#we need a name for miquella fans

[patientno7]

[toweringclam]

Who is Godefroy? FINAL

So a while back, I started a series where I tried to puzzle out who Godefroy the Grafted actually was. I got a bit lost in the weeds and burned out before I could come up with a coherent theory, but it turns out the answer was stupidly simple and sitting right in front of me the whole time. And the story of Godefroy is a key to understanding all of Marika's offspring.

Godwyn, Godefroy, and Godrick are brothers

If there's one thing that's incredibly important for understanding Elden Ring lore, it's patterns. The same motifs will repeat again and again, and if something doesn't seem to fit the established pattern, it's probably worth a second thought.

One thing that seems to be accepted without question is that Marika's children with Godfrey were Godwyn, Morgott, and Mohg. But the problem should jump out at you immediately: every other group of divine siblings have names that start with the same letter. The pattern becomes even more apparent now that we have Messmer, presumably Miquella and Malenia's brother. This adds some new rules. Assuming this is replicated across all her offspring, the pattern is:

Three siblings

All start with the same letter

Twins and a spare

That brings me to:

Rykard and Radahn are twins

While they're never called twins, looking at their portraits side by side, it becomes pretty obvious.

Their different sizes could easily be explained by something like twin to twin transfusion syndrome, a concept very familiar to fans of the Locked Tomb series. We have the overgrown twin and the withered twin, plus their sister Ranni. We now have a pattern.

Melina is Mohg and Morgott's sister

This just leaves Melina, the potential Gloam-Eyed Queen. The strangest of Marika's children. May seem odd since she looks so young compared to them, but remember, she's a spirit. Her body was burned long ago, so there's no reason for her to age. That puts her in the second batch of demigod children, likely around when the Erdtree was burned for the first time.

The Grafted Twins' were born first

In fact, the age thing is a major clue to the timing of the Grafted Twins' birth. They are old and wizened in a way that none of Marika's other children are. If they are Marika's offspring, that must mean they were born before she gained control of the Elden Ring. The first child she bore under the new order was Godwyn the Golden, perfect in every way. More than anything else, this represented a shift in power.

The Golden Lineage is Godfrey's own

In all the Golden Lineage items, there isn't a single mention of Marika. Go back and look. Godfrey is mentioned, but not Marika. Rather than saying that this means she wasn't involved, i think it represents the shifting power from Elden Lord to God (or whatever Marika's position was before). There's barely any mention of Placidusax's god, so the title must not have been that important back then.

The M's are Marika's own

Following Marika's ascension, she started to wonder if she even needed Godfrey anymore. So she started to experiment. She sent her other self Radagon to Caria and used the power of the Crucible to create children on her own. The result was the warped Omen Twins and Melina, the Gloam-Eyed Queen.

Godfrey, Chad that he is, loved these divine bastards as his own, as seen when he gently cradles Morgott. This compassion was even extended to the children of Radagon, as Radahn shows great admiration for him. But Marika wanted her Empyrean offspring, so he had to go. She called back her other half and had another batch of kids, two (three?) of which came out as Empyreans.

I'm getting tired and rambling, so in conclusion:

Godefroy is Marika's first-born. Godwyn was just the first-born of the Golden Order.

[faroreswinds]

Some Elden Ring lore, but I want to explain why the Night of the Black Knives and the killing of Godwyn is a huge mystery and makes little sense since we are missing a lot of details.

For the uninitiated, let me give you some background on Elden Ring lore as it is understood by more involved theorists.

The History of the Lands Between

In the world of the Lands Between (the landmass where Elden Ring takes place), there is a being known as the Greater Will. The Greater Will (henceforth to be abbreviated as GW), is some sort of god. Some fans theorize that the GW is what is known as an Outer God, which I will define shortly, but others believe that the GW is basically just God. Regardless of what the GW is, it is a higher being that exists far away from the Lands Between. One day, it sent a Golden Star to the Lands Between, and on this star was what would become the Elden Ring and the Elden Beast. 

