What do you want to see most from Elden Ring's inevitable DLC content?

We need DLCs for - Godskin Apostles/ Dusk eye Queen - Miquella & Malenia - The past eras of beast & Dragons

You forgot to mention that when you summon her for the Morgott boss fight, she has the same moveset as a Black Knife Assassin and uses the Blade of Calling as her weapon and also has Erdtree Healing incantations. It's also noteworthy how you can find her entire armor set in the Haligtree in a room right before the Malenia fight.

It's occuring to me now that based on the games starting location, the scion killing us, I can only assume we were a tarnished candidate to be grafted onto Godrick

I really really hope we get to see more Melina. She's so pleasant to talk to. Also, poor torrent. It broke my heart to see the whistle fade away in Melina's hand. I like to think he held on until he could tell her bye.

Thank you so much for the shoutout! I think you should still make those videos! I try to cover as much as I can but as many commenters have pointed out, I still miss so much, and your previous Ranni and Marika video were so good, I actually skipped both of them because I couldn't piece them together as well as you did.

If you look at the two tattoos on Ranni and Melina's face, it is almost like they are two halves of the same symbol. With Ranni having two crow fingers and Melina having three, it exactly mirrors the theory that the Two Fingers and the Three Fingers were one entity that split apart, kind of proving that they are two halves of the same person as well.

What's also interesting is the fact that her tattoo is clearly faded in the Frenzied Flame ending, leaving behind a skin mark. To me, that seems like the tattoo may have been a seal. That eye is closed when the tattoo is there and open when it's not, after all.

I always thought the “tattoo “ over the eye was a burn from a madness spell. Especially, since when you cast Flame of Frenzy, it comes out of the same eye.

Look Bandit, as a theorist, don't worry about trying to cover stuff others haven't covered. Just do what you want to do. Just because someone did it first doesn't mean you doing it is pointless. Sincerely, Saber the (maidenless (F for Melina)) Tarnished Seeker.

Becoming host of the flame of frenzy, burning the tree, then using Miquella's needle would mean that Melina survives and isn't pissed at you. Kinda wish we got to see her after that.

as an artist, I LOVE HER DESIGN! its so simple silent quiet yet very elegant and memorable. her eyes i dont know what but something about it tells me a lot about her.

