I always thought that it is heavily implied that Fia had sex with her champions and the corpses, in general she is a very promiscuous figure although loyal to her beliefs. The "hug" that she gives us in the game is kinda like an allegory, she was most likely forced to pursue the companion role against her will for the majority of her life
I'm glad you brought this up. It's something that I didn't get around to further explaining. Yes, I agree. It is implied that Fia slept with her champions and nobles. 1. Rogier - She mentions that Rogier talks about the knife prints when 'abed.' This implies some post-intercourse discussion, as one does. 2. Lionel - You find his armour and Fia's dress on a bed. This seems to suggest that they disrobed and had intercourse. What's more interesting is that Lionel claimed to be Fia's father. Scandalous. 3. Godwyn - Fia 'gestates' the rune. She 'lays' with Godwyn's corpse and is impregnated. Now I personally believe this is not because she wants to, or likes being promiscuous. I think having skin-to-skin contact is a more efficient way of transfering the vigour from a champion to Fia, and from Fia to the noble. Therefore, it is achieving her goal in the quickest method. We are able to give her some of our vigour, because we are touching whilst hugging. In theory, we should also be able to do so by sleeping with Fia. Obviously if this was a function, it would be a completely different game. But also, the poetic and symbolic meaning would be lost and Fia would only be viewed for that purpose. She is more than just that. But she is also aware of it, that’s why she says “Do you think it vulgar?” She knows the connotations but still views it as sacred. But yes, you are right. The hug can be seen as an allegory for intercourse :)
@@miss_chalice also, it might not even be actually more effective. Those nobles had power over her. They could easily force her into doing it, or else.
In the case of her laying with Godwyn, due to the massive and bizarre form Godwyn is in while she lays next to him, I imagine the conception of the rune is performed in a metaphysical sense through the deathbed dream, or is able to be done through the mere skin-on-skin contact of her sleeping while slouched against Godwyn.
If no one mentioned this, it was more likely that the weathered dagger was Devins. It was said Devin, Darian's brother had seen the corpse of Godwyn. Darian does like us quite a bit and likely woulda said "oh, u found my dagger." But instead he said he knows who's it is. I'd imagine there was a time where Darian was the "lesser" brother, and Devin was the greater until his traumatization at realization of death being yk...a thing in the world now, and having seen the prince of death.
The dagger's description mentions the black withering on it. Devin used the dagger to cut the half wheelmark, the Mark of the Centipede, from Godwyn's flesh. That's why Fia says the first half was recovered from Roundtable Hold. She kills Darian with Deathblight and takes Godwyn's half of the mark back. That's why she also points you toward Rogier's quest. He's searching for the key that will lead to the other half, and thus to her being able to birth her mending rune, allowing Those Who Live In Death into the new order.
It's weird, because we never hear the perspective of those who live in death. The golden order claims that they are constantly suffering and only a proper death will give them peace, Fia instead, says that they need to be loved and accepted as part of the new order. When we meet them they attack us, but is it out of fear of persecution or are they really just mindless zombies? Regardless, this was the ending i first went with, i wanted to believe that Fia was right, but something about it never quite sat right with me.
You bring up some interesting points! I agree, I think it's interesting that Fia acts on behalf of the Those Who Live in Death (TWLID). BUT also Godwyn! Does Godwyn consent? Does he want to be rebirthed, in some fashion? I viewed it through the lense that they did. But if you start to consider if from a different angle, it can paint Fia as the villain. Keeping TWLID alive, not leaving them to rest could be a torturous fate. Very thought-provoking stuff! Thanks for your comment :)
Godwyn... Is a body, I doubt Godwyn can consent to anything. Not that he'd need to, because Godwyn is for all intents and purposes an object. But the rest of TWLID... I am not sure. They have basic intelligence for sure. Sentience is debatable. It's really hard to tell when they are skeleton enemies in Dark Souls. Were they in a game with AI more focused on non interactions with the player character, we might have been able to study their behaviours, but with what we are given, it's a hard bargain to draw conclusions.
If they suffer the same fate as Godwyn, they don't have a soul, there's no perspective from them because they aren't beings. They are just moving corpses.
The first time I hugged Fia was at the exact moment the music in round table hold swelled, it sent melancholy goose bumps through my body and I still don’t think I’ve recovered. A beautifully weird anomaly to find in a souls game.
One thing I would add is that when Fia is resting beside Godwyn's corpse waiting for you to bring her the second part of the rune of death, if you attack her she says: "Godwyn... Is that you, dear?" Then several skulls are launched from the body of Godwyn directly above Fia and aim at the player. It's not really dangerous and it's easily dodged. But this does have some VERY disturbing implications: -This means that Fia can communicate directly with Godywn to some degree. Or Godwyn can communicate with her and therefore potentially others. -Godwyn is sentient, aware and can interact with the living world, even to a violent degree. -Godwyn likes/approves of Fia, since he tries to protect her. -Godwyn is corrupting and spreading his will through the Erdtree/lands between on purpose. He probably has a plan/goal. -Since he is aware of Fia/his corpses surroundings, it's possible this extends to all parts of himself (His corruption through the Erdtree roots) meaning he might be somewhat omnipresent. If that's all correct, Godywn is terrifying.
The big issue is that Godwyn is only half dead in the worst possible way. Ranni got the easy end of things with her body dying (no biggy she's basically the most powerful witch at the time of Elden Ring since Rennala's prime is long past) with her magic/overall power allowing her to posses the dolls she takes the form of Godwyn's soul - what made him Godwyn, his personality and sense of morality - is gone forever. What's left behind is the body of a demigod that's literally *gone hollow*. His burial at the base of the erdtree was BIG oopsy as all the deathroot and eye-trees and crabs with his face on the back are his doing. He is the first undead - a being held aloft by nothing but his own body. HE'S BASICALLY NITO BUT AT LEAST NITO HAS A SOUL
The Lichdragon Fortissax boss fight is cool and all, but I feel cheated out of a monster Godwyn boss fight. How do you design this amazing abomination, plunk it down at the end of this massive optional area, and not make it the final boss of her quest line?
Fia, the only NPC who provides us all with the one thing we all require: to be held. Also a special shoutout to Fortissax the Loyal, who stayed with his friend till the end.
That was a very interesting take, especially the part that Fia could be a dragon in disguise. This brings up some interesting questions. 1. What's Fia's relationship with Destined Death and Farum Azula? Is Farum Azula the land she was driven out from? In Farum Azula we find the Wormface, who cursed you with death. The Dragons are in Farum Azula This is where Maliketh is found, protecting the remaining part of the rune of death. 🤔🤔
@sabineschmidt762 their endings are the only good parts about the final acts, some of the only games i think have satisfying endings are fromsoft games, but they all have the same similar feeling towards the end i know other rpgs do it like act 3 in bg3 isnt as good as 1 n 2 but its still a lot more fleshed out and wasnt as rushed as say, farum azula or the bed of chaos
@@grantpowers663 Really the only distinct endings here are the bloodborne great old one ending and the lord of hollows ending in ds3 because they actually require you to follow an additional path, infact elden rings palette swap endings require far more different circumstances throughout the game then any other fromsoft ending. And yes, i'm comparing farum azula to the bed of chaos. Maybe it feels weird teleporting for seemingly no reason from what was one big interconnected area to an atomized area seperate completely on its own, with the lowest enemy variety in the entire game - beastmen, banished knights we've been fighting the entire game, and a Lansseax clone. Truly pushing the envelope
@@chrispysaid A lot of people speculate Marika(Freya) shattered the Elden Ring because Godwyn(Baldur) was murdered in the NOTBK which caused the Shattering(Ragnarok). Ranni would’ve been Loki in this parallel.
@@chrispysaid Baldur was the beloved golden boy of the Norse Pantheon, Godwyn is literally "the Golden." Baldur was invulnerable to everything except mistletoe due to the head goddess Freya, Godwyn like all other demigods was thought to be completely immortal. Baldur was killed by a betrayal from fellow divine figure Loki using mistletoe, the only weapon that could harm him, Godwyn was killed by a betrayal from fellow demigod Ranni using the Black Knives, the only weapon known to kill demigods. Baldur's death is the first in the chain that results in Ragnarok, Godwyn's death triggers the Shattering. Baldur is said to eventually resurrect as the new god, Godwyn is mutated as the Prince of Death who can through the Tarnished become the dominant power. It's frankly more impressive that you think they don't have much in common when what little we know of Baldur maps fairly simply onto Godwyn.
