Radagon was always Marika | Elden ring lore 

Technically, if Marika is able to split Radagon from herself, she could "mate" with him the normal way too I guess.

I also think the Tarnished were an insurance policy for Marika. With Radagon seemingly being inadequate, and her demi-god children warring amongst themselves, she wished to once again try to join with a Tarnished warrior to try again like she did with Godfrey. Godfrey himself came back to give it another try. But her current husband and Elden Lord, Radagon, did not want this to happen. He was content with the current state of the Lands Between so he sealed the Erdtree with his vines. If you look at the Elden Ring logo, we can see Radagon's icon in the background. It's separate from the Elden Ring. Therefore, Radagon's new order does not require the Elden Ring to be put together - hence his desire to keep it from being fixed as that would restore Marika and lock him away potentially forever, as Marika would no longer need him with a Tarnished Elden Lord and a new order. On a side note, I think Gideon mistook Radagon's desire for all to continue to suffer into eternity as Marika's will. The irony of the "All-Knowing" not realising he understood Radagon, not Marika.

This is putting a lot of pieces together in a way I hadn't thought of before! Excellent work!!

Pretty easy, though. Since the D twins hace said to be one soul in two body and they are *drumroll* devotees of the Golden Order that, despite it's tendency to spurn all deviations, were surprisingly the only ones who accepted them. Radagon and Marika are one soul split in two bodies.

If you use the mimic veil those streams of light go down around you just like they do to the erdtree, also radagon is more like a cross and she is more like a crucified. Shows the duality but also opposite.

Btw, Marika impaled HER WOMB with destined death. I think this could give some credence to the idea that the Elden Beast was using her to create, as you said, "refined/perfected" vessels for it to possess them. Ranni's words "I will not be controlled by that thing!". Marika stabbing her womb that way may be her act of rebellion against the EB.

This might be a red herring but I recently noticed something about the death of mobs. Some disintegrate, but others just ragdoll. The ones that I've seen ragdoll are the omen enemies, like the ones under the capital. Maybe they are not part of this cycle and don't turn to 'salt' upon death, since they are cursed and all?

Very good analysis and theory, I think it fits in the lore quite well. It's possible that Umbilical Cord Talisman wasn't included because it would give away too much of this story; perhaps they're planning on adding it into the expansion due to Marika's past being something we'll apparently discover more about within the Land of Shadow!

The secret is worded "Radagon is Marika," not was, will be, and or joined. They're the same being.

I think millicent is the answer to what Radagon is. a splintered aspect of themselves that would otherwise hold them back, she wonders if this is what she is and if its what allowed melenia to bloom. This ability could be empyrean exclusive and what makes them so. St Trina is an aspect splintered off from miquella and Melina is a splintered aspect of ranni.

Prefectly fits with your previous Egyptian assessment. The pale blonde hair of Marika is the moon, the eye of Horus: healing and wisdom. The fire red hair of Radagon is the sun, the eye of Ra: power and destruction.

The Japanese for the bedroom dialog ends with 「さあ、共に砕けようぞ！我が半身よ！」 The translation went with "Mine other self", but 半身 is more literal, meaning "half the body". 共に砕けようぞ also more directly translates to "Let us shatter it together". Interestingly, "it" isn't explicitly clarified. Marika could be shouting at Radagon, referring to him as her other half of her body, that they're going to shatter themselves... but to me it feels more like she's clarifying what they're going to shatter. And by that I mean it feels like Marika is literally referring to the Elden Ring as the other 'half of her body' with that 「我が半身よ！」, clarifying that they're going to shatter the Elden Ring.

Great video but I think there is more to Marika/Radagon than just the "Rebis" idea. The original "unity of opposites" is known as the *Logos* ( or *Word* ), which is Heraclitus' term for the order of the universe. The Logos is the Law that governs all worldly laws - the first and the last Word. (Note that Jesus is biblically refered to as the "Word made Flesh" or "Logos Incarnate". In Dark Souls, for example, the *brand* of the Undead was a reference to the *Logos* Black Dragon Kalameet was a reference to Kalimat (Arabic for Words)1 (note also the Titanite Slab in his boss room) Dark Souls 2 had Hollows that were covered in words as a kind of easter egg. In Elden Ring, the Elden Ring is the Ultimate Rune/Word, representing the Logos Marika/Radagon embody this Rune by acting as a unity of opposites - they fortify the rune together; "she" deconstructs it and "he" rebuilds it.

