#elden ring character analysis

[professional-sephiroth-scrungler]

A detail i love is the animation difference between first phase and second phase messmer. First phase Messmer’s attack animations are controlled and almost lazy feeling. He’s done this thousand of times. You’re just another person to impale. But a lowly tarnished managed to push him to removing the seal and being subsumed by the serpent. He didn’t want to but it’s his last resort. His second phase attack animations are desperate and almost animalistic looking. He didn’t want this, to remove the last bit of his mother’s grace, but he and the abyssal serpent are one now. Even though he’s still waiting for his mother to come back for him and is still trying to avenge her people and cares for his. This was his last resort and in the end it was futile; fully realizing his mother had truly abandoned him as he died.

[incorrectsmashbrosquotes]

It's actually funny, in a meta way, how people are salty about Miquella being a villain. Because, like, that's how it is in-game too.

The people of the Lands Between wanted Miquella to be the solution to their problems. To be the promised savior. The God who would get it all right and do what Marika tried to do and failed so resoundingly, bring an age of infinite prosperity.

But, no, it doesn't work like that. Gods can't solve their problems. The Gods want their own ends and then convince people that what they want is what's best for them. The fans are the same as the poor bastards in the Haligtree, waiting for their savior, only for it to turn out he's just another spoiled kid.

It's brilliant, from a writing perspective. They kept Miquella vague, letting the Soulsborne fandom do what it always does, theorize, investigate, and build up ideas. We built up an image of Miquella as a savior, a hero, one of the only truly heroic characters to understand and get it right.

But in the end, Miquella fooled us as well as he fooled his own people.

[feukt-42]

Yet another post about Leda

You know, its kind of funny, but I've been browsing ER fanfics and fancontent almost daily for a while now (pls help), and one thing I've noticed is that a lot of people just. do not want. to put Leda and the gang in their fanfics. The most out of all Miquella's followers I found was Ansbach with 68 fics on Ao3. Leda herself comes at second with 48 fics and the others just kind of fizzle out after that. By comparison, Messmer, another DLC character, already has 500 fics.

Now, I know that this in large part due to the Messmer horny. But still. There's been 1,372 fics released in the ER tag since the DLC released as of me writing this. That doesn't really explain it. A good explanation might be that souls fans like to dwell on the pre-canon lore era we don't get to see, but even then, I remain disappointed by the lack of Leda in those fics as well. I have read several Haligtree-or-adjacent-focused fics written post SotE and few of them feature Leda or the needle knights, which is honestly a shame because Miquella having his own order of knights (almost counterbalance to the cleanrots), is a very interesting idea, and I am starving for Leda interacting with literally any member of that cast, her whole deal is just so interesting. And its not like Miquella doesn't care about her and she's just a weird fanboy, he gave her a wholeass rune and shit.

"But OP," you might be asking, "why dont you just write your own fic then ?". And you see, that is an excellent point, but I am unfortunately a coward with no confidence in my writing skills. So instead, I decide to make this.

I hereby present :

My Leda facts/analysis/interpretation/theories collection !

I am making this mostly to gush about Leda to spark interest in her as a character and maybe give interested writers who have actual skill to use this to get some inspiration. By no means am I suggesting that this is a guide everyone should follow, this is mostly just my inane ramblings about a character i am obsessed with. Still, if it helps someone make something, that's a net positive in my book.

without further ado, let's get into it.

Part 1 : Miscellaneous Facts

Fact number 1 : Leda doesn't see grace (at least her character model implies so):

I don't remember where it was, but I remember seeing a post that had every SotE NPC's eye colour in it. And a cool thing about that was that only a few characters didn't have the grace of gold in their eyes. And I remember specifically getting to Leda, noble knight of Miquella, and finding out that her eyes do not have a single trace of gold in them. They are grey with a blood-red clouding.

And I just found that so interesting it made me make this post, because what does it mean ? How did she lose it ? Did she ever have it in the 1st place ? Some of you might be thinking it's because she follows Miquella and not the GO, but the funny part is that, again, most of the others have it !

Hornsent has it, Ansbach has it, Freyja has it, Ymir has it, Moore has it, even the fucking madding hand has it. So why doesnt Leda ? (this also goes for some of the other NPCs who don't have it but im not spinning them in my head like a microwave so too bad ig)

Fact number 2 : She definitely killed the other needle knights

Ok so I already talked about this somewhere but I don't remember where so let's just start over from the beginning. The description of the Retaliatory Crossed-Tree states there were once more Needle Knights but now there's only one left. Meanwhile, Leda's sword says it "still reeks with the stench of crusted blood that lingers from the cull of her knightly comrades". Love myself a good "can't wash away the blood" trope.

Anyways, I took those two facts together to mean that she killed the other Needle Knights and talked about it in that alleged prior conversation I mentioned, but someone else replied that her "knightly comrades" could very well mean Hornsent and Ansbach, whom she attempts to cull before you reach Enir-Ilim. And I wanted to disagree with that, but I didn't actually have any evidence except "it's funnier this way" so you know, fair's fair. Except ! No it isn't !

When you help kill Hornsent, she says this :

He never placed his full trust in me, even under the effect of Kindly Miquella's spell. He must've recognised something. The scent of the killer that slept within me. The stench of crusted blood.

Mind you, this is before killing Ansbach, and right after killing Hornsent. The crusted blood from the cull of her comrades cannot be theirs, meaning Leda did kill the other NKs.

Fact number 3 : She deadass just smells like blood the whole time we see her

As just stated, we have 2 items describing how Leda just smells like dried blood. This has endless comedic potential imo, hear me out :

You first meet this dignified, knightly woman in Mohgs arena. You don't notice anything wrong with her smell, because of course it smells like blood in here, have you seen the place ?

The next time you meet her is in Scadu Altus. You begin to think something does smell really bad here. It's still not her however, because the Hornsent and his canonically shitstained loincloth are standing like 10 meters away from you, likely overpowering the scent.

You only get to realize its her constantly smelling like blood after the charm is broken and Hornsent leaves, and that coincides perfectly with the reveal that she's just paranoid as fuck.

10/10 olfactive storytelling. I mostly just put this fact here in honor of that Bloodborne bosses ranked by smell post tbh, that shit lives rent-free in my brain.

Character analysis time ! This bit is more given to interpretation so feel free to disagree on this :

Shes really not that bloodthirsty you guys

Alright, so this one might be a bit surprising given we just went over the fact she smells like blood, but the popular interpretation of Leda doing this because she likes killing and shit is just dead wrong to me. I spoke about it before, but there are so many lines of dialogue that suggest otherwise. Hell, even the sword description says she tried her damnedest to get the blood to come off. Here are some of the most telling lines i found (from fextralife/the github with all the text from SotE) :

-Her describing herself as a "killer" in that line about hornsent and crusted blood earlier, she seems to be very blunt and honest about what she does, almost to a self-deprecating point.

-I know I shouldn't let myself... But I suppose it's only natural to feel the weight of one's deeds at times like these. There is plenty left to be done. And I will see to it. <- what else do i even add here

-I don't enjoy casting suspicion on anyone I've called a comrade. But it's a small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things. We must eradicate all doubt...

-None can deny Sir Ansbach was truly a great man. We can be proud, that we were the last opponents he ever faced.

-Sir Ansbach must have considered it an honourable end, being felled by your hand. After all, the good fellow held you in the highest regard. When we speak of it, we may speak with pride—that we were Sir Ansbach's final adversaries

Those lines seem to be alternate versions of the dialogue you get after helping her kill Ansbach. And oh my fucking goodness gracious, i fucking love the second one. Like ghhhhhh, the grief for a comrade and the guilt and the self-justification and the need to move forward and theres somehow even more blood on her sword that she can't ever wash off but she can't stop here, she has to keep doing this because its not about her for her, its not about her feelings or her guilt its all just for the greater purpose shes reaching towards arghhh its so good.

There's also a notable throughline of her shutting her emotions down more and more as she goes, whether its to better do her job or to follow in miquella's footsteps :

-Unruly emotions only lead to misfortune. All the more reason we need someone like Miquella the Kind.

-Man is a compassionate animal, for better or worse.

-So be it. If you insist upon facing Miquella the Kind, Then I will run you through, whoever you might be.

-A single betrayal, enough to turn the tides… Unfortunate, but I will leave you be, for now. 

-I expected things to end differently with you. What a pity

-I suppose it was Sir Ansbach who won you over. Fine. One more heart for my blade to skewer.

Side Note : Those three last ones also read like shes really salty about being betrayed, and that's really juicy because it feels like she trusted you. She trusted you a lot more than most of the others, so it really stings quite a bit to learn you were lying the entire time.