Now, what is the Elden Beast and Elden Ring? Let’s start with the Ring. The Elden Ring is basically the physical manifestation of the Rules of the World. It is what defines how things work, things like death and life, abundance and decay, etc. It is what makes the wheels turn in the land, what defines everything. 

The Elden Beast is the vassal beast of the GW, and the living incarnation of the concept of Order. The Elden Beast is the Elden Ring, or at least a physical incarnation of it. 

What the GW desires about all else is Order, but what is Order? We will get back to that in a moment. 

First, let’s continue with the history of the Lands Between. Now, there is something called the Crucible, which is the primordial form of the Erdtree. You can think of it as a sort of primordial soup of life, where life was once all blended together and where life would eventually emerge from. The Crucible was also sent along with the Elden Ring. In essence the GW is the source of all life in the world of the Lands Between, for it is the one who sent the Crucible upon the Golden Star. 

Then life began, and this is where things get hazy. There is not a lot of information about this time, but we can piece together a few things:

The Crucible was important part of life, and those born of its blessing bore horns and wings and claws and the like. Before the Erdtree and the Golden Order, this was considered a good thing. 

Before we can continue further, I do need to take the time to explain how Order and Gods work in this world.

Gods in the Land Between are not like the Abrahamic God many of the West would understand it. Rather, Gods are more those who have taken up a divine mantel as the keeper of the Elden Ring, and thus the decider of Order and ruler of the Lands Between. 

However, there are beings that are higher than Gods in Elden Ring, and the fandom calls these beings Outer Gods. Outer Gods are more Lovecraftian in nature; formless, cosmic entities that influence the world with their own goals and purposes. 

So, to make it very simple:

Outer Gods - Cosmic entities that influence the world 

Gods - The keeper of the Elden Ring, and ruler of the Lands Between, and the one who defines their Order through the Elden Ring. One becomes God through the power of an sponsoring Outer God

Elden Lord - Consort to the ruling God

Empyrean - Chosen candidate who can become the next God

Demi-gods - Children and descendants of the ruling God

Only a few Outer Gods are specifically named as such within the game, namely the Formless Mother, the God of Rot, and the outer god the twinbird. The Frenzied Flame is never outright called an Outer God, but Miquella’s Needle, an item in the game, can disrupt the influence of Outer Gods. Since it can disrupt the power of the Frenzied Flame, it can be inferred that the Frenzied Flame is also an Outer God. 

There are other entities that are never specifically called Outer Gods, but are inferred to be similar type of entities. These beings include the GW and potentially the Fell God, who is the outer god of the Fire Giants, the Full/Dark Moons, the outer god that Rennala and Ranni follow, and the Blood Star, an enigmatic entity said to have been discovered by the guilty when they peered into the darkness. 

To be clear, the Fell God, the Full/Dark Moons, and the Blood Star may not be the same type of cosmic entities as as the GW or the Formless Mother, but there is speculation that they might be. What makes these entities Outer Gods is the fact that they are outside the current Golden Order (hence why the GW is not an “Outer God”, because it is not outside the Order). There are a lot of theories about how all this works, but this is not the post for that. 

Most fans in the English spheres use the term Outer Gods as a catch-all phrase for any cosmic entity of great power that can influence the world and wishes to gain some sort of control. 

Now we need to understand what Order is. Order is basically how the world is structured under the rule of the God and the Elden Ring.

I know this is confusing, so let me explain. 

The Elden Ring is what allows things to exist, things like Death and Life. The keeper of the Ring is God, and God gets to use the Elden Ring to define their rule and how the world runs under an Order. In the case of the Golden Order, for example, Destined Death was removed from the Elden Ring and therefore was no longer a part of the cycle of the world. 

I’ll try to explain what Destined Death is a bit later. It’s honestly not clear.. 

Now we can get back to explaining the history of the Lands Between. 

During the Age of the Crucible, there was a different God who held the Elden Ring, and a ran a different Order. This was a time of Beasts, and we don’t know too much about this era. What we do know is that Dragonlord Placidusax was the Elden Lord during this time. 

