Subscribe to be notified of the next chapter in the Black Swordsman's journey, where he will search for the truth behind Miquella's manipulation of the entire Lands Between! We will find our hero investigating the Ancient Dynasty, Malenia and Millicent, The Shaded Castle and House Marias, as well as the Volcano Manor and its pit of Recusants!
You’re truly special. One of the most unique individuals in the Elden Ring Loretuber-verse. I suspect a major increase in your recognition when Shadow of the Erdtree drops when it reintroduces all its playerbase again. It’ll be just like launch, and a good time for new lore creators such as yourself
Thank you so much, I really hope I can continue to create videos that people enjoy while also being able to stay true to my interpretation of the story. I used to post these theories to reddit or discords, but the communities there were hostile and mean, there was no room for discussion, even if it was just friendly disagreements. I had people call me delusional or bad faith all over an opinion on a video games story! TH-cam has been a world of difference, everyone has only been respectful, and kind words like yours really bring me joy. When Shadow of the Erdtree comes out Im either gonna be flat out wrong or vindicated. There's one theory I have that I haven't shared yet, and I have not seen it anywhere online, that I am actually worried that it's going to be proven true in Shadow of the Erdtree before I can share it lol Maybe if a trailer comes out I'll do an analysis and prediction video as an insurance policy
The power of the unalloyed gold is to remove the influence of the outer gods, and in that, Miquella is alone. He is the only actor in this story that has no one in his ear, the only one who can choose to do something all on his own, and that in turn makes him the most fascinating to me. The Golden Epitaph has him care deeply for his brother even after death, the reason he entered the cocoon was to age up and find a cure for his sister's rot. I believe he really wanted to help. But like most characters of this game, there's no clean hands here, to usher in a new age was to break the old. How surprising would it be for them to use his other gifts, that of bewitching, and of sleep, to organize events beyond even Marika/Radagon's control?
Whatever Miquella's goals or motivations are they are definitely outside of the schemes of our other characters in the story. They're all trying to play the game of thrones, Miqeulla just plays it the best.
The conclusion is mind boggling to even think about but alot of it makes sense.Miquella loosing faith in the golden order to cure his sister,breaking the cycle of rebirth to gather allies,amber being a substance capable of changing demigod destinies,the reason why he wanted Godwyn to die a true death is most likely because Godwyn had a close relationship with him and Malenia despite being a co-plotter in the night of the black knives.Great work
Thank you so much! When you start looking at the story from this perspective it starts to make you rethink everything you think you know about the games story, for example the Golden Order Fundamentalist being Sun worshippers and not Erdtree worshipers. What does that mean for the motivations of Radagon if as a Fundamentalists he was a Sun worshipper. Many people think Radagon's thorns block the entrance to the Erdtree because he was trying to protect it and the Elden Ring, but if he didn't put the thorns then the Tarnished would have no reason to burn the Erdtree. As a Fundamentalist, knows the law of Casualty and understands cause effect. So he may have put thorns up on purpose so you would burn the Erdtree. If Radagon wants to burn the Erdtree, why and what does that mean to the characters who are allied with him, or admire him like his son Radahn.
@@JackisaMimic Well, in Berserk, Griffith trust and love the band of Hawk, but for ascending to Godhound, he can do the worst even to the one he loves. I Think we got fooled by Miquella & the story , and if this is like Berserk, Miquella is the real villain ^^"
@@wowo2017 I’m not so sure. While I agree he wanted to undo his brother’s undead condition, I think Mequella also needed this to happen as the eclipse is part of the ritual needed for him to ascend to a true god. I believe that is why Malenia campaigned to Caelid to fight Radahn. He was holding back the stars and lunar cycle preventing the eclipse indirectly as a result and both Mequella and Malenia needed him gone for their goals to be realized…my hypothesis anyway.
Something I’ve seen few point out as interesting about Goldmasks design is the dots. Yes, they symbolize the “fly in the ointment” but they are also his viewports out to seeing and reading the tree, besides his finger reading. a similar device is used to view something close to the sun, such as an event like the eclipse.
35:03 I remember first seeing this moment like “wth is going on over there” and then lmao when I got there. Seeing bro so defeated next to this man T-posing is just hilarious 😭
A couple things. First, I want to point out that I've heard the statue embracing Miquella and Malenia is actually of Godwyn rather than Marika. This raises interesting sibling dynamics and offers a reason for Miquella to look up to Godwyn and wish him a true death escaping his soulless demigod/living in death fate. That seems contradictory to your theory of Miquella purposefully creating the Prince of Death, though. Second, I always like to include the possibility of how Radahn's gravity magic is influencing these plots. Not only is he holding back asteriods such as the one that strikes the entrance to Nokron (and thus Ranni's fingerslaying plot), but perhaps he is also holding the Sun and Moons in place (and thus preventing the Sol Eclipse). This gives Malenia reason to confront and attack Radahn to carry out Miquella's wishes since Radahn interfered with his eclipse plot, though curiously enough Radahn/Caelid are directly above Mohgwyn's dynasty where Miquella is held at present so perhaps Malenia was searching for Miquella and it led her falsely to Radahn instead of Mohg.
Other commenters have suggested that the statue is in fact Godwyn and I think that is definitely a possibility, but I don’t think that hurts the theory. History and is filled with people in power killing those they love, or feigning that love. This is a story co-written by GRRM after all! In future videos I will consider this confusion about the statues, the Black Swordsman doesn’t know everything and is wrong more often than not. He only has one eye after all 😉 I think Radahn holding the stars in place is a red-herring when it comes to Miquella’s schemes, because I think the Eclipse is symbolic and not literal (Ranni representing the moon and Godwyn representing the Sun) I do agree with the observation of Caelid being directly over Mohgwyn. As I bring together in Chapter 5, blood is an important ingredient to grow Erdtrees, and Mohgwyn is chock full of it! You can even see new growth from the collapsed petrified trees and the whole of Mohgwyn itself almost looks like a tree trunk! Could Miquella’s plan have been to initiate a conflict between Malenia and Radahn so that the blood of war could seep through the Earth? It’s definitely a possibility. Thank you for commenting! Sharing ideas is how we all learn and improve, hope to see your insights in future videos!
It is interesting to study the correlation between the Carian Royals and the Haligtree Order. Especially considering how Ranni appeared in person to hand the Spirit Calling Bell, which basically confirmed that Miquella was the former master. What's clear is that both desired to break the cycle and gain freedom from the predestined fate given to them as Empyreans, and fostered an alliance centered on the exchange of information and resources toward that end. Both are masterminds, and appear to have a mutual respect for the other. But where I believe they diverge is that one was a prior Golden Order Fundamentalist and the other was an Astrologer. Miquella received tutelage from Radagon contributing his Discus of Light incantation, and Ranni received tutelage from Rennala contributing her Dark Moon sorcery. The key difference can be found in their upbringing. While Radagon exchanged the teachings of the Golden Order - that was a culmination from his time in Caria and in the Erdtree Capital that emphasized conjoining intelligence and faith - to Miquella, essentially allowing for him to develop the wisdom that allows one to operate within reality making intelligent decisions while not violating causality early on. Ranni was given only half of the puzzle from Rennala who she clearly loves and had to support after she lost her mind following Radagon's departure. This resulted in her becoming a ruthless schemer who sought to realize her mother's vision for her no matter the cost, and considering she had gained a natural repulsion for the Golden Order after her father's abandonment of their family - along with terrifying prospect of being enthralled by her own Two Fingers and made as an obeisant servant to the Greater Will . She would have no qualms uprooting it. Even if it meant making a deal with the Nox to assassinate Godwyn. Matthew 7:16 "By their fruit you will recognize them" If we understand that Miquella was a Golden Order Fundamentalist, and how his Haligtree Order essentially takes their precepts as seriously as possible, we understand why he is said to use his magic to compel affection. Through compelling affection he creates opportunities for diplomacy which wouldn't otherwise exist without warfare in the minds of those caught in the illusion of separation. As all things are "linked in a chain of relation", as is stated in the Law of Causality description, then to harm another is to harm himself. He takes in those forsaken by the Golden Order. He builds the coolest tree house ever on top of an Erdtree he watered with his own blood. If you look at the unalloyed gold armor plating he made for Malenia it is decorated with floral patterns like someone would make when knitting a sweater. Maybe he's just the Messiah of Elden Ring?
Great analysis! Your use of the demigods parentage to understand motivation is the right technique, I think you will really like the series I’m working on about the entire family tree! Really phenomenal stuff here. It’s also interesting that you bring up Miquella being the Messiah because you’re close, I think, but just missed the mark. If you watched my Sage’s Cave video there is a section where I show the relationship between the Candletree design and the prophecy it evokes, the prophecy of flame that monks are punished for seeing, and the “prophecy” that Melina chants during the burning of the Erdtree. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩” They are all the same prophecy, and no matter what path you take to beat the game, whether it’s bring Melina to the forge or use Frenzy Flame, it comes true. You walk along side flame and meet destined death everytime. It’s also interesting that Miquella’s needle allows you to remove the Flame of Frenzy so you don’t burn down the entire world. So in effect our character is the messiah from prophecy. That’s kind of new information, it’s not in the forefront of the story. It’s not like Dark Souls where we are told the prophecy at the front, but it exists to the characters of Elden Ring, so much so that people try to prevent it. The fact of the matter is though, and I will say with certainty that this is true, is the prophecy is made up. It’s not real. It is a tool used to get someone’s schemes in place, and I think it’s part of Miquella’s schemes. Miquella isn’t the messiah, but he needs one, and I think that through the power of dreams or sleep or whatever he has sent this prophecy to the minds of people far and wide (for a very long time) to create this cause and effect. Hope you stick around and share your thoughts for future videos! Bonus Crackpot theory just for you: Each playthrough of Elden Ring is canon, no matter who plays it. They’re all canon, but Miquella turns back the clock until he gets what he wants. Welcome to my wacky channel lol
That makes me happy to hear! I was worried about making such a long video, but I love to talk, so Im glad I was able to keep your attention with my voice lol
That's one of the best video I have ever seen. The mix of narrative story telling with lore reading was on point and I must say that the theory you bring to the table is really interesting. I am truly impressed. Fromsoftware should pay you for hyping me up for shadow of the erdtree like that.
When I was making the final segment my goal was essentially to make a DLC hype video. I’m just as excited as everyone else for Shadow of the Erdtree! Glad you liked the video, I appreciate the kind words!
Even though I disagree with most of your interpretations of the lore, I'm very thankful that you videos exist (and hopefully you'll continue to make them) cause the community is starting to converge, or regress, one might say, to a few interpretations, and it's always fun to see someone at least try to shake the whole thing up a bit and point some blind spots on the mainstream theories. So, thank you for the vids and keep going, your ideas are quite intriguing, to say the least.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the video! I can promise you that my interpretation of Elden Ring is VERY different from most and you will see more videos from me in the future. Hopefully one of the future theories will convince you of my interpretation. My goal is to have a channel that consists of a comprehensive look at the games story and lore that is plausible and consistent, I’m not trying to head canon the story but really want to be accurate. I’m glad that there are people who are disagreeing with me, for example, two people have pointed out that they think the statue in Loretta’s boss room is not Marika or Radagon but Godwyn. I’ve never heard that before, but I think it’s probably the most plausible now and can’t wait to delve into those implications.
Excellent work breaking Miquella down as the possible villain of the piece - I had not made the connection between the dlc promo image and Ranny telling you about Torrent's former master, but now I can't believe I missed it. I thought the statue in Farum Azula with the 3 wolves made me think it was a girl who owned Torrent by association but now I am doubting that, especially with the implication that people confused Miquella for a girl as St. Trina.
Glad you liked the video! I wouldn't look to into the wolves are the first spirit ash as a way to deduce identities of characters, other than that wolves are an important part of Lands Between history and culture, I may do a video on this in the future but none are planed, so Ill just answer here. What we receive are spirit ashes, so who knows how Ranni, Miquella, or anyone else gained access to the ashes. Lets say the statue of that women is Marika, I could see a scenario where Marika has three wolves, fulfilling the role of here shadow, and when they died she gifted their ashes to her spirit tuning son. Wolves are VERY important to the history of the Lands Between. One thing we know about Empryean's and their shadows are that they are wolves, or wolf like. From the Shadows we are aware of we have Blaidd(the half wolf), Maliketh(a beastman), and Vargram the Raging Wolf (a tarnished who wanted to be a shadow). Wolves also seem to be intelligent far beyond we would give them credit for, with Red Wolves being able to cast sorceries and incantations, and whenever wolves ambush the player they communicate via howls. We also have the beastmen(wolf people) of Farum Azula who have culture and intelligence. As a parting remark, found in the Grand Cloister past the Lake of Rot you find the Scorpion Sting, the one that is supposed to be part of a sealed outer god. Well, the hilt of this weapon is a carved wolf head. Even in the Ancient Dynasty were wolves important. Hope that explanation makes sense, hope to see you comment on future videos!
