#golden rings lore

[seasonal-writes]

HELLO BUDDY take 2 of this ask asdfkjsfd tumblr don't delete my things challenge

21.  Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write?

40.  Share some backstory for one of your characters (I'm not saying golden rings!impulse specifically but also if you feeel like it... 👀)

46.  Do you reread your own stories?

<3

:D Hi buddy hey guy hey dudeee

21.  Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? Ooooh. Um.. Well. I'm a rancher writer. If that wasn't obvious sdkfjskf. So tango and jimmy are at the top of the list. BUT I will say that when I've experimented with others before, briefly, I REALLY love writing Scott. Like, he's so sassy and cool and just <333 I love writing him too!

40.  Share some backstory for one of your characters (I'm not saying golden rings!impulse specifically but also if you feeel like it... 👀) my man asks for golden rings!impulse, how could i EVER refuse?? So, Impulse (in my Golden Rings AU) is obviously Tango's personal guard. But! He's actually a real knight, too. He was brought into guard training in the palace at a pretty young age, like, around 13 or so? After that, he went through guard training for a while, and that's when he was assigned to protect Tango (since he's actually older than Tango by a few good years, so it's not like it was child-watching-child y'know). BUT like. Impulse was impressive as a guard right out of the gate. I mean, the guy could fight like hell, was strong, had the observation skills of an eagle—not to mention being wildly loyal to his prince—and was just all around very very good at his job. So, this being said, by the time he was in his early "adult" years, he was officially knighted as Sir Impulse. (But he doesn't really like being called that.) He ends up holding a TON of rank in the Nether Kingdom's system of guards/even the military as well. ALSO I know that's probably not how actual knighting works, but this is MY AU and I get to decide what constitutes knighting someone, skdfjskdf. Who knows! Maybe that's all the Nether Kingdom needs for someone to be considered a knight. For him to be almost unnervingly devoted to Prince Tango and to be a kickass protector. As far as like, early family life goes and stuff, I haven't thought much about it? It sounds terrible, but most of Impulse's backstory, to me, comes from his years with Tango. The two did spend a lot of their really formative years together, so. That's kinda his late childhood-early teens to me. I've wanted to write some backstory-moments of theirs for the longest time. Maybe I'll do that when I'm feelin up to it! hopefully that wasn't a super lame answer haha<3

46.  Do you reread your own stories?

Occasionally, yes! I'll re-read my stories mostly when I'm like. fucking around in my google docs and reorganizing. Or when I'm bored in lecture. Plus, I love reading old stuff to see how my style has changed over time. It's fun! Thanks for the ask, darling theo <3 :D

[parasol-mortis]

Some Godwyn sketches that were living in my head rent free after reading a lore theory on reddit. It theorized that Godwyn was ascending to godhood by becoming a true dragon, in alignment with the myth of the koi fish swimming up stream until it became a dragon.

So I played around with that design as if it were a phase shift in his boss fight, with his weird oyster face opening up and revealing his true form, a rancid deathblight dragon.

Also playing around that the oyster face isn't Godwyns real face, but rather just like a real oyster, with Godwyns head is being reformed within it much like like what happens in real oysters when they make pearls (instead of calcium it's deathblight, and the "outside particle" is Godwyns corpse being covered and changed to create the Prince of Death.) (This is also like... visually could be compared to Griffith being rebirthed through the red behelit into Femto, since I know Miyazaki loves that Berserk stuff)

[alina-is-hollowing]

this got ship of theseus'd so badly but idc this is how i feel on sote lorewise

note: its not like im disregarding the lore fromsoft put in completely. the story is still amazing and I recognize and understand the direction they want the characters to go down. It's just that I can't help but hold onto a scenario where all this didn't happened and they got to live as normally and happily as possible like pre-shattering ya know

[toweringclam]

Something I don't think enough people talk about in Elden Ring lore is the usurpation of Marika by Radagon.

It's subtle, but the signs are all there. The most obvious are in their statues and portraits.

Marika is bowing her head and in shadow. Radagon is looking towards the Erdtree with his head held high. The choice to have his hand sticking out towards the viewer is a really odd one. He wants to emphasize that pose. The power difference between these two pictures is staggering.