I’m going to skip over some finer details here, and get to the more important stuff. Basically, long story short, the God fled at some point and Marika would become the new God. She had Destined Death sealed by her shadowbeast Maliketh, which heralded her Age of the Erdtree and what would be known as the Golden Order. Marika took Godfrey as her husband, making him the First Elden Lord of the Golden Order. 

There was a lot of contention under this new Order, and several wars were fought with competing factions. Eventually, Radagon (who is actually Marika but that is a whole other can of worms which I will not get into) would repent his sins of the war with Rannala and marry her. They would have at least three children together: Radahn, Rykard, and Ranni. 

Meanwhile, Marika and Godfrey had children of their own: Godwyn the Golden, and the twin Omens Morgott and Mohg. There might even be more children between them, but we cannot know for sure. 

At some point, Radagon would leave Rannala after being called back to the capital by Marika, after Marika banished Godfrey and other Tarnished from the Lands Between. She would wed Radagon (who again, is herself, but that is another can of worms), and between them they would have the twins Malenia and Miquella. 

I’m not going to get into what Tarnished is for this post either, or else we would be here all night explaining things. 

Night of the Black Knives

Without Destined Death, demigods and gods were basically immortal. Without Destined Death, people were not fated to die. Destined Death is absolute, it is the inevitability that one will die and never return. 

But without it, no one is fated to die. Souls can linger to be reabsorbed into the Erdtree and then reincarnated into a new life. 

Hence, Marika was Eternal, as well as her demigod children. That is, until the Night of the Black Knives, where Godwyn the Golden was slain in body and was the first of the demigods to die. 

So how did this come to be? Well, we can thank Ranni for that.

Ranni, Miquella, and Malenia were three of the demigod children chosen to become Empyreans, future potential vessels of the Elden Ring and hence vassals of the GW. But Ranni had no desire to be the next God under the influence of the GW, and so decided to break free from her Empyrean flesh by killing her body but not her soul. However, in order to do that, she needed someone else to die in soul at the same time. 

Ranni, by her own admission, managed to steal a fraction of the Rune of Death from Maliketh and carve one half of it into her body. The other half would go to the person to die in soul. With the help of the Black Knives, a group of women assassins, she managed to die in body but not soul, while Godwyn the Golden was murdered in soul but not in body. 

This tragedy eventually led Marika to shatter the Elden Ring, which destroyed the Golden Order and threw the Lands Between into great chaos. 

Why This Event is Confusing

There are a LOT of confusing questions that are not answered by the game. There are speculations to be had, but none of them all add up into a nice, neat package. These include:

Why was Godwyn chosen? Did Ranni chose him or did the Black Knives chose him on their own? Does this mean the Black Knives betrayed Ranni, or where they doing exactly what Ranni asked them to do?

How did Ranni manage to steal a piece of the Rune of Death to begin with? Maliketh is a great threat to the demigods, as they are said to all be terrified of him. This is never explained. 

The Black Knives later attempt to kill Blaidd, Ranni’s shadowbeast, and kill Iji, Ranni’s war councilor. They also kill Seluvis, who was a traitor to Ranni. But Ranni said that she loved Blaidd and Iji, so it seems unlikely that she would kill her own loyal allies after her goal was achieved. So someone else might have sent them. But who?

The Black Knives happen to be associated with Marika, who is of the same Numen race as them. Melina (internally referred to as Marika’s daughter), shares their move set, and an Assassin guards Morgott’s throne room. It is possible that they were loyal to Marika as her servants, which could explain how the Rune of Death was stolen. Marika might have been involved too.

But then, why would Marika do this? The purpose of the Night of the Black Knives was for Ranni to overthrow the Two Fingers and the Golden Order. Why would Marika be involved in the overthrowing of the Order of her own design? Why would she murder her own son? By all accounts, Marika was grieved by Godwyn’s death, unless this was a lie and she used it as an excuse to shatter the Elden Ring herself. 

Then why have Ranni orchestrate the entire plan herself? It seems like she wasn’t working with Marika at all. Then why would the Black Knives turn on her? 

Any explanations really just are pure speculation with little evidence to back it up. It’s just one confusing night (and I hope the DLC sheds light on this more). It’s the event the entire game is based around. It’s incredibly important, and yet we hardly know anything about it. 

