I fancy the idea of body de-evolving back to fish-like state when loosing soul. As if some divine force in the past have triggered evolution by giving to primordial life some kind of "soul/mind" spark. And now when Godwyns soul has been taken away he's being reduced back to cancerous biomass. Alive yet mindless.
I really like how Godwyn is at the center of such stark contrasts; he was one of the most important demi-gods, yet we only really learn about him from the memories of a few who still speak of him, his life seemed to invigorate the golden order, and now his death taints it. The tree seems to understand Godwyn is, on some level, dead and seeks to restore him, but can only give birth to a corrupted, soulless mass of horror
Probably shouldn't. Worth noting, it's apparently, in-universe, only a rumor that something darker is withering away Stormveil. Nobody seems to know this thing is actually there, and considering it's a pain to actually reach, in a seemingly otherwise locked-off bit of the castle...
The nose is really what throws the whole face off, it makes you want to look at it upside down. Considering the rest of his transformations have him taking on elements of aquatic creatures, I think the nose migrating upwards towards the top of his “head” is meant to resemble a whale, who similarly have wildly displaced noses.
I was about to ask someone to please explain how a human face turns into _that_ and I think yours is about the most succinct and plain explanation one could hope for.
I don't think the facial features are migrated as much as people think. The opening cinematic shows him being stabbed in the back. If the scar on the body in this video is the same wound, then we're looking at his back. The head is facing upward or bent backward, and the tendrils are coming out of the mouth.
Not quite. Look at the wrinkles on the back. That's a reflection of his true body's scar from the assassin's cruel knives. He's twisting and breaking around but this corpse is lying on his belly. It's backward and wrong compared to the true body in Deeproot.
@@ratman262 My mind always wants to interpret the nostrils and frill as a sort of faux beard, which gives the stormveil version of him an almost sort of 'at peace' appearance where he looks like a happy old man, but when you see him in Deeproot his golden hair is sprouting from this frill. Godwyn wasn't known for his luscious, golden beard so the hair implies that the frill is the top of his heard. I think it's intentional that his face looks completely inverted, as it only serves to make him even more unnerving to look at.
>first day or two This was my first souls game. It took me like two weeks before approaching stormveil doing everything but the main path to level up 😂
@@ChuckPalomo Formsoft's twisted take on Poseidon or neptune. imo a lot of marikas children are based on these figures. like Radahn and mars, and malenia and athena
Godwyn's transformation is one of the weirdest nd most disturbing aspects of the game, and very few characters even talk about it. Hopefully he can die a proper death in the DLC.
This, and the scarlet rot, make a compelling argument for the Three Fingers. Some things really just need to be melted away with the yellow chaos flame.
@@Mare_Man Stop thinking like a mortal and start thinking like the new God of your world. Scraping the disgusting plate that is the current Lands Between into the trash bin is arguably the right thing to do if you'd like any sense of peace or normality in your world. I'm a Ranni fan, but even I see the appeal after spending hundreds of hours in this place.
I think he actually gets a proper death when the Tarnished burnt the Erdtree. All Death Roots and Godwyn are interconnected with the the roots of the tree, and the Flame of Ruin is said to be able to burn anything and feared by Marika and Greater Will. And with the death of Maliketh and the release of Rune of Death, the beings in Land Between can die properly. Somehow I think Ranni calculated this when she assassinated Godwyn.
what makes this creepier is that, this isn’t where he died. this is one of the many growths sprouted from his actual corpse by the roots of the erdtree. when you play the game and go to dungeons, look at the roots… you’ll see godwyns’s eyes on them. his corpse is corrupting/has corrupted the lands between because he died in soul, not body.
