#scadutree

[driften-sea-snake]

My brother and his weird friends just showed up to my realm. AITA if I ask them to leave?

I’ve had no contact with my family for years (not my choice). Until yesterday, when my younger brother showed up to my kingdom of exiles. He’s okay, he kinda looks like our mom so it’s cool. I don’t know the group of misfits with him though. They’re obsessed with my brother and are just ignoring me. It’s super awkward. AITA if I ask my brother to make them leave?

Update 1: My brother cut off his arm in my library.

Update 2: My brother’s friends are trying to use my flesh to start a fire.

Update 3: I will not suffer a lord devoid of light.

[alexsiple]

this one's for me and the other 3 miquella fans out there xoxo. you can buy it here

[atlasshadesart]

FINALLY i was able to draw Miquella to go with my Malenia piece! I was planning on doing one ever since I finished Malenia, i just had to wait for the DLC so i could, yknow, actually see him lmao

Description:

Kindly Miquella prepares to leave behind his right arm, and eventually his entire body, in order to ascend to godhood. His alter ego, St. Trina, is entangled with him via flesh and hair, but she too will be cast aside. At each site of Miquella's sacrifices, he leaves behind a crescent cross made of his golden grace. These crosses mark his journey to the Divinity Gate, where he will finally ascend. Above the land looms the Scadutree, its black branches oozing and tangled with great ethereal shrouds that drape across the entire sky.

[kdval]

The Land of Shadow. A place obscured by the Erdtree.  Where the goddess Marika first set foot. A land purged in an unsung battle.  Set ablaze by Messmer’s flame.

ELDEN RING

› Shadow of the Erdtree: verticals [1/?]

[dingyhongy]

Scadutree Avatar

[squidswithguns]

my shadow of the erdtree experience before entering shadow keep: great, so much fun, everyone complaining about the difficulty needs to git good, i will kill the gods!

these motherfuxkers coming to ruin my day:

[bababonzer]

OK I’ve got to obfuscate some highly contested things about SOTE, specifically involving Miquella’s seemingly bizarre choice of partnership:

Spoilers ahead

So, a lot of people are upset that Miquella chose to revive the soul of Radahn instead of Godwyn. Seems like the obvious choice. Godwyn was the person in the statues in the Haligtree, Miquella sort of ran the Castle Sol thing, even the existence of the golden epitaph sword calls into mind the strength of Miquella’s feelings.

So why Radhan? Let me flip it, why NOT Godwyn?

We know that Godwyn was the victim of the night of black knives. They carved a half of the curse mark of death into his back. At the same time they engraved the other half on Ranni. This leads to Ranni’s body dying but her soul remaining, and Godwyn’s body remaining but his soul dying. Keep this in mind for later.

The attempt of revivification at Castle Sol failed. The spirit at Castle Sol recants, “…The sun has not been swallowed. Our prayers were lacking. Your comrade remains soulless…”

They tried to usher in the eclipse, but for whatever reason, it did not work.

In SOTE, Miquella absconded with Mogh’s remains so that he could call down Radahns soul.

I believe that Miquella DID choose Godwyn first. He tried at Castle Sol with a different ritual. The attempt at Castle Sol made clear to Miquella that Godwin’s soul was gone. Truly gone. It wasn’t that the ritual was done wrong, it’s that there was no soul left to call upon. Godwyn was the only character to fall to that specific half of the curse mark, in a land where death does not occur normally.

With this version of events posed, it makes sense that Miquella knew he needed to do something drastically different. Maybe it was after that realization that he made a pact with the next strongest demigod. It wasn’t because of a long standing underhanded relationship between the two, it was because his first choice got obliterated in soul and contorted in body.

It could also be, that because Godwin’s body remained, a surrogate could not be used. He had to choose another.

Now, why Radahn specifically? Well…

- His twin is afflicted with the scarlet rot - an affliction that even he in all his wisdom could not heal.

- Mogh and Margot were omen born and little known. Accursed blood ran through their veins. Perhaps they were just not strong enough? Revered enough? It could be that Miquella didn’t know of their godly lineage. There could be a lot of reasons.

- Rykard was a sadist blasphemer that turned into a giant serpent. Not a good companion for the kindly Miquella, who favors compassion and mercy.

- Ranni died lol

- Godwyn because of possibly the reason’s I stated above

Who does that leave if not Radahn?

But why not a mortal? Why not any of the Needle knight crew?