This is such a fantastic video, I was pondering a couple days ago before I saw this about how Miquella likely could have been written as a foil to griffith. Between the eclipse, his dream, his presentation, the compelling of affection. Seeing it all presented here in a narrative fashion using berserk was just great, and I’m glad to see i’m not the only one who’s mind was somewhat on that track. Keep up the great work, you’ll have a huge channel someday
Thank you very much, I just hope people enjoy my next videos. As long as one person finds what I make entertaining that’s all I need. Hope you stick around to see what else the Black Swordsman learns while traveling the Lands Between!
He’s Griffith from Berserk. Literally everything about his character parallels Griffith. His character design, the eclipse, the cocoon/rebirth, bewitching power and the Hailtree is essentially Falconia. There’s a lot of other characters that have clear Berserk parallels in elden Ring and this is definitely one of them.
I think Haligtree is supposed to be more like Elfheim, at least in design anyway. Do you really think Griffith would sacrifice the people who loved and trusted him to further his own goals?! Oh wait... Thanks for the comment, hope you stay tuned for future videos!
Dude since the trailer for the expansion just dropped I had a theory that connects even more Griffith similarities. After an interview with Miyazaki, he explains that the dlc will take place in a Shadow Realm. This immediately makes me think of how in Berserk there are different planes of reality all existing in the same place. What if Miquella’s goal in the dlc is to eclipse the erdtree by merging the shadow realm and physical world pulling a Griffith Great Roar of the Astral Plane moment. Another thing I noticed was there is a voice in the gameplay reveal trailer during the first look at the new character Messmer the Impaler who one would presume to be Messmer himself speaking but I think this is to throw us off. I believe it is Miquella. Reason being? It sounds so much like Kevin T Collin’s portrayal of Griffith from the 97 and 3 Berserk movies. Go listen to the voice in the trailer then go listen to Griffith’s friendship speech. You’ll notice the similarities hopefully and I don’t sounds crazy. I’m not saying it is Kevin T Collins but if we find out the voice acting cast and it is him then guaranteed it’s for Miquella.
Recommendations on fire today. Subbed and shared this with all my friends who play Eldin Ring. Hope your channel explodes in popularity when the DLC drops. You deserve it with amazing content like this.
in dark souls, the protagonist can use humanity(dark souls and greater souls) to restore its apearence and get full health, as improve itself, thats is souls have great power, among the capability to restore. there was a ancient religion in elden ring that praised the trees, but they had normal burials (thats why the catacombs) the greater will can be seen as a parasitic being thats devours souls, it used part of this power to heals, and created a religion to ensure future suply of souls and devoured the ancient greattree. The subproduct of this process is the scarlet rot. since the souls cant reincarnated the balace is broken and the rotten of eviroment started. Mikela foresaw that and tried a plan to destroy the great will source of power, the souls.
Miquella is definitely trying to end the cycle. As we have seen throughout the Lands Between, the current order isn’t the first. There was a time when dragons ruled, or the Giant Giants(the ones we find buried in the mountains and Caelid), and a time when the Ancient Dynasty ruled. Miquella is eternally young, we don’t know how old he is, or how long he has been attempting to enact his plans. For all we know he could have been attempting to break this wheel even before there was a Lake of Rot 😉 Thanks for the comment, hope you stick around for more videos!
Thank you very much! When I came up with this theory I wasn't sure how I would be able to present it. I felt like it had a lot of legs to stand on and I wanted it to be taken seriously, so I decided that I needed to take my presentation of it seriously, that is how this story of the Black Swordsman was born. The revelation that Miquella may be manipulating the player Tarnished since the very beginning is a massive claim, I hope that this video was a convincing enough to make you think so too.
@JackisaMimic I am a weird Eldenring player. I am just now on NG+1 but I have 2 of every farmable weapon at +24 or +9 (depending on type) and I'm working on getting 2 of every Unique weapon this play through and leveling them up too. I have 2 of every shield (half of them leveled to +24 or +9) The staves and seals too. I don't know why I am leveling all of these weapons and shields.... I stopped leveling at 150. But I am taking my time and really exploring the world and the way you describe things is awesome 👌!
My GOSH man, standing ovation! Utterly brilliant story mode journey through the lore content. It felt like a bloody audiobook read through of a beloved book I’m intimately familiar with from my childhood or something. I’m SERIOUSLY so impressed and utterly stunned. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 10/10 👍👍 Bravo! 💯% recommend! I’ve loved your takes and the fashion by which you’ve chosen to deliver your content since your first video. It’s clear you’re as passionate about this game as myself and many others in this community are and see it as the interactive conglomerative body of art that it is, more so than simply a video game with in-depth world building. I am so grateful for your videos and your content. Though I’ve largely held mostly quite similar opinions and interpretations to yours, I’ve been thrilled to have my eyes opened to some of your interpretations and conclusions that I had not myself drawn yet. Thank you so much for pouring your heart, mind, time and creativity into such marvellous content that I’m utterly tickled to behold. I’m so excited by the positively breathtaking theory you’ve proposed in which Miquella is the orchestrator of so much that has been going on between the demi-gods and the night of the black knives. I had to cover my mouth to suppress a shriek, I was so aghast. Your story teller delivery of your own reaction as the black knight drew this conclusion himself was so impactful and immersive. You took me right along in this experience with you in a way I had never imagined possible to share an experience in a video game. Absolutely tremendous. I love tarnished archaeologist, miss chalice, Elden tales, kite tales, Kosmos and Ontos as my favourite lore creators but you’ve very swiftly taken the top spot with your videos. I’m fairly certain I’m your content’s #1 fan. 🤣😂 SERIOUSLY, though. Having expressed all of that (I’m sorry I’m so word salady!) I’m now fully on board with you proposal of the timeline in which these events occurred as well as the reasons but I’m still left with several questions. (Do you SERIOUSLY believe our tarnished character is a mimic of Miquella? I’m floored as the prospect and so excited thinking about it!) Firstly, if Ranni was working cooperatively with Miquella when we first meet her, why then does she eventually pursue her own ascension to godhood? Was she never actually loyal to Miquella truly or was this also intended by Miquella? Secondly, the black knife assassins finally make sense to me with your theory!! They haven’t until now! Why would they attack Iji and Blaidd (or did they?), why was there black flame enwreathed about Iji’s slain body? All of it makes sense now! Because the Black Knife Assassins are loyal to Miquella!!! This is why we find them protecting the path to the Haligtree and in every location we find them. But why is there a single unique Black Knife Assassin in the catacombs in limgrave who is severely injured? Also why did they turn on Ranni after having worked with her previously? Because they learned something? Because they suspected her attempted ascension to godhood in the stead of Miquella? Thirdly, this makes me wonder about Radahn. I had always assumed Miquella sent Malenia to kill him to relinquish his arrest on the celestial bodies in order to bring about the eclipse, but I still don’t fully understand why Radahn arrested the stars in the first place? Was it because of his loyalty to the golden order? Was it to defend the lands between from the influence of some other outer god or perhaps Astel? Or was it simply to stop Ranni and Miquella from ascending to godhood in a vie for power? Where does Radagon fit into all of this and what is your interpretation of “Radagon is Marika?” Is it literal or figurative or because of rebirth or mimicry? Are they two separate beings they were conjoined or were they always two beings with one soul or one being with two souls? Does this mean you believe Miquella to be of darker and more sinister character? Do you believe Miquella is a rebirth of Marika and Trina is a rebirth of Miquella and we are a rebirth of Trina or are we simply a mimic and not a rebirth? I have so many questions but this is way too long now. Thank you so much for this video and I’m dreadfully sorry this comment is unbearably long. Have a wonderful day! I can’t wait for the next video!!
EDIT: My conclusion is the same but I was confusing Natural Born with True Born. Thank you for the kind words. It really means a lot to me that something I worked so hard on brought joy to at least one person. Really, thank you. I can’t wait to respond to ALL of your questions in the Q&A, they are all topics I want to desperately talk about. I’ll give you a hint to how I will answer your questions: The first Astel we fight is titled “Natural Born of the Stars”, yet the weapon we make from its remembrance is “Bastard Stars”. Odd isn’t it, because being natural born and being a bastard are opposites. Or Godfrey, first Elden Lord? Really, the First? What about Placidusax? Seems like names and titles can lie. I wonder who else might have a “lying” title, and what could that mean for their goals, motivations, and influence 😉
Astel’s English name is “Astel, Natural born of the Void” not “of the Stars”. Being born of the void suggests a lack of parentage, therefore bastardy. The Japanese roughly translates to “Bastard of the Darkness, Astel” which is in line with its remeberance “Bastard’s Stars”. I’m not sure there is too much to lean on this example of duplicitous naming conventions.
@@positivecontacts You're correct, it is of the void. I was confusing his name with his remembrance weapon "Bastard Stars". I didn't know the Japanese name called him a Bastard, that actually helps me with a theory I have been drafting for a future video. Essentially the theory is that all item description that refer to Astel are actually referring to Astel, Stars of Darkness and the Astel we fight beneath Moonlight Altar is not a true Astel, but a bastard, a possible mimic of an Astel. Why would someone want to create a mimic of an Astel? Same reason someone would want to build a bomb, I think. Thank you for this comment, if you have any more insights in the future please share them. This is a collaborative effort and hearing from others helps make future videos, and our understanding of the game, better!
@@JackisaMimic”Natural born” *equals* “Bastard”. Remember that “natural born” is another way of saying “bastard” in George RR Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series.
You are correct! Its only used a few times though throughout the series (ASearchForIceandFire is a great resource!) so I reversed its meaning. It plugs a whole in the "japing title" for Astel, but that was only evidence for the larger Astel Mimic theory which I dont think is hurt. Thanks for the correction, I appreciate it!
Ranni is a lich by all definition. She sacrificed her body and godwyns soul, casting her soul into the small doll. Effectively making the doll a phylactery, she is immortal.
To my understanding, with the removal of Destined Death and being children of Marika, all of the demigods are immortal, in some way at least (until we kill them). I like the lich angle, that's a very dark but apt perspective to take!
@JackisaMimic correct but ranni wanted free of her shackles of the fingers and so she built a puppet resembling her former master and a tiny doll of similar make but much smaller and easier to hide. Thus making her one of the few who will remain immortal even as the ages change and death is renewed. She is a true legend.
Some of the forensic analysis (and fantastic storytelling) here is almost prophetic knowing what we know now about the dlc. Excellent stuff really looking forward to more of your work
Thank you, that’s very kind of you to say! I hope my future productions can entertain just as much, as well as convince you my theories are correct of course ;)
Not sure why, but something about the pacing/narrating/decision making/and thought processes of everything in this video makes my brain so happy. You have a unique brand of Elden Ring loreytelling and you’re doing fantastic; right up there with the big dawgs IMO
Thank you so much! I tried really hard to try to mimic how I made the theory, you essentially watched a dramatization of me putting the evidence together. The goal is to make this all fun for people to watch instead of just me reading wiki descriptions, it's not just about sharing my ideas but to be entertaining. Not all of my videos will be in this style but I will always try to make it fun to watch or listen to.
Thank you! I chose this method because I think the order that we find items and learn lore in the game is significant to understanding the story. I’m glad it was something you liked too!
It was like the Black Swordsman called out to me, to us all. I just claimed the Greatsword as my own, yet here I hear the words of the one who uncovers the truth! I cannot wait to see what you have to bring to the lore scene of Elden Ring. You’re incredibly respectful and responsive to your commenters, and I hope we can mirror that respect to you. Good luck on your future videos. We are watching you, and the Black Swordsman, in eagerness and admiration.
Thank you so much! It means a lot to get a nice and respectful comment, or just acknowledgement on your work in general. I am so happy that any one person enjoys something that I made, and so I try to show that in return, even if just one response. I'm glad you enjoyed the video, I hope you enjoy upcoming ones!
Thank you very much! The choice of doing lore through the perspective of the player’s character was to reinforce some of the emotional moments Elden Ring’s story has. While we all want to understand the lore I think the story gets overlooked.
I like this video because it actually really seems to fit with that trailer that just came out and it makes it look like Gideon knew all along of Miquella’s schemes
Thank you so much! This was a theory that I felt very confident in but I didn't want it to get dismissed so I tried to go the extra mile to make sure the video was really fun to watch!
This is probably the coolest and most original way I have seen anybody share their experience with this game so far. This is incredibly entertaining even to just listen to.
Glad you thought so! Happy that both the visuals and audio were both entertaining! If you wanna hear me talk more(lol) I did Q&A for comments from this video as part of my latest video - Lost Souls of the Sage’s Cave!
