Summary
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreenot only adds a massive amount of new content that could almost be considered an expansion rather than a DLC, it includesseveral major lore revelations that provide context to characters' pasts and actions in the base game.But in some cases, it raises more questions than it gives answers. Even then, there are lore revelations that change perceptions of existing characters in unexpected ways.
[Warning: Spoilers for Elden Ring & Shadow of the Erdtree.]
Shadow of the Erdtreehas the Tarnished follow after Miquella in the Land of Shadow, where he journeys along a path similar to Marika ashe seeks to ascend to godhoodthrough the Rite of Divinity. Believing he can start an Age of Compassion and create better lives for the people in the Lands Between, he leaves behind pieces of himself to prepare for the Rite of Divinity. As the Tarnished follows him, they learn a lot about not only Miquella, but Marika, the other demigods, and even entire populations from the past.
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10Miquella Has Been Using Mohg
Mohg’s Base Game Actions Recontextualized
Mohg took Miquella’s cocoon from its place in the Haligtree, which doomed any hope that this tree would grow and be able to replace the Erdtree and the Golden Order. Although this made him seem like a villain,Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreeshowed Mohgwas a victim of Miquella’s schemes.It’s possible that the Haligtree was never meant to succeed, and Miquella was more interested in finding a way into the Land of Shadow.
Miquella didn’t stop using Mohg there, however. For the Rite of Divinity,he needed a body for the soul of his consort to inhabitin order to be reborn. When that soul returned to enter its new body, Miquella would be able to return through the Gate of Divinity as a god. Well, he had already used Mohg at least once, and he was now dead at the hands of the Tarnished, so he decided that Mohg’s body would be fine for his consort.
9Romina Was Involved In The Creation Of Scarlet Rot
Source Of Malenia’s Affliction
Romina, Saint of the Bud, seems to have been involved in the creation of Scarlet Rot. It’s known that the Outer God of Rot is sealed in the Lands Between, and that Malenia’s master was the one to seal it, butthe Rot of this god wasn’t Scarlet Rot until Romina interfered with it. According to the Remembrance she drops, she found a twisted divine element after the Church of the Bud was burned, and she used this to weave together Scarlet Rot.
Interestingly, the Tarnished receives the"Legend Felled"message, which is seen after defeating important characters who aren’t demigods, like Maliketh.This has led to speculation that Romina could be the God of Rotinstead of somebody who used part of the god to evolve its Rot into a new form. Of course, there’s no confirmation whether Romina is an Outer God, or if she just used a piece of one for her own purposes.
8Metyr Created The Two Fingers
The Greater Will’s Original Vassal
The Two Fingers were assumed to be creatures who communed with the Greater Will inElden Ring, butShadow of the Erdtreerevealed that they likely never managed to do so. Instead, they were birthed by Metyr after communication with the Greater Will already stopped.While they tried to search the cosmos for contact,silence was the only response. As a result, the narrative about the Greater Will changed drastically.
Metyr creating the Two Fingers, and being the only one to have communed with the Greater Will means thatthe events ofElden Ringweren’t guided by the Greater Will. In fact, some characters possibly realized this long before the start of the game, particularly Marika when she broke the Elden Ring and Ranni when she destroyed her body to avoid being an Empyrean. It turns out that the Greater Will isn’t that interested in the Lands Between.
7The Greater Will Isn’t Influencing The Lands Between
The Two Fingers Lied To The Tarnished
The result is that more information being revealed makes the Greater Will seem less like the Outer God it’s described as, and more like a description of reality itself.
This is connected to Metyr’s existence being revealed inShadow of the Erdtree, because it shows that the actions attributed to the Greater Will were either done by Metyr or the Two Fingers instead. The result is that more information being revealed makes the Greater Will seem less like the Outer God it’s described as, and more like a description of reality itself.It’s seemingly not trying to actively influence worlds, but it represents the inevitable fate of those worlds.
However, the more that’s revealed about the Greater Will, the more ambiguous the idea of it becomes. Those revelations also bring up questions about the rest of the Outer Gods, and if they are as inactive as the Greater Will. When put together, it makes the history of the Lands Between less clear than it was before.
6Miquella Is Not Kindly Nor Compassionate
Miquella Abandons His Love
This is the most obvious revelation inShadow of the Erdtree, especially because the DLC focuses on Miquella.While he’s often described as kindly, his true nature is incredibly scheming, and that’s shown through the plots he had to put together for the sake of his ascension. This led to him using other characters like Mohg, Radahn, Malenia, and his own followers to achieve his own goals without much consideration about what would happen to them as a result.
The key to being able to make others believe he’s a good person comes from Miquella’s ability, which is hinted at in the base game, then elaborated on in the DLC trailer and DLC itself.Miquella is able to charm people,making them love him and follow him like a leader, or even a god.However, he not only uses people, he prepares a consort for himself who loves fighting, seemingly implying that anybody who doesn’t want to adhere to his Age of Compassion will be forced into compliance.
