➤ Subscribe: / @agtjake Theory discussion by Rh1z0_: / dlc_spoilers_the_cruel... Original Radahn Video: • Radahn Is The Main Cha... Miquella & Godwyn Video: • Why Does Miquella Want... #eldenring #gaming #shadowoftheerdtree
I like to think he's now in the afterlife, awaiting for an erdtree revival with Leonard, chilling together in some ethereal field with (I hope) a de-snaked Rykard, Morgott, Godfrey and the rest of the Demi-gods.
@@discipleofdagon8195 they all just watch the tarnished run around, godrick made popcorn for everyone and waited on everyone else and in this case just wasn't arrogant and now is a weird but kindly old man, if Marika joins them he's beating her with a fucking cane radaghon to
Which by killing miquella and radahn you do, Marika is an empty shell that houses the elden ring but holds no will of it's own anymore. The tarnished becomes the ruling lord to pass the throne to the next person or ascends to the stars to remove the order from the land itself leaving governance in the hands of those who dwell within the lands between along with being responsible for the consequences of their own actions. I find Miquella's rule would be one where all consequences and responsibilities are absolved, left solely as miquella's burden to bear. Some people even in real life want that so it makes sense why some people would remain loyal to Miquella despite his charm being broken...the irony being he never needed to charm those people in the first place.
@_cripticon8004 honestly he makes me think that Mohg mightve been a good person, if we go off himself the Pureblood knights were meant to be true knights. Only for all of it to be corrupted and filled with murderers when Mohg got charmed by Miquella with the goal to get more blood for Miquella, as it was mentioned in the blood talisman it was all to get blood for Miquella
Radah was captivated by Godfrey in his youth. And now we see him roughly Godfrey's size, even wielding his iconic stomp technique, with hair tied like Godfrey's instead of a red lion mane. And most interestingly, Miquella hangs over his left shoulder, like Serosh on Godfrey, also controlling him to make him unwillingly fit an ideal of a lord. Even the way Miquella remade his body was pure manipulation
@@owenmanley4231 Well the armor text says that was what he wore in his youth (helmet especially), so I would assume Miquella brought over Radahn's old armor since that was from pre-shattering and the much more compassionate version he was obsessed with. Bonus in that it was probably the only set that would fit the Mohg body since it was smaller.
@@DracoSafarius I agree about the armor being from his youth and it fitting Mohg, but not the first part. I think Radahn was always compassionate. It could easily be said that his act in halting the course of the cosmoes was a compassionate act in of itself once he realized what Miquella’s new order would bring. I think it makes sense that this armor was for a younger Radahn, as he was much smaller in his youth. It still doesn’t answer why it resembles Godfrey so much, you know?
It resembles godfrey, because was stated multiple times he looked up to godfrey in his youth. The correlation was already there. Was said multiplss times in many sources in the base game. I dont see the confusion or point of contention about that. Radahn especially didnt make it a secret either.
@@TonyValdezCeballos I still don't think Miquella is a Griffith copy. But yea, the means used by the two are very very similar. However Femto is just completely devoid of emotions. I don't think Miquella is devoid of emotions.
I get that a lot of people think Radahn was willingly there with Miquella at the end, but I just don't see this character who: - Loves war - Loves being a general - Loves his horse - Loved his community Would leave all of that behind. IMO, if Radahn wasn't being controlled by Miquella he'd, for one, just talk to us and try to get us to see Miquella's perspective, and second he'd for sure run right back to Caelid to check in on his people.
@@BulldogFromHell Well that's clearly not the case, or at least not entirely the case, as Ansbach's story shows. The MOMENT the enchantment dropped he wanted Miquella's head on a spike.
Honestly the largest Red flag for knowing Radahn is a victim and didn’t want to hold true to his vow any longer…is the fact he never so much as makes a sound in his fight as consort. Not a yell, not a grunt of exertion, not a gasp of pain, not even a word for his fellow warrior of battle. Fighting his scarlet rot self he sounds like a wounded animal his mind is gone but his body is still “alive” and reactive. Here? He’s nothing but a puppet, filled with a lords soul, but that lord is broken and controlled.
youtube mary and jesus in the quran and mohmmad in the bible and the Torah and the scientific miracles of the quran and mohmmad in hindu scripture … according the bible that you have (Matthew 4:1) Jesus was tempted (James 1:13) God doesn't get tempted (John 1:29) Jesus was seen (1 John 4:12) No man has ever seen God (Acts 2:22) Jesus was and is a man, sent by God (Numbers 23:19, Hosea11:9) God is not a man (Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus had to grow and learn (Isaiah 40:28) God doesn't ever need to learn (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) Jesus dies (1 Timothy 1:17) God doesn't die (Hebrews 5:7) Jesus needed salvation (Luke 1:37) God doesn't need salvation (John 4:6) Jesus grew weary (Isaiah 40:28) God Doesn't grow weary (Mark 4:38) Jesus slept (Psalm 121:2-4) God doesn't sleep (John 5:19) Jesus isn't all powerful (Isaiah 45:5-7) God is all powerful (Mark 13:32) Jesus isn't all knowing (Isaiah 46:9) God is all knowing . ...................
He does make some small grunts in the fight i noticed, but they're very subtle, only happen when he's attacking, and are the same ones he makes in his rotted form.
@@adamH.1 In the base game, it says that Miquella never communicated with Mohg while he was inside the cocoon. I believe that's in Mohg's remembrance. So Mohg had to have been charmed *before* Miquella entered the cocoon. I believe Mohg kidnapping Miquella was Miquella's plan the entire time. For whatever reason he needed Mohg to kill him in this way to access the lands of shadow. He then uses Mohg's remains later on for a different part of his plan, so either Miquella is the king of improvisation, or he planned the entire thing from the start.
There was a whole lot of speculation going on between Malenia and Radahn. Was it for Radahn's great rune? No, because Malenia came across Godrick and yet spared him when she had no reason to. Was she hunting for Miquella that Mohg absconded with? No, turns out Miquella was actually at the battle with Malenia as mentioned by Freyja. As it turns out, the Miquella deliberately targeted Radahn all along and set Malenia on him to subdue him. Poor sod, from honoured general to scarlet zombie to reanimated puppet at the hands of a monster.
@illyria7756 He doesn't seem to grasp the concept of what he's doing. In my head Canon, Radahn refused Miquellas request to become his Consort and this drove Miquella kinda mad (Like in Berserker when guts leaves the Band of the Hawk, Griffith is shocked). So Miquella sent Malenia to kill him so he could become a Puppet for Miquella. Also I imagine Mohg was easy to manipulate since he's a Omen who grew up in a sewer and just desired affection at the end of the day. Now that I look back what does Mohg even do that's bad. He takes Miquella seeming under Miquellas influence, he houses Albinaurics in his base who are a oppressed people and gives them a home, and all he does is attack Tarnished but I really don't blame him because we Tarnished are wretched creatures. Other than being the "Lord of Blood" and looking scary, what does he do that's evil?
