Summary
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreegave a lot of attention to Marika’s past, despite her not being seen in the DLC. In some ways, she becomes more sympathetic, given that her past isn’t a pleasant one, and she suffered a lot of loss throughout her life that likely played a large role in the type of ruler she became. However, many dark deeds from her past that she sealed away with the Land of Shadow also come to light in this DLC, raising questions about her path to godhood and the actions she committed after ascending.
Miquella’s journey to becoming a godmirrors Marika’s in several ways, even if he believes that he’ll be able to rule without repeating the mistakes of his mother. Yet in the process of following his trail, the Tarnished uncovers what Marika tried to hide by sealing away the Land of Shadow, making it difficult to access from the Lands Between. Although her massacre of the Hornsent seems to be the biggest event she’s hiding, there’s a betrayal she committed that tends to be attributed to that massacre, but that might not be the truth of the matter.
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Marika’s Mentioned Betrayal Is Assumed To Be About The Hornsent
Theorizing She Used & Killed Them
A few pieces of information that are gathered throughout the Land of Shadow act as theprimary evidence for the assumption that the party Marika betrayed was the Hornsent. These pieces also make up the theory thatMarika was the Hornsent’s successful Jar Saint, which would give them a reason to trust and follow Marika, setting up the chance for her to betray them and take revenge for Shaman Village later. However, it’s possible that she found ways to ally with the Hornsent without the help of being a Jar Saint, and betrayed them at the Gate of Divinity.
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Marika had a good reason to betray the Hornsent, consideringthey essentially experimented on her people to try creating Jar Saintsas the flesh of a Shaman was known to meld well with the flesh of others. Witnessing this cruelty and trauma would be enough to make her want to take revenge, even if that meant she had to pretend to side with them beforehand to pull off her plan. She could’ve even betrayed her own people first by siding with the Hornsent, and then later, she betrayed the Hornsent. In the end, Marika committing multiple betrayals during her past seems the most likely.
The Mentioned Betrayal Could Be Marika Sealing Messmer Away
She Abandoned Him For His Safety
Marika’s actions against the Hornsent get a lot of attention, along with the events that happened to her people, in terms of whether she played a role in their torment by allying with the Hornsent for godhood or not. However, they would be far from the only factions — or individual people — that she’s betrayed before or after becoming a god. When it comes to Messmer,Marika betraying him would be more painful and personal, and it would be fitting to reference in theShadow of the Erdtreestory trailer, with the emphasis on Messmer in the promo materials, even if it’s mentioned when he isn’t directly on the screen.
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From the information the Tarnished comes across, it seems likeMessmer the Impalerwas her first child, and it’s clear thatshe cared about him a great deal. There are remnants of a powerful medicine she made to help his ailment, and she evenremoved one of his eyes to seal the serpent within himusing her Grace. As a result, Marika making the decision to seal him in the Land of Shadow, effectively cutting contact with him, would feel like a huge betrayal after he received so much love from her. Then, the wound is deepened when he finds a Tarnished bereft of Grace has become the new Elden Lord.
The lore ofElden Ringis complicated, andShadow of the Erdtree, in many ways, adds to that complication by forcing the Tarnished to reconsider information that seemed to be factual, but may not have been presented in an entirely truthful way. After Marika’s revenge on the Hornsent and ascension, she was able to write history the way she wanted it to be, hiding any deeds she didn’t want attributed to her. As a result, even the question of which betrayal is referenced in the DLC isn’t as clear as expected with how information can be hidden and subtly twisted inElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
