Perfumers and Omenkillers Deep Dive | Elden Ring Lore 

It's fascinating how perfumers, seemingly a very small aspect of the lore, ends up being connected to nearly every major aspect. I did not expect this, but it was a welcome surprise

Some *really* good cinematography here! The shot at "let us return to Rollo" after the omen section is gorgeous

Rollo's story gets me every fucking time. Dude was trying his best to keep everyone safe, and lost everything in the process. I think people always forget that without the propaganda, and control of information the royals had someone like Rollo who was super committed to the safety of everyone could've done great things, but instead they were lead to be a monster by the powers that be.

Just a thought: the land octopus require humans for reproduction and their parts are used in the blood boil perfume, another connection to humanity in the recipes.

"Depravity is only depravity until it outcompetes: then it becomes mainstream as everyone gets onboard," Words to remember. Bless you lads and your fantastic Elden Lore.

So any way you slice it, the art of perfuming involves either consuming liquidized human remains, or spraying them upon your enemies. You've gotta wonder, was that a George thing or a Miyazaki thing?

I’m still so sad that the musical perfumer was patched out. I listened to that tune for at least half an hour before I accidentally aggroed them.

Finally we have arrived at a time where acclaimed youtubers have covered what to them seemed to be most interesting about Elden Ring, leading to them covering more obscure topics like the Miranda Flowers! This is showing that the Game really is full of details in every single part of its World! Most people would say a full first blind playtrough is the best way to experience the Game, but what im saying is, that the more you know about the Worlds Backround, what everything represents and how its all connected really catapults my enjoyment trough the Dark-Souls-Lover roof!

Cool! The perfumers and the Zamor are the two factions that really stuck out to me in this game

That yellow fire also looks like the wraiths that you can summon by ringing an accursed bell. The accursed that ring those bell as well are hurt by healing spells it seems that this curse energy is opposite from healing and the Greater Order/Erdtree.

Christmas came early this year.

"Why not make a perfume to instill fear and panic in the enemies' hearts?" Maybe they couldn't in time for the war... or maybe there was a line even the perfumers weren't allowed (or were too afraid) to cross. It's worth remembering there are Miranda flowers in Liurnia whose pollen causes Madness, which sounds perfect for the task... except that that particular trait likely came from eating the flesh of those of the Frenzied Flame Village nearby. No matter how dire the Shattering was, I doubt the forces led by King Morgott (who personally sealed the way to the Three Fingers) would be permitted to use such a thing. Assuming that any perfumers would be willing to experiment that closely with such maddening ingredients, of course.

I always thought that the perfumers in Leyndell were operating an opium den of sorts for their own ends. Interesting.

the miranda flower item descriptions aren't scarcastic. I believe it is either a perfumer that is describing the flower and its components, or the effects of perfumes were so intoxicating that everybody revered the flower because it is required in every perfume.

Never noticed that the huge arrows were topped with incense holders for perfume warfare. That is so insanely cool. Great catch!

I’m not sure if Omens were something that began to be born later, after the Perfumers were already an established culture. Rather, as society began to turn against the Crucible sometime during Godfrey’s reign (it was still seen as divine early on when the Crucible Knights fought for him, but as civilization advanced came to be seen as “impure”, some point during his reign before the birth of the Omen Twins). Following that, I think the attempts to cure Omen appeared after the Omen stopped being viewed as a blessing, and began to be viewed as a curse. The Omenkillers’ masks to me indicate a shift in the priorities of the Omenkillers. Rollo may have been an emotionless mercy killer, but the Omenkillers we see are actively taunting and tormenting the Omens, prolonging their suffering as they kill them. I don’t think the present Omenkillers use physick to suppress emotions the way Rollo did. Omenkillers targeting Albinaurics is…interesting. Unlike the Omens, their “accursed blood” seems not to have any effect like the Omens’ blood does. Albinaurics are discriminated against since they’re artificially-created beings, but the Albinauric Shield description says that it’s mostly the Liurnia/Carian society that persecutes them rather than the Leyndell/Erdtree one. As for them using fire, it’s said only those who served the Erdtree were forbidden from using it, so maybe if you used it outside Leyndell or were not officially associated with the Church or with the Leyndell society it was fine? Fire was clearly okay for lighting, for example (there’s candles, torches, and campfires everywhere).