Then there are the statues at the churches:

Marika is again bowing her head and her arms are up in the same crucifixion pose she's in at the end of the game, while Radagon is in a cruciform pose. Superimpose the two, and he's the cross she's hung on. Plus, behind him is the lattice that seals off the Erdtree. Her feet aren't on the ground, while his feet are and are surrounded by roots (a common symbol in statues throughout the Lands Between). And if these two statues were made by the same sculptor at the same time, then all the statues across the lands between were replaced at around the same time, replacing any possible depictions of Godfrey as well as older depictions of Marika.

And we know what those older depictions looked like! Look at the Stake of Marika (when it isn't broken, that is):

This is more likely an older depiction. Her arms are wide for an embrace, not suspended above her. She's looking down in benevolence, not defeat.

We see the same pose in the intro, her statue looking down on the dead Tarnished being sent home. Since this takes place outside the Lands Between, this must be the depiction that the Tarnished carried with them:

And then there's the Church of Pilgrimage in the Weeping Peninsula. This is where the Tarnished left from and were supposed to one day return. There's a statue of Radagon there, but Melina doesn't mention him. She just mentions Godfrey.

Then, after thy death, I will give back what I once claimed. Return to the Lands Between, wage war, and brandish the Elden Ring. Grow strong in the face of death. Warriors of my lord. Lord Godfrey.

Think about this. Really think about it. Why would she want them to come back? Why would she want them to wage war against her?

She refers to Radagon as "leal hound of the Golden Order" while dressing him down. To me, this implies that she is currently at odds with the Golden Order. And if you think about it, none of the Golden Order spells refer to her. Some of the Erdtree incantations do. But there's very little even mentioning her once Radagon is her husband.

It just seems really obvious to me that Radagon was the one calling the shots in the last days before the Shattering.

[gobbogoo]

A Brief Analysis of Elden Ring's Miquella

Miquella is a manifestation of the childish question: "why can't we all just get along?"

His power to "charm" others is an answer to that question, and what makes it so frightening is that everyone IS happier when under the charm's effects; they arguably become much kinder versions of themselves, but that forced compassion is its own form of tyranny. You can't make people get along without removing their autonomy.

Miquella likely recognized this once, as with one notable exception there's no record of him ever forcing his will upon others within the Lands Between. It was only after trying and failing to save Malenia, Godwyn, and the Lands Between itself that his desperation to have ANY impact on things made him forsake his morals and take control of Mohg's mind.

Miquella came to believe his curse of eternal nascence was responsible for his impotence. He told himself if he could just break free of his youth, he'd finally be able to help everyone like he always wanted. What he didn't realize was that adulthood comes at the price of childhood innocence, and by forcing himself to grow up, he was leaving behind everything that once defined him. The curse was a part of who he was, and to hate it was to hate himself.

We never truly meet Miquella in-game, because Miquella lies in pieces scattered across the Realm of Shadow. Instead we find something that claims to be him, even as it stands in opposition to everything he believed in.

His story is a cautionary tale about the dangers of self-sacrifice. You cannot aid others by burning yourself out, and you cannot love others if you do not love yourself. Miquella allowed his selflessness to destroyed him, and in doing so he ultimately harmed all those he wished to help.

[tlgtw]

Bits and pieces of the still incredibly written backstory of Elden Ring continue to poke out from the dogwater, as it were.

St. Trina, as we learn, was a specific aspect of Miquella that was made separate: In Miquella's words, St Trina was the embodiment of his 'love.' And when he abandoned St Trina, he abandoned that aspect of himself that made her.

This newly introduced example reveals to us what the nature of Radagon's exactly was, in turn.

Radagon, the 'other half' of Marika in the exact same way that St Trina had been for Miquella, we learn here, had *himself* been a specific singular aspect of Marika's emotions or feelings.

With St Trina having been made out of Miquella's 'love.'

You wonder, too, what Radagon should have been made from.

What aspect of herself did Marika separate into her second person, as called by her the "Loyal Dog of the Golden Order"? We know Radagon was created prior to the creation of the Golden Order itself, since he was involved in the invasion of Liurnia.

So at the same time as Marika was married to Godfrey, begetting Godwyn and Mogh and Morgott. Radagon was married to Renalla, begetting Rykard and Radahn and raising the potential successor of Marika--the Empyrean Ranni. He was given a massive amount of responsibility, the seeming crux of the Liurnian-Leyndell alliance that ended the Liurnian Wars that Marika's empire was losing, and he by every account was completely dedicated and successful; even weakening the strength of the Carian royal family by reducing their practicing of astrology.

