Why Did Marika Shatter The Elden Ring? 

A thought occurred to me. Goldwyn was the only normal child Marika gave birth to. The other two with Godfrey were Omens and the two she had with Radagon were cursed.

There is also the dialogue of Gideon about the "feelings of the queen might be justified" when you reveal him that Miquella was kidnapped by Mogh. I feel that implies one of two things 1. She indeed loved her sons very much and loosing a second one was too much 2. both Godwyn and Miquella had the potential to remake the order into a more virtous state, but both of them disappearing means there is no hope for her to be free from the Greater Will...unless she shatters the ring herself

It should be noted that when you first meet Ranni in game, she calls herself "Renna", and if you meet her officially through following Rogier's questline, Rogier will be surprised to learn that she is inhabiting a doll. She is so open to you because if you come to her tower, she knows you probably know about the Night of Black Knives and sees no point in playing dumb.

My only issue with the idea that the shattering of the ring was an impulsive, emotion-driven decision by Marika comes from some of Melina's dialogue. On the battleworn outskirts of Leyndell, between the inner and outer walls, she recalls Marika's "spoken echoes that linger". Marika says: "Hear me, Demigods, my children, beloved. Make of thineselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord. Be it a God. But if thou shouldst fail to become ought at all, ye will be forsaken, amounting only to sacrifices." ...Which is what happens, the tarnished comes and kills the demigods to take their great runes. Now, if the spoken echoes are lingering on the outskirts, it means Marika must have spoken those words in that location. Which means it must have been said prior to the shattering of the ring, because she was imprisoned inside the Erdtree immediately after she shattered it (and so wouldn't have been able to go to the outskirts to say this). So it looks to me like shattering the ring wasn't an impulsive decision, but rather that Marika is playing some kind of 4D chess that I can't fully grasp.

It's very possible Ranni the Witch really doesn't know who shattered the Elden Ring or why, as her only goal was to free herself from her Empyrean Flesh and the influence of the Two Fingers. Since the shattered Elden Ring didn't disrupt her plans, there was no reason to look into it, especially if the risk of doing so outweighed the reward. It was an interesting and unintended consequence that had no bearing on the outcome she wanted. As for Marika's motives, I tend to have a more positive view of Marika than most. I think Godwyn was just the last straw. I think it was a combination of things. The problem with godhood is that anything you speak becomes law. If it didn't then you're not a god. And since a god is perfect, they cannot break their own law. At least, that's one way to look at it. When Marika banished the old order of the crucible to establish her Golden Order, it was under the condition that any remnants of the Crucible be removed. And we can see that in the architecture of the game. There are a lot of places that don't seem to come from the Golden Order that weren't quite removed and other places where it seems effigies of the Golden Order replaced what was there before. Even the Erd tree itself has a golden husk that seemed placed right over the original tree, but the roots and such still show that it's not the original. Well Marika marries Godfrey and she seems to like him... a lot. But Godfrey is a man from the time of the Crucible and their children are born Omen. Oops. What do you do? If a Goddess breaks or goes back on her own law, it suggests she's wrong and she ceases to be a goddess. I think the Shunning Grounds was a way to maneuver around her own order. To retain her godhood and spare her children's lives. So Godwyn wasn't just her "firstborn" (though I'm not sure if we actually know that.) He was also the son of her beloved Godfrey and the one child she was allowed to keep. He probably reminded her of his father. Godfrey is banished, which Marika was not too keen on doing. Again, she circumvents around the idea of just killing him and the Tarnished when their usefulness is expended. But it's more than that. Giving them the guidance of grace is the first step in her plan. And good thing she set this in motion because things are going to get worst. First, her champion who she tasked with conquering her rival decides to conquerer her rival... in all the ways you don't want your champion to conquer your rival. Great! So Ranalla gets to live. But by this point, the Golden Order knows Marika is up to something. So the Greater Will decided instead of replacing Marika, to merely change her nature. And to change Marika's nature, they forced her not only to marry Radagon, but also fuse with him and become a whole new being: one that was more compliant to the Greater Will. This turned out to be more like one of those 5 Minute Craft Videos. Props for creativity, but in reality, it's completely impractical and may even kill you. Marika's fusion with Radagon didn't change her will at all. In fact, it seems they were pretty miserable together. And the failure of it, disrupted the Golden Order "one god" rule, putting them in an even more precarious situation should anyone find out. This union was not only a violation of Marika's autonomy, but now she has two unwanted children by Radagon AND they're both suffering from severe birth defects. Then everything Marika knew would happen if she married Radagon happened. Ranni did betray her, and it's suggested she did so with the assistance of Rykard and Godwyn dies. So of course she shatters the Elden Ring. It was the only thing she could do any more in defiance. The final "f--k you, I'm still here. You didn't change me at all" to the Golden Order, the Greater Will, the Two Fingers, and the Elden Beast.

