#eldenring #eldenringlore #marika #ranni #empyrean #miquella #malenia This video presents a theory on the meaning of 'Empyrean' in the world of Elden Ring, and how it figures into the wider lore.
The Empyrean thing is tough to figure out especially with the ambiguous credentials needed to qualify and it’s impossible to crack down without getting unhinged but I believe It starts with an item called “The Beast Eye” which we receive from Gurranq, aka Maliketh the Black Blade. I believe this eye belonged to the Gloam Eyed Queen aka Marika the Eternal. The short version is that judging from Iji and Ranni’s dialogue, we know that when each Empyrean are chosen by their two fingers, they are given a shadow that will turn into a horrid curse should they ever betray the Greater Will. How do they know this? They must’ve seen it happen. The only other recorded Empyrean with a shadow in history is Marika and when she began to plot against the Greater Will(Enia mentioning her trespass), I believe Maliketh activated his kill switch and used Destined Death against her and explaining her fate when we finally meet her. It would explain why her corpse is missing her left eye, why the eye has a claw mark, and is surrounded by Marika’s stony flesh. Another question I asked myself is just how Maliketh was able to possess or lock away the Rune of Death if he’s just a shadowbound and not a demigod? The Rune of Death had to have a host originally and I believe Maliketh sealed that host in his Black Blade, Marika herself or Melina. This also explains the diminished power of the Godskins since they received their power from her, the Queen of Death and also why Hewg is tasked with creating God slaying weapons for her. This eye could very well have been passed down to some of her children as well, particularly the Empyreans. The Three Sisters. Melina(Smoldering Butterfly) - she reveals to have the same eye, on the same side of her face as Marika would have in the lord of frenzy ending. Her previously Golden Eye loses its color because the Golden Order is no more and Grace is gone. Also interesting to note is that her Blade of Calling has the same shotel like design similar to the Godskin Peeler. Malenia(Aeonion Butterfly)- obviously this is pure speculation but I think the rot that covers her eyes was an intentional creative decision to hide this very secret. Miquella(Nascent Butterfly) - I’ll get to that… Ranni - It’s hard to tie Ranni with being a daughter to Marika but her spirit form keeps the same eye closed as Melina. I believe Ranni’s pupil color that she never opens is Gloam and that’s basing it from Melina. I believe they keep them shut to hide their identities as Empyreans. Shortly after I began to look at Torrent. Particularly about who the former master might be and it lead me to two candidates. First one is Miquella. Second is Ranni. Miquella: The spectral steed whistle is made of a delicate “goldwork”, not just gold, mirroring the Item Description on the Unalloyed Needle. I didn’t think much of it at first but after seeing the flame of frenzy ending, I’ve speculated that the material is Unalloyed Gold. This is backed by the fact that the whistle is still intact after the flame of frenzy is unleashed. Gold only reacts to heat by melting and the fact that it’s burning in the ending means it could be rejecting the flame. We know that Miquella’s needle is made from the same stock and has the properties to ward away the effects of the flame of frenzy and rot, which both originate from outer gods. Torrent is also partial to the Frozen Raisins which are made exclusively from the Mountaintops with his mane being pale blonde like Miquella’s but that could just be a coincidence since Radahn’s horse has red hair. Ranni: This one is less likely but upon inspecting Ranni’s discarded Empyrean flesh, you can see that she had red hair and is missing a 🦶 much like how Radahn is missing both feet. In fact, all of the red haired demigods are crippled in the same way and use some kind of crutch to help them get around(Malenia with her prosthetic feet and Radahn with his gravitational powers, probably Leonard before that explaining his attachment). The more I looked into these two the more parallels I began to see, particularly their rejection of the outer god or their association with the moon/eclipse and it led me to my biggest tin foil theory. Ranni Is/Was Miquella and Reincarnated as a daughter to Rennala. I believe that the Amber Egg Radagon bequethed to Rennala contains the soul of Miquella, and after the Shattering, the Great Rune. I also believe that Rennala is attempting to reincarnate Miquella as Ranni using the rune.