There is plenty of evidence to say that this is actually the real place of his death OR even that this isn’t his body at all. Argument for his place of death: it’s stated in lore his body was moved to its current position beneath Leyndell Argument for this not being his body: thorns coming from the growth are completely different. eyes are also different. I tend to believe it’s a completely different victim but your guess is as good as mine
It is more unsettling that he does not move an inch. You would expect it to move at least a bit, but he never does. He just sits there blankly not moving even a nanometer
@copyninja8756 idk it it's visible on mobile screens but I italicized the "yet" to emphasize that I don't think they'll never move, I think we just have yet to see it happen
As Godwyn and deathblight are oddly linked to the sea, I believe that the third eye above Godwyn's forehead is based on the fact that many crustaceans, in their nauplius(Larval) form, have a simple eye on their forehead. Some crusteceans, such as brine shrimp, retain this third eye. Given Godwyn's aquatic form and the fact that he has possesed crabs, this could have some connections. Another theory is that the third eye could represent the invisible, inner, mind's eye in hinduism and buddhism. The third eye could be some kind of ironic symbol, signifying cognition in a brain-dead god. Just a Game Theory!
i like the theory i saw someone make a vid of where they speculated godrick took a piece of godwyn and essentially left it in the basement and thats what it grew into
I think that's pretty clearly implied in the game. A lot of people are posting videos describing lore/plot points as if they're some grand hidden revelation.
@@Rich_P_Anya hey man "clearly implied" would mean there'd be a piece missing from the original Godwyn that we could point to. There isn't though, which makes this thing way more ambiguous and weird.
I think his design is actually based on an old drawing of the kraken attacking a ship by pierre denys montfort. Seriously, look it up. The resemblance is crazy.
Could be. Godfrey's axe has tentacle patterns on it, and one of the first pieces of promotional art released for the game was Godfrey standing on a stormy shore facing out to sea.
The eyes, the tentacles... Yeah I see it But it also looks like I think Godwyn also looks a ton like the sea monster under a woman to the left of Africa on the worldmap called la terra conosciuta by paolo forlani
It’s clearly a very different, separate thing from Godwyn’s proper corpse but also we know that what ever it is, it was created because of the night of the black knives.
it's also possible that rogier don't know the truth, and this can be totally different from godwyn. There are no deathroot, no fly wings roots, no eyes and no hair. I personally think that it's the former vessel of the Prince of Death outergod (sorry for bad english)
@@quetzatlipotec527Exactly! The fact that there are none of the usual characteristics of death root around always makes me have doubts. The only weird thing is that you can see Rogier get infected when you touch his bloodstain...
Someone theorized he was "flayed" and his skin is what is under Stromveil Castle. of course, this really demands the "Why" Godrick doesn't seem like the type to drag the skin with him from Leyendell, where godwyn actually _died_ , plus Godrick was chased FROM Leyendell, kindof hard to just "pop on down to the undergroudn to grab Godwyns Skon and take something that massive WITH me WHILE being actively "Hounded" by a hostile military force. Not Happening. I think it has to do with His face popping up on those Mounds you can find in some places where you have fought the UnDead Mariners, those big piles of black shit? you can find his eyes on them, the big grey pupils.(Zullie has a vid on it) I think it is just "him" manifesting with the spread of DeathRoot as it spread through all the Lands Between
People are insane for "loving" both hearing or telling the same cheap joke over and over. It's dull and smacks of desperation. I wish le epic memers would leave From's games alone.
@@PKFireFawx try finger but hole, amirite fellow redditor?!?! I wish I could give you reddit gold for that brave defense of recycled jokes, kind stranger!! Praise the sun!!
@assman7218 he's technically dead but also not. He's the first one who lives in death because of the rune of death carved into him. Fia even dreams with him and you can enter said dream, which seems to imply he's in some sort of hibernation or coma. She evens mentions waiting for him to wake up.
considering the dlc is the classic souls trope of time travel shenanigans in the past. i doubt it. look at ds 1 and 2 dlc even threes final dlc all have us traveling to the distant past themes. and i mean far distant past, often times visiting kingdoms long gone.
@eyesofthebeast hell no, the guy lowered the racism of the g.o. help rise the twins to the point they both want him back. Ranni is evil and no amount of white washing will change that
Godwyn in both concept, look and lore is the only things in 20 years of media that has genuibely creeped me out to the poinr of making me uncomfortable of looking at it. When I found it at the bottom of SV I had chills and could'nt get my eyes off him, then I learned about him and couldn't even be near its real corpse. Absolutely brilliant piece of work and design
I had a nightmare a long, long time ago and a character's head deflated, and it looked exactly like Godwyn's head. Next time, if ever, nightmares come up and I tell the story he's the perfect example to give.