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #230

When was the last time you consumed alcohol? Good question, idk.

Are you interested in creative writing of any sort? Sure am, I do forum animal RP as a major hobby.

Can you ever see yourself and your ex back together? No, not with any ex.

Did you get ice cream from the ice cream truck when you were little? Do they still have an ice cream truck where you live? Sometimes, yeah. I don't know if we still have them.

What has been the most traumatic experience of your life? Does it still bother you? Losing my first real boyfriend that I made my entire identity and source of happiness and worth. I've healed A LOT and it doesn't bother me much anymore, but I have my moments, especially if I'm listening to a song that brings me back.

Where was the last place you got completely wasted? I've never been drunk.

Have you ever changed the prices of items at a store? Not when it wasn't my job. I might not have ever even gotten to this point on the jobs I had where this was a relevant duty, but I feel like I have before.

Would your parents disown you if you got pregnant? No, I'm a grown-ass adult with parents that thankfully love and support me.

Are you going to any concerts or festivals this summer? I'm sure I'm not.

Any baby names you think you might name your future kids? If Girt and I actually had kids, Miquella or Mikella Lynn and/or Sage Llane.

When was the last time you had sex? I'm going to be the 30 y/o virgin and no I'm not happy about it, but I try to be understanding of my partner's no less than debilitating performance anxiety.

Think back to your most important relationship, was it all your fault it’s over? I honestly think Girt is my most important relationship, and it's not over.

What’s your favorite color? Shades of pink. Mostly lighter ones.

Ever had a black eye? No.

Did your most recent kiss take place in/on a bed? No, his car. He was too tired to come in that night.

Has anyone seen you naked in the last 6 months? No. Even with Girt, I never FULLY take all my clothes off because I'm just too self-conscious. He's basically seen everything at one point or another, I just don't care. I'm more comfortable and less rigid when I'm covered in some places, my lower legs especially.

Last person to cuddle with? Girt.

Do you prefer hot or cold drinks overall? Cold.

Do you know how to tie a tie? No.

Are you a fan of hot chocolate? Do you like it plain or do you prefer to add things like whipped cream or marshmallows? Yes, completely plain. I don't like the texture of whipped cream and once the marshmallows start to dissolve, I don't like that texture, either.

What caused your last injury? I stubbed my fucking toe super hard. I shattered the toenail.

What’s the smallest thing you’ve ended a relationship over? Nothing "small." There were all valid reasons.

Would you rather order a starter (appetizer) or a dessert? Or would you be able to manage a full three courses? Usually, appetizer. I can RARELY manage a full three courses, I'm gonna be suffering.

How do you get most of your news, if you pay attention to it at all? Ha, Facebook, honestly.

Have you or a member of your family been diagnosed with COVID yet? I as well as multiple other family members have gotten COVID at one point or another.

Are you a vegetarian? If so, what persuaded you to stop eating meat? If not, is it something you’d ever consider? No. I had a phase where I tried, but it is simply not sustainable for me. I am too picky with my autism. I would be malnourished if I really tried to dedicate my life this way.

Do you prefer rice or pasta? Pasta, but I enjoy both.

Did you do laundry yet today? If not, do you need to do any before you go to bed? I admittedly don't do my own laundry; my mom likes to do our laundry together to save resources. I am responsible for putting my clothes away, though, once she separates them into baskets.

Have you ever had a friend that you found extremely annoying but put up with anyway? I wouldn't consider that person my friend, soooo...

Who was the last person you sat beside at a restaurant? My mom.

Peaches or plums? Peaches, I guess. I like both. I eat peaches far more.

Do you read books or magazines more? Books.

Would you ever dye your hair blonde? No, only for the purpose of adding color to it.

Who was the last person you took a picture with? Uh... I think Girt?

Do you like Redbull? I've never tried it.

What’s the last kind of Vitamin Water you had? I don't drink it.

Do you like to kill people on the Sims? I was never into the human Sims, I only played two animal versions.

Have you used Limewire before? Of course I have.

Are you or were you in a band? No.