The Perfumers had completely passed me by during my playthrough and now I'm itching to do a perfumer lore run. Spectacular video, really like the subjects you tackle. Looking forward to more!

Another note: omens weren't a new thing. They were simply touched by the Crucible, a primeval power that predated the Golden Order. The new thing was omen being seen as cursed instead of blessed.

Thanks for this piece. For a seemingly minor group (at least I thought so until about 50 mins ago) there is so much lore. This in my opinion is what, I'm finding out as a new Souls player, makes FromSoft games stand the test of time - not graphics, not mechanics, not even the exhileration of beating Malenia or Radagon, but the attention to detail - the lore. Everything has a story, a place, a function in the game. I'm on my fourth playthrough and finding out more and more everyday.

I didn't even realize the bolts thrown had poison pouring from them! This is brilliant in tactics and HOLY CRAP I LOVE THAT YOU CAUGHT THIS!! Perfumers are one of my favorite lore pieces in the game and seeing this video just makes me all the more happier uvu

With this work, the golden age of Elden Ring lore truly begins.

You have no idea how much I was looking forward to this video once I spotted the premiere of it in my notifications. The parfumers were amongthe most anigmatic and interesting factions I came across in Elden Ring.

The perfumers are so intriguing, I’m pumped for this video!

Y'know how there's a little ad underneath the video? Yeah, the ad was Old Spice LOL

One thing is for sure. Trying to do a perfumer character run in Elden Ring is hard. The ingredients are so scattered, and can be hard to collect. It's possibly the longest running, and hardest playthrough possible. I want to try it, but the effort is daunting. Also it ain't easy to collect the cookbooks.

The mages like Sellen who studied the stars aspired to become star seeds, rights? That was one of their ways of ascending if I’m not mistaken. Maybe Miranda was a Perfumer who wanted to become closer to the materials she studied similar to that?

This has got to be one of the best Elden Ring lore videos I have ever seen. I notice the speculation, but I don't mind if it creates a story. Excellent work, sir! Thanks for the good content!

I like that they are basically just Berserk’s Bakiraka one of my favorite enemies in Elden Ring even if they’re relatively easy.

What i want to know is, what the heck are all the nobles searching/digging for that they've forgotten what it is exactly, and how/why is it tied to the ruins of the sky temple (not sold on the idea its Faram Azula, possibly another floating Dragon city) we find throughout the lands between? their most common drop is ruin fragments, they're found digging in vitually every corner of the Lands Between...why? I only bring it up here because Hawkshaw does some of the most in depth analysis of From titles I've seen, and should they ever decide to tackle that issue, I'm sure it would be very enlightening

Wonderfully interwoven story from a small, otherwise undermentioned faction. Well done on your research and editing.

For a possible connection between Elemer and the Depraved Perfumers, it could be that Elemer is one of the poachers they get their supplies from. The guy kills merchants in particular, and if he does it for a reason it might be to take their stock and sell it to the perfumers at his own price. Elemer himself might even be responsible for the ransacking of Jarburg mid-game.

The "Familyyyyy" bit gets a like on its own!!!

You've joined Smoughtown and Tarnished Archaeologist as my favorite Elden Ring lore channels. Great choices for videos that stand out and I really enjoy how your process and connect ideas.

They are my favourite faction in Elden Ring. They have so many details, and I especially love that they used to be commanders during the Shattering.

Your level of insight is like no other, huge fan of your dark souls vids. I wish to gain eyes on the inside just so I can understand the story of elden ring.

Fantastic work folks. Everything from the cinematography to the narration to the script itself. You really outdid yourselves this time.

Perfumers straight up acting like hunters of the healing church.

As always, the level of analysis is superb. It goes to show how much detail and nuance Fromsoftware puts into their games. And this is why their worlds work and are do immersive. It's not only the major characters or events that require polishing. It's the little things, the little idiosyncrasies that actually create a living, believable world. It's culture, it's society, it's everything.

It’s always an event for me when Hawkshaw publishes a video. I don’t understand how you aren’t above 100k subs yet. You’re such a valuable aspect of the souls community that everyone who plays the games should be subscribed. Hit like and subscribe people!