@@tonydelia9998 I even think Mohg tried to save Miq from being drained to death by the tree, corpse looks drained and why else would he be infusing blood into it..Miq could've called on him, whom else than the lord of blood, from the cocoon for help, maybe as Trina. Either that or Mohg was already hanging out at the haligtree to know Miq's situation, unless he heard it from some albinauric or other that came from there. Idk if the mind control of Mohg started then or before that, but this sounds like a plausible situation. Maybe the original plan was to transform inside the tree, but he would still have to go to the shadowlands to become a god right? If so, he knew he would need Mohg or another omen to get there, so maybe he had to change plans/speed things up when the tree-plan failed. For now, with the available info, I also think Miq doesn't fully understand what he's getting involved in, am not sure if he understands what damage he does with his manipulation/mind control, or if he even cares.
@@tonydelia9998 Judging Mohg by his knight Ansbach, I would assume the real Mohg was more honorable, since Ansbach is one of the most honorable NPCs in all of Elden Ring. So the fact that Ansbach deeply wanted to avenge Mohg for being controlled by Miquella leads me to believe Mohg was a good leader that Ansbach respected greatly.
My take is, Miquella really wanted to do the right thing, but he failed over and over again, fundamentalism, the three, the needle, Godwyn. So at one point, seeing so much pain he snaped, and went "ends justifice the means" and was going to force kindness to everyone no mather what. Maybe thats his fallen hero concept.
@@jaieregilmore971 St trina represented his ability to feel love, while his intentions were pure, he has lost himself of everything that made him human. He became just like his mother.
The Crosses mark where he left parts of himself. Right up to his heart, his love/compassion (St Trina) and finally his fears and his Great Rune. After giving up all of that, he probably felt entirely justified in what he did. Or simply didn't care anymore. He just sounds so robotic in his battle dialogue.
I am just so impressed with the fact that Radahn said "nope" to a future god and also the one who can manipulate everyone with his power. Such a gigachad move, which is normal coming from the bravest demi-god.
St Trina isn’t an affliction, quite the opposite, a very benevolent part of Miquella’s soul who didn’t want his other half to be a god and asked us to end his misery. Her corruption only started when Miquella abandoned and likely injured her, the deep purple dew is her blood. Trina’s dew is for those who are weary of life according to Thiolier, which in the context of the base game is very benevolent, blissfull sleep forever,basically euthanasia(Maybe her dew was the “cure” for Malenia all along) . Her magic also has a soothing effect according to cut content, it can make the merchants feel better, they play her lullaby. She can help those Miquella can’t, and with her he abandoned his fears,doubts,and love. Without her Miquella is hollow or changed, its realy the part of him he shouldn’t have abandoned
there is also a golden cross just before Her. "Here I leave my love" and a spirit nearby "Oh miquella, I know what you done, You shouldn't have abandoned that part of you, How do you will help those who wants to be saved?"
The quote is “oh Miquella you’ve abandoned that which you never should have. How can salvation you offer if you can’t even offer salvation to your other self?
A absolutely agree with this take, if it's a plague just like malenia's rot, then why it's can be discarded that easily? That's not consistent if that's that easy, I think the act of discarding St. Trina is a sacrificial act that needed for him to be a God, it's a valuable part of Miquella's being after all, as the Spirit NPC says where he discard St. Trina, that He discarded his Love there, A part that must not be discarded at any circumstances. And I think that miquella throw away St. Trina because She opposes the very idea of Miquella being a god, just like she said that godhood is a prison for Miquella I think this is just a running Duality Theme that's going on like marika/radagon - - - - - Also the part where Jake says that Radahn has an affliction for Conflict/war-seeking, I think is a stretch, but an interesting idea
I like the point you made abt st Trina being removed means miquellas fears, doubts, and love, because if Miquella became a god and brought about his age of compassion, nobody would have true free will, only blindly following Miquella
I really wanted Miquella to be a good guy, and it turns out that he was just as twisted as the rest of his family. He doesn’t even refer to Malenia as ‘beloved sister,’ but rather ‘my loyal blade.’
everyone gets worse after their mom/dad/whateverthefucktheyare broke the great ring.. miquella was making a tree homeless shelter with his own blood and tryna res godwyn at first.
Miquella and Ranni, and the orders they envision, are set up as perfect narrative foils. Miquella's order is one of compelled compassion, one of enslavement to love. Ranni's order is cold, terrifying and bereft of any visible divinity, and yet it is also freedom from the golden order and the outer gods. There's also something to be said for the fact that most of Ranni's allies join her of their own volition (except Blaidd, who was made to be loyal), while almost all of Miquella's allies had to be compelled to join him (except Malenia, who was always loyal).
Blaidd was even made to *betray* Ranni, should she go against the Two Fingers. And she did. She got rid of her Empyrean body because she knew that so long as she was an Empyrean, the Two Fingers would still have power over her. But despite no longer being an Empyrean, despite now being enemies with the Two Fingers, Blaidd stayed loyal to her.
@@HJSDGCE Yup. That’s the beauty of Blaidd. Sure, he was made to be loyal, but he was also made to betray. Yet when betrayal came, Blaidd tried so hard to fight back that be became mad in the end.
Regarding how Miquella used Mohg to reach the Land of Shadow, maybe all Omen are connected to the Land of Shadow somehow via their relation to the hornsent?
The Wraiths that haunt the Omen are the same color as the Scadutree Avatar's holy attacks and the spirits are said to be smiling elders from the Omenkiller mask. The Hornsent haunt the Omen.
@@shadexvii3975 Yes! The resentment and hatred of the Hornsent haunt the Omen! Like how the Order leaks into the Land of Shadow, the Shadow leaks into the Order.
I have a theory about how Miquella was so sure about his godhood. Because in his memory he says I am going to be God. Not I will be a God. So he is very very certain. And wants a promise. But why he can be so certain while he has 2 rivals? Or we can add 2 more. Gloam Eyed Queen and Empyrean Grandam. Because he saw his fate in the stars. Do you remember the amber starlight for Seluvis quest? We found this starlight in a hiding place. That place name is Saint Trina's Hideout in cut content. And we find Miquella's statue in there. Furthermore, the draught Seluvis made has 2 features. The draught is nectar-sweet and has a charm even capable of slave a demi-god. These features are belongs to both Saint Trina and Miquella. "Goodness gracious, the way it glistens...utterly enchanting. To think, this was once a demigod's very fate... My oh my oh my...." Miquella saw this star and told this to Radahn and wanted promise. Radahn exactly knew what can be happen if Miquella become God. So he trained himself for gravity and stopped the stars for Miquella's fate. He never wanted to be a slave to a God.