All yet, when push came to shove: After Godwyn was assassinated and Marika sought to destroy the Elden Ring. It was Radagon who dropped everything he had and stepped in to stop her.

"Proudly" as his Golden Order Greatsword says,

Radagon divorced his first wife, married his 'original self,' begettedthe Twin Prodigies Miquella and Malenia as two more potential successors to Queen Marika, set up the brutal inquisition and censorship of the Age of Radagon headed by his own son Rykard, and was even involved with the very the development of Golden Order fundamentalism!

Radagon did so much fucking stuff! He was so damn proactive! So what exactly must he have been!?

That Marika initially separated from herself? And who went on to try and stop her very own plans when they turned against the wishes of the Greater Will??

This conflicting 'half' of her original person! That nonetheless was all this strongly willed on his own!?

What part of Marika COULD Radagon have originally been!?!?!?

And it's awesome. It's really really well-designed writing.

Frankly, even, it's genius. It's not anything revolutionary in terms of narrative devices or anything like that, but it's really elegant. It's really meaningful and concise, and it's really cool!!!

A lot of Elden Ring's base game is, or now maybe--was. (It having been the basis of my entire show on YouTube.)

But the actual story, instead of solely the backstory, of the DLC, unfortunately, is not!

You ever seen a boss item whose entire description was literally entirely the game just fucking QUOTING ITSELF?

Hyetta at Frenzied Flame Proscription: "Become their lord. Take their torment, despair. Their affliction. Every sin, every curse. And melt it all away. As the Lord of Chaos."

Ghost outside Church of Inhibition in Liurnia: "Ahh, Lord Vyke, it seems that you were no lord, after all."

Midras's Flame of Frenzy, from killing Midras, Lord of Frenzied Flame:

Or! Better yet, ANOTHER boss spell, whose entire description is dedicated to literally just acknowledging its fucking colour!!

Land of Shadows, from killing the Scadutree Avatar:

I definitely sure wish I still hadn't!!

In fact, I don't think the level of vacuousness from Shadow of the Erdtree's descriptions has ever been seen before!

Not even in Dark Souls 3!!

AUGH

[sausage-rolll]

thinking long and hard about Godwyn and Fortissax's friendship like

>the dragons begin a war with the golden order

>Godwyn and Fortissax become “good friends” which brings an era of peace between the golden order and the dragons

>Godwyn goes on to begin the golden lineage with a completely unmentioned partner

>dragons are known to take the form of humans and even have relations with them, as seen with Vyke and Fortissax's sister Lanssax

>One of Godwyn’s many descendants is Godrick, who refers to the dragon in his arena as “kindred one”

>While Godwyn was the first demigod to fall during the night of the black knives, it’s implied that many others followed at the hands of the assassins. Due to the rest of the known descendants of Marika being alive, and no one else having a child pre-shattering it can be inferred that Godwyn's bloodline was specifically targeted for some reason. Since those are the only other demigods that existed at the time.

>Godwyn is assassinated and because him and Fortissax are such “Good friends” Fortissax proceeds to enter godwyns mind and spends decades, possibly centuries attempting to fight off the deathblight from within him, eventually succumbing to it themselves but still unwilling to abandon their “good friend” regardless.

[subzeroparade]

Now that I've finally chewed into the dlc, I can finally ask you about Messmer! What's your favorite Messmer lore or headcanon? What do you think about the Messmer Godwyn twin theory/headcanon? (and where do you think Messmer is on the age list if not Godwyn's twin?)

The long lore answer is in here - but probably one of my favourite headcanons is that he’s blind, or at least can’t see shit with the eye given to him by Marika, and so mostly sees the world through the eyes of his serpents. 

As for this twin theory, it’s honestly the first I hear of it?? Tbh I don’t find it super compelling - especially since Melina is canonically established as his sister. Personally I imagine them as fraternal twins and Marika’s first children pre-godhood (during the age of the Crucible/Hornsent), since both of them go practically unmentioned in the rest of the game’s broader world, as if they’ve been written out of existence. I love the idea that they did not make it, for multiple reasons, to the age of the Erdtree - Melina’s disappearance in connection to being the GEQ, and Messmer constrained to stay behind in the Shadow Realm because of his curse and his duty to wage this eternal crusade. 