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5Malenia Fought Radahn Due To His Vow
Elden Ring’s Iconic Battle Was Orchestrated
Malenia and Radahn’s fight caused a lot of damage to Caelid, especially with Malenia giving into the Scarlet Rot and blooming. However, it seemed like the reason for their fight was because the demigods were fighting for power after the Elden Ring was shattered, and there wasn’t a reason to believe it’d be for other reasons with just the base game. Then,Shadow of the Erdtreerevealed the actual reason for their fight: Malenia needed to kill Radahn for Miquella.
It’s not clear if Radahn agreed to the vow with Miquella to become his consort, or if Miquella used his ability to force Radahn to agree. Either way, the vow means that Radahn would die, but his soul would be brought back and placed in an empty body when Miquella ascends.Malenia went to fight Radahn to fulfill the first part of the vow, but she ended up being unable to kill him, instead falling into a coma after blooming.
4Marika’s Hatred Towards The Omen Has A Reason
The Hornsent Were The Zealous, Dominant Culture In The Land Of Shadow
After ascending, Marika labeled the horns considered divine by the Hornsent a product of a curse. Those afflicted would then be labeled Omen, with their horns either being shorn, or the Omen themselves exiled below the capital. When she gave birth to two Omen sons, she sealed them away. Although this seems cold, her actions have a reason behind them, andit turns out that the Hornsent tortured the people of her village.
Before she started a journey to godhood, Marika lived in Shaman Village, which can be found in the Land of Shadow. The people of this village had flesh that mended well with the flesh of others, which made them ideal for the creation of the Hornsent’s Jar Saints. As a result,the Hornsent tortured the people Marika grew up around, and by the time she was able to ascend and acquire the power of the Elden Ring, there was nobody left in her village to receive her blessings.
3The Location Where Empyreans Can Ascend Is Shown
The Gate Of Divinity
The story trailer forShadow of the Erdtreeshows Marika at the Gate of Divinity when she ascends, but the Tarnished then gets to see the gate at the end of the DLC.The Gate of Divinity is the final boss arena, and it’s comprised of two towers that appear to have bodies trying to escape from them.Additionally, there’s a staircase leading up to the towers that also seems to be full of bodies.
From the story trailer, the bodies seem related to the Hornsent that Marika waged war against with the help of Messmer, asthe coloring of the area involves a lot more blood and gore. When the Tarnished arrives, the area looks more like the bodies are now made of or encased in stone. Although the Tarnished sees the Gate of Divinity, its origins or how it works aren’t explained.
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2The Rite Of Divinity Is (Somewhat) Revealed
An Empyrean’s Ascension To Godhood
The exact details of the Rite of Divinity aren’t clear, butMiquella provides a glimpse at some of the requirements. Before heading to the Land of Shadow, he took actions that would result in him having Mohg’s body at the Gate of Divinity and Radahn’s soul ready to be brought back. This makes it seem like ascending requires resurrecting somebody by placing the soul of the deceased into the body of somebody else.
At the same time, this doesn’t seem like the only way to ascend using the Rite of Divinity. Marika’s ascension doesn’t have her return through the gate, but rather grab something within it. Additionally,it’s not clear that she brought a soul back in a new body the way Miquella did, although she did surround herself with plenty of bodies that could’ve been an option due to her slaughter of the Hornsent. This could be the result of Miquella divesting himself of everything before ascending, but it’s not clear if that’s truly the case.
1The Creation Of Jar Saints By The Hornsent
The Reason Is Likely Tied Back To The Crucible
The Hornsent seem to have taken this in the most literal sense, and they tried to find power through the creation of what they seemed to think could mimic the Crucible: blending people together in jars.
The Jar Saints play a big role in Marika’s hatred of the Hornsent.The reason behind why the Hornsent tried to create Jar Saints is likely tied back to the Crucible, which was said to be the primordial form of all life collectively. The Hornsent seem to have taken this in the most literal sense, and they tried to find power through the creation of what they seemed tothink could mimic the Crucible: blending people together in jars.It’s also possible that the Hornsent were trying to find ways to empower their warriors, and this ritual inspired by the Crucible was a possible result.
Regardless of the reason, it’s known that the Hornsent put people together in jars to try and create Jar Saints out of them. Unfortunately for Marika,the flesh of a Shaman was known to blend harmoniously with the flesh of others, which made them a key ingredient for the attempted creation of Jar Saints. It’s easy to see why she took revenge on the Hornsent given what they did to her home and the people she knew.
The lore revelations inElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreesomehow make the twisted past of the Lands Between even more gruesome. However, the additional information is incredibly interesting and ends up changing key beliefs about various characters and their motivations. In the end, the biggest tragedy for the Lands Between is that there’s no sequel or additional DLC planned afterElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
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Players venture into the shadowed realm of the Land of Shadow to confront new biomes, dungeons, and formidable bosses. Guided by the enigmatic Miquella, they face the terrifying Messmer the Impaler and uncover the dark secrets shrouded beneath the Erdtree’s influence, featuring new weapons, magic, and challenges.
