This Theory Could Change Everything 

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Fia's ending, or "The Age of the Duskborn", I believe, is not simply a reintroduction of Death into The Lands Between. You've already released Destined Death by defeating Maliketh, so Death has already been returned to the natural cycle. Fia, throughout her questline, is a defender of individuals who "Live in Death" or what we cosnider, undead. Since Death is locked away, we can only consider those who "Live in Death" to be those who refuse to return to the Erdtree for rebirth, and have long been persecuted by the Golden Order for this choice. Fia wishes to end this persecution and allow those who "Live in Death" to be, not only common, but encouraged. So, in essence, Death would not be the end, rather the beginning of your new eternal life.

There was cut content where Malenia calls you "Sweet Tarnished, my dearest companion" what if there was an ending where you help Miquella claim the Elden Ring, and possibly marry Melania? Kind of like Ranni's ending but instead of magic and the moon its holiness and the Haligtree, I'd personally prefer this ending over any other, since unlike Ranni, there can be no argument for Miquella being evil in any way, whereas Ranni could be considered as a simple regime change and nothing more

I do like the optional endings based on our unique descessions that we make along the way. But its interesting how even still the endings are still bound to the causality that is change itself.

Furthermore with Goldmask's ending, ever noticed how the Erdtree turns a more brilliant form of gold, pure gold, some might even say unalloyed gold. Plus we see the mending rune around the Elden Ring almost as to protect it. Lastly, we know from the haligtree (likely a sapling of the Erdtree) that the Greater Will's influence can be removed from its trees. So I think it's not much of a stretch to believe that the perfected order removes the medaling of all the gods including the outer gods

I like the idea that each of us, as players, is another “universe” in which the Greater Will has influence and in which we enact our own change. Kind of how the Lord of Cinder was technically the amalgamation of all the Ashes (players) who came before

I've always liked Fia's ending the most due to it's obvious inspirations from Norse mythology. Godwyn, the golden son, is killed. He is then locked beneath the roots of a great tree until the time is ripe again for him to step forth and lead the world into a new era. This is almost one-to-one what happens to the Norse god Baldur. Baldur was the most beloved god of the Asir, who killed by a close member of his family. His soul then wandered the roots of Yggdrasil. Baldur's death, like with Godwyn's, ushered in an age of strife, until his resurrection after Ragnarok. Godwyn's rebirth as a greatrune would create an era of life within death. Death in Elden Ring is described as being a state of painless bliss, so Godwyn's ascension could possibly wipe away all suffering. Besides, I really think the ending really has a nice symmetry to it. Godwyn's death was the catalyst for The Shattering, and his return to the world would mark it's end.

I thought it was pretty obvious that Marika was rebelling against the Greater Will, despite her vassal status. Why else would she shatter the Ring? And specifically after Godwyn, her favorite child, is killed.

Ranni does say that she wants to abandon the soil with her order, so your ranni theory seems a lot more possible to me than before

I'm not sure of it, but why chosen Empyreans (Marika, Malenia, Miquella and Ranni) are all trying to avoid or destroy the Order? Marika shattered the ring, Ranni is traveling to other worlds away from the Order, Malenia had this scarlet rot problem, which represented other goddess and Miquella basically created another Great Tree for cure his sister. What a self destructive will the Order has...

Lands Between seems to me like a testing ground for Outer Gods. Place where they test orders and races and individuals that they will later perfect and implement somewhere else.

Miyazaki said “The Eternal champion” was inspiration for Elden Ring. I highly recommend reading the synopsis. You will see a lot of the inspiration behind the story of the Tarnished, and it may even provide answers…

I like how the Elden Beast have abilities that both Astel and Dragonlord Placidusax use. Makes me think that they are all the same source.

Given that, according to various Japanese translating fans, the Greatree, the great tree and the Erdtree are probably the same thing, that means that the Erdtree has become separated from its roots. Since the Erdtree is tilted and broken, unlike in pantings that depict it in its prime, it seems likely that this severance was caused by the shattering of the Ring. Maybe this is one the reasons, if not the reason, why the Lands Between are folding and cracking and fracturing: without the roots of the Erdtree keeping the lands together, they start reverting to one, by the Law of Regression. This would also mean that Godwyn’s influence spreads through the disconnected roots. It seems likely to me that he’s entombed under the main fracture. Besides, maybe his infection is more metaphysical in nature that it first seems, and the fact these roots are technically dead but alive (due to the lack of Destined Death) is what makes them so conductive to his energy. Hell, this may help in wrapping our heads around Godwyn’s infection in Farum Azula, which is in the sky! Rant over. Peace.