I was following until the eye mark thing led to the crow nonsequitur, when there's a much stronger and more relevant connection - her marks (and colour) match the Beast Eye Gurranq gives you, which responds to Deathroot. That is to say, Gurranq, or Maliketh, has Melina's original eye, and who is Maliketh's one confirmed kill? The GEQ, former holder of Destined Death. You could further point out that his title was Death of the Demigods, despite every known demigod being accounted for, Godwyn being the first to die in "recorded history" according to Rogier, and again, his only known casualty being the GEQ, suggesting GEQ is a demigod. And that lines up quite nicely with Melina being a hidden demigod, since she's born inside the Erdtree, and has a strong connection with Marika. There's also an interesting timeline issue - there's a lot that suggests GEQ is an older figure; for one, she used Destined Death before Maliketh, and Maliketh was given Destined Death at the creation of the Golden Order, so GEQ must preceed the Golden Order, for another, the Noble Presence description describes it as a trophy of a god hunt, strongly implying the succesful killing of gods, but every post-Golden Order god or demigod is accounted for (Miquella notwithstanding). But she's also an empyrean chosen by her (two?) fingers, so she can't have preceeded the Elden Beast's coming, and if she did preceed Marika, then not by a lot (she'd be the only pre-Marika empyrean, yet we know of 3 post-Marika empyreans), and obviously she was still around in Marika and Maliketh's time. She certainly doesn't seem to belong to some forgotten age of dragons or deathbirds. The way to create a cohesive picture of Melina is to see her as being both a demigod child of Marika, and the GEQ. Suddenly the timeline makes sense - as a child of Marika, of course she can be an empyrean. How can there have been successful god hunts? But of course there were, we literally know of at least one slain god - the Fell God of the giants. Therein we find a purpose she would have received at birth - to dole out Destined Death indiscriminate to competing gods, clearing the way for Marika to become the chief and only god. Why was her purpose lost? But of course it was - Maliketh could have only defeated her at the behest of Marika, which would be a betrayal of both Melina, and her given purpose. We know Marika is no stranger to betrayal, especially when it comes to the threat of Destined Death, after all, we're told she betrayed Maliketh without even explicitly understanding what said betrayal is. Maliketh's title as Death of the Demigods now makes sense - he killed the forgotten (possibly first?) demigod, Melina. Melina's actions ingame now make sense - empowering you to defeat the remaining demigods, and eventually even bringing death to the Erdtree, not to mention unleashing Destined Death. Ranni's own actions also take on a completely different bend when viewed through this lens - shedding her empyrean flesh to live on burned and bodiless, channeling the rune of death to kill demigods, appearing in spectral form to guide the Tarnished, not only is she acting in defiance to the Golden Order, but also emulating her forgotten cousin Melina. Why does she know Torrent's former master - simple, she knew Melina, who IS Torrent's master, after all, literally the first we see of Melina is her riding Torrent. Also, the present from Torrent's former master she gives you isn't jus the spirit calling bell, but also the 3 wolf moon t-shirt ashes, remember the altar at the back of specifically Maliketh's arena depicting a girl with three wolves near her? The wolves that are associated with empyreans? Marika's actions also suddenly have a more cohesive, and sinister form - imagine an early pre-Golden Order Marika waging war for the Erdtree, with Godfrey, Maliketh, Radagon and Melina leading her armies. Godfrey and Radagon to defeat her enemies, Maliketh to protect her as a loyal bodyguard, Melina to bring Destined Death to opposing gods. What happens after the wars are won? Godfrey is robbed of grace and sent on his long march, Maliketh is sent to defeat Melina and rob her of Destined Death, Radagon is recalled to be with Marika and make her whole again, and then as soon as the Golden Order is created, Maliketh is given the RoD and banished to Farum Azula. An image of Marika an calculating and paranoid very quickly emerges, not only betraying her comrades, but robbing them of their very purpose. If we wanted to really go off the deep end and make the theory crazy I'd say we can look at potential connections between GEQ!Melina and either Ranni's snow witch master, or the idea of the Eternal Cities trying to make a lord (Lord of Night?) from the silver tears (which is a whole can of worms when you consider Marika might be just that - it would explain how Radagon can be both her and not, and how Melina can be her daughter without any implied father). But again, that's getting kinda out there. One thing that I think that's worth thinking about is what's up with the Flame of Ruin/Forge of Giants? Is there a Flame of Frenzy connection? After all, Melina has some connection to both, and if I'm right, also to the Fell God. Alternatively/as well, is there a connection to the crucible? The Forge is basically an open crucible after all, and Melina does seem pretty attached to life and birth, (and death of the destined and indiscriminate varieties) which seems to be the crucible's field. Anyway, I look forward to learning more in the second DLC because we're definitely getting Miquella first.

One correction to offer: The "Great Tree" is not the ErdTree. Check the Root Resin item description. It specifically says it's said that the Great Tree's roots were once entwined with the roots of the Erdtree. Having them both appear in the same description is a strong indicator that they're not the same thing with some kind of problem with the translation.

Elden ring is the only game in a few years that makes me genuinely want to know what happened to characters. Like when you come back expecting to buy something or bullshit and find a corpse, or worse waiting where your friend, or at least business partner was.

Could it be that Melina is the embodiment of the great rune that Ranni "cast away"? Melina mentions being burned and bodiless, and when you find Ranni's real body, its also burned.

This lore leads me to believe that Ranni's Ending is the True Ending for Elden ring. Thanks for making this!

16:20 pretty sure death spread through the erdtree's roots as a result of Godwyn's soulless body laying at the base of the erdtree deep underground. The mark of death got absorbed into the roots and that's how the duskborn came to be.

