that while she almost always knows what he would do, it's very rarely something that would work for her as well.

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In the beginning, long before Izar learned to understand his sign language, this is how they communicated: Ensha signing his messages into her palm.

A painfully slow form of communicating, but at least he didn’t have to waste her treasured ink, and there was another aspect to it: With those brief, invisible messages, fleeting words traced against her palm, Ensha didn’t have to worry about anyone—not even his master—ever finding out what he was sharing with the stargazer.

Then again, it required enough trust on Izar’s end to let him touch her hand. You might not want someone within arm’s reach who previously attacked you in a supposedly safe space.

She was rather tense when she first held out her hand. But she still did.

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So few people know this, but whenever Ensha has to report to Gideon ...

... he will discreetly stand on some books to appear just a little bit taller.

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Thoughts: Ensha was actually a better fighter than we see in the game

I went back to my Ensha run to keep exploring Stormveil Castle. And it’s interesting how the area feels much easier with this build than it did forever ago when I went there with Izar with her focus on sorceries. Of course, I now have several hundred hours of Elden Ring experience under my belt and am more familiar with the world and the enemies, but it also kind of reinforces my headcanon about Ensha actually being way more capable than our ingame experience gives him credit for.

When he ambushes us at the Roundtable Hold, it comes as a shock but isn’t too challenging in terms of gameplay, and often even described as a rather laughable experience. Like, how could Gideon seriously think Ensha would stand a chance against us? How could Ensha believe he would?

I think one reason for the Ensha fight being quite manageable might be that it being so was a mechanical necessity: We can’t return to the Roundtable Hold proper—our hub for interacting with several NPCs that act as merchants, teachers and questgivers, and considering the Ensha ambush can be triggered fairly early in the game, it stands to reason that it couldn’t be that extreme of a challenge because it would lock us out of accessing the Hold.

Also, it isn’t meant to be a big challenge (we merely get a fistful of runes upon our victory), but seems to serve a more narrative function; a storybeat (albeit an obscure one, as is the case with most in the game) to emphasize the importance of the Haligtree Medallion and prompt Gideon to give us more information.

I also think that the fight being not too hard serves to highlight our Tarnished's own prowess; we are more powerful than Gideon could have anticipated, and we prove it by dispatching someone he seems to have trusted: Ensha was tasked with guarding the door to his study (Nepheli explicitly tells us that) and even with the Hold being a supposedly safe space, I don’t think Gideon would have trusted just anybody with that, and that Ensha was a lot more skilled than we actually experience in game.

Regardless of the aesthetics and meaning of both his armor and weapon (and the fact that the design seems to be a nod to the Dark Souls’ series darkwraiths and their Dark Hand), this equipment provides extremely good survivability at least in early game. The clinging bone allows for swift attacks and the Lifesteal Fist skill saves a lot of sips from the Crimson Tear flask (in the right area), plus the slight healing properties of the armor.

Ensha was designed (narratively) as someone who’s hard to kill—who literally clings to life. (There’s also his use of gravity magic, in particular the Collapsing Stars sorcery that pulls enemies closer. It might not be perfectly executed in game but in a way, it does serve a narrative purpose as well—there’s no running from the creepy skeleton assassin.)

So. Ensha had probably done a lot of dirty work for Gideon, and reliably so, returning successful every time until being sent after our Tarnished. But thinking that he could overcome us wasn’t a foolish assumption on his end, he actually had been deadly and powerful enough up to that point.

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Initially, Ensha doesn’t care much for books.

He is, of course, constantly surrounded by them, and knows how much Gideon treasures them. He recognizes their value. To him, they are tools, just not ones he uses himself.

He is content to coexist in the same space with them, leaving their usage to others.

Izar, however, gravitates towards books in a way that’s both similar and different from his master’s.

Sometimes her eyes light up at their sight with such joy that Ensha can’t help but feel a pang of jealousy (which is, he tells himself, ridiculous in every regard). In her hands, he feels the books come to life, the knowledge contained something to be shared.

There’s always a story to be told, and she loves telling them.

With Izar, a book suddenly feels like more than a tool. (It is strange, Ensha thinks, how much the same holds true for him.)

To her, books are joyful company, and comfort. She will seek them out and spend hours surrounded by them, retreating behind whispering pages, the smell of leather and paper, smiling as she hunts for treasure between the lines.

He starts keeping her company for a glimpse of that joy.