"that is not dead, which can eternal lie and with strange eons even death may die" no other creator has come close to capturing the essence of Lovecraft's cosmic horror the way that Miyazaki has, imo
Godwyn perished in soul, but his body remained alive in a sense. But a mistake was made, he was thought to be dead completely, and he was buried deep amongst the roots of the Erdtree in the practice of Erdtree burial. Unable to truly live, unable to truly die, Godwyn stagnated into corruption. He came to resemble the creatures of deep stagnant ponds and rotting tide pools. His corruption prevented the Erdtree from absorbing him, instead he corrupted the roots around him and Deathroot was born. Now as it spreads across the Lands Between, the roots endlessly manifest the likeness of Godwyn in rancid wood, iterating like a fractal of suffering and rot.
It would've been cool if they made his eyes track the player whenever they would move just to reinforce the fact that he died in soul not body they should've added that
@@AALion2004 I actually really like that. It would have felt like that's what the story trailer was foreshadowing when it showed that close-up of Godwyn's eyes opening and rolling forward again. It could also mean my theory is a bit off. Or that the developers wanted to do that, but ran out of time. Or that they just didn't think of it.
@@WASDLeftClick yeah I think they either ran out of time or forgot to add it that's really the only thing missing from Godwyn should've made his eyes track the player because in game his eyes are pretty much dead he's like a deformed corpse with his eye constantly blank just staring of into space you wouldn't think that his body is still alive you'd think hes dead as a whole that's my only critique with Godwyn's design that would've been the final nail
Ah, I remember seeing this on my first playthrough... while desperately climbing the ladder as quickly as possible. Thinking to myself: "Boy I sure wish I could take a closer look at that thing but the monstrosity screaming up the ladder at me is just not having it."
One of the wall holes in Godrick's arena is shaped like an eye. And it just so happens to be visible behind him when he declares "Forfathers one and all! Bear witness!"
@@tonyawwwno3364his real body is in deeproot depths the body on stormviel is just a mutation of him a copy basically the erdtree trying to make new bodies for him to come alive but failing because his soul is gone so it keeps trying to replicate him
I think its there because of Godrick. He had an obsession with trying to be like Godfrey and his ancestors, which includes Godwyn. What if he obtained a piece of deathroot and left it to grow beneath Stormveil, much like Godwyn's corpse below Leyndell? Perhaps he believed it would make him stronger?
Imagine you lose your soul, die horribly, and are transformed into something so grotesque and different from your original body. Now imagine feeling all of this, seeing your body turn into something different. And being stuck, only able to watch. No hope of ever turning back to normal
To me, I see this as the 'final/most advanced' version of the Godwyn growths you can find littered around the Lands Between, like this one was the first to sprout after Godwyn's 'death' and it's been growing unchecked ever since, and is taking on more and more aspects of his true body. I mean, this even has the Cursemark of Death scar on it's back...
IMO this looks like a baby Godwyn. Maybe he's like a counter to the Erdtree where he's the main one and all these are the equivalent of Minor Erdtrees. The body on this one looks especially underdeveloped like a baby
im sure his body developed roots in that place, where he was killed, and probably his body was taken from there when it was already devolving into a primitive form of life (hence the baby-like shape), the roots retaining this shape as an apple seed grows into an apple tree. Then he just kept becoming a sea creature in the roots of the erdtree.
Godwyn's body shows aquatic characteristics. Maybe it's like a Starfish, lose a limb and grow it back. The lost limb starts to grow into an entirely new starfish. Godrick is a grafting nut, I wouldn't be surprised if the fool took some of Godwyn's flesh thinking he could graft it to himself. After it rejected his body, Godrick left the discarded flesh and now it's what we see today.
@@thewhistler6537 I'm interested in knowing more about the Stormveil connection especially because you never see another Godwyn body this developed anywhere else in the world except for his actual body in Deeproot Depths. I also wonder if there's any concrete evidence for Goodrich even knowing it was there below his castle considering he wasn't the original ruler of the castle.