I don't think the gravity stuff was because of Miquella (seems to be a thing Radahn learned in his youth before Miquella was born, or at least was SUPER young), but you seem dead on with the rest. Seluvis learns that Miquella devised an essential brainwashing potion capable of affecting even the strongest willed people which basically confirms Radahn did not want any part of his whole plan.
@@DracoSafariusI would say Radahn went o to a war with the stars to protect Sellia, but completely stopped them later to prevent his and accidentally, Ranni's fate. Makes sense now for me
She was an Empyrean. :D The Watchful Spirit incantation was saying that she was, but in the last patch they changed the text to 'Hornsent Grandam'. I don't know why they did that.
the crazy thing is - he held the stars to hold miquella's fate, even when he was a zombie. he didnt want to be king consort by absolutely any means, even if it meant dying from the sheer power it requires to hold up the stars
The stars didn’t hold Miquella’s fate, I think. From everything there is in the game it’s the Carians that are most influenced by the stars, and it’s still unclear exactly why Radahn halted the stars. It could be to stop his own fate, or Ranni’s, or it was under the command of the Golden Order to weaken the Carians, it’s not entirely certain.
@@Mario-SunshineGalaxy64 the description of the Amber Starlight item says "If the stars command our fates, then amber-hued stars must command the fates of the gods. Such is the belief that inspired the use of these shards to prepare a most special draught"
@@Mario-SunshineGalaxy64 I like to think it’s a little of Column A and B. He held the stars because he did not wish to be Miquella’s Consort and because he cared for his sister Ranni and didn’t want her to leave when the Age of Stars came.
@@Mario-SunshineGalaxy64 if you read the description of the finger mother rememberance, it is mentioned that the mother of finger is daughter of the greater will and also the first shooting star that fell on lands between. So I think that radahn's holding back the star is an order he got from marika because she afraid that the gods will send their children to lands between again to seek for someone to replace her.
So here's what I think the timeline went like: In their youth Miquella asked Radahn to make that vow to become his king consort. I believe Redahn accepted, since his name in the final fight is promised consort, implying a promise was made. Now if Radahn made that promise willingly/or due to Miquella's charm is another matter. This vow stood tall until Miquella got disillusioned with the golden order due to it not being able to cure his and Malenia's affliction. Miquella turned his back on the golden order, Radahn stood by it and now they were on opposite sides. Radahn now doesn't want to keep up the vow. Miquella tries to manipulate Radahn with his charms, however Radahn due to being from the Raya Lucarian royalty has his fate tethered to the stars, so by halting their movements he can resist the kind of enchantment Mogh and everyone was under. I believe that is the reason Radahn originally challenged the stars. So Malenia is sent to fight Radahn in order to make him keep the vow. She nukes Caelid in the process, but doesn't succeed, since Radahn manages to not only survive, but keep living with the help of his great rune keeping the scarlet Rot from killing him. The tragedy here is, Radahn even in what is basically his death manages to hold on and keep Miquella's plan from succeeding, until we come along and go through the events of the Redahn festival. The rest is explained ingame already. Mogh gets brainwashed by Miquella and forced to bring him to Mohgwyn palace, where we kill him like Miquella wanted, becoming probably the most tragic character in the entire game in the process. Miquella puts Redahn's soul into the body and resurrect his Frankenstein's Redahn as the Consort that was promised so long ago.
@@delta_1632 The part where Radahn stopped the stars to halt his destiny, as part of the Carian royal family, is a really good aspect and very interesting since it shows how he is extremely intelligent, and seems way more likely to be why he did that than to stop the falling stars beasts and similar from invading, and screwing Ranni’s destiny
i think this is supported more too with the form radahn takes. from the remembrancr weapons, this radahn is fashioned to radahn around the time that he challenged the stars. So potentially the version of Radahn that truly was the Promised Consort
I like that theory but can you elaborate on this part: "Miquella tries to manipulate Radahn with his charms, however Radahn due to being from the Raya Lucarian royalty has his fate tethered to the stars, so by halting their movements he can resist the kind of enchantment Mogh and everyone was under. I believe that is the reason Radahn originally challenged the stars." Like how does Radahn holding the starts keep him from being charmed exactly? And do you mean his "fate" is linked to the promise and by him holding the stars he simultainously puts his "fate to become the promised consort" on hold? I hope I understood that correctly.
@@iamalex.7131 So from the game we learn that the fate of Raya Lucarian Royalty is tethered to the stars. Due to this in Ranni's questline for example her fate is at a complete standstil, even extending to the physical like not being able to discover Nokstella, no matter what is tried. Miquella charming/brainwashing a person could be said to alter the persons fate, as all their decisions will either be decided by or at least influenced heavily by Miquella, like in Mogh's case. So I am reasoning that Radahn halting his own fate through the stars could fight off Miquella's enchantment to where it just doesn't take hold as long as he can keep the stars contained. This doesn't need to be the case, maybe Miquella didn't want to use his abilities on Radahn out of respekt or love. But I think it gives a satisfying explanation to something that has been largely speculated about and somewhat of a mistery. As to what their fate actually is, just think of it as their potential future. As long as their fate is halted their future is out of reach since no progression is possible. In the simplest terms just think of them as a character in a novel and the fate being the author writing their story. When the author pauses their future also stays in limbo.
Miquella is literally just like how Griffith is portrayed in Berserk. Looks angelic, radiant, good and seemingly pure but underneath it all lies the devils face and evil incarnate. Meanwhile, Guts looks scary and seemingly evil on the outside but on the inside he is one of the only good human beings left trying to save people for real. At least we get to see what a prime Radahn would look like and get to fight him even though he isn't himself sadly.
Let’s see the final boss as a way to free General Radahn’s soul once and for all and avenge what Miquella did to Lord Mogh. Even if they were our enemies, what Miquella did to them, our allies, and the entire Lands Between is unforgivable. This is the equivalent of our Eclipse.
I’ve realized from this dlc that miquella is the opposite of kind When Radhan didn’t want to become a puppet he sent malenia to kill him. And when she “failed” he left her to literally rot while he manipulated what now seems like a pretty good guy in mohg to use his copse as a doorway to the land of shadow and stuff radahn into. Miquella is basically a manipulative asshole who thinks it’s okay to manipulate everyone to create a kind world against their wills
I was left behind, and only Kindly Miquella was enough to seek me out. My wound was swollen and festering - exuding a most pungent odour - and yet he drained the poison from it. -freyja
If you actually bother to read text and listen to dialogue yourself instead of just agreeing with illiterate vaati wannabes, you'd learn that miquella is actually nuanced.
Yeah since Miquella has removed his love by removing St. Trina. The age of compassion is basically just an age of manipulation. Also The NPC’s that got together to find Miquella reminded me of the Band of the Hawk too. I really liked the DLC.