I've noticed you've twice mentioned the part where Ranni doesn't remember giving you an invite. I think the cooler approach to this part of the story is through Rogier's quest where he is investigating Ranni and sends you to serve her to gain info

in regards to why melina might hate the lord of frenzy, i personally think that Tarnished(your character) wasn’t the first tarnished that she guided. I believe that Vyke, who was close to becoming the first tarnished elden lord, was a knight of the round table that was the main character before us.(an additional note: Vyke is the knight we see on the cover of the game kneeling down showing his downfall) i find this interesting because when you read the description of the fingerprint armour at the end of all of the set it reads “Did he make his choice for his maiden, or did some other force lure him with suggestion?” which might mean that vyke seeked help from the Three fingers so his maiden (which in this case could be melina) wouldn’t end up sacrificing herself and burn the erdtree. Vyke was probably too weak to wield the frenzied flame and probably died attempting to burn the erdtree, reason why melina warns you of the defiling nature of the frenzied flame. I’m not a theorist and never really made any theories so maybe some points didn’t really get across but i’d like to know any comments on this theory

One fun fact is that Melina internal name in the game files is "MaricaOfDaughter". Her dialogue in the game already heavily hints at Marika being her mother.

Dang. I always just assumed that Ranni and Melina were the same person. But this actually makes sense. I haven’t really delved into much of the Godskin Apostles’ lore because of I have grown to despise them after a particular boss that happens to come right before Maliketh. But after learning about them a bit more from this video, I can see this being a likely possibility

Very good and interesting theory that may stand true, two thing I'd like to add is that. 1. you can summon Melina to fight Morgott along side you. 2. After you fight Morgott and head towards the mountains, as you are heading up(or down i cant remember at this time) the elevator towards the grand lift to the mountain tops, you can find a dagger called "Blade of calling" which is the exact same dagger Melina uses in the fight with Morgott. The item description for said dagger is: "Dagger given to one who set out on a journey to fulfill her duty long ago. The power of its former owner, the kindling maiden, is still apparent. The one who walks alongside flame, Shall one day meet the road of Destined Death." Maybe something to add in a later video. All in all a very great watch :)

Another detail about melina and her relationship to death is that she only ever seems to appear around death. Either at a site of grace where you spawn after dying, During a fight at the foot of the Erdtree or in the intro scene when she sees your dead body.

The tattoo on her eye is actually a sigil that appears in one of the incantations of the frenzied flame. It does fire damage and can drive the caster insane if you cast it too much.

Well, Melina's internal name in the game files is "MaricaOfDaughter" (マリかの娘 "Marika's Daughter" in the Jp Ver.)

One little thing to note, the blue glow effect they both share, is also a thing that appear with the albinauric women when she becomes a spirit you can summon, leaving her wolf. I wouldn't read that effect as a special link unique to melina and ranni, but more of a spirit not having a body thing.

Have you looked at the blade of calling? It’s the weapon Melina uses, found in a hidden room in the lift of rold. Has a reference to destined death

That was so GOOD. I love your style of lore videos, trying to understand the underlying concepts of the game worlds and drawing conclusions from that.

If you notice Melina's hand in the cinematic where she finds you with Torrent, and Ranni's hand in the cinematic where you put the Dark Moon Ring on her finger; they have the exact same hand with another exact same ring on her ring finger.

When you reach the bridge to the capital, even if you have 4 runes, you can't pass without Melina. The gate says that you don't have enough great runes.

I just absolutely binged all 3 of your lore videos on Elden Ring! I love all of them and would watch any characters you cover, even if it's been done on other channels! I dropped a like on all 3 videos and can't wait for more

I love these theories! All of them ! It's amazing how some of you guys can put all this stuff together!

You earned my sub with that breakdown man, her presence and lack of knowledge about her has been irking me a lot but you really put the pieces together with this. Even if this turns out not being right, you make a very compelling case.

Thought it was neat that you shouted out other content creators at the top Thank you for the lore videos!

It appears that the tattoo marking over Melina's eye is faded in the Frenzied Flame ending which may mean that whatever side of her that was maybe sealed is now free.