I’ve observed that each Main Boss, the ones with Great Runes, we fight represents one of the Seven Deadly Sins… maybe there is a hidden meaning to that: - Radahn: Wrath (after being rotten away). - Rennala: Sloth - Rykard: Gluttony - Malenia: Pride - Godrick: Greed (becoming more powerful with grafting) - Mohg: Lust - Morgott: Envy (of his siblings for not being Omen)

I feel like Marika's story has a lot to (at least what I have heard of) Miyazaki's theme of being blinded by faith until they realize the atrocities that they have done. I could make a parallel to Bloodborne's character Laurence : together, they were blinded by their pursuit for greatness (by using the blood for Laurence and waging war for Marika) until it was too late (scourge of the beast/black knives) and they realized that the core idea of their belief was twisted (turning into a beast/ Godwyn (being the representation of the Golden Order) and than Miquella didn't achieve his goal ("Perhaps the Queen's sorrow was justified... " after beating Malenia, Gideon's dialogue)). For the Radagon part, I just realized that one line from Enia sounded...off ? "Demigods, and even the greater of the champions, are hewn by the Erdtree upon their end, into remembrances." and the word champion reminded me of Radagon. Maybe the point of Radagon, not speaking after our death and seemingly cracked, was because he was a rememberance hewned into Marika (and we loot Elden's Beast remembrance, not Radagon's) so that Marika could be corrected. So she could have his power : blind faith ("These remembrances yet house the power of their former masters"). After all, as an Elden Lord, Radagon was known for training his children to be faithfull to the Golden Order, not anything else and Radagon isn't really mentioned in Elden Beast's Remembrance. He became a sword because he is used for his faith. I'm maybe too far gone into speculation ! Hope it may spark an idea ! Sorry for my english, I'm french and the word "remembrance" is like a tongue twister !

I think its also worth noting that the choice of demigod for Ranni's assassination is significant. Consider who Godwyn was in the lore. Aside from the prodigal son uncursed etc etc. He was also really popular and beloved within and outside the Golden Order. He was such a perfect son of the Golden Order that Fortisaax, a former enemy tried to save him from the death root. And Miquella the "most fearsome emperion" tried to give him a true death out of respect. So why would Ranni hate him enough to go to all this trouble to murder him? I think, the implications from her questline suggest she was due for an arranged marriage to Godwyn. And since her father was Radagon perhaps it was arranged before he left to become Elden lord. Or if it was just before or after he left, then it would serve as a political marriage to unite the Carian house and golden order after his marriage doing the same, fell through. Ranni being a princess in a matriarchal kingdom would probably object to having her potential as a Moon Queen of Caria being tossed aside to be the wife of the favorite son and literal red headed stepchild. Marika who probably was overjoyed at her golden order now having a successor Emperion married to her first son, it gives her a lineage of succesion and a direct successor in the form of her new daughter in law ranni. Probably saw everything fall apart all at once and said screw it breaking this shit now! Which would be a pretty understandable reaction going from such happy hopeful future to everything going to shit in one night. Remember as far as the golden order knows: Godwyn was assassinated and no one has seen Princess Ranni. So she could be dead or missing. Meaning your options for succession are Radahn (since i think Rykard was Married before the shattering) or your cursed omen twins marrying your other already Inbred twin emperions. One of whom is a child forever so probably not capable of growing into the role, and the other is a vessel for the God of Rot. So when compared to either doing your job forever or allowing your kingdom to Rot away because your successor is literally rotten to the core. Breaking the ring seems like maybe the most appealing option.

My theory has been for a while that if Radagon was created from Marika, it likely happened at the exact moment she first felt doubt in the Greater Will. And this actually happened right at the birth of the Erdtree era, when she defeated the giants but learned that the flame of ruin could never actually be extinguished, like she believed Which could explain Radagon's red hair, as a reminder to her of that moment, and of the inevitable burning of the Erdtree (if Marika in some ways IS the Erdtree, as some art depicts her, then her golden hair would represent its golden branches in their prime, and Radagon's RED hair could represent the same branches lit aflame) Then time passes and other doubts pop up. The Age of Plenty quickly ends, the godhunt happens and the Gloam-Eyed Queen is chosen by the Fingers as an empyrean who could potentially replace her, etc etc. Then the death of Godwyn is the final straw, and she decides it's time for the end of the Golden Order But all that time, Radagon's loyalty to the GW, his power and knowledge, as well as his ambition to be a god have done the opposite to hers and only increased over time. And even as his precious Golden Order lies shattered and rotting around him, he does everything he can to prevent the age he stubbornly believes is perfect from coming to an end. Who knows? Without him sealing the way, maybe the council of demigods that clearly once existed would have brought their Great Runes together and forged a new Ring before the Shattering War even happened

Whatever her plan was it must have been truly horrifying. Gideon saw Marika's will and it scared him. "At the end that should not be".