In alchemy, 2 of the main components needed to refine/purify materials are (wait for it) fire and a crucible

Maybe Destined Death is the Prima Materia and thus she wanting to get rid of it to achieve immortality

And yet Marika was always Radagon too...

Every time I watch your videos and say this is crazy but they just make so much sense how you do that

if malenia is the blackening stage, and miquella is the whitening, would it make sense that maybe another unrevealed child represents the yellow stage? (melina?) messmer might represent the final reddening stage?

Your videos are amazing. I hope your channel blows up!

This guy is onto something 👍 great job. Love your accent it's a breath of fresh air, good for narration

I think the intwined umbilical cord might suggest that Marika and Radagon aren’t actually the same person but Twins that combined in the womb, they’ve always been together but Radagon is still not technically Marika and that’s why he can’t become a god. The theme of incest is pretty common in George R.R Martins work and would also be a nod to why Marika and Radagon’s children are afflicted with curses, basically bc they’re incest babies lol. So basically the Cerci and Jamie Lannister of Elden Ring😂

The alchemical elements in the lore of Elden Ring are too many to ignore "The Albunaric" and this blows my mind ring now. It's an amazing video. I hope the DLC bring us a resolution or at least a clear perspective.

This was amazingly well explained. Great content man.

i always thought radagon's "first appearance" in the lirunian wars was just the first publicly declared appearance. i imagine his first appearance must've either been really painful and confusing or just as planned and it happened long ago. i also think miquella was definitely st. trina. the story trailer almost confirms it. it's also possible miyazaki extrapolated many ideas from alchemy and other sources and they dont all necessarily have to fit together perfectly. great video, not because i fully agree but because it inspires greater discussion. I applaud you man. thanks for giving my brain a whirl, i appreciate it.

Great video! In terms of circular symbols the point is to retain as much magnetic power as possible instead of it quickly emptying and ebbing away like straighter lines will do. You can especially notice this in the occult "celestial language". The letters there have a much stronger aura than normal letters since the power isnt ebbing out fast

Great Video, your channel is on the come up I can feel it

finally! this was the lore vid i have been looking for! great work

the research that goes in to these theories are impressive. very compelling.

I think people are over thinking about how Miyazaki wrote the story, but I think the main reason is just that GRRM made multiple family branches as like how he wrote GoT The Golden order was Lannisters and The moon are the Starks (wolves symbol of night) I think Marika never wanted to be the vessel like Ranni, the two fingers forced her to be one and Radagon was the fruit of the rebellious state, marrying Rennala having children etc, but the issue is Radagon sensed that Marika is becoming unstable so he needed to come back to the capital.

To further add to the theory, I believe Godwyn is Marika's first attempt at having a child with Radagon and was always her intention (as a nod to Joffrey from GoT I imagine) with Messmer Godwyn's twin. Godwyn and Messmer however both lacked duality so she believed it a failure and sets about purifying Radagon to try again. When Miquella is born with duality Marika has her successor, until Miquella finds out the true nature of the golden order and abandons her leading to Marika shattering the Elden Ring.

Dude, your channel is perfect, you cover the lore properly and deeply, congratulations

I just now noticed while watching your video about who impaled Queen Marika when the cutscene is playing for the Maliketh transformation that he was wearing what looks like a piece of Marikas “veiling cloth” on his lower back, that’s probably why he was able to take on the form of the Beast Clergyman.

Bloody masterpiece!! You’re soooo good at this!!!! What I wouldn’t give to just INTERVIEW YOU! 😂🤣💜 Thank you so much for being so freaking good at this😊 You stand out and shine in a community of so many other incredibly talented and clever people. Utterly exceptional! Favourites!!💜💜💜💜💜

from all elden ring lores on RU-vid u made the best sense , how they r the same & why is it significant & why the ring was shuttered , no answer ever for this expept here

They were joined when Radagon was with rennala because selvius had worn the mask not to tell they were both the same.It was the whole point of his mask modelled with the cross hatch over the mouth.