(Much similar to how the player is able to change sex, traits, name, Identity, etc.) Juvenile Scholar Cap Reads: Yet their rebirth is not without imperfections, and thus do they repeat the process, eventually becoming utterly dependent upon it. I think the “imperfections” are happening because of Miquella’s curse(eternal childhood, also explaining the shape of the rune) and until it’s perfected, Ranni(Miquella) will continue to inhabit the doll. Backing up my previous theory, this would also explain why they all have gold/gloam pupils. Interestingly enough, Rennala is very bewitched by the egg. The Bewitching Branch reveals that Miquella had the ability to compel love and affection and if we look close, we can see traces of it inside the egg, particularly the white buds before they hatch. We know anything that’s mixed with the blood or essence of Miquella tends to stay in a premature “infant” form, hence the Haligtree being stuck as a baby version of the Erdtree and now the buds inside the egg. This I believe is the real reason the Academy invaded Caria, they must’ve found out Ranni is mind controlling her mother judging from her dialogue of “deep slumber”. Another clue is the Rune of the Unborn, then looking at Malenia’s. This is backed by the fact that every Great Rune in the game bears a striking resemblance to their twin counterpart(credit to you for pointing this out). Mohgs Great rune reads- “Mohg and Morgott are twin brothers, and their Great Runes are naturally similar.” Miquella(Rune of the Unborn) & Malenia(confirmed twins) Morgott & Mohg(confirmed twins) Rykard & Radahn The only one I can’t tie this to is Godrick but it is said he has distant relations. Godefroy? Still a country bumpkin. Ranni’s discarded empyrean flesh also has red hair and stature is similar to Malenia(Morgott cutscene shows identical size thrones for Miquella and Malenia, proving Miquella can change from his child form which Ranni is able to do as well in her miniature doll form) and is wearing jewelry similar to the Godskins, further tying to the DEQ/GEQ. Everyone speculates Miquella has ties to St. Trina’s who’s gender is open to interpretation(The double helix can be seen in Miquella’s needle which depicts the symbol for mercury(Roman God), who represents intersex people). In fact, the item description in the Sword of St. Trina states that he could’ve been a boy or girl. St. Trina is heavily tied to sleep and it can’t be a coincidence that Ranni enters a deep slumber at the same time as Rogier after you get close to retrieving her curse mark. During her first appearance in the Church of Elleh, the merchant and the donkey are also both asleep and Malenia herself wakes from a deep slumber when first meeting her. I believe she takes the form of St. Trina when she is dream phasing. Also, the juveniles in Rennala’s fight sing about sleep. St. Trina’s torch portrays the figure with one eye (Ranni always keeps one eye open). A cool factoid about Blaidd is that his breastplate portrays two twins with a tree between, possibly being Miquella, Malenia and the Haligtree, and the double helix from Miquella’s needle can be seen in his Royal Greatsword. Blaidd could very well solve the mystery of their Shadow since they were born at the same time, being twins and all. I think that fact that Ranni discarded her flesh is the reason Blaidd has been able to help Ranni wage war against the Greater Will, right up to the point where Ranni murders her Two Fingers, going mad at the end of the questline because Ranni(Miquella) is in our pocket as a miniature doll. Speaking of Unalloyed Gold, the Mask of Confidence in particular could hint towards this secret. The gold threads could be unalloyed to hide Miquella’s(Ranni) secret from the Greater Will. This would also explain Malenia’s confrontation with Radahn. The Miquellean straight sword is modeled after the carian sword but it has amber which the amber medallions tell us were known as the most precious jewels in the age of Godfrey and the real Loretta can be found at the Haligtree tying Caria to Miquella as well. In fact, I personally believe the Albinauric’s(all generations) and Rennala being one herself are Miquellas(Ranni’s) subjects, explaining why half of the Haligtree medallion is in Albinauric village. In her ending, She embraces Marika(her true mother) and vows to finish what they started which is to not be influenced by the Greater Will/Outer Gods anymore before creating a massive waygate into the Dark Moon(also explains why all the way gates smaller than our tarnished, since they were meant for a child). Finally, Ranni does sound like a child and she looks exactly like her doll which I believe is fashioned after Miquella. If you look at the statues of Miquella, he’s always depicted with his head much larger than his body which is a trait babies have, and explaining why the “Greathood” and the Snowy Crone Hat is larger than your typical sized head. The only things that could disprove this is Miquella’s “body” in Mohg’s palace but I believe the it’s nothing but a husk since we don’t get a Great Rune. It’s likely he bewitched Mohg, Rennala, Seluvis, Gideon, Malenia etc. Even the player(why else would our character give her a wedding ring that clearly states “don’t give this to me”). Anyways, thank you for your time if you read all of this.