It is an interesting idea that Rogier jn the Hold is a spirit, though I am suspecting he might be some kind of inbetween of Those Who Live in Death and actually dead, as he does have a bloodstain at the bottom of Stormveil where we see Rogier getting killed by deathblight, yet here he is in the Hold. So either he is indeed in this “deathspirit” form or deathblight itself doesn’t necessarily mean death as a regular death, but rather as death to join Those Who Live in Death, or maybe if you experience deathblight enough it takes you, kind of like the hollowing from the Souls games. Very curious.
Not shitting on your comment, jus have a genuine question. How do we know it is supposed to be Rogier? And not just a player wearing his outfit? Like is it labeled as Rogier?
@@collinsims2413 There are a few things. First is that that is the only single bloodstain that appears there when you're offline, meaning you can't see any player bloodstains at all, just the developer placed ones. Second the bloodstain is specifically a death animation of a player model dying from Deathblight and that area does not have any enemies or effects that cause Deathblight buildup. Third is Rogier's dialogue option "progresses" only once you interact with the bloodstain, indicating that you "found" the face below the castle, which will trigger his dialogue to discuss it. Hope that clears it up!
@@Lexsed ahh, didnt even think about seeing the bloodstain while offline, or the dialogue progression, and i never actually went down there so i wasnt aware there werent any basilisk or wormface down there. Thanks for the clarification.
Amazing video! I was actually very sympathetic to Fia. It was actually the ending I chose in my first playthrough. To think that she may be Fortissax in human form, is a great theory. I always wondered why we enter her dream and find a dragon. Keep up the great work!
You do realize her ending is just like Dung Eater's right ? The only difference is that instead of everyone being Omens everyone will be undead instead
This video couldn't have come at a better time, I just finished my 2nd playthru with her ending! I had...always wondered if her intentions were selfish or selfless...but after watching this I definitely feel it was more of the latter. Thank you for making this lore video and for the other ones you've made so far!! They really help open my eyes to the inner workings of the story. ^-^
IMHO, this is the best presentation on Fia. You covered everything I knew plus a lot more! The theory on Fortissax being Fia is really compelling. I agreenwith you that Fia's ending might be one of the most moral. Great work. 👍
I would love to see a Lady Maria (Bloodborne, The Old Hunters) loreplay in the future! Considering your username has chalice in it and the chalice dungeons Bloodborne is well known for, I think expanding into Bloodborne lore would be very fitting. I suggest Maria now because she has a profoundly sympathetic background, which seems to be your area of greatest interest! Excellent content all around; excited to see an up-and-coming lore creator with such evident passion as your cosplays.
This is the 2nd of your videos I've watched, Miss Chalice, and I feel compelled to say: You are absolutely delightful. A breath of fresh air for the platform. I'd like to highlight my favorite aspects of your work: - Looking different and interesting every time is such a fun thing for us as viewers - Your vocal tone is excellent, soft and clear - Your narration is very well written - Your lore is consistently thorough and I'm thus far always surprised by things I hadn't known already I am subbing, and excited to see you succeed if you keep this up.
I absolutely love how Elden Ring follows Norse Mythology point for point. It's so amazing to have my Heritage represented in such an accurate and respectful manner while also having a completely original story.
Thanks for keeping the content coming! Your cosplays are always so entertaining and well done, and your voice is smooth as silk. Love hearing your insight into the lore of the game. Please, keep these videos coming!
Death being the actual end IS the most moral ending, the golden order even as gold mask envisioned still used people as plant food for the Miranda flowers, which goes completely against the idea of the greattree rebirth, so continuing the stagnation is still bad Skeleton rights ending best ending
I believe the dagger given by Fia is actually D's brothers (Devin also known as D) Which is why he recognizes it and says he will return it to it's owner, You're given a note by Rogier after he dies that D has a brother and he's in the aqueducts after having fought 'The Prince Of Death' which is the 'undead' Godwyn. This explains why the sword/dagger is damaged and cursed by death. You can talk to D's brother and give him D's armour at some part before defeating Fortissax. When you reload the area after defeating Fortissax he will be standing over Fia's body in D's armour then if you reload the area again you can get D's armour (Again) and also the Twinsword known as the Inseparable Sword. Looking at the description of D's Armour you will find that the two D brothers were 'inseparable' because they share a soul, two minds, two bodies, one soul. After avenging his brothers death Devin states he wishes to be taken so he can be with his brother. I don't believe Fia is Fortissax as it is said that because the soul of Godwyn lived on he couldn't truely die and became the prince of death many tried to put him to rest including Fortissax with no success and was corrupted by the prince of death becoming a Lichdragon. "He" Is also reffered to as "the Mightiest Boulderstone, and the brother of Lansseax" at some point. So the reason he is in the dream is because he tried to put Godwyn to rest.
Fia being Fortissax is a cool potentiality. And by the immediate events, they practically tell vanquishing Fortissax and Fia's death afterwards is connected.
The lichdragon is one of my favourite bosses in the game. On a slightly unrelated note, I saw a theory somewhere noticing how the texture of malikeths black blade, is similar to the skin of fortissax, that Being black with speckles/dustings of gold.
Just here to say that this is beautiful content, and thank you for your work. I look forward to what you’ll do when the DLC comes out. Glad I found this channel. ✊🏿
Oh miss chalice I have been missing your elden ring lore videos very much! So glad you graced us with another excellent exploration/examination of the ever mysterious world that is elden ring! Thank you!! And love your outfits by the way! Wishing you the best!! :)
fia is my favorite character and too many people hate her or write her off as evil - i never understood it, her narrative always seemed so clearly to be about choice and standing up for those who had none; the ritual-sexual aspects of her character felt like a believable kind of death rite in the world, never something she chose or something based around deceit or trickery. (not to mention that she explains in her first dialogue the nature of what she does re: taking a little vigor in exchange for the ability to ignore pain (poise); in terms of gameplay mechanics, it all translates perfectly within the lore.) thank you for such a beautiful and well-explained analysis of this character!
I really enjoyed this. I felt the story leaned this way myself though not as in-depth as this. It nice to get the details I missed and put the whole story together.
I must say I do enjoy the contrast between these well-thought-out, sophisticated long form asmr type videos and the lude memes on instagram and stuff, embracing all facets of human life, or something
With the duskborn ending I thought that death would be restored again in the Elden Ring. Tarnished cannot die, they get ressurected again and again. There is no death in the lands between. So if we restore death in the Elden RIng, then people can die again.
This is the first video I've seen from you and it's so well done! I love the way you've gone about the narrative and explained it. Keep up the amazing work!
That was an excellent video. It was very informative. I finished Dark Souls 3 a month before finishing Elden Ring with different endings, including the one from your video and I did notice a similarity between that Elden Ring ending and the Third Dark Souls 3 : The Usurpation of Fire, You know that ending where you had to go perform a wedding ceremony with Anri male or Anri female ( depending on the gamer's gender ) and you become the new Ruler and Lord of Hollows( The Undead) in Londor where the Undead can roam free. Gotta love FromSoftware's references to their previous games.
I kept struggling in this video, between paying full attention to the lore and exciting theories, and falling asleep to your soft voice. Great video, great cosplay, great (even if not intentional) asmr, please keep posting!
this was a really interesting video! also i saw in the pinned comment that she was likely forced into it which isn't true at all. she says it was a sacred act so she likely held a priestess role. she was driven out because she saw grace but continued to practice her belief. Fia being fortissax I'm not so sure on either, she likely would have the same dragon eyes the player can get. forti fought against the death within their companion only to be corrupted, i doubt they would just except it now... unless Fia is the result of the death blight corruption! the forti we fight is the last remnants of their fighting will!! which kinda makes me not want to do the duskborn ending just out of respect. also since Godwyns soul is dead and only his body remains, growing like a cancer, what exactly would he be reborn into and would it really be Godwyn? also for naming conventions (we've seen that beings can have different versions of them selves like marika and radagon) -sax seems to be male (dragonlord placidusax) and -seax seems to be female (lansseax). also on an unrelated note if you now live in death you cant really move on, its an undead blessing or ... curse... OH GOD WE'RE ALL GOING TO GO HOLLOW!
Thank you so much for coming over to my channel!! I'm really pleased you enjoy my theory machinations haha thanks again and I hope you enjoy your stay here :)
My first playthrough ended with the duskborn ending. I like Fia and despise totalitarian power structures like the golden order, so it was a no-brainer. Also, it seemed to me like bringing back the rune of death would allow those who live in death to actually die properly, instead of shambling about, getting stabbed or worse. I was a bit disappointed with the ending being such a terse monologue. I'd hoped for something like the Radahn cutscene, where I'd see the undead peacefully slump over and the graces go out.