From what I understand. Melina is Marika’s daughter and Ranni is Radagon’s daughter. Marika and Radagon are the same person therefore they’re like sisters, thus explaining their similarities. Could be wrong but that’s my current take on it

Hey man, great video. I like the way ur theory goes (with Melina being the Gloameyed Queen). But u forgot a very important part about Melina, that u can summon her to fight against Morgott and she has LITERALLY the same moves and weapons as the Black Knives Assassin's. So that part i think is important to understand what Melina is, was and will be, depending on ur ending on the game

If you let Melina burn herself and the Erdtree before doing the frenzied flame quest, it will not trigger the cutscence in the ending were Melina took torrents ring from the ground. However, If you do the frenzied flame ending and let yourself burned instead of Melina, it will trigger the cutscene in the ending where Melina's left eye is already opened. Maybe this points to something I don't know.

Excellent theory vid. Loving the new direction you're taking with elden ring

My theory is quite simpler, in the game you find out that Ranni's doll that she inhabits was made in the image of the person who took care of her when she was little. If that is the case, maybe Melina is/was that person and the former master of Torrent. As such when Melina gives you Torrent, Ranni recognizes it and comes to investigate who is riding the horse of her ?dead? caretaker, Melina. This does not explain a lot of Melina's story but I do believe they are completely different people that look similar due to the use of a doll created of Melina's image.

My thought that I can’t articulate well is that Ranni and Melena were once the same being, the gloom eyed queen, upon being defeated by maliketh they should’ve died but as destined death was now sealed marika remade them into a new being(becoming their mother) the child Ranni who was then raised with Rennala. When Ranni suicided to break her fate from the 2 fingers which was to replace Marika, she essentially woke up the part of her that was the gloom eyed queen which is melena. It feels to me that empyrean are meant to be kinda dual souled people, we have marika/radagon as well as melania and miquella who I believe are cursed as they are separate beings completely, she had a body that is rotting away, he has eternal youth, combine them and they cancel out, they should’ve been a single being but dual souled. I think Ranni/Melena are the same which is why when they died in body there are 2 distinct souls which are connected but separate. Also sword of night and flame is found in Caria manor, whic for me fits as a weapon for this potential empyrean, Ranni with night, melena with flame/day, together make dusk/gloam.

Man this was amazing. I love hearing these ideas based on the actual lore and it’s so entertaining and I know some of these aren’t actual lore but your ideas on them but man you did an amazing job at tying it up together and it all makes sense to me. If they ever made a sequel or a dlc it would be awesome if you started with a character that became the lord of frenzied flame, Malenia would hunt you throughout the quest like Mr X and Nemesis on the resident evil series. Amazing work!

Please keep doing these! I don’t watch anyone else, as I follow ur format easier.

Bruh it's been over 2 years already

I think this has to be the most well put together theory so far, there's clearly a connection between Melina and Ranni but she's also linked to the Gloam-Eyed Queen and I think you've tied it together pretty nicely. Another potential link is Melina's weapon the Blade of Calling being almost identical to the Black Knife... She's also got the same move set as the Black Knife Assassins... Maybe her spirit has taken the body of one of them like Ranni has with her doll? There's also the red spike through Marika that looks strikingly similar to the rune of death as it appears after the Maliketh fight colorwise... If that spike really is part of Destined Death then that could also explain Melina being born within the tree. Either way earned yourself a sub man great video!

I really enjoyed this/these theories. Keep it up Bandit!

Your passion on the lore makes me want to keep playing, thanks man.

I mean the most obvious connection between Rani and Melina is right there at the frenzied flame ending. When she says she will send you Destined Death (Which is another name for the Rune of Death). And who else has sent the Rune of Death after people? Well none other than Rani herself when she sent the Black Knives. I think they are the same person. There is a reason she has two sets of hands. In fact duality, or two being one, seems to be a thing with all the empyrean/gods. Radagan/Marika, Malenia/Miquella, Ranni/Renna(who I think is Melina). I could also be wrong and Melina is acually the third sister. as in Seluvis's rise was originally her tower Melina's Rise. Infact bad things seem to happen is they are separate Radagan and Marika separating causes the problems to start with and Malenia being separate from Miquella seems to have left both broken. Anyway these are just some theories I've been thinking about.

