ELDEN RING LORE: Who is Radagon? 

Who is Radagon? No, who WAS Radagon?

The big thing about radagon and the fire giants for me is that aside from the braid alot of descriptions that mention fire giants can parallel radagon in so many ways just of the top of my head. There's the sword of night and flame which was made by the early astrologers and fire giants BUT can also be seen as a parallel of radagon and rennalas marriage and union. The trolls hammer said that trolls were descended from giants and that they considered smithing divine radagon is a divine who uses a hammer and from the golden order greatsword description we know smiths Then there's the sword of milos a sword made of the bones of an undersized giant who was hated by his own kind. And what's radagons a potential undersized giant who hates his own kind's eventual fate? Being made into a sword!

Consider that causality is a big part of the Golden order religion. Radagon already is part of Marika in the future, but not in the past. Causality means it's already happened, we just haven't gotten there on the timeline yet

This video stands a foot above every other lore video that just repeats item descriptions and doesn't try to connect the dots. Please keep making these.

I try to simplify it with a twist on your homunculus take: Marika is the Elden Ring and can extract runes from it as she did with Destined Death. Marika extracted the rune of order from the Elden Ring which became Radagon - his symbol of the lattice that supports the Elden Ring from behind.

The D twins' lore could support the theory that Marika and Radagon were always one being. From D's armor : "The two known as D are inseparable twins. They are of two bodies and two minds, but one single soul. Not once do they stand together; not one word do they speak to one another." From the Inseparable Sword : "The inseparable twins found solace in the Golden Order, the only institution not to revile them as accursed beings." It would make sense that the Golden Order would accept them if Marika herself was the same type of being, two bodies, two minds and one soul.

17:25 Counterargument: Radagon also uses no sorceries in his bossfight, despite it being well known he had studied them in the past. If Radagon were to abandon sorceries, then he would abandon fire incantations a thousand times over especially considering that he hates his (presumed) heritage

On the issue of Radagon and Marika becoming one, I think its worth noting that Radagon is tied to the chemical Copper in that his symbol is clearly inspired by copper’s alchemical symbol. Marika meanwhile is associated with the chemical Mercury. In real world chemistry, pouring a liquid mercury onto solid copper forms a hard alloy of mercury co-crystalized with cooper. Also, in soil, copper pellets will attract mercury due to their small magnetic charge.

As someone who’s been arguing the Radagon=Mimic theory for months. A few things I’d like to bring up to sorta add, his egg given to rennala uses larval tears of silver tears to change our form, and if you hold celestial dew is the base of silver tears that connects them more. And his unborn rune could be argued to describe Albernarics due to the handicaps. And you also have the idea that once Radagon and Rennalas child is the one to bring back the moon of the eternal cities. So perhaps Marika needed the Full Moon Queen, and her Golden Sun Hound to finally consumate in order to bring about a eclipse aka Ranni and she bring the age of stars aka the Eternal cities true goal. You could also argue Marika would have known the elden beast would have used her for sacred relic sword due to the ancient treasure of the eternal city the Fingerslaying blade.

I think an aspect glossed over with the M/R thing is why Marika took Godfrey as an Elden Lord while Radagon ran around doing stuff and then banished Godfrey and called Radagon to her to become Elden Lord. This means that effectively Marika was both the Empyrean (housing god/Elden Ring) and the Elden Lord. If we look at Placidusax the dragon also seems to have a male/female thing going on with one head being larger than the other. So again, there's that God/Elden Lord being one in the same thing. Also says something that both Marika and Radagon come across as made of stone or petrified - Placidusax being an Ancient dragon is also stonelike. Wonder if that particular form is a necessity in order to house the Elden Ring as an Empyrean in mythology is the place in which God dwells, which ties into the Firmament. idk people rarely bring up exactly what an Empyrean is past the game lore - it's a place that is said to inhabit the fifth element and fire - including the place in which "God dwells" it is the upper most area of heaven having Aether (the air gods breathe). Aether, beyond its alchemy mythos, is a greek deity (personification of the air gods breathe) who was the child of Erebus (darkness) and Nyx (night). If you look at the Elden Ring or Elden Beast you'll notice the ring itself is suspended in "darkness" or a black substance. Anyway. lol

As soon as I heard theory #2 it made me think of this dialogue: "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." Maybe Marika separated the part of her that was faithful to the golden order so she could better understand it somehow, and then recombine after some point so she could be more perfect, like you mentioned with alchemy.

