The Butterflies Keep Me Up At Night 

Also, for long-time subscribers to my channel, I'm so sorry we're rehashing a lot of old information! There are a lot of new folks here who seem confused about Melina, the Gloam Eyed Queen, and the timeline of Miquella - so I condensed info into this vid as a handy resource :) and by "handy" i mean a totally cumbersome incomprehensible 52 min video.

QUELAAAGGGGG

Quelaag is my favorite history professor

I can’t believe I never interpreted “I dreamt for so long” as Malenia searching for St. Trina in her dreams 🤯

I know it’s gonna be good when it opens immediately to an image board 💯

DLC Prediction: Miquella’s gonna give Elden John a lil smooch

"...keeps me up at night" keeps me up at night

45:04 mesmer attempting to burn the erdtree would explain why serpents are a symbol of blasphemy and betrayal since he is adorned in serpents

I never noticed the connections between Miquella and the Ancestral Followers! That's a great eye for linking together the nascent butterflies, the dappled meat, and the mottled necklace. It is interesting that those items boost resistances to scarlet rot, as opposed to providing a cure, which could fit in with the cut content of Miquella wanting all things to flourish, whether graceful or malign. And speaking of cut content, the 1.00 version does have Ancestral Followers infected with the Scarlet Rot all over the Grand Cloister of the Lake of Rot, which further supports the connection. For the Gloam-Eyed Queen, I always liked the idea that it’s a title and there could have been multiple GEQs throughout the Lands Between (like the title of Elden Lord). That could iron out any timeline inconsistencies (e.g. Hot Topic Melina appears long after Maliketh defeated the GEQ). …unless time travel is a deeper part of the lore. Then Miquella is Elden John.

The Miquella rebirthing process reminds me of the land octopus ovaries, so many ways to recycle death in elden ring

Gideon mentions miquellas "infant form". Do we think miquella is literally an infant at this stage or maybe during the time imbedded in the Haligtree, He rebirthed himself. Starting over again. Then Mogh did his thing .

I think we as a community have to accept that this is a dysfunctional family and we as tarnished are here to save it 😅

so happy my miquella 401 class dropped right on time for me to ace the test when DLC summer school starts

I love soulsborne lore comunity: let's talk about butterflies! - so, in Mesopotamia... 😂 I've been hearing about Quelaag from a long time in each Vaati video I watched. This is my first time watching one of her videos. You have my like, my sub, and I don't see a patreon but I'd support this channel forever! Great video!

Spontaneous thought, the main way that the redmane knights fight the scarlet rot is with fire, perhaps Miquella’s reason for searching out Messmer is because Messmer’s flame may be capable of curing Malenia.

I know this is gonna sound insane if you haven’t seen it yet, and if you bring this up in the video I apologize, but LOOK AT PRINCE CHARLES’ NEW PORTRAIT! It’s got a butterfly on it and it’s giving scarlet rot vibes

Can't tell you how much I love Elden Ring Lore being discussed over Stardew Valley music

Yours and Tarnished Archaeologist's work on constructing the timelines is always very impressive! I still think there's something to the essentiality of Marika's title "The Eternal"-- we know other titles are imbued with/ encompass the aesthetics of their divine power throughout elden ring (Godrick's Grafting, Radahn's Starscourge, Rykard's Blasphemy, etc.)-- when it comes to the timeline... if there is a time "before the Erdtree" and even a backstory for how Marika "The Eternal" ascended to godhood, where in a timeline would the start of that fit? The only way I could picture it in my head is "At the beginning of the story/the Genesis" which would probably be at the point of either when the Crucible was formed, or it it is at the moment where Farum Azula exists, and is slowly being crumbled away from. The most important shape in the game-- the Elden Ring-- also implies to me that the relation of time to these characters is cyclical, which would make sense thematically with the ascensions of Elden Lords (and if we consider how Rennala the Full Moon is involved, the Lunar Cycle is something to take from it literally) the only other major chronological order we see in its relation to the nature of the Lands Between is the birth order of the Golden Lineage under each Elden Lord's reign, and the two ends of the timeline-- Marika's Ascension and Miquella's death-- one could say is ~braided~ together. This Antediluvian period then, presumably, would repeat the cycle, restarting back in a Genesis, but as we learned from Goldmask's Perfect Order, it is an imperfect cycle, so the Lands Between remain in a state of "Eternal", Shattering. Every hammer swing by Radagon to mend the Ring // is another by Marika to break the Ring.

