Elden Ring FULL Story Explained | Lore Recap Before DLC 

Thank you everyone for watching my Elden Ring Story Summary - this has been my most ambitious video to date, so would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

My dad's cat passed away yesterday, she had cancer. 2h30 minutes of Elden Ring lore is a +9 flask for my mind today. Thank you so very much.

I’m glad you blew up after Elden Ring, you cite other RU-vidrs a huge amount in your videos, shows you’re a stand up guy.

I work a double today, I prep meat and vegetables and have had nothing to listen to recently, I’m glad this came out, thank u smo.

The community surrounding this game is amazing and full of thousands of insights a single person may never find , such an amazing flow of information and knowledge

Marika cursing the singular giant and calling him a "trfling giant" is not only an oxymoron but also shows how she views the eternal flame. Though it is anything but trifling, and the flame would go on to be a pivotal aspect of changing the Lands Between when we finally burn the Erdtree.

Oh boy, a 2 and a half hour long lore video, I know what to watch this evening

this is what i always wanted from someone just a basic rundown of the lore without going into why bungus scrungus knife had a relation with the fart of the gold wings

Smough, you're an absolute legend. To see how fast you've reached 200k subs after just hitting 100k not too long ago, it's just beautiful. Almost a decade of making lore videos for us to enjoy. With the DLC coming out, I'm not only excited for the game, I'm also excited to see how your channel continues to grow and develop!

I think the Dragons representing Dinosaurs in the real world is fascinating, and is furthered by the fact that we still find the remains of Dinosaurs here on earth, who ruled before mammals in a wild kind of order, and have become fossilised and therefore turned to stone A perfect parallel with the Dragons we find in the Lands between, who also ruled the lands between before the Golden order or “civilisation”, with their remind also having turned to stone as well

Thank you for this. I wish I had time to go back through Elden Ring all over again before June, but life isn't allowing me to do that. This is a great resource.

At 17:23, you mention that Elden Beast and Plasidusaxu breathe golden fire. They aren't the only ones. The Tree spirits also breathe golden fire (when they aren't corrupted) and Melina's Blade of Calling flings golden fire. The ulcerated tree spirits are interesting as well, since they are Modelled after Níðhǫggr in Norse mythology and are primarily found around the Erd Tree's roots, the Erd Tree and Minor erd trees, which is where Níðhǫggr lives. Níðhǫggr eats the roots of Yggdrasil in Norse mythology, and is seen as evil, but in game I think they serve as a tree pruner. Eating diseased erd trees, and gnawing at the roots to support new growth for erd tree burial. Totally a crack pot theory, but I think it fits the world pretty well.

Just got through the video now since I was lucky enough to have an entirely free afternoon today. Incredible stuff, and that shoutout is, of course, massively appreciated 🙏 Looking forward to seeing your analysis of the DLC once that's out!

The statue at 25:52 could also possibly be the narrator and the one who summons the tarnished back per Marikas will.

Something worth pointing out, in regards of evidence that Godwyn's death clearly triggered Marika to shatter the Elden Ring, is that Godwyn and Ranni are pretty much one for one lifted from the tale of Balder (the God of Justice, who glowed with his own soft golden light due to his beauty) and Loki (half-Aesir and half frostgiant) from Norse mythology. Balder found a way to become invincible to forestall the prophecy of Ragnarök, and seething at this Loki, through cunning, learned that there was one exception: the mistletoe plant. So Loki tricked one of the other Aesir to use a mistletoe arrow during an event of Balder showing off his invulnerability for entertainment of his fellow gods, resulting in the instant death of the God of Light. The despair and dismay consuming the Aesir at this allowed Loki to innitiate the events of the Ragnarök prophecy. Godwyn: fair, the most beautiful, the most just, and the kindest of the demigods. Ranni: his half-sister, strong ties to ice magic, scheming, able to be ruthlessly cruel, pulling strings and using deception. Marika: falls to despair at the death of her favorite child and the betrayal of one of her alter-egos offspring, initiating the Shattering and the resulting cataclysmic wars and tectonic changes leading to the remnants we Tarnished return too.

