Do you think Marika is evil? EDIT: Hey guys, I've discovered a few more details that are pretty interesting regarding Marika's lore (like some actual quotes from her in-game!) and they've been added at the beginning of my video covering Ranni! Check it out here kzfaq.info/get/bejne/d72VfbmqxKuxqHk.html

It's weird that you didn't mention the fact that Hewg, the blacksmith at the roundtable, mumbles to himself something like "Queen Marika, please forgive me, I haven't made a weapon that could kill God yet", which possibly hints to the fact that Marika was planning to overthrow the Greater Will and possibly other Outer Gods.

Maybe the solution to why Godwyn was killed is rather simple: Ranni never meant to kill herself, she just wanted to shed her empyrean body. If she just used the black blade to end herself, she would have fully died. But by having Godwyn murdered at the same time, the cursemark of death was split and her spirit stayed alive. If this is the case then Godwyn might simply have been a sacrifice she was willing to make.

I do not believe that Marika is evil in any way; I believe quite the opposite. I think it's incredibly important to remember that, since she was chosen to house/hold/be the Elden Ring, she is no longer her own person. She is beholden to, and in many ways controlled or enslaved by the Greater Will (as is the world). I believe that a lot of the things you attribute directly to her in your video are actually actions of the Greater Will enacted through her, or things that she felt forced to do in order to free herself from it. As the game progresses, we see more and more indication that Marika rebelled against the Greater Will and tried to throw off her (and the world's) shackles. The most obvious example of this is her shattering of the Elden Ring (shattering herself). When the Two Fingers speak through Enia, they say "Marika's trespass demanded a heavy sentence. But even in shackles, she remains a god, and the vision's vessel." Her trespass was shattering the ring, and we find her shackled and impaled when we enter the Erd Tree. Still, however, the Greater Will controls the world through her. I believe her shattering the ring was an attempt to free humanity from the Greater Will's control. Her attempt failed, and she was sorely punished for it. Then, Marika concocted a new plan, one which had to be done much more covertly as she was now tightly controlled and monitored. This second plan is the one our character gets involved in, and is the focus of the game. I’ll go over the parts of the plan below, and it should go without saying that everything I'm about to say is purely my opinion and interpretation. 1. The Demigods: First, Marika had her children, the demigods, each take a part of the shattered Elden Ring. The Greater Will tells the player, through Enia, that "The Greater Will has long renounced the demigods. Tarnished, show no mercy. Have their heads. Take all they have left." I believe this was the Will trying to recover all of the pieces of the Ring back from the demigods so it could be reforged completely once again. Her children had quite a number of problems, too many to list. However, as long as they were busy fighting, hiding, and being willingly devoured by giant snakes, they would not come together to bring the runes back to the Greater Will's control. 2. Ranni: Marika relied upon her one child who was very much sane, intelligent, and against the Greater Will: Ranni. Given that Radagan is Marika (or at least part of her), Ranni is Marika's child. The game is pretty explicit that Ranni is the one who orchestrated the Night of the Black Knives, however, there are things late in the game that hint that it was, in fact, Marika who arranged everything through Ranni. One such hint is on The Remembrance of the Black Blade: "Maliketh was a shadowbound beast given to his Empyrean. Marika's sole need of her shadow was a vessel to lock away Destined Death. Even then, she betrayed him." This betrayal was her sending Ranni and the Black Knife Assassins to steal the rune of death from him. The Black Knife armor set descriptions all say "The assassins that carried out the deeds of the Night of the Black Knives were all women, and rumored to be Numen who had close ties with Marika herself." There are other hints. Take a good look at all of the descriptions from the last few areas of the game. If I am correct in my belief that everything in Elden Ring is the story of Marika trying to break the world free of the control of the Greater Will, then Ranni's ending would be exactly what Marika wants: humanity being far removed from the controlling influence of outer beings. 3. Death: Marika needs death to be back in the world. She realized after shattering herself and still being very much alive that she would never be free of the Greater Will unless she could truly die. There are multiple instances in the hub of the blacksmith explicitly stating that Marika herself asked him to create weapons that could slay a god. She wants to die. I do not know if Godwyn's death was part of this plan or just a tragic accidental byproduct. 