38:57 also in that secret room you can loot the officials attire. It has a cool description "... worn by magisterial officials to carry out their grim task. ..." The one ingame NPC that wears that robe is the inquisitor ghiza who invades the player at volcano manor. If Melina is inside/with us, it could be possible Ghiza wants to kill us to stop Melina.

Love when Quelaag gets to yappin 🥹❤️

Wake up babe, new Quelaag dropped. Been a fan since Dark Souls 1 days. One of the best channels around! My dream Collab is you and Tarnished Arch. I would also like for you to be a guest on Sinclair Lore.

The way Quelaag lore dumps gets the creative thoughts flowing is simply incomparable. Speaking to this Melina origin, I heavily lean towards the idea that the Gloam Eyed Queen was probably sealed inside the Erdtree by Marika. We know the Erdtree can give form to new life. We now know Marika can cause schisms between the nature of reality (veiling entire worlds), so I would say the Gloam Eyed Queen or at least her ability could’ve been useful to keep as a trump card if her plans failed. She likely used the Erdtree to repurpose or reconstitute the Gloam Eyed Queen into Melina and placed the seal on her eye so that only if the unthinkable happened she would then be activated. I see Marika having motivations to do this as a penance. She forces Godfrey, Maliketh, the blacksmith, the last fire giant to serve penances that ALSO further her secret agendas. This is very fitting for Melina’s confusion as to her amnesiac memory/identity and strange motivation to fulfill her purpose. As for her tie to Miquella, I think this fits as she used the gloam eyed queen or her essence to form the basis for the third child as all demigod children come in 3s.

The connection between Radagon and the giants both having red hair is interesting. Perhaps thematically it's representative of M/R having a side to themselves that is capable of or desires to destroy the erdtree and tear down the old order (which at least part of them actually does later). From her spoken echoes M seems to have already planned for the tarnished to return before even sending them off, so the timeline of her goals and plans is quite mysterious.

This is my favorite format honestly, it feels more natural and sporadic, it works.

Miquella has many Royal Revenants at Elphael, yet there are no Wraith Callers to summon them. I think Miquella was splitting souls from bodies as experimentation to figure out how to do it and reverse it (making wraiths from souls and revenants from soulless bodies). Royal Revenants were being used by the Carians to guard their places and things (such as at Manus Celes and in the room where we can finds Iji's ice rapier weapon). The wraiths are the same as what Omens spew from their mouths and bodies, and we find Wraith Callers and a Revenant in Leyndell's sewers, near the Omen. Miquella has been studying many ways to free himself from the Grace of the Erdtree, and the Greater Will, for a long time. Regal Ancestors, Nox, Wraiths, Revenants, Omen...he has been studying them all, and experimenting all the while.

My prediction is at the end we will fight miquella and as he dies he will turn into ELDEN JOHN, he will get up and say "it was me! All along elden JOHN!" then 3 butterflies will come rescue him and he will shrink down into 3 tiny elden johns and fly as away laughing in a tiny voice!

1.) This review course helped me understand important parts of Elden Ring fundamentals: 5/5 STRONGLY AGREE. 2.) This professor's lectures are not only evidence-based and substantive but also engaging and demonstrative of the professor's passion for the field: 5/5 STRONGLY AGREE. 3.) I would recommend this course to other learners and am looking forward to next semester: 5/5 STRONGLY AGREE

I'm only 10 seconds into the video right now but I still strongly believe Melina is a child of Godfrey and Marika since, like their other children, Melina also has a curse reflected in her butterfly. But I'm so excited for the lore we get about Messmer the Impaler in the dlc, with a name like that it has to be awesome.