An age of compassion wouldn’t work without genuine love and Miquella setting himself up to fail when got rid of his emotions and St Trina who is the benevolence part of Miquella who knew being a god is just prison of divinity without the person Miquella would had been a machine someone worse than marika.
Miquella is Pretty much what Griffith is in berserk especially after his return into the physical world and that Cocoon thing and the Egg of the Perfect World might be similar too both used in rebirth of some sort . Radahn Could be Guts in this case how badly Griffith wanted guts to stay and be his sword rather then go away it made him went nuts .
Makes me wonder how much Malenia was bewitched by Miquella. It makes sense for her to support him in this, it benefits her too and we don't know that she is above this, but with a power like Miquella's its hard not to wonder.
@@dankpepe2110 She did, she fight Radahn in service to the plan after all. But did she only do so because she was bewitched by Miquella, or was she genuinely on board with it? The latter is very much possible, but I know that Miquella would use his powers if she wasnt into it
no, she is not bewitched, she has huge debt to pay to her brother. the only one reason malenia survive till now is her brother golden needle, she will die long time ago and become vesel to rot god without it beside no one care or try to cure her except her brother. so she will do anything for him.
One of the neat things i realized after Ansbach's line about spiriting away rhe bodies is that Radhan and Mohg are the only shardbearers not to leave remains, such a nice attention to detail
You are missing a big chunk of the DLC lore. Miquella didn't turn from the golden order because he saw the suffering of Marika. Ymir makes it clear that Miquella discovered that the two fingers had no connection to the greater will, I.e. the golden order is itself a lie.
This is why Ranni had the best idea. Miquella wanted to enforce his compassion, Mogh wanted his dynasty, Morgot wanted to protect the current order. They all want power and control in some way. Ranni just wants to fuck off to the stars and leave people to their own devices.
Well, that also means that never-ending wars, death, suffering and pain will be there too, it's just how humans are. If there is no god or any other power to stop or guide them, they will continue what they were doing before even if there is no god, or it might even become worse. So as true FromSoft game, Elden ring doesn't have a true good ending too. There is nothing you can choose to make the world a true heaven. Miquella realized that, and that's why he wanted to force love and compassion. I don't think it would be that awful.
@@van_tigranyan Never ending wars, suffering and pain are there with gods as well. I'm not saying that her ending means everything is going to work out fine for the lands between, only that hers is the best idea. I think the others failed because of their desire to control, to rule.
@@FlyingFox86 sorry, never implied you said it was the best ending 😅 just shared my thoughts with you, as I also think that's the best one available. It's just not as good as one could wish.
@@van_tigranyan I agree. It's basically a "fuck you all, you sort it out yourself" approach, which I can appreciate. But most of all, it is the most fleshed out quest in the game by far. That makes me biased in favor of it.
3:40 - this makes me so uneasy, but i’m glad we finally got some St Trina, albeit a teenie amount! 10:59 - Cannot think of a better NPC character than Ansbach, such a fountain of knowledge to be tapped by us theorists. “Miquella is a monster”
But... If miqella is only using mohgs body, not his soul, that means there is a bodiless mohg out there, and a soulless godwyn.... And mohg has already had contact with the formless mother, if there is a second dlc, and mohg gets revived into godwyns, non-omen, body, just know i called it XD
That'd be pretty cool honestly. Unsure on whether having a soul shoved back in would unseat the aspect of death carved into the body, but getting Mohg back would be great
@@DracoSafarius thematicly it would open the door for a lot of lore, is the omen curse bound to the body, or the soul, would mohhs soul in godwyn's body still Sprout horns, and would he still have his burning omen blood, and as for the aspect of death, technicly, only godwyn's soul was killed, his body is still "alive" that was rhanni'd plan, her body was killed, and godwyn's soul was, to make one complete death, however, rhanni'd soul moved into something else, so there is a body without a soul in it, and now that i'm thinking about it, the dung eater curses the souls of his victims, so godwyn's body would become an omen too, just like his brothers, kinda ironic
@@TheBlueKing10t HA! Nope. She was at his mercy, and this rotten bitch had to play dirty to take out not his body, not his soul, but his concieusness, and to beat the nail into the coffin, by means that nuked the entire continent, and yet Radahn was still alive, he still held the stars, and fought for survival, while Malenia was sleeping, and had to be saved by her cultists. By every honorable meaning, Radahn beat her.
I also think that the miquella we fight againts has no kindness in him, since before going to st.trina underground, his cross is saying “I left my love here” or something like that. And st.trina also says you need to stop miquella.
I feel so bad for Morgott and Radahn. Morgott was shunned away as a baby, and as an adult had to watch all his family members turn their back on the golden order. Radahn on the other hand, is i’d argue the best demigod because he hasnt done ANYTHING wrong. He doesn’t lie to get what he wants, manipulate or deceive. He was very compassionate to his warriors and animals. He doesnt deserve any of this
That’s not referring to literally the emotion love, but St. Trina as his love itself LMAO. The misery of slogging through dumb as hell Radahn centered discourse starts once again
I don't think Radahn wanted the "honorable death" that both his soldiers and everyone else believes he did. The fact that he continued to not only fight and survive, but keep Leonard alive as well as the stars stuck suggest to me that some part of him, whatever part Miquella was missing, was still there, compelling him to fight until the last, against the fate Miquella wanted for him, what Malenia told him. Perhaps Miquella charmed Jerren and the rest of the Redmanes into believing Radahn sought death.
If Jerren is summoned in the game and dies, there's a blood reference in his name, which indicates he was working for Mohg (and thus, likely, Miquella) all along.
Story and lorewise I was a little disappointed at first seeing Radahn again as the final boss. But after looking further into it, and now watching this video perfectly putting it all together... this is such a cool and honestly well written story. It makes me love Radahn even more, gives a whole new perspective on Mohg, and I also think it works really well to emphasize the whole "wielding love as a weapon" thing. Fighting Miquella straight up probably wouldn't have been the right move for his character.
Miquella is an even more devastating force than the Frenzied Flame. At least the Frenzied Flame needs to be embraced, and at least it has an end in sight. Miquella will hollow anyone out to use them as a puppet, be they man or Empyrean. He did it to Mohg for mere convenience. He did it to his own sister to make a glorified bodyguard. And with this DLC, he did it to Radahn, denying him his final rest. It doesn't matter how flowery his language seems, Miquella is the end of free will, change, and growth. Eyes are windows to the soul, and Miquella hides his from the world.