I can;t remember where i heard this but hear goes. Lanseaxx being a good friend to Godwyn tried to save his soul in the dream but got overtaken by death blight. As a final service to Godwyn we put her down and Fia is able to finish what she needed to do as supposed here. The thing that gets me is once you get the mending rune Fia isnt breathing anymore, so when D's brother shows up to kill her and "fulfill his duty" dude didnt notice she was already dead....
I didn’t realise Goldwyn created “those that live in death” I thought they existed because marika had the gloam eyes queen defeated and her powers stolen, since the Gloam eyed Queen was the goddess of death and without her people only had two choices to “live in death” or to join the elden tree at its roots when they couldn’t stand to age any further
In the southern part of Summonwater town in Limgrave, you can find two skeletons actually having a conversation. I guess this might suggest that Those who live in death might be self-aware? Some of them at least.
And I JUST, did the Age Of Duskborn ending!!! It's definitely become my new favorite ending after rereading through the lines!!! Love the cosplay btw ❤ Your voice is so calming and relaxing it helps me sleep 🥰
You do realize her ending is just like Dung Eater's right ? The only difference is that instead of everyone being Omens everyone will be undead instead
@@amai-w8f Not true 1.) You get the rune from Fia by literally hugging her, whereas you have to literally violate the Dung Eater with a magical STD not once or even twice, but 5 freaking times until his corpse produces it. 2.) Dung Eater is also a madman with no reason behind what he does, he turns people into monsters while Fia has good intent and logic in her motives. She wants to help Godwyn who we all can agree is a good dude we *want* to help if we can. 3.) Fia's ending simply restores the natural cycle of life and death it has nothing to do nor does it say anything about her ending turning everyone into an undead, it mainly says Those Who Live In Death are accepted among the living.
@@thewhitespectre 1) & 20 are moot points, all i meant is the ending goal not how the questline happens. 3) Destined death is already returned back to the lands between when you kill Maliketh, as it is unbound from him/the sword. this means people can truly die again but doesn't replace the Golden Order and all the nonsense with rebirth the Erdtree can do. The Mending Rune of the Death-Prince used to repair the Elden Ring lets you create a new Order with life and death at its roots as Elden Lord and this cuts the Erdtree out of the picture when it comes to life and death and removes the possibility of Rebirth. What that means to Fia that instead of being born anew you simply keep on living after you die, she wants a world where everyone is just like Godwyn and her "bringing him back to life" is simply making it okay for him to be the way he is, nothing changes. It's called the Age of the DUSKBORN for a reason, as in you start to "live" when you die.
The ones glaring issue with her vision is that Godwyn no longer exists. His spirit was destroyed. It's not resting anywhere because it no longer exists. That's the whole duality of his killing; his soul/spirit dies and Ranni's body dies. His body remains and her spirit remains. The issue is that with his soul gone his husk carries nothing but his physical likeness. That is, if ones personality is entirely stored in the soul in Elden Ring. If so then should he be revived his body would have no recollection of who or what he is. It would have no memory or personality-a blank slate. And even if theoretically one could bring Ranni's corpse back to the living, the same is not possible for a spirit that has been destroyed as that means it has been permanently erased from existance altogether (as far as I understand).
"It must have a special place in that person's heart." - lol, when I saw she killed D. I was like, "oooooh, She was talking about shoving it into someone's heart!"
When you read the description of Lionel's armor it reveals that he declared himself Fia's father, which sadly puts a dent in the Fortisax theory (I loved it tho...) and it also changed the meaning of the deathbed dress next to his armor set, which I think was Fia's mother, and that means Fia was raised in and chased from the capital when she was awoken by grace. Considering that Godwyn is buried beneath the capital, and that she was chosen to bring him back, also supports that she belonged to Leyndell. Also I love your videos and loreplaying so so much I'm just being pedantic af
My first playthrough was as a Faith/Strength holy paladin type. The second I met D I knew I'd do whatever I could to complete his quest and hopefully get his sword and armor. Questlines in these games being as convoluted as they are, I of course followed a guide. I found it rather frustrating from an RP perspective that I would have to side with Fia at the end to get the armor and sword. I definitely agree that she is the more righteous character and the Hunters are bad guys, but for RP's sake I wanted to help the D's. Also they have the coolest voice. As cruel as it is, Devin's speech after the Fortisax fight is awesome.
I feel as though this cursemark ending is a step short of the age of stars ending. I wonder if infecting the golden order itself with death blight causes its ability to sustain perpetual life to falter and eventually fail so that people can actually die one day. With the age of stars ending, I wonder if the result is the same but it doesn’t force everyone to be infected with the blight. I would rank the endings as follows from most chaotic to least. Frenzied flame, blessing of despair, age of the duskborn, golden order (standard) ending, age of stars, and age of order.
If fia is fortisax that actually makes a ton of sense, it even aligns with the games theme of deception, nearly all of the games plot threads involve some sort of deception things appearing holy or grand on the surface yet festering and rotten within accept the dung eater he’s pretty honest about his intentions.
19:25 I love this as a concept and I think there is a lot of potential with dragons posing as humans but I thought it was fairly clear that Fia is a tarnished.
Yo, what a vid. Just stumbled upon this channel (praise be the algorithm) and honestly, the amount of thought you put into your vid(s) is staggering. Although some people obviously already pointed out certain things that could be interpreted differently from other angles. What gets me though is how weird the whole concept of "living in death" is. From what we know, nothing in the Lands Between CAN actually die as of the game's time - since the Rune of Death is bound up until the very end of the game. That Rune is what allowed Ranni to get herself and Godwyn killed. I take it to mean that (for gameplay purposes or not) this means none of the characters who die in the game can actually stay dead properly. From that I assume living in death means that the undead just exist as shambling corpses with no soul attached to themselves? Or is it the various states of decay that mark those Living in Death? All that I know it CAN'T be is that the body is dead and the soul is off doing its own thing. That's what Ranni did to herself, and her body is still very cozy locked away in death. Then again, that might also be due to her body having the rune inscribed still. Is it maybe any combination of spiritual and physical death that leads to "living in death"? Also, why does Fia count herself among them?
Here's how I saw Fia as I played: As you allude to, it sounds like Fia at first was forced to use her station as Deathbed Companion for people who didn't deserve such a gift. It was a means to retain power. She came to the Lands Between in order to use her abilities as SHE deems fit, to give her gift to those who earn it. She also wants to remove the pain and suffering of an endless existence. One thing that some people don't factor into immortality is, after so long, there just isn't much reason to continue with life. All good things, even a happy fulfilling life, must come to an end, but this doesn't happen in the Lands Between as Marika has changed that. With the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince forged from the two halves of the Cursemark of Death and Fia's reserved energies (a chunk of which coming from you), you are able to repair the Elden Ring with the added effect of giving true mortality to the people. No longer are they trapped in an endless cycle of suffering and pain. As Fia's abilities soothed the pain of death, so too does she alleviate the suffering of a prolonged existence when such life outstays its welcome. The people will live, finding meaning in the trials and tribulations of that life, and eventually die, as they should. You've returned the proper cycle of humanity, the Yin-Yang balance you described.
Naw, she’s making everyone that dies into zombies and skeletons and making it the ‘natural order’. If a zombie plague seems like a good thing, Fia’s ending is decidedly bad. People just empathize with Fia and want her to be good.
You do realize her ending is just like Dung Eater's right ? The only difference is that instead of everyone being Omens everyone will be undead instead
omg we have to be friends somehow because I want to talk to you about normal things like fixing a leaky pipe, and hear you respond with 20 minutes of plumbing lore in this exact same tone. Maybe even in cosplay. You would be an immediate S-tier friend.
That actually explains how she disappeared from the round table without using the grace, only ones that disappear like that are the dragons, particularly the ancients and the one guarding Ranni. Are there ANY, other characters that disappear entirely without being dead by drifting up like that? The black knives don't leave but just get out of visual range when they do it.
i beat the game, including every single boss, without noticing the status effect she gives you. i hugged her like 20 times just see if anything interesting happened lol
Thank you. I like the moral gray area that it is being a Tarnished. Are we good are we bad ? Perhaps the greatest achievement a game can claim is the pondering of one's own life.
