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crypt119 · 2 years ago

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What if?

Radahn never went mad?

Rykard is the son of his father, a zealot who walked the path of faith. Though he path may have led to other, darker places, the stone and woodwork are of the same make.

Ranni is her mother’s daughter. Moon sorcery runs in her veins and her own Dark Moon shone upon her during her Ascension ceremony

Radahn is the middle child, and takes equally from both.

From his mother, a knack for magic, albeit combat magics tailored to supplement his swordsmanship and footwork.

From his father, sheer martial might, and an appreciation for the powers that be, though his path is not so narrow as his brother.

Radahn is 7 when he meets his father’s subordinate, a young man with ears on his helm and eyes on his breast plate. A short lecture on the oneness of incantation and magicks makes all the difference.

At 17 , Radahn is an accomplished fighter and a skilled commander, but his heart yearns to see his fathers realms, to walk his father footsteps and learn the secrets of the world.

He rides first with the albinurics of liurnia, then his Carian cousins along the shore. Then he rides further apace, and for a time, studies under a wise tortoise, who again teaches how spells and incantations are 2 sides of the same power .

He journeys to the capital, studying under the commanders of leyndell, training and honing his skill with his dual greatswords against Leyndell’s finest. It is here he hears rumours in the soldier’s taverns , of an underground network beneath the capital sewers, when omens, born of the Crucible, roam free. 2 omens in particular of the royal line. Within a week,the sewers are filled with slaughtered vermin, but Radahn finds no kin among the horned denizens of the deep.

Finally, he makes the pilgrimage to the consecrated snowfields, and amidst the ruins of his father great victory, he finds what he is looking for.

For 2 years he lives among the Firemonks, trying vainly to dissect their secrets. However it is in vain, and all he has to show for his efforts are a single incantation, meagre, yet perhaps useful in it own right.

Flame, Cleanse me

It is at this point that Radahn feels it time to return home, but as he shrugs on his old armor , something is wrong.

His armor, once snug and fitted, is too short and tight, almost built for a smaller man. With dawning horror, Radahn strips to his breechs and finds a mirror. There , he realises the truth.

While he had been studying the flame, the Fell flame had been reaching within in, twisting, changing him, to what end he cannot tell, but he is already 2 feet a taller and just and much wider as before, and perhaps more horrifying, a faint tattoo has emerged on his chest

A tattoo of a single closed eye

Dressed in the loose tunics of the monks, he never noticed the size change, and noted how he has to stoop under doors am just that little more. It’s obvious now, and with his new strength he Carries his beloved horse down the mountain , not daring to risk his mount under his new weight.

A few harried weeks of travel and some days of gaping mouth aside, Radahn takes residence in the archives of the Academy, searching for a solution. Not his size mind you, he saw no detriment other than the unsolicited meddling of a half dead god, but his beloved Leonard. when mounted on his return, He almost died under his weight, would have had his fathers retainers not stepped in, and fate a little crueler.

His research led nowhere except for the chance encounter with a pale traveller seeking scholarship and shelter. He bore a new magic so unlike the glintstone arts , one that bent the very stars to his will. When Radahn is first held in the air with a flick of a finger, his next act is to beg to be taught these arts. With a laugh, the traveller claims only to be a dabbler, unfit to be called master.

The traveller sends him far to the east, through the lush fields of limgrave to the arid lands of Caelid. There, an old master awaits, skin like stone, and under his tutelage Radahn masters the gravity arts as if born to them. His dual swords slowly change as his magic flows through them day in and out, and his quests to hunt the beast from beyond the stars only grows their power. He also finds love, love for the lands around him, and in time Caelid becomes known as the Land of Radahn, the Starscourge. The Land is arid and difficult to farm, but good roads and frequent patrols make Caelid a boon for traders , merchants and clients, for the sister city of Sellen , masters of the Night sorceries, sells their skills to the highest bidder. Minor assasinations aside, the peace is kept and the people are happy

This peace could not last long.