I’m happy you enjoyed the video! I didn’t think I’d get this many people would subscribe to my channel or watch my videos so this level of success is already very heartwarming! I do think that when the DLC comes out there will be a bump to all channels who make lore content, I hope you stick around and watch my future videos!
I enjoy this style of storytelling of what can be experienced in the game. A fun narrative lead with the Tarnished player character. Great work with the footage and editing!
I've seen plenty of speculation that Ranni worked with Marika to pull off the Night of Black Knives while Miquella was just trying to clean up the mess by laying Godwyn to rest, but this is the first time I've seen someone linking Miquella to the assassination. And it works! I figured he just walked away from the Erdtree to found his own civilization under the Haligtree, but he had to have known the Golden Order would not stand for that. It would be an interesting wrinkle if the guy trying to cure his sister of her supernatural rotting disease unleashed an even greater blight upon the land. I can't wait for the DLC to (hopefully) shine some light on Godwyn and Miquella.
My goal is to share with you all my interpretation of Elden Ring, which I think is rather unique. I hope you stick around to check out my future videos, thank you for the comment!
this is exactly what I was thinking. In Elden Ring the Erdtree is seen as this worlds Sun, or it once was [‘Warming Stone’].. before death light took over the tree. The suns role in Elden Ring is very minuscule. This is intentional to replace its role with the Erdtree. I believe that the reason why the Erdtree does not act as warmth of the sun anymore is because of Godwyns death, and his eventual deathroot takeover. Metaphorically speaking, you could present this event as an ‘Eclipse’ of sorts. The external celestial force (death) is blocking out the purpose of the Erdtree (sun) And if we relate this to berserk, weird things happen during an eclipse. This would explain the mesh between the spirit world and real world, in Elden Ring, after Godwyns death (I.e - Tibia Mariners, Spectral candles, Those Who Live In Death, Spectral shades, etc.). It’s also important to mention how Elden Ring’s eclipse is a result of the Removal of Destined Death, for clarification (Sidenote: I also think eclipses mean many different things in The Lands Between. Miquella’s eclipse is totally different in purpose to what we see happening in the DLC image, which I believe to be a separate eclipse. So as long as a celestial force is blocking/covering the Erdtree, it is an eclipse).
also holy shit your skill with that greatsword is INSANE. You literally look like guts, what ash is that that lets you block and counter like that that is so badasss
It’s just the regular guard counter, block and then heavy attack. The Greatsword blocks 86% physical damage, and this build is 60 Vigor, Erdtree Favor+2, and Morgotts great rune giving it ~2400 HP, so that chip damage isn’t a problem. Guard counters are really good and I think underutilized, you can do it with any weapon.
Loved this. I love the way it's presented as fanfiction, the tale of your Tarnished, while being wholly lore compliant (my fav kind of fanfic). So stoked for the DLC, so stoked to find a new youtube channel to follow (you!). And seriously digging this music at the end!
I hadn’t thought of it as fan fiction, because in all honesty this is how you should play Elden Ring. What I mean by that is that it’s a roleplaying game, there is fun to be had in attempting to get into your character’s headspace because they’re YOUR character. I had this theory and I thought it would be hard to explain it unless you get into the headspace of a character in Elden Ring experiencing it. I used to do a lot of lore and story theorizing for A Song of Ice and Fire years ago, and when you’re theorizing about a book you have characters literal thoughts on the page so you understand their fantasy world based on their perspective. With Elden Ring, you get to see the whole world in front of you and learn how you experience it, but you don’t know what the in-game characters think about it. So expect to see more videos featuring the Black Swordsman trying to uncover the history to Elden Ring’s lore. The goal isn’t to generate head canon but rather try to explain what is and isn’t canon through an actor on the stage. Also the music is Windmills! Their second album Broken Record is heavily influenced by Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls! Thank you for the comment and the follow, I hope to see your thoughts on future videos!
Loving your approach to doing a lore vid. Also the Berserk reference was very much appreciated. Definitely subbing. Looking forward to what you come up with next.
@@JackisaMimic There's a clear parallel between the punishment Guts goes through in the anime/manga and everything the protagonist in Elden Ring has to weather. 😉
You should check out the channel @dondonrv if you haven’t. Miyazaki is a massive Berserk fan and this TH-camr attempted to document all of the references throughout all the Souls games. Really cool stuff!
One point to bring up: The Misbegotten don’t seem to be citizens of the Haligtree, but pillagers/ crusaders. The evidence for this is subtle, but when they are praying, they are all facing the direction of the Erdtree, not where Miquella is supposed to be embedded. The second bit of evidence for this is the Misbegotten Crusader boss right near the entrance to the Haligtree, which has a sword personally crafted by Renalla and altered by Radagon himself. Now why would the leal hound of the Golden Order personally gift a personal treasure of his to a Misbegotten that was leaving to go to the Haligtree for refuge, which represented an order directly opposed to the Golden Order itself? Unless of course it was to eradicate the foes of the Erdtree. Also think about it, why would Miquella welcome the Misbegotten when, even if they were shunned and enslaved by the Golden Order, they still have “blessings” directly linked to the Erdtree itself. Miquella was directly opposed to everything the Erdtree stood for, why would he welcome beings directly molded by its gifts? Also note that the Misbegotten are all outside Elphael, not a single one is in the actual city, all of them are on the outskirts, with Loretta guarding the entrance to the city itself. Just food for thought, it is just a theory after all.
I may answer this question in an upcoming video because I've seen this theory posited before, mostly through Tarnished Archeologist I believe. The direction the Misbegotten are praying towards is not towards the Haligtree, you are correct, but Miquella is not in the Haligtree. He is away, deep beneath Caelid. We don't know why they are praying in that direction, but we have multiple options to explain why they are facing away. Second is about the Golden Order. Chapter 3 is my favorite part in the video, because I think proposed an interpretation that I have not seen anyone else put online. That Golden Order Fundamentalism is worship of the Sun and not the Erdtree. This makes Radagon's intentions and motivations fall more in line with Marika's, because it would mean he may also be an enemy of the Erdtree. It are his thorns that block entrance to the Erdtree, after all, and as a GO Fundamentalist he understand the Law of Causality and Regression. Without his thorns there would be no reason to burn the Erdtree. I think the obvious rebuttal is that while Marika shattered the Elden Ring, Radagon attempted to repair it. Their actions seem to be in direct opposition to each other, but only if you look at them separately. If you look at them together you may see one person breaking something down so someone can build it back up. To sum up in one word: reforging. Thank you for the comment, I'm surprised it took this long for someone to bring up this contention! I hope this interpretation makes sense, let me know what you think!
@@JackisaMimic mmmmmmm, these are also good points. Unfortunately it comes down to speculation and personal interpretation, but that what makes it so fun and interesting. Thanks for the insight! Wouldn’t have thought of them myself.
I wish i could give you a super-like or something because 1 is clearly not enough! What an incredibly well made video!! Love the storytelling through the Black Swordsman and your sharp eye for the story ingame!
Seriously, I have been trying to tell people for so long that Miquella/Saint Trina was the architect (and the Snowy Crone mentor of Ranni) who orchestrated the Night of the Black Knives! You nailed weaving the whole eclipse narrative together. I'm curious, when did you figure out Miquella/Saint Trina was the mastermind, when did it click? For me it was the concentration of Saint Trina's lillies surrounding the Derelict Apostate church upon completing Latenna's quest, the highest density of the flowers in the whole game. 🥀 Castle Sol phantom: "Lord Miquella, forgive me. The sun has not been swallowed. Our prayers were lacking. Your comrade remains soulless... I will never set my eyes upon it now. Your divine Haligtree."
I was doing a playthrough and paying close attention to when we receive items in the game, because when doing lore analysis I think it’s overlooked that the order you receive items can sometimes be more important than the item itself. For example, you can get bewitching branches as a gift at the start of the game but you only get the cook book late game when you reach Mohgwyn, and that tells you that Miquella’s Lillie’s are only used in that one recipe. After you beat Mohg, Gideon will give you the Law of Causality. That to me is probably the most significant item in the game as it tells us that if you want to understand the story you have to look at everything as a chain of relations: there are no coincidences, every cause has an effect. With the Law of Regression(IRL) you can use the effect and work backwards to attempt to predict the cause. Then I did another playthrough and looked at the items sequentially with the Law of Causality and Law of Regression in mind. Radagon and Miquella being GO Fundamentalists are two characters who are aware of Causality and Regression, so I payed close attention to information related to them. I worked backwards from “why create deathroot” to come to this conclusion. Same thing can be true with the thorns that block the Erdtree. If they’re Radagon’s thorns, then he knows that the only way to enter the Erdtree is to burn it down. As GO Fundie, it seems that he is creating a cause for the eventual effect. With that, Radagon and Marika don’t seem like opposing forces anymore, just two sides of the same coin .
23:32 That’s not black knife assassins. That’s black flame, the one used by the Godskin who work for Ranni and Rykard (the noble that’s present in Volcano Manor, and the one who ambushes you in a location only accessible to those that have Ranni’s permission through the inverted statue). She wanted to cut all loose ends, including Iji and the black knife assassins that helped her. Ranni and Rykard are also working together, through the blasphemous claw. Edit: hmm, that’s an interesting bit, regarding amber, and it actually connects the prince of death staff with golden order fundamentalism (int+faith) quite nicely, it would also explain Seluvis failing, someone’s beat him to the punch. That said, it means several characters are affected by Miquella, Malenia, Loretta, Mohg, possibly Godwyn and Ranni. The Carian shield also states they were preparing to fight someone skilled in both magic and holy attacks, and Miquella’s faction is the only one I can think of
Hey don’t spoil my future videos like this! But I agree, I don’t believe these are true Black Knife Assassins surrounding Iji or Blaidd. Iji seems to know they are coming too, which I think also lends credence to Ranni tying up loose ends. It’s almost like they’re mimicking Black Knife Assassins, they’re flame mimicking Destined Death ;) Thanks for the comment! Glad to see others using this type of thinking, hope you stick around for future videos.
@@JackisaMimicThank you! I finished your video now, and edited my first message. Interesting stuff, I’ll be sure to check out your next videos, you had me intrigued 😊 I guess, I’m SERIOUSLY interested in your take regarding the Carian shield
@@ReturnoftheLightning Glad you liked it! Your edit gave me an idea for a future video, because I think I should clarify something. It's not that amber can necessarily control people, just that it holds the secrets to life itself. Miquella being this "bold craftsman who understood the very nature of life", I think, indicates that he can uncover those secrets. Kind of like its the raw material and it can be manipulated. If we think about the bewitching branch, from its description is blessed with an unalloyed incantations and needs to pierce enemies to control them. Well, Miquella's unalloyed gold needle, which was originally used by Malenia, then Millicent, and perhaps the player if they take on the Flame of Frenzy, needs to pierce the flesh for it to ward off Outergods. That connection, if true, has some wild implications. Hope you enjoy my other stuff, as well as my future videos to come!
We all knew the Norse, the Berserk, the Game of Thrones, and the past Soulsborne titles that were directly inspirational for the creation of Elden Ring. What I did not expect, was for Miquella to be presented as a Sauron-style figure of planning, cunning, charisma, army gathering, necromancy, and horrifying rituals of blasphemy. I haven't been on the edge of my seat for a soulsborne analysis for a long, long time. Good job!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed this style, while I do have some “dissection” videos penned and planned we will all see the Black Swordsman return to continue his journey through the Lands Between
When the demigods* play their game of thrones, the common folk suffer. None of these characters can claim innocence, but it is up for us as the audience to decide which one we think is justified in their actions. Happy you found the video enjoyable, hope to see stick you around for the next one!
Fantastic compilation! May I borrow your brain for a few points: 1) You are suggesting a puppet-master in Miquella. It is a SERIOUSLY devious plan to coordinate the creation of the King of the Dead with his brother as the subject. What are the chances of going through with a plan like that? Ockham's razor would suggest that the King of the Dead was an unfortunate byproduct of Rani's plan. And that Rani is the one who manipulates us by giving us Miquealla's spirit calling bell to earn our trust. 2) If he is such a great conspirator, how could he not evade Mogh? 3) Let's assume that your therory is correct tho. How is Miquella and Rani connected? Why would the black knife assassins participate? And why would they kill Iji after Rani came out of her hiding? And why is Iji burning with black flames and not red-black? What is the missing link that connects these stories? 4) If the misbegotten are his recruited allies, how come there is a Misbegotten crusader in the snowfield? Maybe they found out about the new order that he was preparing and they migrated to his tree to seek a better place where they are not prosecuted. Still, not allies but invaders. 5) How does creating the King of the Dead tie in with his pursuit to cure his sister from her rot? We don't have any reason to question that this was his ultimate goal. Looking forward to your future works - hopefully with less stock sunrise footages.