I would imagine this is not the first time Marika has been "out of line." Who knows, maybe the greater will sent the Astels to the eternal city in order to break her.

My biggest disagreement is with your interpretation of Ranni's ending, as I believe that only Ranni and her Elden Lord are leaving the Lands Between, leaving the people behind to create their own path, free of guidance from any higher being. It seems as though you believe that Ranni's moon is a sending gate designed to transport the population to another world, but I believe the moon we see is Ranni's Outer God, the one who would succeed the Greater Will as the guiding force of the world, but whether by its design or Ranni's betrayal, this new guiding force will abandon the Lands Between that those who live there may finally be free from the whims of higher beings, aligning with Marika's perceived goal outlined in the video, banishing not only the Greater Will, but any other Outer God who would seek to shape these lands.

For me The Lands Between reminded me of Bolataria from demon's souls. An entire continent cut off from the world by fog; Potentially done so by the greater will.

elden ring is my first soulsgame, and thus my first introduction to this style of community storytelling and lore analysis. It's all so fascinating seeing everyones unique journeys and perspectives of the lore.

I still like the theory that the lands between means the lands between the living world and death, it would make sense why there r so many spirits roaming everywhere and how the tarnished needed to die before coming back to the Lands Between

Your idea that Marika shattered the Elden Ring to free herself and the world makes sense. The only interactions we have seen between a Outer God and a god/empyrean has been between Malenia and the Outer God of Rot, and Miquella and the Formless Mother. In both cases the Outer God has overriding the god's/empyreans will to make them their servant. These beings are very insidious and It is likely that Marika shared the same kind of relationship with the Greater Will.

I believe The Lands Between are influenced by Irish mythology, particularly the land of Tír na nÓg, have a look into it and you'll see many similarities.

Wow this makes all sense. Thinking out side the box actually assist in mending all the things that are happening. This also explains who was Radagon - He was the parasite within Marika who wanted the Golden Order to be established and was trying to repair the elden ring but when a tarnished enters the Erd Tree he is forced to take form and fight one last time to save the greater will but he fails and greater will the GOD has to come and save himself and the order he has created. Therefore at the very end we see only the husk of Queen Marika, (I think she died when she shattered the elden ring) broken with only elden ring using the fractured husk as a vessel. She is successful in bringing in change except for the three fingers ending where Melina is challenged to find and put an end to us because three figers should have been heading the calls of another similar GOD like the elden beast who commands the two fingers. Maybe there could an elden beast with two heads who commands three fingers.

Very interesting video! The one hang up I have is the idea that the tree is called a "parasite". It acts many times as a care giver, symbolically uplifting the denizens of the Lands Between in a symbiotic relationship. Since playing this game I've always felt like it was about an alien civilization that was colonizing other worlds and offering guidance and membership into a wider scope of civilizations across the vastness of space and between dimensional planes. What you're describing here is a war much the way the United States was born. A Declaration and war for Independence, much like how the American colonies gained independence from the British monarchy that established them. In that case it was because they were being taxed without proper representation, and the original colonies wished to declare themselves as a independent self-sufficient nation. From what you're saying it appears to be a fairly accurate allegory for this, but simply put in a fantasy setting. The greater will is like the ruler of a galactic alien civilization that they wish to not receive help from as they grow into their own thing separate from it, like a bird leaving the nest and flying on it own. Like Ranni's Age of Stars suggests, the "loneliness" of how a child grows up, setting out and taking care of themselves upon reaching adulthood. This is exactly what I think is happening here.