I really think the canonical, in-game mention of Messmer knowing Radahn is messy for the timeline and more crucially a missed opportunity to play up a kind of damnatio memoriae situation for Marika’s children pre-Erdtree. I imagine Godwyn to be born to her at the height of her power as the Greater Will’s vassal, after passing into godhood, and believing he is her firstborn and heir only because Messmer and Melina have been written out of history and the Shadow Realm veiled from the world. This is also a way for me to keep continuity in my fics because I’m obstinate about that lol. Thanks for the ask! 

[x1702x]

Hm. Thinking about the rune of the unborn and the rebirthing egg, just Rennala in general.

I find interesting how in one video Zullie showed the inside of the egg, it being cramped with scholar bodies, which if i recall was cut outside of the cutscene because it would be too obvious.

I also find the way they are in fetal position intriguing as well.

The whole ordeal with Rebirth and grief with Rennala makes me ponder a little, the way shes constantly making more sweetings and losing them short after definitely takes a toll on her, I'd even say shes constantly in a feeling of post-partum depression/psychosis and grief.

Its said in her hat description that once Radagon left her she experienced heartbreak, and he left her with the egg and the red wolf all alone.

Now this is a little silly, but consider this:

Why would Radagon leave her with an Egg who grants rebirth?

Glad you asked! Here's my yap:

Its mostly headcanon BUT hear me out.

So, the sweetings, aka the young scholars. They dont look far from Rennala but, who are they exactly and why are they all clones? whos the original? where did these guppies come from?

In my headcanon, there was going to be a fourth carian, although the timing was unfavorable, Radagon left Rennala pregnant and alone, her children had grown apart from her and she felt helpless without her family (And also how the scholars turned in on her), grief led her to miscarry that child. The sweetings are modelled after the child she never could carry to term, alas the only one who would inherit her looks.

The egg being the catalyst for the sweetings isnt just a random bird analogy, the way she craddles the egg VAGUELY resembles how a woman would hold her womb durinng pregnancy, might be a reach but you know once you see it, you see it.

Where am going with this? She became helplessly dependant on the egg, as far as abusing the rebirth over, and over, and over, lowkey giving post partum depression, as I mentioned earlier.

Of course, these are short lived, thus makes it WORSE.

Also to add, the name in itself "Rune of the Unborn" is quite in the face, you literally seek to take her egg from her, egg which resembles a womb, egg which basically births the sweetings, that's not Rennala's rune, that was supposed to be the baby's if anything.

The babies being short lived also being a result of Rennala not feeling whole, the miscarriage and being broken still, never meant to be born, but she pushes herself, clinging to the little sanity left in her.

HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE RAHHHHHH🗣️���️

[space-blue]

SOTE rant (1)

One thing that I find very annoying, is the propensity for Lore video makers to completely jump on the DLC and analyse it in a void. Everyone is theory crafting like the base game doesn't exist anymore.

Everyone is taking Miquella's approach as the go to for divinity 101 and acting like only the people name dropped in the DLC matter, except for Radagon, who is very important, despite NEVER being named, ANYWHERE in the SOTE game files.

Oh no, excuse me, he's named ONCE in a delete dialogue (unless he speaks during battle but I was under the impression that he never does?) from Radahn:

Yet everyone is out there saying Marika used the gate to make herself a god and created Radagon in the process. And that he was created that way as her lord, and then immediately fathered Messmer and Melina.

But I... kind of don't see it? Why would SHE need to use a special vessel ritual like everyone is theorizing?

She already has a sworn lord : Godfrey.

Why is everyone making these Marika centric lore videos and never dropping the names of key characters?

Godfrey. Serosh. Maliketh. Why is nobody asking themselves WHEN did Marika get granted her "brother" Maliketh by the three fingers? Why is nobody making speculation on whether she had a pact with Hoarah Loux before becoming a god.

He could very well be the vessel needed. He doesn't need to have his soul separated from a body or any such nonsense. That's what Miquella ended up doing because he had no choice if he wanted to use Radahn.