The rebis as a design inspiration is so obvious in retrospect. Hadn't heard of this before, but after looking it up Marika is, if nothing else, literally color-coded as a rebis; the "white queen" and "red king" being Marika and Radagon, respectively. Neat!

I just want to come state how happy i am that on my first playthrough of ER i went to and did Siofra after losing to Margit and so i was rather underleveled for the Ancestral Spirit - which was such a beautiful fight, especially in that lense. Also totally agree about it being extremely cool how human history is used to imply age of areas/dynasties comparatively in Elden Ring. Looking forward to your video!

Elden ring lore with stardew music in the background? This is the best video ever!

52 min flew right by, I was right with you with my eyes squinted and head scratching... Can't WAIT for the DLC holy smokes

I love the idea that butterflies themselves represent the mirrored/twined personality thru the wings of butterflies being identical. ❤

I have to say I love these style videos. Highly edited videos are great and I respect a lot of the other channels for their slickness BUT I equally if not more enjoy exploring your research boards.

I also love how you can see the differences between the Ancient Erdtrees Rune being all “over the place” and chaotic” with its symbolism, as the roots are stretched out and go everywhere whilst in contrast the Golden Order’s, whom are obsessed with “order”, is all very conjoined and has more geometrical and uniform shapes! they really went off with these!

This videos for me!!!! This is some of my fav video content! Also congrats on the move, that shit takes a lot of work.

So glad you were able to move! Hope you can make more vids like this. Love the way you put the events together and share them!

i don’t even want editing 😂 laying it out like this is actually exactly what i’ve been needing

18:30 Here's how I see it. The Great Tree refers to the larger organism that is all Erdtrees combined in a root network. That's why the terms are used somewhat interchangeably. This root system is synonymous with the crucible since it sprouts new growth throughout the Lands Between. Crucible Knight Siluria also cements these concepts together. Lastly, the crucible era is as ancient as Farum Azula because there are misbegotten steles all over the walls, and that was before Marika's and Godfrey's Erdtree.

Been watching your videos since the channel started over ten years ago and you're definitely my favorite Soulsborne lore expert. Can't wait to play the DLC and listen to your interpretations of it.

Im glad George RR Martin is getting credit. I remember at the beginning people were joking that he only wrote the title and downplaying his role, but as a fan of his I could see his fingerprints on things since day one.

I really liked this old format.. In fact that's because of that that I suscribed back in the days. I really appreciate how everything is structured, and to compare my own theories as you relate, and explain why you think certain things are related or relevant. I think you really did a great job with the one with the metals and the gravity magic.

we do not care about the editing quelagg!! its already amazing to listen to your analysis doesn't matter how it is presented. Keep on pls

I don't really believe Miquella to be the Gloam Eyed Queen, but i do like the idea that he met her somehow or maybe a different version of her? Also with Miquella being Melina thing, i believe that maybe it COULD be like Radagon and Marika(remember when Marika said "Oh Radagan, thou are yet to become me"). Love the video and loved to be here for the livestream where you brainstormed the theories!

these are my fave kinds of videos, thanks for ur hard work quelaag :)

Something about an unsolved story is just so enticing to me. I love seeing a community come together for this stuff

Your Elden Ring lore videos are amazing. Can't wait for the DLC to drop so I can watch more!

Yeeea Quelaag vid! Here comes the real Butterfly Theory! xD I’ve been also thinking again about the relationship between characters with missing/shut/marked eyes and their ability or connection with transitioning between real and spirit/divine realms. This seems to be a thing also in other Souls games, like Sekiro who receives an eye/face mark after resurrecting for the first time, and the Divine Dragon itself has a wounded eye too.