All in all, it really does feel like she has to shut herself down to be a better knight, a more efficient tool for Miquella to wield. It's also quite tragic because she seems to be a compassionate person at heart, she welcomes you into the club, she constantly tries to understand the reasonings for other people's actions, and she tries to find ways to let those she suspects off the hook :

-The hornsent, hmm. On one hand, he trusts Miquella the Kind to bring salvation to his people. With the enchantment lifted, his vengeful passions may once again ignite, but surely he'd be mindful of Kindly Miquella's promise... <- this reads like her trying to convince herself she doesn't have to kill him

It's also very interesting because despite that, she really doesn't seem to be much of a people person :

-But for this very reason, Thiollier is incapable of betrayal. St. Trina's love for Kind Miquella is boundless. She is, after all, his other half. Or perhaps her feelings go beyond even that. Even if she was left behind, I doubt her heart would waver. <- she's just deadass wrong about Thiollier and St Trina

-If you don't meet her before the charm breaks, she does a really awkward introduction and then immediately starts infodumping about her crippling paranoia and zealotry

-Ansbach straight up just tells you : So, you've taken Lady Leda's side. I'm glad she stands with an ally. She tends to overestimate the burden she might carry alone. This is straight up just "oh nice, you finally made a friend, im so glad for you". This implies that Ansbach didn't believe Leda really had anyone on her side before then, and she kinda doesn't tbh. No one is really here because of Leda in the final battle, Dane is here for Miquella, Freyja is here for Radahn, Moore is here to cope with existence, and Hornsent just has an (understandable) hate boner for everything Golden Order. She doesn't really have any friends.

(Also shoutout to Ansbach for being concerned about the people trying to kill him, he really is the goat fr. Also: I've utterly failed you both... No wait grandpa its not your fault im so sorry)

--the funniest moment in the DLC imo : I've come to a realisation... There's ample evidence... Without Kindly Miquella's influence... I'm quite mistrustful of others...

Ah yes of course, the trust issues. Where do I even start.

This woman has nothing but contempt for mankind as a species. She is, as stated earlier, compassionate and tries to be nice to people but she constantly assumes the worst of everyone as a reflex. Her trying to find a way not to kill Hornsent is only because she wholeheartedly believe he will be the worst version of himself as a baseline, and thus thinks of him as a threat who must be dealt with.

-I'm afraid Sir Ansbach will have to be next. He claims he hasn't the spirit to take up his sword again, But in his day, he was the feared commander of the Pureblood Knights, who cleaved open Miquella the Kind with his blood blade. But I doubt it'll be very long... Before he recalls, as I have, the cascading sheets of blood. <- no trust at all

-her dialogue about you "turning on her" also feel like she's resigned about it, like someone who came in expecting failure and was still disappointed, like why did i even try, i should really know better.

-That aside, man is by nature a creature of conquest. They were never saints. They just happened to be on the losing side of a war. <- the classic. What else needs to be said. These are the words of someone who takes war, violence and hatred as a given.

And that leads me to my next point. I think Leda has had a very violent life overall. Some of the shit she says sounds too specific to just be a generalisation:

-But vengeance changes a man.

-Unruly emotions only lead to misfortune.

-Before he recalls, as I have, the cascading sheets of blood.

-One more heart for my blade to skewer.  

-The scent of the killer that slept within me.

This all sounds like she's talking from experience, and there's also her skills as a knight : she has the highest hp pools of the gank squad and can 2-3 shot most players. I know gameplay =/=lore but Freyja respects the hell out of her: Lady Leda and honourable Ansbach are of a special breed.

It's a very interesting combination of an extremely skilled knight who is very good at killing, has presumably been living a very violent existence and who trusts no one but herself, but who also hates having to kill and feels really guilty about it, despite having to do it for the sake of her cause.

And I believe that is the crux of her purpose, and why she is going through so much to fulfill it at any cost:

Leda believes intelligent beings are inherently flawed , and can never be trusted to do anything but make each other suffer. Leda is tired of inflicting and receiving violence, and sees little purpose in seeing the good in others. Leda would have probably made a terrific Lord of Frenzied Flame with how little hope she has.

But instead, she found Miquella. Miquella, who dreams of an age of compassion and who is in a position to achieve it, Miquella, who was raised in an order built and maintained through violence and grew to abhor it. Miquella, who Leda probably sees herself in, who Leda trusts blindly and unconditionally, for whom Leda is ready to commit any atrocity, no matter how it makes her feel, because he is her lifeline. He is her very last hope, the only solution short of complete annihilation she can see for mankind to reach pace.

So what if that peace is forced, is all of this suffering truly worth what little free will we can exert onto our world ? Leda has seen what mankind does with its free will, and she is tired of it.

She doesn't care if she lives to see it, she doesn't care if she has to kill every last part of herself in order for the world to see peace. No one will miss her anyway, she's nothing but a blood-soaked murderer. It doesn't matter if she likes these people, friendship and trust aren't worth all this senseless violence.

So she'll keep killing and killing and culling, until her blade is dull with crusted blood and every last obstacle to Miquella's age of compassion is gone. That's what a Needle knight does, is it not ? Kindly Miquella fashioned us as his needles to quell all, to ward away all.

And if Miquella doesn't understand her, it doesn't matter. He's far too good to understand the sacrifices necessary. She'll do what he can't. The other needle knights did not understand this, they were too naive to do what has to be done, so they were a liability. Don't think about their betrayed looks of terror, don't think about the cloying stench of blood sticking to your footsteps, this is your burden, this is what you deserve. You already knew you couldn't trust anyone, why would this be different ?

If Miquella must cast away parts of his very being to have this world then so can you. So sever that part of yourself that says you should be nice, that you should trust those willing to help, it only makes things worse. It will all be worth it in the end.

Phew, i kind of went apeshit while writing that last part. I hadn't really planned all that honestly.

To conclude this essay, I'd like to point out a really fun parallel to draw here. In this analysis, I have described my interpretation of Leda as a very skilled self-loathing blood-soaked knight who is tired of their endless crusade and yet is endlessly pushed forward by their utter devotion to their god, their salvation made flesh, whom they will shield for the atrocities committed in their name by being the sole person to blame. If that doesnt remind you of Messmer, then i think ill just curl up into a ball and yell very loudly.

Thanks for reading till the end of this absolutely nightmarishly long ramble, let me know if you liked it ! And don't hesitate to send any Leda fics you find or write along the way !

[cannedwyrms]

Spoilers for shadow of the erdtree, but...

I NEED to talk about Marika, okay?

In the base game, I thought she was interesting, don't get me wrong, but the amount of DEPTH SOTE gives her is INCREDIBLE.

The first time I got to the Shaman Village, I instantly knew she was going up on my Good Antagonist List™ immediately.

And, because of that, I wanted to have another ramble about her, as is becoming customary for this blog.

So, let's go over what exactly we learned about Marika and what this informs us about her character.

I think the Shaman Village really takes center stage here. The music, the item descriptions, it all combines to paint a gentler, more human image of Marika. In the base game, she was more like a god (which made sense seeing as she was one), but we see a more human side of her here.

So, the Shaman Village. It's the place where Marika grew up, her home. Unfortunately for her, shaman bodies are apparently quite good for putting into big jars, which was something the Hornsent loved to do. We've all seen it before, right? I mean, we've all seen a zealous religious society commit atrocities against an underclass in fiction, not the jar thing.

And the Hornsent are a zealous religious society. They used the bodies of shamen in jars to make saints. Which sounds like complete nonsense, I know, but that's just elden ring lore babey.

Anyway, it's my personal headcannon, if not outright fact, that the Hornsent's persecution of Marika's people is what led her down the path of becoming a god. Like Miquella, she wanted to make the world a gentler place. Unlike Miquella, though, she only wanted to make it gentler for her people.

In short, it's my belief that Marika became a god in large part to inact revenge on the hornsent.

Okay, pause. I know Elden Ring Lore is like, a big deal and all, and anything I say is basically unfounded on everything except intuition, my own personal interpretations, and because I believe my theories fit thematically within the wider narrative, but just stay with me on this, alright? I think there's a real undertone of misogyny in the fanbase, and sometimes that can color interpretations of certain characters even unintentionally. Marika has gotten this treatment worse than most, I think, because she is a prominent woman who does morally questionable things. Beyond the inherent misogyny, though, I've noticed that a lot of people interpret Marika's actions very uncharitably. Anyways, all that to say, this is my post, and I care more about everything working together thematically than digging deep into the depths of the lore to find out that "oh, actually Scrupulous the Untested mentioned this flower, which represents pure evil, and he was talking about Marika when he did," or whatever. A strawman? Perhaps, but you get my point. Still, I'll try to remain true to my understanding of the lore, but I'm bound to make mistakes. I'm not an expert. Sorry for the long aside, I just felt these were important points that wouldn't fit in elsewhere.