This is so crazy. I have almost 300 hours in this game, and I grew up hearing the Sagas and Edda. Yet this is the first time I have connected the events in game to the events of Ragnarök, but it is all there. The death of the gods, the serpents, the wolves, the burning of the world to be born anew. It is all there, and I am just now realizing it. Great video, really going to make playing the game even more enriching now that you have made these parallels.

One thing I think we can be sure of is she didn‘t do it out of grief over Godwyn‘s death (or at least not entirely) because the Tarnished exile happened long before that, meaning she already planned to use the battle hardened Tarnished for something. Now, how much of what she planned resembled the actual event is anyone‘s guess.

Thats a way to see it indeed, Marika will always be a mysterious character, but i liked your view of all this, mainly the part where you say that she wanted to mock radagon for being a obedient dog of the golden order, i believe everything that radagon did was purely visioning the benefit of the golden order, from marrying rennala, having children with her and leaving the amber egg with her and leaving her depressed.

It'd be interesting to know who originally burnt the erdtree. There's already ashes in Leyndell when we get there for the first time and burning the erdtree being "a cardinal sin" is oddly specific in the sense that someone has probably already tried that at some point. Was that what originally ended the age of plenty?

It does seem like Marika genuinely cared for her son Godwyn. All things considered I would be very upset and angry when I literally removed the concept of Death from the world only for the child that I was about to hand off the keys to the kingdom / world to suddenly dies by the hands of my own people. Plus having 2 personalities fighting inside you for control doesn’t really help.

I love these Videos! It’s so good to see people asking the big questions and making theories still a year later. And as a lore fanatic I’m super excited for Shadow of The Erdtree. Also I love the music you have playing in the Background in each video, I wish I knew what it was so I could listen to it while I draw. The Violin sections are just absolutely beautiful. 💛😻💛

Once again Jake, you’ve knocked if out of the park with this one. You also pointed out a couple of very simple and obvious things that myself and others so easily overlook in Elden Ring’s lore when it is so infamously massive and convoluted. But the one thing that was an eye opener to me in this video (aside from you clarifying the timeline) was the possibility that Marika shattering the Elden Ring and kicking off the War of the Shattering due to the grief of losing her perfect son was very likely drawn from the catalyst that kicked off Ragnarok in Norse Mythology. I also feel the need to point out just how much I always appreciate when content creators take the time to not only read, but respond to comments as well. Even if they’re not my own. After all, nobody has a monopoly on EldenRing/FromSoft lore and this series has long been designed by Miyazaki and team to bring this community of players together via a cooperative effort

ive always loved how you can see specks of gold in godwyns eyes during the night of the black knives scene. also i think the little ring around the pupil is what is referred to ingame as the guidance of grace and how its visible in a tarnished's eyes

Concerning important pieces not being known, I've watched a video from NakeyJakey like... Just before I watched this, and he mentions at some point that Miyazaki inspired himself building the story of the dark souls game by his own experience consuming western fantasy and sci-fi books, where he didn't quite understand everything, and loved to piece things together with his imagination, and I think he kind of wants us to have that same kind of experience. He wants us to debate on what the lore actually is, and he wants us to come to our own conclusions. Another lore channel I've been listening to (It was actually a video from you, a year ago lol) pieced it as like... It being Marika wanting to free the lands between from the influence of the greater will, or at least the greater will represented by the two fingers, and sortof enlisting ranni to achieve this, ranni then discarding her empyrean flesh with the rune of death to shatter the influence the greater will has on her, and they choose godwyn as the other side of that equation because he represents the golden order, which begins this cycle of chaos. You arrive at the point where the world fell into chaos enough that the order imposed by the greater will is fragile enough to be broken, and Ranni enlists/uses you to achieve that. That it's all like... An orchestrated plan ? The shattering is just a step along the way, though it's definitely the most obvious event to outside observers where things really started to go "bad". From that interpretation, I came to the conclusion myself that Ranni's ending is the "true", desirable ending that Marika planned from the start, because it brings freedom and self-determination to the lands between. Ranni doesn't even stay, if I understand correctly. I also even believe that Melina might be an aspect of Ranni guiding you along the path for her purposes. Melina ~drastically~ changes her demeanor once you've cleared Leyndell. She clearly has ulterior motives from the start that become apparent when you finish Leyndell. I'm pretty sure many people would disagree with these conclusions, but that's what's beautiful about it. We fill in the blanks with what fits our values, morals and beliefs best, and it makes us enjoy it more than conclusions set in stone by the story. I'm older, and I understand this kind of "piece it together" storytelling, it was fairly common up to the PS3 era. I also understand it's probably a bit jarring to modern gamers that are used to have all the answers and be gently guided towards all of the content. Feels like the soulsborne genre as a whole is made to be antithetical to modern game design, and I think that's precious. Also like, as a disclaimer, I'm probably nowhere near as involved into the lore or even the game as most people here are. ^^''