A lore breakdown of the twinbird and the connections with Maliketh, the Walking Mausoleums, etc would be awesome.

Incredible video. Thx for this. I don’t know how you were able to extrapolate all that info and put it together but it’s fuckin awesome lol this game is all time

This is a very impressive lore breakdown. Well done. Very well done.

I honestly hope that one day we can get a DLC that can shed some light to this, and other amazing theories that float online.

I sincerely hope that we get to fight Melina in a DLC, since she does go after you if you choose the frenzied flame ending.

Loved the video. Great theorycrafting !

Best channel about lore, great job the best videos i have seen so far

Thank you for a great video! I appreciate all that work that went into it. Working theory about Ranni & Melina: 1) They are two sides of the same person, the same way Marika and Radagon are two sides of the same person. (Note: I am assuming that Marika and Radagon started as one person, then split due to conflicting opinions regarding the Greater Will and the order.) 2) Ranni is incensed of what Radagon did to Rennala, so much that she goes as far as committing suicide only to free herself from her ties to Radagon/Marika and the Greater Will. In fact, I think, she is out for blood… Radagon/Marika’s blood that is. 3) However, Radagon & Marika are split into two being with two conflicting agendas and Ranni is only one. So Ranni (who I am assuming has inherited Radagon’s/ Marika’s ability to split herself into two beings), splits herself into two people who have the exact opposite agendas than Radagon on one side and Marika on the other side. That is, Ranni works towards destroying the golden order, which is all that Radagon wants to preserve, and Melina works towards bringing about destined death, which is exactly what Marika doesn’t want. 4) Note1: What made me settle on Melina as Ranni’s other half is the fact that Melina attacks with the black knife assassins’ move set. Who is the only other person in the game who uses the black knives to her ends? Ranni. So it would make sense that she is familiar with them and would fashion her other self as one of them. 5) Note2: While Melina is clearly a demigod, she is never mentioned by (can’t recall his name) when he goes over the seats in the throne room. The only logical reason he’d skip a demigod would be is Melina is in fact one and the same (or rather another part) of one of the existing demigods he has already. (And I do not buy into the Melina-as-the-secret-child theory.)

I believe malekith went mad after a piece of the Rune of death was removed from him on the night of black knives

Love it! Exactly the conclusion I was getting to, but way deeper than I thought! Got a sub outta this Tarnished

I love this theory, and to me very coherently put together. Thanks!!!

You seriously make the best lore dives that I've been able to find for Elden Ring. I think I've seen one other that was comparable to you but I think your videos had higher entertainment value. I can't speak for everyone but I would love your version of those people that have been covered because they occasionally lose their consistency and create plot holes in their own theories or conclusions or the more infuriating one is when they have the facts right but totally misinterpret what they mean. You do an excellent job with the information, the interpretation, and having a personality while doing it. Almost all the other lore people sound like they need a couple shots of espresso lol.

I feel like the bit about deathroot is more like an unintended result of Ranni's plan rather than her intention, since deathroot was a result of godwyn's dead yet still alive body becoming corrupted and corrupting the erdtree through the roots. Plus Ranni learned magic from an Ice Witch, and even went as far as model her doll body after said mentor. Said body having a similar look to Melina is perhaps intended. Perhaps She was Melina's mother? It would explain why Ranni and Melina can teleport around in the same icy fashion and know of torrent, who may have originally been the witch's. Perhaps the ice witch was an alias used by the Gloam eyed Queen? Or an alter ego of sorts? There's a lot more to dig up and piece out for a proper picture, though I feel we won't have any solid answers until the DLCs start rolling out.

Bro! Wow, Damn good job Bandit!!!! The lore and story in this game is so deep and crazy. If you only watch the cut scenes, you won’t even scratch the surface of this world. Nothing in Elden Ring is haphazardly put together. Everything has a purpose in the story. I’m looking forward to more discussion! Great job!

Your humbleness got me to subscribe. Mega dope of you to s/o and give props to your fellow content creators. More people should do that. Thoughtfulness is rare these days.