Eventually, though, she starts reading to him. ‟Did you know the story of the Academy’s fairy cat?” she will ask, and ‟Have you heard of the Thunderknight and her loyal companions?”, and ‟Were you aware that one day, when the stars still were moving…?”

He has heard some of the stories, but never like that. He didn’t realize they would hide in those books, brought to life by her voice and the crackling of the nearby fireplace.

He sits down with her to listen, absorbing the stories she offers up like gemstones and starlight shards, and keeping them like one would keep such treasures.

Still, Ensha isn’t likely to read on his own; it would just feel hollow without her.

But books… they now remind him of her, and they’re comfort and company.

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just realized that maybe at this point I'll need different verses or rather, points in the timeline for Izar? the default would still be her (and Ensha) on their quest towards the Elden Throne; but her having defeated the Elden Beast somewhat calls for that post-game verse where she already is running the Academy of Raya Lucaria.

I made this post a few days with my headcanon for Izar's exploration of the Shadow Realm basically taking place in between those two phases, too...

(It's funny because I never thought I would need to establish these things because Izar's journey seemed like it would last forever, but now maybe I'll come up with something to add to my Stargazer's Cookbook.)

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The little burnt-down candle on Ensha's besagew is probably one of my favorite details about him and I might write more about that at some point, but.

I remember being surprised when I first noticed it on his armor and was like, "wait, how did I miss this before?"

The reason is pretty obvious, though. With Ensha's iconic edgelord pose, we never get to see the candle. It's almost like he's deliberately covering it with that hand.

There's probably nothing to that and he was just meant to stand there in a casual pose that simply happens to cover this particular detail of his armor, but still funny.

(My first thought was "why give a character such a peculiar detail on their armor and then never show it," but then again, this is Elden Ring where nearly all the NPCs have individual faces and the game never bothers to let us see them, so... hiding a candle is nothing.)

Also, he's standing right next to three more burnt-down candles. Again, this might be pure coincidence but considering how much emphasis Elden Ring places on environmental storytelling in general, this arrangement might well be on purpose (...while probably not too meaningful).

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Welcome!

What this is: This blog is mostly dedicated to my Elden Ring OC Izar (and well, her companion Ensha ��� more about them below). There might also be other content (other games, DnD 5e, writing) unless I’ll feel the need to create specific sideblogs for that (unlikely, I lack the energy).

What I do: I’ll mostly share screenshots, headcanons, storytelling, and writing snippets. (Here's my tag list!) While this is not a pure RP blog I very much enjoy RPing, so feel free to shoot me a prompt/starter whenever you like! (For more information regarding RP, flip through the Stargazer's Cookbook over here!)

Who I am: over 30, she/her, living in Europe. Not a native English speaker, so bear with me if I say strange things. Expect occasional ramblings about the glory of freelance life, and know that there is never enough coffee.

Izar Tarazed, Tarnished Astrologer

Izar barely remembers anything from the time before her awakening in the Lands Between – just her name and what she knew of the stars. However, the stars above the Lands Between are different, their lore mostly lost to her, so she gathers stories and bits of information wherever she can.

Her most treasured possessions are her telescope and her map-making tools.

Whenever she gets the chance, Izar will sit and work on her celestial maps, preferably beneath the golden light of grace, trying to figure out constellations and their possible meanings. Working on her maps also calms her down and helps her focus.

She’s often more driven by her astrological curiosity than by the ambition to become Elden Lord – she’ll confront Rennala mainly because she wants access to the library of Raya Lucaria, and Radahn because she wishes to set the stars back in motion.

Izar relies mostly on her sorceries – the Comet and Night Comet are her favorites – and only starts improving her skills with melee weapons and a shield when Ensha insists on teaching her.

Personality

Izar is a little geek when it comes to astrology and will talk about it with neverending enthusiasm. At a new place, its (potential) view of the night sky is usually the first thing she’ll check.

She values the friendships and alliances she makes, being protective of those she cares about; that might be both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness.

Upon meeting someone for the first time, she'll rather be calm and cautious, but much more confident, cheeky and bubbly once she feels comfortable.

The fact that she doesn’t remember who she was before bothers her more than she lets on.

Izar soon realizes that she isn't as ambitious about taking the Elden Throne as she maybe should be. Her true dream is running the Academy of Raya Lucaria and turning it into a welcoming place where knowledge is not hoarded but shared.

When upset, she can be pretty defiant, sarcastic and snappy.