When I first paused and read "who is bald guy?" I was hoping it was something to do with Patches. Getting to the end of the video though, that does become a great question. Miquella tended to and tried to grow his own Erdtree. We know the Erdtree did not always exist or have the power it has in the time of the game. Perhaps bald guy is who tended to the original Erdtree, which eventually gave Miquella the inspiration or starting knowledge to attempt it himself? Though why someone of that importance would be completely without mention in the game is curious. Mayhaps, similar to the crucible knights, their origins and history contradicted the message of the current day Golden Order, and were therefore expunged from the annals of history? Great video!

Another thing that could explain Radagon's relation to Marika could be the D twins. They share the same soul across two bodies and minds.

Regarding why Radagon hated his red locks and its relation to the Fire Giants: If Marika is Radagon, and Marika fought this big bloody war to try to lay the fire giants down to extinction in her efforts to destroy the Fell God, it could be surmised that Radagon's red hair simply reminded the being(s) of that war. A piece of the past that they'd rather forget, maybe, since most other wars involving the Golden Order seem to be "right" in some moral manner, whilst the war against the giants didn't have a good reason to be fought. They fought the Fire Giants because they feared the power of the Fell God as far as I can tell (the flame's power to burn the Erdtree), which is an awful past to be reminded of every time you go to look in the mirror.

Personally I believe the bald monk statue represents the man responsible for ensuring the growth of the tree. Just like Miquellas blood was required to ensure the growth of the hailigetree and it stopped once Mogh removed him from it, it is possible this monk was sacrificed or willingly gave himself as food. The reason why there are blooms at the feet of the statues of both Marika and radagon at least in my head cannon, is because the tree gave life to both of them at opposite ends of the greater will Desire ; regression and causality this would explain how they can be different entities while remaining the same being. It is posible since Queen Marika wanted the existence of only one God that she convinced her other half to merge to achieve that goal however broke the Elden ring in the process.

Amazing video! I've also been so curious about Radagon and at least you've been able to find some theories. I am inclined to believe the "Radagon was created my Marika" theory and the "Radagon bloomed from the Erdtree" theory. Idk his appearance is so sudden in the lore timeline.

there is also a time traveling theory to explain it, that Radagon is in place of Marika in the future, but since Marika holds back time and keeps it in infinite stagnation, the two things starts to overlap and they are both at the same place ( by same place I mean they are inside the erdtree, being the vessel for the elden ring ) - so from Marika's perspective, time stopped and she holds it in an eternal, stagnating loop, while on the outside, Radagon wants to replace her and some sort of time overlap happens when Marika turns into Radagon, maybe the player breaks the frozen time when they enter the erdtree

To me at this point it's pretty clear Radagon merged with Marika later, because originally, it's flat out told to you that Radagon came from faraway lands. He was his own person with his own body. Since Radagon has different motivations than Marika, I think one can make a very strong case that the Greater Will summoned him before Marika to become her consort. Marika is more or less imprisoned by the Greater Will to be god-queen and lately there have been some strong theories and discoveries that point towards her trying to destroy the Golden Order and the Greater Will, things the game tells you aside (like establishing Marika knew the order was imperfect, which that alone isn't as severe as her actively attacking it). Radagon seems to be a measurement of the Greater Will to further limit Marika, or to at least force her to side with the faith in gold. Radagon's faith holds firm and he's in direct opposition of Marika, even imprisoning her within the Erdtree, evident by his crosshatching pattern on the roots we later burn. Her body was effectively not hers after they merged. Without analyzing much, I believe Radagon was specifically merged with Marika for the Greater Will to keep her under its control. This is further supported by the fact that Radagon rises and fights you in a crumbled form Marika can barely move in, showing he was the one in charge at least at that point in time as a half-switched vessel of the ring. I think this brings up some interesting questions and even answers, including the Greater Will's possible inability to switch the Elden Ring's vessel, having to "alloy" it with someone who's more fit for this task, since Marika formed doubts and saw the impurities within the order and this outer god.

Regardless of my own thoughts, I agree that all the theories for Radagon's origins have their definite pros and cons. I'd say he's much like Melina and Marika in that we can't say for certain who these people actually are. They're connected to so many concepts and characters, and yet they remain enigmas. And to be honest, as much as I'd like some answers, these questions are what keep the lore so intriguing. I'm looking forward to the other vids you have planned. The way you present theories, and admit that none of them really convince you is quite refreshing. Kind of sad to hear you're already burning out on Elden Ring but...! That's okay. I'm sure the DLC(s) will bring us all running and raving again.