I 100% agree that Radahn had zero interest upholding his promise after the Shattering, and that Miquella had to jump through a lot of hoops to make him his consort without directly being able to dominate his will. My theory is that Miquella discovered Ranni was behind the Night of the Black Knives and knew that she would have to stop Radahn from halting the stars in order to bring upon a new age, breaking free from the Greater Will. After we kill Radahn the first time, I think Miquella planned to have him resurrected as his consort to safeguard the current Golden Order just before Ranni could pursue the Elden Ring, when she goes off to fully free herself from the Two Fingers. This would explain why the Black Knives tried to assassinate Blaidd. Whether by stealing their hearts or their motives kinda aligned naturally, Miquella utilized the Black Knives as Ranni did to deprive her of a consort that could potentially take the Elden Ring before Radahn’s resurrection could be completed. This would leave him pretty much unopposed to bring upon his new age of compassion (by force). And then there’s us , the Tarnished, who Miquella probably thought was some rando taking part in the festival of Radahn for fun to also claim the Elden Ring for Ranni lmao.
12:36 I don’t think the final boss we fight was the “perfect version of Radahn,” as you might have assumed. I think the original and perfect vessel for his soul was going to be Godwyn’s corpse, but Ranni messed that up, so Miquella had to improvise, finding his entranceway to the Shadow Realm [Mohg] would suffice.
This video singlehandedly solved every after question I had after learning more about the base game's story/lore back then and pieced it all together, filling in the gaps. Cheers mate! Great Video, Insta-subbed!~
Miquellas power was so great that he made us, humans from a completely different dimension, think he was a good guy the whole play through of base elden ring. He definitely is disgustingly OP.
I love the DLC and Elden Ring lore. It shows us light can indeed be evil too in the hands of fanatical individuals: Miquella, Marika... all of them were corrupted by light itself, by the most terrifying form of idealism. It kinda reminds me the story of games like Suikoden Tierkreis, where one messianic individual can become the embodiment of the most evil deeds, even wielding the power of light.
The only thing I don’t understand is when exactly Messmer was born, though that may be nitpicking. He’s obviously Marika’s son and has Radagon’s hair, but I was always under the impression that Marika only started having children with Radagon(aka with herself) after Godfrey was banished. The abyssal snake inside Messmer is even a defect similar to Malenia’s scarlet rot and Miquella’s eternal youth. But the timeline here would suggest Messmer was born before Mohg and Morgott, which were Godfrey’s children. I think the only possible answer would be that Messmer was Marika’s first child and that she had already created the alter ego of Radagon to have him with. Again, this may be nitpicking the lore and may be unimportant, but it just seems like there’s some weird time shenanigans going on.
On the red hair thing, I believe its not a Radagon exclusive thing. In the DLC, we see many creatures with red hair (one of the many things seen as blasphemous against the Golden Order atleast before Radagon. So, just like all his other heresies, I believe his red hair are just another form of his absolute heresy. IMO he is a child made only by Marika, just like Malenia and Miquella technically were, except this time without even the character of Radagon. Just her alone. Explains his "defect" too.
There is a whip that states that "numen flesh is good at fusing with one another" so one idea I have seen being thrown around is that Radagon and Marika were both separate numens that later conjoined into one being With this in mind, Messmer (and Melina) could have been Marika's first children with her actual first husband: Radagon Iirc, there is even a church where Marika said "thou arst yet to become me" when refering to Radagon
I'd also like to say, that Miquella doesn’t even hug Radahn with his actual arms, until he's defeated, when he sees that his plan failed. And at the same time, during the second phase, you can see the literal "hold" Miquella had on Radahn, as he aways keeps his head, his mind, within grasp.
It’s not until Miquella snatches our own heart, that this becomes terrifying. Ansbach, having his heart stolen while coming to Mohg’s aid is so sad and infuriating. The thing I find really strange is Malenia…I think she was also under Miquella’s spell-hear me out; something that has always been stuck in my mind is before her boss fight she says “I dreamt for so long- My flesh was dull gold... and my blood, rotted. Corpse after corpse, left in my wake. As I awaited... his return.” Yes, we literally caught her napping but something about ‘I dreamt for so long’, sticks with me. I think once Miquella realized his ability to cross between both realms via dreams, he started using people. I think Miquella is the formless mother who bewitched Mohg, the only entity to offer him love and compassion, just like St Trina bewitched people in dreams. He calls us his ‘champion of the festival’ but calls Radahn his loyal BLADE…which was Malenia. Or is his blade simply a body he’s controlling? Ranni’s actions, combined with literally choosing a puppet (same arms as Miquella btw) all the while spitting in the Golden orders face “I will not be controlled by that THING” was not lost on me. They remove the soul and claim the body….like Godwyn. It’s horrifying…. I honestly don’t even think it’s Miquella in there anymore, reflected by St Trina rotting ETERNALLY in a putrid prison, begging to put him down. Reminded me of Jarren asking the same of us for Radahn…for honor. They are a husk to something far worse now….i also think this is the biggest reason Radahn halted the stars, to literally cut off communication between Meyter, Mother of fingers, the only ambassador the Greater Will had left after Marika. I found this part random as hell at first then I thought about it some more….the whole reason this even happened in Caelid was because Radahn was protecting Sellia, where he learned the truth of the stars, the ability to conquer them, and the Greater Will. So many theories!!! End tangent lol sorry! 😅
There was a miquella's needle inside malenia. After we insert the gold needle in her flower we get miquella's needle so I think he was controlling her that way. Now I guess after the events of the game, she will probably rise again. What do you think
@@masroorahmadbani1712 exactly! Two different needles, one that helped keep the rot at bay, the other placing gold inside her body like Messmer’s eye….all a means of control 😭
@@kauaichan I had watched the vati video about how she had bloomed twice and would rise after the third time. So I hoped that she would return but alas.
I feel like Malenia was meant to die with Radahn in Miquella's plan. He sends Malenia away to "remind" Radahn about his vow and kill him, so that his soul can be moved into the Shadowrealm and placed into a new vessel capable of being charmed, the body of Mohg. Mohg, already being charmed, steals Miquella, or perhaps a discarded portion of Miquella inside the cocoon (as he discards things in the Shadowrealm maybe he discarded the tree or even the entirety of the Haligtree first?) and uses Mohg to enter the Shadowrealm. Thinking both Malenia and Radahn would be there literally in spirit, so he can revive them as he tried with Godwyn. However, Radahn doesn't die and Malenia is saved by Cleanrot Knight Finlay. Also with talk of Miquella being a monster from Ansbach, I also wonder how much Miquella actually wanted to cure Malenia? He seemingly cured Freyja from the Scarlet Rot, but Malenia had the Rot God in her, so maybe it really was too much for him to cure. Malenia's loyalty to Miquella also seems a little too obsessed to me, like she was also charmed by him. I know he soothed and attempted to cure her, but he also abandoned her and left her to wait for him. She -dreams- while she recovers (possibly due to influence of Miquella's sleep properties before discarding St. Trina) and endlessly awaits Miquella's return protecting the empty husk where Miquella was last seen rather than setting out to find him. Whether or not Miquella abandoned her, intended to return after becoming a True God, or expected her to die so he could revive her in the Shadowrealm, and maybe even cure her rot the same way he cured his affliction, by discarding it entirely. Another angle: Malenia does also have an Outer God inside her, the Rot God. I'm thinking Miquella tried to use her as a conduit or passage into the Shadowrealm but failed due to her rejecting the Rot God, causing him to abandon her when she served her purpose and use Mohg, who was much more in tune with his Outer God, the Formless Mother, to be used as both the body for Radahn and pathway to the Shadowrealm. Regardless, Miquella seems a LOT more manipulative even before he discarded his "Love" and was probably never the "Kindly Miquella" everyone says he was. After all Radahn and Miquella were conflicting. Just some speculation.