Glad you're back Quelaag!!

new subscriber alert! ive never played elden ring but im really fascinated by the lore and absolutely love how you talk about it, abt to have a blast binging all your elden lore videos over the next few days lets goooooo

"Uld Palace" is the ruins in the Liurnia overworld, near one of its Minor Erdtrees (Uhl Palace is of course the one in Ainsel River)

This is a great "quick rundown" of everything talked about during the streams lol

love your channel, cant wait to see you break down the DLC!

This is a great video. Loved the bit showing how Malenia is staying connected to Miquella through sleep

These are so good I could listen all day more please can’t wait

Elden Ring lore makes me want to plant strawberries so bad holy shi

"So many people are other people." When your family tree is an Escher painting inspired by Hieronymus Bosh. Also no one talking about my man Messmer being a lefty when Artorias and Ivory King got all the attention.

Oh, so this is The Video of All Time (nice) ((seriously tho thank you for all your lore rambles!))

I love your collages (and you doing them)!

Great video! agree abt the intentional vagueness meant to drive speculation for engagement but also how that is one of the most fun times for one’s imagination and detective hat before we start getting answers

God I lean so much listening to your content, you're a brilliant instructor

i loved this format and the video as well

genuinely so happy to have such a long video about this from you, so fucking excited!!

space butterfly, space butterfly

Oh hell yeah, an old school ramble video. Amazing! Also, HUGE congrats on the move! That's exciting!

You and Sinclair Lore are my favorite FromSoft RU-vidrs and a couple of my favs in general

Very relieved you're back!! ^^

Best way to start the day is history hour with Quelaag and Coffee. Thanks for another stellar video

Sometimes we have hard days, and sometimes we get a new long-form Quelaag video ❤ Thank you, Q!!! Imma leave a like before I finish the video!

SO GLAD YOU GOT YOUR CHANNEL BACK

Yo Quelaag, these are my favorite videos. I cannot describe the dopamine hit. Sorry I ain’t on the patrion cost of living crisis n that, but keep up the good work. This type of in-depth philosophy for pop culture is such an important new cultural practice. Like a modern day spiritual practice. Keep up the good work!

I love your stuff its so informative well done! Keep up the great work!!!!

Best moment of my day, tysm !

I know other content creators don't supply evidence for their understanding cause it's less digestible for audiences but I very much appreciate videos like these

We're here! We're waiting for Mesmere!

When you said bubble boys it made me think of the envoys and oracles that we see when we first enter leyndell and the haligtree but then you said in the River depths And that made me realize you're talking about the Clay men it's probably not the best idea to just refer to them as the bubble boys seeing as we have two sets of bubble boys with no clear connection

The Regal Ancestor Spirit actually has another mechanic that's easy to miss but is related to the cycle of death and rebirth: During the fight, it occasionally does its death animation and reappears somewhere else. When it does this, it's actually reappearing from the corpse of one of the animal spirits wandering the arena, and it gains a new ability on each rebirth depending on the animal it kills - a deer will grant it a new horn attack, a goat will allow it to do that silly roll attack that the rams do, and the rabbits will cause it to jump around on its hind legs. Watching this massive deer god hop around on its back legs and roll across the arena gave me quite the scare on my first time through!

I really love those "rambles" and unedited style videos.

Just as you talked about Melina and her cell - is it known that she is the/a Kindling Maiden? If yes, that totally makes sense why she'd be incarcerated if we consider that Marika ordered to be done about the Flame of Ruin.

she's back!