Vaati theorized/stated that those who live in death purposeful chose not to go back to Erdtree and basically be reborn in endless cycles, but to stay and thus be, quite literally, those who live in death. they died but refused and they still live. while being dead. And that clashes very very hard for your main point: that undead are victims in need of protection. Beings that never chose their fate, victims of circumstances. I wonder if there is some piece of definitive lore or as usual we only have foggy passages that can be seen either this or that way
Considering Fia's panties were an unused item in the game I suppose it was probably considered that the player would be implied doing a lot more than just hugging, but FromSoftware probably figured that would be a bit much even if they did it via fading to black.
I have to say that I love this video so much. The way you weave the convoluted story of this character in an easy-to-understand, but at the same time, exciting narrative was terrific. That said, I can't entirely agree with your interpretation of her story on several points. Being a fromsoft game, it is unlikely that two people will have the same views over anything lore-wise. So please don't take this as a harsh criticism, but just a different interpretation of one of my favorite characters in Elden Ring: - I think Baldachin's Blessing is given only when Fia saps life energy from you. This will have two uses. First, if you are strong enough, this will give you the incentive to be sapped. Second, if you are dying, this could be seen as a mercy kill, and the blessing could take away your pain in the process. - I don't think those who live within death only appear with the death of Godwyn. Before the eldtree, other beings (outer gods perhaps?) were related to life in death. The Death Bird, for example, as seen in the Death Ritual Spear (The priests became guardians of the birds through the rite of Death, which also serves as an oath sworn to their distant resurrection) or the Regal Ancestor Spirit as seen in Ancestral Spirit's Horn(A number of new growths bud from the antler-like horns of the fallen king, each glowing with light. Thus does new life grow from death, and from death, one obtains power). My point is that deathroot is not the original source of life within death, but just the biggest one in recent times. - I don't think their champions are living within death. The way they act reminds me more of spirit ashes than anything else. And I think they are just that, spirits being summoned not through ashes but by a similar process, a deathbed companion technique that we can't learn. - I don't think Fortissax is trying to protect Godwyn from Fia. Fortissax was trying to fight the corruption within his friend, to give him a true death or to save him. I think this because we saw a finger-reading saying, "Poor Golden Prince, why couldn't you have a true death?." This is probably what most of the Golden Order thought, and the dragons were aligned with the Golden Order. At the point of Fia's arrival, Fortissax is just crazy and corrupted himself, so he just attacks everything on sight. - I don't believe that Fia is Fortissax due to translation into other languages. At least the argument where you said it is not said to be a male anywhere. In Spanish, it stays as a male dragon. Maybe this is just a translation oversight. - Related to symbology, I love the comparison of the Mending Rune and the Yin-Yang. But I would like to add the Fia similarities to the "Whore of Babylon". From reddit user u/Depressed_Tapeworm: "Fia is imo one big Whore of Babylon reference. The Whore of Babylon is described as a woman sitting atop a blasphemous beast (reference to Godwyn potentially) and described as the 'mother of Earth's abominations' which is pretty much what those who live in death are considered to be by the Golden Order and Fia has explicitly stated that she wants to be a mother to those who live in death. She seduces you and others into following this same route. Babylon itself is often used as metaphor for a world that's strayed from God's path and seduces those who live in it towards a blasphemous one, which is pretty apt for Fia and imo her world post-ending compared to the Golden Order's ideals. It's loose, but Elden Ring's not been shy about making some religious references like Rykard's entire blasphemous imagery and everything related to him and Mohg's very on-the-nose satanic imagery." - I think the ending has more impact than just accepting those who live within death in society. Fia considers those who live within death weak and deserve protection and help. Clearly, she wants to revive Godwyn, which means that she doesn't consider a body without a soul to be truly alive, or at least, alive in the best possible way. So I think the Mending Rune of Death "it will embed the principle of life within Death into Order" means something more. It means that life within death will be the new standard for a deceased soul, but they won't turn into the zombie-like enemies we meet in the game. The Duskborn will be something different, something new to the lands between. I would love to hear your opinion on these points, and again, even with all the points I disagree with, I genuinely love your video!
Just got her ending last night, and I'm glad I chose it as the one that unlocks the achievement because I was definitely sold on her intent. There's other stuff in the game that describes behaviors of undead, guarding and warding off intruders in tombs that'd otherwise be a goldmine for looters and grave robbers (like the Tarnished lol). Things that show that these are still just people, despite their rotted outer appearance. But the most blatant showing of how the Golden Order fundamentalists are a bunch of crazed animals is when Devin gets Darian's armor and takes revenge on Fia. It's not just about getting vengeance on his brother's killer. He degrades her and the undead. Calls her a whore. He curses her very being, even mocks Godwyn while he's laughing maniacally over Fia's body. It wasn't some pursuit of justice, it's just proving that Fia was right all along. Even though I was curious about the default Elden Lord ending and I got Goldmask's rune as well, I couldn't not do right by Fia. I just had to get her ending after that scene.
I played this entire quest and got the duskborn ending and never knew any of this. Now watching this video im like " oh my god that was what was happening "
I can't help but wonder what the repercussions of restoring death in The Lands Between would be. Since Marika removed the rune, how many centuries have passed? It's not clear, but It's plainly obvious it's been a very, very long time. So, does that mean once death is returned to the ring and the lands, does everyone drop dead from centuries of madness and decay?
Interesting theories on what ending the game with Fia's rune would be. I was under the impression that it was the centipede on both sides meaning that anyone that dies is will become undead.
I always thought that it is heavily implied that Fia had sex with her champions and the corpses, in general she is a very promiscuous figure although loyal to her beliefs. The "hug" that she gives us in the game is kinda like an allegory, she was most likely forced to pursue the companion role against her will for the majority of her life
I'm glad you brought this up. It's something that I didn't get around to further explaining. Yes, I agree. It is implied that Fia slept with her champions and nobles.
1. Rogier - She mentions that Rogier talks about the knife prints when 'abed.' This implies some post-intercourse discussion, as one does.
2. Lionel - You find his armour and Fia's dress on a bed. This seems to suggest that they disrobed and had intercourse. What's more interesting is that Lionel claimed to be Fia's father. Scandalous.
3. Godwyn - Fia 'gestates' the rune. She 'lays' with Godwyn's corpse and is impregnated.
Now I personally believe this is not because she wants to, or likes being promiscuous. I think having skin-to-skin contact is a more efficient way of transfering the vigour from a champion to Fia, and from Fia to the noble. Therefore, it is achieving her goal in the quickest method.
We are able to give her some of our vigour, because we are touching whilst hugging. In theory, we should also be able to do so by sleeping with Fia. Obviously if this was a function, it would be a completely different game. But also, the poetic and symbolic meaning would be lost and Fia would only be viewed for that purpose. She is more than just that. But she is also aware of it, that’s why she says “Do you think it vulgar?” She knows the connotations but still views it as sacred.
But yes, you are right. The hug can be seen as an allegory for intercourse :)
@@miss_chalice also, it might not even be actually more effective. Those nobles had power over her. They could easily force her into doing it, or else.
@@miss_chalice I perfectly agree with you, fia deserves a dignity that society took from her, she fought for it through the entire game
In the case of her laying with Godwyn, due to the massive and bizarre form Godwyn is in while she lays next to him, I imagine the conception of the rune is performed in a metaphysical sense through the deathbed dream, or is able to be done through the mere skin-on-skin contact of her sleeping while slouched against Godwyn.
Lifeforce is expended during sex anyways. The whole idea of "essence"
I am, canonically, Fia's Little PogChamp.
I hate this
@@camh4659 As much as I hate it, It got a snicker out of me lol
@@camh4659Come on Man
If no one mentioned this, it was more likely that the weathered dagger was Devins. It was said Devin, Darian's brother had seen the corpse of Godwyn. Darian does like us quite a bit and likely woulda said "oh, u found my dagger." But instead he said he knows who's it is. I'd imagine there was a time where Darian was the "lesser" brother, and Devin was the greater until his traumatization at realization of death being yk...a thing in the world now, and having seen the prince of death.
The dagger's description mentions the black withering on it. Devin used the dagger to cut the half wheelmark, the Mark of the Centipede, from Godwyn's flesh. That's why Fia says the first half was recovered from Roundtable Hold. She kills Darian with Deathblight and takes Godwyn's half of the mark back. That's why she also points you toward Rogier's quest. He's searching for the key that will lead to the other half, and thus to her being able to birth her mending rune, allowing Those Who Live In Death into the new order.
