#oh also i personally don’t think that radahn and the redmanes were necessarily living with rykard

[slavonicrhapsody]

One personal theory of mine is that prior to the shattering Radahn and the redmanes lived with Rykard at the volcano manor, from the redmane knight armor description:

"When they were driven to defeat by Malenia's scarlet rot, the Redmane Knights burned the crest on the left breast of their armor to indicate their resolve.

"Alas, dear home, I shan't see you again! For our duty is to remain here, a bulwark against the blight.""

And if Caelid wasn't their original home, than the volcano manor seems like the most likely candidate considering the fire themes, it would also explain the prominently displayed painting of Radahn.

Thinking about Radahn, people tend to assume Radahn is loyal to the golden order and at odds with his carian siblings, mostly because of him stopping the stars and by extension stopping Ranni's fate.

But I think that's missing the very important reason as to why he stopped the stars in the first place, according to a sword monument:

"The Starscourge Conflict

Radahn alone holds Sellia secure

And stands tall, to shatter the stars"

So we know it was done to save Sellia, and if we analyze Sellia a bit, from the eternal darkness spell description:

"Forbidden sorcery of Sellia, Town of Sorcery.

Creates a space of darkness that draws in sorceries and incantations.

This sorcery can be cast while in motion.

Originally a lost sorcery of the Eternal City; the despair that brought about its ruin made manifest. "

And from the fingerslayer blade description:

"The hidden treasure of the Eternal City of Nokron; a blade said to have been born of a corpse.

This blood-drenched fetish is proof of the high treason committed by the Eternal City and symbolizes its downfall."

So Sellia was composed of the survivors of Nokron, a culture that was adamantly opposed to the greater will, and for their "high treason", was destroyed by Astel, a creature from the stars. Possibly sent or lured to them by the greater will, with that part about their proof of treason being a symbol for their downfall

And if the hidden night maiden we fight in Sellia was any indication, then Sellians were not just the descendants of heretics, but descendants that still secretly had ties to their roots.

Now consider that Radahn defended these heretical escapees against another threat from the stars.

It wouldn't even be a stretch to think this new threat was another one set up by the greater will, to finish what it started with the eternal city.

As for this action sealing off Ranni's fate, he might have simply not known that sealing the stars would prevent her fate being fulfilled? Even Ranni herself didn't know killing Radahn was the key until you tell her about it.

And when you're looking for hidden paths to an underground city, it's understandable that "slam a hole into it with a meteor" wouldn't be their first instinct.

The opening of the game also makes it pretty clear that Radahn was on the side besieging Lyendell during the shattering, fighting Morgott.

It's funny to consider that Radahn's tower was the most suspicious and heavily guarded divine tower in the game, even Mohg only sent the omen twins for his tower.

But blackflame monks shared his divine tower alongside redmane knights, with a godskin apostle guarding the old sword of their infamous godslaying queen.

For someone so clearly interested in godslaying, It would be weirder if he wasn't involved in the night of the black knives with his siblings.

It's no wonder that Morgott would lump Radahn as a traitor, all these suspicious or outright hostile activities aside, the only argument I've seen for him being loyal to the golden order is him sealing the stars.

But like I discussed above, his starscourge feat only seems loyal if you ignore all the context that surrounds it, when you take into account everything about Sellia, it's more an act of loyalty to the carians than anything.

Adding to that, one personal theory of mine is that prior to the shattering, Radahn and the redmanes lived with Rykard at the volcano manor, from the redmane knight armor description:

"When they were driven to defeat by Malenia's scarlet rot, the Redmane Knights burned the crest on the left breast of their armor to indicate their resolve.

"Alas, dear home, I shan't see you again! For our duty is to remain here, a bulwark against the blight.""

And if Caelid wasn't their original home, then the volcano manor seem like the most likely candidate considering the fire themes, it would also explain the prominently displayed painting of Radahn there.

I completely agree that people are too quick to assume that Radahn is loyal to the Golden Order (and by extension, that he was acting in opposition to his siblings)! You’ve provided a really great summary of a lot of Radahn’s anti-Golden Order connections, and I think your summary of Sellia is especially spot on.

A crucial point you brought up that I didn’t even realize myself is that Iji does not even consider that Radahn is the obstacle in Ranni’s way until he has to think about it… here is his full dialogue:

“Oh, no, wait... How did I not see it before? I ought to retire as war counsellor for such a gross oversight! Let me explain. The fate of the Carian royal family is guided by the stars. As is the fate of Lady Ranni, first heir in the Carian royal line. But General Radahn is the conqueror of the stars. Who stood up to the swirling constellations, halting their movement in a smashing victory. And so, if General Radahn were defeated, the stars would once again resume their movement. As would Lady Ranni's destiny. Perhaps, even, revealing the elusive path. That leads to Nokron.”

The fact that Iji is just now coming to this realization suggests that there was never any significant feud between the siblings, and that Radahn had other reasons for challenging the stars. If Radahn had acted against Ranni and was a major obstacle in her plans, wouldn’t that problem be more than an afterthought to them?

Regarding Radahn halting the stars, the telescope item description is the main piece of evidence that people cite as evidence for his loyalty to the Golden Order:

“During the age of the Erdtree, Carian astrology withered on the vine. The fate once writ in the night skies had been fettered by the Golden Order.”

Though the logic makes sense, that interpretation always felt a little off to me, since the description doesn’t even mention Radahn and it feels like such a nonspecific statement… as if what it means is to make a generalized observation of how the Erdtree’s/Golden Order’s prominence has diminished Caria’s power (which is demonstrably true!). Furthermore, as you say, there aren’t really any other significant pieces of evidence that indicate that Radahn halted the stars out of Golden Order fanaticism. And as I’ve explored in previous asks, Radahn is not so much an Erdtree fanatic as he is a Godfrey fanatic (no tree images anywhere… just lions!).

As you have alluded to, the biggest piece of evidence that Radahn is A) not loyal to the Golden Order, and B) not working against his siblings is that the presence of Abductor Virgins in Caelid and at Redmane Castle means Radahn was almost certainly working with Rykard — the Golden Order’s most prominent traitor and blasphemer, who explicitly intended to destroy the Erdtree! Rykard in turn owns a portrait of his brother above his fireplace, indicating that he loves and respects him and probably has a close relationship with him — if Radahn was a defender of the Erdtree and stood in opposition to Rykard, then one would not expect Rykard to hold his brother’s image in such high regard. The fact that Rykard displays these two paintings in his manor simultaneously is speaking to me…

This brings me to my personal theory: that Radahn didn’t give a shit about the Erdtree being destroyed, and perhaps even encouraged his siblings’ plans to do so, because he wanted to be able to LARP as Godfrey in the ensuing power vacuum… similar to Godfrey’s string of conquests during the Crucible era. Radahn doesn’t need the Erdtree to play out his Godfrey power fantasies! This would explain why at least he and Rykard seemed to be on good terms during the Shattering.