Here is what we know of Godfrey :

Godfrey was a ferocious warrior. When he vowed to become a lord, he took the Beast Regent Serosh upon on his back to suppress the ceaseless lust for battle that raged within. The first demigods were The Elden Lord Godfrey and his offspring, the golden lineage. Crown of Godfrey, the first Elden Lord. The age of the Erdtree began amongst conflict, when Godfrey was lord of the battlefield. He led the War against the Giants. Faced the Storm Lord, alone. And then, there came a moment. When his last worthy enemy fell. And it was then, as the story is told, that the hue of Lord Godfrey's eyes faded. Helm of the Crucible Knights who served Godfrey, the first Elden Lord. Weapon of Godfrey, Elden Lord. It was broken in a battle fought as leader of the Tarnished during the Long March. This weapon is symbolic of Godfrey's vow to conduct himself as a lord, later becoming an emblem of the golden lineage. In the days of the past, a crown was warranted with strength.

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

This line either means that the voice of the game is lying, wrong, or not knowledgeable enough. Or that Messmer is not a demigod, or that Messmer is the son of Godfrey.

And while he does have red hair, he is cursed with a red flame... And his little sister, Melina, doesn't have the distinctive red hair of Radagon's children. She's also not a demigod as far as we know.

Messmer and Melina are named M like Mohg and Morgott! We have plenty of hints that they could be Godfrey's children, first and foremost being the canon base game text asserting all demigods first descended from him. We simply don't know otherwise.

It's also asserting he was the first Elden Lord, and not second or a later addition.

There's also his vow to conduct himself as a Lord, which seems like something he might have done prior to Marika making him Lord.

The beast depicted is Serosh, aged counselor who guides the golden lineage. The black nails protruding from golden fur are said to represent Serosh, Lord of Beasts, who went to become King Godfrey's Regent.

Serosh is very mysterious, and we just know he's some sort of limiter. I've made plenty of posts arguing for Maliketh and Serosh being the same type of beasts from the same global origins.

Beasts are reverred by the Hornsent! Our first boss is their storm beast guys, and the head looks quite similar to Serosh. Who, BTW, is also a spirit form?? Who turns real on command?

All this to say, it doesn't sound impossible at all, to me, that Marika would have come to the gate of divinity already having a lord lined up -- Godfrey -- and counsellors giving advice on how to execute her plan : Serosh and Metyr mother of fingers.

I assume it would be in Metyr's power to grand Marika her (necessary?) Shadowbound beast.

Isn't it interesting that Maliketh is a Shadowbound Beast? In our Shadow Realm DLC? He's never mentioned in the files, sadly.

But all of these people are key to Marika's ascension. I wish people would think about them more when they do their lore videos and not just roll right into creating Radagon out of thin air.

What bothers me most about the secret rite here, is that it says "the secret rite of the divine gateway", like THE rite, not A rite. It could be THE other one is not secret...

But more importantly, the line "usher in a god's return" just really does not fit EITHER of Miquella OR Marika. Neither of them is returning!! Maybe the God of Placidussax would be returning, but both Marika and Miquella are/try to ascend for the first time.

Miquella is also the only one with anyLord shennanigans we know of for sure.

I think Miquella divests himself of everything in order to comply with this ritual. So he has something to "return to". He sheds everything, so that he can pass through the gateway. But he's returning to an Empyrean's birthright. To a demi-god.

But we don't know that this is something Marika would have needed. We don't know that she used this specific ritual. After all, circumstances are VERY different for her :

The Gate of Divinity is fresh and bloody, implying a recent mass sacrifice. And then she plucks Gold from a corpse or receptacle of some sort.

None of this is depicted in Miquella's return, and he's not trying to emulate his mother, because her way of doing things came with a curse loaded "original sin". So we even have reason to believe Miquella would not actually be replicating the same ritual.

[starfreak]

Random Elden Ring Rant (Contains Spoilers, VERY LONG)

So, the Numen. We can choose it as a character preset, which tells us they come from another world, or another land. I say "or another land" because historically, America is referred to as the "New World," but it's not a separate planet. However, translations from the Japanese version of the game suggest that the world they come from is one of spirits, the dead, etc., so it could definitely be a Literal other world.

Marika is (rumored to be) a Numen, as are the Black Knife Assassins that participated in the Night of Black Knives.

If Marika is Numen, then it stands to reason so is Radagon, since they are the same person in the same body. This means their children together, Malenia and Miquella (and now presumably Messmer since he has red hair like Radagon, but Miyazaki said that he's the child of Marika, so unless there's another red-haired hottie running around the Lands Between, Radagon is the father), are also Numen. This also means that other children of Marika/Radagon are half-Numen.