4. The Tarnished: I believe the entire purpose of the "Tarnished" (the entire group of people, not just the PC) is to kill Marika. The first Tarnished was Marika's own husband, Godfrey. Melina repeats Marika's own words to us "My Lord, and thy warriors. I divest each of thee of thy grace. With thine eyes dimmed, ye will be driven from the Lands Between. Ye will wage war in a land afar, where ye will live, and die." I believe that Marika made him tarnished because she realized she could free him by doing so. By driving Godfrey away, Marika could send a very powerful leader to shepherd a new group of people who would grow in size and strength and be largely out of the Greater Will's direct sphere of influence. Since then, and from that group of people, numerous tarnished have come to the Lands Between. Most have not accomplished much, but Miyazaki's games are always about throwing a million Hollows at the problem until ONE finally gets past the Anor Londo Archers. Also, to repeat "Ye will wage war in a land afar, where ye will live, and die," I don't believe "and die" is meant to be a curse. It's supposed to be a blessing. Anyway, Marika has little to no avenues of directly rebelling against the Two Fingers left to her. Her children cannot directly overthrow the Greater Will. Her only hope is to wait and pray that a Tarnished will prove strong enough to do the one thing no one else can do for her: kill her. This is why Melina is tasked with bringing us to the Roundtable Hold once we've proven ourselves by defeating a shardbearer. This is why Hewg was imprisoned in the Hold and tasked by Marika herself with forging a weapon that can slay a god. This is why Melina gives us Torrent. This is why Ranni appears at the Church of Elleh to give us the Spirit Calling Bell. All of these people have been awaiting a Tarnished to prove him/herself so they could provide the help that Marika wishes. 5. Melina: We see early on in the game that Melina is watching and testing us to see if we'll make it very far. When we do and we show a lot of promise, she gives us Torrent and starts to reveal to us that she has a purpose that she cannot quite remember. She was made for something very specific. She eventually disappears, after the Erd Tree refuses to let us enter, telling us that she needs to go and discover her purpose. We don't know exactly where she goes or what she does, but, when she returns with her purpose in tow, all she wants to do is burn the Tree. The Greater Will did not allow us into the tree because it is aware of what Marika wants. It is aware that there is now a legitimate danger to her, and, therefore, it. Melina now knows that she needs to burn the tree for us and then teleport us to Farum Azula so that we can get the death rune. All of this only serves one purpose: killing Marika. I do not believe that Melina is one of Marika’s children, but rather an aspect or avatar of Marika, created to serve a purpose. I think that we see the same thing in Millicent’s questline, in which Millicent is an aspect of Malenia. Melina is literally Marika guiding us to kill Marika. 6. The Radagon Problem: Radagon is and was meant to be confusing, and I am still working on how he fits into the whole equation. I believe that Radagon’s abandonment of Rennala and “marriage” to Marika were forced by the Greater Will. I also agree that Radagon probably is “order” in the Elden Ring. Let’s assume that Marika had already been chafing under the Greater Will’s control, and the Greater Will was aware of it. It would want a new, more malleable, less rebellious replacement for her. None of Marika and Godfrey’s children would do. The Greater Will may have forced the Radagon aspect of Marika back to the Tree in order to produce children that would be better suited toward being faithful ringbearers. Their children, of course, turned out to be quite imperfect. Perhaps this has something to do with what Radagon left in Rennala’s care when he left her. In any case, Radagon was used as a band aid to cover the broken, rebellious Marika. Since Marika’s attempt to shatter the ring, she and Radagon have been fighting with each other to break, mend, break, mend, etc. This is why, when the player character finally enters the Tree, it is Radagon that attacks us and tries to stop us. He is the aspect of Marika that wants to be controlled. Perhaps Radagon is simply Marika’s “Order” aspect, or perhaps he’s the part of her that is directly controlled by the Greater Will. Perhaps when Marika started to resist, the internal struggle between obedience and rebellion literally split her in two. 7. Endings: Ranni’s ending is the good one. It is the one that most fits what Marika wants: freedom. The endings in which the PC “mends” the Elden Ring are the bad endings, as they are nothing but the end of Marika’s rebellion and the solidification of the Greater Will’s subjugation of the world. Let the Elden Ring be shattered forever.

Something I noticed after watching your video, Radagon's Scarseal also has the criss-cross pattern!

The radagon being a split off Great rune with his own form caught me by surprise. I also didn't notice the pattern behind his statue and the pattern being the ER being the same. Giants cursing radagon with red hair is a shocker too. Subbed.