Is the taste of alcohol appealing to you? Not at all. That's why when I drink alcohol, it has to be very light and fruity stuff.

Was your first crush on a male or female? A guy.

Do you think you look better with long hair or short hair? Short.

Have you ever had to apply for disability? Yes, but I didn't get it.

How many of your grandparents are alive currently? None.

What are three emojis you use a lot? Crying, laughing, and the sparkly heart.

Do you follow any sort of special diet, and if so, what? No.

Have you ever had an eating disorder? No. I have binge-eating tendencies, but I don't think it's with enough regularity to be considered a disorder.

Do you have any bruises on you? No.

Are you ticklish? Very.

Did you reject or accept your last friend request? Reject, it was some rando.

Did you have a good childhood? Mostly, yes. There were negatives, especially with my dad and the dangerous neighborhood I grew up in, but in general I had a good childhood.

What pets did you have when you were growing up? God, a lot. Cats, dogs, a lizard, ball pythons, mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils, fish, guinea pigs, my sister had a rabbit, and I might be forgetting some.

Would you ever date someone who had issues with substance abuse? No, I am not getting involved in that.

[TW: CHILD LOSS] Do you know anyone who has had a miscarriage? I know a number of people. This is sadly not uncommon at all.

What’s your last ex's opinion of you? She'd probably be happy to see me dead, and I don't think that's an exaggeration. Shame on me for not keeping someone's confessed Nazism a secret.

Are there any major drama queens in your family? Yep.

Do you like Stephen King novels? I've never read any.

What is one adventurous thing you’d be willing to do? (ex: skydive) Cave exploration, but not in narrow cave systems. I don't fuck with that. I'd only be willing to explore wide caves and not go TOO terribly deep.

How many email accounts do you have? Two that I actually use.

Does the place you work have music playing? What sort? I don't have a job.

What’s your favourite type of donut? Either just glazed or chocolate frosted.

Has someone ever tried to start an argument with you over Facebook? What happened? Oh for sure. Sometimes I'll just ignore people, but more often than not, I'll argue my point. This happened recently and the woman realized she was wrong and just changed her focus entirely and replied in this really funny "oops I fucked up" sorta way. She literally wanted to argue that images you find on Google are never modified or AI, they're cold hard facts. I couldn't fucking believe it.

When you’re at home, do you spend most of your time in your room? No, I'm in the spare room. I lived in bed in my bedroom too long and it was terrible for me.

Do you have a hard time admitting you’re wrong? Not really, no. I suppose this could depend on the topic, but in general, I'm definitely willing to admit when I realize I'm wrong.

When were you the saddest in your life? After the breakup with Jason.

Who in your family has been married the longest? (and how long?) idk

Do you take your shoes off when you come inside? Yes.

What was the first social media site you ever used? MySpace.

Have you ever been catcalled? Not to my recollection.

Have you ever cut your own hair? Nah.

Are you a fan of video games? Yes. I'm not as obsessed as I was when I was younger, but I still enjoy them.

What’s your favorite color combination? Black and gold.

Has anyone besides your family seen you naked? If so, who? Jason, *basically* Girt, I talked about this recently. Oh, I remember as a young child taking a bath with my best friend.

Do you know how to use Photoshop? Yeah. I'm not a graphic design expert or anything, but I know a good deal, especially when it comes to photography-related functions.

Do you have the right time set on your microwave? Yes.

Have you ever been arrested? For what? No.

Where did you go today? Lunch with Tobey for Mom's birthday. Shortly we'll be going to dinner with my sisters.

Where is your favorite person? Maybe at work now? He has to do night shift for a while and I hate it.

What mode of transport did you take to high school? My mom drove me. Occasionally I would ride home with Jason on the bus to his house.

Have you ever made an item of clothing? No.

Who was the last person who cooked something for you? A cook at the restaurant.

Who was the last person who touched your hair? Besides me, Girt probably.

What was the last vegetable you ate? Green beans.

When was the last time you had a sleepover? Girt hasn't slept here in months, we don't do that a lot. He sleeps fine, I usually don't. I need a bigger bed.