I am a casual player who never played a souls game before or barely any game at all, after 1,5 years and almost 150hrs i am still at 30% in elden ring. I never bothered understanding stats or using anything in my inventory, only thing i bother looking for online are your lore videos about a character after i defeat it. Very pleasing

Awesome work dude. Hard to believe such a massive and expansive world can be so in-depth and so intricate, but also make perfect sense and translate in so many ways to the patterns of our own world and civilizations. Thanks so much for this!

Come to think of it, correct me if I'm wrong, but I find it pretty ironic how Ranni went through so much effort to escape her fate of becoming god and head of an order, just to fulfill it in the end, just with different order, but I don't think Greater Will cares about what order is at power. Or at least that's what I got from her ending.

Halfway through and I swear you never miss. I could listen to this lore over and over on your channel lol. The way you tell the stories, they stay just as exciting, like I'm hearing it for the first time again😂 Can't wait to see what the dlc is gonna give us. Excited for your lore videos on it

Great video! While I agree with a lot stated about the GEQ, I wanted to offer some counterpoints thoughts on her place and role in the timeline, and suggest that she actually was NOT chosen to replace Marika as theorized in the video. Arguably the most important event in recent history in Elden is the sealing of Destined Death. Something to be noted is that Enia explicitly states that the sealing of Destined Death is the CATALYST of the establishment of the Golden Order. This means that while DD was still in the Elden Ring, Marika was not yet a god. This is actually further indirectly stated through descriptions of Maliketh. As you say, Fromsoft do not make mistakes in the way they word their descriptions. When giving context to Maliketh’s actions in regards to the GEQ and the sealing of Destined Death, this is the only time (or one of) that Marika is explicitly referred to as an EMPYREAN, indicating that at the time of the GEQ, Marika was still only an empyrean with Maliketh as her shadow, whom she only needed to seal Destined Death. All of this tells us that the time of the GEQ predates the Golden Order entirely and her defeat was TANTAMOUNT to the creation of Marika’s order. GEQ was not made to replace Marika, she was most likely in COMPETITION with Marika to establish her own order, an order of Death. We can get even more specific of when the GEQ was active through the description of the Nobles, where the Crucible is explicitly referenced. I think this is a nod to the fact that the empyrean GEQ and Marika era likely took place during the Age of the Crucible. To address the Black Blade incantation, the creation of this still fits within this timeline since Maliketh sealing DD within his blade is what kickstarted Marika’s age, and having this ability would firmly of course place it at the beginning of Marika’s age. It’s also important to note that it’s explicitly stated that Maliketh didn’t seal DD within his body until after it was stolen. However at this point the Golden Order had been going for quite some time, which means it indeed was sealed within his sword before. The implications of this being that Maliketh was sucha unit that he likely defeated the GEQ with his original bestial abilities and ferocity. However he did it we do know that he defeated her without DD, since he did not seal it in his blade until after her defeat. Marika’s order never had the DD in the Elden Ring, so Maliketh must have sealed it a long time before the Night of the Black Knives, after all, if it wasn’t sealed, why would Ranni and the assassins even have to steal it from him in the first place? If DD wasn’t sealed then there would be no need to steal fragments of the Death rune and imbue it into knives. Based on this and what I do agree with in your videos, I want to enter the realm of full speculation. Given the symbolism and dualities of Miquella and Malenia, Mohg and Morgott, and the history of the Numen and Nox, i think it is extremely possible that the GEQ in fact was Marika’s twin sister and was in the running for godhood but ultimately lost. As seen by many, GEQ ideology and movement seem to be a direct dual counter to Marika’s, an age of Death and Impermanence vs an age of Life and Abundance. The only perfect dualities we see like this are within the twins of the game. I also think the choice words of having GEQ be DEFEATED instead of outright KILLED is possibly telling, as we know Marika is not above ruthlessness given her treatment of the Giants. This can imply that Marika possibly had some sort of a soft spot for GEQ since she is in fact her sister, even though her opposite. I think at the time of Blackflame Monks, the GEQ movement was already finished but the blackflame itself persisted, just without its true power. However the monks seem to be more concerned with the flames themselves rather than the foundations of their power, so it’s likely they were still enthralled regardless of DD getting taken away from it. Now as to what “gods” the GEQ and her apostles were the death of, I think is intentionally left ambiguous or we will find out in the DLC, since this seems to be a bit of an origin story of Marika’s and the GEQ/DD is a fundamental part of it. Perhaps it was other empyreans/ “god” candidates in the running?