Against someone as powerful as Radahn, what mortal could possibly compare in raw power? None exist. Miquella’s lord had to be the strongest! He’s ushering in a new age after all.

Thank you for reading so far. If you have any thoughts to add, or if I got an aspect of the lore wrong - I’d love to hear from you.

[deliciousllamalamppandabanana]

She just wants my Scadutree blessing

[alberichfanpage]

Burn the roots

[sillovn]

Light, Dark and the Scadutree

Still trying to tie up my disorganized lore thoughts – this time about the cosmos and the Scadutree.

1.The Big Picture

One of the major revelations in SotE is that the Greater Will has a physical depiction; it's a ring encircling an abyss. A direct mirror to the Frenzied Flame, if that wasn’t clear enough previously. But more interestingly here, is that the Greater Will itself contains dualities; both light and dark.

As per. the 2 "Stone-Sheath Sword" variants: Light is straight, angular and unbending. Darkness is curved, swirling and uneven.

Still, both inflict Holy Damage, scale with Faith and the respective weapon arts manipulate Holy damage in some way (Light makes you deal more, Darkness makes the opponent receive more). Along with the aforementioned Greater Will depiction, it seems that both Light and Dark are fundamental components of a whole universe. Theirs is a dependent duality (light by nature casts a shadow), unlike the opposing states of Chaos vs. Order.

Theres probably a way to read this through the lens of dualistic religions, especially ones with a ‘World of Light vs. Dark’ cosmology (eg. Yin/Yang, Manicheans). But that’s far beyond what I can say.

see. the 2 Fingers + Assassin Prayerbook for how the Fingers manifest this dual power.

Overall, this Light and Dark duality seems to be foundational to the cosmos, whereas the “Passing of Ages” narrative of the Elden Ring, divine ascension and the Shattering War seem to merely be the concern of mortals already within the Order.

2.A World Apart

In the world, this idea of “Light is straight, Darkness is curved” can be seen in the respective shapes of the Erdtree and Scadutree. With the Scadutree being the “Shadow of the Erdtree”, it seems obvious that these trees form equal opposites of Light and Shadow. Through that lens, the beginning of Marika's 'Age of Gold' must also be when the Land of Shadow was sealed away.

However, the Scadutree is not composed of pure darkness, but instead contains both “Shadow and Gold”, with 2 unequally shaped stems. One is straight, with the other wrapping around it. It is also thought of as being defective; brittle and fated to one day fated to crumble apart.

Though, the Erdtree was also claimed to be perfect and eternal, and still failed to live up to the expectation - so who knows really?

Are Gold and Light synonymous? The ‘grace of gold’ does seem to simply be light in one’s eyes (see. Marika’s Rune, Iris of Grace), and the story-trailer contrasts Gold and Shadow after all. Or is Gold still a far cry from ‘pure light’ given it has various forms in colour and brightness (see. various Rune consumables, concept of “Primordial Gold”).

So, while Marika separated the world across the divide of ‘Light-Gold-Life’ and ‘Darkness-Shadow-Death’, the split may not have been clean? (see. Rauh Ruins) It’s also uncertain if any of this (including the separation itself) was ever intentional.

I don’t have any serious commentary here; but if the Greater Will’s form says something about Order (ie. that universal order encompasses both light and dark). In that sense, both trees are missing some aspect of a whole.

Alternatively, Order is solely the ring that encompasses the darkness. Which makes some sense, given the Elden Ring (ie. a golden ring) is the tool by which a divinity creates order. In that case, then Darkness is something Order acts upon, constraining and holding its shape (again, see. Manichean cosmology for darkness = material world).

3.Spiraltrees

Since both Erdtree and Scadutree were likely created in the “Division of Gold and Shadow”, one cannot be not older than the other; they must be concurrent. The Scadutree would not have existed in a pre-Erdtree age, which seems correct as it has no explicit connection to the Towerfolk and vice-versa. Naturally, this means that the common “Spiraltree” motif found in the Towerfolk culture cannot be depicting the Scadutree (see. Spiraltree Seal, architecture across the Land of Shadow in general).

If you want to be literal about motifs, the physical Scadutree differs from the artistic Spiraltree in symmetry and extent of stem twining. But it could all mean nothing, seeing how abstract some Erdtree depictions are. Also, Scadutree designs on Messmer’s army are much more symmetrical.

You can also argue that the Spiraltree motif depicts no particular tree, but rather the concept of entwining sacred trees common across Land of Shadow (see. Belurat Graveyard). But what if it does?