Im not sure if this has been brought up before, but the references you made at the beginning to the 'shattering' of souls and then them sort of reforming into different characters, as well as the references to Babylonian, norse and Jerusalem makes me want to connect some of the elden ring lore to The Baal Cycle (a really old poem I think?) and really to the legacy of Baal in the cananite religion. From what I understand, Baal, under the cananite religion was the king of the gods and a god of the sky and rain (and thus like crop fertility) who in the poem at least hunts down his brothers (the god of the sea and god of the underworld) in order to take the throne ascend to the throne from his father Yahweh, dies in the process and is revived I think. Anyway there are a TON of connections from Baal to a bunch of other religions, like greek myth for example specifically Zeus. From one of my professors (Dr. Richard Medina) I believe he said that Zeus is actually a combination of Baal and Yahweh, and also similarly the Abrahamic god. I think its also really cool the similarity that exists between the catholic trinity and the story of the Baal Cycle. In norse religion too Baldur seems to come from Baal in the small amount of research I have done. It's also really interesting how the group who wrote the dead sea scrolls turned Baal into a demon in their religious practice and I believe they descended from a group called the cult of Yahweh who originally split off from the Canaanites. I haven't studied the elden ring lore too deeply, but I think there might be some connection? I really need to get more sleep...

Conspiracy board time! Not just Miyazaki but from in general reusing concepts to give visual short hand info as well as easter eggs to their players has always been something I admired. Like how the final boss in so many AC games is often a transforming mech like Nineball Seraph. I really wanna know about the flame butterflies to hopefully learn more about the golden order church, that weird haligtree looking minor erdtree and that grave with the guardian mourning in front of flame butterflies.

Ah, a good old "X keeps me up at night" Queelag video. Love them, love to hear you speak for hours ❤️

Amazing stuff, I wish this was longer! LOL

If ive learned anything from all the different takes on this lore. Its that Miquela, is Melania, is the gloam eyed queen, is mesmer, is radagon, is the furitive pygmy. Im so ready for the DLC. Keep up the awesome work!

The rune in crumbling FA is Elden John's beard. It's glowing which is why you can't see it clearly.

42:00 in ER specifically, recall all the enemies and bosses and key figures that open/reveal their eye before revealing their second form. Also frenzy is power overflowing from the eyes usually when one takes a look behind the curtain.

Glad youre back!!

Put my money down now that messmer will open his eye and it will be the eye of the fell God.

Love the up at night videos!

Speaking of Elden John, I saw one of your videos talking about how perhaps the person depicted on the Four Belfries is Elden John. Well, there is a peculiar Belfry - that has the exact same architecture as the ones ingame (from a distance) - in the opening moneyshot of the Land of Shadow’s Trailer reveal. Of course it could just mean that it serves a gameplay purpose in allowing you to use their teleporter for an awesome area reveal, but I still am keeping an eye out to see if we may have a little more context on the depicted figure on such Belfries. Can’t wait

Your videos are amazing, I binged all of them when my bf introduced me to you a couple months ago. Thank you for your presence as a queer woman in the soulsborne community. Sincerely, a fellow queer woman ❤

Hell yeah letsgo we back in class Also really like the idea that people would use horns to visually represent wings, like, it’s super cool to see how the winged imagery evolves in time

On the topic of the butterflies, I believe vaati said he found a butterfly linked to Messmer when he played those 3 hours, so I believe the smoldering butterfly is absolutely tied Melina

Throwing a fun idea out there: 1. Erdtree is kind of a portal between the two lands. At the start, Marika is within the erdtree facing outwards, holding up runes after killing the glomeeyed queen. That’s when marika makes her way through to the lands between 2. Melina is born at the base of the erdtree but that’s just the glomeeyed mother becoming undying because Marika stopped the death part. 3. Melina has no sense of self or upbringing because she wasn’t being born at the base of the erd tree, she’s can’t remember things because Marika hid destined death away. 4. The smouldering butterfly’s are representing messmer, the butterfly’s are not related to Melina. Just throwing that out into the Ether

The point about Mesmer possibly having the same eyes as Millicent was absolutely fascinating. I hope there are more parallels

Oldhead videos own, thanks for doing it!

Seeing your roommate walk past you while you rambled like a madwoman really woke me up from the world of Elden Ring and reminded me you are a flesh and blood human being who knows and researches this this for us. Thank you.

This is the content I’ve lived for, this is the content that keeps me alive!!

ELDEN JOHN sounds like such a meme lol. love to watch this video.