Marika created the Golden Order by removing destined death from the elden ring. She wanted to create a world where none would die, but when godwyn was murdered she realized she had made a mistake, her order was flawed. And so she shattered it. Thats my take

Godwyn is the most intriguing too me, his story is so sad. But also the reprocusons of his death are yet too be fully explored. You kill a shard-bearer like Godfrey or Godrick we get their remembrance. While their physical body dies. But for Godwyn, his remembrance was destroyed. Leaving his corpse to become a mindless parasite clinging to the Erdee tree roots

So having watched what is now over a year full of lore speculation videos, this was amongst the first that actually clicked with me on a different level. The lore in this game has felt so beyond me that my imagination has just been stumped. This video opened up so many doors for me to explore, my curiosity will now happily fill in the blanks with possible answers. Thank you!

It goes deeper than that, IMO Marika doubts the Erdtree and the Order BEFORE Godwyn is killed. In fact I would go as far to say she probably was aware, in some form facilitated and let it happen.

So happy to see you putting out content!!

8:55 This has to be Radagon. Even The Fingers are puzzled as to why the Tarnished can't enter the Erdtree after defeating Morgott. The Greater Will wants us to seek audience with Marika and mend the Elden Ring. It's Radagon and/or the Elden Beast that prevent us from doing so.

Love these discussion videos, keep them coming.

Ive always wondered why didnt ranni use one of the omen twins for the ritual more than likely their deaths would of been ignored by golden order and marika for being omen why go after godwyn in particular out of all other potenital demigods; I always get the feeling it was a personal attack against marika going after her "Favourite" child.

I always thought marika did it to free the people of the greater will's machinations And i think she was driven to the brink by seeing the elden beast boss fight Cause all those trees can be other erdtrees in different worlds All those people are under this outer god's thumb And you who always thought were special are just one of many So she broke the elden ring and took away the grace from tarnished to free people of the greater will and giving them a reason to fight against it

Never picked up on the parallels to Norse Mythology. Great vid!!

Great video! Very intersting insights and to the point. Keep it up!

I was always curious what exactly Gideon saw when he glimpsed into the Golden Order that made him so afraid? It gave me the same feeling of Bloodborne with the cosmic horror.

Agreed. No matter how she acts like a Regal Queen, Marika the Eternal is still a mother, who loves very much GODWYN the GOLDEN, much like Queen Cersei to Geoffrey. GODWYN was her favorite precious son... period.

Hey Jake, love your vids. I want to be able to utilize cinematic in-game shots myself as footage for some videos but have no idea how you do them. Is there a mod for Elden Ring? I don't want to use footage that isn't mine if I can help it. Thanks!

This should be has milliona views, but I love to see lot of speculations about elden ring lore on the internet proses this game have a lot Interesting stuff to tell. Mr. Hidetaka Miyazaki will always be my favorite

She thought it would be the best prank ever.

I think Marika was just fed up with the golden order and greater will. She hated there rules and religion and seeing her child, a supposed Immortal being be murdered made her snap. By shattering the elden ring, she would spite the Greater will and also curse everyone in the lands between to make sure the killer would be punished.

I haven't seen anyone do an Aztec build in Elden Ring and I made one and I love it! I have the Radahn Helmet, the Rotten Cape, the guardian gauntlets, and the perfume legs, I use the Briars Greatsword and buckler shield with the crystalian summon! My physik is the opaline hardtear and the greenburst crystal tear, my talismans are shard of Alexander, Godfrey Icon, rotten wing insignia and the dragoncrest great shield talisman

May we all smoke the good shit in order to LORE on such a level.