One of the theories I have that seems to get the most pushback is that Marika and Radagon were not always the same person. Their goals are opposed. Marika shattered the Elden Ring, and Radagon is trying to mend it. I think Marika was made a vessel for the Elden Ring by the Greater Will to enact it's will upon the Land's Between. (I'm not entirely sure what the Greater Will hopes to achieve by this.) In the process, Marika became a goddess, a physical manifestation of the Elden Ring. Somewhere along the line, Marika realized that she was being manipulated by the Greater Will, and "shattered" the Elden Ring. Marika IS the Elden Ring, in a sense, so she shattered herself (hence why she looks broken when we see her.) The Greater Will needed to mend the Elden Ring, so it chose Radagon, a devout follower of the Golden Order, to "mend" the Elden Ring. The Greater Will "mended" the Elden Ring by fusing Radagon and Marika into one being. In fact, I believe that "becoming Elden Lord" actually means fusing with Marika, or at least the Elden Ring itself. In every ending except Ranni's and Shabriri's, we are just fusing with the Elden Ring, with or without some extra runes to tweak the natural laws of the Lands Between. In Shabriri's ending, we are just destroying the Elden Ring, along with the Lands Between. (I'm pretty sure Shabriri is the/a name for the Great Old One that embodies the Frenzied Flame.) I'm not sure exactly what is happening in Ranni's ending. Is Ranni taking the power of the Elden Ring and rebuilding it in her own image? If so, how? Is she just "letting it die", in which case, does she have the power to make her own "Elden Ring" for her new order? Either way, Ranni would have to be IMMENSELY powerful, which would imply that Malenia and Miquella are as well (seeing as they are all Empyreans). On a side note, unless you gather a Mending Rune, or do Ranni's or Shabriri's endings, you get the "Age of Fracture" ending, which implies that we are missing pieces of the Elden Ring. You get this ending, even if you defeat all shard bearers AND awaken their Runes. This means we are missing some Runes. My guess is that the DLC(s) for Elden Ring will add new shard bearers and that collecting them all (and possibly also awakening them) will grant a new ending, where we don't need a mending rune and we don't have a fractured world. What that ending looks like, I don't know.

Nice to see the Marika vs Greater Will theory become more popular. I always beleived in it from the start.

Hey Jake, I do like this theory, but I always thought that “The Lands Between” was always more straightforward than this. Many think that the Lands Between refers to a place between other continents, however I think that we need to think about this vertically as opposed to horizontally. I think it is the Lands Between the Eternal City’s of below, which we can visit in game, and the floating city in the sky, which we can’t visit, but is discussed in various items including ruin fragments. This way the world is more like a sandwich and the Lands Between refers to the land between the great cities above and below.

my thoughts on ranni's ending is that she's attempting to restore free will and worship of the stars to the lands between. like how the spell, ranni's dark moon, will absorb or block oncoming enemy spells, i think the moon that manifests in her ending is meant to absorb or block all influences of outer gods from the lands between.

This reminded me of a theory from destiny 1, about the Traveller and the enemies in the game( sorry I forgot their name). The theories is pretty much about how the Traveller are like a parasite, that give life to a world but will eventually deprived it of it resource and left the world to die, and the enemies are just the inhabitants from the world that the Traveller visited now dying.

I always kinda interpreted, the lands between, as being the lands between life and death (stuck in neverending stagnation and no true deaths)

One interesting thing I haven't seen discussed is how/why the Elden Beast is using gravity magic. Aside from the transition to the weird final fight arena, you never see the elden ring/beast associated with that kind of magic.

I like to think the Elden Beast is the true Elden Ring. Part of this is the fact when you attack it across the duration of the fight, it makes cracking sounds as if glass is breaking bit by bit. Keep in mind too the Elden Beast is considered one of the gods of the greater (outer) will, who reign supreme over the Lands Between and even the demigods. So, maybe the final fight with the Elden Beast is you shattering the Elden Ring once again, since Radagon was for protecting the Elden Ring whereas Marika tried to break it.

Knowone really knows but the games creators…but I figured the lands between meant between life and death. A purgatory….