@@FlashFirePrime That's why I suggested Godrick had stolen a bit of flesh after the assassination, of all the people to do it I think it'd be the individual most interested in applying other's body parts to his own. 🤣 I mentioned the starfish comparison because of Godwyn's fish-like attributes. Miyazaki is known to take influences and mash them together to create a whole new abomination. Since Godwyn body has developed a fish tail and is growing out of control, on top of the second growth under Stormveil leads me to believe his body has regenerative properties like a starfish does. As I mentioned a starfish will not only regenerate the lost limb but a whole new starfish will regenerate from the severed limb. Perhaps Godrick tried to graft Godwyn but quickly found out he needs to remove it before it essentially takes him over. Godrick cast the flayed flesh beneath his castle to hide his failed attempt, not realizing it would continue to grow. This is just my own head cannon based on Godrick's personality and desires.
My first time ever seeing Godwyn in Stormveil.....I accidentally fell off a rampart and plummeted to my death, only for my body to splat right next to Godwyn. My annoyance at dying turned to confused terror as I spent the rest of Stormveil Castle dreading this THING I'd caught a glimpse of.
But it has the facial flesh talisman that specifically says Godwyn, it looks like his body in the deep root depths and we know from other locations pieces of his face appear in other places in the world on areas infected by death blight. Everything seems to imply it's a part of Godwyn.
@@Crestfallen_Warrior sure, but with everything else it just feels like that's a stretch. Especially since Godwyn"s body in the depths looks so much like the thing under storm veil. Like, why would they have so much pointing to that and then have it be the storm king instead?
@@tonyawwwno3364 Well, I'm not convinced that it's the Stormking, but I'm fairly it's not Godwyn. I think it's another one of Marikas children. If every one of those children spread something unique like Godwyn spreads Deathblight, then this Demigod spreads whatever befell Stormveil Castle. It's actually unlikely that this is the Stormking, because I think the Stormking died beforehand.
@@Crestfallen_Warrior I get what your saying, but the game heavily implies the only reason the death blight is being spread as it is is BECAUSE of Godwyns death involving the ritual and how his body was buried at the erdtree foot, which made it spread throughout the land. "It is said that this cyst came from the corrupted visage of one unable to die a true Death. Indeed, it comes from the Prince of Death, scion of the golden bough and First of the Dead among the demigods." This quote is from the prince of death's cyst, the second talisman that specifically says the corruption is coming from The Prince of Death, the first to die. "On a night of wint'ry fog, the rune of Death was stolen. And the demigods began to fall, starting with Godwyn the Golden.' A quote used a lot and from a few sources, many refer to Godwyn as being the first to die during the plot of the black knives. We know he was the first murdered, and that he was indeed buried at the foot of the erdtree. One of the finger crones says "Ohh... Oh, Lord Godwyn... Such cruelty, such humiliation... My poor, sweet lordling should have died a true death." The only one that we see buried at the foot of the erdtree with any ill effect is Godwyn, and we know that giant mutated body in the depths is him. All areas with deathblight roots and such have what looks like his eyes and nose spreading throughout, same as what we see on The Prince of death stuff. Nothing else indicates that the other demigods are the causes of this spread and everything implies it all comes from Godwyns body and all because of how he died coupled with how they chose to bury him. I like the idea of it being something that's not Godwyn, honestly, I'd rather have it be something else that we can speculate on. Nothing points to the other demigods spreading death blight on their own on death as far as I can see
I have the theory that the godwyn in stormveil castle is actually dry flesh, like if he wasn't exactly turned into a fish but rather a reptile, and like reptiles they remove their old flesh and grow a new one, if so that means the corpse in stormveil is his old flesh while the corpse under the earth tree is his actual corpse with the death blight growing on him. That actually rise a question if the corpse lies umder the Earth tree, why is his "flesh" found under stormveil castle, did he at some point move around or something? or maybe the earth tree absorbed his soul further more led to his body be on the earth tree roots? And he at some point traveled trough the sea to far lands, Perhaps we could find his "flesh" in the dlc as well.
It would seem he is laying on his back but his head is upside down or at least his face is then again what looks to be his mouth piece with the bramble coming out could also be his scalp I really do wonder what inspired them to twist Godwyn into this odd mermaid looking clampfish thing...
The concept of post-mortem Godwyn still baffles me. Like what exactly is he supposed to be/ Turing into? His body is turning into a weird fucking merman monster, a second corpse is forming under Stormveil, the deathblight crabs have his face forming on their shells. I hope the DLC explains or clears up some things on what exactly is happening to him and why his corpse is reconstructing on said things
Its so weird and really throws you off, how his head is bent all the way back, inverting his facial features. I couldn't make sense of it first time i saw him.