It seems Numen are not a single ethnicity, but a whole race of people, with various different contradicting skin tones and hair colors. The template in the character creator has medium-dark skin and brown hair. Marika has pale skin and golden hair (possibly changed to be gold from the Greater Will's influence) and Radagon has the same skin with fiery red hair. We know from the Giant's Red Braid item description (below) that Radagon was either cursed by the Fire Giants or simply born with red hair. I mean...no item descriptions suggest he was born with it...but if I was born with hair I hated, I would blame it on a curse too. Though, to be fair, it IS the same color as the Fire Giants' hair.

Also the Black Knife Assassins have no physical form, so we can't discern their hair or skin colors.

So skin tone seems like a non-factor, but Hair is much harder to parse, due to half the Numen in the game having fiery hair and pronouns. The game says nothing about Marika's hair changing to gold, so it may have always been that color, leading me to believe that indeed, Numen are just...magic humans from a land far away...she's just blonde.

WELP.

That's all cool, but what is the culture of the Numen like? Well we can see that they have a very strong affinity for women and femininity. Not only is Marika, the most powerful Numen we know, a woman...all of the Black Knives are women. Additionally, if we choose to believe that Malenia and Miquella are Numen, this fact is further evidenced by Malenia's being a strong warrior woman (she is literally a Valkyrie) and Miquella's own complex gender identity. Miquella was (supposedly) born male, but presented as rather feminine/androgynous all his life. While Malenia is a masculine woman and reflects Radagon, Miquella is a feminine boy reflecting Marika. Not to mention that Miquella is ALMOST DEFINITELY Saint Trina, who is exclusively referred to as feminine.

In addition to the stong feminine aspects of Numen society apparent in the overabundance of strong fem-presenting characters, the description of Marika's Hammer suggests that women in Numen society (like Marika) have a role as destroyers and warriors, while men (Radagon) have a role of construction and repair.

"Queen Marika shattered the Elden Ring and Radagon attempted to repair it."

Again, this is just speculation, and the mythological actions of Radagon/Marika are likely motivated by a mutlitude of things (namely, the Greater Will constantly looming over them, the presence of the Elden Beast constantly lurking just under the surface), but I'm making do with what I have.

Also, back to genetics of the Numen again for a second, of all Radagon and Marika's children outside of the ones they had together (Messmer and the Twin Empyreans), most of them seem to inherit Radagon/Marika's hair.

Radagon and Rennala's kids, Radahn, Rykard, and Ranni, (presumably) have red hair. We never actually see Ranni's hair pre-doll form, so I'm assuming it's red lkke her brothers'.

Marika and Godfrey's kids, Godwyn, Mohg, and Morgott, all have either pale hair or no hair (Mohg has no hair visible on account of all the omen horns).

So it seems like the genes of Numen are incredibly dominant, even dominating the gene pool multiple generations after the first. Godwyn's kids, Godrick and Godefroy, have the same hair color as he does. Malenia's "daughters," although not genetically related to her, all seem to have gained her red hair through exposure to her Scarlet Aeonia. This may also be true of the Cleanrot Knights, but they could also have plucked the red hairs from Fire Giants or Leonine Misbegotten and used them as decor for their armor.

Even merely interacting with a Numen as powerful as Marika, or her direct children, can change one's appearance irreversably. Sure, this could all likely be from her status as a God, but who knows how powerful the average Numen could become if granted the strength? We become Elden Lord after all.

[seasonal-writes]

How much worldbuilding do you have? Not because I love it or anything- (I've already noticed some of the bits you've sprinkled in regarding architecture and clothing but I would love to hear more if you want to share!! More on these or language or food or trade exports or-)

