I really think mesmer is just another empyrian and was born long before rykard. He was sealed away because of his fire powers, when the erdtree era was at its height. He got the curse of the fell god with fire and thorn sorcery

Great observation between Mesmmer and the cleanrot knights. That pose is indeed very, very similiar!

I personally don’t think the snake motif implies that Messner is the child of Rykard. He may have a connection to the God Devouring Serpent and he almost definitely has some connection with the godskin apostles (who have snake like tails) and maybe the gloam eyed queen. My bet is that he is another child of Marika and Radagon being essentially Melina’s counterpart. There is even a further connection between the godskin apostles and Rykard if you think about the Godskin noble in the room with the giant snake skin in Volcano Manor. So maybe they are all in cahoots with the snake god? I’m still pretty certain Messner is Marika and Radagon’s kid though…

I love how EVERYONE WAS RIGHT about the hand being the entrance to the dlc.

Honestly quite excited. From what I’ve gathered, this game will be centered around a few things: why Miquella left the Lands Between to the Land of Shadow. Marika’s early history of when she first obtained godhood. And this new character, Messmer, another child of Marika found within this “removed” Land of Shadow. It’s all so interesting and I can’t wait to read up on the game’s contents 🙏🏼 we’ll be exploring pre-Erdtree cultures and what other terrible things Marika did in her past, hidden away in this displaced land.

29:06 This shot in the trailer reminds me of the Celtic Demigod Cú Chulainn; more specifically his spear, the Gáe Bulg. It was made of bone but when stabbed into a being it would transform into ~thirty barbs from the inside and jut out in random directions. It may not be the case, but to me it looks like a weapon stabbed into the dude's head and jut out in a similar fashion, especially with the face details.

Now that the wings are available, I can FINALLY be a Crucible Knight, complete with flying off a cliff!

There are even more clues dropped by Miyazaki. In his Japanese interview, he hinted that Marika became a god in the Land of the Shadow, she also created the Golden Tree there. He also hinted that Messmer could be her son.

I wonder if the skeleton at 19:00 might somehow be related to the Gen 2 of Albinurics. It has a similar skin tone and weapon as the ones in Lunaria.

I can’t wait to completely lose any aspect of a social life playing this! It’s so exciting knowing we’re going to be able to explore the lands between with fresh eyes. You were spot on in your last video too with the snakes. I wonder if the baby that the Iron Maiden’s hold could be the lost child of Tabitha and Rykard (Mesmer)

5:55 "this guy? I'm going to bet he's a good guy. I bet he's a friend." Absolutely. He's round and friend-shaped. Just like Alexander, just like the Knights of Catarina from Dark Souls games. From Soft knows how to signal it and we know how to read it.

Oooh, Kintsugi! How on earth could a Japanese game that's theme is nearly completely based on gold not have used that concept yet?! I absolutely love that idea!

One thing I noticed about the structure in 10:40 is that the main gate has all of those horizontally layered scenes engraved into it much like those obelisks in Siofra you can light. It might imply the same culture built both of those structures.

The name Lands Between indicates that its between something so maybe its not physically between something but other dimensions are layered over it. The Land of Shadow could exist in the same area just a different dimension layered over the one we're in so that's why things look similar yet different. For anyone who played God of War 2018 it would be like when you travel to different realms but you're geologically in the same area.

The basket man has the head of the fire giant on its belt

My current theory is that this dimension a warped reflection of the Lands Between where alternate versions of anyone might still exist. Not Radagon, though. This is Radagon's native dimension, until Marika found him while looking for a solution.