So, I believe Marika sought godhood partly to punish the Hornsent, although I won't pretend to understand her full motivations.

I believe this is what Ymir was referring to when he said "I fear that you have borne witness to the whole of it. The conceits - the hypocrisy - of the world built upon the Erdtree. The follies of man. Their bitter suffering. Is there no hope for redemption? The answer, sadly, is clear. There never was any hope. They were each of them defective. Unhinged, from the start. Marika herself. And the fingers that guided her. And this is what troubles me. No matter our efforts, if the roots are rotten, then we have little recourse."

My interpretation of this is that Marika's intentions for godhood were impure. She wasn't seeking to improve things, just punish the ones who wronged her people. Thus, her reign was doomed from the start.

Now, let's get into what really sold me on Marika as a character.

There are, to my knowledge, two items you can find in the Shaman Village.

The Minor Erdtree incantation, and the Golden Braid talisman. Let's take a look at the flavortext for these two items and see what we can glean, starting with the Minor Erdtree.

"Marika bathed the village of her home in gold, knowing full well that there was no one to heal."

So, by the time she returned to her village, everyone was already dead. How devastated must Marika have felt, to return from claiming godhood and revenge, only to find that there was no one left to avenge. She was alone.

Here's the text we get from the golden braid:

"A braid of golden hair, cut loose. Queen Marika's offering to the Grandmother. Boosts holy damage negation by the utmost. What was her prayer? Her wish, her confession? There is no one left to answer, and Marika never returned home again."

Man, reading that, with the shaman village music in the background, just thinking about a young Marika resolving herself to become a god, to save her village and people from the Hornsent, the anger she must have felt, the fear and solemn resignation of her goal, only to return again to find herself alone. What was her wish? What did she leave behind in her village? We'll never know, because Marika is alone. Her people are gone. In the end, she couldn't save them.

Is it really any wonder that she eventually began to doubt the very order she had founded?

But now let's talk about some other aspects of Marika's character that the dlc reveals.

Namely, her Omen sons.

Imagine how Marika must have felt, looking down at her newborns to see the very horns that had destroyed her people upon them. It's just so DAMN good, character wise. There must have been so many mixed feelings surrounding them. I wonder if she even felt any love for them at all when she saw those horns. Like, I don't know, obviously, but I imagine she felt conflicted. She didn't outright kill them, which is good, but she did leave them chained in a sewer for most of their lives, so yeah not great.

But that's what I love about her character. Elden ring, in a lot of ways, is about how victims can become victimizers. How, in pursuit of noble goals, or revenge, you can lose yourself and become just as bad or worse than the people you set out to punish. That's Marika's character. That's why she's part of the List™.

Because Marika started out as someone angry at the systems that oppressed her and sought to change them. She was the hero of the story, in the beginning. But, in pursuit of her goal, she lost herself and became a bit of a monster.

SOTE, to me, revealed that Elden Ring's story is one of complete moral grey. Everyone is working towards a cause that they believe in, including you. The ends justify the means for you, even if it means striking down a mostly innocent grieving woman, hunting your fellow tarnished, or turning on the ones who trusted you and called you a compatriot. Ranni, Miquella, Radahn, Fia, D, Godrick, Malenia, Leda, Ansbach, Thiollier, Gideon, this applies to everyone.

The same goes for Marika. In trying to punish the hornsent and build a better future for herself and her people, she lost her people and eventually succombed to her worst tendencies.

That's why St. Trina pleads with you to stop Miquella. Because to become a god is to sacrifice everything that makes you human.

Marika took that sacrife willingly, in order to punish the ones who hurt her, and in the end, that's what broke her.

I think she recognized this, and that's why she set the stage for you to become Lord. In the chance that someone might do better than her, make the world a gentler place, not for a god, not for ambition or power, not in revenge or anger, but im compassion. Whether or not that's how you choose to rule is, of course, up to you, but I like to imagine that Marika, after everything, found something to hope for again.

Okay, that's the end of my thoughts. Was any of that true to the lore? Who cares. It's how I like to interpret what we were given about Marika. If I'm wrong, then whatever. I'll still be right in my heart.

Alright, bye. Go play shadow of the erdtree, or watch someone else play it at the very least. Next time, I might talk about Miquella, or maybe Leda and her allies.

Someday I'll be brave enough to talk about Agent Black. Someday. But that would maybe turn into a full ten page essay about why Iconoclasts is so very good and I'm not sure the two people who care about what I say here are ready for that.

Okay bye.

A brief adendum to this post:

Because I was analyzing Marika from a literary perspective, focusing on the sympathetic angle SOTE added to her character, I realize I forgot something important, so let me say it now:

Marika's persecution does in no way justify her genocide of the hornsent.

That idea kind of got lost in the shuffle, but it's definitely an important aspect of her character. She's an antagonistic force in the world who has done some very awful things to further her goals, more so than any other antagonist in Elden Ring. Her tragic past only adds dimension to her character, not an excuse for the atrocities she comits.

Okay, bye again.

[natdafat]

The Igon and Ahab comparison/difference

This will not be a whole comparison of the two characters, (I'll save that for a rainy day), but there is something I find really interesting with these two gents that I find often gets overlooked as people just go 'oh yeah Igon is captain Ahab' and end the discussion there.

To first get the obvious out of the way, both characters have monomania for their respective foe, and both share a narrative similar to the end of a Faustain tale or at least there story is a continuation of one already told, both crippled after their fights and both will not let injury, judgment, people or God from killing their enemy.

Now, the main and obvious comparison that is made comes from the speech Igon gives when you summon him for the bayle fight. But this speech also shows something, a difference between the two, a difference that ties to their fate.

In igons speech, he introduces the tarnished first, giving them the title of Drake Warrior and only calling himself by his name. Igon wants Bayle dead by any means necessary, and to achieve his goal, he has the humility in asking the for aid of others he views can help (gameplay wise, that is by allowing the tarnished to summon him for the fight). Igon saw the tarnished slay the mountain drake and chose you as someone who could help achieve his goal. Whereas Ahab depite having a whole crew of rallyed up whalers doesn't view the aid of others as anything more than a convince, to him, Moby Dick will be killed by him and only. Constanly disregarding even imput from those who only wish the best for everyone such as Starbuck. Ahabs determination to kill the whale with his own harpoon is what led him to getting killed and dragged to the depths of the ocean, dead, unsuccessful.

Igon incontrast by following and completing his quesline igon dies of his injuries sure, but after successfully defeating Bayle saying

'Bayle the dread, you shall haunt me no longer'

Igon achieved peace and a concussion to his goal, where Ahab did not. Igon recognised where and when he needed help through his rage and determination.

[There's also, tho like the comparison needed with what Moby is representative of compared to Bayle, but that's not important right now]

[miirshroom]

Been working on another Elden Ring breakdown of notable observations in a specific location. With all the corpses strewn about, sometimes it feels like solving a murder mystery, or in general some other kind of "whodunit" puzzle. Then I remembered that the story trailer for Elden Ring has always pointed at basically that.

Means, motive, and opportunity are the three main indicators of suspicion for an investigation. For the breaking of the Elden Ring in particular we are told the means explicitly just for making it to the end: Marika's Hammer. We are also told in the item description who did it: Marika. In this way bypassing the need to guess a perpetrator based on opportunity. So all that remains is the motive.

That is what the game is asking the players to do. Maybe even more specifically, this is what Ranni is asking the players to do. Review all of the evidence scattered throughout the Lands Between to figure out Marika's motive for Shattering the Elden Ring.

It's a "whydunit" story.

[yolowritter]

A Perspective on Miquella the Kind

"Miquella the Kind...is a monster." Those are some of the first words uttered by Sir Ansbach once the Empyrean's Great Rune is shattered, and the charm placed upon his followers in the Lands of Shadow is lifted. But...are they actually true? With all the new information we have about Miquella in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, it's worth to re-examine all we know about his character. Naturally, a huge part of the community is budy combing every nook and cranny for more lore on this Demigod. And...others are displeased with the new information given, or more specifically, what Miquella's plan is revealed to be at the DLC's end. So today, I want to take a closer look at Miquella as a character, his followers, and of course, the overarching plot which the Tarnished becomes involved in after slaying Radahn and Mohg. As an aside, we really owe the Lord of Blood an apology as a community. Nevermind the murders and cult sacrifices, Mohg managed to beat the allegations! Anyway, I do intend to also give my own interpretation in regards to the more...questionable things in the new Lore, so let's get right to it!