Is it possible the shattering of the Elden Ring happened much earlier than most people think? That the shattering caused Radagon to split from Marika, and Radagon’s attempt to repair the ring was an attempt to rejoin with Marika many years later? I can’t recall any evidence explicitly saying these events happened in quick succession.

I liked SmoughTown's theory that at the point of Marika's ascension to godhood, which may have happened upon the defeat of the fire giants, that the greater will may have 'placed' the Radagon personality within her, as a kind of fail safe or contingency plan, as it may have already sensed that Marika was beginning to stray from its vision

See my immediate impression was a jekyll and Hyde situation. Radagon is like an aspect of Marika that grew in strength and dominance over time. I think he's a curse, either by the crucible, an outer god, or a result of her ties to the golden order, like a robotic and more straightforward and loyal servant to the golden order. Originally an alter ego, as he grew she weakened and this was her most major falling out with the golden order. She would eventually be erased and only Radagon would be left, but without her he'd have no will and no personality. And that's what we see, this machine monster in the final fight, a calculating and mindless slave to the elden beast. This was why Marika shattered the elden ring and plotted to have the order destroyed even after hope was lost for herself.

What if the Elden Beast was sent by the Greater Will to put Marika in check, and Radagon is the mortal incarnation of the Elden Beast.

Out of the like 5 elden ring lore channels I’m subbed to, you are easily my favorite one. Great videos, I appreciate how concise and easy to follow they are.

There is one thing I just don't buy with it comes to radagon and rennalas children, it's that they were somehow transformed into demigods when Radagon married Marika, I think it was all just a lie to cover up that they were demigods from the start

I think depicting someone emerging from a tree it's just a Golden Order's custom that may be only reserved for very important people. Thus the bald monk might be just one of the many misteruous characters who helped build the fundamentalism of the Order.

Man, the red hair braids item I found.. Made me sooo crazy... Thinking the curse of red hair that fell upon Marika after defeating the giants is the reason she made this "other self" to distance herself from it. And that's the reason why he hates it...

The bald guy, his sprouting from a tree and the growing flowers in his hands, is an interesting parallel to Miquella! His final form could be bald. Maybe depictions of him as an adult as a way to honor him? lmao this is a neat nugget, thank you for putting it forward, appreciate the video! Radagon is one of the most mysterious yet shoved in our face as important characters in the entire game. He's honestly an enigma to me because unlike SO many other characters in ER I have a really hard time latching onto the emotional aspect of the character. I don't know how he felt about things, other than Miquella and their pass back n forth of rings of light, or even what he wanted.

All the Celestial Dew in the game is found either underground, or places somehow associated with the Nox. Except one, which is in Raya Lucaria, near the gates (where you get ambushed by a Bloodhound). We know the Liurnians are associated with the Nox - it's where they learned Astrology. Could it be that attacking Liurnia was a way to require forgiveness, and thus ask them to supply the dew that only they had access to? A ruse, all to get the dew, and complete the Radagon mimic

That monk is now Hewg and his body is the homoculous that Marika created, and split her essence into..

Radagon is the felled fire god. Marika joined it with herself to have more power.

Here's fuel for the fire that is the ErdTree Mushroom theory is the ErdLeaf flowers. At the start of the game we see the Erd Leaves falling, but leaves don't make flowers irl. Mushrooms however use spores to spread, so what if these ErdLeaf Flowers we find are just spore grown mushrooms?

Crazy idea: what if when Marika said, "let us be shattered together" she meant it because she is cursed with the Elden Beast and Radagon is cursed with the Fell God?

There is the cut quest of Assimi, where she later tells us that she wished that we would become Elden Lord and she "souvereign eternal". Also Asimi needs us to drink from two sources one filled with golden magic and the other with star magic, to become a perfect whole. Kinda like Radagon who studied the stars and the Golden Order as well. Also the Mimic Tears enemys are called "Marikaslimelegacy" in game. So what im assuming is that either Radagon or even Marika herself are mimic tears that later on merged fully with their original copy.

17:11 maybe it was Marika who was beguiled by the flame? And she had to separate this red-haired, blasphemous part of her to literally keep up appearances, resulting in Radagon. But she kept those heretical believes, while Radagon became the embodiment of order and loyalty to the greater will. If we believe that the events that lead to the fall of the greater will were all part of Marika's master plan, then her looking into the giant's flame could mark the beginning of all that.

I’m so glad you are making these types of videos!

I see crunchy, I like the video. Simple.