Godfrey and Rennala had been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok, and flat out decieved.

Probably the best explanation of Marika and radagon. Great video

Wow dude... This video actually explains so much about the lore its crazy...

I agree. I've been saying about the Alchemical Wedding for a while, I believe Miquella left the Lands Between to merge in the same way with Messmer.

Great Video ❤ Elden Ring Lore is next Level, I’m still trying to understand Bloodborne.

Wow!! Amazing Interpretation of the story through spiritual themes. Your elden ring vids are fantastic, thank you

Good stuff. Radagon can still be her mimic and have been old enough to father Messmer. This has been my working theory for a while, he is a lifelong project of hers that she only perfected and combined with well after her ascension. There is that Melina dialogue in Queens Bedchamber where Marika says to Radagon "thou'art yet to become me, thou'art yet to become a god". To me that pretty clearly signals they were not always one and the same being, it was a process where they eventually combined. In Asimis cut quest the player goes through a process combining different materials to perfect their own mimic. All in an effort to become a "perfect whole". This was likely mirroring the process Marika went through. Asimi even calls the Eternal City their home. The game goes out of its way to connect Marika to the Numen, and make it clear the Numen are obsessed with creating mimic tears and artificial life. So Marika working on a mimic tear in her younger days among the Numen, it seems pretty plausible. Besides the strong connections between the Numen and mimic tears, the two main mimic tear items say "perhaps one of their kind will one day be Lord" and "their purpose is to become a Lord" If he was her mimic, the need for the gender swap magic would still have been necessary. So this lore work you are doing is still great even if we disagree on one part. Almost everything you said still applies even like the rebus, sulfur and mercury stuff. In fact I've been calling the process of Radagons creation an alchemical one for a while, so this vid was honestly great for my Radagon is a mimic tear theory.

I was a stormcaller church, and fully expected there to be some relic of Godwyn there, but its a statue of Radagon. Up the same hill is a stone sword monument mentioning the routing of the ancient dragons, Godwyn the golden fights to his last, earning the respect of dread Fortisaax. This almost sounds like he died in the fight, but then there is a description that the dragon cult formed as Godwyn defeated Fortisaax and befriended his fallen foe. But also the moment Godwyn dies is the night of black knives, no mention of dragons I could find, was the night during the dragon war?. Back at the stormcaller church you'll find a sacred tear, which mentions regenerative properties, a circle of gravel stone, which are said to be dragon scales, and behind 2 assassin like npc's is a chest hiding behind with them, containing dragonbolt blessing. This incantation mentions those who can use it are thought to be loved by dragons and few can survive the ordeal. But if you keep the gravel in the circle instead of picking it up and picturing the stone as the body, the sacred tear as a regenerative core, lay down in the spot or t-pose in the spot after casting the incantation on yourself, I think you'd be recreating how Radagon appeared. Sculpted in the shape of someone, with a sacred tear or golden soul at its center, and cast lightning on like Frankenstein, but remember how I expected a relic of Godwyn considering the areas theme? They look very similar besides hair color, but the statues actually have gold hair. I could be reading too far, but the person who created the story of Frankenstein was named Mari Shelly Wollstonecraft Godwin for a time, and she may have made the story during the year with no summer, which I think was a volcano eruption preceded by an eclipse, that kept the world dark for a while, but I might be jumbling some information though

This is some crazy stuff , like & subscribed

So Marika wanted to create the "perfect empyrean" so that it is paired with the "perfect consort" aka us? But, that didn't go her way and so, she enacted the shattering finally but "in defeat"? Her plan failed and she accepted to be content with only her chosen tarnished(tarnished lord prophecy) returning and taking the reigns, even at the cost of all of her children, including Miquella? Basically, her project was incomplete and she accepted it as such, but in sorrow?