Firstly, it's worth establishing a baseline for who Miquella is as a person. As we all know, he is the son of Queen Marika and King Consort Radagon, as well as brother to Malenia. As a side note, the whole "Miquella divested himself of Saint Trina" situation most likely explains how this family dynamic would be possible, but that's another post altogether. Marika's...questionable marriage choices aside, Miquella has always been described as a kind, gentle soul. In some ways, his narrative place in Shadow of the Erdtree serves as a foil to Marika herself. Where his mother schemes and conceals the truth, Miquella is extremely upfront about his goals. Make the world a kinder, gentler place. And honestly? I believe him. I fully believe that Miquella, having grown up next to his cursed sister and seeing the Golden Order unable to do anything for Malenia, wished for nothing more but to better the world. And after realizing the Order wasn't working, I've no doubt he went on to discover the many, many attrocities committed against those of the Crucible, like the Misbegotten for example. However...this is where things get a little muddy, in terms of morality that is.

Remember that Miquella is basically a God. He is one of the few who can succeed Marika in a new Age. But...he doesn't seem like a fighter to me. He isn't one, which is where Radahn comes in. Now, forgive the aside, but we need to have a chat about what exactly "Consort" means as a word. Yes, it's typically used in the context of marriage, but from the original Latin meaning (I'm no expert here, feel free to correct me), a consort is someone with whom an individual shares a destiny. Miquella himself talks a little about this, both in the fight against Promised Consort Radahn, and if the Tarnished is charmed by his Circlet. Yes, that's the thing he uses to hypnotize people, it's in the item description. We understand the concept of a consort as the more modern interprepation of a romantic partner, a spouse of some kind. However, Elden Ring doesn't work by the same rules. Yes, it can mean spouse, given that Ranni welcomes the Tarnished as one and grants the Dark Moon Greatsword as a wedding gift, but it doesn't have to.

Unfortunately, I think the community is falling into the same pitfall we did with Mohg's wording of his own desires to become Miquella's consort. Unlike Ranni, neither situation here necessitates romantic feelings, and frankly I don't believe they exist here. Miquella was fascinated by Radahn's strength and kindness, and believed his brother would be an excellent person to share the remainder of his plans for a New Age with. And Radahn was, objectively speaking. He's hailed as a hero from everyone who knows him, even Ansbach treats him with great respect should you summon him for the final battle. I think the Vow made between Radahn and Miquella happened before the Shattering, and was something along the lines of Radahn helping Miquella make the world a better, kinder place. It's something the Red Lion would absolutely want, since despite his element being war, we get many accounts of him being an honorable, good man. It would make sense why Radahn at first agreed with Miquella, so let's see why Malenia even needed to go and do what she did in the first place. Why did Radahn not hold up his end of the deal?

To put it blunty, it's because he's a Golden Order fanboy. I'm still not entirely sure how Messmer ties into this from a timeline perspective, but Radahn grew up with his older half-brother (presumably before the Holy War against the Hornsent), his father Radagon, and Lord Godfrey as his primary male role models. Even if Godfrey had been exiled by that point, the evidence of his crusades was memorialized in song for Radahn to be inspired by. Of course he believed the Golden Order to be righteous and good, and wanted to uphold the honorable values he was raised on. Considering his own character, I'm quite confident in speculating that Radahn saw the Order's faults, and probably agreed with Miquella that there was a distance between the stories he grew up on and reality. So naturally, upon seeing his younger half-sibling try to fix things, Radahn quite possibly supported the idea.

Where I think the divide happened...was Miquella's method of problem-solving. As I said before, I've no doubt that he is as Kind as they say; it's just that Miquella envisioned a world without violence and had the power of make it so. His broken Great Rune holds the power to resist charms, so it's pretty reasonable to assume that the whole thing once held the power to perhaps inflict them. Miquella later replaced it with the Circlet he now wears, but still. He was strong enough to evoke a cult following from most of those who laid eyes on either of his forms. Again, I firmly believe he was doing good here, as both himself and as Saint Trina. From Miquella's point of view, he is helping. He grants the restless a peaceful sleep, he gives a home to the outcasts, he protects the Albinaurics, etc. That's why so many people wanted to follow him. What interests me is that Miquella seems to be a classic case of the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

He undoubtebly, truly wants to make a kind and gentle world, but has little qualms about forcing people to stop fighting. As Leda tells the Tarnished when asked about Hornsent, she explicitly states that without Miquella's charm, he would be attacking her and the others right now. Yes, it is arguably better for people to not fight to the death, but Miquella enforces this "good" thing in the wrong ways. Everywhere in the Lands of Shadow, we can see something similar. Sir Ansbach for example explains that Mohg himself got charmed, and that upon trying to rescue his Lord, Miquella brainwashed him as well. And he only sounds upset about it after the charm is broken. This gives us a very interesting character, since Miquella is technically correct in what he states. Should his Age of Compassion come to pass, there won't be any more War, or violence, or destructive conflict. However, taking away people's free will is arguably worse. So, what happened? Why does there seem to be a difference between the morally grey (but with good deeds to his name) Miquella, and the more extremist version we battle in Enir-Ilim?

Well...I think Miquella's Crosses hold the answer. At every site, he "divests himself" of something. It's clearly stated that he had doubts, he second-guessed if this was the right thing to do. He had moral qualms, but forced himself to leave them all behind. And there is one more thing he abandoned. Saint Trina. I believe this is why he seems so jarringly different to what we know about him. Because Saint Trina is his love and compassion. Every genuine feeling that Miquella held was left behind to make space for the more nebulous "Greater Good" of his new age...and evidently, very little that made Miquella himself even exists anymore. Despite the radiant light at the Gate of Divinity, his demeanor seems cold and calculated, much more akin to how I and many others might characterize Queen Marika. In attempting to ascend to Godhood, Miquella ironically became what he sought to destroy.

That's why there's such a difference between the Miquella we hear about in the main game, who does seem to be using his powers yes, but for a good cause...and the DLC version of Miquella, who is abusing his charms. Ever since entering the Lands of Shadow after he cocooned himself, Miquella has slowly divested himself of everything except the greater goal. Godhood is all that's left of him by the time we arrive at Enir-Ilim, which is why Saint Trina begs us to kill him. Miquella has already killed himself in a way, and all that's left is a brilliant yet hollow shell. The genuine warmth and compassion he once held for the Lands Between and their people are void, leaving behind only the unfeeling rays of pure gold, much like the ever-present Erdtree. He seeks to supplant Marika's Age...and then install himself as a God, just like his mother. I'm sure that he did have genuine kindness in his heart, but now...there isn't any left within him. That's why he's enforcing his will upon Moore, Ansbach, Freya, Thiollier and Hornsent. Because he's become just like Marika.

It's unfortunate, and a brilliant tale a self destruction that if correctly decoded shows how masterful Fromsoft is at this kind of storytelling. Now, I'm not claiming to be completely correct in this interpretation, since this is just my personal viewpoint of how and why things played out this way in the DLC. Feel free to drop your thoughts below, I'm more than happy to open up a disccussion about Miquella! Anyway, if you'll all excuse me, I need to go replay Shadow of the Erdtree. I'll see you all soon, but until then, Stay Tarnished everyone!

[warsofasoiaf]

OK. I think its time someone address the Radahn in the room. What have you to say about Kindly Miquella and why is he more than just an expy of Griffith from Berserk?

Miquella is perhaps the demigod in Elden Ring with the most presence, and invited the most speculation on release. Malenia speaks of him in almost religious reverence despite being a demi-god and Empyrean herself. The Albinaurics ferociously guard the Haligtree atop their wolves, and Miquella's Lordsworn look out in the distance with longing, praying for their lords return. The longing for these characters matches the player's longing, they desire to learn the mystery of what happened to this mysterious missing demigod. When you finally find him in Mohg's palace, more questions remain. If Miquella was cursed with eternal childhood, why does he look like a withered old man in that little cocoon? Is he alive or dead? Can he restore the Haligtree, or is his dream like so many other dreams doomed to wither on the vine? The DLC answers all of these questions in a stunning way, and you find out that Miquella was, as Malenia said, "he is the most fearsome Empyrean of all."

Miquella was one of Marika's last children, after she had officially married Radagon after banishing Godfrey as the first Tarnished. He was born a twin, and incredibly close to his sister. Both were chosen as Empyreans, capable of becoming a god. Yet both were also marked from birth with powerful curses. Malenia was cursed by the Scarlet Rot, a baleful blight of an Outer God imprisoned beneath the Lands Between by a blind swordsman granted power by a dancing blue fairy. Miquella was cursed instead with eternal childhood. Miquella tried to study what he could to undo those curses - learning Radagon's Golden Order fundamentalism and even developing new incantations. Yet no matter how he tried to develop new spells and techniques of greater power, he was unable to cure Malenia of her affliction. This is notable for two reasons. The first is already self-evident, the Golden Order was incapable of lifting those powerful eldritch curses that afflicted those twin prodigies. The second is striking - Miquella seems to care far more about lifting Malenia's curse than his own. Part of this is certainly practical of course, Malenia's curse of rot is far more dangerous than Miquella's eternal childhood. However, it also suggests that Miquella does truly care for his sister, that her condition is a motivating force, far more so than even his own affliction.