Radagon abandons his wife to be with Marika, a union that bears cursed twins, not unlike another birth all those years ago. Radahn bears their existence with measured grace. While He may not hate them, they are an eternal reminder of what happened to his mother, now reduced to a gibberish shade of her former self

The Shattering only worsens their ties, a shard falling to Radahn’s hands as he faces his older half brother in single combat. Satisfied with his rune, he returns to Caelid and seals their borders, confidants in their safety while the northern lands rage.

Nothing prepares him for Malenia’s March

The Haligtree had no quarrel with the Caelid Wilds, yet the cursed swordswoman marches 3 months to challenge his forces, demanding the return of Miquella, or bring war upon their heads. He obliged them, his forces hardened and battle tested against the monsters of the waste, giant dogs and birds that respect only strength and feed on weakness.

The battle is a blood bath with Radahn barely winning, his Redmans perhaps a tad more skilled than the Haligtrees Cleabrot knights, yet it all comes down to the clash of demigods.

The battle ends much the same. Her swords peircing his back, the Aeonia blooming on her back. Yet as the Scarlet rot rushes through his veins, Something else awakens

And Burns

Flames of the Fell God, Master of the Flame Eternal, deliver me from this plague

Thy prayers be answered, and my price simple. Journey as an man, with but the swords in your back and your magicks, and claims the elden throne in the name of the Fell Flame

Just as the rot burst on throughout caelid, scouring renewing flames explodes from radahns chest, his Great Rune pulsing from the raw energy.

When Radahn awakes, his forces are near decimated, and malenia is nowhere to be found. Not dead, for her sword and helm are missing.

The land is scoured but no trace of rot lingers in its waters, though the Fell god has made a shrine upon the land , with an Eternal flame burning within the old swamps

The story is told to his forces, he stays for a a week to restore his citadel and cleanse the wilds of the rot. Then he packs his armor, readies his bow and sword, and saddles his trusted Leonard

Godrick awaits

#elden ring #headcanon #general radahn #what if

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yournextflame · 2 years ago

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Gods and Deities of the Lands Between

My first attempt to sort out different gods and godike beings of Elden Ring. I used Japanese txt archive as English translation sometimes is questionable at best or misses some very important nuances.

外なる神 - outer god

古き神 - ancient god

神 - god, vessel for an outer god, an ancient god or the Elden Ring

神人 - Empyrean (literally “god-person”)

デミゴッド - demigod (written in katakana, doesn't use the kanji for god)

Known outer gods: Formless Mother (Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear), unknown god of Twinbirds (The twinbird is said to be the envoys of the outer god in the description of Kite Shield), outer god of Rot (Scorpion's Stinger)

Known ancient gods: Flame of Frenzy (Fingerprint Stone Shield), ancient god of Rot (Blue Dancer Charm), Fell God (Fire Monk set)

Nowhere in either script is the Greater Will identified as an outer god, same with Ranni’s Dark Moon, Rennala’s Full Moon or Nox’s Black Moon

Known gods: Vessels of the Elden Ring - Marika, Placidusax‘s Sovereign, Malenia as Goddess of Rot 腐敗の女神, Radagon at the end of the game

Marika is the god of current age, age of the Erdtree, and she is the vessel of the Elden Ring

The Golden Order is founded on the principle that Marika is the one true god (c) brother Corhyn

黄金律は、女王マリカを唯一の神とする律です。それなのに…

Placidusax‘s Sovereign

The Dragonlord whose seat lies at the heart of the storm beyond time is said to have been Elden Lord in the age before the Erdtree. Once his god was fled, the lord continued to await its return

時の狭間、嵐の中心に座す竜王は黄金樹の前史、エルデの王であったというだが神は去り、王は帰還を待ち続けていた

Yes, Placidusax‘s god wasn’t an outer god 外なる神 or an ancient god 古き神, it was a host of the Elden Ring, the same kind of god 神 as Marika. Most likely it ruled during the age of Crucible.