I see Omens as remnents of the influence of the crucible from when it and the erdtree were connected. The crucible is gone, but its influence remains. And as another great tree the omen under its influence have no connection to the erdtree and thus no Grace.

I was searching for lore on miranda. The first lady to turn into a mirnda flower. But saw this. This works too. I wish more lore was on miranda. Miranda prayer cut item gives a little more lore on her. But not enough.

Sweeeeeet.... my favorite souls lore theorist on RU-vid covering Elden Ring lore, cheered up my day immediately. Thank you!

Excellent video! I never saw the giant projectiles outside the capital as being perfume diffusers - that was a very good catch! I love how you've woven together a story for these perfumers and their development.

Such a great video! I was surprised you were able to extrapolate so much on such few items. Never noticed the perfume on the giant arrows during the shattering war!

19:00 is when he starts talking about Rollo the Omenkiller, for anyone looking for that point like me

Would love to see a video on the "beasts" of Elden Ring. I have so many questions about beast incantations, shadows, the evolution/devolution of life in the lands between, Farum azula, etc. And how they relate, if at all

Love your work! Thanks for the hard work and fantastic insights! A bit late to the party, but something to consider, provided by Tarnished Archeologist, is that people in the Lands Between are born from the Erdtree itself, and that Omens are the in-game representation, not of something new, but of the reemergence of the crucible from the original roots of the Erdtree, the current one we see in-game being a grafted on phantom tree, and not a fully corporeal one. The Omens are a representation of a late-stage aspect of real-world plant grafting where the plant used for the roots and base begins to take over, starving the grafted-on limbs of nutrients and inevitably killing it. This, combined with your insights into the relationship between the perfumers and the omen as part of an early attempt to "cure" the reemergence of the crucible from the grafted, physical stump of the phantom tree paints a pretty desperate picture as the former healer Rollo dulled his emotions so he could cut away the metaphorical "root suckers" of the failing Erdtree.

Wow I was literally looking into their lore last night, crazy timing lol

can't believe my eyes

Thank you for coming back. Ever since vatti told me about your channel i have been blown away at the lore you can peice together. Amazing work as always i had no idea the balista arrows outside lyndell were full of perfumes. So cool and makes sence why the had the bulbs on top. Thanks again for your dedication

wonderful video Hawkshaw. Great dive into the inner workings of this aspect of Leyndell culture

This video is so well done, I didn't notice it's length until it was over. It was so good to watch, gj

One of the absolute best Elden Ring lore uploads I've seen. Incredible depth and detail, I salute you with my follow.

Left a like just because you quoted the confessions of an English opium eater , my favourite book !

Now this is gonna be interesting. I always thought something shady was going on with the perfumers, and that Leyndell had something to do with it.

Amazing deep dive into an underappreciated subculture of the lands between.

Ahh shit here we go. The goat makes more

This was amazing. I don’t know how I’ve never heard of this channel before, but if this video is indicative of the quality of the rest of your work, I’ll be subscribing!

The image on their robe i think it could be a reference to the rod of ascelpius with those serpents around a sort of tree or something.

This was amazing. I love this, more please, more sir! Some folks are already trying to thrown in the towel on lore for Elden Ring which confused me because there is still so much to look at, it's just the rest doesn't sound as "sexy" as talking about Gods and OuterGods and game of thrones style plots.

Brilliant video, Hawkshaw. ER lore is vast and impenetrable in many ways, and I am always blows away by work you put in it. Thanks for shining some light on perfumers!

I think the deathbed companions are foreign fia says she is from a land were woman like her are respected or at least aspired too and I think the perfumers are only for the lands between (but history has worked with pheromones homemade scents everywhere) Also this is very well done it’s very perfect I love this video and really respect the effort

If we believe that there is a connection between the deathbed companions and the perfumers, maybe Deathroot is the key binding them together. There are Those Who Live in Death all over the Lands Between, and their presence is attributed to deathroot, even in places there isn't any around This could imply that, after the Night of Black Knives, the perfumers may be responsible for Death spreading, a byproduct of them roaming around during the Shattering. We don't know what deathroot was actually used for, but if Gurranq is said to have a craving for it, it could have been something as simple as it's flavor or smell, addictive and eventually sinfully indulgent

Absolutely amazing video. So many details I had not heard about or considered before. Thank you!