It's weird, because we never hear the perspective of those who live in death. The golden order claims that they are constantly suffering and only a proper death will give them peace, Fia instead, says that they need to be loved and accepted as part of the new order. When we meet them they attack us, but is it out of fear of persecution or are they really just mindless zombies? Regardless, this was the ending i first went with, i wanted to believe that Fia was right, but something about it never quite sat right with me.
You bring up some interesting points! I agree, I think it's interesting that Fia acts on behalf of the Those Who Live in Death (TWLID). BUT also Godwyn! Does Godwyn consent? Does he want to be rebirthed, in some fashion? I viewed it through the lense that they did. But if you start to consider if from a different angle, it can paint Fia as the villain. Keeping TWLID alive, not leaving them to rest could be a torturous fate.
Very thought-provoking stuff! Thanks for your comment :)
Godwyn... Is a body, I doubt Godwyn can consent to anything. Not that he'd need to, because Godwyn is for all intents and purposes an object. But the rest of TWLID... I am not sure. They have basic intelligence for sure. Sentience is debatable. It's really hard to tell when they are skeleton enemies in Dark Souls. Were they in a game with AI more focused on non interactions with the player character, we might have been able to study their behaviours, but with what we are given, it's a hard bargain to draw conclusions.
@@goncalocarneiro3043 strangely the only time ve ever talked with sutch a charakter was in DS2 with the pale guardian guy that despises light
If they suffer the same fate as Godwyn, they don't have a soul, there's no perspective from them because they aren't beings. They are just moving corpses.
Agreed. Life in death would be eternal, and as such no different from Marika's flawed order where no one is allowed to die.
The first time I hugged Fia was at the exact moment the music in round table hold swelled, it sent melancholy goose bumps through my body and I still don’t think I’ve recovered.
A beautifully weird anomaly to find in a souls game.
One thing I would add is that when Fia is resting beside Godwyn's corpse waiting for you to bring her the second part of the rune of death, if you attack her she says:
"Godwyn... Is that you, dear?"
Then several skulls are launched from the body of Godwyn directly above Fia and aim at the player. It's not really dangerous and it's easily dodged. But this does have some VERY disturbing implications:
-This means that Fia can communicate directly with Godywn to some degree. Or Godwyn can communicate with her and therefore potentially others.
-Godwyn is sentient, aware and can interact with the living world, even to a violent degree.
-Godwyn likes/approves of Fia, since he tries to protect her.
-Godwyn is corrupting and spreading his will through the Erdtree/lands between on purpose. He probably has a plan/goal.
-Since he is aware of Fia/his corpses surroundings, it's possible this extends to all parts of himself (His corruption through the Erdtree roots) meaning he might be somewhat omnipresent.
If that's all correct, Godywn is terrifying.
The big issue is that Godwyn is only half dead in the worst possible way.
Ranni got the easy end of things with her body dying (no biggy she's basically the most powerful witch at the time of Elden Ring since Rennala's prime is long past) with her magic/overall power allowing her to posses the dolls she takes the form of
Godwyn's soul - what made him Godwyn, his personality and sense of morality - is gone forever. What's left behind is the body of a demigod that's literally *gone hollow*. His burial at the base of the erdtree was BIG oopsy as all the deathroot and eye-trees and crabs with his face on the back are his doing. He is the first undead - a being held aloft by nothing but his own body. HE'S BASICALLY NITO BUT AT LEAST NITO HAS A SOUL
The Lichdragon Fortissax boss fight is cool and all, but I feel cheated out of a monster Godwyn boss fight. How do you design this amazing abomination, plunk it down at the end of this massive optional area, and not make it the final boss of her quest line?
Doesn't it also imply that she associates being attacked/hurt with Godwyn? She thought we were him...meaning it's not the first time he has hurt her.
Godwyns plan is not a goal! He was forced to die and now painfully live !
@@miomio6890 um no
Fia, the only NPC who provides us all with the one thing we all require: to be held.
Also a special shoutout to Fortissax the Loyal, who stayed with his friend till the end.
That was a very interesting take, especially the part that Fia could be a dragon in disguise. This brings up some interesting questions.
1. What's Fia's relationship with Destined Death and Farum Azula?
Is Farum Azula the land she was driven out from?
In Farum Azula we find the Wormface, who cursed you with death.
The Dragons are in Farum Azula
This is where Maliketh is found, protecting the remaining part of the rune of death.
🤔🤔
"a special place in the owner's heart"
a dagger in the heart
Broo the cosplay is really cool but I also like the lore being explained. Your voice is also really soft and quiet, pretty good asmr if you ask me
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm really glad you enjoyed all facets of my videos :)
it's a shame Fia's quest doesn't get a unique ending
i really don't get the reason of the palette swap endings
The same thing that happens to every fromsoft game near the end
@sabineschmidt762 their endings are the only good parts about the final acts, some of the only games i think have satisfying endings are fromsoft games, but they all have the same similar feeling towards the end i know other rpgs do it like act 3 in bg3 isnt as good as 1 n 2 but its still a lot more fleshed out and wasnt as rushed as say, farum azula or the bed of chaos
@sabineschmidt762my initial point was that all fromsoft games still end in mostly palette swaps
@@grantpowers663 Really the only distinct endings here are the bloodborne great old one ending and the lord of hollows ending in ds3 because they actually require you to follow an additional path, infact elden rings palette swap endings require far more different circumstances throughout the game then any other fromsoft ending. And yes, i'm comparing farum azula to the bed of chaos. Maybe it feels weird teleporting for seemingly no reason from what was one big interconnected area to an atomized area seperate completely on its own, with the lowest enemy variety in the entire game - beastmen, banished knights we've been fighting the entire game, and a Lansseax clone. Truly pushing the envelope
i just love how entire concept of godwyn and his back story is inspired by balder from norse mythology
going to read up on this right now!
How? Baldur and Godwyn have very little in common as far as I can tell
@@chrispysaid A lot of people speculate Marika(Freya) shattered the Elden Ring because Godwyn(Baldur) was murdered in the NOTBK which caused the Shattering(Ragnarok). Ranni would’ve been Loki in this parallel.
@@chrispysaid Baldur was the beloved golden boy of the Norse Pantheon, Godwyn is literally "the Golden." Baldur was invulnerable to everything except mistletoe due to the head goddess Freya, Godwyn like all other demigods was thought to be completely immortal. Baldur was killed by a betrayal from fellow divine figure Loki using mistletoe, the only weapon that could harm him, Godwyn was killed by a betrayal from fellow demigod Ranni using the Black Knives, the only weapon known to kill demigods. Baldur's death is the first in the chain that results in Ragnarok, Godwyn's death triggers the Shattering. Baldur is said to eventually resurrect as the new god, Godwyn is mutated as the Prince of Death who can through the Tarnished become the dominant power.
It's frankly more impressive that you think they don't have much in common when what little we know of Baldur maps fairly simply onto Godwyn.
@@Firestorm6651 they're probably thinking about god of war
Love Fia and the intrigue she brings, along with the poetic symbolism entwined in her quest line. 10/10, would hug again.
It is an interesting idea that Rogier jn the Hold is a spirit, though I am suspecting he might be some kind of inbetween of Those Who Live in Death and actually dead, as he does have a bloodstain at the bottom of Stormveil where we see Rogier getting killed by deathblight, yet here he is in the Hold.
So either he is indeed in this “deathspirit” form or deathblight itself doesn’t necessarily mean death as a regular death, but rather as death to join Those Who Live in Death, or maybe if you experience deathblight enough it takes you, kind of like the hollowing from the Souls games.
Very curious.
yeah, never noticed the bloodstain until playing the coop mod with friends. blew my mind lol
Not shitting on your comment, jus have a genuine question.
How do we know it is supposed to be Rogier? And not just a player wearing his outfit?
Like is it labeled as Rogier?
@@collinsims2413 There are a few things.
First is that that is the only single bloodstain that appears there when you're offline, meaning you can't see any player bloodstains at all, just the developer placed ones.
Second the bloodstain is specifically a death animation of a player model dying from Deathblight and that area does not have any enemies or effects that cause Deathblight buildup.
Third is Rogier's dialogue option "progresses" only once you interact with the bloodstain, indicating that you "found" the face below the castle, which will trigger his dialogue to discuss it.
Hope that clears it up!
@@Lexsed ahh, didnt even think about seeing the bloodstain while offline, or the dialogue progression, and i never actually went down there so i wasnt aware there werent any basilisk or wormface down there.