ooOOH WORDBUILDING. my beloved. especially for Golden Rings. i have some (?) that's fully fleshed out and fully coherent, absolutely! Pulling from some of your suggestions, so starting with trade, the Nether and the Overworld are obviously in constant contact and commerce with each other. That much is kinda obvious, since The End is actually sorta..limted access only? Compared to just poppin' up a Nether portal, at least. Most of the exports between the Nether and overworld areee typically building materials at a massive level, meaning that things like quartz, blackstone, all those fancy materials are constantly being traded and paid for and brought through. On a smaller level, though, the nether is also known for its apothecary-related materials for potion making, which is obviously based on gameplay. (Blaze rods, magma cream, etc.) so shops and other people also find trade sources within the nether for those sorts of things. hopefully that makes sense haha i also LOVE that you noticed my architecture lore. because god. i don't know a ton about it in technical terms— but if i've learned ANYTHING from this fandom, it's that a building can have a LOT to say and a lot of meaning. And you mentioned the gates the other day in your ao3 comment, but there's more! Like, the windows for example are pretty obvious, but they definitely have such open windows because the Overworld Royal line has 1. always had winged beings in it, so it was built for easy take off and landing's sake and 2. their entire thing is about being open and having access to the rest of the world. Whereas in the Nether, they're very iron-clad and defended. Mostly because they live in a place with many hostile beings that can do real damage (ahem. GHASTS.), but also because i think they have more of a protection priority and want that impression to carry through into the castle :) so you can see how their ideals and defenses might definitely clash in something like,, war. which i need to try and expand on sometime because i'm just flying by the seat of my pants with what they were actually fighting over lol.

BUT! one thing i can also say is that the Overworld's army is much bigger than the Nether's. This being because the Nether, who takes pride in defense and such, trains their soldiers and knights to be multi-faceted. They can handle a lot that is thrown at them, and they're very diverse since they technically have to consider fighting on multiple kinds of landscape/in different weather/etc. So, while they may lack in number, they make up for in a really intensely strong and adaptable force of soldiers. But the Overworld doesn't really have that, not as much as the Nether. So, they have power in numbers and larger, oddly complex weaponry. uhhHH i haven't thought TOO much about language aside from a few things that are not at all coherent in my brain! but here's one thing, i suppose! :D People from the Nether or the End will often use "Void" instead of "Gods" like people in the overworld do. Obviously language is fluid and exchanged, so this isn't a fixed concept. but depending on how close you are to a town/village with a nether portal, there will be lots of different languages/slang the closer you get, because it's likely those who live in that town have visited/lived in the nether at some point and have picked up a few things while they were there. i just thought that was kind of an interesting lil tid bit. annnd i'm gonna shut up now before i write a whole ass essay in your ask response LMAO dude,, you really know how to get me goin' with this story,, woooughh but thank you for asking!! i really love talking about it and answering the questions so sfksj

[oo-artsy-oo]

What if the hornsent were trying to make empyreans with the Saint Jars? The hornsent seemed to have created the divine tower but why did they never ascend? And Marika, a Shaman, is able to betray them and “steal” godhood?

The Shaman, which may have been Numen women, possibly arrived on the boats found on the Cerulean coast, are used in this pot ritual as a kind of glue.

These shaman were able to ‘meld’ with the flesh of others. Possibly being the ingredient that ties all the souls and flesh together, a Shaman is a person who can interact with spirits, maybe as well as unifying them physically by melding the flesh together, the Shamans are able to unify the spirits, maybe not into one soul, but unify their goals or intentions.

Not all Shaman are empyreans though, to be clear. Empyreans are beings who are deemed fit to become a god.

The known empyreans are:

Miquella

Melania

Marika

Ranni

An interesting part of all of these characters is their ability to “split” their soul into two or more beings, or at least, share their very being with another.

Miquella + St Trina

Melania + her daughters (the god of Rot)

Marika + Radagon

Ranni + ???

In Ranni’s case, I’m unsure of what her split identity was. It is stated: Ranni had her own empyrean flesh slain. She, like Melina, is a bodiless soul and since we don’t hear much about Ranni before she became what she is currently, we can’t really know what it was that made her worthy as an empyrean.

So, what is an Empyrean?

As I said before, Empyreans are those who are fit to become a god. But what actually makes them worthy?

To become a God, an empyrean must align themselves with the influence of an outer god, and become its vassal. Watching Miquella’s ascent to godhood, shows us that he needs to divest himself of his flesh, he also divests certain psychological aspects, such as his doubts and his love.

So to become a God, one must divest themselves of their flesh? Things that tie them to the corporeal realm.

The Vitruvian man shows an image of a man posed two different ways, one, which fits perfectly within a square and one that goes beyond the bounds of the square to fit within a circle. In regard to the vitruvian man, the man in the square, is mean to represent earthliness, being rooted within the confines of the mortal/material world. The man in the circle, is mean to represent the infinite or divinity.