This is a really good theory. Also, you are basically delivering everyone their destined death with the assistance of Melina. So, in a way you are doing her bidding and fulfilling her purpose. I think Ranni killed herself just to give birth to Melina. This is why they look like each other, Melina basically possesses half of Ranni's spirit. Ranni's plan was to defy Marika's order by killing the demigods. And this is what you actually do during the game.

When you fight Morgott you can summon Melina. She uses the same moveset as the black knife assassins, so she's most likely one too, in the service of Ranni.

Best Melina video!! 🎉 i hope theres more with the Gloam eyed queen or Melina in the DLC

Thank you for that! You laid that out in a very convincing way.

My God! Finally somebody explains the odd connections and similarities between these two characters! I have been trying to figure out my own theories as to how the two of them are connected… And you hit everything and more… I appreciate your effort and research in making this video! I’ve subscribed and can’t wait to watch more

16:45 oh god I hope she’s ready for a completion time of like 300hrs+ because that’s how long this games probably going to be kicking my butt 😂

Epic theory! love the video man thank you I feel like i have more questions about Melina now instead of less 😂😂

God that theory makes more sense than anything for me yet about her 😭🙌 well done man very intuitively thought over 👌

This is hands down the best explanation for Melina, and checks out with the fact that she want to kill you when you destroy order.

+1 evidence for the idea that the empyreans *are* runes - when Fia lays with Godwyn, their "child" is a mending rune

Bandit does Elden Ring videos? Time to binge watch.

one of the best theories ive ever heard on any video game franchise, movie franchise, TV shows etc. This changes my perspective on melina

I love your vids, honestly you should do vids about ALL the lore ALL the main bosses etc... who gives a crap if others have covered it.. its always great to have multiple view points especially in games like fromsoft gives us

This supports so much of my theory on who Melina is! Would you find it possible that the Gloam Eyed queen and snow witch Renna are connected? As Renna could have been torrents former master, and the connection of the death rite birds and frost magic? Ranni's physical form was meant to imitate her old mentor, right?

Holy crap y’all, I can’t even believe this game. I’m so in thrilled by it. Great video mate

You doing a shout out to another creator made me sub. Blessing on you. Blessing on your family. Blessings on your cow.

This is exactly what I was wondering about after completing the game, great video! I would love for you to do a video about Sir Gideon Ofnir. Specifically, what were his motives? Why did he encourage you and tell you what to do, when he planned to stop you the whole time? I feel like there's a lot to unpack there.

Now it also makes sense why you get teleported to Farum Azula after lighting the Erdtree on fire, to free the bound rune of death and fulfill Melinas purpose completely. Great Theory!

Eagerly awaiting your next theories about the rest of the characters of Elden Ring. I know others have covered it, but I want to also hear your pov and thoughts

Very interesting... It kinda crossed other melina theories and also kinda conteadicts them but it's also why Melina is my favorite NPC coz she's so obscure with a lot of depth at the same time.

I subscribe to the gloam eyed queen theory but I'm not convinced on the Ranni angle, first thing, their face don't match up, I checked it in the 3D models from the game, second, Ranni creating Melina is something that would've been mentioned more if it was the case, we know from Ranni herself that she only tried killing herself, she didn't set out to spread death or something like that, she just wanted to be freed from the control of the fingers dictating her life's path (as she's the child of an other outer god) I think that the mark on Melina's eyes is the sign of Maliketh's seal, when she was sealed away she was reborn by Marika herself and sent out to find a new Elden Lord as Marika was trying to rebel against the Elden God, during that time she found Vyke, Vyke is a weird character as we're told he was the only one that was close to becoming the Elden Lord and is meant to be kind of a mirror to the player's character, he gave in into the frenzied flame. Now, Melina hates the frenzied flame and is burned, Torrent is actually burnt as well (if you inspect his game files his textures make that very clear, as does the naming), I think Torrent's former master was no other then Vyke himself, I'm not sure if Melina got her burns from Maliketh's death sword or from the frenzied flame but it can go either way, Torrent on the other hand likely got burnt from the Frenzied Flame. Making Marika the true "mother" of Melina (keep in mind there's cut dialogue from Melina that suggests she never actually knew or had a mother, in the true sense of the word), giving her purpose and cementing Marika's goals to rebel against the Elden God When the frenzied flame kills the Elden God or destroys the order etc her seal is broken and she regains her former form as the gloam eyed queen.