Still finding Elden Ring channels that I all subscribe to so I can see what other people think about the game, just found yours and very new channel only a month old, Elden Ring is your base can’t wait for more theory’s :)

Doesn't mention the height of his children. Raddon, Ranni, and Melania are really tall, pointing to him being a giant

Theory: Radagon is originally the laborer who became a rebel who became a champion from the Brick Hammer description. As a servant class person he may very well have been misbegotten (cementing his connection to the other misbegotten, particularly the lions) originally, or a troll (cementing his connection to the giants) and transformed himself through the rune of rebirth and the egg, possibly as a reward from Marika (mirroring Boc's story and relationship with the PC.) The descriptions marked use of the word champion immediately brings Radagon to mind and the additional comment about it needing giant's strength to wield could be a hint as well, as Radagon is connected to the giants in various other ways.

Love the Full Metal music in the background💀

Ooo, I really like the final theory. I think what you said is correct, that the constant mentioning of his red hair is a clue. I also think that the whip mentioning him hating his red hair is a point in this theory's favour.

Maybe Marika and Radagon are like D, one soul two bodies. Which would be why the Golden Order was one of the only organizations that didnt see the brothers as accursed beings.

I got flashbacks almost instantly after the skyrim world music was playing

I'm wondering if the bald guy was Radagon prior to the war with the Fire Giants and there is some sort of connection with their defeat and him gaining his red hair as well as becoming Marikas consort. I don't know what that connection would be but I wouldn't be surprised if it was either a curse or a contract between the Fell God and Marika. I also could see how this could have made him spiteful and set the plans in motion to burn the tree if he had a different life before the curse/contract was made that he was torn away from because of Marika. I'm now wondering if 99% of this game is Marikas machinations being played out and Radagon was just an unwilling pawn forced into his roll, which might help explain why he isn't immediately hostile to you when you fight him but it doesn't explain why he was so devoted to the golden order. To bad we can't talk to him before he becomes a sword to get some of this cleared up lol.

I always thought the Marika/Radagon schism was like a split personality situation. They are different people with different motivations, but they occupy the same body. The bedchamber conversation, I always thought, was about Marika being worried that Radagon would take over entirely. This is one reason why she shattered the Elden Ring, to prevent being wiped out of existence. I think Marika was supposed to be a figurehead, a vessel of the Elden Ring. But when she began to assert her own will, the Elden Beast/Greater Will attempted to take back control by manifesting Radagon. So Radagon wasn't around until Marika began to have doubts and reconsider her role.

The idea of the Erdtree being a mushroom could explain in part why the removal of the rune of death was such a huge deal. If things can't die right, the Erdtree would starve. It's a theory but, still sounds pretty neat.

Radagon was a fire giant. Later, he was used as a vessel for something who can figure out. The final boss fight of the base game was the younger Radagon.

I personally like the "twin soul" theory. The D brothers, were of two bodies and two minds, but one soul. Even though they should have been banished or killed for their blasphemous existence, Marika let him into the order. Or at least, that's what I somewhat remember from the twinned armor-set. So the theory goes that Radagon and Marika were of twin souls, but seperate bodies and minds. Though they had their separate lives, at one point Marika called Radagon to be "conjoined" in a single body. Yet, the "single mind" part seems to have failed. Btw, I loved that bit about Radagon's thorns sealing the erdtree. In a sense, it's a self fulfilling prophecy. If you shatter the elden ring, and command the demigods to mend it, yet you seal the door to reach it, then it kinda seems like a very convuluted plan for burning the erdtree. If Radagon was somehow related to fire giants, or monks, this would perfectly align with thise goals.

I was always confused to how Radagon was so loyal to the Golden Order but gave it up to marry Rennala, only to go back to the Golden Order. It makes me feel that he might of not had an entirely free will. No matter what I hear about him there is always something in game that contradicts it.

I actually thought the bald guy might be Rollo, as he was apparently super famous in his day, and there's at least one point in the game, in Leyndell, where we see perfumers praying to one of the bald guy statues.

The erd tree was grafted onto the stump of the great tree. This IS the crucible. The reason the omen are despised is because they prove the erdtree is failing and the rootstock is trying to take back over and creates them. The statues in leyndell show the competition the erd tree had and the later ones show it as the winner. A single golden flower that would eventually become the giant golden tree.

There has been datamined filenames referring to the misbegotten as directly connected to Radagon!