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.

Since the Golden Order was incapable of stopping the rot, Miquella searched for a new solution, and what he discovered was unalloyed gold. Alloying a metal means mixing another metal into it, typically to confer some form of benefit or counter a weakness. Copper is alloyed with tin to make bronze, a far more functional and robust metal than soft copper. To be "unalloyed" gold means it has to be pure elemental gold, untouched by anything else. How Miquella went about creating unalloyed gold is as yet-unknown. A gold without the Golden Order's Law of Causality and Regression, the Golden Orders laws that state all things are linked and all things desire to converge. This Unalloyed Gold then, directly stands apart by being unalloyed, apart from everything with nothing linked and nothing returning. Perhaps in standing truly alone, Miquella reasoned, they would be beyond the touch of the Outer Gods and their curses.

All of the demigods, following the Shattering, had a plan, and Miquella was no different. Confronted with the cruelties of his mother's reign, Miquella opted for a new path. First, he created a new tree to rival the Erdtree, the Haligtree, and watered it with his blood. There it acted as a beacon for those who found themselves outside the Golden Order's light, particularly Albinaurics and the Misbegotten. Miquella ensconced himself in a cocoon, watered the Haligtree with its own blood, and had a great castle built around the tree, Elphael. He created his own great host, including the possibly first-gen Albinauric Loretta as Knights of the Haligtree. Malenia, his twin, joined Miquella's efforts, becoming his Shadow the way Maliketh was to Marika, and put her Cleanrot Knights at his disposal - knights sworn to Malenia whose service never failed even as their flesh putrefied due to the Scarlet Rot. This bulwark would serve as a principle defense for Miquella himself, as to complete the tree he would cocoon himself within it, depending on those who would swear to defend him while his dream, and the Haligtree, would come to fruition. These plans would be dashed upon the ambitions of Miquella's half-brother Mohg, who would kidnap Miquella from the Haligtree, and take him to his Citadel. There Miquella would languish, fed Mohg's tainted blood, in the hopes of making him the consort of a new dynasty under the bloody reign of the Formless Mother.

And up until the DLC dropped, that was all we knew.

With Shadow of the Erdtree, Miquella's plan becomes fully realized. Far from being a kidnapping victim of Mohg hoping to enact his own grand vision, Mohg was a pawn for Miquella's own ambition. From the beginning, Mohg was charmed with Miquella's power, forced to kidnap him and feed him his own blood. Miquella needed Mohg to access the Land of Shadow, where the Divine Gate that Marika used to ascend to godhood resided. But every god requires a consort, an Elden Lord, and Miquella had a plan for that too. From an early age, he saw Radahn as someone who exhibited both strength and compassion. For Miquella, who had hoped to develop an Age of Compassion that would last a thousand years, Radahn was perfect. He was strong enough to challenge the stars and compassionate enough to protect his sister Ranni. Who could ask for a more perfect Elden Lord, to be as strong as Godfrey was to Marika but hold his siblings in such esteem? A compassionate lord for an Age of Compassion.

And so Miquella went to the Land of Shadow, the place sealed from the Lands Between, to ascend to the Gates of Divinity as his mother had and become a new god. With Unalloyed Gold, he could ward off the machinations of the Outer Gods that worked to supplant the orders that existed, like the Formless Mother with Mohg. With his consort Radahn, he had the strength to overcome the enemies that could threaten his order, champions of other orders that could seek to overthrow him. He would follow on the path that his mother tread, to attain divinity and shape a new world. Miquella believed, that with his compassion and strength, he would have the ability to succeed where Marika failed. As he travelled, he shed pieces of his older form, preparing himself for his ascension to divinity. At Miquella's Crosses, you can see Miquella has started to abandon his flesh, and as you continue on, you see him abandon his arms sinistral and dextral, his eye, his heart, as he becomes less the demigod he was and more the god he wants to be.

Deep in the Stone Coffin Fissure, you can find a spirit looking onward at one of Miquella's crosses, where he says: "Kindly Miquella... I see you've thrown away... Something you should not have. Under any circumstances. How will you salvation offer...to those who cannot be saved? When you could not even save your other self?" On Miquella's cross itself, he asserts: "I abandon here my love." Deep in the pit, full of the stone coffins that gave it its name, full of flesh burned by ghostflame in the era before the Erdtree, the mass of that tainted flesh became animated and imbued with St. Trina's nectar, there to become her protector. Miquella cast off St. Trina, the enigmatic saint of sleep where he abandoned his love. St. Trina still sits in that deep purple pool, and if you drink enough of her nectar that grants eternal sleep (but the Tarnished can die multiple times and come back so it's only a slight inconvenience), you hear what she has to say. She tells you that godhood is a prison, begs you to make Miquella stop, and finally implores you to kill Miquella and forgive him. Kindly Miquella's ascension to godhood, and his age of compassion, does not appear to be so straightforwardly kind.

As you progress further, getting closer to the hidden city of Enir-Ilim, you find another of Miquella's Crosses, where he abandons his doubt and vacillation. Inside Enir-Ilim itself, at the Spiral Rise, you find the last of Miquella's Crosses, where he abandons his fear. Miquella, when he reaches the Gates of Divinity, has no love, no fear, and no doubt. He is certain of his ascendance and that is all that remains of Miquella when he steps through the Gates of Divinity. Being at cross-purposes with one's self is detrimental to a god, as we saw when Marika attempted to shatter the Elden Ring while her other half Radagon attempted to repair it. Miquella would not repeat Marika's mistake, hence why he shed the parts of himself and threw St. Trina deep into the Stone Coffin Fissure. All that was left was the charming entity that manipulated Mohg into kidnapping him so that he could be slain, his body used as the vessel for a reborn Radahn, free of the Scarlet Rot. Radahn himself says nothing, and his own vassals disagree as to whether or not Radahn would have supported his rebirth into Miquella's consort to fight a war eternal. Redmane Freyja believes that was Radahn's true love, while Jerren believed so much in giving Radahn his merciful end that he held the Festival in an attempt to end Radahn of his tainted, rot-ridden existence. Malenia herself was an agent of this plan, though with Miquella's power of charm, which she even admits makes him the most "fearsome" demigod of all, who's to say whether her will was her own? Miquella was certainly able to charm the hearts of everyone from Pureblood Knight Ansbach to the rage-filled Hornsent to follow him, only after his Great Rune breaks does division creep in. With Miquella's power, any or all of the people involved in his plans may not have done so under their own free will. The most fearsome of all the demigods, indeed.

And thus, the Age of Compassion without Love shows its true face. Miquella cares, his Age of Compassion knows nothing else. Yet without love, it is a compassion reserved for favorite toys. Miquella tells you that if you grieve for the world, if you have known sin, then to yield it forward to him. And he is right, in his way, for how can something with no will know sin? Miquella takes away pain, but it is like St. Trina's sleep, an endless nothingness. Peace, certainly, but it is the peace of the desert. Only Miquella exists, and those who have been charmed into obedience. No other Order, not the dogmas of the Hornsent, not the intolerance of the Golden Order for those touched by the Crucible or those made artificially. Only the Frenzied Flame comes close, for the flame that burns everything into undifferentiated ash is another peace of a sort. You live, you are cherished, but are not loved, and are done so by a god who knows no fear or doubt and possesses no contradiction or reflection of himself to ever change. Miquella's Unalloyed Gold shall stop the Outer Gods, Radahn his promised consort shall face down all enemies as Godfrey did for Marika in ages past, and all shall know Miquella's thousand-year voyage as bliss for they know nothing different - their hearts having been shriven clean of all else.

Miquella means well, but without the things that make us human - our fears, our doubts, our love, he is too far removed from humanity to make the Age of Compassion. Miquella becomes the ultimate fallen paragon - one who believed he must sacrifice those things in order to bring about a better world, yet in the act of sacrificing those things, becomes incapable of doing it. Thus, the only right thing to do is to defeat him and his promised consort, to bring about your own age, and trust in yourself, the player, to not make the same mistakes either Marika or Miquella did.

Thanks for the question, Mistland.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[cuntstable]

morgotts very endearing to me in the sense that like yes he is an insane quirked up old man who got put through the torture sewer woodchipper as a baby but now upholds the torture sewer woodchipper system as the king. and is gamer-racist to you. but like hes also just kind of a oh poor thang to me. like the same energy as a fucked up old rescue dog with like mange and cataracts and half of its teeth missing and it growls at anything that moves and bites at anything that comes near it but its a bit endearing to you anyway. like oh poor thang…….