The curse mark was carved on his back. He is on his stomach with his head looking up. His face isn't actually upside down like I thought at first. That's not his mouth
Always thought the tentacles are coming from under it's mouth. But looking at where his hair grows, it seems that is actually the top of the head and the head is twisted. If you look at it that way, it looks more like an alien or an ancient culture's doll, more than a Atopodentatus.
Not sure if anyone else see it this way, the Proboscis is at the top of his head followed by the crown then the death root hair, he is lying on his back in stormveil. the strange knob is where his mouth would be. If you look at the positioning of the hands in Deeproot confrim this imo.
Could be a grafting experiment gone horribly wrong, someone took a piece of the original Godwyn and tried grafting it, but it grew into this clone of Godwyn and cursed the entire castle.
There has been a theory that the corpse under Stormveil Castle was originally an artifact which in old world terms basically means a piece of Godwyn's body that has been stolen by Godrick and looks like it mutated just as the main body of Godwyn did
Few gaming moments shocked and horrified me as much as seeing Godwyn’s body underground for the first time. Of course part of that was wondering why the hell this thing looked like whatever had happened to his body.
I've had some fun asking chatgpt about godwyn ("what do godwyn's fish like features represent?"): Godwyn the Golden's fish-like features in **Elden Ring** are rich with symbolic meaning, reflecting various themes and concepts within the game's lore. Here are some interpretations of what these features represent: ### Symbolism of Godwyn's Fish-like Features 1. **Connection to Death and the Deep**: - **Depths and the Underworld**: Fish are often associated with the depths of the ocean, which can be metaphorically linked to the underworld or the realm of the dead. Godwyn's transformation into a fish-like being symbolizes his descent into a state of undeath and his connection to the dark, mysterious realms beneath the surface of the Lands Between. - **Drowned God**: His fish-like appearance may evoke the imagery of a drowned god, suggesting a being caught between life and death, submerged in the liminal space of the deep waters. 2. **Corruption and Transformation**: - **Monstrous Change**: The grotesque transformation of Godwyn's body into a fish-like form underscores the unnatural and corrupting influence of his undeath. This transformation highlights the perversion of his once noble and radiant form, turning it into something monstrous and abominable. - **Deathroot**: The deathroot infestation spreading from his body further accentuates the idea of corruption, with the fish-like features being a physical manifestation of this corruption taking hold and altering his form. 3. **Nature of Those Who Live in Death**: - **Symbol of Undeath**: Godwyn's fish-like features are emblematic of "Those Who Live in Death," the undead beings that arose due to his lingering influence. These features symbolize the unnatural state of existence between life and death that these beings embody. - **Spreading Influence**: The aquatic aspects of his appearance may also signify the pervasive and spreading nature of his undeath, much like water seeping and flowing into every crevice, so does the curse of undeath emanate from him. 4. **Mythological and Folkloric Resonance**: - **Mythical Creatures**: Fish and sea creatures often appear in mythology and folklore as beings from otherworldly realms or as symbols of transformation and rebirth. Godwyn's fish-like features may draw on these mythological themes to emphasize his transition from a living demigod to an undead entity. - **Koi and Dragons**: In Japanese folklore, koi fish that swim upstream can transform into dragons, symbolizing perseverance and transformation. Godwyn's transformation, however, is a dark inversion of this idea, where his change is not one of ascension but of corruption and decay. ### Conclusion Godwyn the Golden's fish-like features in **Elden Ring** are a powerful symbol of his tragic fate and the broader themes of death, corruption, and transformation within the game's narrative. These features reflect his connection to the deep, his unnatural state of undeath, and the pervasive influence of his cursed existence on the world around him.
His body looks like a type of fungi that's found on trees called a polyphore. Which lines up with him infecting and spreading through the erdtree. Those tendrils could be fungal roots called hyphae as well, growing out to find the next thing to to parasitise.
I remember I was on the top of the castle and was doing that jump across to the roof. I screwed up and ended up falling to my death, falling into the same room Godwyn’s weird second body happened to be. I was spooked since I didn’t expect to suddenly see some weird abomination so suddenly.