I feel the biggest tell in Radagon’s origins is the way his sun turned out size wise. Furthermore I believe Radagon to possible have been the leader or instigator of the trolls betrayal of the giants during the war. Also we know that giants are the originators of smithing and anyone can break something, but only a smith can fix it again and of the two Radagon is the force that tries to repair the ELDEN ring(being a born blacksmith), more evidence to his Giant roots and I could be wrong as I haven’t looked closely at the hues of his Incantations but I feel they carry a red fiery hue to them that isn’t present in other order inactions!

The bald Radagon theory isn't that crazy, actually. George RR Martin has done that before in A Song of Ice and Fire. In the 3 spinoff books of Dunk and Egg, the titular Egg is called that because he shaves his head to hide his very recognizable silver hair, which betrays his lineage. Then, (spoilers maybe) in the end of The Mystery knight, he gains confidence and accepts his heritage, suggesting that he'll hide his hair no longer, but we'll have to wait until the next book to see. (Also some believe that another character in the main series is doing the same, but that's speculation atm)

Convinced the statue is Radagon. If he was born from the branches he may not have had it at "birth" or he shaved it to go to war or the celestial dew cleansed him and the hair. Really want to know more about the fire giant god

Radagon is basically someone of the golden order

They're twins. Emperyeons are born from one being. Incest is a common theme of Martin's stories. Twins would make the most sense given all of the evidence. 1 soul but 2 bodies. It lines up with Martin's targaryens and Lannister twins being incestuous. Twins usually end up having twins/triplets and pass that trait on to their kids. Melina and miquella and ranni are emperyeons. I have more notes if you're interested

What if Radagon is a construct, but he succeeded where the silver tears failed not simply because he was made of gold, but because he was made in the giant’s forge. Perhaps, in exchange for leaving the fell god alive within the last fire giant, Marika had the fell god make Radagon in the forge. This could explain the red hair and how radagon is related to the fire giants, as well as why he doesn’t like his red hair. Maybe because marika anticipated that she would need to do away with godfrey, and wanted an absolutely loyal lord without his own ambitions aside from pursuing the interests of the golden order. Of course, as we see, they grow apart as marika begins having doubts of the golden order. I’d imagine that Marika and Radagon were then conjoined after marika shattered the elden ring and radagon failed to repair it, which was an attempt by the golden order to keep marika in check. It’s possible that it was radagon who was even making the rune arc crucifying marika in the first place.

You missed one item that offers a hint at Radagon’s past: the Brick Hammer. “Wielded by a laborer who lead a rebellion, and later become a champion himself…The strength of a giant is required to wield it.” With the misbegotten being slaves, this could give him some tie to them as their liberator. The leonine misbegotten being “children of Radagon”may be a nod at ASoIaF by GRRM with Dany being called “Mhysa / Mother”. Also, the only person we see being referred to as a champion (I believe by Miriel) and also being related to giants via the red braid is Radagon. So I believe he was once separate from Marika, he was a giant or descended from them, he was a slave, he led a rebellion, he somehow became a champion in the Liurnian Wars, etc.

I think a more likely argument for Ranni’s title as Empyrean is that since Marika is a vessel for the Elden Ring, than arguably any rune taken from the Elden Ring is part of her. So if Ranni was born of the rune of Rebirth, then it would be by definition an offshoot of Marika, since it is from Marika alone that the Elden Ring can exist.

Here is a tidbit of… thought juice. In the opening cut scene, Marika/Radagon are hammering the arena we fight Radagon on. That isn’t some stump, Marika is a giant.

I thought "That was a curse of THEIR kind." was very deliberate to lead the reader into thinking Radagon was a giant. Lookj at the first sentence. "Every giant has red hair AND Radagon despised his own red hair." Occam's Razor suggests the least assumption is that Radagon is a giant.