[velvet-apricots]

I firmly believe that Gideon Ofnir cannot be in places of power, surrounded by yes men. He NEEDS someone either above him telling him what to do or someone with a strong enough will to demand better from him (so Dolores).

If he is surrounded be yes-men he quickly devolves into what we see in Elden Ring. A man who says he’s after what is best for everyone, but will kill and manipulate to get that outcome. People stop being people. They become pawns or hindrances, burdens on his back that leech off his “hospitality”.

[troythecatfish]

[devils-twocents]

Miquella's Fairy tale

First and (probably) last post I'll ever make

ER: dlc rambling of Miquella's ideals and Berserk (not what you might think) thoughts undercut if interested

*To start I want to preface this and say I do not nor plan to read Berserk since it is well beyond my tolerance in subject and visual nor have I seen any lore videos prior to this post, but I did want to bring to attention the one arc that I do know a bit about

please be kind

The purpose of fairy tale's serve to educate and caution children to the harsh varieties of reality as one grows but when already faced with that reality it would be better to look for a happy ending instead

Miquella born twin to Malenia and both suffering afflictions from birth, the latter the curse of rot and the former eternal childhood.

From what I've been seeing from others in regards to disappointment in Miquella was that he was going to be the lands betweens messiah to a happy ending just as the in game characters have, but the harsh reality is is that was never going to be true. The games whole shtick and franchise as a whole was there are no good gods from Marika (her backstory changes nothing shes done) to Rennala, to Malenia and Radahn, to Ranni and now Miquella (with the exception of Godwyn cause he died without a paper trail).

Plus what with the reveal end fight to the whole Mohg/Radahn consort situation and mind control bewitchment makes everything we know of him feel like a lie. A stone cold mastermind pulling from every string to orchestrate his accent to godhood and leaving everything to bend to his wake? Or something?

What does any of this have to do with Berserk aside form an obvious parallel to Griffith? maybe? again ain't reading

But thing is he was kind in his efforts to try and cure his sister and make haven for her, the albinaurics, and the misbegotten. He was a genius for his work with the golden order fundamentalist and unalloyed gold.

But that's the thing

A child prodigy is still only a child

So the one arc I kinda know and wish to propose is 'The Lost Childern' specifically I wanna talk about Rosine

Rosine is a apostle later revealed to have been a friend of pov character Jill who has suffered from a lot of abuse from her father and other unspecified assaults, who clung to the fairy tale of Peekaf; the tale of a boy with elf like features being bullied by the other village children despite his parents love for him decides that they are not his real parents or people and heads to the misty woods to find his true family only to discover that his parents had begged the fae to save his life and in exchange would have some of there features, not appreciating the love of his parents Peekaf returns only to find 100 years had passed and he was left alone.

Despite not having an atypical happy ending Rosine took comfort and more likely related to feeling like an outcast from her questionable parentage.

She would often find things to preoccupy her time from going home and collected many strange things, one of them happening to be a magic stone. So she had sacrificed her parents in exchange for power to become a peter pan like figure wanting to spirit away the children of her village to something better despite the reality saying otherwise.

I bring this up since both Rosine and Miquella have suffered

Rosine as aforementioned and Miquella from both the failings of the Erdtree and golden child syndrome.

Miquella is genius, he is an empyrean, he is cursed with eternal childhood; more than likely can not physically nor more than likely mentally grow up and just like Rosine he wishes for better

for his sister

for his people

for himself

So it makes sense than that the best solution to all his problems would be a fairy tale happy ending by making the world a more gentle place.

But just like with Rosine there is a price that must be paid

For Rosine, her parents

For Miquella, his identity

Miquella wanted a child's fairy tale but he had a grown-up ending instead

Weather or not Miquella was actually a good person is debatable with the whatever the Malenia vs Rahdan thing was plus if Mohg was part of the plan from the start

not even gonna get to the vow, not today anyway

But anyway this was my half baked thoughts and could be completely wrong since GRRM was also writing the lore so who knows I had fun! :D

Thank you for reading and have a lovely day

[pillowenvelopchair]

Felt a little silly today, soooooo I might have compiled all of Rogier's dialogue (that is in the game) under the cut

STORMVEIL CASTLE:

(MEETING ROGIER FIRST IN STORMVEIL CASTLE)

“Ah, nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure's mine. Rogier's the name. A sorcerer, as you might have guessed.”

“I'm looking for a little something, here in the castle.”

“When I'm not hot-footing it from the troops, that is.”

“But enough about me, what are you doing here in Stormveil Castle?”

“This place is bristling with Tarnished hunters, you know. They sacrifice our kind, for grafting.”

“Not exactly a place I'd stroll into without a purpose in mind…”

(“I’M HERE TO DEFEAT GODRICK.”)

“I see. Here to challenge Godrick, and lay your hands upon a Great Rune, are you?”

“You can see it then, I take it? The guidance of grace.”

“Well, enjoy it while you can.”

“I'm Tarnished, like you.”

“But unlike you, I've seen neither hide nor hair of this guidance for the longest time.”

“Still, I won't forget how it felt when I first came here, to the Lands Between.”

“I'm privy to a few magical battle arts.”

“Would you care to learn one?”

“As a fellow Tarnished, once guided by grace. I'd love to help you out, if it please.”

( “I CAN’T TELL YOU.”)

“Of course. I understand.”

“Why place trust in a perfect stranger?”

“Be safe, then, stranger.

“Watch you don't get sacrificed, eh. I'll do the same.”

(SPEAKING WITH ROGIER AFTER YOU SAY “I CANT TELL YOU”)

“Oh? Something bothering you?”

“Or are you just trying to pass the time?”

“I'm curious how you ended up inside this castle.”

(SEEING ROGIER AGAIN)

“Oh? Keen to learn another battle art, are we?”

(SEEING ROGIER AGAIN AGAIN)

“Oh hello there, good to see you safe.”

(SEEING ROGIER AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN)

“Stopping by to learn a battle art or two?”

(AFTER LEARNING ROGIER'S BATTLE ARTS)

“The battle art you've learned is of the glintstone family.”

“They were conceived at the great Academy of Raya Lucaria, to the north of this castle.”

“In the past, they obeyed laws which contravened the Golden Order, or so I'm told.”

“Fascinating, isn't it?”

“That the Golden Order was pliable enough to absorb practices that contradicted itself in the past.”

“With the Order broken, twisted, and in need of repair,”

“Such adaptability is more important now than ever.”

ROUNDTABLE HOLD:

(MEETING ROGIER FIRST IN THE ROUNDTABLE HOLD)

“Pleased to meet you.”

“The name's Rogier. A sorcerer, by trade.”

“But now I'm in this sorry state.”

“I had a little mishap, and now I can't move.”

“As you might guess, it's far from ideal...”

“Ah, I know.”

“I'm privy to a few magical battle arts.”

“Would you care to learn one?”

“Time can move rather slowly, stuck here, you know.”

“A little conversation goes a long way.”

(MEETING ROGIER IN ROUNDTABLE HOLD, AFTER STORMVEIL CASTLE)

“Ah, we meet again after all.”

“I apologise for any offence given by my bearing, but I'm quite unable to move, you see.”

“So. What do you need? ”

(“I’VE DEFEATED GODRICK.”)

“Ah, you defeated Godrick and claimed yourself a Great Rune.”

“Mm, looks like we both got we wanted out of Stormveil, didn't we?”

“Well done, friend.”

“Something to mark the occasion. Go on, take it.”

“As you might've guessed, I still can't move. My fighting days are behind me.”

“No need to be polite, I've no use for it anymore.”

(“ABOUT THE MISSHAPEN CORPSE UNDER STORMVEIL”)

“The misshapen corpse under Stormveil?”

“That is a sacred relic. Of the black knives plot. As that famed night of assassination is known.”

“It happened during the Golden Age of the Erdtree, long before the shattering of the Elden Ring.”

“Someone stole a fragment of the Rune of Death from Maliketh, the Black Blade.”

“And on a bitter night, murdered Godwyn the Golden.”

“That was the first recorded Death of a demigod in all history.”

“And it became the catalyst. Soon, the Elden Ring was smashed, and thus sprang forth the war known as the Shattering.”

“I once wished to become a scholar, you see. I've spent many an hour scouring the archives for knowledge of that fateful plot.”

“The world has grown crooked, and if you intend to put it to rights,”

“You'd better understand what happened to make it this way, mm?”

(GIVE THE BLACK KNIFEPRINT)

“This...is a black knifeprint!”

“I can scarcely believe you managed to get your hands on this!”

“You recall our conversation about the Night of the Black Knives, yes?”

“They say the assassins who carried out the deed were scions of the Eternal City.”

