#but the narrative they (and malenia) serve asks a more important question

[arx-aru]

War-Dead Catacombs

This is honestly an incredible dungeon, in terms of all the subtext.

For reference! It's the one hidden in the corner of Radahn's arena where spectral Cleanrot Knights make battle with equally bodiless Radahn soldiers--

There's a number of fascinating details in here:

Like all catacombs, the halls are littered with human remains. However, these are presumably older than those of the Battle of Aeonia (because the corpses in Radahn's arena, exposed to the elements (and his cannibalistic frenzy) still have tattered surcoats, waistcloths, et cetera. These bodies, however, are mere skeletons, bereft of any clothing). So far as I can find, there's not actually any of the Radahn and Malenian battle debris assets that litter Caelid inside here. Given how ubiquitous they are, this must have been intentional. None of the bodies entombed here belong to these soldiers.

Naturally, Radahn himself is simply too large to get inside, so this place isn't actually so much a tomb as the singular point of refuge in the Wailing Dunes.

So. They've lost their flesh by the time they entered, evidently--meaning their bodies are still outside, being gorged upon by Radahn.

These are spirits of, presumably, the same variety as the Headless Knights or Latenna; that is, they are the essence of their dying will--their continued animation(as opposed to the crestfallen one-sentence spirits elsewhere) is reflective of a degree of resolve and intention at their time of death.

The final moments of the Radahn and Malenian armies, then, was to make it to this location. There are no spirits roaming outside, after all. They tried to escape Radahn and preserve, if nothing else, their dignity in death... but failed, one and all. Tricky to outrun a man who would hold up the very stars, after all.

And, of course, this is one of the very few instances of AI factions actively fighting each other... and they were near-certainly concerned, primarily, with escaping Radahn when they died. Yet they fight on. So deep is the loathing between the Radahn and Malenian hosts that they'd forgive each-other not even in death, not even having their bodily dignity violated by both their lords. Whether this is borne of unshakeable faith or hatred is difficult to say, of course, but the item descriptions of their respective armor sets might shed light(the Cleanrot Knights knew full well what would happen to them but accepted it, whereas the Radahn knights struck their lord's crest from their hearts when everything fell apart, even though Radahn's frenzy wasn't necessarily his fault. Importantly, the reliability of lordsworn armor descriptions in general seems shaky at best, so I don't put huge coin to that exact conclusion).

The movesets all these guys use is, as far as I can tell, the same as their surviving counterparts. That is to say, the cited sources of their battle arts, skills, and abilities in item descriptions hold true to their spiritual essence. In other words: so intrinsic is the rot and disability to the Cleanrot Knights that they yet retain their limp, their wings, and the rotten acid they cough and heave upon their foes. So fundamental was the martial prowess of Radahn's men that they keep Artorias spinning and spamming combo attacks--they are not in the least phased by their own death. So unshakeable is the faith of Malenia's vassals in their two gods that they still cast Miquellan magics and proc the Malenian sword insignia effects.

They actually respawn, when they finally manage to "kill" one another. Indeed, none of these people were equipped to kill the bodiless. So they'll keep fighting, again and again and forevermore, until true death do them part--if ever, even, it finds its way to their forgotten Tartarus.

Basically! After the player finally defeats Radahn and offers a small measure of closure to the Shattering, they're allowed to see what war does to the everyman's very soul.

These gods were family, once.

These soldiers, beholden to the private affairs of strangers, were comrades. Many were probably friends.

It all begs the question--was Ranni's scheme to begin the Age of Stars worth it? Is the era she'll usher in, should she even succeed, of greater meaning than how the people of the Lands Between were molested, body and soul?

Well, maybe. It's hard to say. Impossible, really.

But we might imagine what the dead would answer, if they'd not been robbed their chance to speak.