Your research is insane! 👍👀FromSoftware didn't expect that a page of an art book would give away the plot. 🤣

I really like this theory good job dude

Excellent analysis sir

Great video man like for real i would never come up with something like this keep up the content! I would just like to know when messmer was born and what his role in the whole story is

You're making an interesting case for your theory. I have plenty of doubts, but it's worth looking into it. We can always learn something from well-crafted theories, regardless of whether they turn out to be true or false.

Great stuff!

Technically even tho Ranni isnt powerful like Miquela, she and Marika(probably) joined forces to kill godwyn. And to enter the shadowland we will had to have defeat Radahn, that means the stars need to follow their course and we need to open Nokron. Nokron that have connections with Ranni and the flow of stars themselves. Seems like Marika, Ranni and Miquela were the major players in this game of thrones

It would be crazy if Radagon was the true first empyrean all along and marika was his counterpart whom took control , turning twisting what the golden order was meant to be Can you imagine that?

Man I’d really love for the last two stages to be linked to Melina and Mesmer. Just a quick Wikipedia search: Psychologist Carl Jung is credited with interpreting the alchemical process as analogous to modern-day psychoanalysis. In the Jungian archetypal schema, nigredo is the Shadow; albedo refers to the anima and animus (contrasexual soul images); citrinitas is the wise old man (or woman) archetype; and rubedo is the Self archetype which has achieved wholeness. Not sure I can make the connection without understanding the alchemy or the psychology more at this point. Will have to do more digging.

is it just me or marika's golden bracelets in her concept art look like two little snakes? The tri-loop shaped fabric behind Marika does also resemble the main parts of the Elden Ring. I wonder if this then is merely a coincidence, or maybe the concept of elden ring itself already has the role of a disguising veil at its heart. Great Analysis! Also great to finally find out the reversal ring in this game. Maybe they cut the content to keep the DLC story more of a mystery.

Maragon(Marika × Radagon) seemingly has stone skin. It is cracked, broken and somehow still functions. The black smoke composing Maragons left arm is the same smoke that bares the Elden beast. It leeks out at end of phase 1. Maragon is almost complete. The whole body needed to be this black smoke. The "beast" needed to be tamed or restrained like the Farum beastmen or a reverse of Godrey/ Sharosh. Only then while they be perfect. A body made a black intangible smoke that will never break, never die, a black smoke housing the elden ring. Just like the shadow dudes in hero graves. Complete immune to anything but light. As in the very light Miquela weilds. Maragon needs to absord Miquela to become a perfect being.

Would the Nigredo stage not have been Godwyn's death and his subsequent ascendance as the Prince of Death? Perhaps Godwyn's death was ritualistic for the sake of the alchemical process, but Ranni ruined the process through her intervention. Subsequently, Malenia is more akin to Rubedo because her Scarlet Rot "melts down" and "rebirths" life, the Rubedo stage being a stage of Rebirth within the Prima Materia. Otherwise, would the Rot not be labeled "Black Rot" rather than Scarlet? I have always thought of Scarlet Rot as a new fireless Crucible for a New Age. Malenia, however, fails to transcend her own ego (her pride, such as in her fight with Radahn) and, so, denies the Prima Materia of a new age. It sure seems like something (Ranni) went wrong in the Alchemical process and the "Shattering" was the failure of a science experiment to create the Kwisatz Haderach.

2:30 that's treyarch logo. Now I have to look for zombies Easter eggs in elden ring. Dammit 😂

Great video 👍

Marika took some shrooms and we are stuck in her trip

i really like this theory and i think there are some great takeaways, especially from the concept of rebis and the marika/radagon relationship in general. i also believe they were always one, or that radagon was always a part of marika that she split off, but i wonder if the alchemical process of perfecting their offspring holds up if miquella is the older of the twins? in the japanese, malenia refers to miquella as her older brother, so that throws the order of the steps for me - same with messmer, if he's confirmed to be the offspring of marika and radagon

This does a good job explaining Melania and Miquella in the alchemical process. But then there is Messmer. Which kinda thows this off. Thats my only criticism

Bro... you nailed it.