I came here because I had a vivid horrible nightmare of being chased down a massive hallway by the scarlet rotted Radahn, I just typed in his name and this video immediately popped up and I felt compelled to watch. I am forever changed by this new information and am pretty shaken by it, but this is an incredible video, thank you so much. You make literally some of the best Radahn videos I've ever watched.
The hornsent seemed to have an ascetic culture so would’ve expected the shaman people to willingly oblige their horrific fates, and probably saw it as an honor. Too bad they lost. Not
This is why i find the frenzied flame ending so interesting after playing the dlc. The goal is to burn it all away, the curses, the pain, and the dispair. It has no greater purpose, just to burn and consume. Miquella wants to change the world through kindness and control, while the flame seeks to burn it all away and make all equal in a burning yellow. I may be yapping nonsense, but i think it's an interesting thought.
@@GristlyRook9605 her entire story is her resisting rot in every single way and was trained for a long time on how to keep away the rot She all of a sudden threw her pride away to unleash the rot That’s what Millicent says
To be honest I'm not sure if Malenia's care for Miquella is entirely due to his power. I do believe she does this of her own volition without being influenced by miquella at least not entirely.
Miquella really knew how to mess up people's lives, follows in his mother's footsteps well. Radahn had all this, Mohg managed to have his life messed up even more somehow, Malenia was abandoned before she could get a cure (considering Miquella's needle can be completed by the Tarnished, he was VERY close when he was "kidnapped"), and he was planning to manipulate the world into being "happy." The guy was backstabbing manipulator, through and through
Great video! I believe the body of Miquella is not the Haligtree but St. Trina. If you look at ST Trina you see the head that looks exactly like Miquella. St. Trina has the same voice and once you defeat Radahn and Miquella, St. Trina is also dead and you will see the upper body on the ground with the same hairstyle that looks exactly like Miquella. I think Miquella was trapped and asked the Tarnished to free himself. There are more hints that St. Trina and Miquella are closely related: Both St. Trina and Miquella are typically characterised as children and are both associated with water lilies. Fevor's cookbooks were made by a devout of St. Trina, containing crafting recipes related to her powers of slumber. One of them contains the recipe for the Bewitching Branch, an item originating from Miquella, blessed with an incantation of Unalloyed Gold. The area in Altus Plateau where the Amber Starlight is found is internally referred to as "St. Trina's Hideaway", and it has a statue of Miquella and his twin, Malenia. The Albinauric archers in the Consecrated Snowfield, who guard the approach to Miquella's Haligtree, drop St. Trina's Arrows, and have lily motifs on their armor. The Cleanrot Knights, who serve Malenia, Blade of Miquella, have a chance to drop both Miquella's Lily and Trina's Lily.
I think that Ansbach’s assessment of Miquella is not necessarily unbiased. He is a follower of Mogh who was a cruel and murderous fanatic following the blood mother and who has committed atrocities in his own right. Yet Ansbach speaks very highly of him and doesn’t think Mogh’s past actions make him a monster. So perhaps his moral compass is not the best either and his view of Miquella, being Mogh’s adversary, is primarily driven by allegiance and less by morality. I do believe that Miquella is in the wrong! But you have completely glossed over St. Trina’s dialogue, who also opposes Miquella and is probably the reasonable part he discarded (many say she is his love and compassion), yet she paints a very different picture of him. Her entire dialogue is about how Miquella would be negatively affected by godhood (imprisoned, caged divinity beyond saving). She even calls him a poor thing, implying that she has sympathy for him (and also that Miquella still seems to be able to feel/suffer/be vulnerable). Even if she is (part of?) his discarded love/compassion she doesn't seem to oppose him primarily because she thinks he is a full-blown monster now that needs to be stopped but because she worries about his personal state of well-being. She does say you shall grant him forgiveness, indicating she think he has committed wrongs, but a) she still seems to think he deserves forgiveness despite them (and has not become so depraved that he is beyond being worthy of being forgiven). And b) she still seems to prioritise his suffering because granting him forgiveness is the very last thing she mentions after repeatedly worrying about his well-being. (This is why I want to believe that he has not literally discarded his love/compassion but that he ended up suppressing it more and more and that St. Trina may be the embodiment of those now unconscious, suppressed feelings - but they are still there inside of him). I trust St. Trina’s judgement more than Ansbach’s in that regard. (If St. Trina is truly his discarded love then this would also mean he had love to discard to begin with, which is why I disagree with the now rather common fan theory that he was just a narcissist with a god complex from the start.) We also don’t know how exactly pre-godhood Miquella’s power to compel people works because after his great rune is broken everyone who was previously affected stuck with him except for Ansbach and Thiollier (and both have different reasons for opposing him). Even Freyja, Radahn’s follower who knew of the plan to revive him, didn’t change her mind. It seems like she still kept her stance that his revival was not an insult to her admired leader but a good fate for him and was ready to defend Miquella to the death out of her own volition. (Whether she is right about this being good for Radahn is another question. The point is, this is her own opinion.) So I’m not sure if empyrean Miquella can literally mind-control people as many say now. It seems a lot more subtle to me, as in him being able to inspire a strong sense of affection that creates the deep desire to side with him but also a sense of healing (see e.g. Freyja and her lasting attitude towards her scar thanks to Miquella's healing/intervention etc.) in others they’d not normally display, but that does not completely override their character and will, personality and capacity to have desires. This is in itself not good but it is also not the same as being mind-controlled in the sense of being puppeteered like a mere marionette. And it makes sense that Ansbach in particular might be very afraid of this power since his strong allegiance to Mogh whereas the others seemed to be less fazed by it after their bewitchment was broken I think there is a lot of nuance and a lot that we don’t know yet. (It seems to be a different story when it comes to his god state. See the heart steal attack. Though who knows, perhaps it is actually similar and our bowing down to him happens in a state of mind that is similar to the one his previous followers were in. It’s hard to tell since it’s a battle mechanic and thus also has to fulfil technical fight design purposes. We can only guess.) It’s also not completely clear if the actual Radahn’s soul has returned or not, since Ansbach does great him with a degree of reverence and reminds him that he needs to give up the body he is using as it is not his own. It’s not definitive proof but it also seems strange to me that he would react with such a level of respect if he suspected he was just facing a controlled husk. Perhaps he just doesn’t know but we also have no definitive proof of the contrary. The same goes for the question regarding whether Radahn agreed to the vow or not: we don’t know. It’s purposefully left open but the absence of evidence isn’t the evidence of absence (e.g. the absence of Radahn’s agreement). There are also theories that Radahn got corrupted by his great rune after the shattering and forgot about his vow or that his part of the agreement was a final battle worthy of a warlord. We don’t