I know we are all tired of ‘Great Tree-type’ theories; the idea that Marika grafted the Erdtree onto an older specimen is definitely wrong, but humor me for a while. Sure, there may not be a separate ‘Great Tree’ root system, but the idea that both Erdtree and Scadutree originate from the splitting of a “Primordial Spiral Tree” is harder to discount. In addition to all base-game references to the Erdtree’s Crucible origin, I’d like to quote DLC Crucible incants - "before this land was enshrouded in shadow, the vitality of the Crucible flourished.”

Its easy to imagine a scenario for why this vitality faded; having been locked away in the Erdtree of The Lands Between, and leaving the Land of Shadow for the powers of death. So, does the original “Spiral Tree/Crucible Tree” hold a more balanced composition of Gold and Shadow, Life and Death? And thus, why it forms a more symmetrical helix?  

One counter argument here is that the ‘Spiraltree’ motif does infact depict the Scadutree, but the inclusion of this motif is in later history (ie. post Gold-Shadow divide). Given Messmer’s Crusade is also a later historical event, this is not impossible. This in turn poses a new idea; that the present Hornsent religion is itself a result of the Gold-Shadow divide, and perhaps very different from the pre-Erdtree era. There is a surprising amount of legs to this idea; if we recall how Crucible talismans describe a time when Crucible features were seen as a divine blessing by humanity, it is odd how the Hornsent (apparently) revere Horns specifically and not the talisman aspects; Knot, Wings and Scales (which they lack anyway).

Instead, are the sacred people of the pre-Erdtree world actually the Misbegotten; with scales, knots and wings and all? (note. the Divine Beast head).

Horns are singled out as being the most important Crucible aspect, which doesn't discount the others being sacred, just less so.

4.Scadutree Worship

Up to this point, I have avoided talking about the present day Scadutree faith, but take note of the following.

Religious structures associated with the Scadutree are of Shadow Keep architecture. From the Tree Worship Sanctum to the unnamed “Chalice Tower”. You could say that the Chalice itself “looks like it could be more ancient”, but eh.

Scadutree sorceries are only found in Shadow Keep

Scadutree Blessings are collected by the people of the Erdtree

Combined with the numerous beheaded Marika statues, ruined churches and the flooding of the Shadow Keep Cathedral; Scadutree worship is likelly exclusive to Erdtree Crusaders. Having been developed after their abandonment by Marika, as opposed to being a preexisting faith in the Land of Shadow.

you can point to how “Shadow Ghosts” collect Scadutree Blessing in pots or how the ‘Scadutree Edict’ of “…Wound all that exists… for we have been abandoned” could apply to both Hornsent inquisitors and Erdtree crusaders. It’s difficult to be sure in this case.

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~ Thanks for reading

[kefna]

Day 14. Scadutree avatar. I hate fighting this thing

[wolfthekid]

Scadutree Avatar doodle I probably won't finish.

[gerogerigaogaigar]

Attention Elden Ring players!

You have mostly done a good job figuring out that "gaol" is pronounced "dʒel" as in "jail"

Your next mission is to learn that "scadu" is old english for shadow and is pronounced "ʃædu" or "shadoo" I don't want to hear any more skadoo please

[kdval]

ELDEN RING

› Shadow of the Erdtree: horizontals

[spiralcloudpassage]

when fromsoft makes a valentines day post next year featuring radahn and miquella we all have to kill ourselves ok?ok?? take my hand

[s3znl-gr3znl]

fighting leda and her allies and whatever feelings of friendship i had with moore are gone. fuck you and your fucking rot pot bullshit, your stupid fucking defense, and you're especially stupid fucking health pool. the whole fight is fucking ass tbh. Even being as high leveled as i am i still dont have enough stamina for more than four swings with a medium weapon. Fucking forget about blocking. I upgraded my scadutree to level 16 and that apparently still isnt enough to have good damage. I actually hate this whole fight. Ansbach and summon arent even doing that much for me.

If i focus damage on moore my summon dies to freya, if i focus on freya then i still have to deal with moores fuckass rot pots and shield charges and god forbid either moore or freya is still around when leda an dane show up. Dane is constantly rushing me down and leda is shooting her bs at me from a mile away and by now whatever fully upgraded summon i had is fucking cooked. I cant stun or interrupt any of danes attacks without opening myself up to damage from 8 other sources. Applying a status effect is useful but not nearly as realiable as it could be.

Its bullshit. I hate it. Wtf do i do?