Yo when Jake stamped bruh was smoking that good 💨😂😂😂😂😂

2:28 - Whoops. Maybe I had a brain-fart in the moment, but either way, I would've been wrong since the intro contradicts the story trailer and rogier's dialogue and vice versa :)... But now that it's cleared up, I assume Marika shattered the ring due to having different ideas from the Greater Will/Two Fingers/Beast of what the Golden Order was supposed to fulfill. She was devoted and went to war, slew the giants, and sent Godfrey and Radagon to sweep up other notable competitors in the Lands before Godfrey was robbed of grace, aspects of the crucible being seen as heretical, and Marika's own children falling victim to the new laws established the moment the Golden Order became the dominating force in the lands between. Marika was likely forced to wed Radagon (ignoring any and all theories on Radagon's origins just to keep it simple) and... to have more children for potential Empyreans (Ranni being a step-child and an Empyrean... Miquella and Malenia being born from Radagon + Marika and being Empyreans). It seemed like the Two Fingers were getting ready to replace Marika... and the straw that broke the camel's back ended up being a plot by Marika's own kin (Ranni and Numen women) who slaughtered her first-born son. Off-topic, but I think Radagon was ultimately decided to replace Marika since he shared similar ideals with the Greater Will... desiring perfection/completion. Marika probably wanted a better world for everyone and thought the Greater Will was going to fulfill that... The only thing frustrating to me about the lore is that it's REALLY unclear whether Radagon became one with Marika during the shattering of the ring OR if they were always one person... There's nothing to truly debunk either theory and it's BUGGING ME. I honestly can't believe I said that the Elden Ring being Shattered happened before Godwyn's death. I was dumb or didn't fact-check. Forgive me my sins.

The Elden ring was shattered by a sad mother, who lost her child in a plot to defy the guards who let this happen to her beloved son the whole story is about a couple of sad mothers and their messed up children if you think about it

I love how gently everyone picks up her head...

i just realized ranni sed that the war ended with darkness as we know the erdtree is the source of light of the lands between, and we know that the tree was burnt down b4 and is mostly a illusion of faith now, what if that was when it happened?

I think explanations based on Marika’s “personal reasons” make sense thematically if you consider goldmask’s mending rune which says he discovered a “fly in the ointment” which is that the gods are just as fickle as people. Which I take to mean more generally that they are just as full as contradicting impulses as common people, and something specifically about the gods having this quality corrupts the entire order, maybe making regression impossible or something

The three fingers makes me think of elder from legacy of Kain a parasite on the land

I saw the title and started to cry. Like.. WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING QUEEN MARIKA??!!

except that rogier during the duskborn quest says that the night of the black knives happened long before the shattering.

I have a slightly alternative idea. I don't think Marika ever really wanted to become a goddess, but did so for the sake of compromise. But It didn't work out unfortunately. Marika was a Numen. The Black Knives assassins, also Numen, were referred to as scions of the Eternal City - Nokron and Nostella. And we know what happened to it. It was cast underground by the Greater Will (using Astel), cursed to live under false skies. Why? I think that when the Greater Will came to assert it's hegemony the Eternal Cities challenged it, but found out they weren't a match for it and resulted in them being cast underground. They have been plotting ever since through various efforts. The residents were seeking to get their own lord through the Mimic Tear. Marika, a Numen, decided to compromise and become a vassal of the GW to avoid further destruction, but upon understanding how the GW works she realized it won't work out (or maybe she was compelled, and never stopped plotting since then, though I don't think it would motivate her to undertake the various wars to uphold the Golden Order). She sent out Godfrey in the hopes of having him return stronger and defeat the GW. But the GW must've noticed this and forcibly manifested her alter-ego Radagon (or itself in the form of Radagon), a compliant version of her in order to control her. So much so that they/she had to play both husband and wife to keep up the Golden Order. The curse that their children had to bear due to this union (think a higher version of inbreeding) further illustrates how much of an abomination her/their situation is and how far the GW was willing to go to inflict its will. Radagon doesn't really fit with her or the system that is supposed to support her and her regime. He stands against Marika. The Goldmask's discovery of Radagon's identity led him to see cracks in the Golden Order (and the problem of the GW). The Black Knives, instigated by Ranni, had other ideas. I don't think Ranni and Marika were collaborating. More likely they probably had the same goals but different ideas on how to reach it, and decided to tacitly stay out of each other's way. Ranni was more radical, cunning and ruthless, hence the better success of her scheming. Marika, with the stress of being under the GW's thumb, grief of Godwyn's death and everything else overbearing her finally snapped and found a moment of overpowering clarity that enabled her to smash the Elden Ring, despite Radagon's (and by implication the GW's) attempt to counter her. Then of course the GW punished her, but it doesn't matter, because she already set motion events to effect change. Marika's fate was tragic and she sacrificed a lot. But she was a hero, a true Numen to the end. The GW (and perhaps all the outer gods) is the true villain.

I thjnk maybe marika saw the elden ring as the reason she lost her favorite son. Like yeah the ring didnt directly kill godwyn but the way she saw it he was killed because someone was trying to take its power for themselves so she destroyed it in order to stop them from taking it

Rani discusses being a slave to the greater will as an empyrean, that is why she killed her body. I wonder if the shattering was Marikas attempt to be free after being a puppet for so long. It is also possible that because there were more empyreans Marika was fearful of being exiled to die like Godfrey and the tarnished when her useful wore out.