“A group entirely of women, arrayed in armour of silver under cloaks which fooled the eye.”

“The knives they wielded though, were imparted with the power of the Rune of Death through sinister rite.”

“Please, I beg of you, lend me the knifeprint for a time.”

“I'd love nothing more than to tease out its secrets.”

“Though only a fragment, a very specific ritual had to be performed to impart the power of the Rune of Death.”

“Traces of the one who performed the rite are sure to remain in the imprint..”

“Half my body has been suffused with Death. I'm certain it will help me see.”

(TALKING TO ROGIER IN ROUNDTABLE HOLD)

“Always good to see you safe.”

“So. What do you need?”

(TALKING TO ROGIER AGAIN IN ROUNDTABLE HOLD)

“Oh, still need something?”

(“ABOUT D.”)

“Ah, so you've met D.”

“D is an old friend.”

“We found ourselves journeying together for a time, bound by our exploration of Death.”

“But our paths have since diverged. Never again to cross.”

“Though that's hardly an uncommon fate for two friends.”

(SECOND “ABOUT D”)

“D was telling me.”

“That he discovered the mark of the centipede.”

“The centipede is an ancient symbol of the cursemark.”

“As long as whoever finds and uses it is not nefarious by nature,”

“then we may be able to form an alliance.”

“If only I could speak to them in person.”

“And if they were like you, all the better.”

(AFTER ROGIER HAS EXAMINED THE KNIFEPRINT)

“Ahh, hello. I was hoping to see you.”

“My examination is complete. Here's the knifeprint back, with my thanks.”

“Now, I have a fairly good idea who performed the rite upon the blade. The person who orchestrated the Night of the Black Knives.”

“Lunar Princess Ranni. One of the children born to King Consort Radagon and his first wife, Renalla.”

“Demigod and sister to General Radahn and Praetor Rykard.”

“Her's was the name I discovered in the imprint.”

“Truly, you have my thanks.”

“But, if I might be so bold, I would also like to ask something more of you.”

“If Ranni truly is the one who plotted that fateful night,”

“then she should bear the cursemark of Destined Death somewhere upon her flesh.“

“I would like you to procure it for me.“

“And then all will be laid bare. I will have the answers I have sought for so long.”

“Don't fret, it is entirely in accordance with the guidance of grace.”

“If you seek to stand before the Elden Ring and become Elden Lord,”

“The answers you find will surely bolster your chances.”

(RANNI’S WHEREABOUTS)

“I have some idea of Ranni's potential whereabouts.”

“There's a manor to the north of the Academy of Raya Lucaria.”

“It is the familial home of the Carian royals from whom Ranni descends.”

“There's been talk of the old royals' vassals gathering there in recent years.”

“Ranni's whereabouts since the Shattering are a well-kept secret. She hasn't been seen even once.”

“But I suspect she might have returned to the manor in which she was born…”

“If Lunar Princess Ranni truly is the one who plotted that fateful night,”

“then she should bear the cursemark of Destined Death somewhere upon her flesh.”

“Would you be willing to procure it for me?”

“She may have returned to the manor that is her home.”

“The Royal Carian residence to the north of the Academy of Raya Lucaria.

(“WHY DO YOU WANT A CURSEMARK”)

“I'm afraid there's something I must tell you.”

“Do you know of Those Who Live in Death?”

“The very notion of life in death defies the Golden Order.”

“By D's account, these defiled fiends must be expunged.”

“But truth be told, I seek the cursemark to save them.”

“You may find this peculiar,”

“but I discovered something in my examination of the Night of the Black Knives.”

“These souls have committed no offence. They have every right to life, only, they happened to touch upon a flaw in the Order.”

(AFTER ROGIER TELLS YOU HIS INTENTIONS: “ABOUT D”)

“Yes, indeed.”

“If D knew what drives me now,”

“he would surely boil over with rage.”

“Or perhaps, he would even feel some pity.”

“But no need to fret, none of that will come to pass.”

“I can tell a good lie when I need to.”

“And...that thing is to blame for the shape I'm in now…”

“I urge the utmost caution. Don't disturb the corpse more than necessary…”

(TALKING TO ROGIER AGAIN IN THE ROUNDTABLE HOLD)

“Oh? Forgot something, did you?”

“Alright there. Good to see you safe.”

(“RANNI CAST OFF HER CURSEMARK”)

“I see…”

“When Ranni shed her flesh, she shed the cursemark, too.”

“You know, not everyone would trust such a tale...”

“But, if she in her current form is nothing more than the living doll you profess...”

“Then perhaps it's true after all.”

“Hmm.”

“Forgive the bluntness of the notion, but...”

“How would you like to become one of Ranni's vassals?”

“Ah, only in order to get what we want, of course.”

“The location of the body which bore the cursemark, which right now I haven't the faintest.”

“And the best way to find out is for you to enter her service and take a poke around on the sly.”

“I know you've got what it takes.”

“Not only are you a superb fighter, but people want to trust you. I've seen it.”

(ROGIER’S PROPOSITION)

“Can you become Ranni's vassal to advance our agenda?”

“While in her service, you'll be able to take a poke around on the sly.”

“And determine the location of her original body that bears the cursemark.”

“I realise that I'm asking you to put yourself in grave danger.”

“But I know you've got what it takes. Quite possibly the only one, in fact.”

“Not only are you a superb fighter, but people want to trust you. I've seen it.”

(AFTER BECOMING RANNI’S VASSAL)

“Hmm. Maybe I should tell you.”

“Lately, I feel I'm on the precipice…”

“Of falling into a deep...fathomless slumber.”

“And I have an inkling it could spell trouble for you, somehow.”

“So I just wanted to get the apology out of the way, beforehand.”

“Since you're so scary and all.”

[mrslittletall]

I want to type down my thoughts about Mohg Lord of Blood and how I interpret his story and lore. Please be aware that these are solely my headcanons and nobody has to abide by them. Also, this text will have mentions of incest and non-con. You have been warned. See the text under the cut. 

What do we know about Mohg? Not much actually. As always, canon gives us very little. We only have a few stated things. 

- He is an omen and the twin brother of Morgott. Both of them were raised and shackled in the sewers. 

- He claimed a shard of the Elden Ring for himself, like each of Marika’s children. 

- He decided to take Miquella away from the Haligtree. It is heavily implied that it was an abduction. We can see him carrying away Miquella’s unconscious body in the intro sequence of the game. 

- He is living up to his accursed blood and has formed a whole magic system around it.

- He is involved with an outer god, the Formless Mother. 

- He wants to ascend the cursed Miquella to full godhood. 

- He created a dynasty that he wants to rule over. 

Where do we start with Mohg? Probably his childhood because it sucked. Omen are a sign of the Crucible and therefore the Golden Order is not happy about him, so Marika and Godfrey tossed their twins into the sewers. It can be argued that maybe Godfrey sometimes visited them or that they only got tossed into the sewers after some time passed, but ultimately, both Mohg and Morgott suffered from parental neglect and abandonment and both of them suffered quite some trauma from it. 

Here I have to say, Morgott and Mohg are two sides of the same coin. They suffered the same abuse, but both of them decided to cope very differently with it. Morgott coped by rejecting his omen blood, seeing it as the curse the Golden Order wants it to be and fully leaning into their beliefs. Even though Morgott had so much love to give for the Golden Order and the Erdtree, the Erdtree and the Golden Order never loved him back, trapping him in a cycle of self-hatred. 

Mohg, on the other hand, decided to fully embrace his accursed blood. We don’t know why exactly, but we know that he had his blood pots as a child already, so I like to think the Formless Mother contacted him at an early age, helping to put him on his path. Mohg never knew how it was to be loved by his parents and down the way he lost his brother to the Golden Order, so he got a very twisted and wrong idea of love. 

For Mohg, love is something that needs to be taken and given by force. He doesn’t really get the concept of consent, he is utterly convinced that if he loves someone, then that one will love him back. It doesn’t matter that they had to be kidnapped, they are part of the Mohgywn Dynasty now and the Mohgwyn Dynasty is all about love. Characters like Varre who have a fanatic devotion to Mohg only strengthen this point. 

What did Mohg do during the shattering? He surely claimed one of the shards of the Elden Ring for himself, because that is what the Great Runes are. But other than his siblings, he didn’t partake in the war. Because Mohg has no interest in the Elden Ring as a whole or to be the ruler of Leyndell. 

Mohg wants to have his own kingdom to rule, the Mohgwyn Dynasty, a kingdom of blood, a dynasty he can be the ruler and founder of. I think like Ranni, Mohg fucked off to do his own thing while all the sieges during the Shattering happened. He had no interest in fighting them and also, why should he claim someone else’s kingdom if it would not be his? Why should he risk his life fighting the undefeated Malenia or the Starscourge? 