I'm really glad you mentioned that Serosh looks like he's being handed like parade costume. The guardian lion-dog/dragon makes sense for a "Lord of Beasts"; initially I thought the person underneath it would have been Godfrey or some variant of him, but I think you made an interesting point that this might just be Serosh's corpse stolen away (while Godfrey remains alive). A while ago, I had a theory that Godfrey was the blue dancer fairy because we know he is "Warrior", meaning we can closely attribute the Warrior set to him. The armor implies he helped seal away the God of Rot, which could be part of how he "trained" Malenia. He's blinded when his eyes turn grey (when he donned the Elden Lord set), etc. I thought it made the most sense to be the thing whispered by Malenia to Radahn when they battled, and the truth to know that Malenia, someone he condemned so vigilantly, would be trained by someone he aspired to be like so much, were closer to each other than he was with him. Is the one puppeting Serosh now, still Godfrey? Maybe, but I also think it could be the idea that, because he's a corpse, the "Rot took hold of him", meaning the dancers might be followers of Rot under Gowry (a name suspiciously similar to Godfrey...) The biggest plothole in this theory is that "Godfrey doesn't use swords, he uses axes"... but I think he did use swords, because the Sword Monument at Castle Morne mentions a lone warrior lusted for vengeance, but fell before Lord Godfrey (his past life, before divinity "graced" him when he conquered the Badlands (which I'm speculating is another name for the realm of the Fae magicks, and vengeance is the curse that overcomes the magical spite of the Fae/Divine; cosmic hubris.))

The fiery basket giant screams wicker man to me! This just immedietly struck me when I first saw the trailer and I cant shake this from my mind. Also the dlc releases a day before summer solstice, very interesting choice for a couple of reasons, its important pagan celebration, the nightless night, a time for potent rituals, of endless dance. And most northern europe will be out celebrating with family and friends :D I know I wont be able to play it until a couple days later :(

I mean, it doesn’t have to mean that Messmer is directly related to Rykard himself because of the snake motiff. In the temple of Eiglay where we fight a godskin, we can find imagery of some kind of winged serpent figure, perhaps the serpent god that Rykard fed himself to. This implies that the seprpent god existed before Rykard himself, and Messmer could have done something related to it before him, and become exiled himself. Just food for thought. Loved the video!❤

Basket guy is a very nice reference to the Wickermen in Berserk's Elf Island, Mesmer looking like Grunbeld if he skipped the gym

Messmer is definitely linked to Rykard, but he also speaks about punishing people in the land of shadow. Rykard and his crew were those that dealt judgement to sinners against the Erdtree prior to his turn to Blasphemy. It makes sense that his son might have a similar origin, but the snakes and fire imply Messmer was around for Rickard's decent into Blasphemy. I wonder if Messmer was born after Rykard's betrayal but rejected his father's ideals? But much like Morgott, he is forced to support the Golden Order from the shadows. Morgott because of the Omen Curse and Messmer because of his Serpent Aligned Father.

Here is a wild thought, so take it with grain of salt. Messmer seems to be wearing the Godskin Noble gauntlets and wielding the flames of destined death. Could he have been involved in the Godskin Apostasy? Could Merika have banished him for joining the Gloam-eyed Queen? Could Godfrey have created the gladiatorial games in his honor? Remember the dualist chest piece description. Maybe Merika missed him so much that she made Radagon in his image, and therefore, Melania became like him as well, and her clean rot knights followed suit.. What is gloam? What is dusk? What is shadow?

you have a wonderful eye for detail, and i always enjoy your lore videos-regardless of the game. i can't wait to play the dlc, and then have you explain all the details i'm sure to miss!

The basket case guy was red manes tied to his waist 👀

I've watched like 4 trailer breakdowns now and your insights and comparisons to the main game are so good! A+

Everybody stop what you're doing. The Kitetales video we've all been waiting for just dropped.

You mentioned so many things in your video that I hadn’t heard anywhere else! Thank you! Subscribed!

when you pause on the lion head, you can see the two hand operating it like a puppet (i think it’s a pinwheel like situation, maybe grafted together, with the head at front)

You’re the first video I’ve seen touch on the Omen lion dancer Boss/enemy having Misbegotten traits, truly thought I was the only one who saw that! Hope to see a video on that enemy alone, sure you’ll uncover awesome details

Genuinely I feel you bring a novel perspective compared to other Elden Ring content creators on KZfaq, you having the vernacular to distinguish the window tracery for instance makes your commentary feel versed and persuasive. Can’t wait to see what else you’ve to say.

I feel like the drapes over the Shadowland are of the draped platform we see at 20:45 in the arena Messmer is fighting in and not Marika’s bedchamber in Leyndell. Here’s my crackpot theory: Messmer was born of something akin to the “repellant birthing ritual” the Serpent’s Amnion refers to, and that draped platform may be where it occurred.

The empyrean with many different logos upon his cloak. He is Messmer, the Indecisive.