Thank you! Can’t wait to answer these questions! For Mohg though, you’re asking the wrong question. Instead of “how could he not evade Mohg” the question should be “why would he want to?” Think about the outcomes of his kidnapping. Don’t worry, I’ll answer in the next video!
@JackisaMimic intriguing - looking forward to it! But the conventional answer would be that he would want to evade mogh to finish his transformation inside the haligtree. Now that he didn't, his sister is doomed, and we find her in a delusional state. Instead of an erdtree level haligtree, we see that rot has taken over. Isn't that a colossal failure? Weren't all his sacrifices in vain? Would we have any reason to question the in-game narrative that we are presented? Looking forward to the vid 😁
@@SammysourisComing from the future, I did not expect the true question to be “What is there not to gain from letting Mohg believe he’s getting what he wants?” …
@@lerosallyn9279 I'm still not convinced for that 😆- Mohg is easily my favourite boss, I love his lore and his in-game motivations, and I cannot see how a badass legend like him could have been manipulated beyond his personal interests. Still, Miquella is thoroughly mysterious - we are still to piece the puzzle together in the DLC.
Glad you thought so! This part and the conclusion in chapter 3 are the parts Im most proud of. In the end, if I'm only right about one theory I hope its that to do with the Sun, and Godwyn, the Golden Son!
Thank you! If you liked this video I have a “cut chapter” coming out within the week that is essentially more lore building for Miquella. Please consider subscribing!
An incredible video, and the first I've seen that breaks the trend of everyone thinking Miquella is just an up-front good guy. Maybe I'm traumatized from the previous games, but the harder that characters try to convince me they have good intentions the more suspicious I am of them.
If you think Miquella is an honest actor in this story then I think Patches has some property in the Lake of Rot he'd like to sell you lol I'm glad you liked my video, I hope you stick around to see my future videos!
Great video! Super well-researched, well thought-out and explained! I like the story-telling elements, it's very VaatiVidya with the voice overs and narrations and use of gameplay. Kudos!! Some questions I'm wondering about after watching this video are below and I want to thank you for helping me think about them :) 1. It seems that you're implying that the reason for the night of the black knives goes like this: Miquella -> creates Haligtree (which is a refuge for all the life forms rejected by the Golden Order) -> black knife assassins are rejected by the Golden Order for their association with the Eternal cities -> Miquella allies with them to kill the erd tree -> black knife assassins convince Ranni to carry out the ritual to discard of her body -> they kill godwyn using the other half of the cursemark -> godwyn becomes those living in death -> burial in the erd tree unsuccessful -> Godwyn becomes Prince of Death -> Start causing the death of the roots in the erd tree Why does Godwyn's burial cause deathroot to sprout? There are loads of people who get buried in the erd treet roots that get rejected and that never affected the tree before? 2. Failure of the Haligtree and why Miquella abandoned it and his sister to pursue the Shadow Realm: If Haligtree works on the same principle as the erd tree, it should grow stronger as it consumes more souls, and Miquella was clearly amassing tons of allies before he abandoned the tree. So why'd he do it? Is it because of the rot that the Haligtree failed, that the interference of the outer rot gods was never abated for too long? 3. I've never quite understood why Marika would start the Shattering after the death of Godwyn. I mean there are some theories that suggest that Marika is Melina and she wanted the burning of the erd tree all along and was guiding us through the Lands Between specifically to that end. If the burning of the erd tree is orchestrated by Miquella, what purpose does Marika have in starting the shattering? I like a lot of "Miquella is behind everything" theories especially as we get more information in SoTE, but a lot of them completely remove the character of Marika and what her motivations and ambitions might have been.
Seriously compelling. I really like that you've made a story with your player character that incorporates the threads that the NPC's weave for us. I like to do the same thing as I play the game and take notes in my journal. I've come to the same conclusions after 2 years. Thank you and well done!
Using a journal for RPGs is such an underrated tool for immersion and entertainment. Back in the day it was necessary, when I played Morrowind the in-game journal wasn't also so helpful so using a pen and pad was necessary. I am happy you enjoyed the video, thank you for your comment!
@@JackisaMimic I've been part of a group that has discussed Miquella and the mastermind implications for well over a year, I shared this with them on our chat. Those conversations include the idea that Miquella is a puppet master (literally in the context of the game) and speaks through several characters we encounter. It's fun even if it doesn't get supported with future content.
I don't think that it won't get supported but that it won't get confirmed. It is supported in this game already: there are mimic people, there are puppet people, there are dual identities, and there are bewitching powers. We will never truly know for certain which character's are acting of their own volition or if they were influenced by someone or something else, but that is the point, can we ever truly know what lies in the heart of man? I think that is one of the central themes to Elden Ring. "Miyazaki has high hopes for us. That we continue to theorize, unto eternity."
Seriously, fantastic video! I feel like I understand potentially even just a little bit more of what the eclipse means and the missing pieces of lore I hope to see expanded upon in the expansion. I identify with Malenia though so I am afraid my brother is capable of no wrong! 😊
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed the video. Poor Malenia, if only she knew what her brother was up to. The wars she fought, all of the lives lost, such a shame. Say, I wonder where all the blood from her battles in Caelid went? Maybe Mohg knows 😉 Hope you stay tuned for more videos!
I just want to say, I love the storytelling weaved into the lore you've done here, Jack, great work, and I can't imagine how much work must seriously go into it. No, really, how often does the scripting take? Because you've done it very well with incredible shots to go along with it. But my question would be this; what does Miquella have to gain by killing Godwyn? Ranni is the more obvious culprit, no? When approached with the knowledge that she orchestrated the plot to kill her Empyrean flesh, and we have her own confession to stealing a piece of Destined Death, perhaps with Marika's aid. Means (the black knife-print). Motive (to no longer be controlled by the Two Fingers). Opportunity (at night, when Godwyn would be least prepared for a fight, and with little means to defend himself). If anything, wouldn't it be more fitting to argue that Miquella sought to free his brother from living in Death? But I ramble. Regardless, take care now.
Glad you enjoyed the video! It took me about a month to do the whole video, from writing the script to recording and editing. With what we learned from the DLC promotional material we know that Miquella had "divested himself of his flesh" in order for his soul to reach the Land of Shadow. So how does that fit in? Deathroot. When the Rune of Death was removed from the Elden Ring it made it so that Demigods and people could not die. In order for someone to truly die their body and soul must be fed to the Erdtree via Root Burial. With Deathroot this is not possible, souls are unable to return to the roots, this is why we can see ghosts and also why we can summon Spirit Ashes, ash unreturned to the Erdtree. Godwyn's death, as well as the Night of the Black Knives, causes the destabilization of the Lands Between and puts the Demigods in the current positions we find them. Without the Lands Between being destabilized Mohg would probably not have been able to kidnap Miquella and bring him to Mohgwyn, which seems to be very important for Miquella to travel to the Land of Shadow. Since Deathroot prevents souls returning to the Erdtree Miquella's soul, I presume, can now safely travel to the Land of Shadow without being vacuumed up. It also leads to the events that would allow him to be kidnapped, if you agree with me that Miquella bewitched Mohg in order for him to move him to Mohgwyn. There is also another wrinkle with Godwyn and his golden lightning and the Crucible puppet in the trailer using Golden Lightning but thats for another video! Hope that all makes sense!
Appreciate the clarification, but my personal take is Mohg wanted to become a Lord, he had an Outer God's support in the form of the Formless Mother if you'll forgive the turn of phrase, and only needed an Empyrean to make into what I've been calling an Inner God but a God none the less. I can't imagine Mohg or Morgot weren't aware of what was happening in the Lands Between (that name has always bothered me, but that's neither here nor there), or at the very least the Royal Capital, and Mohg, being ambitious for Lordship, took the opportunity to strike. Off the three known Empyreans, Miquella is his most obvious choice. Milenia is too powerful for him to take on, and would never agree to work with anyone besides Miquella, Ranni can be safely assumed dead, and even then, with the power she'd likely wield as a Carian Princess? Out of the question. That leaves one other; Miquella. Given his general charter of bringing the Erdtree's enemies or those bereft of Grace to his order of Unalloyed Gold, I wouldn't put it past Mohg to be able to sneak into the Haligtree and Elphael under the guise of an Omen who was cast out (technically not lying about that, for what it's worth), and when Milenia marches to go fight Radhan, who we can assume was attempting to imitate Godfrey in becoming Elden Lord and resuming Golden Order business as usual, he plucks the undefended Miquella from his tree-womb and bing bang bosh, Mohgs your uncle. Perhaps, if we were to fuse the theories, it is Miquella who convinces Mohg to set up his new dynasty in the ancient structure? I guess the main thing I dislike about the "Miquella was the real villain the entire time" bit is that to me it ignores two things; Mohg's agency and shown ambition (which, you could argue Miquella wouldn't have had to do much to bewitch him to 'kidnap' him, which, fair enough), but it also feels to on the nose. We're told time and time again that Miquella is the most accepting and pure-hearted of the demigods. I think it's a more impactful story if these things are true, rather than a facade he's wearing to dupe the rest of the Lands Between. Dunno, that's just my two cents. Could be totally wrong, could be 100% on the money, could be somewhere in between, could be so far into left field it lands in the right field. Only time will tell.
@JackisaMimic Don't cut yourself short friend, it's the combination of meaning, passion, mystery and sound that once put together deliver this feeling!
I always felt like Ranni's line was delivered sarcastically. "I see. Quite the sleuth, aren't we. Indeed, I am the witch Ranni. I stole a fragment of the Rune of Death, and used it to forge the godslaying black knives through fearsome rite. I did it all." But until now it felt that she was manipulated by Marika. I was wrong.
Happy I was able to convince you with my video! You watched it at the perfect time, the rabbit hole goes much deeper, and the direct sequel to this video should be finished within the next few weeks. I hope you stick around for Part 2!
Glad you like the video! I've seen a few of your videos, mostly your lore ones, and I enjoy your analysis. If I'm honest though, I loved your video on Elden Rings game design, you were absolutely spot on!
@@JackisaMimic oh I didnt know you watched my videos. Thats good to hear. Also I like how you use Guts sword as collosol weapons and their posture breaking potential has made my 1st playthrough of elden ring a magical experience from a gameplay point of view. I enjoyed that aggressive boss AI and finding hard to see narrow punish windows a lot. I've uploaded my DLC analysis today. Maybe you might like it. Your voice is very calm and easy to listen to. Im sure this video has taken a lot of time to make as you explore and narrate multiple sidequests
I'll give the video a watch! I see you that you're pulling from Egyptian Mythology, which is very interesting. The game, at its base, is heavily Norse influenced. That being said, without having watched your video yet, I could see a "God of War" style endeavor where the game "jumps"(figuratively or literally) to something that is influenced by Egyptian myth. Looking forward to hearing your prediction!
@@JackisaMimic Jack let me put it like this. As you said, Egyptian Myth would also not be my 1st choice of avenue to explore however once I've seen the evidence for it discussed in the video, I had no choice but to make this video. I hope you like it. Tell me your thoughts in the comments if you watch it. Cheers
I just realized thats why your descriptive narrative is so strong. You speak like how a novelist would write the script. Since you like reading those books
I’ve always thought of Miquella as a villain. Ever since I read the Bewitching Branch description something doesn’t seem right about him. Great video, btw!!
The name of the Black Knife Assassin leader Alecto is from one of the classical Greek Furies who punish those who transgress the laws of the elder gods. Nice shout out from the devs.
![The Complete Story of Destiny! From origins to Shadowkeep [Timeline and Lore explained]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9mbDXvDNqTU/mqdefault.jpg)
![[#2024MAMA] G-DRAGON - 무제(Untitled, 2014)+POWER+HOME SWEET HOME+뱅뱅뱅+FANTASTIC BABY | Mnet 241123 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ox29z5Nf1Uk/mqdefault.jpg)
Subscribe to be notified of the next chapter in the Black Swordsman's journey, where he will search for the truth behind Miquella's manipulation of the entire Lands Between! We will find our hero investigating the Ancient Dynasty, Malenia and Millicent, The Shaded Castle and House Marias, as well as the Volcano Manor and its pit of Recusants!
A son was swallowed by the moon, a Dark Moon - Godwin assassinated by Ranni. This was the eclipse of the Golden Order.
What took me an hour you did in one sentence lol!
@@JackisaMimic your incredibly immersive videos inspire me to realize profound truths of Elden Ring's content - the credit goes to you good sir! 🙏
Everyone in TLB: Everything is dying! Our lives are terrible and the gods have abandoned us!
Oracle Envoys: Toot toot! It's party time, lads!
Ain’t no party like a doomsday party
I mean they're perfect! They make noise and blow bubbles, if only we could be so incandescent ...
Damn those Oracles, wont let the rest of us die in peace. I swear, I'll say fuck it and rise from my grave as a logic defying skeleton and...