It seems like all kind of deities need an avatar (Empyrean/god) to manifest their power in the Lands Between.

Known Empyreans: Ranni, Miquella, Malenia, Marika/Radagon, Gloam-Eyed Queen; questionable - Placidusax’s Sovereign must be an Empyrean to become a vessel later, which opens an interesting possibility that not only humans can be chosen as Empyreans

Ranni, Miquella and Malenia belong to the new generation of Empyreans:

Worth noting that Ranni uses phrase “coming age”, considering that Placi’s god was replaced by Marika, it’s very possible that Marika’s age was coming to an end as well, but that’s a topic for a different post.

Marika’s and Radagon’s scarseals have the same description: these seals represent the lifelong duty of those chosen by the gods

Description of Black Flame Ritual: the Gloam-Eyed Queen led the apostles. It is said that she was an Empyrean chosen by the Fingers (questionable: Two or Three?)

(Interesting that all current Empyreans are fathered by Radagon, but nothing suggests that Marika and GEQ were relatives)

Questionable: everything about Fell God

それは、女王マリカが討ち取ったとされるかつて巨人たちが祀った悪神である

Once worshipped by the giants, this evil deity is believed to have been slain by Queen Marika ( One-Eyed Shield)

This description contradicts with the description of Glame of the Fell God

Arghanthy, the chief guardian of the Flame, had kept this incantation a well-kept secret until it was stolen by Adan. The fell god still lurks within the Fire Giants

それは、アダンが盗み出した監視者の長、アーガンティの秘匿である悪神は、火の巨人の内に、今も隠れている

it is said that Fell God was slain by Marika, but somehow is still alive. Both descriptions are using Fell God 悪神, but Firemonks Armor uses 火の巨人 Fire Giants, while One-Eyed Shield only mentions Giants 巨人.

Possible solution: the legend about Marika is a lie, Marika defeated a vessel of the Fell God, but not the Feel God himself, Elden Ring lore is a mess

Questionable: Serpent deity Eiglay is written 蛇神, but the Rykard’s Great Serpent is 大蛇.

Interesting fact: Radahn is called the War God 戦神 in Japanese, but it’s used as a monicker, people simply respect his strength.

Questionable: maybe “ancient god” is just a different way to call outer gods, or it’s a hint that outer gods weren’t always “outer” to the Lands Between

Common misconception №1: the Greater Will is antagonistic to the outer gods

Malenia’s Great Rune is part of the Elden Ring, Order of Rot 腐敗の律 is still an Order 律. The concept of Order 律 is the key point of the Greater Will. The Greater Will is antagonistic to the Flame of Frenzy, which represents Chaos.

Common misconception №2: Ranni’s ending Age of the Stars bans the outer gods or the Greater Will

Description of Memory Stone:

Said to be a fragment of the black moon that once hung above the Eternal City

Description of Moon of Nokstella:

This talisman represents the lost black moon. The moon of Nokstella was the guide of countless stars

Guess what happened with the Nox, despite worship of the black moon and stars

Long ago, the Nox invoked the ire of the Greater Will, and were banished to the shadow realm deep underground

That’s not counting a giant Lake of Rot in Nox ruins. Guys were double-teamed by both Greater Will and outer gods.

Now cometh the age of the stars. A thousand year voyage under the wisdom of the Moon

Ranni minimizes the influence of the Order for 1000 years, she doesn’t remove it entirely and forever like the Flame of Frenzy, nor she does anything with the outer gods (it’s Miquella’s goal to banish them), she simply brings Order of the Chill Night 冷たい夜の律 until the next coming age.

Conclusion: no god rules forever.

#elden ring #Ranni #marika #miquella #Placidusax #gloam-eyed Queen #malenia #elden ring lore #lore theories #longread #JP

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