You flashed like a "who is this" on that bald statue in a previous video and I haven't stopped thinking about him. (Also, unrelated, haven't stopped thinking about the statue in both the Siofra river and the Ainsel river, where it has its fingers chopped off.) Who is he? He's obviously meant to be noticed by the player, as he's placed in such prominent locations (RTH, beside Rogier in the Stormveil church, in the Stormveil throne room). My first playthrough, in my little journal, I wrote a note on him down because I thought he was so obviously central to the storyline. Point is: it really feels like From wants us to think about this guy. It has to be someone important enough to have a shit ton of statues commissioned. It's also someone heavily linked with the Golden Order, so recent-ish in the timeline (or at least someone not associated with Farum Azula). There's weirdly not many bald people in Elden Ring. Patches, and that's kind of it. (Someone will let me know if I'm forgetting someone, I'm sure.) So it's likely that it's someone the player doesn't meet (unless, like you suggest, it is Radagon and the red hair is a sort of curse bestowed on him something something fire giant). Even the Onyx and Alabaster Lords have hair, as does de-horned Morgott. I *think* Rykard has hair in the intro cinematic, but it's a moot point because presumably statues of Rykard would be torn down in the RTH. Rennala is bald underneath her hat but we can safely assume that's for hair-clipping-through-hat reasons. Gideon has hair under that helmet (and it appears intentional). So, it's a named character the player doesn't meet who has ties to the Golden Order. This person was literally worshipped in a Golden Order church in Stormveil, presumably as a god or some kind of prophet. Who are the candidates? (1) A character we will learn about or meet in the DLC (sort of similar to a Lady Maria situation where this character is central to the game's storyline). (2) One of the many soulless demigods strewn throughout the Lands Between in the mausoleums. (Again though, weird to have him be so centrally placed!) (3) Miquella before he turned against the Golden Order? No, this statue is obviously old. (Though, there is a resemblance to Miquella's corpse in the egg, but I think we should take very little from the parts of that corpse we can't see in game.) (4) Whoever Miranda is? This is... interesting, given (a) this bald dude likes flowers and (b) the perfumers and those associated with Miranda flowers have a strong association with Leyndell and thus the Golden Order. Maybe Miranda transformed into a flower, and the statue of him emerging from a flower is *actually* a flower coming up to consume (and become) him. (5) The noble Goldmask before he shriveled up? Corhyn says he was a great scholar, but it's not clear if he became a scholar pre- or post-banishment. Perhaps Goldmask was banished along with Godfrey, and Goldmask was a part of Marika's grand plan somehow. (6) All of the statues have lines on their faces that seem to imply capital-r Rot, and as you mention the flowers sort of look like Caelid flowers. No fucking idea what that means. He's not Gowry, and he's presumably not a sorcerer given his obvious ties to the Golden Order. What else is there in post-rot Caelid? Not much. (7) I don't know, man. The narrator in the intro and outro cinematics? Of these, I could be swayed by him being Miranda. But, ultimately I think I'm partial to your unhinged Radagon theory because this statue is just *everywhere* and this man is worshipped in Stormveil, and it would be blasphemous to worship anyone else. But then--is Radagon's thing where at first he didn't have hair and then he did public knowledge? That seems extremely weird. Radagon also is a "leal hound" and this dude just doesn't look like a "leal hound." I don't know. There's a lot of stuff in Elden Ring where the pieces just don't fit together. I wrote all this out hoping to find some answers along the way and I just didn't, haha

why couldnt Marika just have hidden Radagon away from the world until she needed him? He could easily just be chilling in her body until the Liurnian war.

the bald monks branch looks a lot like the death ritual spear. that’s interesting because he’s on the highway, meaning he’s on the path to erdtree burial, the best know death ritual of the lands between. could he be one of the priests dedicated to the revival of the Deathbirds? could the erdtree burial actually be a cover for that.

Radagon is the newbie who follows the rules in a buddy cop, Marika is the disillusioned cop two weeks from retirement, and the two fingers are the Sargent who puts them together for the buddy cop movie so radagon can keep her in check

Just realized that all of radagons kids defy the golden order the very thing he devoted his life too.

I agree that radagon has some clear connections to the fire giants, while it's not clear how I believe he was somehow a product of their defeat and assimilation by the golden order. Over and over it's shown that the golden order and the greater will are willing to adapt and assimilate new things to further it's own power and influence, radagon even participates in this cycle with his marriage to rennala. As Marika begins souring towards the greater will and plots to undermine it I believe the greater will combines radagon and marika into a single being as a form of control. Radagon is described as a zeal hound of the golden order, I'm sure combining marika and radagon was an attempt to quell her rebellious plans with his relentless loyalty.

Yeah and the bolm munk statue. I'm clueless, but the branch he is holding sort of resembles the deathbirds symbol and connection to destined death?

THE LORE MASTER IS BACK. When the FMA music starts, you know you're in for a treat.

If I may, how about we consider the possibility that red hair is a sign of the Fell God’s tampering? The fire monks were beguiled by it, while people like Radagon and Malenia are extremely weak to fire, as if it was a blessing and a curse respectively, and the black flame monks, supposedly, chickened out, and let themselves be tampered by the godskins flame.

In my Simple mind I can say that Radagon and Marika were different people but as Marika Shattered the Elden Ring and Radagon tried to repair it yet Failed the Greater Will or Elden Beast Cursed them to become one and both will be Suffering from there Crucification like Chamber within the Erd Tree.