My theory is that if you think about his name, "Radagon of the Golden Order", I think Radagon IS order. Radagon is possibly the Rune of Order. Marika possibly originally intended to create Radagon as a means to enforce order in the realm, that's why he was created. But since Marika is also a part of the Elden Ring, removing Order from herself is what led her to disorder and chaos. That's why she made her selfish decisions to shatter the Elden Ring.

something in regards to Ranni's goal with her own Order I've been seeing a lot around, and I know you didn't cover it yourself in this video but I thought I'd mention it regardless. Once you've completed her full questline and go to the new site of grace in her room and speak with her doll she says this: "... I take it thou'st noticed? I shouldn't be surprised. I thought I might expound a little further... Upon the order I envision. Mine will be an order not of gold, but the stars and moon of the chill night. I would keep them far from the earth beneath our feet. As it is now, life, and souls, and order are bound tightly together, but I would have them at a great remove. And have the certainties of sight, emotion, faith, and touch... All become impossibilities. Which is why I would abandon this soil, with mine order. Wouldst thou come to me, even now, my one and only Lord?" I've been seeing people interpret this line "And have the certainties of sight, emotion, faith, and touch all become impossibilities." mainly to say that Ranni wants a cold dark world where everyone is reduced to a state of childlike blissful ignorance, unaware of the horrors as they exist in a blind and dumb stupor. But for me at least, this makes no sense. Ranni of all people, the one who slew the soul of her half brother and killed her own physical body using the Rune of Death she stole from her half-uncle, culminating in a final act where she slays the two fingers sent to control her destiny and ensure she take the role of a blind follower of its will, wants a world where everyone exists in blind ignorance? My interpretation of that line is this, as it is now with the golden order, all the things she listed as Certainties are things controlled by the greater will, and so what Ranni wants is a world with no certainty. One like our own in real life, where instead of having our fates controlled by a formless entity we are free to pursue whatever we wish. The souls of the Lands Between once flowed upwards to ascension among the moon and stars, but the Greater will has perverted this process and now our souls are poured into the Erdtree instead. Ranni wants to return things to how they were, a life of freedom, and ascension after death. It's why I cannot bring myself to oppose her no matter what I do in each run I have done of the game, as a human being who values free will and despises control it feels like the only true option to take. A life of golden slavery, or the freedom of the night sky.

We know that Queen Marika is from the Age of the Dragons, before the Age of the Erdtree, and her original home was likely Farum Azula, at least sometime during the Dragon God and Dragonlord's reign, and well before the eternal city's destruction. This is implied by statues of a young girl and three wolves, which can be seen in the same area where the PC defeats Maliketh, Marika's beastly half-brother. Maliketh is obviously there because of familiarity and nostalgia's sake. It can also be assumed that she had two other beastly half-brothers. Further, the Fingers were likely already around before the destruction of Farum Azula. At some point, after the Dragon God abandoned the world and Dragonlord Placidusax withdrew to await his return, the Fingers chose Marika as the Elden Ring's successor and Maliketh as her shadow, just as they did with Ranni and Blaidd. This was seemingly done by the Fingers in service to the Greater Will, which suggests that even the Dragon God and Dragonlord were under their influence. I think Marika and Ranni's stories are very similar, only Ranni actually got the ending Marika eventually came to desire. At least, there are some amazing parallels. We have the chosen Empyrean Marika, the fiercely loyal, beastly shadow Maliketh, and the aged Misbegotten smithing-master Hewg. We also have the chosen Empyrean Ranni, the fiercely loyal, Half-wolf shadow Blaidd, and the aged Troll smithing-master Iji. It seems like the price Marika paid for becoming the embodiment of the Elden Ring, was the forfeiture of her autonomy to the Greater Will (which likely existed from a time even before the Age of the Dragons). Many of the decisions she made after becoming a goddess-queen, are likely to have been heavily influenced by the Greater Will. One example of this could be the decision to conquer the Lands Between and unite them under her rule, effectively the rule of the Greater Will. Another example is her giving Destined Death to Maliketh for safe-keeping, with the supposed intent being to end true death. And with death out of the picture, the Greater Will gained power over the flow of all life, eventually using it as nourishment for the Erdtree. To satisfy the Greater Will and maintain her rule, I think Marika, just as she did with the Rune of Death, removed the Rune of Order from herself. With that rune, she, either with or without the help of the Greater Will, created Radagon, a male version of herself. I don't believe the revelation that Radagon is Marika, is to be taken as literal fact throughout the entirety of the story. For a very long period, the two were separate individuals with different desires. It's possible that the lack of influence from the Rune of Order caused Marika to become increasingly chaotic against the Greater Will. It was only much later, after Marika banished Godfrey, that Radagon, whether by the Greater Will's command or through his strict devotion to the Golden Order, returned to Leyndell to become King Consort. Sometime later, Marika, after possibly helping Ranni orchestrate the Night of the Black Knives, acts out one last time in defiance of the Greater Will, shattering the Elden Ring (essentially herself) and cursing everything. It forces the Greater Will to eventually rely on the Tarnished, which is how the PC eventually comes into the story.