My personal theory Radagon was a part of Marika which was awoken by her becoming the vessel of the Elden Ring: she become more than she was before, and her psyche did just that. They then split, for Marika could not bear it. Radagon was the incarnation of the Golden Order: he was brutal and dogmatic, he was what Marika was at the start, when she ordered the war of Dragons and the war of Giants. It is no wonder Radagon only appeared later on, when Marika strove away from the Greater Will's control. Marika gave Melina, her daughter, a purpose: to lead someone to the Erdtree, to become Elden Lord. She very well knew they'd had to kindle it aflame, and yet did it. She wanted to destroy the Erdtree. That's why she plotted with Ranni: this is why she broke the Elden Ring, so that everything could happen, hoping that Ranni would start the age of the Full Moon, avoiding the Greater Will's control. That is why Ranni slain her body: she did not want to be controlled, as was Marika, by the Greater Will. Melina and Ranni's purpose are very similar: they are, indeed, two halves of the same thing. This is because Ranni IS Melina. They are the same. Melina appears as Ranni must have appeared before she slain herself: just like her brother Radahn, she has red hair. Of course, the Greater Will punished Marika for all of this. Miquella is also involved in this, but, until the DLC releases, we shall not know how. But surely he is Torrent's former master, and he was tasked by his mother to lead, in some way, Melina and Ranni.

This only made me more convinced that THE LORD OF FRENZIED FLAME is the best ending

I always thought it was like a divine-being civil war. Marika rebelling against the Greater Will. Her attempt to usurp

The D4 music is the icing on the cake

Marika probably banished Godfrey herself, in order to protect him. Seeing how everyone, even the royal family, ended up at the slightest hint of imperfection, she probably wanted to keep him safe, until the time came for him to return and conquer the lands between again. Without the Greater Will in the way, another age of the Crucible doesn't seem like a bad idea. Of course, until a naked fuck with a stick shows up and gets married to a cold marionette.

I think that Queen Marika, also and by association Radagon,, and to lesser degrees her children, were all capable of foresight. Her children could all see the paths that their own choices might lead do, but she was able to see the grander picture, the path born from all of their consequentially diverging choices, in the pursuit of their own ends. And the reason she tried to break the world is because she foresaw a future that was so utterly horrific that she could not bear to permit it. So she broke the world. But once the world was broken, the path to damnation was removed from sight, and this led to Radagon attempting to restore the Elden Ring, to see if restoring the world would reveal that some new path was ahead for them. But the events at hand are fixed, and every time Radagon restores the Elden Ring, the future terror reveals itself once again. And Marika, again, destroys the world order in order to escape from such a fate. What do I think is this fixed, devastating nightmare that she foresees for us all? Where is Miquella?

I agree with experiences and people. Each person has their own perception. No matter the reality people see things differently and it can make or break a story. Truth can be true, but not everyone will see the truth. It's all based on what each person has experienced in their past.

Maybe a dumb question, but why are there statues of Queen Marika in the crucified pose everywhere in the Lands Between if she is supposedly missing and no one knows where she is. The stakes of Marika have that pose and the one in leyndell does as well. Do people know about it or not?

I feel like since Merika losing her first born child who seemed to be so close to her, he was their aiding her in important battles that made her queen and that her own allies added in his death truly broke her

I don’t think we can answer this without two other answers. 1. Why was Marika chosen as a god. 2. What exactly are Radagon and Marika? A Rebis (male and female in one body) or two beings shattered and reformed as one.

The black knives who killed Godwyn were Numen. The people of Marika. And in game description said that those people were "very close to Marika". So there is also another theory that says Marika schemed a very long and well crafted master plan involving removing death, sealing it into her shadow, removing grace from the tarnished and banishing Godfrey. All of this to take down the golden order and the greater will, whom have enslaved her for eons.

You nailed it at the end. The story of elden ring is a bit vague because persons are dynamic emotionally and have conflicting motivations. Great video

In my opinion the vague nature of Elden Ring's lore is perhaps the best element of it. If we were simply told the truth outright for all aspects, there would be no fun in the lore. But yeah regarding Marika, the death of Godwyn probably "shattered" her faith in the Golden Order and the Greater Will. Knowing the Golden Order was flawed, but being a mere puppet herself, her only choice to change anything was through the Shattering. Like Ragnarök, the current world would die, but another would be reborn anew. This concept can be seen within the Erd tree itself, with it shedding seeds upon the Shattering, indicating the Shattering was not the end, but a new beginning of something else. What becomes of the Lands between rests at the fate of the Tarnished themselves, due to the multiple possible endings. Whether that is part of Marika's plan or not, I am not sure.

Marika is a name meaning "Rebellious Woman," though it's unclear what she rebelled against. I absolutely agree with the commenter who compared this to the assassination of Baldur, and the start of Ragnarok. In fact if you think of Marika as an Odin figure, Radagon can be thought of as a Vali figure - a man begot on a giant, created for the sole purpose of avenging Baldur's death (and who is associated with wolves). Admittedly I'm seeing timeline issues with that.