Thanks for the clarification.
I never thought of this, but it makes sense that Fortissax would assume the form of Fia since the death of Godwyn
Me finding out D killed Fia: your free trial of playing knight has ended
Me: good job
That theory of Fia actually being Fortissax is pretty awesome lol. Woulda never put that together.
It's pretty wild but most likely not true. There are many holes in the theory! But it's fun to think about :)
Amazing video! I was actually very sympathetic to Fia. It was actually the ending I chose in my first playthrough. To think that she may be Fortissax in human form, is a great theory. I always wondered why we enter her dream and find a dragon. Keep up the great work!
You do realize her ending is just like Dung Eater's right ? The only difference is that instead of everyone being Omens everyone will be undead instead
This video couldn't have come at a better time, I just finished my 2nd playthru with her ending! I had...always wondered if her intentions were selfish or selfless...but after watching this I definitely feel it was more of the latter. Thank you for making this lore video and for the other ones you've made so far!! They really help open my eyes to the inner workings of the story. ^-^
I like that everyone brings something unique to the mix. Now we need to get Vaati to do a "let me solo her" cosplay
I’m really happy how slow paced you were, it made me understand everything a lot better than other videos.
IMHO, this is the best presentation on Fia. You covered everything I knew plus a lot more! The theory on Fortissax being Fia is really compelling. I agreenwith you that Fia's ending might be one of the most moral. Great work. 👍
Your voice is so gentle, really nice to hear your lore/theory videos.
Chalice's blessing. Gentlly spoken words hug your ears, granting a tingling effect, adds sleep effect. 😛
As someone who went with the Fia ending in my first playthrough due to how interesting I found her quests + dialogue, I really liked this video.
I would love to see a Lady Maria (Bloodborne, The Old Hunters) loreplay in the future! Considering your username has chalice in it and the chalice dungeons Bloodborne is well known for, I think expanding into Bloodborne lore would be very fitting.
I suggest Maria now because she has a profoundly sympathetic background, which seems to be your area of greatest interest!
Excellent content all around; excited to see an up-and-coming lore creator with such evident passion as your cosplays.
love the cosplay, Loved the lore video. thank you and your voice is so soothing. Keep up the great work!
This is the 2nd of your videos I've watched, Miss Chalice, and I feel compelled to say: You are absolutely delightful. A breath of fresh air for the platform. I'd like to highlight my favorite aspects of your work:
- Looking different and interesting every time is such a fun thing for us as viewers
- Your vocal tone is excellent, soft and clear
- Your narration is very well written
- Your lore is consistently thorough and I'm thus far always surprised by things I hadn't known already
I am subbing, and excited to see you succeed if you keep this up.
I absolutely love how Elden Ring follows Norse Mythology point for point. It's so amazing to have my Heritage represented in such an accurate and respectful manner while also having a completely original story.
It struck me right now, the mending rune of the death prince resembles an eclipse, like the one depicted on the mausoleum soldiers shields and armors
I've watched probably hundreds of hours of Elden Ring lore at this point...and this was the first I've heard of Fia being Fortissax. And I love it!
Thanks for keeping the content coming! Your cosplays are always so entertaining and well done, and your voice is smooth as silk. Love hearing your insight into the lore of the game. Please, keep these videos coming!
fia is absolutely best girl i kept getting hugs even after learning of the debuff. duskborn ending rocks and is arguable the most moral ending.
Not really. That ending makes it where death becomes permanent. Either age of stars or golden order would be the most moral
@@j-money753 Dungeater best ending
Death being the actual end IS the most moral ending, the golden order even as gold mask envisioned still used people as plant food for the Miranda flowers, which goes completely against the idea of the greattree rebirth, so continuing the stagnation is still bad
Skeleton rights ending best ending
Imo the Ranni ending is the best, followed by Fia's and then Goldmask's
@@cyrusmuller6502 Based Yogurt Male Dungeater
A gift from the lore mommy has blessed us in these hard times!
lore blessings for all!
Don't give them to your parents!
I believe the dagger given by Fia is actually D's brothers (Devin also known as D) Which is why he recognizes it and says he will return it to it's owner, You're given a note by Rogier after he dies that D has a brother and he's in the aqueducts after having fought 'The Prince Of Death' which is the 'undead' Godwyn. This explains why the sword/dagger is damaged and cursed by death.
You can talk to D's brother and give him D's armour at some part before defeating Fortissax. When you reload the area after defeating Fortissax he will be standing over Fia's body in D's armour then if you reload the area again you can get D's armour (Again) and also the Twinsword known as the Inseparable Sword.
Looking at the description of D's Armour you will find that the two D brothers were 'inseparable' because they share a soul, two minds, two bodies, one soul. After avenging his brothers death Devin states he wishes to be taken so he can be with his brother.
I don't believe Fia is Fortissax as it is said that because the soul of Godwyn lived on he couldn't truely die and became the prince of death many tried to put him to rest including Fortissax with no success and was corrupted by the prince of death becoming a Lichdragon. "He" Is also reffered to as "the Mightiest Boulderstone, and the brother of Lansseax" at some point. So the reason he is in the dream is because he tried to put Godwyn to rest.
Fia being Fortissax is a cool potentiality. And by the immediate events, they practically tell vanquishing Fortissax and Fia's death afterwards is connected.
My mind was blown by that theory of Fia being Fortissax
The lichdragon is one of my favourite bosses in the game. On a slightly unrelated note, I saw a theory somewhere noticing how the texture of malikeths black blade, is similar to the skin of fortissax, that Being black with speckles/dustings of gold.
Just here to say that this is beautiful content, and thank you for your work. I look forward to what you’ll do when the DLC comes out. Glad I found this channel. ✊🏿
I like the idea that she is the dragon, it explains a lot and is really cool fantasy flavor
Oh miss chalice I have been missing your elden ring lore videos very much! So glad you graced us with another excellent exploration/examination of the ever mysterious world that is elden ring! Thank you!! And love your outfits by the way! Wishing you the best!! :)
fia is my favorite character and too many people hate her or write her off as evil - i never understood it, her narrative always seemed so clearly to be about choice and standing up for those who had none; the ritual-sexual aspects of her character felt like a believable kind of death rite in the world, never something she chose or something based around deceit or trickery. (not to mention that she explains in her first dialogue the nature of what she does re: taking a little vigor in exchange for the ability to ignore pain (poise); in terms of gameplay mechanics, it all translates perfectly within the lore.) thank you for such a beautiful and well-explained analysis of this character!
This is a crazy good lore video. There’s a lot of information I missed in the game and haven’t seen presented elsewhere. Thank you.
I really enjoyed this. I felt the story leaned this way myself though not as in-depth as this. It nice to get the details I missed and put the whole story together.
I never thought about Fia being Fortissax but that's very interesting and could clearly be an awesome discover! 😮
I must say I do enjoy the contrast between these well-thought-out, sophisticated long form asmr type videos and the lude memes on instagram and stuff, embracing all facets of human life, or something
With the duskborn ending I thought that death would be restored again in the Elden Ring. Tarnished cannot die, they get ressurected again and again. There is no death in the lands between. So if we restore death in the Elden RIng, then people can die again.
This is the first video I've seen from you and it's so well done! I love the way you've gone about the narrative and explained it. Keep up the amazing work!
This is a great explanation of Fia. Also, you voice is incredibly soothing. It helped me cope with my.. numerous deaths in Elden Ring. 😝
Your voice is so relaxing. Thank you for explaining her lore.
Best Fia's cosplay very fitting
That was an excellent video. It was very informative. I finished Dark Souls 3 a month before finishing Elden Ring with different endings, including the one from your video and I did notice a similarity between that Elden Ring ending and the Third Dark Souls 3 : The Usurpation of Fire, You know that ending where you had to go perform a wedding ceremony with Anri male or Anri female ( depending on the gamer's gender ) and you become the new Ruler and Lord of Hollows( The Undead) in Londor where the Undead can roam free. Gotta love FromSoftware's references to their previous games.