I think the inspiration for the gods and their relationships and connections is not only inspired by Indo-European pantheons but also in gnosticism and its concept of emanation

Aint watched yet but title has me intrigued. Since seeing messmer i have felt that we will likely learn radagon is marika. As in has always been, like with primordial rose gold, Radagon came first. That it was him that took the shadowlands and created his golden order with golden fair 'marika' as its head. or that at the very least he was always half of the coming god, the war like champion who waged the forgotten war that brought about the golden order.

Radagon gets his red hair from a giant’s curse. In elden ring we see clearly that the body and soul are two separate components of an individual. If marika and radagon only had one soul, surely the curse would be shared. Instead we see two souls inhabiting one body. Radagon has his own will and soul. At some point he was an individual.

The alchemical aspects of this video remind me sooo much of Elden Tales’ work!!! You should give him a watch!!! He’s among my favourites along with you, Kitetales, Jackisamimic, A Human Justicar and Moxie!!! Oh and don’t forget Centered Tarnished and Tarnished Archaeologist lol there are so many good creators out here!!

Ahhh omg i've been trying to piece together the line in the trailer "they were never saints. They just happen to be on the loosing side of a war." And I think the realization that Marika lost control of the shadowlands implies that she and her army were the loosing side.

Amazing video

I'm starting to think this follows the mythology of soul mates. Two completely different souls inhabiting one body. Because if they were of one whole being they wouldn't have come into conflict over the shattering. They were in fact perfect for one another but being intertwined from the same lineage incompatible.

Miyazaki has been playing in our faces this whole time

My pet theory is that Mesmer is to Miquella what Radagon is to Marika. I don't think it's "Miquella's" hand poking out of that egg. It's Mesmer's. Where do I get this from? Idk bro it came to me in a dream.

I always thought Radagon and Merica were twin siblings who art yet to become one and later merged. And that Ranni and Godwyn were secretly twin siblings, that’s why it had to be him on the night of the black knives

Ive personally always believed they were always one

I would love for you to discuss your thoughts with Kitetales and Jackisamimic as they attempt to formulate their timeline of the entire history of the lands between!!! Reach out to them! I’ll let them know you’re coming!

I was wondering if Radagon and Marika were originally brother and sister, but fused somehow, maybe through force or out of necessity.

Think you bring some really good and interesting points, I'm bit inclined to think that Marika and Radagon are a bit like Miquella and Saint Trina... Different existences

I’ve always subscribed to the theory that Radagon is a conscious living great rune the criss cross cheese grater pattern behind the Elden Ring and his statue’s are his great rune. Than he became Marika when she became vessel for the Elden Ring.

i think marika did what donkey from shrek did (f'd a dragon)

14:15 The Japanese text here is unfortunately a bit different: 唯一人の神の子供 It was translated as children of a single god, but that doesn't really jive because in relies on interpreting 唯 separately from 一人, but ただ by itself is usually written using kana alone. Also it would be somewhat weird to say 一人の神 when the game seems to make an effort not to refer to Marika with 人. It's much more likely that it should be interpreted as 唯一 separate from 人の神, meaning they are children of the only/sole god (of humans/man/people). There is unfortunately still a vagueness, so we can't rule out the official translation being correct. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out. Way back when I had a theory that Marika rebirthed part of her soul to create Radagon. I could never accept the possibility that Radagon was merely a random champion, since his marriage ended a war and turned it into an alliance.

I believe Marika had radagon become marika so she could go into hiding and have radagon take the fall, perhaps she even is St. Trina.

Duuuudee WTF.that was soooo goood. that explains everything.first Messmer was born of radagon and marika in the shadow land he wasn’t what she wanted (perfect emperyean).then marika hid it with messmer trying to find someone other than radagon. Godfrey, then had a worst product (omens). So she realized that her only solution is to refine radagon.🔥🔥😳😳

So he was always a gold albinuric aaaaaaa

Marika's pose imitates her Great Rune, the opposite of Rune of Death, and it's the top part of the Elden Ring. It's also visible on her Scarseal and Soreseal Talismans.