You’re truly special. One of the most unique individuals in the Elden Ring Loretuber-verse. I suspect a major increase in your recognition when Shadow of the Erdtree drops when it reintroduces all its playerbase again.
It’ll be just like launch, and a good time for new lore creators such as yourself
Thank you so much, I really hope I can continue to create videos that people enjoy while also being able to stay true to my interpretation of the story. I used to post these theories to reddit or discords, but the communities there were hostile and mean, there was no room for discussion, even if it was just friendly disagreements. I had people call me delusional or bad faith all over an opinion on a video games story! TH-cam has been a world of difference, everyone has only been respectful, and kind words like yours really bring me joy.
When Shadow of the Erdtree comes out Im either gonna be flat out wrong or vindicated. There's one theory I have that I haven't shared yet, and I have not seen it anywhere online, that I am actually worried that it's going to be proven true in Shadow of the Erdtree before I can share it lol
Maybe if a trailer comes out I'll do an analysis and prediction video as an insurance policy
🙄🙄🙄
@@JackisaMimic reddit is full of toxicity. keep it up.
The power of the unalloyed gold is to remove the influence of the outer gods, and in that, Miquella is alone. He is the only actor in this story that has no one in his ear, the only one who can choose to do something all on his own, and that in turn makes him the most fascinating to me. The Golden Epitaph has him care deeply for his brother even after death, the reason he entered the cocoon was to age up and find a cure for his sister's rot. I believe he really wanted to help. But like most characters of this game, there's no clean hands here, to usher in a new age was to break the old. How surprising would it be for them to use his other gifts, that of bewitching, and of sleep, to organize events beyond even Marika/Radagon's control?
Whatever Miquella's goals or motivations are they are definitely outside of the schemes of our other characters in the story. They're all trying to play the game of thrones, Miqeulla just plays it the best.
Fun fact about Unalloyed Gold: Using the needle in Placidusax's Arena is literally Lobotomising yourself.
Nah, Miquella is becoming Femto in her Cocoon ! ^^'
Where does it say miquella is unaffected by an outer god, certain its unclear either way/not mentioned.
you obviously put a ton of effort into this. it’s high-quality, thoroughly researched, and entertaining. I hope your channel takes off.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the video! Hope you stick around for future videos!
The conclusion is mind boggling to even think about but alot of it makes sense.Miquella loosing faith in the golden order to cure his sister,breaking the cycle of rebirth to gather allies,amber being a substance capable of changing demigod destinies,the reason why he wanted Godwyn to die a true death is most likely because Godwyn had a close relationship with him and Malenia despite being a co-plotter in the night of the black knives.Great work
Thank you so much! When you start looking at the story from this perspective it starts to make you rethink everything you think you know about the games story, for example the Golden Order Fundamentalist being Sun worshippers and not Erdtree worshipers.
What does that mean for the motivations of Radagon if as a Fundamentalists he was a Sun worshipper. Many people think Radagon's thorns block the entrance to the Erdtree because he was trying to protect it and the Elden Ring, but if he didn't put the thorns then the Tarnished would have no reason to burn the Erdtree. As a Fundamentalist, knows the law of Casualty and understands cause effect. So he may have put thorns up on purpose so you would burn the Erdtree. If Radagon wants to burn the Erdtree, why and what does that mean to the characters who are allied with him, or admire him like his son Radahn.
@@JackisaMimic Well, in Berserk, Griffith trust and love the band of Hawk, but for ascending to Godhound, he can do the worst even to the one he loves. I Think we got fooled by Miquella & the story , and if this is like Berserk, Miquella is the real villain ^^"
People forget, Mequella has an all consuming bewitching power. He literally could have bewitched Ranni to instigate Night of Black Knives
He could have bewitched Godwyn to attempt to become a “martyr for destined death” too :P
@@JackisaMimicno he wanted to fix the half wheel on godwyn so he could at least die properly as he felt his brothers form of death was worse of all
He bewitched my mon
@@wowo2017 I’m not so sure. While I agree he wanted to undo his brother’s undead condition, I think Mequella also needed this to happen as the eclipse is part of the ritual needed for him to ascend to a true god. I believe that is why Malenia campaigned to Caelid to fight Radahn. He was holding back the stars and lunar cycle preventing the eclipse indirectly as a result and both Mequella and Malenia needed him gone for their goals to be realized…my hypothesis anyway.
I never even considered that Ranni could be a pawn of Miquella... fascinating.
Something I’ve seen few point out as interesting about Goldmasks design is the dots. Yes, they symbolize the “fly in the ointment” but they are also his viewports out to seeing and reading the tree, besides his finger reading.
a similar device is used to view something close to the sun, such as an event like the eclipse.
35:03 I remember first seeing this moment like “wth is going on over there” and then lmao when I got there. Seeing bro so defeated next to this man T-posing is just hilarious 😭
Goldmask was asserting dominance on that blindfolded dummy
The virgin blind believer vs the Chad golden order understander
A couple things. First, I want to point out that I've heard the statue embracing Miquella and Malenia is actually of Godwyn rather than Marika. This raises interesting sibling dynamics and offers a reason for Miquella to look up to Godwyn and wish him a true death escaping his soulless demigod/living in death fate. That seems contradictory to your theory of Miquella purposefully creating the Prince of Death, though. Second, I always like to include the possibility of how Radahn's gravity magic is influencing these plots. Not only is he holding back asteriods such as the one that strikes the entrance to Nokron (and thus Ranni's fingerslaying plot), but perhaps he is also holding the Sun and Moons in place (and thus preventing the Sol Eclipse). This gives Malenia reason to confront and attack Radahn to carry out Miquella's wishes since Radahn interfered with his eclipse plot, though curiously enough Radahn/Caelid are directly above Mohgwyn's dynasty where Miquella is held at present so perhaps Malenia was searching for Miquella and it led her falsely to Radahn instead of Mohg.
Other commenters have suggested that the statue is in fact Godwyn and I think that is definitely a possibility, but I don’t think that hurts the theory. History and is filled with people in power killing those they love, or feigning that love. This is a story co-written by GRRM after all! In future videos I will consider this confusion about the statues, the Black Swordsman doesn’t know everything and is wrong more often than not. He only has one eye after all 😉
I think Radahn holding the stars in place is a red-herring when it comes to Miquella’s schemes, because I think the Eclipse is symbolic and not literal (Ranni representing the moon and Godwyn representing the Sun)
I do agree with the observation of Caelid being directly over Mohgwyn. As I bring together in Chapter 5, blood is an important ingredient to grow Erdtrees, and Mohgwyn is chock full of it! You can even see new growth from the collapsed petrified trees and the whole of Mohgwyn itself almost looks like a tree trunk!
Could Miquella’s plan have been to initiate a conflict between Malenia and Radahn so that the blood of war could seep through the Earth? It’s definitely a possibility.
Thank you for commenting! Sharing ideas is how we all learn and improve, hope to see your insights in future videos!
It is interesting to study the correlation between the Carian Royals and the Haligtree Order. Especially considering how Ranni appeared in person to hand the Spirit Calling Bell, which basically confirmed that Miquella was the former master.
What's clear is that both desired to break the cycle and gain freedom from the predestined fate given to them as Empyreans, and fostered an alliance centered on the exchange of information and resources toward that end. Both are masterminds, and appear to have a mutual respect for the other. But where I believe they diverge is that one was a prior Golden Order Fundamentalist and the other was an Astrologer.
Miquella received tutelage from Radagon contributing his Discus of Light incantation, and Ranni received tutelage from Rennala contributing her Dark Moon sorcery.
The key difference can be found in their upbringing. While Radagon exchanged the teachings of the Golden Order - that was a culmination from his time in Caria and in the Erdtree Capital that emphasized conjoining intelligence and faith - to Miquella, essentially allowing for him to develop the wisdom that allows one to operate within reality making intelligent decisions while not violating causality early on. Ranni was given only half of the puzzle from Rennala who she clearly loves and had to support after she lost her mind following Radagon's departure.
This resulted in her becoming a ruthless schemer who sought to realize her mother's vision for her no matter the cost, and considering she had gained a natural repulsion for the Golden Order after her father's abandonment of their family - along with terrifying prospect of being enthralled by her own Two Fingers and made as an obeisant servant to the Greater Will . She would have no qualms uprooting it. Even if it meant making a deal with the Nox to assassinate Godwyn.
Matthew 7:16 "By their fruit you will recognize them"
If we understand that Miquella was a Golden Order Fundamentalist, and how his Haligtree Order essentially takes their precepts as seriously as possible, we understand why he is said to use his magic to compel affection. Through compelling affection he creates opportunities for diplomacy which wouldn't otherwise exist without warfare in the minds of those caught in the illusion of separation. As all things are "linked in a chain of relation", as is stated in the Law of Causality description, then to harm another is to harm himself.
He takes in those forsaken by the Golden Order. He builds the coolest tree house ever on top of an Erdtree he watered with his own blood. If you look at the unalloyed gold armor plating he made for Malenia it is decorated with floral patterns like someone would make when knitting a sweater.
Maybe he's just the Messiah of Elden Ring?
Great analysis! Your use of the demigods parentage to understand motivation is the right technique, I think you will really like the series I’m working on about the entire family tree! Really phenomenal stuff here.
It’s also interesting that you bring up Miquella being the Messiah because you’re close, I think, but just missed the mark. If you watched my Sage’s Cave video there is a section where I show the relationship between the Candletree design and the prophecy it evokes, the prophecy of flame that monks are punished for seeing, and the “prophecy” that Melina chants during the burning of the Erdtree.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩”
They are all the same prophecy, and no matter what path you take to beat the game, whether it’s bring Melina to the forge or use Frenzy Flame, it comes true. You walk along side flame and meet destined death everytime. It’s also interesting that Miquella’s needle allows you to remove the Flame of Frenzy so you don’t burn down the entire world.
So in effect our character is the messiah from prophecy. That’s kind of new information, it’s not in the forefront of the story. It’s not like Dark Souls where we are told the prophecy at the front, but it exists to the characters of Elden Ring, so much so that people try to prevent it.
The fact of the matter is though, and I will say with certainty that this is true, is the prophecy is made up. It’s not real. It is a tool used to get someone’s schemes in place, and I think it’s part of Miquella’s schemes.
Miquella isn’t the messiah, but he needs one, and I think that through the power of dreams or sleep or whatever he has sent this prophecy to the minds of people far and wide (for a very long time) to create this cause and effect.
Hope you stick around and share your thoughts for future videos!
Bonus Crackpot theory just for you: Each playthrough of Elden Ring is canon, no matter who plays it. They’re all canon, but Miquella turns back the clock until he gets what he wants.
Welcome to my wacky channel lol
Blaidd would definitely get jealous if there was another wolf guy with a big sword rizzing up his girl
Blaidd doesn’t want these hands (there’s a cannon in one of them)
That's like his step sis bro tf
I was quite entranced! And like those that commented before me, I must applaud your narration 👏 Well done, sir. Well done indeed.
That makes me happy to hear! I was worried about making such a long video, but I love to talk, so Im glad I was able to keep your attention with my voice lol
Quite honestly, one of the best pieces of youtube content I have seen in a very very long time.
That's one of the best video I have ever seen. The mix of narrative story telling with lore reading was on point and I must say that the theory you bring to the table is really interesting.
I am truly impressed. Fromsoftware should pay you for hyping me up for shadow of the erdtree like that.
When I was making the final segment my goal was essentially to make a DLC hype video. I’m just as excited as everyone else for Shadow of the Erdtree! Glad you liked the video, I appreciate the kind words!
Even though I disagree with most of your interpretations of the lore, I'm very thankful that you videos exist (and hopefully you'll continue to make them) cause the community is starting to converge, or regress, one might say, to a few interpretations, and it's always fun to see someone at least try to shake the whole thing up a bit and point some blind spots on the mainstream theories.
So, thank you for the vids and keep going, your ideas are quite intriguing, to say the least.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the video! I can promise you that my interpretation of Elden Ring is VERY different from most and you will see more videos from me in the future. Hopefully one of the future theories will convince you of my interpretation.
My goal is to have a channel that consists of a comprehensive look at the games story and lore that is plausible and consistent, I’m not trying to head canon the story but really want to be accurate.
I’m glad that there are people who are disagreeing with me, for example, two people have pointed out that they think the statue in Loretta’s boss room is not Marika or Radagon but Godwyn. I’ve never heard that before, but I think it’s probably the most plausible now and can’t wait to delve into those implications.
Excellent work breaking Miquella down as the possible villain of the piece - I had not made the connection between the dlc promo image and Ranny telling you about Torrent's former master, but now I can't believe I missed it. I thought the statue in Farum Azula with the 3 wolves made me think it was a girl who owned Torrent by association but now I am doubting that, especially with the implication that people confused Miquella for a girl as St. Trina.