The spine stuck in "the king" is so reminiscent of the gold "spine" we see during the Elden Beast fight/ The brachiopod motif on the Crypt chairs. I wonder if there's a connection somehow. Another thing I thought about while i was watching the trailer and heard you mention the cloth in Marika's bedchamber was the item we find in Stormveil: Marika's Veil. I'd bet that whatever magic used to conceal is in effect with the large veil we see in the trailer concealing the land of shadow.

A little observation: Mesmer (the Impaler) shares his title with the historical figure Vlad the Impaler. One of the important aspects of Vlad Tepe's life was that he was essentially offered as a hostage/ward by his Father to the Ottomons to secure loyalty. This could explain Marika's intention, as offering her son could have helped her gain power in these foreign lands. Like Gwyn and Filianore in DS3. The connection to Rykard to me seems likely coincidental as Rykard may have gotten the whole snake thing from the Land of Shadows (tanith?) to begin with.

fantastic video as always, love your analysis

My theory is that this area exists within the void on the map to the East of Liurnia. The Shadow of the Erdtree will overlap the regular Erdtree and will be the northern most thing in the land of shadow. We're seeing bits of things that are close in proximity perhaps to this area in the regular map.

I personally think this land of shadow is the giant chunk of land missing in the middle of the map. I saw another video where they compared marikas bed to the draping clouds around the tree. It gives the impression that there is a veil covering the entirety of the land. Which would make it a land of shadow. Also they said this is the land in which marika first stepped foot in however throughout the game they say she came to the lands between. This land of shadow had to of, at some point, been part of the lands between. My final reasoning is the use of the word shadow. Shadows in metaphoric terms are usually used to represent a character’s ominous past. This is probably why it gives liurnia vibes if it was originally the land to the east of it. Would help explain the missing chunks and why the first trailer for Elden ring which showed an army storming the capital. This could have been Mesmer and Rykards army. Especially if he’s another afflicted child of marikas. These last points are more so food for thought but perhaps he studied the crucible and found it to be the only way to clean the ailments upon himself/siblings. Maybe he uses the flame god powers in pursuit of liberating the crucible from the greater wills influence. Maybe we will finally found out what happened to the god that fled Placidusax or exactly when farum azula started floating in the air.

Maybe the Lion Boss is Godwyn. He wandered into the land of shadow as well. The omen blood got to him, like his brothers, and left him disfigured. Explaining the horns. He uses the head of his father's deceased companion to hide his sad form. Also the death blight attack paired with a golden order attack would suit him.

The moment I’ve been waiting for!

Calling it now, we get beast communion spells

The great rune we’re seeing reminds me of the halo scythe design. That tells me that the scythe is a homage to Miquella’s great rune. So either Miquella cast aside his Great Rune, or he gives his/her life to do something like is depicted towards the end of the trailer and leaves it behind. Meanwhile, Mesmer seems like he’s going to be the antagonist of this story but also reminds me of a corrupted version of Miquella reminiscent of Rykard. Maybe due to Mogh’s influence. I can’t wait for more lore.

Kitetales and more elden ring?!?You know that I'm already here for it!!

the spiral pillars you were sure are in game but couldnt find are indeed in the base game. I'm pretty sure they're found in the Volcano Manor throne room, and/or Rykard's boss room. I know there's definitely pillars that look very very similar somewhere, but i might be wrong about the specific location they appear

Still haven't heard anyone talk about how wild the last frame is. Our Tarnished is casting Aspect of the Crucible Wings without holding a sacred seal. WITHOUT A SEAL. Which means-We'll be able to cast magic in this DLC without catalysts.

I'm so happy you focused on that Cuckoo church place, I haven't seen anyobody else talking about it and it's seems so intresting to me, specially since it was featured in the trailer, it has to be important somehow

13:12 Miyazaki actually confirmed this

You have a great voice for narration, great analysis too btw.

The spirit talking to us on the Weeping Peninsula could very well be talking about Messmer. Messmer sits on the throne of an Elden Lord. Bandai Namco stated that: "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. It was to this land that Miquella departed. Divesting himself of his flesh, his strength, his lineage. Of all things Golden. And now Miquella awaits the return of his promised Lord."* - Miquella is represented by the Nascent butterfly - Malenia is represented by the Aeonian butterfly - Messmer is represented by the Smoldering butterfly All names begin with M & have a butterfly representing what they bring to the lands.