My personal theory on Marika and Radagon is that they were once one person, split off into two, and then later re-merged.

At this point this is definitely one of the best general overview on ER Lore around, if not the best. Your readiness to value the work of others and to change and adjust ideas over time, and take even unresolved doubts into the mix with honesty all beared fruit, and well-deserved aknowledgement. A very pleasant listening.

"There are a number of important pieces of lore to be found within these few sentences" - direct quote from SmoughTown's very soul No hate at all, I love your vids to destined death

Been waiting on this one forever 🙌🏾

Im an old-school Dark Souls vet... your videos are my bedtime story, brotha. I appreciate you for your work on Fromsoft games. They're my favorite and so are you..

what's this? a smoughtown video to listen to after coming home from a night out with friends? excellent...

cant wait to fall asleep to this for years to come, cheers!

Thank you for putting this out! I’ve been watching lore videos here and there from other channels but I found that your video really helped me understand the overall story and give me newfound appreciation of the game. Thank you for the enjoyable experience!

I can't do artwork without my +2 hour video essays. Thank you for your work!

Real quick, on the language of “ golden star bearing a beast, which became the Elden Ring” I think it’s plausible to believe that the term “ which” could be referring to the star and not the beast. Logically, the Elden Ring was shattered and scattered. Due to the law of transitive identity, that means the Elden Beast was shattered. But we see in the game that the beast is not scattered. So, I think it proper to assume that the golden star of the Elden Ring, not the Beast. Thoughts?

Awesome video ! Im SO GLAD you started pausing for comas and for periods instead of speed reading / run on sentences.

THANK you for your time and work you out into this ...

SMOUUUUGH you are the BANE to my sleep. Love the vids !

So glad I found your videos, I listen to them while I work out 🔥

This will get me through the rest of my workday. Thanks Smough!!

WOOOOOOOOOO ELDEN RING LOREEEEEEE LETS GOOOO

your vids are really helping me in tough times dude :) thank u so much for doing what u do

lmao Elden John, what a great name for such a mysterious figure! I am hoping we will find out some more about the first human civilisation though in the DLC, maybe they were banished to the land of shadows once the Golden Order took over?

Needed some lore today, thanks for delivering. Awesome videos!

A wonderful video! One thing I'd like to posit - it's more likely that Ranni knew of the Black Knife creation ritual because of the Carian's implied connections with the Nox. It's implied that the Nox of Nokstella, at some point, took the Ainsel River to its final basin (where we fight Astel) and built an elevator up to the surface. They built the Moonfolk village and the Cathedral of Manus Celes, and these were the preceptors to the Carians on the western side of Liurnia. This is why Carians are so noteworthy for Moon worship and why Ranni's Dark Moon is so similar to the Nokstella Black Moon, and why Ranni is continuing the Nox's legacy to find a Lord of Night.

I can't tell you how happy it makes me to hop on RU-vid to see you drop a video. Keep it going Smough, we love your content!

Crazy how far we've come with the lore on this game. Amazing work as always!

Gonna have this on constant replay until DLC drops

I would love if after completing shadow of the erdtree, something happens to malenia where she has a 3rd phase and blooms a third time and brings about her true horrifying god form.

I loved every minute! Thank-you so much ❤

I've been watching your videos for awhile now I'm genuinely impressed i like your style of lore videos your the type that gets down to business.

I’ll be watching this whole thing right away. Always love your analysis!

Thanks smough for another great video. Love listening to you at work!

Great video as usual. Thanks for the upload, man. I'll keep watching this every now and then to keep things fresh for when the DLC comes!

I could literally listen to this guy do eldenring documentaries all fucking day.