The finger reader in Roundtable Hold said that Godrick is a distant descendant with diluted blood. I've seen many people say he's a son of Godfrey and Marika, but this seems contradicted in the game.

I love how well you explained what the Elden Ring was and queen Marika's role in the story. I would also love to hear your take on Ranni and her questline as her and Blaidde were some of my favorite npcs and npc questline in the game.

Your theory about radar on being the embodiment of the rune of order is so far the only theory surrounding him I’ve seen that makes sense. Super comprehensive video, well done

Would love to see a lore breakdown on the frenzied flame and the three fingers that allow you to inherit it been wondering about that

I have no desire to actually play this game (definitely not because I am garbage at them), but I am super fascinated in the lore and grapevine of characters! This was a great introduction to an apparently super convoluted and complex character, and you did phenomenally explaining it! I can’t wait for more explanation videos from you!

I hope you bring us more lore investigations as your presentation and pacing of humor flowed extremely well. The explaination was thorough, graphics were accurate and not constantly repeating, high quality audio, and professional script writing/reading. Do more! Cheers!

Out of all the Elden Ring explained videos I’ve watched from other channels/KZfaqrs, this is the only one that was explained in a way that made sense to me. Thank you and please do more!

There're some very interesting things Melina said in certain churches, in which she shares with the Tarnished Marika's own words. The lines you hear in the Church of Pilgrimage are these: "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." It seems that Marika intentionally banished Godfrey so that the Tarnished would return one day, instead of casting him away forever. And here she still addresses Godfrey as "my lord," which implies that she actually still loves him. The lines you hear in the Minor Erdtree Church are these: "I declare mine intent, to search the depths of the Golden Order. Through understanding of the proper way, our faith, our grace, is increased. Those blissful early days of blind belief are long past. My comrades; why must ye falter?" And then there's another line of Marika that she said to her demigod children (I forgot where she said it): "Make of thyselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord, Be it a God. But should ye fail to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken. Amounting only to sacrifices..." Then there're these lines you hear in her bedchamber after defeating Morgott: "O Radagon, leal hound of the Golden Order. Thou'rt yet to become me, thou'rt yet to become a god. Let us both be shattered, my other half." Radagon, instead of being open-minded, seems to be the origin of Golden Order fundamentalism, which is implied in many item descriptions (one of them being Radagon's Rings of Light, and then there's Golden Order Greatsword). The people who believe in Golden Order fundamentalism are, in Fia's words, "dogmatic brutes." The Goldmask also laments them being transformed from faithful apostles into mere fanatics. It seems that Marika shattered the Elden Ring because she realized that the Golden Order is imperfect, which caused her children to born as Omens (accursed blood) or afflicted with scarlet rot (which is some sort of outer god), and "blind belief" is not the way to make the world a better place. Radagon on the other hand, believes that the Golden Order is perfect and needs no changing, so he tried to defend it instead.

Thanks Bandit, I've been looking for some good "Elden Ring explained" videos, and this is the best so far!

I’m so glad you’re making Elden Ring content. I just beat the game yesterday and it’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had. The lore behind this game is amazing and either close to or at the level of Bloodborne’s

I've watched a few lore videos and this was the only one that started making things click in my head. So far I've been pretty much lost as to 95% of the story. It's very nice to finally be able to understand what I'm doing. Thanks!

You could cover Elden Ring for ages and I’d keep coming back. It’s not the sort of game I’d like to play, but I love hearing about the story and lore! Thank you so much for piecing it together for us. This is clearly a complicated story. 😅

New Bandit video = great day! Love the new look and feel of the channel.

this was extremely well explained, thank you! And yess, I would love to see Ranni's story explained

Omgggg. Thank you so much for this video. I finally understood the lore of this game. It was so informative and interesting. Can't wait to see more videos . Hope you do more background stories

Considering Radagon was aligned with the Golden Order it's possible that Marika did not split him from herself willingly and it was the doings of the Greater Will in order to have someone as powerful as her under its control. There is also supposed to be some text in the game (I read it online but sadly don't have a source) where Marika talks about him as he was less than her that could make sense if she didn't created him

Great video Bandit, looking forward to more Elden Ring content.