Sir, That’s My Emotional Support Skeleton

Izar spares Ensha’s life when he attacks her at the Roundtable Hold.

This leads to them being sent out on a mission together to track down Latenna (which, of course, doesn’t go as planned). While they start out deeply suspicious of each other, teaming up only reluctantly, they eventually come to trust each other and, despite some challenges, become close friends, which leads to certain tensions considering his loyalty to Sir Gideon.

(I’m not entirely sure what Ensha is, but I’m leaning way more into the headcanons of the somehow animated armor/actual skeleton with some kind of relation to the ancient king mentioned in the description of the Royal Remains set, rather than just being some guy with a skull mask.)

Ensha will often travel with Izar, having her back and finding picturesque dungeon walls to lean against and ponder how on earth this careless astrologer can still be alive. (He's exaggerating, of course. Izar can definitely handle herself ... most of the time.)

Ensha tends to be more wary of others than Izar is. He's extremely perceptive and quite good at reading people (and finding things). He often encourages Izar to put in the work to improve her skills, and be more disciplined about her goals. However, he's also surprisingly fine with engaging in all kinds of mischievous shenanigans with her.

Since Ensha doesn’t speak, their communication process is a little rocky at first but improves once Izar gets better (and eventually good) at understanding his sign language. From then on, they'll often have some partially silent banter going on, and are able to communicate subtly if the situation calls for it.

Izar is also able to sense Ensha's emotions to a certain extent (more on that headcanon here).

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Headcanon: Ensha doesn't eat regular food, just golden runes.

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The DLC has been out for a month and I’m far from finishing it, but it’s stirring so much in terms of new headcanons and storylines for Izar and Ensha and their dynamics (probably there'll be even more of that as I progress and find out more about the DLC lore).

Since I finished the base game so briefly before the release I can’t help but imagining the same correlation in game: Izar has just defeated the Elden Beast and declined to follow Ranni to the stars, and sets out into the Shadow Realm shortly after with Ensha.

And it feels a little bit like they’re pretending they’re still on a journey instead of finally arriving somewhere (in Izar’s case, the Academy), deferring all the questions that would come with that. They’re doing what they’ve been doing best for a while—adventuring together—because change is a challenge and maybe they’re both afraid of it for their own reasons. (If the journey comes to an end, will they still have need for each other’s company? One should suppose that they know that by now but I’m not sure they do because that always seemed such a distant future that it was rarely ever brought up.)

So they keep travelling, pretending things haven’t changed.

But things already have changed, and there are issues they haven’t really sorted out yet (I have this headcanon that Ensha was secretly reporting a lot more to Gideon than Izar knew, and well aware that his master would at some point use that knowledge against her but had no other choice if he wanted to keep travelling with her; it’s an understandable betrayal, and forgiven, but it’s still fresh.)

The Shadow Realm is even more dangerous than the Lands Between and they have to rely on each other more than ever, and they’re convinced that they do, but there’s still doubt and guilt and this realm being unsettling in its own right. There may also be hints about their respective pasts here that they haven’t expected (I think the reason that Izar is willing to drink St. Trina’s deadly nectar time and again is because she is promised to learn something about her family—there is a potential connection for my respective headcanon that would just make sense).

Not really going anywhere in particular with this but felt like writing it down.

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"Now, go forth. Do what you believe is right."

It's minor but I realized how much I love that Enia eventually just tells us this (rather than "go forth, become Elden Lord" or "Let the words of the Fingers guide you").

It's simply "Do what you believe is right". Yes, the implication here is probably just that she can no longer offer any advice and even the Two Fingers are silent, so all that remains is our own judgment.

But still, she says it in such a gentle and supportive way? As if she trusts us, and actually believes it's a good thing if we do what we believe is right.

(... Yes, I keep coming back to the Roundtable Hold whenever I need to hear it.)

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some DLC related headcanon thoughts about Izar below the cut:

I just realized how wild Miquella’s endeavor must seem to her. He seems to be shedding all the essential parts of his being and personality, and Izar as a Tarnished who has lost all memory of her life before the Lands Between has basically been on the opposite journey the whole time: wondering who she was, who she is, hoping and trying to reclaim and recover.

One of her deepest fears is to lose even more of herself than she already has—especially memories. The idea that someone could be willing, for whatever reason, to leave behind their very being, is so strange and troubling to her. She's basically been hoping to recollect all the parts of her personality that she might have forgotten, and to see someone (apparently) leave behind the essence of her personality... she has a hard time understanding that.