I kept struggling in this video, between paying full attention to the lore and exciting theories, and falling asleep to your soft voice. Great video, great cosplay, great (even if not intentional) asmr, please keep posting!
this was a really interesting video! also i saw in the pinned comment that she was likely forced into it which isn't true at all. she says it was a sacred act so she likely held a priestess role. she was driven out because she saw grace but continued to practice her belief. Fia being fortissax I'm not so sure on either, she likely would have the same dragon eyes the player can get. forti fought against the death within their companion only to be corrupted, i doubt they would just except it now... unless Fia is the result of the death blight corruption! the forti we fight is the last remnants of their fighting will!! which kinda makes me not want to do the duskborn ending just out of respect. also since Godwyns soul is dead and only his body remains, growing like a cancer, what exactly would he be reborn into and would it really be Godwyn? also for naming conventions (we've seen that beings can have different versions of them selves like marika and radagon) -sax seems to be male (dragonlord placidusax) and -seax seems to be female (lansseax). also on an unrelated note if you now live in death you cant really move on, its an undead blessing or ... curse... OH GOD WE'RE ALL GOING TO GO HOLLOW!
Ma'am, Fortissax = Fia BLEW my mind! I'm so glad Vaati sent us your way 🔥💯
Thank you so much for coming over to my channel!! I'm really pleased you enjoy my theory machinations haha thanks again and I hope you enjoy your stay here :)
My first playthrough ended with the duskborn ending. I like Fia and despise totalitarian power structures like the golden order, so it was a no-brainer. Also, it seemed to me like bringing back the rune of death would allow those who live in death to actually die properly, instead of shambling about, getting stabbed or worse. I was a bit disappointed with the ending being such a terse monologue. I'd hoped for something like the Radahn cutscene, where I'd see the undead peacefully slump over and the graces go out.
I can;t remember where i heard this but hear goes. Lanseaxx being a good friend to Godwyn tried to save his soul in the dream but got overtaken by death blight. As a final service to Godwyn we put her down and Fia is able to finish what she needed to do as supposed here. The thing that gets me is once you get the mending rune Fia isnt breathing anymore, so when D's brother shows up to kill her and "fulfill his duty" dude didnt notice she was already dead....
I didn’t realise Goldwyn created “those that live in death” I thought they existed because marika had the gloam eyes queen defeated and her powers stolen, since the Gloam eyed Queen was the goddess of death and without her people only had two choices to “live in death” or to join the elden tree at its roots when they couldn’t stand to age any further
Story telling is amazing! Me and my daughter watch this
In the southern part of Summonwater town in Limgrave, you can find two skeletons actually having a conversation.
I guess this might suggest that Those who live in death might be self-aware? Some of them at least.
And I JUST, did the Age Of Duskborn ending!!!
It's definitely become my new favorite ending after rereading through the lines!!!
Love the cosplay btw ❤
Your voice is so calming and relaxing it helps me sleep 🥰
You do realize her ending is just like Dung Eater's right ? The only difference is that instead of everyone being Omens everyone will be undead instead
@@amai-w8f
Not true
1.) You get the rune from Fia by literally hugging her, whereas you have to literally violate the Dung Eater with a magical STD not once or even twice, but 5 freaking times until his corpse produces it.
2.) Dung Eater is also a madman with no reason behind what he does, he turns people into monsters while Fia has good intent and logic in her motives. She wants to help Godwyn who we all can agree is a good dude we *want* to help if we can.
3.) Fia's ending simply restores the natural cycle of life and death it has nothing to do nor does it say anything about her ending turning everyone into an undead, it mainly says Those Who Live In Death are accepted among the living.
@@thewhitespectre 1) & 20 are moot points, all i meant is the ending goal not how the questline happens.
3) Destined death is already returned back to the lands between when you kill Maliketh, as it is unbound from him/the sword. this means people can truly die again but doesn't replace the Golden Order and all the nonsense with rebirth the Erdtree can do.
The Mending Rune of the Death-Prince used to repair the Elden Ring lets you create a new Order with life and death at its roots as Elden Lord and this cuts the Erdtree out of the picture when it comes to life and death and removes the possibility of Rebirth.
What that means to Fia that instead of being born anew you simply keep on living after you die, she wants a world where everyone is just like Godwyn and her "bringing him back to life" is simply making it okay for him to be the way he is, nothing changes.
It's called the Age of the DUSKBORN for a reason, as in you start to "live" when you die.
The ones glaring issue with her vision is that Godwyn no longer exists. His spirit was destroyed. It's not resting anywhere because it no longer exists. That's the whole duality of his killing; his soul/spirit dies and Ranni's body dies. His body remains and her spirit remains. The issue is that with his soul gone his husk carries nothing but his physical likeness. That is, if ones personality is entirely stored in the soul in Elden Ring. If so then should he be revived his body would have no recollection of who or what he is. It would have no memory or personality-a blank slate.
And even if theoretically one could bring Ranni's corpse back to the living, the same is not possible for a spirit that has been destroyed as that means it has been permanently erased from existance altogether (as far as I understand).
Happy one year anniversary of this video being up! Fia is my favorite character and you have did her character justice. She is best girl and waifu!
this made me feel better while ill. thank you my love
Thanks for the clarification, Elden Ring is full of mysteries, which is what makes it soo amazingly good.
Always happy when you post, your ideos are blessed. Really love them and all the work you put into the research, the visuals and the cosplay.
"It must have a special place in that person's heart." - lol, when I saw she killed D. I was like, "oooooh, She was talking about shoving it into someone's heart!"
I hope in future you explain rich and deep lore of other games ofcourse with this top notch cosplay. Thank your for you work.
Thank you for your comment ! I am actually working on covering other games, and of course you can expect cosplay to accompany them!
When you read the description of Lionel's armor it reveals that he declared himself Fia's father, which sadly puts a dent in the Fortisax theory (I loved it tho...) and it also changed the meaning of the deathbed dress next to his armor set, which I think was Fia's mother, and that means Fia was raised in and chased from the capital when she was awoken by grace. Considering that Godwyn is buried beneath the capital, and that she was chosen to bring him back, also supports that she belonged to Leyndell.
Also I love your videos and loreplaying so so much I'm just being pedantic af
My first playthrough was as a Faith/Strength holy paladin type. The second I met D I knew I'd do whatever I could to complete his quest and hopefully get his sword and armor. Questlines in these games being as convoluted as they are, I of course followed a guide. I found it rather frustrating from an RP perspective that I would have to side with Fia at the end to get the armor and sword. I definitely agree that she is the more righteous character and the Hunters are bad guys, but for RP's sake I wanted to help the D's. Also they have the coolest voice. As cruel as it is, Devin's speech after the Fortisax fight is awesome.
I love the fia and Forti connection you're speculating.
I feel as though this cursemark ending is a step short of the age of stars ending. I wonder if infecting the golden order itself with death blight causes its ability to sustain perpetual life to falter and eventually fail so that people can actually die one day.
With the age of stars ending, I wonder if the result is the same but it doesn’t force everyone to be infected with the blight.
I would rank the endings as follows from most chaotic to least.
Frenzied flame, blessing of despair, age of the duskborn, golden order (standard) ending, age of stars, and age of order.
If fia is fortisax that actually makes a ton of sense, it even aligns with the games theme of deception, nearly all of the games plot threads involve some sort of deception things appearing holy or grand on the surface yet festering and rotten within accept the dung eater he’s pretty honest about his intentions.
19:25 I love this as a concept and I think there is a lot of potential with dragons posing as humans but I thought it was fairly clear that Fia is a tarnished.
Yo, what a vid. Just stumbled upon this channel (praise be the algorithm) and honestly, the amount of thought you put into your vid(s) is staggering. Although some people obviously already pointed out certain things that could be interpreted differently from other angles.
What gets me though is how weird the whole concept of "living in death" is. From what we know, nothing in the Lands Between CAN actually die as of the game's time - since the Rune of Death is bound up until the very end of the game. That Rune is what allowed Ranni to get herself and Godwyn killed. I take it to mean that (for gameplay purposes or not) this means none of the characters who die in the game can actually stay dead properly.
From that I assume living in death means that the undead just exist as shambling corpses with no soul attached to themselves? Or is it the various states of decay that mark those Living in Death? All that I know it CAN'T be is that the body is dead and the soul is off doing its own thing. That's what Ranni did to herself, and her body is still very cozy locked away in death. Then again, that might also be due to her body having the rune inscribed still. Is it maybe any combination of spiritual and physical death that leads to "living in death"? Also, why does Fia count herself among them?