Melina gives us lore in the game where marika states, "Radagon has yet to become her," implying they once were separate beings but became one flesh under marriage for completion of her being, possibly as a form of punishment from the greater will because he wanted to restore and establish natural order while marika wanted an eternal unchanging state by splitting death away

I cant wait to see miquellas hair turn red 👀

Very very sick theory

Genuinely, i think people would have an easier time understanding the duality of, and individual presentation of, Marika and Radagon if they studied the real life practice and phenomenon of gods being equated to each other, gods being merged, and the concept of dual & trinistic gods who are simultaneously one distinct god and two or three distinct gods. Marika and Radagon are simultaneous one person and two separate people with distinct histories. They simultaneously were always one and became one. Even the fact they had two children afflicted with curses supports the notion of them being, functionally, twin beings. Miquella and Malenia represent and embody two very real side effects of incestuous reproduction. We dont really need to understand the 'how' of Marika and Radagon's existence, just that they simply are simultaneously one person and two people. They can inhabit one body, and they can divide themselves into two people. Radagon does not have to be anything other than the male aspect of Marika and vice versa for this to result in afflicted offspring, even, as there is very real precedent in mythology for a god attempting to create a child without a partner being born with some affliction or disability. And considering that GRR Martin had a hand in Elden Ring's creation, i dont see it being far fetched that we are to read Malenia and Miquella as being born with afflictions because Radagon and Marika are the same person despite being two people. Especially as, ultimately, Marika and Radagons children with their other spouses also happens to parallel real life beliefs: a royal or god 'sullies' their bloodline by consorting with someone outside their station or their own blood: i.e. the omen twins being born to Godfrey and Marika. Yes, they seemingly had a 'perfect' child, but they also had 'cursed' children (children born outside what is considered normal in this case). Radagon, in turn, represents the fact that two rulers would have unsullied children, with those children again representing the belief that having kids outside the immediate bloodline somehow dirties the bloodline: all of Radagon and Rennala's children were born healthy, but Ranni and Rykard both were unloyal to Radagon-Marika, despite Radagon-Marika being their parent. And this doesnt even necessarily need to exist separately from the interpretation of Marika-Radagon representing alchemy in a way (and it wouldnt be the first time alchemy was tied to gods by a Japanese dev team). If anything, that just kinda furthers my point, but does deviate from your interpretation of Marika as the 'pure' one. She views herself as pure, yes, but shes also the one who married a lowly, unruly warrior who could only be a lord by being supporessed by a literal lion, who kept her 'disgraced' children alive if hidden away, and who ultimately turned her back on the way of life she created in the first place while Radagon married a royal, had normal children, and ultimately did his best to mend what Marika broke. They represent the concept of oposing forces keeping the balance of things, just as much as they represent real world beliefs and reflect reality and can be interpreted as the philosopher's stone. And if anything, the Golden Order having such strong christianity parallels furthers this, as the Trinity consisting of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are simultaneously three separate entities and a singular one. God is simultaneously Jesus and Jesus' father, Jesus is simultaneously God's only son and is God, and the Holy Spirit is simultaneously that which enacts God's Will on earth and is God. The fact there is no clear cut parallel between the Trinity and Marika, the Elden Beast, and Radagon only furthers this. Marika is simultaneously acting as the Greater Will in the Lands Between by dictating the land and religion, and simply the enforcer of the Golden Order's rule. Radagon is simultaneously Marika's constort, Marika herself, and Marika's enforcer. The Elden Beast is simultaneously the Golden Order personified, and the enactor of the Greater Will's desires in the Land Between. It is no coincidence that Marika-Radagon contains the Golden Order's physical representation as part of themself. You are right that they were always one, but that doesnt mean it is wrong to view Radagon as 'younger' or 'newer' than Marika because we dont know for how long she has been trinastic rather than dualistic. We dont know when she merged with the Order, though it was presumably how she became the God within the Lands Between, and we don't know when she and Radagon became distinct of one another as people or even when she began to be dualistic. Sure, she couldve always had Radagon-or Radagon could be a 'side effect' of becoming the God within the Lands Between, envoy of the Greater Will.