I’ve been fairly curious about her. She is so mysterious. One idea I had was that she mentions that she can move freely in the capital near the Erdtree. Is it possible that she is Marika? But a phantom form of sorts? Hence why she would be pissed at you with the frenzied flame ending?

This is absolute gold. I love this theory, it makes a lot of sense in all directions, at least for me

This is a really awesome video because I was just talking about on stream what if elden ring makes a dlc or the next game that continues from which path you finish the game with, that there’s a 1 finger, 4 finger (which is what I thought her tattoo was on her closed eye), and a 5 finger to close it all together

I just finally finished latenna’s quest and would love a video on her story, if we’re continuing to do waifu lore

Marika and Radagon are split beings while being one, it would make sense that Ranni and Melina (her daughter(s)) are also a single being. Split in a different way potentially since one can die and the other can still live. There might even be something of a split nature between miquella and melenia too. Also godwin and Godrick? Lots of duos. Just speculation.

I fucking love this theory, not sure if it's true but I kind of hope it is, super fun. And it ties off other loose ends like ranni's appearance. Good shit bro.

Very interesting. Milena is one character I was always interested on finding more about. Her burning at the forge of the Giants reminds me of the fire keepers from the first dark souls and also made me think of the ending of it as well. The ending where you link the fire.

My money is that Ranni is the daughter of Radagon alone and thus an Emperian as Emperian have a single parent who is a God but at the same time Radagon's other half Merika had Melina in the same way as Radagon had/created Ranni (we don't know how a single God gives "birth" to a Emperian child, I assume it isn't in the conventional way a human would) I believe Melina is to Ranni what Radagon is to Marika and they may have not even know of each other for some time. I also believe during this time is when Queen Marika had turned against the Greater will and the fingers and began her plot to shatter the Elden Ring and rid herself of the Greater Wills control and thus kept Melina a secret and had her raised in secret, perhaps by the black knife Assassins which she has connection to. I mostly entertain that though because Melina fights like black knife Assassin but uses her own Emperian demi God powers where the Assassins power comes from the black blades they weld. This is also during the time she stripes Godfrey of his grace and sends him and his tarnished warriors into exile which she even states a time will come when she needs them again. Perhaps when the Elden ring is shattered? We know the black knife Assassins assisted Ranni and that they are connected to Marika and also to the lost city who where / are openly opposed to the greater will and worship the stars and thus their excile underground but at some point they turn on Ranni as they are shown trying to kill her, Perhaps Ranni's plan no longer coincide with Marikas plan. Interesting observations: Ranni's body is found burnt to a crisp, there is a godskin noble guarding the bridge leading to her. Iji is killed and is on fire with black flames surrounded by the corpses of black knife Assassins suggests that the black knife Assassins are working with the godslaying cult. Melina at one point says she was born in the Erdtree where only Marika may enter which heavily proves Marika is her mother and was given a purpose which was taken from her and she wants to know why she is now burned and bodyless which suggests to me when Ranni used the rune of death to kill her Emperian flesh she also caused Melina to combust and lose her body but not her soul. This happens because Ranni and Melina are the same being but not the same personality like Radagon and Marika. This maybe was not part of Queen Marika's plan and why the Assassins turn on Ranni and why Ranni goes into hiding and starts using Renna's name and why Melina has lost the ability to fulfill her purpose given to her by her mother. I also think Ranni knows of Melina but Melina may not actually know of Ranni. Ranni seems to obsessed with controlling her own destiny and has plans where as Melina seems to be lost without her purpose given by her mother and is in search of new direction to be given to her. Polar opposite personalities likely due to how each where raised. Melina after the Erdtree seems to be dissatisfied with what she encountered when she left you to find her mother and now is hell bent on destroying the Erdtree to right the world for a better future which is implied not her original purpose nor in accordance to her mother's plan. What is Marika's plan? We don't know but it maybe as simple as the fact that the fingers have been grooming her Emperian children to succeed her, why would a undying God need a successor? We know Marika doesn't want to die as her first action once obtaining the Elden Ring was to remove the rune of death from it so she and her children would be immortal which may not have been the Greater Will's wishes. Lastly we know that the Greater Will is not the original or only divine power in this world and that like the greater will they all come from beyond the stars. The dragons once rules these lands but something happened causing them to enter a form of hibernation due to their God and during that time the world was taken by another power or powers as we also know Marika had her first Elden Lord Godfrey conquer the lands from the fire giants who had their own god and Radagon Lacaria an area which followed no God but derived power from the stars. Also we can't forget the hidden cities who worship the stars and had their own God but where banished to live underground and still plot the downfall of the Greater will. Or the godslayer cult and their Emperian Dusk eyed Queen who was defeated apparently by Malikith and once controlled the rune of death. If she was Emperian who were her parent(s) and when did she rule? Before Marika? During Marika or maybe after Marika implying it maybe the period in which Ranni had stolen the rune of death or perhaps Melina? It is never stated HER name but it is mentioned that she was an Emperian, Ranni was known but Melina was not. Maliketh defeated the dusk eyed Queen but it isn't said she died or was even banished. All we know is Marika, Ranni, the dark blade Assassins and the godslaying cult all have a complex intertwining relationship. Unfortunately I feel like we may never know, after carefully playing through a second time with a focus on side quests and lore paying careful attention to every item description and conversation one thing that seems clear is our interactions with Melina seem incomplete, we can never ask her questions and more importantly she does ask us questions and we have no options to respond just sitting there in awkward silence before we just stand up and walk away. I think its clear there was originally supposed to be more to our interactions with Melina at the campfires and I believe it was cut to get the product to shelf. There are other examples in game of cut content but the obviously oddly awkward campfire Melina conversations just screams something is missing and Melina herself is just to random a answerless mystery character seemingly without a point but with so much obviously hinting or connecting her to key plot elements. Feels like not just Game of Thrones didn't get a ending. He writes a good world full of plot and mystery but doesn't seem able to ever tie up the story and just abandons it to start his next unfinished masterpiece.