Can't wait for the next theory that changes everything

You touched on part of my theory briefly, here is mine. Bare with me here, these are just theories but I hope you will find them interesting. Please read to the end for full understanding of my theory. It seems fairly obvious to me that the second Round Table Hold that you find in Leyndell is the in the current timeline and the one Melina brings you to is in the past since the one in Leyndell is identical but dilapidated. The biggest clue to this is the description of the Coded Sword that is found upon the throne of the Two Fingers in the Leyndell version of the Round Table Hold: "Hidden sword once granted to the Tarnished of the Roundtable by the Two Fingers. A formless cipher comprises its blade, which deals holy damage no shield can repel. Champions would gather at the Roundtable Hold in days long past, when the Two Fingers were masters of oration, their flesh yet full of vigor." Its not a secret that many believe that Ranni the Witch is Melina, and time travel would highly support this since Ranni’s real body is long dead. So Melina could be the past version of Ranni. In my theory, the event of the shattering actually fragmented reality itself, making different times as well as realities collide. I believe some characters are aware of this phenomenon, and some are not. Possible effected characters: Melina: Melina is Ranni Support for this theory is: 1) Ranni has a ghostly figure next to her that shares an eye with her, the eye is closed and would match Melina’s closed eye, it even has a similar symbol underneath. 2) Both Ranni and Melina fade away in similar fashion. 3) Both Ranni and Melina know Torrent Millicent: I think Millicent is Malenia, either from the past or from an alternate reality. Her ‘sisters’ could be from alternative realities as well (making 6 versions in all, more on that later) support for this theory includes: 1) her missing the same arm 2) her knowing the water foul dance 3) Gowry saying “No, she must embark on her journey, and stare her fate in the eye.” when speaking of her visiting Malenia at the Halig Tree. 4) Millicent believes she is related to Malenia in some way but can’t even ponder it herself, even mentioning she might be an “offshoot” of some kind. 5) Gowry when speaking of her death and personal decision to take out the needle he remarks “Millicent... Malenia... Do you detest us, so utterly?” of course he can be speaking of 2 people, but with everything else in consideration it can certainly be seen both ways. All of this of course would mean that Gowry is aware of the fragmentation of reality. Goldmask: I believe Goldmask is part of a paradox within the fragmented reality. Him wanting to study the Golden Order leads him to actually creating it! His ‘mending rune of perfect order’ would end up becoming the ‘Golden order’ An interesting revelation I had is that Goldmask is very similar to the 2 fingers, as he does not speak and moves his arms (and fingers) in a method of communication. Brother Corhyn even mentions this a few times. Other loose possibilities: Abducted Miquella is from the past alternate reality as he is in his seedling form before he was able to sprout into the Haligtree Jar Barin becomes Alexander when he absorbs his heart. One of the more important parts of my theory is that every alternative reality is governed by each of the six endings or (ages) being the perfect number as I mentioned earlier there are six alternate versions of Malenia/Millicent. Each possible age all ready has influence in the lands between even though they have not happened yet as they are all part of this fragmented timeline and clash of alternate realities. When an NPC invades it does so from another world or ‘reality’ the Urd tree and minor Urd trees act as conduits to the link between these worlds explaining why when you kill Urd Tree Avatars certain NPC invaders can no longer invade. When the Urd tree is set ablaze the the link is weakened causing the fire to seep into the time rift which results in the past version of the round table hold burning down, leading to it’s eventual current state that you find it in Leyndell. Another thought is about Melina's hands: Melina has scar tissue on her hands. This could mean she has been the burning maiden before in previous ages, she keeps trying to fix the broken timeline, in every age (alternate reality).

I had a pretty bad year myself and it just so great to see someone rebuild themselves to what you have Jake keep it up

Is interesting to imagine that the numem race itself was created by the greater will using dragon scale in order to have immortal champions to use in diferents lands. Like Marika for exemple seems to be made out of stone in the Final cutscene.

There is an additional thought I wanted to share which is that Marika took over the Reign from the dragon god which Placidusax is waiting for, frozen in time, because he was in charge when the Erdtree used to be the Crucible, and all remnants of the crucible turned to support Godfrey as well as Marika, supported by the fact that the dragon knight keeps Marikas shadow Maliketh contained and under surveillance, maybe it's a piece that fits into your picture as well. Also in my head Melina was Marikas cindermaiden, chosen to sacrifice herself so Marika could end the age of the Crucible in the first place, which I support with the fact that she is tied with destined death, a power which only was in place before Marikas reign and kept a secret all the way. Maybe it is just my rambling but I hope it at least evokes some deeper thought s for y'all

Thank you for helping me figure out the roots with eyes are from Godwyn. I always noticed the ones in the catacombs, but not near his body so I never figured out where they originated from.

It might be silly to try to support a theory with another theory, but I really liked how you described the pillars in Eldenbeast's arena as trunks to different dimensions. When I first saw them, I couldn't help but to think of the Hunter's dream, where you saw quite similar pillars surrounding the area - I've always thought that these were the different 'dreams' / worlds of all the other hunters we met or... well, other players.