This was excellent. I'd love to see more like it. You did a great job of pairing the lore retelling with the visuals. Made for a really smooth and understandable recounting of this story. If you choose to do a series of maybe just the four endings or, better yet, of *all* the main characters of Elden Ring I'd binge watch it. Looking forward to whatever you decide to put out next. Liked and subbed!

Hell yesss, have been digging for a video that clearly describes the lore behind Elden Ring, and this just hits the spot! Look forward to your next videos and would love videos describing Ranni, Frenzied Flame, and Melina please!

What a great video! The game has such an interesting lore but not everything in game made sense but Bandit does what he does best! Waiting for the next one, maybe some theories about Fia or Astel. Keep up the good work! ✌

Man, If someone put a curse that turned me into a ginger I'd be pretty upset too.

Really good comprehensive video Bandit the lore in from soft way is so obtuse and you made this more understandable, i finished the game yesterday and took the Ranni ending.

This video is amazing, it had photos and text that matched what you were currently talking about, which was great for someone like me that just could not immediately remember which character was which, with all the names being the GRRM and all of them essentially being one big family feud, thank you very much.

The Empyrean thing is a bit wonky in how it's worded in Malenia's Remembrance: "Miquella and Malenia are both the children of a single god. As such they are both Empyreans, but suffered afflictions from birth. One was cursed with eternal childhood, and the other harbored rot within." I don't think being born of a single god is required to be an Empyrean, but rather their afflictions are caused by that fact. That's why Ranni is still an Empyrean while being born of Renalla. There's also the Gloam-Eyed Queen we never met who is said to also be an Empyrean in the Black Flame Ritual incantation. Empyrean is probably just a demi-god with the potential to wield the Elden Ring.

For those who don't know, Ranni's appearance in the game is the look of her mentor who taught her sorcery iirc. Her soul inhabits a doll which is made in the likeness of her mentor. This is written in her armor set description. also I don't know if it's just me but Ranni's original body which is in the top of Liurnia's Divine tower appears to have red coloring in the hair so maybe she's a redhead too.

I don't comment much but always enjoy your videos. Glad you got to cover something else you're passionate about and keep up the excellent work!

This is easily one of the best lore videos out there. Liked, commented, subbed. I want more. MOOOOOORRREEEE.

Excellent video. One thing I’m curious about is where you read Radagon was cursed to have red hair. Everything I’ve read implies he’s actually part giant and that’s the reason why he has it/is upset by it. It’s also implied the war with the giants happened while Radagon was married to Rennala, not after he leaves her to join Marika

I'd listen to Bandit read the dictionary, honestly. Loving the rebrand and the new content. Keep it up man! You've got my continued support. ✌️

My first non-Zelda video of yours I've watched and I am very impressed 👏 look forward to future Elden Ring vids! Especially about Ranni

You're very good at explaining, thanks the the rundown, can't wait for more!

Look at the full-sized image of the Elden Ring. The top looks like the same crucifixions we see of Tarnished in-game and Marika's pose. Definitely a connection there. Below the Elden ring is a massive arc cupping the Ring, obviously what the Rune Arcs come from and the lower arc of what their description refers to. Now, look at the three rings of the Elden Ring. It's kind of confusing to look at, but as far as I can tell the rings meet each other at six points. Six Great Runes are what must be retrieved. Perhaps to re-connect these touching points.

This is awesome, and super helpful and informative! It makes so much sense that Radagon IS the Rune of Order! Especially with his desire to restore the order that Marikia shattered. A few ponderances: - Do the other demi-god children that Marikia gave the runes to, also represent the aspects of their runes the way Radagon does? -Do you think the Elden Ring is a physical object gifted by the Greater Will? (Like the Triforce) ...or do you think the Elden Ring is an *aspect* of the greater Will? -Where does the Erdtree fit into all this? - (For a later video) What's up between Ranni and Melina? There HAS to be some kind of connection there, right?

really well put together, thank you for making this!

Great video! You have the most sensible theory of all lore videos I have watched

Awesome video

I just wanna see Marika and her armies at full glory. I also would like to see her at full power with all the runes in place

Great freaking video, helped me understand the relationship of Marika with Radagon. And most of the story in the game. Outstanding job brother.

This video was very good. I would not mind it being longer. Take your time it is really good!

Wasn’t the ring shattered after Godwyn’s death? If so Radagon existed before it was broken

There's also the "flames of chaos" ending, where you destroy the ring completely and engulf the world in "flames of chaos" whatever that means.

Excellent content. Really appreciate the effort. Can't wait for more videos!

I'll be patiently waiting for part 2, great video man.

When you talked about The Greater Will, the way you described it made me immediately think of The Miracle in Blasphemous, which actually made them both make more sense to me! Thanks man!