Glad you liked the video! I wouldn't look to into the wolves are the first spirit ash as a way to deduce identities of characters, other than that wolves are an important part of Lands Between history and culture, I may do a video on this in the future but none are planed, so Ill just answer here.
What we receive are spirit ashes, so who knows how Ranni, Miquella, or anyone else gained access to the ashes. Lets say the statue of that women is Marika, I could see a scenario where Marika has three wolves, fulfilling the role of here shadow, and when they died she gifted their ashes to her spirit tuning son. Wolves are VERY important to the history of the Lands Between.
One thing we know about Empryean's and their shadows are that they are wolves, or wolf like. From the Shadows we are aware of we have Blaidd(the half wolf), Maliketh(a beastman), and Vargram the Raging Wolf (a tarnished who wanted to be a shadow).
Wolves also seem to be intelligent far beyond we would give them credit for, with Red Wolves being able to cast sorceries and incantations, and whenever wolves ambush the player they communicate via howls. We also have the beastmen(wolf people) of Farum Azula who have culture and intelligence.
As a parting remark, found in the Grand Cloister past the Lake of Rot you find the Scorpion Sting, the one that is supposed to be part of a sealed outer god. Well, the hilt of this weapon is a carved wolf head. Even in the Ancient Dynasty were wolves important.
Hope that explanation makes sense, hope to see you comment on future videos!
@@JackisaMimic I had never noticed the wolf head on the Scorpion Stinger!
This is such a fantastic video, I was pondering a couple days ago before I saw this about how Miquella likely could have been written as a foil to griffith. Between the eclipse, his dream, his presentation, the compelling of affection. Seeing it all presented here in a narrative fashion using berserk was just great, and I’m glad to see i’m not the only one who’s mind was somewhat on that track. Keep up the great work, you’ll have a huge channel someday
Thank you very much, I just hope people enjoy my next videos. As long as one person finds what I make entertaining that’s all I need.
Hope you stick around to see what else the Black Swordsman learns while traveling the Lands Between!
He’s Griffith from Berserk. Literally everything about his character parallels Griffith. His character design, the eclipse, the cocoon/rebirth, bewitching power and the Hailtree is essentially Falconia. There’s a lot of other characters that have clear Berserk parallels in elden Ring and this is definitely one of them.
I think Haligtree is supposed to be more like Elfheim, at least in design anyway. Do you really think Griffith would sacrifice the people who loved and trusted him to further his own goals?! Oh wait...
Thanks for the comment, hope you stay tuned for future videos!
@JackisaMimic the 90's BERSERK is a slice of life anime about a beautiful friendship & its set in medieval times.
Jus dnt watch the last 2 episodes
@benparrish672 tbh, you're right, and I hate you for it. Thanks 😂😂
Dude since the trailer for the expansion just dropped I had a theory that connects even more Griffith similarities. After an interview with Miyazaki, he explains that the dlc will take place in a Shadow Realm. This immediately makes me think of how in Berserk there are different planes of reality all existing in the same place. What if Miquella’s goal in the dlc is to eclipse the erdtree by merging the shadow realm and physical world pulling a Griffith Great Roar of the Astral Plane moment. Another thing I noticed was there is a voice in the gameplay reveal trailer during the first look at the new character Messmer the Impaler who one would presume to be Messmer himself speaking but I think this is to throw us off. I believe it is Miquella. Reason being? It sounds so much like Kevin T Collin’s portrayal of Griffith from the 97 and 3 Berserk movies. Go listen to the voice in the trailer then go listen to Griffith’s friendship speech. You’ll notice the similarities hopefully and I don’t sounds crazy. I’m not saying it is Kevin T Collins but if we find out the voice acting cast and it is him then guaranteed it’s for Miquella.
@@benparrish672😂
Recommendations on fire today. Subbed and shared this with all my friends who play Eldin Ring. Hope your channel explodes in popularity when the DLC drops. You deserve it with amazing content like this.
Thank you so much! I'm happy you liked the video and I hope you like the future videos I have planned!
This was a refreshing format and really engaging. Thanks for all the hard work! I can't wait to see more videos!
Thank you for watching and for the positive feedback! Can't wait to release more, stay tuned!
in dark souls, the protagonist can use humanity(dark souls and greater souls) to restore its apearence and get full health, as improve itself, thats is souls have great power, among the capability to restore. there was a ancient religion in elden ring that praised the trees, but they had normal burials (thats why the catacombs) the greater will can be seen as a parasitic being thats devours souls, it used part of this power to heals, and created a religion to ensure future suply of souls and devoured the ancient greattree. The subproduct of this process is the scarlet rot. since the souls cant reincarnated the balace is broken and the rotten of eviroment started. Mikela foresaw that and tried a plan to destroy the great will source of power, the souls.
Miquella is definitely trying to end the cycle. As we have seen throughout the Lands Between, the current order isn’t the first. There was a time when dragons ruled, or the Giant Giants(the ones we find buried in the mountains and Caelid), and a time when the Ancient Dynasty ruled. Miquella is eternally young, we don’t know how old he is, or how long he has been attempting to enact his plans. For all we know he could have been attempting to break this wheel even before there was a Lake of Rot 😉
Thanks for the comment, hope you stick around for more videos!
this video is unbelievably good. your way of weaving the teaching of lore within genuinely gripping and emotional storytelling is incredible
Thank you very much! When I came up with this theory I wasn't sure how I would be able to present it. I felt like it had a lot of legs to stand on and I wanted it to be taken seriously, so I decided that I needed to take my presentation of it seriously, that is how this story of the Black Swordsman was born.
The revelation that Miquella may be manipulating the player Tarnished since the very beginning is a massive claim, I hope that this video was a convincing enough to make you think so too.
Seriously dude. Your writing and reading are second to none. This is my first time catching one of your videos. Subbed !
Thank you for the high praise! Glad you enjoyed the video and hope you like the future videos to come!
@JackisaMimic I am a weird Eldenring player. I am just now on NG+1 but I have 2 of every farmable weapon at +24 or +9 (depending on type) and I'm working on getting 2 of every Unique weapon this play through and leveling them up too.
I have 2 of every shield (half of them leveled to +24 or +9) The staves and seals too. I don't know why I am leveling all of these weapons and shields.... I stopped leveling at 150. But I am taking my time and really exploring the world and the way you describe things is awesome 👌!
@@mentalwig420 I did the same thing in Dark Souls 1, I spent hours at Andre the blacksmith upgrading every item on a level 257 character lol
My GOSH man, standing ovation! Utterly brilliant story mode journey through the lore content. It felt like a bloody audiobook read through of a beloved book I’m intimately familiar with from my childhood or something. I’m SERIOUSLY so impressed and utterly stunned.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
10/10
👍👍
Bravo! 💯% recommend!
I’ve loved your takes and the fashion by which you’ve chosen to deliver your content since your first video. It’s clear you’re as passionate about this game as myself and many others in this community are and see it as the interactive conglomerative body of art that it is, more so than simply a video game with in-depth world building.
I am so grateful for your videos and your content. Though I’ve largely held mostly quite similar opinions and interpretations to yours, I’ve been thrilled to have my eyes opened to some of your interpretations and conclusions that I had not myself drawn yet. Thank you so much for pouring your heart, mind, time and creativity into such marvellous content that I’m utterly tickled to behold.
I’m so excited by the positively breathtaking theory you’ve proposed in which Miquella is the orchestrator of so much that has been going on between the demi-gods and the night of the black knives. I had to cover my mouth to suppress a shriek, I was so aghast. Your story teller delivery of your own reaction as the black knight drew this conclusion himself was so impactful and immersive. You took me right along in this experience with you in a way I had never imagined possible to share an experience in a video game. Absolutely tremendous.
I love tarnished archaeologist, miss chalice, Elden tales, kite tales, Kosmos and Ontos as my favourite lore creators but you’ve very swiftly taken the top spot with your videos. I’m fairly certain I’m your content’s #1 fan. 🤣😂
SERIOUSLY, though. Having expressed all of that (I’m sorry I’m so word salady!) I’m now fully on board with you proposal of the timeline in which these events occurred as well as the reasons but I’m still left with several questions. (Do you SERIOUSLY believe our tarnished character is a mimic of Miquella? I’m floored as the prospect and so excited thinking about it!)
Firstly, if Ranni was working cooperatively with Miquella when we first meet her, why then does she eventually pursue her own ascension to godhood? Was she never actually loyal to Miquella truly or was this also intended by Miquella?
Secondly, the black knife assassins finally make sense to me with your theory!! They haven’t until now! Why would they attack Iji and Blaidd (or did they?), why was there black flame enwreathed about Iji’s slain body? All of it makes sense now! Because the Black Knife Assassins are loyal to Miquella!!! This is why we find them protecting the path to the Haligtree and in every location we find them. But why is there a single unique Black Knife Assassin in the catacombs in limgrave who is severely injured? Also why did they turn on Ranni after having worked with her previously? Because they learned something? Because they suspected her attempted ascension to godhood in the stead of Miquella?
Thirdly, this makes me wonder about Radahn. I had always assumed Miquella sent Malenia to kill him to relinquish his arrest on the celestial bodies in order to bring about the eclipse, but I still don’t fully understand why Radahn arrested the stars in the first place? Was it because of his loyalty to the golden order? Was it to defend the lands between from the influence of some other outer god or perhaps Astel? Or was it simply to stop Ranni and Miquella from ascending to godhood in a vie for power?
Where does Radagon fit into all of this and what is your interpretation of “Radagon is Marika?” Is it literal or figurative or because of rebirth or mimicry? Are they two separate beings they were conjoined or were they always two beings with one soul or one being with two souls?
Does this mean you believe Miquella to be of darker and more sinister character?
Do you believe Miquella is a rebirth of Marika and Trina is a rebirth of Miquella and we are a rebirth of Trina or are we simply a mimic and not a rebirth?
I have so many questions but this is way too long now. Thank you so much for this video and I’m dreadfully sorry this comment is unbearably long. Have a wonderful day! I can’t wait for the next video!!
EDIT: My conclusion is the same but I was confusing Natural Born with True Born.
Thank you for the kind words. It really means a lot to me that something I worked so hard on brought joy to at least one person. Really, thank you.
I can’t wait to respond to ALL of your questions in the Q&A, they are all topics I want to desperately talk about.
I’ll give you a hint to how I will answer your questions:
The first Astel we fight is titled “Natural Born of the Stars”, yet the weapon we make from its remembrance is “Bastard Stars”. Odd isn’t it, because being natural born and being a bastard are opposites. Or Godfrey, first Elden Lord? Really, the First? What about Placidusax?
Seems like names and titles can lie. I wonder who else might have a “lying” title, and what could that mean for their goals, motivations, and influence 😉
Astel’s English name is “Astel, Natural born of the Void” not “of the Stars”. Being born of the void suggests a lack of parentage, therefore bastardy. The Japanese roughly translates to “Bastard of the Darkness, Astel” which is in line with its remeberance “Bastard’s Stars”.
I’m not sure there is too much to lean on this example of duplicitous naming conventions.
@@positivecontacts You're correct, it is of the void. I was confusing his name with his remembrance weapon "Bastard Stars". I didn't know the Japanese name called him a Bastard, that actually helps me with a theory I have been drafting for a future video. Essentially the theory is that all item description that refer to Astel are actually referring to Astel, Stars of Darkness and the Astel we fight beneath Moonlight Altar is not a true Astel, but a bastard, a possible mimic of an Astel. Why would someone want to create a mimic of an Astel? Same reason someone would want to build a bomb, I think.
Thank you for this comment, if you have any more insights in the future please share them. This is a collaborative effort and hearing from others helps make future videos, and our understanding of the game, better!
@@JackisaMimic”Natural born” *equals* “Bastard”. Remember that “natural born” is another way of saying “bastard” in George RR Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series.
You are correct! Its only used a few times though throughout the series (ASearchForIceandFire is a great resource!) so I reversed its meaning. It plugs a whole in the "japing title" for Astel, but that was only evidence for the larger Astel Mimic theory which I dont think is hurt.
Thanks for the correction, I appreciate it!
Ranni is a lich by all definition. She sacrificed her body and godwyns soul, casting her soul into the small doll. Effectively making the doll a phylactery, she is immortal.
To my understanding, with the removal of Destined Death and being children of Marika, all of the demigods are immortal, in some way at least (until we kill them).
I like the lich angle, that's a very dark but apt perspective to take!
@JackisaMimic correct but ranni wanted free of her shackles of the fingers and so she built a puppet resembling her former master and a tiny doll of similar make but much smaller and easier to hide. Thus making her one of the few who will remain immortal even as the ages change and death is renewed. She is a true legend.
Some of the forensic analysis (and fantastic storytelling) here is almost prophetic knowing what we know now about the dlc. Excellent stuff really looking forward to more of your work
You have such a talent for story telling.