The OSRS music during the sponsorship part is incredible. Impossible to skip through that. Good move sir 👏

I love the OSRS music during the ad 😂 Great video, I enjoyed it. Thank you man.

I just noticed that the into cinematic shows both Marika and then Radagon. The two flashes at the start which are strikes on the Elden Ring by one then the other. It showed us from the beginning that they were/are one person. Your focus is pulled to the bright flash of light that is centered on the forge, it’s a slight change in clothing and body shape. From a female form in a dress to a male form bare chested.

Ranni's ending was mistranslated significantly, you should check out what it's actually supposed to say before examining it. Iirc it was supposed to be you and her going on the 1000 year voyage, to take the godly power away from humanity who would wreak havoc and disparity with it, and remove it from the world.

I think that the Perfect Order ending actually helps the Greater Will. To explain, Goldmask's entire goal was to prevent "the gods no better than men" from changing the Golden Order, namely Marika and Radagon. I think that by perfecting the Golden Order, you are returning it to the control of its original creator, the Greater Will. Now, it could be interpreted that by "gods no better than men" Goldmask was referring to the Outer Gods, but I highly doubt that this is the case, as much as I'd like to believe it to be the truth. Remember that Goldmask views the Golden Order as an equation rather than a philosophy, which leads me to believe that he'd be much more inclined to serve the Outer God of Order than the fickle goddess Marika. But these are just my thoughts based on what I know about Elden Ring's lore. Edit: Credit goes to SmoughTown for the research on Goldmask.

This is a great culmination of ideas that bring this theory about! Love this sort of content from you, sir! Very unique set of speculations and concepts. 🙏🏼 keep it up.

Just got through the intro and DUUUUDE this is going to be a wild ride! Hell yes, always love your videos, so lets GOOOOO!

"The Lands Between" might also be a slight nod to Berserk's "MidLand" or even the Interstice/Fantasia. Honestly a lot possible there. There are many, many references to berserk scattered all through out the game and we know Berserk was one of Miyazaki's biggest influences. Dark Souls is more beloved as a Berserk game than the actual Berserk games.

It’s nice to see something a bit newer on the lore scene I haven’t seen anything on this theory so love new stuff. Keep it up love watching when I’m high 😂

Love to see this man I remember seeing your video discussing you're overall confusion of the story and you sounded semi burnt out by it sorry if I'm reading too much into that but it's awesome to see you take these different angles and perspectives and the fact that it's revitalizing you're interest it's what I love to hear as an avid consumer of your content, keep it up brother you're one of the best in the game right now

I'm sure others have pointed it out, but that moon has galaxies in it. As Obi wan says: "That moon ain't right."

Fantastic into, cinematic as hell and love you using the ER music. Such a good soundtrack

Another important point is that this theory woukd make it make sense lorewise how we could summon eachother, and when you do summon someone it says the'yre being brought to your world, and for them it says they're being brought to another world, and i think that right there is undenyable evidence

At 14:30 you say that death would be known for the first time but, didn't we restored destined death when we defeat maliketh? Because in the mending rune of the death prince says: Formed of the two hallowbrand half-wheels combined, it will embed the principle of life within Death into Order. The Golden Order was created by confining Destined Death. Thus, this new Order will be one of Death restored. Because it says death restored but also embed the principle of life within Death, i think it is not the same as with only the rune of death. Also i like your theory.

17:56 YES. I have been saying this since Demon's Souls. In DeS, it explicitly shows you that killing the Old One doesn't release you from the Nexus. You return, seal intact, revived by the Maiden in Black (with a full unique cutscene) to repeat the process, showing that NG+n is canonical to it. Your character collapses to the ground in dejection. DeS has one world connected by archstones, and may or may not be on an archtree, but God itself (the Old One, that is) is a massive tree. In Dark Souls, no matter how many people abandon the First Flame in DS1 to become Dark Lord, the sun will still be in the sky in DS3, meaning other people _did_ continue kindling the flame in your absence. Additionally, the area Ash Lake in DS1 shows us that the world there is built on an archtree, with several others visible (but inaccessible) in the distance. In Bloodborne, the Hunter's Dream has several barren, archtree-esque wooden posts in the distance, which may be trunks. Additionally, no matter how many times we slay the Great Ones across all chalices, _there is always another where they yet live._ Whether we free Gehrman or let him free us, whether or not we become a Great One ourselves, there is still another hunter in another world making their own choices. It's my favorite bit of lore across Miyazaki FromSoft works, oft overlooked.