There is an inherent assumption here that Marika was the villain all along, where it's being hinted at that all she ever truly was, was a puppet to the Greater Will and a medium for them to control the world through. Both the wars against the Caria and the Giants reek of another god trying to destroy their competition, as the Carians worshipped the Moon, and giants a "fell god." The picture being painted is that Marika was growing tired of being a Slave to the greater will, and after death of her beloved Firstborn took action in order to try to undermine the Greater Will before she was replaced by a more willing servant. She ordered Hewg to create a god-slaying weapon that could be used to kill her and shattered the Elden Ring. She was confined in the Erdtree while Radagon, who Marika called the "Lapdog of the Greater Will", tried to unsuccessfully repair the Ring. Ultimately, the Greater Will was forced to recall the Tarnished after the demigods failed to collect the Runes. A tarnished was never supposed to become an Elden Lord. Despite the return of their grace and the supposed prophecy of a coronation to an Elden Lord, the Erdtree refuses their entry via thorns inlaid with Radagon's rune and Radagon immediately attempts to kill the Tarnished when they enter the tree. Followed by the Elden Beast itself, a god vassal to the Greater Will.

Oh hell yeah man. I love your Zelda theory and explanation videos. Did not know my guy is doing Elden Ring as well! Thank you sir, great vid and I look forward to more content! You did so well with the information, please make one for Ranni!

This took so much work! Bravo! Looking forward to more.

So i kinda agree with your version but i do have some differences mainly in her motivation. I believe that the greater will interfiered in her life alot. She was happy with godfrey, radagon was happy with renala but the greater will wanted a replacement and maybe to distance a god from a worshipper of the moon (rival outer god). So the greater will removed godfrys glow banishing him and demanding the marriage of the two halfes and the birth of embyreans. I also believe ranni is marikas child but she rather asociates with renala and her outer god. The family isnt very functional, since they later war against each other (i mean they are from 3different families and all) and ranni had godwyn killed (she had to kill him so she doesnt die fully, she wanted to lose the body and by killing herself and godwyn at the same time the deathrune split, killing her body but not her spirit and killinf godwyns spirit but not his body). I read somewhere that miquella was supposed to become heir (cant confirm 100%) so maybe due to favouritism from the greater will and marika that lead to rannis dislike of her real family. So when rannis plot happened marika finally lost it she wanted to get rid of the greater will and in a act of rebelion shattered the ring. She wasnt perfect and made many mistakes but i kinda feel that motivation makes more sense

I want to watch this theory, but I haven't played any of Elden Ring yet😥 I promise to come back and watch this through once I've played it!

nice video for my b-day! Keep it up it was really enjoyable!

Your explanation is so good, thanks a lot for this video.

Ranni's ending was the first one I got. So I'd love to hear the full lore around it!

Well, since Vaati is slacking, I'd love to hear more! Specially about Ranni and the other demigods.

Loved this! Thank you for sharing it!

This is so well done. Best explanation I've seen.

The question that bothers me is if the greater will wants us, the tarnished, to get the mantle of elden lord, then why the Erd tree refused us entrance? Why we needed to fight Radagon and Elden Beast? And great explanation btw.

Radahn Definitely strikes a lot more of a resemblance to King Gaiseric. A character from Berserk which Miyazaki absolutely loves to reference in his games.

Duuude I love that you're expanding!!!

More… please. Many good videos and explanations out there but I really like this one and the theories as well. Can’t wait for the next one, so many mysteries and questions!!!

I propose an alternative. What if Radagon started as his own person and later merged with Marika? Honestly, neither explanation really makes much sense, it's just one of those things in the lore that's vauge enough for a couple possible answers. Tho beyond the one in this video and my idea I can't think of any.

I'd like to know why the way inside the Erdtree is locked up to the player. If it was the Greater Will's plan to allow you entry, then why block it off? They force you to commit a cardinal sin, then try to kill you FOR commiting that cardinal sin

I find this fascinating! Keep up the good work!

So good to se bandit covering one of my favorite current games. Will definitely be watching later!

Feel like I’m cheating on Vaati by watching this.

Wtf, why is Marika so chaotic 😂 I’m laughing so hard. I didn’t expect this. What an interesting story. It really reminds me of the chaos and grandeur of the Silmarillion. I love it-

dude you explained the best and most clear to me. I finally understand the story and Marika and Radagon.

Amazing content! I can’t wait to see the next video!

I think the whole “one person is two people” thing is pretty common in this story. Marika being Radagon is probably less weird than it sounds.