Here's how I saw Fia as I played: As you allude to, it sounds like Fia at first was forced to use her station as Deathbed Companion for people who didn't deserve such a gift. It was a means to retain power. She came to the Lands Between in order to use her abilities as SHE deems fit, to give her gift to those who earn it. She also wants to remove the pain and suffering of an endless existence. One thing that some people don't factor into immortality is, after so long, there just isn't much reason to continue with life. All good things, even a happy fulfilling life, must come to an end, but this doesn't happen in the Lands Between as Marika has changed that. With the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince forged from the two halves of the Cursemark of Death and Fia's reserved energies (a chunk of which coming from you), you are able to repair the Elden Ring with the added effect of giving true mortality to the people. No longer are they trapped in an endless cycle of suffering and pain. As Fia's abilities soothed the pain of death, so too does she alleviate the suffering of a prolonged existence when such life outstays its welcome. The people will live, finding meaning in the trials and tribulations of that life, and eventually die, as they should. You've returned the proper cycle of humanity, the Yin-Yang balance you described.
Naw, she’s making everyone that dies into zombies and skeletons and making it the ‘natural order’.
If a zombie plague seems like a good thing, Fia’s ending is decidedly bad. People just empathize with Fia and want her to be good.
@@jeremymullens7167 Finally found someone sane here.
You do realize her ending is just like Dung Eater's right ? The only difference is that instead of everyone being Omens everyone will be undead instead
It would've been hilarious if hugging her just straight up permakilled your character, especially so soon after creating them
omg we have to be friends somehow because I want to talk to you about normal things like fixing a leaky pipe, and hear you respond with 20 minutes of plumbing lore in this exact same tone. Maybe even in cosplay. You would be an immediate S-tier friend.
That actually explains how she disappeared from the round table without using the grace, only ones that disappear like that are the dragons, particularly the ancients and the one guarding Ranni.
Are there ANY, other characters that disappear entirely without being dead by drifting up like that? The black knives don't leave but just get out of visual range when they do it.
i beat the game, including every single boss, without noticing the status effect she gives you. i hugged her like 20 times just see if anything interesting happened lol
I think the hugging is a metaphor for, "Try Romp but hole"
Thank you. I like the moral gray area that it is being a Tarnished. Are we good are we bad ? Perhaps the greatest achievement a game can claim is the pondering of one's own life.
Vaati theorized/stated that those who live in death purposeful chose not to go back to Erdtree and basically be reborn in endless cycles, but to stay and thus be, quite literally, those who live in death. they died but refused and they still live. while being dead.
And that clashes very very hard for your main point: that undead are victims in need of protection. Beings that never chose their fate, victims of circumstances. I wonder if there is some piece of definitive lore or as usual we only have foggy passages that can be seen either this or that way
Considering Fia's panties were an unused item in the game I suppose it was probably considered that the player would be implied doing a lot more than just hugging, but FromSoftware probably figured that would be a bit much even if they did it via fading to black.
Fia being Fortissax!? That would make a lot of sense! Omg
Looking through lore videos. Your voice caught my attention. Its very soothing
I have to say that I love this video so much. The way you weave the convoluted story of this character in an easy-to-understand, but at the same time, exciting narrative was terrific.
That said, I can't entirely agree with your interpretation of her story on several points. Being a fromsoft game, it is unlikely that two people will have the same views over anything lore-wise. So please don't take this as a harsh criticism, but just a different interpretation of one of my favorite characters in Elden Ring:
- I think Baldachin's Blessing is given only when Fia saps life energy from you. This will have two uses. First, if you are strong enough, this will give you the incentive to be sapped. Second, if you are dying, this could be seen as a mercy kill, and the blessing could take away your pain in the process.
- I don't think those who live within death only appear with the death of Godwyn. Before the eldtree, other beings (outer gods perhaps?) were related to life in death. The Death Bird, for example, as seen in the Death Ritual Spear (The priests became guardians of the birds through the rite of Death, which also serves as an oath sworn to their distant resurrection) or the Regal Ancestor Spirit as seen in Ancestral Spirit's Horn(A number of new growths bud from the antler-like horns of the fallen king, each glowing with light. Thus does new life grow from death, and from death, one obtains power). My point is that deathroot is not the original source of life within death, but just the biggest one in recent times.
- I don't think their champions are living within death. The way they act reminds me more of spirit ashes than anything else. And I think they are just that, spirits being summoned not through ashes but by a similar process, a deathbed companion technique that we can't learn.
- I don't think Fortissax is trying to protect Godwyn from Fia. Fortissax was trying to fight the corruption within his friend, to give him a true death or to save him. I think this because we saw a finger-reading saying, "Poor Golden Prince, why couldn't you have a true death?." This is probably what most of the Golden Order thought, and the dragons were aligned with the Golden Order. At the point of Fia's arrival, Fortissax is just crazy and corrupted himself, so he just attacks everything on sight.
- I don't believe that Fia is Fortissax due to translation into other languages. At least the argument where you said it is not said to be a male anywhere. In Spanish, it stays as a male dragon. Maybe this is just a translation oversight.
- Related to symbology, I love the comparison of the Mending Rune and the Yin-Yang. But I would like to add the Fia similarities to the "Whore of Babylon". From reddit user u/Depressed_Tapeworm:
"Fia is imo one big Whore of Babylon reference. The Whore of Babylon is described as a woman sitting atop a blasphemous beast (reference to Godwyn potentially) and described as the 'mother of Earth's abominations' which is pretty much what those who live in death are considered to be by the Golden Order and Fia has explicitly stated that she wants to be a mother to those who live in death. She seduces you and others into following this same route. Babylon itself is often used as metaphor for a world that's strayed from God's path and seduces those who live in it towards a blasphemous one, which is pretty apt for Fia and imo her world post-ending compared to the Golden Order's ideals. It's loose, but Elden Ring's not been shy about making some religious references like Rykard's entire blasphemous imagery and everything related to him and Mohg's very on-the-nose satanic imagery."
- I think the ending has more impact than just accepting those who live within death in society. Fia considers those who live within death weak and deserve protection and help. Clearly, she wants to revive Godwyn, which means that she doesn't consider a body without a soul to be truly alive, or at least, alive in the best possible way. So I think the Mending Rune of Death "it will embed the principle of life within Death into Order" means something more. It means that life within death will be the new standard for a deceased soul, but they won't turn into the zombie-like enemies we meet in the game. The Duskborn will be something different, something new to the lands between.
I would love to hear your opinion on these points, and again, even with all the points I disagree with, I genuinely love your video!
Just got her ending last night, and I'm glad I chose it as the one that unlocks the achievement because I was definitely sold on her intent. There's other stuff in the game that describes behaviors of undead, guarding and warding off intruders in tombs that'd otherwise be a goldmine for looters and grave robbers (like the Tarnished lol). Things that show that these are still just people, despite their rotted outer appearance. But the most blatant showing of how the Golden Order fundamentalists are a bunch of crazed animals is when Devin gets Darian's armor and takes revenge on Fia. It's not just about getting vengeance on his brother's killer. He degrades her and the undead. Calls her a whore. He curses her very being, even mocks Godwyn while he's laughing maniacally over Fia's body. It wasn't some pursuit of justice, it's just proving that Fia was right all along. Even though I was curious about the default Elden Lord ending and I got Goldmask's rune as well, I couldn't not do right by Fia. I just had to get her ending after that scene.
You severely misinterpreted Fia's ending
She takes a small part of your literal vigor, saves it and uses it to bring people back to life? Interesting.
When Fia said "Claim a second illustrious life" I though maybe that Godwyn would become an outer god. 🤔
On top of all the other stuff people are singing your praises for I just wanna say I find your videos really clear an easy to follow.
Nice, just an hour ago I was thinking I haven't heard from you in a while and then this! Godwyn related contents are my favorite!
Your voice definitely needs to be in a Fromsoft game. Love your delivery and the way you present the lore. It’s very refreshing. Well done!
Miss chalice, dear you have a lovely voice; there’s a whisper like beauty to it
Fia is such a good girl and her story always makes me so sad ; - ;
I played this entire quest and got the duskborn ending and never knew any of this. Now watching this video im like " oh my god that was what was happening "
I can't help but wonder what the repercussions of restoring death in The Lands Between would be. Since Marika removed the rune, how many centuries have passed? It's not clear, but It's plainly obvious it's been a very, very long time. So, does that mean once death is returned to the ring and the lands, does everyone drop dead from centuries of madness and decay?
Now that I've seen this, You have a similar speaking pattern to Fia! I can't unsee this lol.
Interesting theories on what ending the game with Fia's rune would be. I was under the impression that it was the centipede on both sides meaning that anyone that dies is will become undead.
Please don’t stop making lore videos !!!