(First of all, sorry for explaining all over the place and bad English) I HAVE A THEORY, that Marika and radagon were not the same before, but fused somehow. I believe that radagon was to Marika what blaid was to ranni, a shadow given by the 2 fingers to go mad if they refused the greater will. I believe that once Marika refuses the greater will, radagon went full hostile against her, just like we see bliad becoming hostile at the end of ranni's quest. Marika knew this, so she sent radagon to Raya lucaria in hopes that he would be defeated by Rennala, and while he was away Marika pit her plan to motion. Radagon, receiving order from the 2 fingers, leaved rennala and went back to Marika to confront, just as he was programed like blaidd, and this is the moment when they became one. I believe that during that time, Marika found a way to fuse 2 beings into 1, and used that knowledge to fuse ragadon onto herself, taking full control of him. Until Marika tries to break the elden ring, where she's unable to control radagon anymore, hence why you see in the intro cinematic both in the exact same place, one fixing it and the other breaking it. Marika dies at this point, while radagon becomes a puppet made to protect the greater will inside the Erdtree. Why I say a puppet? Well during his fight if you pay attention, you'll notice that some of his moves seem unnatural, like he's not moving on his own, he moves like a puppet beings pulled by the strings, this is mostly noticeable when he randomly changes target completely out of nowhere. Sorry if this is all over the place, I'm still trying to find a way of explaining it without it becoming too complex.

I think the greater will legitimately thought the player character would bend to it's every whim and severely underestimated your critical thinking skills or the amount of help you'd receive. Maybe both

Is there a "We're in miquella's Dreamworld" theory yet?

I listened to everything your wonderful theory stated, but all I could picture was Lady Maria kicking my ass a million times.

The Greater Will is not a parasite, it's a belief system (absolute order) inside a paradigm (order & caos). The Elden Lord is a vassal who imposes this belief (absolute order). The Elden Ring is the current paradigm that reigns (order & caos). The Elden Beast is an avatar of this god (absolute order). There are many gods in The Lands Between that enforces a belief inside a paradigm but don't reign.

I'd like to say that I love these kinds of theories. BUT Time has proven that the more a theory needs to speculate, the bigger it falls flat when DLC and other stuff is released XD (I still haven't watched the entire video tho)

Could you do a video on the finger readers? They are such a fascinating figure and I was very curious when I first saw that huge amount of them dead close to Marikas chamber on Lyndell

Elden ring is one big boss battle we cross the fog into the lands between which is the bosses name. The rest of the game is just a long battle with a big tree. Miazaki really liked bed of chaos so wanted to make a boss fight with even more unessassery steps.

I feel that throwing out ideas like this is a great! And I kinda really felt like something like that for marika makes sense and you put it in great terms and that idea of a parasite is something I suspected and just really felt throughout the game however some stuff feel like a stretch but maybe not its hard to see that conclusion yet maybe it really is right in front of us

It's interesting how (almost) every character from the intro is connected to an ending. Hoarah Loux - Age of Fracture (After Morgott's body disappears, we can see the guidance of grace pointing Godfrey towards us, 'cause the Greater Will thinks we want to get rid of Its influence given that We burned the Erdtree; If Godfrey had won, He would probably choose to mend the Elden Ring in the Greater Will's favor). Goldmask - Age of Order Fia - Age of the Duskborn Dung Eater - Age of Despair Gideon Ofnir - Something else eniterly - we do nothing. (No in-game ending; still probably would favor Marika's beliefs) Also, we can see 'stars' or 'cosmos' inside those circular teleports in the Lands Between, so the huge Moon in the Age of Stars' ending being a teleport is pretty much undeniable. What interests me though is that, in Ranni's ending, this Moon is collapsing into itself, and in the edge between the moon and the teleport where the Moon is being collapsed to are stars and galaxies, so it may be the visualization of "The Moon guiding the stars", and the Moon actually BEING the cosmos and stars, like a being controlling the cosmos, with Moon being its visual respresentation.

I had a different feeling about Marika. I feel that she planned the downfall of the GW by giving birth to her children and letting in all the outer gods creep in through the suffering of her children, what more of a tragic story can you get.