Great video! I think the game gives a lot of clues that "The Greater Will" is actually kind of an Eldritch being in a Lovecraftian sense. Despite all the talk of "order" and the Golden Order being "holy", we find that the two fingers are rotting pieces of still-moving corpse, dead fingers are at the top of every divine tower, and everything touched by the Elden Ring in the Lands Between is succumbing to some kind of decay, disease, or undeath. Not to mention how one of the worst set of enemies in the game are basically a 12-20 fingered giant hand spiders, leading me to believe that detached fingers and hands are up to no good. I think these are world-building clues that all the Greater Will has done is put a very pretty looking layer of power down into the world, but underneath the surface of it is something truly horrifying. I don't think all this decay on the Fingers and in the world was just because the Ring was shattered; Marika seems to have had a deep instability, and the church that's built around her, (and their ideals about the Golden Order and the Greater Will's purpose) shroud how much of a nutjob she and all the 'gods' are! I mean, seriously; she tries to kill herself, and all her children and heirs take PIECES OF HER for her power, while another part of her tries to put her back together. If anything, I think Ranni's ending is the best, because it's clear to me that The Greater Will is an intrusive force on the world that was disguised in a pretty, golden light, but in actuality, is something awful and terrifying, like we see with that space-beast at the end. I'm not saying the Void and the Stars are much better, (we've seen some of those creatures, too), simply that the powers that be outside the Lands Between might be better left alone! Overall, I think Elden Ring has amazing world building. I think it becomes clear through the game that the Elden Ring and the 'order' it provides is rotten to the core. Nothing exemplifies it better than the Erd Tree, which is this shining beacon of golden light energy, but at the roots is decaying, rotten, and deadly. I think that's the window into what "The Greater Will" actually is doing: it presents a pretty surface while what lies beneath is probably destroying everything around it.

This is the best lore vid on elden ring so far. Please keep it up!

I don't know how you were able to put all this together- and in an understandable manner at that. You are EPIC.

So if the Greater Will is seeking you out to become the Elden Lord, why does it try to kill you in the end with Radagon and the Elden Beast?

You are incorrect about what an Empyrean is. Empyreans are just direct children of gods. There's no "one parent" rule. "Miquella and Malenia are both the children of a single god. As such they are both Empyreans, but suffered afflictions from birth." This is the line that confuses people. "As such they are both Empyreans, but suffered afflictions from birth" is a single uninterrupted thought. It's TRYING to tell you that these particular Empyreans share a parent, and that their afflictions are because of that shared heritage. If you REALLY wanted to stretch the interpretation you could potentially interpret it as "because they had only had one parent they suffered afflictions from birth" I guess. Either way. This one line is NOT a statement of the requirements for being an Empyrean. I'm not sure why people are fixated on this. Small Edit for Clarity: God is a title. Empyrean is the "race" of the Gods. Two gods (whom are empyrean) or two empyreans can bang and make more Empyreans.

Thank you for explaining this in a way that I can understand even having never played any of these games.

Thank you for doing this research! This video really makes this game a masterpiece!

So, I don’t think it was Marika who was necessarily responsible for everything. The fire giants were destroyed because their flame could burn the Erdtree and so it seems their destruction was decided by the greater will. The same for the Carians, as their moon worship contradicts the worship of the greater will and the golden order. Again with Godfrey, he was abandoned by grace which is given by the greater will. Marika herself is in service to the greater will until she seems to have rebelled by breaking the Elden Ring