It’s also weird that after expelling the Frenzied Flames influence, Melina still resents you even though you did it all just to save her. Which is just so weird, we never get to see her ever again in the game.

i’ll add that once the Erdtree has been set aflame, you are then transported to Farum azula by who we can only assume was Melina, allowing you to collect the rune of death so you could return it to the elden ring to bring back destined death to the lands between. I’m really looking forward to what story expansion we’ll get from dlc, i’m hoping for one themed around the age of giants and dragons

Out of all the videos I've watched regarding Melina, this one just makes the most sense.

There’s one thing about Ranni that is problematic for the “Melina is Ranni” theory: Ranni’s artificial body is based directly on the appearance of her witch mentor. Unless Ranni decided to make one oddly specific change to the face, the witch was likely the one who possessed the closed eye to begin with. Much like Melina herself, the witch mentor advised Ranni to bring about a new age. If there is a Ranni and Melina connection, it’s likely through this mysterious witch.

12:33 "Ranni was the Great Rune of the Unborn" Wasn't that rune given to Rennala by Radagon? How does Ranni embody that rune? Also Gideon says that Ranni cast aside her Great Rune, so my understanding is that we never learn or confirm what that rune was.

Amazing video!

I also like the idea that Marika, who first served the GW and removed death, just straight up changed her mind and wanted to die a true death (or deliver it to the GW) and decided to aid and abet the Gloam Eyed Queen - which is why Melina can hear her actual thoughts and voice. It could also contribute to her betrayal of Maliketh - after everything he did to stop death, she just wants it back anyway. Maybe she thought the Gloam Eyed Queen was the only one who knew how to properly kill a god, but because she had long ago defeated the Gloam Eyed Queen, she had to find other avenues. Or maybe she found a way to resurrect or empower the GEQ.