Holy moly 2 and half hours 😢 Guess i'm not watching Netflix tonight 😂😂 The work you do is immense. Thanks for the content you've been providing. It's always top notch

Love your lore videos!!! In my head cannon, I thought of the golden star the Elden beast came in on was like a giant golden seed. I always thought of the crucible as the seed of the Erdtree. Then at the end of the war of the giants it actually sprouts out of the ground and the age of the Erdtree begins. I was wondering what your take on this was.

Love your content. Thank you for this.

I like how the blue dancer is tied to an abandoned red lake, while the red dancer in the DLC trailer is found in a blue area with stranded ships. I think the conceiling effect of the veil is much more abstract than many of us assume

Another home run 👏🏻 Thank you for your efforts, good sir!

The Stars will align and we will find our answers in the land of Shadows

I love your lore vids, absolutely the best.

Great video as always. Despite watching all your vids it's easy to get confused as theories progress and time goes on. Great to get a recap before the DLC, but I'll make sure to revisit some things in detail. Totally agree with your thoughts about destined death, the gloam eyed queen btw. Hope we get concrete information in the DLC, as with Fromsoft the queen could be revealed to be Meg, daughter of Marika and we'll all look unhinged lol

Man i love your channel its so informative and it's very in depth

You are delivering this juicy lore with such quality that even the All Knowing would be jealous😅

Wonderful. Something new to ponder and listen to over and over again while I go about my life for the next few weeks. Thank you, you're incredible!

It’s quite simple.. followed by an over two hours of explanation for the tip of the iceberg that is the entirety of the lore of Elden Ring ….. bravo sir!! praise fromsoft, praise the Elden ring, the sun, and praise berserk❤

This video rocks. Huge help for the mod I'm working on this month 🙏🙏

Thank you for making these videos Smough, this will be perfect to tide me over until the DLC. Can't wait until it comes out and I can start a fresh character to run through everything the game has to offer!

Perfect listening material while doing yardwork! Cheers!

Thank you i needed this

I love old Istvans armor, i wear basically all of it but the helm at all times. Amazing poise and lookes great.

"the prophet despaired" the statue holding the tablet... is that the prophet?

There are so much deviations depending on the player's insights. Fromsoft are masterminds in this level of world building. The sheer amount of theory crafting and driven community is amazing, i am eagerly waiting what the dlc will tell us and what stuff is not so apparent.

My Saturday is Complete Thanks Smough

Still waiting on that Albinauric Blood Clot merch for how often it comes up in you videos LOL. This is such an excellent refresher before the DLC!

YOOOOOOOOOO HE DROPPED IT 🗣🔥

Great work, thank you!

welp i wanted to go grocery shopping, workout, and maybe read a book in the next 2 hours. oh well then-

I know what I'm listening to tonight to help me fall asleep. Thank you, SmoughTown, for telling me this bedtime story!

Uploaded on a Saturday! Now I dont have to lie to my boss about my suspiciously long "lunch breaks" anymore! 😂

Incredible work

Nice. I’m blaming a stranger from across the ocean for the reason I’m getting nothing done on a Saturday. (Hooray, new content!! ❤)

Commenting for the algorithm coming back to this in a few days ❤

Beautiful video, bravo.

The video hasn’t been out long enough for me to watch the full thing, but I’m gonna go ahead and say your work was great! Just knowing your standard

Apologies now, because I might leave 1737483 different comments. I just started watching. I think that The Crucible, the physical spot, is where the Elden Beast Star impacted. The Greater Will isn’t an outer god, it’s the Lands Between, what life itself is. I think Placidusax’s god was The Gloam Eyed Queen. Both her, and Marika, -should- have been ruling in tandem, but, politicking and power screwed that up.

Just what I needed for finals week

GREAT VID!

SmoughTown you've done it again. G'night.

Something I was wondering. There is one Godskin Noble essentially guarding Ranni's corpse at the tower and another that is supporting her brother Rykard in Volcano manor. In Caelid a Godskin Apostle is guarding the Godslayer's Greatsword and in a theory I just heard suggested that it may have been Iji who forged the sword long ago. Could the Godskins have some kind of a connection to Ranni, maybe started working with her during the Night of Black Knives?