I echo the sentiment that Radagon has the Seal of Order - and as such is the progenitor of Golden Order Fundamentalism - what I found more difficult to reconcile with that belief, is why he fell in love with Rennala, of the Moon. It seemed so out of Order, and not true to his Rune's sake. That is, untila thought occured to me - Even in the natural cycle of Order, the Sun and Moon come together momentarily, creating an Eclipse before inevitably separating. If Rennala represents the Moon, and Radagon the Sun, then it is perfectly balanced as all things should be. The moon and sun are often romanticized together, and it is evident in Miyazaki's work he is enamoured with that duality. In Dark Souls, with characters like Solaire, and Dark Moon Gwyndolyn, his love for the duality between a light and darkness is evident. And in this case, especially, as an aspect of sun and moon coming together: they create twilight - Ranni. Radagon gives Rennala the Amber Egg when he leaves for Marika. Amber. Seluhvis asks for an Amber Starlight Shard as it is said to be able to control a Demi-God, he tries to use it on Ranni but it doesn't work. Amber must have some property of the Greater Will, or even be a fragment of it. All of this adds up. How is Rennala Ranni's mother? Adoption. Or as a Surrogate. Radagon birthed Ranni, likely using the Mending Rune of the Unborn, and Rennala hatched it. Ranni was likely born of an Amber Egg (Perhaps all Empyreans are born this way.), just as what Rennala clings to, hence why the Amber shard does not affect her. And being born of Amber, this is why she needs to kill herself. To usurp control of her will from the Greater Will itself and pursue twilight. Ranni was not born of two parents, but created by one God. With her destined path tied to the twilight she represents - her ending quite literally eclipses the sun, bringing this duality into perfect balance, and ushering in a new age. Not of light, or darkness. I also have to add - that perhaps The Greater Will and the Full Moon, each different worshipped Gods, are themselves one split being such as Marika and Radagon. And then we have the mystery of Godwyn. I surmise the rune of death is meant to kill body and soul. But Godwyn's soul died, whereas Ranni's body died. A necessary sacrifice. Orchestrated by Ranni as a way to attain true freedom. To free herself without killing her soul. This is another thing common in Japanese RPG's - the idea of a "True Ending" representative of True Freedom. The Persona games and Catherine as well as others all have this common thread. Ranni's ending is True Freedom. The Lands Between? Between what? The Sun and the Moon? Death was removed by Marika. The Stars frozen by Redahn. Time stands still. Stagnancy. Ranni being the proverbial child of the eclipse removes the space between the sun and moon, bringing them together and forgoing "The Lands Between" the cycle between night and day, broken at last.

Most helpful video I’ve found. Everything else was going straight over my head, but now I understand! My gosh it’s so confusing. XD

Out all of the elden ring story explained out there, this is the only one that make me understand. Good job

Marika/Radagon duality explained: I think the Japanese do what we do. We look at Eastern culture and incorporate some of what we see into our own. We have "Zen" feelings and attitudes, we meditate and learn Yoga, we say Namaste to each other. The Japanese see 2.38 Billion People on this globe who follow ... wait for it ... God Father, God Son, and God Holy Spirit. The trinity of God in Christianity, forged into one. I suggest that this is where the Marika/Radagon duality is from. And if we can't explain it ... well ... 2.38 billion people cannot explain the trinity split of God, either. I think that the Japanese look at us with as much interest as we look at them. Almost all architecture is from European structures, as an example. We peek, we learn from one another, we are inspired.

Radagon was a chad 😏

Definitely keep making these, I'm one of the ones that are not playing it, but watching my hubby play it lol, but the lore is what has my attention!

This is amazing I’ve been dying for lore explaining thx 🙏

Empyreans are not a specific race of people, they are simply candidates for the greater will. Ranni says in her questline "I was once an Empyrean. Of the demi-gods, only I, Miquella, and Malenia could claim that title. Each of us was chosen by our own two fingers, as a candidate to succeed Queen Marika, and become the new god for the coming age. Which is when I received Blaidd. In the form of a vassal tailored for an Empyrean. But I would not acquiesce to the two fingers." All we know about the empyreans is that they are explicitly chosen by the two fingers (who interpret and disseminate messages from the greater will), they must have a shadow (Ranni and Blaidd, Marika and Maliketh) and they must have a consort.

Finally, a trans character that isn't used as a political commentary on modern society

Mannnnn, I didn't expect the amount of detail in this. I don't play or keep up with the company of Dark Souls, but the way ya explained this was great. I'd definitely love to see more on content like this, along with the continuation of this game's lore too. Just as long as the channel dosen't turn from this level of content, to something like scary game lore and or something like that for over 50% of your usual content. Just can't handle it honestly, LOLOL😅

This helps me to understand the story a whole lot better. It makes sense we and many other enemies can’t die yet the bosses can due to them being demi not in the endless cycle of death.

Dude!! Awesome!! I've been on the hunt for lore on Maliketh in particular, and understand what a shadow's role is, besides killing rogue empyreans? This helped clarify a lot, though I wish I understood his story better (why he's where he is, why he plays as clergyman to the beasts, etc). If you do a video on him (and maybe Blaidd and other wolf shadows?) I'd kiss your hands. :-3 This video was great, very clear and helpful. You're a star, keep up the great work!

Please do more Elden Ring lore videos. The story is very interesting but very complex. So I appreciate you making the complex understandable.

This is the most clear explanation of tbe lore I have ever seen 😌 a relief

Love this! Great way to launch Bandit Games. Defo do the next video about the witch chick. I've been playing this game and literally have 0 clue as to what's happening.