In regards to Marika and radagon, their statues always portray them in unique poses. Radagon is always standing straight, head held high and his arm out to the side at a 90° angle. Marika on the other hand is often standing with her head stooped low as if looking down, her arms are curved upwards, her hands meeting the height of her head.

To me, this shows that Radagon represents the corporeal and/or human aspects, this is further shown by Radagon’s fervent faith and loyalty to divinity, he is looking up to the heavens and is depicted in front of a lattice which could symbolise support. He attempted to mend the Elden ring by implementing this lattice into its very design.

Whereas Marika, she represents the divine and eternal aspects, from the point of view of those seeing the statues, Marika’s likeness would be looking down at them, divinity is always shown to be superior to those stuck in the corporeal plain. She is also depicted in front of a shawl styled similarly to velificatio (a stylistic way to depict deities in ancient Roman art). The shawl may also be a depiction of her veil.

Back to the Vitruvian man, the theory behind this artwork is that a human is both earthly and divine, having aspects of both plains.

This is shown in the empyreans with their two seperate personas. Maybe, the way one becomes a god, is to divest themselves of their corporeal aspects and give themselves to an outer god. Miquella, in becoming a god divested himself of St. Trina, and Marika must’ve divested herself of Radagon. This doesn’t mean that those parts of themselves are killed, as St. Trina is not dead and neither is Radagon. Similarly with Malenia, it is said that after defeating her, she will “bloom” once more and become a god. Interestingly, all of her daughters kill eachother in battle, which would divest her of her human aspects, and yet it is said that even those ‘children’ will bloom again, becoming scarlet Valkyrie’s.

All of the current empyreans have shaman blood through Marika/Radagon. And since shamans have the ability to meld with others, maybe that aspect of them is what makes them eligible to become gods? Being able to meld with their chosen outergod.

Also, I don’t believe Miquella joined with an outer god. He created the unalloyed gold, able to propel outer gods. Miquella became his own god, creating his own order, abandoning the Elden ring (this can be shown in his circlet’s description.)

Anyway, another rant xD

[ddawg20k]

I get kinda annoyed when I'm browsing for Elden Ring art works. I'd be scrolling then id come across a nice looking piece and it would say something along the lines of 'all the Demigods'. Except it's NOT all the Demigods because Godrick is not depicted in any of it and I just ask myself why? Like id find art TONS of art of Godwyn who is barely in the game! All Godwyn has that depicts his likeness in game is one (1)((O N E)) statue and his fish corpse at the erdtrees roots and he gets all these artworks of interacting with his demigod siblings. But Godrick, who has an entire legacy dungeon, a boss fight AND a pre grafting model that gives us an idea of what he looked like before his descent into grafting is barely seen in the same position! If he is, it's just a dig at him like 'OH look at the PATHETIC crippled guy! HE'S our sibling?' come on man

[wanderingmausoleum]

the Golden Lineage can graft others’ body parts onto themselves because they’re of the blood of Marika, the shaman :)

[asklesbianonceler]

I'd like to pose some theories and observations about The Night of Black Knives

There's something extremely specific about the black knives and it's that they cannot be seen while wearing their cloaks unless illuminated by the Sentry's Torch, an item that was not held in the lands between until after Godwyn's death, and yet, here it is. Not just an average wooden torch, a custom torch, in the hand of a black knife, specifically illuminating her face. She is showing her face to Godwyn so he knows who killed him. She wants him to see her, a woman with long blonde hair.

It was no mistake it was Godwyn and he was not just the best choice. It was personal.

What else do we know of the black knives? They had close ties to Marika herself and were all Numen just like her.

We now know Godwyn was not her first son and his death was merely a means to an end. Would she be able to sacrifice a child forced upon her by the golden order? A child who in the eyes of the order was perfect? I think so. If it gave her a good enough excuse to shatter the Elden Ring which she was still punished for.

Maliketh's great rune says Marika only needed him to seal away destined death, yet she betrayed him. Who else would have been able to get close to him?

Ranni and Marika wanted the same thing. It was all set up. There is a reason Ranni cradles Marikas head in the age of stars ending before putting it back on Marikas body.

Marikas body also vanishes in Rannis. It isn't being taken over by the Elden ring again. Ranni sets her free. she didn't have to put the head back on.

Yes, I can tie Melina into all this. Just ask.