I’m not going to cover everyone of your points but here we go Yes the beast eye is most likely GEQs enhanced upon a Japanese translation 爪痕に傷ついた石の瞳 獣の司祭、グラングから渡されたもの 死の根に近付くと、ぶると震えるという 暗紫の瞳孔は、生きているかのように蠢く 渇く…、もっと死を喰らわせろ… A stone eye that is scratched by claw marks Given to you by Grung, Priest of the Beast It is said that if you get close to the root of death, you will tremble. Dark purple pupils wriggle as if alive I'm thirsty... Let me eat more deaths... Dark purple pupils is similar to gloam eyed They probably know what happens to shadowbound beasts because Ranni has been hunted by them before one possibly being slain by blaiid himself we know of the one that invades and an assassin that was possibly a shadow bound beast due to the striking likeness of the mask to blaiid Marika purposely sent maliketh away he has no indication of going feral when compared to blade other then him being consumed by his hunt for death as Gurranq Marika’s body was complete and unharmed look at her statues and the opening her bodies disarray comes entirely from the shattering of the Elden ring and her subsequent crucification The trespass mentioned by Enia is about Marika’s shattering of the Elden ring: "Queen Marika is the vessel of the Elden Ring, carrier of its vision. A god, in truth. But after the Elden Ring's shattering, she was imprisoned in the Erdtree. A grim punishment for shattering the Order, despite her godhood. The Fingers speak... "Marika's trespass demanded a heavy sentence. But even in shackles, she remains a god, and the vision's vessel. Confer Great Runes to become Elden Lord, and join Queen Marika as her consort. The Fingers have willed it so" Now, you may go." If you’re talking about Maliketh using destined death pre golden order that’s not possible because he didn’t have it until after beating GEQ and he was sent away to farum azula when death was stolen from him You don’t need to be a demigod to have a great rune once Marika became god the rune of death was parted from it and given to maliketh who sealed it in his flesh similar to how greatrunes are bonded to demigods effectively giving him complete control of destined death and not empowering the now weakened black flame like the GEQ was hewg is in the round table hold he’s entrusted with making a god slaying weapon to defeat Elden beast/radagon we only know of leyndell existence during golden order which contains the original round table hold Torrent liking berries and having a specific mane is nothing to go off of but I see your point with the whistle Now your crackpot theory is entirely crackpot because Ranni was born before Miquella Ranni is a daughter of Rennala and Radagon then Radagon later left married Marika then Malenia and Miquella were born Rannis body is based off a women specifically the snow crone The bewitching branch doesn’t 100% confirm Miquellas abilities plus Malenia completed understands these abilities is he does have them if you look at her armour description plus Mohg also isn’t that bewitched he desires to become Elden lord and usher in the dynasty of blood through the formless mother he needs an empyrean to supplant Marika and become a new god/servant for the greater will notice how all the sit on the throne ending’s only actually change the golden order or keep it the same compared to the drastic removals of frenzy and ranni Mohg doesn’t want the golden order he wants an entirely new order with a different outer god which is why he wouldn’t take Marika so he needs the most available replacement which was Miquella since Malenia is off on a campaign and Ranni is believed to be dead he’s effectively corrupting Miquella using the accursed blood and waiting for him to wake and just because you don’t get a great rune doesn’t mean anything he is very much alive plus Gideon, Vyke, or even Bernahl could have Miquella’s, Ranni’s, or any of the other dead Demigods great runes
I thought an Empyrean was just a title rather than someone being an actual biological thing. It's a title given by each respective demigod 2 fingers to worthy/strong people who can one day take Marika's place as the new god.