know if these things are true either. I’m not saying they are. The point is just that the game has not given us clear answers. So framing it as if we can say with certainty how their agreement played out (if he was bewitched or not, why Malenia fought him, if he was revived against his will) just seems premature, not very sincere and not in line with the lore we actually have. That’s why I disagree with the conclusion that Radahn definitely was mind-controlled here. I think it’s more accurate to say: we just don’t know. To me personally (hence it’s speculative) Miquella is a depiction of a failed "Jesus". Somebody who has pure intentions and who needs to commit self-sacrifice to help the world but unlike his biblical counterpart his story doesn't end in perfect(ly happy/peaceful) godhood. He is doomed and his self-sacrifice would result in pain and imprisonment for him, and as an extension to that of his world, because can a god that has lost himself and who is trapped in perpetual pain really be the perfect all-encompassing messiah that mends the world? (No.) I perceive him as someone who ended up being a completely misguided, tragic figure that actually wanted to do good and whose love was genuine but then he got corrupted/disillusioned over and over again until he completely lost himself, leading him to lose his love and so much that was good about him. You could use an ironic word-play that the more disenchanted (ha) he became, the more he lost sight of his true ideals and fell down the "the end justifies the means" path. It would be interesting if his use of enchantment was an expression of despair (not saying that this excuses it) and helplessness in the face of the hopeless world that are the lands between, so he'd grow ever more anxious (he seems fearful and almost pleading in his remembrance) in his need to succeed in ensuring what was initially a genuinely good outcome (but which might by now be corrupted by his disillusions or delusions - whatever you see more fitting - perhaps both?).
Creating the shadow realm and golden order And Messmer war must have been 2 separate events, since Gaius remembrance says that he and Messmer were like brothers to Radahn. I think Messmer was born when Marika and Radagon got married, and when Marika sent Messmer to the Shadow Land, it kinda erased Messmer's memory from everyone's mind, like a spell, since she can hide an entire land from the world, that would be a easy deed.
The thing I immediately thought of when I saw Radahn again was that the fate of house Caria is tied to the stars. Especially as he is referred to as the promised consort... and for him to keep himself there in Caelid, even as his body and mind, what once may have even been his kingdom, decay... What did Radahn know that made him cling so strongly to life, to hold his destiny in stasis even as it cost him everything?
Miquella's age of compassion sounds awfully like Madara Uchiha's Eternal Tsukuyomi plans - put everything and everyone in an eternal dream devoid of free will. A "perfect" world with no comflict.
This is really the best lore recap of the dlc I’ve seen, you gave the best summary of what/who wanted things to happen. Looking forward to more dlc lore recap videos
A thing to point out why he clearly doesn't want to be there - Phase 2 cinematic shows red fog coming out of him ,similar to his great rune, most likely indicating his self awareness returning , and that red mist is immediately dominated by miqeulla's gold. And we know its an enchantment as its the exact same mist /fog that comes out of our character if we grabbed twice, and we know what happens to us when it appears on our own character, so defo radahn was just a puppet.
To go with that part, you see his swords driving into the ground, splintering it as his hair and debris raise up in the altered gravity. Seems his rage was causing his power to swell and the cursed blood in the body to "boil."
I think we can infer a possibility that Radahn did consent to miquella’s plan but on the condition that he’s defeated fairly in battle and given a warriors death. We see the only way to get to the land of shadows is in death and he needed mogh’s ritual to get him there. So maybe they both needed to die in order to commence their plan at absolving the sins of marika’s old order and making a new one. Radahn wanted a good true death as we see in the festival and miquella wanted good true deaths for people as with Godwyn. So malenia and Miqualla was just giving him his wish. We see Radahn wait for malenia to fix her arm in the trailer showing how it’s a honorable duel. If Radahn was intent on denying miquella’s plan and understood that he was fighting for his freedom with malenia then why would he respect his would be assassin If he’s aware of the fact that if she wins it’ll mean his enslavement. As for mogh we need to ask why he needed him at all? Why did he need him to take him to his alter and share his blood with him? It was to reach the shadow land of death. Now ask the same question about his body, why did Radahn need a new body. Miquella discarded his flesh as a way of stripping away his old self tied to the corrupt golden order but then why did no one else in the shaded land also need new bodies? The answer is them didn’t. You keep your body when you travel to the shadow land. The cocoon was miquella body but then he died and went to the shadow land with his body as it was when he died. So with Radahn’s state it’s a different situation that we find him in game. A rotten hollow husk of his former self refusing to die outside of battle. He lost his legs and much of his strength. He needed a new body to regain his past strength when he crossed over after his first death and mogh being all about blood and flesh in his worship does aligned perfectly with the possibility he offered up his body to help miquella plans.
So what sticks out to me is how the demigods affected by Miquella were corrupted due to his charm and do things that might have gone against their ethics. Mellania is definitely one because the entire time, she has been fighting against the rot and became her brother's blade because of what he did for her. Well, now we know she was a tool to the end for his greater plan for Rahdan and made her do everything to kill him, even succumbing to the Rot God. Something she swore to fight. Relating to other characters that she might have birthed that still hold onto her morals and would rather die then become another agent of Rot. Mohg also getting the worst end. He might have been aiming for an age of blood, but from the account of his follower, he was an honorable man. And simply because he was an Omen which he and his brother already suffered enough from Marika's trauma with Omens, he became so charmed that he became a fool, senseless slaughter as he becomes infatuated with Miquella's corpse. Trying to become his consort, when in reality, Miquella only wanted his body. Damning his soul and leaving him in the same state as Godywn. Only this time he wanted to put a sole in that soulless corpse. Which brings us to Rahdan. A chad among chads. The manliest of men who was both strong and kind. And that clearly left a mark on Miquella. Making a vow to be the consort to his new age. Which while he may have agreed to it, he must of refused later on. No longer believing in this vision his half brother had. And became devoted to the Golden Order and the Erdtree. Which lead to Miquella raging war against the person he viewed as the perfect consort, and planned on killing him so he can become a puppet to him. Removing his free will along with the worlds. But Rahdan is so strong that even getting nuked with the cancer bomb, he still refused to die like Miquella wanted. He continued to live and hold the stars as a lumbering zombie thirsty for battle. Even on the verge of death, he refused to bend to Miquella until he was finally brought down. Miquella is still a child through and through. Innocent as one and unaware of the monstrous acts he had done. Using his charm to make people go against what they want, change them to monsters, and all in this idealistic world he envisioned that would trap himself in an immortal godhood and live with the mistakes he made.