I feel like one over looked thing is that there are a ton of clues to suggest the greater will has abandoned the lands between. Have you ever dived into that idea?

I alway wonder how long did she ruled the lands? Also the time between the shattering and when our tranished came back. Was it decades, centuries, Millenia, eons,etc.?

I’ve been thinking a lot about your video in Marika’s plan… What if to bring about change and breaking the cycle of stagnation in the Lands Between, she first needed to make the Elden Ring more “malleable” by shattering it.

i started playing elden ring and it gets more sad as i go on, to the point i don't want to kill these characters anymore. usually games give you reasons to want to keep pushing on, this game makes it hard to even want to go on, started with singing bats, and the ancestral plains , raddan and that video confirms the rest is more heartbreak

Gave me chills realizing this

I've read about all sorts of conspiracy theories about Marika orchestrating the whole death of Godwyn in order to break free of the Greater Will or some sort of nonsense including her connections with the Numen because of whatever data mined from the game files or some convoluted reading / understanding of the in-game lore and a lot of people tried to place the blame of the Shattering on Marika. I argued that despite her storyline trying to point her in a positive light, Ranni was THE orchestrator of the Night of Black Knives and as such, the shattering of the Elden Ring by Marika, the resulting Shattering (the wars) and the breaking of the Lands Between can be placed directly at her (Ranni's) feet. She is actually one of the main antagonists in the game. It doesn't make sense to attribute all sorts of conspiracies on Marika for breaking the Elden Ring when the simple reason of overwhelming grief will do to explain her actions. Occam's Razor. Period. Nothing of any convoluted nonsense about conspiracies, etc.

could anyone tell me the music in the background, it’s sound so sad, but like so good

I wonder why Radagon would seal the Erdtree then, knowing that tarnished would have to resort to burning the erdtree thus weakening the Elden beast. I wonder what was the goal Radagon wanted to achive here through blockage of the entrance of the erdtree?

Half expecting the DLC to have some Artorias style time shenanigans which result in our player character being the one to slay Godwin

The dlc boutta be so fire I hope we get to fight miquella

What armour set(s) is your character wearing in the cutscenes?

I say, that it was Miquellas abduction that drove her to hit it. Rogier himself said, that Marika was only driven "to the brink" of madness, when Godwyn died. She only needed a little push. And Miquella is basically a second Godwyn, just a bit flawed (his child-curse).

This is why i just like hard timelines which are explained in chronological order. Just makes sense unlike the vaguery of the elden ring timeline which is its biggest problem.

Her motive is truly a mystery. So many interpretations on why she shattered the Elden Ring. If only we can ask her in person somehow. If there was a definitive reason (if Miyazaki/Martin chooses to provide one), would it take away the mystery and sense of wonder that made Elden Ring's world and lore so fascinating?

My only contention to your proposed timeline is when Marika tells her demigod children to fight and make something of themselves. How could she do that after the shattering and going missing? I feel that she did it before Godwin's death almost as a cover for Ranni's future actions in helping Marika break the influence of the Greater Will. Also, the Golden Order is not the same as the Greater Will. She isn't stuck by the Greater Will, her own creation of the Golden Order did that.

I don’t think Marika had such emotions at least not how we have them. Marika was a Numan, then a Champion, then finally, a god vessel. I think Marika worshipped the stars with her people, the Beast comes to the lands between, and she witnesses its power. I think she simply wanted power and she betrays her people to achieve that power. Soon she discovers she too is disposable and schemes for a way to live eternally but ultimately fails. I think the shattering was more or less her just flipping the game board. “If I can’t win, no one will”. Is it a wonder why everyone seems to think Ranni’s ending is the best? Where we literally yeet into the stars and let every to be damned

Good vid👍Honestly, love seeing parallels from other mythologies in elden ring, so many influences so I'm really not sure if there's ever 1 explanation. That's what I love about Fromsoft Having GRR Martin in this is a wild card though lol I wouldn't be surprised if this all happened because of some incest in the end or if Marika would end up being more like Cersei Lannister level of sinister

"...perhaps, the Queen's sorrow was justified... Sorry, lost myself for a moment there..."

Marika doing it for the vine got me good

I do want to believe that because gods can't die in the age of order and with the rune of death being outside of the Elden Ring it meant Godwyn couldn't be reborn. So she shattered the Elden Ring, hoping that someone would come along and mend it anew with the runes it was missing during her age, such as the rune of death. Something along the lines of the alchemical phrase 'Solve et coagula', to break something down before reforming it into something new.