No, instead, Mohg did his thing mostly in secret. He abducted the war surgeons, he experimented with the bloody fingers, he recruited several sanguine nobles, who either are omens like him or humans that altered their body once they got a taste of his blood. Mohg was patiently and silently building up his army. From the war surgeons, only Varre is active, because he is the only one who has mind intact, and his goal is to recruit more Tarnished into Bloody Fingers. The sanguine nobles are roaming the Land’s Between, probably searching for more recruits to be kidnapped, which doesn’t work with our Tarnished because they turn into grace upon dying. 

Yes, it might be argued why they also attack when you are a Bloody Finger, but that is just game play shenanigans and not really proof of the lore.

So where does Miquella come in all this? So first thing first, I am absolutely convinced that Mohg genuinely loves Miquella. He probably was at the Haligtree for some time and met him there. When it came to start his dynasty, Mohg needed someone to start the dynasty with, so it was Miquella he took. 

And also, MIquella is an empyrean. That was perfect for Mohg, because he isn’t an empyrean. Now the question is… why does Mohg need an empyrean?

These are only speculations, but looking at the other empyreans, pretty much all of them are associated with an outer god. 

Marika -> The Greater Will

Ranni -> The Dark Moon

Malenia -> The Scarlet Rot

We don’t know about Miquella, but I think it might also have been the Greater Will, because according to Ranni, the two fingers are assigning empyreans. Ranni cast her great rune and flesh away to escape her fate, but she stayed an empyrean and I guess the dark moon is the outer god that spoke to her and had similar plans to her goals. 

Malenia is downright cursed with her outer god. It was one of the things that Miquella tried to get rid of. He was creating an item that can delete the influence of an outer god. 

So, Mohg is also associated with an outer god. The Formless Mother. 

What is Mohg not? An empyrean. 

It could very well be that the Formless Mother asked for an empyrean, that she needs an empyrean present to be fully able to come into the world, to interact with it, to be able to be hit by Mohg’s trident. 

Yes, I know, we can also do the same thing when we use Mohg’s trident, but during that time Miquella and the Formless Mother are still around, it is simply Mohg that is missing. Besides, we are carrying around his great rune which might also have relevance to why it works. 

So, Mohg wants to start a dynasty. He cannot start a dynasty on his own, so he needed Miquella. The Formless Mother probably needed an empyrean. So Mohg could kill two birds with one stone. He could get his love and an empyrean at the same time. 

Is Miquella on board with this?

Honestly, I don’t think so. From the little lore we have of him, he seems to care mostly about his sister and the Haligtree. There is no reason for him to leave the Haligtree and let it fall to the rot and there is no reason for him to leave his sister behind to play around with Mohg. It might even be possible that he stayed asleep in his cocoon on purpose. “Mohg did not receive a response from the young empyrean”. 

I interpret it in a way that Miquella was in love with Malenia. More than the love of siblings. And maybe Malenia shared the sentiment, as her brother was one of the only ones not afraid of her rot. Either way, it probably was a very codependent relationship. Mohg pretty much took the opportunity when Malenia was exhausted or away to snatch MIquella away and she didn’t even notice that Miquella was gone, ever guarding a brother that was not there anymore. 

We could also get into Malenia, but the text is already long enough. 

So, Mohg is forcing Miquella to undergo transformation that he didn’t consent to and maybe even forced himself on his sleeping body. Oh who am I kidding, it is kinda canon that he is coursing around in blood form in Miquella’s veins. If that is sexual or not is up to your own interpretation, but there is a certain intimacy to literally flow in the veins of your beloved. 

Also, Mohg feels to me like… a very spiteful character. He was told his whole life that he is cursed and hated and should be locked away, so he totally embraced it. “You called me a monster, now I show you what kind of monster I can be.” But he also is surprisingly gentle, only that he has the problem that he doesn’t get or doesn’t want to take a no, forcing his love on anyone, if they want or not. And the worst thing is, Mohg is entirely genuine with his feelings. He doesn’t even think that he does something wrong, because that is how he understands love. As something that has to be taken by force and surely everyone else agrees to it. 

I am absolutely convinced that Mohg wants to rule over his dynasty. It is called Mohgwyn and he calls himself the Lord of Blood. He doesn’t call it Miquellawyn and he doesn’t call himself “Miquella’s consort”. If he would not want the power, he would not make it so clear that he is the lord, he would not dress himself in such fancy robes and he would not be interested in keeping Miquella “his and his alone.” 

Mohg feels very very obsessive to me. He cannot bear the thought that Miquella could be taken away. Taken, not that Miquella would leave him. Because Mohg is convinced that love has to be taken, not earned. When the Tarnished comes and doesn’t kneel in front of him, he doesn’t even consider they are there for his rune, he thinks they are there for Miquella. 

“Miquella is mine, and mine alone.” 

He repeated that over and over when I fought him, each time when I died. That does not sound like someone to me who is not interested in power or who managed to convince Miquella to come to him of his own free will. 

Mohg is possessive, spiteful, embraces his nature as an omen, deeply religious to the Formless Mother and he doesn’t want anyone to kick him around. That is what Mohgwyn is about. Mohgwyn is his and his alone. Just like Miquella is his and his alone. 

Mohg is coping with his trauma by forcing his love on others and creating a kingdom around the concept of love, a twisted and sick concept of love, but love nonetheless.

For the Moghwyn dynasty… with love! 

So, does Mohg have an ultimate goal? I guess after he has built up his Dynasty, he might try and seize the Land’s Between and try to get his order of blood out there, but his plan is still very early, so there was no way that he could create a mending rune for the Elden Ring that would create the “Order of Blood”. No Lord of Blood ending unfortunately… 

He is optional in game, but if he is killed, then his plan cannot come into fruition anyway. If not.. well, the DLC seems to be Miquella centric, so maybe we learn something more about the whole deal. We simply have to wait and see.

Like I said, in the beginning. These are simply my thoughts and headcanons about Mohg. Nobody has to agree with them. I simply looked at the lore and came to my own conclusion. I am not attacking anyone specific with this text, I just wanted to put down my own interpretation of Mohg’s character and lore with the little tidbits of information I have seen in canon. 

Mohg is a deeply fascinating character to me and I would like to write him with nuance. I hope that I will succeed in the future, when I am able to get back to my writing.  

[titan-wolfdog]

I don’t know what I was expecting from Malenia’s battle other than a ridiculously hard fight, which I did get, but the rage people have for her seems... unjustified, now

It’s such a beautiful sequence as a whole, her voice, the way she challenges you, WARNS you to turn your back and give up, that your chances are very slim, she DANCES and skirts around you in one of the best displays I’ve seen since I battled Midir and Gael back to back

I have yet to defeat her, but y’all, some of those complaining are really disgusting in the way they refer to her. We get it, you couldn’t beat her, neither have I??? And you don’t see me spouting misogynistic crap or barfing out incel rhetoric. So pathetic tbh

[miirshroom]

Shadow of the Erdtree Ending (Spoiler)

I haven't gotten to that point myself yet, because I dislike rushing and will probably spend weeks combing through the environment. But I also find it more efficient to work with the ending in mind and the info is out there already so...

My thoughts on the reaction: the Miquella twist was in no way out of nowhere. The Bewitching Branch description was a smoking gun and this is payoff. Miquella being a childish character with bizarre desires for a consort is entirely expected because the nature of his being is to be an Eternal Child. Makes sense that Godwyn has almost nothing to do with this storyline because he was the old tarnished version of Miquella - Marika's older kid left behind in favour of the new Golden Child.

However, having gotten a more solid idea of the themes that FromSoft are going for here, people who are saying "this vindicates Mohg entirely" are completely missing the point. Think about where the DLC is accessed. Think about how Mohg in his cutscene emerges from the blood of the corpse in the cocoon. And maybe think of all of the things that were discarded from Miquella to reach the point that he does. The framing here is that Mohg imagines himself to be "bewitched" and hollowed out by Miquella, and so the flattened and idealized version of Miquella memorialized in this death dream complies by doing exactly that.

Elden Ring is and always has been a game about perspectives. The Shadowlands contains the worst and most pessimistic perspective by design. By getting inside Mohg's head and presenting his twisted perspective it may in a roundabout way validate the idea that the living Miquella had no particular mind control powers. More likely, Miquella had charisma and big dreams, but it was a point of frustration that he needed to metamorphose into an adult form to make those dreams reality for everyone. And it was his followers who crafted the Bewitching Branch in his name because they simply believed in him for the sake of idealism alone. But by inviting everyone to share in the dream with no filtering process they inevitably invited bad actors into the fold.

In other words, I suspect that going through this story and concluding that Mohg did no wrong is like reading Lolita and concluding that the narrator did nothing wrong.