DLC just proves Ranni right. NOBODY is good enough, NOBODY is worthy of being a god. Period. This is why Ranni decides to leave for the stars to battle the Outer Gods. She's so badass. I'm proud my Tarnished is her consort.
Your exact words at the end were mine as well when I realized what Miquella was promising us all. "Compassion, love and understanding... What matter does it make if we have no say in it, and are all just slaves to a new will?" I feel for Radahn deeply. And despite what Miquella promises, I have nothing but contempt for him. Then again, I am someone who makes a ton of characters in these games that all share a "The time for Gods are over. The time for Humanity is at hand. Where we dictate our own fates, imperfect as that may well be -- at the very least we choose for ourselves." mindset This DLC was amazing. Not too impressed with the second phase of the final boss, and I do wish Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame was a MUCH TOUGHER and anticipated fight with more fleshed out questlines leading to the fight -- but everything delivered really well to me. Seeing and understanding what he had done to Radahn actually had me fume a bit. No way in hell Radahn wanted any of this. And no way he deserved it either. It's on-sight with "Kindly" Miquella, folks.
For those that don't know...the souls games are all about the same cycle repeating endlessly until it tears itself apart and someone forces true change. Elden Ring went "It's that, but you don't allow the cycle to continue with Miguella. you just stop him from turning out like Marika." But then you'd be like "But she sacrificed everyone and was UBER EVIL!" Yes, but Miguella sacrificed himself and now hes a god without love, a heart , a body etc. If anything he's even more dangerous then Marika. They did a really good job at making and adapting Griffith/Femto into Miguella.
This only makes Radahn's story more tragic. A strong leader with a gentle heart who is beloved by his soldiers and all those loyal to him, constantly abused and enslaved to the plagues put upon him by the twins Miquella and Melania.
He would not have fought so damn hard to live if he wanted it. I suppose the 'vow' was radahn trying to let down miquella easy, saying something like "if you beat me in honorable combat, sure", knowing that miquella is not a warrior
But.... in the base game there are some possible evidences that Marika was behind the death of his own son, Godwyn. The Black assassins are said to be numen and had ties to Marika herself. If you complete Gurranq´s quest, and after you defeat him as Maliketh, he says something like "Marika, why did you betray me"? And then... there´s the whole tarnished thing. Marika took their grace and banished them, but we know through Melina that Marika planned for them to return to the Lands Between and brandish the Elden Ring. And there´s another thing. When the tarnished player reaches the Erdtree for the first time after defeating Morgott, we learn that the Erdtree is closed. Impenetrable thorns. And here comes one importante part about the story: The Two Fingers didn´t know about this. The TF believed that the Greater Will was the one that gave grace back to the Tarnished, because it lost hope on the demigods and actually wanted them to die. So, why would the Erdtree be blocked? Why would the GW revived the tarnished, and then block their paths to become lords? well... Because it was Marika´s plan all along. The Two Fingers were fooled, and they try desperately to communicate with the GW but it seems they can´t. My point is, the reason why Marika shattered the Elden Ring is much more mysterious and obscure. It was not out desperation. She planned this. I believe (we also know this through Melina) that Marika *saw* something within the Greater Will. She found something so terrible that she decided to plan the shattering of the Elden Ring and the fall of the Golden Order. The world will fall into chaos and then the Tarnished would return, burn the Erdtree, brandish the Ring and create a new Order. I don´t know. Marika is a very complex and fascinating character, and there´s a LOT to talk about her. The DLC adds to her backstory and your theories are great, but I believe there's much more to her breaking the Elden Ring than just a "simple" reason of spite or desperation due to the death of her son.
I doubt Marika saw anything about the Greater Will when she was guided by the Mother of Fingers, who hasn’t heard from the GW in so long she went insane herself. At most, I think that was Marina’s big revelation. The GW has long abandoned them, she was guided by a literal insane creature, her Golden Order she created was a lie that couldn’t protect her or keep her from losing anyone like she likely wanted after the slaughter of her people, and every atrocity she committed to create and enforce the Golden Order was meaningless. I think her going nuts and breaking the ring is understandable after that. Was she involved in Godwin’s death? I don’t see what she would gain from it even if she was planning on betraying her fingers. But there is that bit of lore with the assassins hinting that maybe. Or maybe that hints at something else we haven’t figured out, she wasn’t involved and the death was the catalyst. Either way, it’s easy to see how she could reach the conclusion it was all meaningless and conspire to end it.
@@abdieljove2011 Yeah, maybe that was what Marika found. We know that at some point she decided to study the fundamentals of the Golden Order, go deeper in the knowledge about the Greater Will. Melina told us. That´s why I say she "found something". My point is that she definetly planned the whole Tarnished quest long before the shattering, and that probably means breaking the Ring wasn´t on a whim. And there´s still the thing about the assassins explicitly having ties to her.
@@Darkiu1337 it's definetly Radagon. But we know that Radagon and Marika are like opposite sides of the same person. Radagon is the "loyal hound of the Order". When Marika shatters the Ring, Radagon tries to repair it. I believe that Radagon, just like Morgott, are trying to protect the little what's left of their precious Golden Order. That's why they block the path for our Tarnished.
I think It's because the erdtree and golden order is still just a new iteration of the crucible of the hornsent. There's a few descriptions that call the crucible an older form of the erdtree, and if that's the case it's still the dogma of the mother of fingers' interpretation of the greater will. Marika hates the hornsent, hates their beliefs, and if she conspired with Ranni it stands to reason she also hates being under the greater will's thumb. She locked mohg and morgott away for reminding her of the hornsent, she set up an eternal prison and set her son to torment the hornsent for eternity there, she sent godfrey and the tarnished to wait for the opportunity to come back and kill the greater will's vassal. Marika's actions seem pretty consistent with a motivation to cast out the Greater Will and free herself from it at all costs due to what she suffered at its hands before ascending
Marika orchestrated the Night of the Black Knives with Ranni in an attempt to kill the Erdtree and destroy the Golden Order and leant Ranni her assassins so she could do so. Marika buried Godwyn's poisoned body at the foot of the Erdtree afterwards, contaminating it's wider root system with Death. This ended up not working because the Erdtree separated itself from the Greatroot system to avoid the poison. Only then did she outright shatter the Elden Ring, consigning herself to being crucified on a remaining portion of it and sending her progeny into chaos.
We know Mogh was charmed. My theory is Miquella realized while in his tree he needed to go to the banished land to reach the gate. mogh decided to kidnap him thinking it was his idea. miquella got a body guard and a gateway. All he had to do was wait for rahdan to die