*constantly refreshes RU-vid 1 minute before release of video*

Wow…the idea of Alexander fell from the sky never came to my mind,such a cool idea,thank u

The hole in Liunia is there before Alexander gets stuck in it. So they are not caused by him teleporting.

I love the wild theorizing a lot more, since once you're free of trying to 'prove' your interpretation is correct, you can just... make interesting speculation and then follow through on interpreting *why* that sequence of events is meaningful and thematically interesting.

3:31 "Try to keep an open mind." Dumbledore said calmly.

God that use of bloodborne music works perfectly for describing the greater will as a parasite and saying Merika was likely not fully in control of her actions

I love this. I think Smough's dissection just covers more bases in exonerating Marika, but knowing he had to dig so hard to do that, means that this theory is/was very solid in general. I think you're right about Marika' wanting change, but I think (after watching like 90 videos at this point over and over lol) she was only spurred to do so after Godwyn died as a part of Ranni's selfishness. She's painted as a lover/heroine, but in actuality, we are also being used by her as well. I never realized the moon in the end is a huge sending gate, which BLEW MY FRICKIN MIND, so thanks for that. I'm making a Dnd campaign based off of the Elden Ring story, and this is awesome content and lore to have!

Holy snapper, that DS2 music fits perfectly for that dialoge with the old finger maiden!

Queen Maria is from the lands of numens which confirmed when choosing a keep sake or base template

The runscape music during the ad us awesome

That RuneScape music during the sponsor though! 😂

The nostalgia from the Runescape music playing during the advertisment is real

Elden Ring is SYMBOLIC. It's a lot like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings in that way, unsurprising given it was written by Martin. I actually think Martin did a reasonable job, no it isn't up to Tolkien's standards, but nothing ever will be. So I suggest instead of worrying about timeline inconsistencies, look at the symbology of the events. I suspect that asking "where are the Lands Between" is like asking "where is Heaven".... some people may be able to give you an answer, and those will vary greatly, as do opinions on what all this means. It's not as simple as saying "this one thing means something", because it isn't that type of story... it's more like a collection of metaphors and symbolic concepts, and while the Lord of the Rings certainly has a very simple surface layer "plot" (go to Mt Doom and destroy the One Ring) we all know it is so much deeper, hence the reason it is loved so much. Elden Ring and The Lord of the Rings both share a deep sense of mythology, because in a way, they are both trying to be like the Bible.

The map is literally the shape of a furled finger like the one to lay down your sign.

Great vid and very interesting theory but I just curious what armor and legging that your character used in the video? Those 2 piece look so cool.

I believe that the Greater Will is a metaphor for us the player and that the different fingers represented the player's hand which inputs the player's will. In this same context, you can kind of think of the Elden beast as a "controller" and the various runes that make up the Elden ring as the different buttons on that controller. Great video btw!!

Great video, but we actually do have a rough idea of how long Marica has been around imo. Check the piles of tablets in the queens chambers bonfire room before the elden throne Its stacks and stacks of cuneiform record keeping tablets

you're so totally wrong on the Age of the Dusk-Born ending. Death was known to the lands between since ever. Partially it might be but still. the bodies were known to die since always. Only souls survived. And that stopped being the case not when you mend the Elden Ring with the rune of the death-prince, but when you release the rune of death. All endings include that, it's a prerequisite for each and every one of them. Age of the Dusk-Born simply engraves the existence of life within death in the golden order. It has nothing to do with the deliverance of death

Another thing I will add is, Melina is not a reliable source of information. Hardly any characters are, and that includes the narrator that depicts item descriptions.

Wow. I loved this video; at the end of my playthrough I also had the impression that the outer gods acted pretty much like parasites to the gods in The Lands Between, but this theory explores that idea in a very interesting and well-written way. Subscribed!

i love that you used majula music god what nostagia.

You make some of the best lore videos out there. I hope your channel really blows up!

"Did you know the Greater Will is a parasite, Harry?!" Dumbledore argued calmly.

Awesome theory but I'm still trying to figure out how and why Marika was able to "break" from the will's control to break the ring.