I specifically come to this channel for Elden lore. thank you for your service :p

I could have swore I read Miyazaki saying the map is LITERALLY in the shadow of the erdtree! Meaning it's the vast area right beneath the erdtree within the HUGE shadow cast by the erdtree!! So think of the erdtree as a "umbrella" of sorts, imagine the shadow a opened umbrella makes directly underneath it.blocking out any natural sunlight, that shaded, dark, gloomy patch of land underneath the tree is where the dlc is set..atleast that was my understanding...also Miyazaki said they took alot of effort in the verticality of the map design, which probably means the whole area map has additional areas underneath the land in caverns,caves and a nokron type of areas! As well as upward verticality..so even if the base map is a certain size(limgrave-ish size), we still should expect areas stacked on top if eachother creating a dense map design! With that said, I like this idea of "the land that the sun cannot touch" which is the vibe I get from "shadow of the erdtree".. so If the map design turns out to be very much literal in terms of the title lol..I kinda like it.. if u actually pat attention to the trailer closely the "in the shadow of the tree" setting looks to be true, in that shot with the giant wicker man fire giant thing, just look at the sky!! It literally looks like it's beimg blacked out by the trees shadow!! With only slight bits if light peeking thru . It looks like the tree and the smoke coming off the tree is blocking most of the skies natural light , creating this grayish, smoke stained yellow affect..only a few times in the trailer can we actually see the actual sky lit up naturally. On a side note, I hope we get out 1st legit 3 phase boss fight " sister freide" style!! 3 full health bars in a BALANCED fight!! Freide was 1st bar-med difficulty, 2 bar-reletivly easy, and 3rd was hard n sometimes cheap but fun!!... I love those fights where in the 1st few attempts that 1st phase seems really difficult, but by the time ur getting to the 3rd phase consistently the first 2 phases are almost muscle memory lol. Ecxept in that freide fight, for some reason her 1st phase I could do without using any health flasks (or just 1) or die hella quick nothing in between or else it was a forfeit run lol!

I think the giant Rune Bear head is an incantation like the dragon roar. And I feel like the big bad's eye seemed like dragon communion or dragon cult. Maybe even frenzy but that might be stretching it. I definitely think the fire in his hand is a Seal of some sort. I am sort of wondering if he isn't just dabbling in all manner of powers or outer god influence.

The spiral columns look a bit like some in the volcano manor? The room right behind the portal to Rycard, where you get the man-serpent ashes, has a bunch of them (though it looks like the spiral column behind the npc holding a jar in the trailer is a bit more angular than the volcano manor columns). Just in case those are the ones you were thinking of :) Thanks for the great video!

Great theories! I agree with your take of Messmer being the offspring of Rykard. Either the son of Tanith or Malenia, like you said. I lean more toward Tanith, being the mother, mostly due to her dialogue regarding Rykard's immortality and threat of returning. Also, Tanith wishes Rykard to be within her, I assume she means his seed.

I first thought that the new Lion boss may have been the grafted corpse of the one the king used!

The architecture could implicate the astronomers or their descendants. Also, it's possible that Mesmer is the 3rd sibling of Miquella and Malenia implied by the three types of butterfly items.

You pointed out things no one else has and also have a perspective that is very different from other soulsborne lore hunters. I'm super excited to see what this dlc is all about and very excited to potentially meet St. Trina.

Can't Wait to fight Malenio

I’m so excited! ⭐️✨🌠 Just redownload elden ring today.

The line about "meeting death in the embrace of Messmer's flame" could be related to him wielding destined death, which Marika suspended in the lands between. That would also explain the colour of his flame.

I think they took inspirations from lion dancers for sure...be a cool phase 2 if either the head or the tail is killed first

remember how the gladiator armors had two symbolic serpents wrapping around the limbs.

Wonderful video, Tysm! I am so excited for the possibility of meeting Marika, seeing her and her son reunite would be so epic

Hey kitties with another relaxing breakdown of Elden Ring 😊Nice video about the skeleton guy and such! Kind of reminds me of Jason and the argornauts an old movie with walking, fighting skeletons was pretty cool. Alwaya nice listening to your voice.