This video was so well structured and comprehensively produced.
Thank you, that’s very kind of you to say! I hope my future productions can entertain just as much, as well as convince you my theories are correct of course ;)
Not sure why, but something about the pacing/narrating/decision making/and thought processes of everything in this video makes my brain so happy. You have a unique brand of Elden Ring loreytelling and you’re doing fantastic; right up there with the big dawgs IMO
Thank you so much! I tried really hard to try to mimic how I made the theory, you essentially watched a dramatization of me putting the evidence together. The goal is to make this all fun for people to watch instead of just me reading wiki descriptions, it's not just about sharing my ideas but to be entertaining. Not all of my videos will be in this style but I will always try to make it fun to watch or listen to.
Great detective work, Guts. I'm impressed. Took many small parts and succinctly put them together. Im so hyped for the dlc.
Glad you liked the video! Though he may have one eye, the Black Swordsman is keen at finding the details 😉
amazing theory and i love the idea of being a character exploring the world and unveiling the secrets of the universe
Thank you! I chose this method because I think the order that we find items and learn lore in the game is significant to understanding the story. I’m glad it was something you liked too!
It was like the Black Swordsman called out to me, to us all. I just claimed the Greatsword as my own, yet here I hear the words of the one who uncovers the truth!
I cannot wait to see what you have to bring to the lore scene of Elden Ring. You’re incredibly respectful and responsive to your commenters, and I hope we can mirror that respect to you.
Good luck on your future videos. We are watching you, and the Black Swordsman, in eagerness and admiration.
Thank you so much! It means a lot to get a nice and respectful comment, or just acknowledgement on your work in general. I am so happy that any one person enjoys something that I made, and so I try to show that in return, even if just one response. I'm glad you enjoyed the video, I hope you enjoy upcoming ones!
Your storytelling is beautiful!! "The black swordsman didnt need to write it down to remember the words he would say" I love it
Thank you very much! The choice of doing lore through the perspective of the player’s character was to reinforce some of the emotional moments Elden Ring’s story has. While we all want to understand the lore I think the story gets overlooked.
Totally awesome to have someone explore that in such an enticing way, with all the connections over time unfolding the story
I like this video because it actually really seems to fit with that trailer that just came out and it makes it look like Gideon knew all along of Miquella’s schemes
This is one of the best lore videos I've ever seen. I love how you weaved everything together as it's own narrative. Great job!
Thank you so much! This was a theory that I felt very confident in but I didn't want it to get dismissed so I tried to go the extra mile to make sure the video was really fun to watch!
This is probably the coolest and most original way I have seen anybody share their experience with this game so far. This is incredibly entertaining even to just listen to.
Glad you thought so! Happy that both the visuals and audio were both entertaining! If you wanna hear me talk more(lol) I did Q&A for comments from this video as part of my latest video - Lost Souls of the Sage’s Cave!
Best lore video i saw in a quite while. Top tier. Great work.
Thank you, happy you enjoyed it! It’s a dry season for lore content right now so I’m glad I could spice it up!
How do you not have way more subscribers??? This video is incredibly well done & concise.
I’m happy you enjoyed the video! I didn’t think I’d get this many people would subscribe to my channel or watch my videos so this level of success is already very heartwarming! I do think that when the DLC comes out there will be a bump to all channels who make lore content, I hope you stick around and watch my future videos!
I enjoy this style of storytelling of what can be experienced in the game. A fun narrative lead with the Tarnished player character. Great work with the footage and editing!
Amazing work my friend, can't wait to see your lore videos when the DLC drops ! Keep up the good work
If the DLC proves any of my theories true then you’re all gonna have a hard time shaking me!
Great video Jack!!! Keep up the great work!!
Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed the video!
Original upload got blocked by a copyright claim. You'll never guess what it was.
The literal rune of perfect order 🤦🏼♀️
Ugh, the perils of TH-cam!
Shadow of the Erdtree? Bandai Namco?!
@@teten1 It was the sunrise clip. It got claimed by a daytime TV show
@@JackisaMimic WHAT
This was a really good video, well made, well composed, well edited, and it had an incredible theory. You got my sub my man, keep up the top tier work
I've seen plenty of speculation that Ranni worked with Marika to pull off the Night of Black Knives while Miquella was just trying to clean up the mess by laying Godwyn to rest, but this is the first time I've seen someone linking Miquella to the assassination. And it works! I figured he just walked away from the Erdtree to found his own civilization under the Haligtree, but he had to have known the Golden Order would not stand for that.
It would be an interesting wrinkle if the guy trying to cure his sister of her supernatural rotting disease unleashed an even greater blight upon the land.
I can't wait for the DLC to (hopefully) shine some light on Godwyn and Miquella.
My goal is to share with you all my interpretation of Elden Ring, which I think is rather unique. I hope you stick around to check out my future videos, thank you for the comment!
That solaire quote was perfect
I’ve always felt like the eclipse is a metaphor for the a death blight tree taking over the erdtree.
this is exactly what I was thinking.
In Elden Ring the Erdtree is seen as this worlds Sun, or it once was [‘Warming Stone’].. before death light took over the tree. The suns role in Elden Ring is very minuscule. This is intentional to replace its role with the Erdtree. I believe that the reason why the Erdtree does not act as warmth of the sun anymore is because of Godwyns death, and his eventual deathroot takeover.
Metaphorically speaking, you could present this event as an ‘Eclipse’ of sorts. The external celestial force (death) is blocking out the purpose of the Erdtree (sun)
And if we relate this to berserk, weird things happen during an eclipse. This would explain the mesh between the spirit world and real world, in Elden Ring, after Godwyns death (I.e - Tibia Mariners, Spectral candles, Those Who Live In Death, Spectral shades, etc.). It’s also important to mention how Elden Ring’s eclipse is a result of the Removal of Destined Death, for clarification
(Sidenote: I also think eclipses mean many different things in The Lands Between. Miquella’s eclipse is totally different in purpose to what we see happening in the DLC image, which I believe to be a separate eclipse. So as long as a celestial force is blocking/covering the Erdtree, it is an eclipse).
It could very well be, I think that is a good interpretation as well!
I thought miquella was going to drain the sun of gold and use it to murderize godwyn
the black swordsman..... this man berks
this is sick as hell
also holy shit your skill with that greatsword is INSANE. You literally look like guts, what ash is that that lets you block and counter like that that is so badasss
It’s just the regular guard counter, block and then heavy attack. The Greatsword blocks 86% physical damage, and this build is 60 Vigor, Erdtree Favor+2, and Morgotts great rune giving it ~2400 HP, so that chip damage isn’t a problem. Guard counters are really good and I think underutilized, you can do it with any weapon.
Loved this. I love the way it's presented as fanfiction, the tale of your Tarnished, while being wholly lore compliant (my fav kind of fanfic). So stoked for the DLC, so stoked to find a new youtube channel to follow (you!). And seriously digging this music at the end!
I hadn’t thought of it as fan fiction, because in all honesty this is how you should play Elden Ring. What I mean by that is that it’s a roleplaying game, there is fun to be had in attempting to get into your character’s headspace because they’re YOUR character.
I had this theory and I thought it would be hard to explain it unless you get into the headspace of a character in Elden Ring experiencing it.
I used to do a lot of lore and story theorizing for A Song of Ice and Fire years ago, and when you’re theorizing about a book you have characters literal thoughts on the page so you understand their fantasy world based on their perspective. With Elden Ring, you get to see the whole world in front of you and learn how you experience it, but you don’t know what the in-game characters think about it.
So expect to see more videos featuring the Black Swordsman trying to uncover the history to Elden Ring’s lore. The goal isn’t to generate head canon but rather try to explain what is and isn’t canon through an actor on the stage.
Also the music is Windmills! Their second album Broken Record is heavily influenced by Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls!
Thank you for the comment and the follow, I hope to see your thoughts on future videos!
This is an extremely high quality video. I'm gonna check out your other videos and I look forward to what you put out in the future!
Thank you! I’m still learning how to edit audio and video, as well as the style I’m trying to go for, so you’ll get a different vibe from each video
Loving your approach to doing a lore vid. Also the Berserk reference was very much appreciated. Definitely subbing. Looking forward to what you come up with next.
Happy to hear you loved it! It only felt right for Guts to be the “protagonist” to Elden Ring 😅
@@JackisaMimic There's a clear parallel between the punishment Guts goes through in the anime/manga and everything the protagonist in Elden Ring has to weather. 😉
You should check out the channel @dondonrv if you haven’t. Miyazaki is a massive Berserk fan and this TH-camr attempted to document all of the references throughout all the Souls games. Really cool stuff!
One point to bring up:
The Misbegotten don’t seem to be citizens of the Haligtree, but pillagers/ crusaders.
The evidence for this is subtle, but when they are praying, they are all facing the direction of the Erdtree, not where Miquella is supposed to be embedded.
The second bit of evidence for this is the Misbegotten Crusader boss right near the entrance to the Haligtree, which has a sword personally crafted by Renalla and altered by Radagon himself.
Now why would the leal hound of the Golden Order personally gift a personal treasure of his to a Misbegotten that was leaving to go to the Haligtree for refuge, which represented an order directly opposed to the Golden Order itself?
Unless of course it was to eradicate the foes of the Erdtree.
Also think about it, why would Miquella welcome the Misbegotten when, even if they were shunned and enslaved by the Golden Order, they still have “blessings” directly linked to the Erdtree itself. Miquella was directly opposed to everything the Erdtree stood for, why would he welcome beings directly molded by its gifts?
Also note that the Misbegotten are all outside Elphael, not a single one is in the actual city, all of them are on the outskirts, with Loretta guarding the entrance to the city itself.
Just food for thought, it is just a theory after all.
I may answer this question in an upcoming video because I've seen this theory posited before, mostly through Tarnished Archeologist I believe.
The direction the Misbegotten are praying towards is not towards the Haligtree, you are correct, but Miquella is not in the Haligtree. He is away, deep beneath Caelid. We don't know why they are praying in that direction, but we have multiple options to explain why they are facing away.
Second is about the Golden Order. Chapter 3 is my favorite part in the video, because I think proposed an interpretation that I have not seen anyone else put online. That Golden Order Fundamentalism is worship of the Sun and not the Erdtree. This makes Radagon's intentions and motivations fall more in line with Marika's, because it would mean he may also be an enemy of the Erdtree. It are his thorns that block entrance to the Erdtree, after all, and as a GO Fundamentalist he understand the Law of Causality and Regression. Without his thorns there would be no reason to burn the Erdtree.
I think the obvious rebuttal is that while Marika shattered the Elden Ring, Radagon attempted to repair it. Their actions seem to be in direct opposition to each other, but only if you look at them separately. If you look at them together you may see one person breaking something down so someone can build it back up. To sum up in one word: reforging.
Thank you for the comment, I'm surprised it took this long for someone to bring up this contention! I hope this interpretation makes sense, let me know what you think!
@@JackisaMimic mmmmmmm, these are also good points.
Unfortunately it comes down to speculation and personal interpretation, but that what makes it so fun and interesting.
Thanks for the insight! Wouldn’t have thought of them myself.
You’re exactly right! If it was straight forward I wouldn’t have made a TH-cam channel 😉
Dude this is such believable roleplaying amazing job. I will be watching your channel with great interest
I wish i could give you a super-like or something because 1 is clearly not enough! What an incredibly well made video!! Love the storytelling through the Black Swordsman and your sharp eye for the story ingame!
Your comment and subscription is all I need! Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed my video. I hope my future videos entertain you just as much!
Seriously, I have been trying to tell people for so long that Miquella/Saint Trina was the architect (and the Snowy Crone mentor of Ranni) who orchestrated the Night of the Black Knives! You nailed weaving the whole eclipse narrative together. I'm curious, when did you figure out Miquella/Saint Trina was the mastermind, when did it click? For me it was the concentration of Saint Trina's lillies surrounding the Derelict Apostate church upon completing Latenna's quest, the highest density of the flowers in the whole game. 🥀
Castle Sol phantom: "Lord Miquella, forgive me. The sun has not been swallowed. Our prayers were lacking. Your comrade remains soulless... I will never set my eyes upon it now. Your divine Haligtree."
I was doing a playthrough and paying close attention to when we receive items in the game, because when doing lore analysis I think it’s overlooked that the order you receive items can sometimes be more important than the item itself. For example, you can get bewitching branches as a gift at the start of the game but you only get the cook book late game when you reach Mohgwyn, and that tells you that Miquella’s Lillie’s are only used in that one recipe.
After you beat Mohg, Gideon will give you the Law of Causality. That to me is probably the most significant item in the game as it tells us that if you want to understand the story you have to look at everything as a chain of relations: there are no coincidences, every cause has an effect. With the Law of Regression(IRL) you can use the effect and work backwards to attempt to predict the cause.