Here is a wild theory but what if Radagon spawned from Marika after she defeated the Fire Giants. Now, why would the last of the Fire Giants serve a the protector of the one thing that could end the Age of the Erdtree? Let's say that when Marika stoke down the Fell God she took the Fell God's power into herself. Basiclly turning the Fire Giant's God into a hostage. After some time maybe Marika couldn't hold in all of the Fell God's power and some of it and along with some of the Fire Gaint's physical characteristics were separated from her, Radagon. Then, when Radagon was removed from Marika he took with him her loyalty to the Greater Well, which lead her to eventually shatter the Elden Ring. It might even be that when he was divided from Marika, like a new born, he didn't have his trademark red hair and was bald for sometime, thus making him the bald monk in his youth.

I think the most plausible theory is that marika was cursed by the Fell God, and extracted that curse from herself in the form of Radagon, which explains why he is referred to as related to a fire giant, and why he despises his red hair. But, this also collides with the fact that Radagon has seemingly been present before the War Of The Giants, and that he was called back after the war and after Godfrey lost his grace, but we cant really be sure of anything, because the timeline in elden ring is very, very vague right nowm

The seal of thorns behind the statue that tell us that Radagon is marika, is identical to the seal of Raya Lucaria library. Also thorns let us speculate that the sorceries he learned that he learned thorn soreceriew, and we know that the guilty know thorn sorceries

I like your bonus theory. If Radagon disliked his hair, what's to stop him from cutting it off? All the other mentions of his "flowing locks" might just be there to fool us. A red hairing, if you will.

Great video. After ruminating a bit, I did have a thought around Radagon's lack of in-game fire abilities but very prevalent lightening-esque faith abilities: Naturally occurring wildfires are most frequently started by lightening strikes.

I believe that "Radagon is Merika" would turn into "Player Character is X" in the different endings such as the Duskborn ending "The Player Character is Fia," or "The Player Character is Dung Eater" in the Omen Curse ending, or even "The Player Character is Radagon" in the regular ending.

Maybe he was reborn like Miquella via the tree.

Could they be twins? Would explain their afflicted offspring. Twins have a high probability of having twins.

WHOA I just realized something. When an empyren breaks free from the greater will's influence the greater will's intention or mission spawns a new being who exists only for that purpose. Milicent a shard of melenia. Radagan a shard of marika and Melina a shard of Ranni. It FITS!

15:06 this is the first time I’ve heard a lore creator bring this up but I think it is soooooooo huge. I think Radagon Renalla is so similar to when Oden used fate magic to create a child to get revenge for baldrs death. Now obviously our time line here is screwed up. But I think Marika:Radagon forced the Renalla marriage through the celestial dew. I think ranni, Radagon, and Rykard were created as a result of fate changing magic, and had an intentional purpose. Radagon has wolves guarding all three children even in his current state. Very interesting stuff.

I realize I’m commenting on a much older video here but I was excited to hear someone else say that they think there is some kind of cover up taking place at the conclusion of the war with the Fire Giants. I’ve been thinking that it may have something to do with the Kindling Maiden who was kept secret either before/during the war, or came into being at its conclusion and was then kept secret to fulfill the prophecy, or break free from GW influence, or simply reenact the natural cycle of life that was halted until “nature found a way” to go all Jurassic Park here. I “suspect” that she Gloam-Eyed Queen might also be involved, regardless of whether she is Melina, Marika, or both, or neither. The location of the godskin swaddling cloth in those mountain tops near the first church of Marika seems to allude to the GEQ either hiding out in that cave biding her time, or something of the like, and perhaps near that spot is where the Gloam Eyed Queen was defeated by her Bale of Shadows and became Marika, hence the First Chruch of Marika. I suppose that just by virtue of being victorious it would make sense to commemorate a church and the new age as well. Where Radagon comes in? Not sure but this video does make me ponder the implications. I find it intriguing that Marika has one really short braid as though it were cut off. Was it used in a ritual? Getting wildly speculative here and possibly contradicting other established lore, but perhaps Marika/GEQ/Fell God/Mother of Truth are all allusions to the God of the Erdtree, now known as Marika, trying to reestablish autonomy from the GW; Gaia, or the anima, or the Empress, the Soul, too long ignored in favor of order and civilization. Thank you for this thought provoking video.

Hexagon. Heptagon. Octagon. Radagon.

An anagram of Radagon is.. Dragon. Maybe like Lanseax he was originally a dragon who transformed into human.

12:54 so that’s why radahn has a big size ? Just like the giants.