11:00 I’m intrigued by the giants heads on the fire basket golem’s waist. Is it the same giants flame powering the basket golem?

My theory is the Shadow is the past, and maybe Mesmer was Marika's first born outside the lands between and was banished, and the old guy in the portrait is his first husband in Farum Azula, since it was said that this is where Marika went first. Maybe Mesmer went against his mother Marika and corrupted the Erdtree with death rune, since he has the death flame and that 's how we get the current Farum Azula that is totally destroyed. In short Marika is a btch with a lot of demi god sons and daughters.

Take a closer look at Carian inverted statue and a character at 09:05

So I watched the trailer a few times, and read the interviews. I think the treestump we see is the rest of the old greattree. And the light upon it is the bottom of the erdtree. I think the Land of shadows is under the erdtree. There are often discussions that the golden erdtree is tree of faith. Maybe no real wooden Tree. I think it is placed upon the rest of the old tree. And down there are the Partys, follower of the old great tree, which were prisoned there by Marika. Also. I am german and there is a German word Mesmer: is responsible for preparing the church interior and sacristy for worship. The sexton service is often associated with the broader care of a church with the tasks of a caretaker (such as the administration, maintenance and cleaning of the building), church swiss and bell ringer as well as other liturgical services, technical or craft activities This could make maybe some sense if Mesmer is placed by Marika in the shadow lands to guard or rule in her Absence.

5:14 the rune looks like the new emote where the character does the circle with their arms to the side.

excited for the dlc and more lore!

It kinda looks like the draped fabric on the tree is like a barrier to something above...maybe the erd tree's roots grow out of the top of this tree, on the other side of that fabric. Which makes this shadow land like an inverted mirror of the lands between?

I've never been more excited for a game. Three months can't pass fast enough.

We sleeping good tonight boys on our second watch of course

Red hair is not the signature of Radagon, but the signature of the curse of the fell god, as the "red braid whip" states. Hair Colour alone is not enough to connect Messmer to Radagon, since Messmer would have to be older than the conflict between Radagon and Rennala. And given his name, he also seems to be the one who impaled all the Giants too. He cannot be a triplet of the twin prodigies, thats already not possible anymore with everything we know, since the DLC is confirmed to elaborate the past before Marika became "Marika the Eternal" and possibly even the arrival of the Numen. You also completely miss the "dragon" aspects on Messmer, his eye is a dragon transmutation eye that we can get with dragon communion. Rykard also does not have wings like a bat or like a modern feathered dragon. Executioners, like Messmer, are and historically were not likable characters, if you need a people slaughtered, you get someone who studies blasphemy of any kind, be it snakes, dragons or fire. This of course forces you, as ruler, to confine all of this as a secret that is guarded by death. Locking him in a pocket dimension after his job is done is very Marika, just like she did with Maliketh. Messmer came before Rykard, since Rykard is the interrogator and head of obscure operations up to the shattering during the golden age and Messmer is certainly older and battle-hardened like an executioner in war times

The snakes remind me of the Gladiators. They too have snake imagery going on, they even have an attack with snakes for the player. It was Radagon who had the tradition of Gladiator fights banned; If Messmer is his son, maybe he didn't feel like having lookalikes of his son being slaughtered. I am far more confused with the drake aspect of his appearance. It almost seems like too much is going on.

Possibly Mohg and Miquella created Mesmeer. I know it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but Mohg did have plans for Miquella and wanted to be his consort

The hippo thing with the spines on its back reminds me of a creature from Made in Abyss manga - the spines, specifically. I also thought possible incest concerning Mesmer - that could also be why Rykard hates her so much.

I Hope we find out more about Godwyn as well

At 6:45 that’s actually a Zamor! They’re enemies of the giants and have strong connections to ancient dragons. They don’t have much explanation to them beyond that maybe it’ll be expanded on in this?