Perfumers might be my favourite part of the world, but man trying to play as one especially online is so tedious when Perfume Arts are not incantations but very hard to gather consumables compared to their frequent use.

Im a little late to the party just found your videos, but you're highly underrated. The quality and information in your video is amazing. Looking forward to binging all your elden ring content

Great work, as always. This channel is really one of the best sources in the community.

Talking for an hour about one character of Elden ring Hell yea bois we are celebrating

This is one of my fav lore vids to date. Great video!

Just realized that miranda flowers are found just bellow the arena in the capitol... so the defeated go on to be plant food...

I highly appreciate the berserk music in the background

What an interesting perspective to deconstruct the game!!! I can not appreciate more of your hard work! The true lore master!!

Great video there are a lot of connections here that i never made

Great video, I love all the linkages you found.

I completely missed the detail with the ballistic shots from the shattering War. I did wonder why they had a weird back for a big ballistic bolt but now it makes sense.

Never caught that the Huge Arrows were actuallp poison despensing devices great catch

I have been waiting with great anticipation for your insights on Elden Ring. Thank you!

I absolutely hold Hawkshaw videos as the the BEST in analytical work for Fromsoft games. Thank you for this amazing video and I look forward to the next video.

what a great piece of content ty very much Hawkshaw it fascinates me how much story lorehunters are able to derive from small pieces of game elements again, ty for the story you tailored, was a very fun watch

ahh how I missed hawkshaw. caught your first videos on dark souls 1 and was saddened when no uploads were coming. so excited to see these again

Hell yeah, another lore video. A blessing..

I liked the part with the Tsungi horn music in the background. Seems fitting for the perfumers.

Ah thank you!! I’ve been waiting for a good lore video on perfumers!

Consider my mind blown... Beautifully-crafted vid.

3:42 "... even animals get drunk by mistake." Fun fact, in nature, it's mostly not a mistake, lol.

This is a great video I love the lesser enemy type lore stuff it’s pretty rare to get long lore videos of them

It must take a whole team to make these…..well done

FINALLY! Now I just have to wait till I can buy elden ring so I can watch your delightfully detailed work on it! Thank you for putting so much work into these videos. I can’t explain to you how excited I am to have your channel to come to. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

You guys produce such high-quality content; I'm about to binge your catalogue while I'm playing through ER for the thirtieth time lmao

Top notch narration! Keep up the good work

It would have been cool to have a perfumer starting class.

Great collection of thoughts, love your rapping at the end.

The amount of research and story/ world building you have done, peicing things together. Should be worthy of Being hired by Fromsoft as a writer. The fact that you start out with the history and lore and show how the world depicts it in present time (where we play the game) is masterful. I hesitated to watch a 50 minute video. But truly it was like an E-book where an entire story was opened and closed to make the world more relevant and expansive. Truly wonderful work my friend

The Age of Mythology music in the beginning sure brought back some memories.

Tonight we feast

When i found out about the perfumers and saw their attacks it made me want to make a build around them, i may make a perfumer character that uses those bottles for both offenses and defense

Finally. Someone got the answer for me as to what those giant pillars were that were being launched into the invading forces.

Fantastic job friend, it’s clear this is a labor of love for you. Thank you.

oh man, i'm so glad i watched this, i literally never noticed so many of these things that now feel like they've been staring me in the face - the perfume furniture in fia's room, the reason omenkillers know about the omen's nightmares, the perfume dispensers being repurposed in those giant arrows!! my first playthrough i kind of just dismissed the perfumers as a sort of monk-style class specific to leyndell because of how indulgent/wealthy leyndell is, plus the association with the word perfume, and they were just dangerous because Everything In Elden Ring Is Dangerous - i literally never connected the dots or saw how they evolved into part of the fabric of the military might and oppressive force of the golden order, this makes the whole view of the societal structures in elden ring so much clearer. god this game is so full of detail, it's crazy, thank you for this video!!

this is top notch. I'm amazed this doesn't have ten times as many views. I'm on my second viewing. hope to see more eventually!