Many thanks man!!!

2:21:28 I think the text is more literal. Bernahl lost faith after his maiden sacrificed herself to the Flame of Ruin. He likely cared for her very much as a companion, or maybe his simple honor as a knightly hero made him find this act revolting, especially since, to his knowledge, it was what Marika and the Greater Will wanted

Smough, thank you as always. You're content is fantastic as always and I've an enticing theory I'd like to see your thoughts on that may serve as another video subject for you. The DLC has brought new life to my favorite theory that YOU, THE TARNISHED ARE MIQUELLA. New Context: "Miquella divesting himself of grace" that you've been highlighting, could be interpreted as him becoming tarnished. Additionally, Miquella's connection to Torrent, who harbors a strong affection for the Tarnished. Primary Evidence: The strange and sudden fondness that EVERYONE seems to have for The Tarnished. (Torrent, Rogier, Sellen, even extreme radicalists; Ranni, Volcano Manner, even the Dung Eater, all very quickly take you into their fold.) Rogier: "Not only are you a superb fighter, but people want to trust you. I've seen it." Roderika: "And the spirits look rather fondly upon you." Additionally, it cannot be ignored Miquella's tendancy to develop alter egos, much like his parent(s), allows for the development of a new identity in the form of The Tarnished. I suspect that being kidnapped, becoming tarnished, and entering the realm of shadow, were all part of Miquella's plan. Once again, thank you for your content, I just wanted to give back and propose a fun source of speculation!

Awesome, now I can fail to comprehend all Elden Ring lore in one convenient video!

1:48:18 Actually i think the reason that the broken needle of malenia is under the scarlet bloom is because when she stabbed herself in her fight with radahn, she was actually breaking it in order to release the scarlet rot. This would also explain why it's broken into two pieces when we find it.

Great video!

Damn I was hoping you'd remember our conversation about Uhl Palace, I get that things get missed though no hard feelings.

I should be studying for my last final, but new SmoughTown video must be watched

Your videos inspire me.🙌

Nice video man.

The art direction in this game is so beautiful that I swear it's made almost every other game I played after (Exceot lies of P) look "just alright". Every area is digital wallpaper material...

huzzah! I'm so glad Tarnished Archaeologist is getting traction. He does fantastic analysis!

Love your videos. My guess of timeline is that it was an insane amount of time between kids of Marika. So.. Age of one god (old geezer with tablets?) that frenzied flame wants back too --> shattering of the one god into 6 outer gods, each governing a bit of reality each. Time - dragon. Order and chaos - Greater Will. Creation (smithinig) and destruction (war) - Fell God. Decay and rebirth - rot and death removed and destined death. Stars, gravity, intelligence goddess = formless mother. Eras after shattering the one god might follow birth of Marika's kids. My guess Marika was from Nox, night maiden, formless mother turf, so star / gravity empyrean --> GW gave order (churches) that worship stars and gravity --> her shadow --> blood and wounds (people screaming below) --> killed GEQ and two kids are born. Melina, cursed to die by destined death and Godwyn cursed never to die. Age of night and death that lastet 10, 100, 1000, 10000 or 100000 years? --> kills dragon in capital --> death + dragon gives cruicible era / med evil times with armours, knights, tails (dragon), and wings (death) --> Morgott cursed to live in past, while Mogh dreams of future born out of dragon encounter --> dragon churches are popular now --> Marika kills giants --> era of creation of instruments of war, and wars (industrial era by human terms) --> Radahn cursed to forever war, Ranni the dollsmith born --> Godrick the grafter or orders, Rykard that want to burn / eat all, so we get back to single god era, so born of order and chaos --> unborn greater rune found, rot god --> Malenia cursed to decay, Miquella cursed with rebirth born --> sort of great medicine era (age of plenty), followed by an age of decay (10 years, 100 years, 1000000 years?). But.. wild guess... Fromsoft got too many smokescreens and cryptic lore to say for sure. Edit: Spelling and formless mother = goddess of intelligence

I can’t wait for the 10 hour shadow of the erdtree story lore video