This aged extremely well. Shadow of the Erdtree will be out later this month. The trailers we have gotten definitely put emphasis on the old man. I’m so excited… 😅

Love the videos man. A lot of time and effort and it shows. Great job sir

keep it up man, your videos are only getting better and better

Love all of these theories. I really am partial to the idea that Radagon = Marika came about with the inception of the Erdtree order, which would have coincided directly with the defeat of the giants. I like the idea that their defeat somehow marked Marika in this way and thus marked her entire order. Maybe she tried to cast off this 'mark' and the result was Radagon?

Actually the giant’s red briad description says in the last line “perhaps that was a curse of their kind” but the Japanese meaning is a little different “perhaps this was a curse of the giants” implying the course coming from the giants. So yes maybe marika was cursed after the war as she had cursed the giants.

I think that Radagon was not always Marika, and it has something to do with the carian queen Renalla and the fact that she can make you reborn or Fia’s mirror that can make you change appearance

I paused this video to leave a comment like Xryeau, but I see I was beat to the punch about a month ago. ^^; also however to add in favor of Radagon's connection to the Giants, his son Radhan is quite literally a Giant. Larger than the Trolls that are also giants who were allowed to wander the Lands after the defeat of the GIANT Giants. Fire Monks who might just be short Giants, Radagon may have been akin to most directly, and similarly following the Loki connection and the Alchemic connection in relation to a crucible and a rebus, if that particularly theory holds deeper merit. Knowing GRRM, Monks were probably incapable of producing offspring so they were allowed to stick around as long as the lie that their god was dead persisted. Radagon was also known to get around, all the Misbegotten are his children or of relation to him, but they're not Demigods. We see the corpses of many Demigods around the game, the unnamed ones in all the walking cathedrals, and Morgot and Ranni's body. I dunno. It is all confusing, and upon finishing the video I think there even might be merit to the Bald Monk theory.. maybe he started off studying Fire in the time of the Crucible and Godric, then upon the defeat of the Giants became a Golden Order Fundamentalist and shaved his head. As is seen in the statues, it's almost as if the trees there are slowly consuming him.. which could signify an extremely deep committal to the Greater Will and the Elden Beast, enough so to be chosen not by Marika but by the Elden Beast as the next Elden Lord. The more I think about it as that, the more it seems appropriate he is the penultimate boss. I think it's his greed/hunger for power, and lack of either Numen sensibilities is what drives a lot of the game, as we can see it's his Rune that keeps things locked.. Marika was ready for it to be over long ago, but it's Radagon, a Sword for the Elden Beast commanding a Great Rune, that stands in the way of you and nature.

I definetly think that Radagon somehow came from Marika, instead of being absorbed into her, simply because Marika discribes im as "mine other self" It could be that Marika turned into Marika, because like you said - they were active at different times, but I am more inclined that Marika split Radagon off of her. Maybe Marika was originally just that one person, but by becomming the host of the Elden Ring the Greater Will had an Influence on her Mind, which is too much to bear for a single person, so a second person/personality was created (maybe unwillingly as a defense mechanism), so that the Host can encompass the entirety of the Greater Will's aspects and laws. (Maybe Marika couldn't both encompass Causality and Regression) So eventually Marika split Radagon off of her, to increase her influence - maybe for the sole purpose to get rid of the Carians, while she is busy plotting some nonsense.

A lore video with a grounded presentation. Like! Radagon is likely to be connected to fire giants.

Perhaps Radagon is the Elden Beast using Marika’s body while Marika’s spirit is imprisoned in the Erdtree. This explains Radagon learning sorceries first and then moving to incantations.

I think radagon lusted for Queen Marika's power over the elden ring. It wasn't enough being elden Lord. That's why Marika shattered the elden ring. She didn't want a tyrant taking control over that much power. Radagon wanted to become like Marika in godhood

One thing I've been wondering about is what Marika was doing while Radagon was off in Liurnia. If they're the same, at were the same at this point too, then Radagon being called back to becoming the Elden Lord was the Greater Will trying to make Marika return to her duties after being absent?

My personal theory is that Radagon started as a part of Marika who was created/separated as the result of Marika’s own internal fight between her belief in the Golden Order and her feeling that it hid a sinister truth. The part that believed in it eventually left her body as Radagon to fight in the Golden Army where it could do its part to unite the lands which is when he got cursed. He married Rennala and then left to return to Marika and become whole once more. Her “thou art yet to become me” line is about how Radagon is yet to turn away from the Golden Order and become disillusioned like Marika.