Now that you mention it: The spiral colunms look aa lot like the Trumpet

The statue of Marika holding a baby behind Messmer is similar to the Abductor Virgins, and the Virgins' faces are similar to the woman sitting in the cuckoo church.

the basket guy is a reference to berserk where they throw new born babies into a basket thing to create more demons to become more powerful

The cover art shows Mesmeer with what looks like the snakes making an Elden Rune

I cannot wait for more Kite Tales Elden Ring lore videos. The best lord videos next to vaati

It's why the map seems simular like the field of roses could be that one area in the concictated snow fields whre you find the invadre sanguine noble

Messmer has to be the child of affair between Radagon and the Gloam Eyes Queen

My (unfounded) theory is that Miquela and Malenia were originally triplets but that Messmer had to be hidden away/written out of the history. Either A) like Malenia's connection with the God of Rot, Messmer is connected with the Fell God. The giants were wiped out because of their connection with fire and it's risk to the erd tree - but it would be a sin/unconscionable for Marika to kill their own child, so he was sealed away. Explains why Marika went to the land of shadows (to seal him) and maaaybe Miquela has gone to investigate and/or free him. Or B) Messmer died as a baby OR is this pantheon's version of Hades. I believe this land of shadows is the land of death - we already visit a (dead god's dream) version of this in Fia's questline. The "drape" over the erd tree gives me strong death bed vibes. I could see Messmer having died as a baby, so Malenia takes him to the land of death where he must remain but is able to "live" and grow. Also, we know that Miquela was obsessed with bringing Godwynn back, so it makes sense why he would travel TO the land of death, to seek aid/information/Godwynn. Supporting evidence for this being the afterlife: the wicker man is a celtic mythic figure and now a boss fight... Well, iirc "the land of shadows" is the afterlife in celtic mythology. That plus the erd tree's primary function being tied to death makes "shadow of the erd tree" make a lot of sense.

5:41 Most likely The Formless Mother

You got a beautiful voice.

My theory doesn't account for some details, but I like it anyway... IMO just like Marika was split in two, Miquella was as well and Messmer is his other half. The catalyst for him fracturing was what Mohg did to him. Messmer looks like an homage to Malenia and her Cleanrot Knights, which I could see Miquella manifesting as his idealized version of strength. Messmer's limbs are so long and gnarled, just like Miquella's form in the cocoon. He uses what looks like bloodflame, learned from Mohg's defilement of Miquella. Snakes, however, I dunno haha. Both Miquella and Marika are imprisoned and unresponsive in the main game. So, I think this could be where they both went after leaving their bodies behind. As a god Marika could have created some kind of dream/alternate reality, one where the Greater Will doesn't have influence so the crucible was able to flourish. Maybe it was created when she shattered the Elden Ring, who knows. Like I said, doesn't account for everything and probably isn't what happens, but those were my first thoughts from the trailer.

Mesmer could be the alter ego for Rykard. When merged with the snake he became immortal. Tannith said rykard cannot die and would be born again

The basket is clearly based on hecatoncheires

I have nothing to offer but 1 thing...that lion thing that looks like a misbegotten, it's either a puppet or, what I believe is, a Chimera type of creature, a creature made up of multiple different creatures.

The Chinese dragon like boss might be operated by twins. And it may show how efficient they are with they teamwork.

The guy at 10:01 in the painting with the "Fia like girl" has the same clothes as Morgott, maybe an alternate version who isn't omen?

Lets gooo

Anyone noticed the friggin' LAVA PUMP 😂

So wild theory... But what if the "mother" that Mesmer speaks of isn't Marika but in fact referencing the Outer Gods aka the Mother of Truth or Formless Mother... A reference to the the Formless Mother is found on Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear. This would link Mohg to Mesmer in some way. Which would make the person inside the cocoon, Mesmer and not Miquella.

I suspect a sin that Messmer the impaler committed was impaling Marika. Marika has what appears to be a shard of destined death piercing her abdomen/womb when we encounter her imprisoned within the erdtree. This symbology mirrors Jesus Christ being impaled with the spear of Longinus. For what purpose I'm unsure, maybe affecting her ability to produce more demigod children. I also suspect he's a third child of Marika+Radagon and is represented by the smouldering butterfly, with Miquella and Malenia being represented by the Nascent and Aeonian butterflies respectively. Snakes in the lands between seem to have a long standing association with sin, an example being the garments worn by the gladiators who fought in the colosseum's in Godfrey's era as Elden lord. This would predate any of Marika and Radagon's offspring, but an interesting connection anyway. Tarnished Archaeologist has a great video covering snakes in the lands between.

The only thing I’m sad about is I didn’t see any hints at new sorceries

12:50 i'm 100% sure it's Lion dance