This is such a great observation man. Makes me wonder...what if Radagon IS the original being and Marika is the illusion or should I say the "acceptable" vessel for the elden ring

"A serpent never dies"

You should treat all cut content as cannon. Maybe not in DS, but Elden Ring is already specifically written to completion with a full history written by GRRM. Anything they cut from the game isn’t something that just doesn’t exist in the Lands Between, it’s just a piece of the worldbuilding and history by that they couldn’t fit into the game for one reason or another. But all of Elden Ring is already specifically defined so nothing anything Fromsoftware did or didn’t put into the game changes the actual lore or history in any way shape or form. It only ever specifically affects the story of your character and your character only.

Bro cooked 🍳 😮

Personally, Radagon and Miquella are the most interesting in terms of their lore. Any lore related to them and Golden Order Fundamentalism is always appreciated!

Right on 👍👍

Marika, literally: "IM HIM"

Wth the shape behind Marika's statue simply shows the shape 0f the middle section of the elden ring, in the same way that the 'trellis' behind Radagon's statue symbolises Radagon's rune as seen on the scarseal.

Great video! I agree with everything you put forward except the very end where you theorize that Marika shattered the Elden Ring because Radagon wasn't perfect. It seems to me that she did shatter the ring out of grief over the death of her favorite child Godwyn. I believe that Radagon had effectively usurped her position of power, possibly at the end of the liurnian wars, though possibly even before that, and the scheming of Radagon eventually caused the death of Godwyn. Her shattering the ring was her last ditch effort to thwart the plans of her other self. The two fingers state that she was imprisoned within the Erdtree for shattering the ER, and it is Radagon's seal that keeps her imprisoned. Perhaps Godwyn wasn't chosen to be an Empyrean because Radagon was jealous of Godfrey and wanted the next Elden God to also come from himself? This lends credence to my theory that Radagon/Marika is the Greater Will, or at least an aspect of it, as supposedly the Two fingers relay the messages of the Greater Will(according to Enia I believe?). Marika's ultimate motive in summoning the Tarnished was for us to finally put down Radagon for good, as evidenced by her instructing Hewg to "forge a weapon to slay a god," and it explains why Radagon immediately assumes control of their body to kill us. He views his Golden Order to be perfect and cannot let his power go. Even if we restore the fractured ER, we have to kill Radagon to get to it, so it cannot be him who wants us to repair it in any way. Thats just my take though, I am hopeful that with the DLC expanding on Marika's rise to godhood and the land of shadow being the place where she first entered the Lands Between, we will learn more about how they became the Rebis. Anyways, I 100% agree that Radagon has always been Marika.

#moughtown has been saying they're the same for as long as the game and I'm glad there's more evidence to back it up! cool video!

While I don't agree with everything in you theory, and I think that there are some stretches here and there, I admire your thought process and ideas. I have only one question. Where do Godwin and the night of black knifes, and the supposedly participation of Marika, fit in the alchemical correlation?

Here me out, what if all of the "children" of Marika are actually defeated old gods of the lands between reborn into her order with her at the top. It would explain why Melina would have a twin bird claw tattoo closing one eye and Melania has the old rot god sealed in her. They are both old gods of the lands between that have been re-tooled to fit in her order. With all that said I believe Radagon was either a Fire giant or missbegotten Leonine due to lore implications ie the big one red hair. This leads me to believe that it was possibly Radagon in a form before we know now is directly responsible for somehow using information from the eternal city of Nokron to start rebirthing members into the golden order as beings that "fit the mold" along with himself in his search for godhood. It would explain why he was so secretive at the academy, as well as having arcane knowledge to use the golden needle in the first place. It could be the reason why Ranni is so distrusting of the order in seeing how far her father might have gone at the school but I'm just speculating their. I also believe this is why the omens exist as they are either a first attempt at rebirth or a direct relation due to the forced union of a would be warrior into a lord through the suppressing of his warrior battle urge. ( this is a whole diff theory but essentially its possible that the struggle of Serosh being bound to Godfrey somehow we will say "polluted" the well. thus causing omens to be born from his lets say constantly battled urge being tamed by a symbiosis relationship with Serosh's and Godfrey's union to Marika. I also Think this is why she sent him and the tarnished away as well as hid signs of the omens wile also labeling the crucible age as now "unworthy". again this is a completely diff theory with maybe some connection to what I said above.) All in all love the video and I can't wait to see more.