Perhaps the cocoons birth Cleanrot knights? The cleanrot knight armor is made of unalloyed gold too yes? They are incredibly powerful. As good as Miquella seems perhaps he was really making an army to challenge the world just like anyone else with Melania as his loyal enforcer, her Valkyries, and the cleanrot knights
This was beautiful man, please keep up the work, also get a new microphone if you can. About the borth in the lands between the Tarnished Archeologist made a 3 part video series where he goes over how he think people are born in the lands between. Alos it would be really cool if you could make a video about the gloam eyed queen. So far no one really has been very pertinent on the matter.
Yeah, I like Tarnished Archaelogists videos a lot. He's becoming the best new Elden Ring Lore RU-vid imo. I don't think my theory of Empyreans is at all opposed to the ideas of Erd-tree birth. I think empyreans are essential to creating a new "generation" of life. Whether it comes from trees, cocoons, etc. depends on the Empyrean and their spirit. I would be interested in what Tarnished Archaelogist thinks about the subject of Empyreans.
It seems like a title among the demigods. The individual 2 Fingers select candidates they think can become the next God of the world. Though every Great Rune shard holder is technically a demigod child of Marika in some way.
@@sueflewelling3657 Sorry, I just saw the comment. What do I think of Ranni? I dunno. In some sense, she is very reticent to let people in. She mocks the player and her other counselors for their loyalty, but does it in such a way that it doesn't seem so offensive. She seems very used to getting her way.
The Two Fingers seem to have two legs, making them look like X chromosomes. Maybe that has some connection to women being empyrean? Just a random thought.
I really like your content but I have to mention that the audio quality is terrible, and it makes it specially hard for us non-native english speakers to understand what you're mumbling. Keep up the good work tho, hope your channel keeps growing
I also post to reddit lol. But I think there is some regulation against self-promotion, as sometimes the video gets removed by mods. Pretty much all my videos are based on Reddit posts I made in the past several months. Thanks for watching!
Empyreans are children of the gods. They are NOT demigods, which are children of a god and a mortal, Empyreans are 100% genetical gods, but that's not enough to have godhood
No my dude empyreans are candidates chosen by a two fingers it’s just that Malenia and Miquella are because they are the most sacred in the eyes of the fingers
@@theeldenconspiracy9451 Ranni is daughter of Radagon and the carian moon deity, while Melina is daughter of Marika and the Fell god of the giants. Miquella and Malenia have all their genetical problems because of the incestuos relation that generated them, while Ranni and Melina don't have such illnesses because their parents are not relatives. They also share a lot of similarities, like the closed eye and the link to the rune of death. Melina is probably the godskin queen and former guardian of destined death, she created the godskin incantations by infusing fire of the giants with the rune of death, only someone related to the fire god would have been able to do so, plus she's the only one who is able to "hear" and "see" the flame, that's why she is the fuel of the giants forge. I'm certain of these things, and the only peer point here is why Ranni is an empyrean while her brothers are not. We currently don't know where Ranni's great rune is, that's probably DLC material, i think there will be an explanation of how the Moon used Rennala as a vessel to procreate Ranni with Radagon. Maybe all empyreans must be female, and that's why Radahn and Rykard are just demigods sons of Rennala? That's where I've taken this idea: forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Empyrean