Still loving your theories about Eldin Ring the deeper you look into it the more theories you find. The Lands Between is a world crumbling. I'd usually not go for a theory like this, since it sends my brain down an unending rabbit hole,, but it makes perfect sense. It explains the outer God's and Rannis ending. Really hoping for more endings in DLC

To understand Marika, you need to understand her inspiration, Mārīcī, and Fromsoft tradition of criticising Buddhism. Marika's inspiration is Mārīcī, (Sanskrit: मारीची, lit. "Ray of Light"; Chinese: 摩利支天; pinyin: Mólìzhītiān; Japanese: Marishiten), is a Buddhist god (devi )or goddess, as well as a bodhisattva associated with light and the Sun. Furthermore, Mārīcī was equated with Virgin Mary symbolism by first Europeans who learned of her. Best example that shows Marika was inspired by Mārīcī, is that while she is mostly seen as female deity, she actually has male aspect/alter ego that is god and protector of warfare, warriors and combat. To understand Marika's inspiration is to understand Marika and her motives and goals. Mārīcī's goal is to help and "usher" mankind into an enlightenment. And I believe so is Marika's, by manufacturing eternal, unending conflict. First and most important lesson of Buddhism is that life is suffering. Only by freeing oneself from the meaningless illusion of life one can be free and achieve state of non-being that liberates you from pain and cycle of reincarnations. Just like Golden Order encourages/forces people to reincarnate. In the Buddhist context, nirvana refers to realization of non-self and emptiness, marking the end of rebirth by stilling the fires that keep the process of rebirth going. Nirvana (nibbana) literally means "blowing out" or "quenching. Mārīcī/Marika's goal is to make mankind realise the grand illusion through eternal conflict, until they quench the flame of ambition that drives them on, finally freeing themselves from the pain and cycle of rebirth by. This is Mārīcī/Marika's design that made Gideon Ofnir afraid, as he realized their god had betrayed her own religion and society to usher all people into non-being. If Marika wanted to have her revenge against Greater Will, nothing would be better way to accomplish this, than to allow fire that drives all life slowly be quenched. In this sense, Marika is similar to Sister Friede and Prince Lothric, but willing to actually become martyr for what she believes in, content to be crucified to lead mankind into "salvation". If you quit playing Elden Ring without finishing the game, or get the most simple Age of Fracture ending, Marika essentially wins. Mārīcī is the most fearsome villain in Soulsborne history. She is the prophet/envoy of non-being and apathy, and intends to take all the world with her into nothingness. God Mask understood this, and begged Greater Will to save the world from fickle and zealous gods.

Considering 'the lands between' is obviously a reference to 'midgard' there very well maybe indeed other 'universes' such as the 'badlands' where hoara loux and his warriors and also most of the tarnished come from. So yeah, there very well might be other such places that aren't actually other continents (even though we can see other landmasses eastward when looking from some of the coasts) but lands "above" and "under" the "lands between".

The lands between seems like a random island hidden in the fog. Radahns arena shows shipwrecks as do many other beaches they also mention many other countries. It's quite unlike bloodborne where I feel like the "dream" is an actual dimension that you're trapped in.

Thats the kinda work i was and still am expecting from Vaati. Great work here!

Great theory on Marika's plans. I've been suspecting that she was involved in the night of black knives and this strengthens my suspicion. Also, there are quotes referring to Marika as the one giving and taking grace away. That explains why even the Dung Eater is being guided by grace, given that he openly opposes the Greater Will. He's an asset in Marika's personal war.

I like the frenzied flame ending because of funny flame head

You should do vid explaining glintstone and where magic comes from and it intricacies and the primeval current

I loved that you mentioned the multiple trunks within the elder beast and how it could be a representation of infinite possibilities, each a different tarnished, it was what I thought first seeing it. Also I think that it's a representation of the Elden Beast itself, since it's also made of golden branches, in a way you could think that's is time and space itself taking just a inferior representation of itself to be comprehended by the tarnished. Also I don't think that the moon is a literal portal, but a representation of power and will of a being, likely in this case a outer good, the moon itself... We see this same phenomena across our journey, when we fight Renala and then Ranni intervene or fighting Astel, that transforms a cave into a infinite cosmos... The being is so powerful that it's mere presence bends reality itself, like the erdtree phase the worlds and planes into themselves, with makes me think the great will is time and space itself, hence a hole different level of power and interference from the outer gods

I always thought of the Lands Between as akin to The Otherworld of fairy myths

Amazing vid 👏👏👏 n what is that chest-piece gauntlets?