A crucial point you have not factored in is that Marika may have helped orchestrate the Night of Black Knives. Not only are the Numen Black Knife Assassins from the same place as Marika, but they also wield the power of the Destined Death, which was sealed by her and kept safe with Maliketh, her shadow. It is also implied in Maliketh's remembrance - "Marika's sole need of her shadow was a vessel to lock away Destined Death. Even then, she betrayed him". This hints that Marika helped Ranni and the Numen assassins steal a fragment of the Rune of Death from Maliketh. Whether or not Marika knew Ranni would kill Godwyn's soul and her flesh at the same time is unknown. So Marika being extremely upset with Godwyn's death is probably a red herring. Maybe she was tricked by Ranni and was promised some different outcome from Night of the Black Knives. And unable to see that outcome come about and her plans going to the wind, Marika decided to shatter the Elden Ring, out of exasperation.

props to finn

I don't think Radagon is a puppet to the Greater Will. It is the thorns that are shaped like the pattern on Radagon's Scarseal that keep us out of the Erdtree. This also confuses the Two Fingers, such that it disappears to commune with the Greater Will for a thousand years. I think this implies that Radagon is basically a God , like Queen Marika, and keeping you out of the Erdtree is his will. He wants to prolong the Golden Order's reign. Goldmask's Mending Rune also supports him being a God, as it his fickleness that keeps the Lands Between stuck in ruined state.

Late to the party on this comment, but I had the theory that Marika and Radagon were forcibly merged by the Greater Will to keep Marika on a short leash so to speak. Also I think that Marika may have helped with Godwyn's murder so as to make sure he would become the Prince of Death and still somewhat survive in a form outside the Golden Order and drain the Erdtree; more undead = no souls nourishing it via Erdtree burial. Plus it would be a neat play on the Baldur allusions mentioned here, he was made invincible to stop him from dying, Godwyn was killed to make him into something greater, I ironically making him into something akin to Hel.

Fin smoking that strain called HIGH IQ 😂❤

I love that you’re a fellow smoker as well, lore nerds unite

She really said let me doom the world and dip to space 💀

I love elden rings lore so much, could someone please tell me the background music tho?!

First “recorded” is quite interesting

My theory is that melina is actually marika when she break the er she breaks part of herself...thats why she wonders what's it like to be born of a mother...thats why marika body has missing pieces and thats why her head is missing the left eye just like melina...

I’ve got one for you, Polyanna, Adopted Daughter. She’s an npc that can be summoned during the O’Neil fight. That said, what’s that all about as she’s clearly a Persona like Millicent for Malenia. Who’s she the adopted daughter of? And How does she fit in to this overall picture in general?

regarding marika shattering the elden ring as an act of grief for godwyn, i thought the same at first, but then theres no reason to add the ghost near one mausoleum, who said “godwyn was the unwanted child of hers”, aka soul-less demi god, with the cult of mausoleum knights of death, which was confusing for me, but at the same time interesting, why would she shatter the ring then, if she hated godwyn and soul-less demi god of mausoleums is canonically godwyn, as provided info by miquella’s sword for him, symbolizing their planned alliance, the ghost at castle sol saying “ur comrade remains soul less”, meaning their certain aim cant now be realized, plus the presence of eclipse shotel, symbol of eclipse, and mausoleums, plus interestingly, it seems godwyn lived in the nameless eternal city, with his corpse there, implying eternal cities possibly in cohorts with the erdtree order before the treason of black knives

Yeah I got a question: if the Greater Will wants us to take the throne, and we come to it with a bunch of Great Runes, why does it attack us? What purpose is there in killing someone that's proven themselves superior to the Demigods?

No Total thing can avoid containing the opposite of itself.

Rogier's comments were so confusing - he says it happend LONG BEFORE the shattering - Godwyn was killed, then says: SOON elden ring was shattered. So which one Rogier? 😅

Yes, this is the most plausible explanation for sure. I would say she began questioning and loosing her faith long before the Night of the Black Knives. This likely began even when Godfrey was still around. It isn't too much of a stretch to say that all events that led to the Shattering and the decline of the Golden Order were set into motion when she started questioning her faith. This made her an imperfect, impure vessel. In fact, the omen twins who were conceived with Godfrey might be the first indication of her vanning faith in the Golder Order. Being a vessel for the Elden Ring while loosing faith in it, might have created a void inside her in which the Crucible, the primordial form of the Erdtree was able to manifest. She probably even banished Godfrey to bring back Radagon - the perfect embodiment of her vessel self - so that she can maintain the order. But in my interpretation of the lore, it is pretty clear that Godwyn's death was the immediate reason for the shattering of the Elden Ring. Marika is a very mysterious character, but she is also seems to be deeply human and I think we can deduce a lot about her just through her relationships and interactions with other characters in the game.