Then I did another playthrough and looked at the items sequentially with the Law of Causality and Law of Regression in mind. Radagon and Miquella being GO Fundamentalists are two characters who are aware of Causality and Regression, so I payed close attention to information related to them. I worked backwards from “why create deathroot” to come to this conclusion.
Same thing can be true with the thorns that block the Erdtree. If they’re Radagon’s thorns, then he knows that the only way to enter the Erdtree is to burn it down. As GO Fundie, it seems that he is creating a cause for the eventual effect. With that, Radagon and Marika don’t seem like opposing forces anymore, just two sides of the same coin .
One of the only times in the past 10 years I actually listened to a guy telling my to like and subscribe. Nice video.
Wow thank you so much! Glad you liked my video enough to subscribe! I hope you enjoy my future videos!
This is the absolute best Elden Ring lore video ever created 🤯
Wow thank you so much! Please consider watching the narrative sequel: Miquella’s Masterplan!
Wow i was hooked the entire time, i love the way you told the story. I‘m very glad this ended up in my recommended. Subbed
I’m glad it got recommended to you too! Happy you liked the video, looking forward to you seeing the next one!
True masterpiece right here.
Thank you!
23:32
That’s not black knife assassins.
That’s black flame, the one used by the Godskin who work for Ranni and Rykard (the noble that’s present in Volcano Manor, and the one who ambushes you in a location only accessible to those that have Ranni’s permission through the inverted statue).
She wanted to cut all loose ends, including Iji and the black knife assassins that helped her.
Ranni and Rykard are also working together, through the blasphemous claw.
Edit: hmm, that’s an interesting bit, regarding amber, and it actually connects the prince of death staff with golden order fundamentalism (int+faith) quite nicely, it would also explain Seluvis failing, someone’s beat him to the punch.
That said, it means several characters are affected by Miquella, Malenia, Loretta, Mohg, possibly Godwyn and Ranni.
The Carian shield also states they were preparing to fight someone skilled in both magic and holy attacks, and Miquella’s faction is the only one I can think of
Hey don’t spoil my future videos like this! But I agree, I don’t believe these are true Black Knife Assassins surrounding Iji or Blaidd. Iji seems to know they are coming too, which I think also lends credence to Ranni tying up loose ends. It’s almost like they’re mimicking Black Knife Assassins, they’re flame mimicking Destined Death ;)
Thanks for the comment! Glad to see others using this type of thinking, hope you stick around for future videos.
@@JackisaMimicThank you! I finished your video now, and edited my first message. Interesting stuff, I’ll be sure to check out your next videos, you had me intrigued 😊
I guess, I’m SERIOUSLY interested in your take regarding the Carian shield
@@ReturnoftheLightning Glad you liked it! Your edit gave me an idea for a future video, because I think I should clarify something. It's not that amber can necessarily control people, just that it holds the secrets to life itself. Miquella being this "bold craftsman who understood the very nature of life", I think, indicates that he can uncover those secrets. Kind of like its the raw material and it can be manipulated.
If we think about the bewitching branch, from its description is blessed with an unalloyed incantations and needs to pierce enemies to control them. Well, Miquella's unalloyed gold needle, which was originally used by Malenia, then Millicent, and perhaps the player if they take on the Flame of Frenzy, needs to pierce the flesh for it to ward off Outergods. That connection, if true, has some wild implications.
Hope you enjoy my other stuff, as well as my future videos to come!
This is hands down THE best lore/theory video I have ever seen. Amazing job!
Very high praise! Thank you so much!
10:37
“The guards don’t know about it”
The guard half a second later: WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE
We’ll done, your narration is addicting
I learned it all from a very talented performer
We all knew the Norse, the Berserk, the Game of Thrones, and the past Soulsborne titles that were directly inspirational for the creation of Elden Ring.
What I did not expect, was for Miquella to be presented as a Sauron-style figure of planning, cunning, charisma, army gathering, necromancy, and horrifying rituals of blasphemy.
I haven't been on the edge of my seat for a soulsborne analysis for a long, long time. Good job!
Thank you! I tried really hard to add dramatic tension to this video and I'm glad it payed off!
Holy shit man, you’re lore analysis and story telling is on par if not surpasses vaati. Awesome work!
Thank you so much! That’s very high praise! I hope you stick around for future videos!
Gostoc: "T-Take this path instead... the guards don't know about it!"
Literally the first guard we see: **BLOWS ALARM HORN**
Me: so that was a lie
Good stuff man! I love the way you tell it like a story and not a dissection.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed this style, while I do have some “dissection” videos penned and planned we will all see the Black Swordsman return to continue his journey through the Lands Between
I’m glad I’m not the only one who doubted the innocence of Miquella.Not only was this an amazing video, I found it vindicating
When the demigods* play their game of thrones, the common folk suffer. None of these characters can claim innocence, but it is up for us as the audience to decide which one we think is justified in their actions. Happy you found the video enjoyable, hope to see stick you around for the next one!
Fantastic compilation! May I borrow your brain for a few points:
1) You are suggesting a puppet-master in Miquella. It is a SERIOUSLY devious plan to coordinate the creation of the King of the Dead with his brother as the subject. What are the chances of going through with a plan like that? Ockham's razor would suggest that the King of the Dead was an unfortunate byproduct of Rani's plan. And that Rani is the one who manipulates us by giving us Miquealla's spirit calling bell to earn our trust.
2) If he is such a great conspirator, how could he not evade Mogh?
3) Let's assume that your therory is correct tho. How is Miquella and Rani connected? Why would the black knife assassins participate? And why would they kill Iji after Rani came out of her hiding? And why is Iji burning with black flames and not red-black? What is the missing link that connects these stories?
4) If the misbegotten are his recruited allies, how come there is a Misbegotten crusader in the snowfield? Maybe they found out about the new order that he was preparing and they migrated to his tree to seek a better place where they are not prosecuted. Still, not allies but invaders.
5) How does creating the King of the Dead tie in with his pursuit to cure his sister from her rot? We don't have any reason to question that this was his ultimate goal.
Looking forward to your future works - hopefully with less stock sunrise footages.
Thank you! Can’t wait to answer these questions!
For Mohg though, you’re asking the wrong question. Instead of “how could he not evade Mohg” the question should be “why would he want to?” Think about the outcomes of his kidnapping. Don’t worry, I’ll answer in the next video!
@JackisaMimic intriguing - looking forward to it!
But the conventional answer would be that he would want to evade mogh to finish his transformation inside the haligtree. Now that he didn't, his sister is doomed, and we find her in a delusional state. Instead of an erdtree level haligtree, we see that rot has taken over. Isn't that a colossal failure? Weren't all his sacrifices in vain? Would we have any reason to question the in-game narrative that we are presented?
Looking forward to the vid 😁
@@SammysourisComing from the future, I did not expect the true question to be “What is there not to gain from letting Mohg believe he’s getting what he wants?” …
@@lerosallyn9279 I'm still not convinced for that 😆- Mohg is easily my favourite boss, I love his lore and his in-game motivations, and I cannot see how a badass legend like him could have been manipulated beyond his personal interests. Still, Miquella is thoroughly mysterious - we are still to piece the puzzle together in the DLC.
@@Sammysouris To be fair almost everyone in-game calls him a raving lunatic 😭 so idk if he ever gets what he wants truly
very cool...first video I have seen like this, very original
Great glad you liked it! Hope you stick around to see what’s more to come!
45:20 Goosebumps
Glad you thought so! This part and the conclusion in chapter 3 are the parts Im most proud of. In the end, if I'm only right about one theory I hope its that to do with the Sun, and Godwyn, the Golden Son!
This was so fantastic and must’ve taken a lot of work. I greatly appreciate your effort. Thanks for the awesome vid
Thank you for the kind words and for watching!
This video is so good!! Thank you very much for your hard work we appreciate it sm 💕💕
Thank you! If you liked this video I have a “cut chapter” coming out within the week that is essentially more lore building for Miquella. Please consider subscribing!
Dude this is a masterpiece
Happy you enjoyed the video, fingers crossed that at least one of these theories is correct 🤞
Outro music massive throwback to EpicNameBro. Awesome video.
The biggest plot twist was that Miquella is the villain of the story.
I’m hoping he has a noble goal but is taking a dark path to reach it
wow, amazing video yo. Doing it as the black swordsman is really cool
Well the Black Swordsman is the coolest guy around 😂
Haven’t seen ur lore videos. This one was cool. Keep it up.
Thank you! Hope you like my future videos too!
An incredible video, and the first I've seen that breaks the trend of everyone thinking Miquella is just an up-front good guy. Maybe I'm traumatized from the previous games, but the harder that characters try to convince me they have good intentions the more suspicious I am of them.
If you think Miquella is an honest actor in this story then I think Patches has some property in the Lake of Rot he'd like to sell you lol
I'm glad you liked my video, I hope you stick around to see my future videos!
Great video! Super well-researched, well thought-out and explained! I like the story-telling elements, it's very VaatiVidya with the voice overs and narrations and use of gameplay. Kudos!! Some questions I'm wondering about after watching this video are below and I want to thank you for helping me think about them :)
1. It seems that you're implying that the reason for the night of the black knives goes like this:
Miquella -> creates Haligtree (which is a refuge for all the life forms rejected by the Golden Order) -> black knife assassins are rejected by the Golden Order for their association with the Eternal cities -> Miquella allies with them to kill the erd tree -> black knife assassins convince Ranni to carry out the ritual to discard of her body -> they kill godwyn using the other half of the cursemark -> godwyn becomes those living in death -> burial in the erd tree unsuccessful -> Godwyn becomes Prince of Death -> Start causing the death of the roots in the erd tree
Why does Godwyn's burial cause deathroot to sprout? There are loads of people who get buried in the erd treet roots that get rejected and that never affected the tree before?
2. Failure of the Haligtree and why Miquella abandoned it and his sister to pursue the Shadow Realm: If Haligtree works on the same principle as the erd tree, it should grow stronger as it consumes more souls, and Miquella was clearly amassing tons of allies before he abandoned the tree. So why'd he do it? Is it because of the rot that the Haligtree failed, that the interference of the outer rot gods was never abated for too long?
3. I've never quite understood why Marika would start the Shattering after the death of Godwyn. I mean there are some theories that suggest that Marika is Melina and she wanted the burning of the erd tree all along and was guiding us through the Lands Between specifically to that end. If the burning of the erd tree is orchestrated by Miquella, what purpose does Marika have in starting the shattering? I like a lot of "Miquella is behind everything" theories especially as we get more information in SoTE, but a lot of them completely remove the character of Marika and what her motivations and ambitions might have been.
35:39 praise the sun
Praise the Sun! Long Live the Sun Realm!
This was very entertaining to watch. I really enjoy your editing and narration.
Thank you very much! I'm happy you enjoyed it!
Seriously compelling. I really like that you've made a story with your player character that incorporates the threads that the NPC's weave for us. I like to do the same thing as I play the game and take notes in my journal. I've come to the same conclusions after 2 years. Thank you and well done!
Using a journal for RPGs is such an underrated tool for immersion and entertainment. Back in the day it was necessary, when I played Morrowind the in-game journal wasn't also so helpful so using a pen and pad was necessary. I am happy you enjoyed the video, thank you for your comment!
@@JackisaMimic I've been part of a group that has discussed Miquella and the mastermind implications for well over a year, I shared this with them on our chat. Those conversations include the idea that Miquella is a puppet master (literally in the context of the game) and speaks through several characters we encounter. It's fun even if it doesn't get supported with future content.
I don't think that it won't get supported but that it won't get confirmed. It is supported in this game already: there are mimic people, there are puppet people, there are dual identities, and there are bewitching powers. We will never truly know for certain which character's are acting of their own volition or if they were influenced by someone or something else, but that is the point, can we ever truly know what lies in the heart of man?
I think that is one of the central themes to Elden Ring.
"Miyazaki has high hopes for us. That we continue to theorize, unto eternity."
@@JackisaMimic :)
Seriously, fantastic video! I feel like I understand potentially even just a little bit more of what the eclipse means and the missing pieces of lore I hope to see expanded upon in the expansion. I identify with Malenia though so I am afraid my brother is capable of no wrong! 😊
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed the video.
Poor Malenia, if only she knew what her brother was up to. The wars she fought, all of the lives lost, such a shame. Say, I wonder where all the blood from her battles in Caelid went? Maybe Mohg knows 😉
Hope you stay tuned for more videos!
I just want to say, I love the storytelling weaved into the lore you've done here, Jack, great work, and I can't imagine how much work must seriously go into it. No, really, how often does the scripting take? Because you've done it very well with incredible shots to go along with it.
But my question would be this; what does Miquella have to gain by killing Godwyn? Ranni is the more obvious culprit, no? When approached with the knowledge that she orchestrated the plot to kill her Empyrean flesh, and we have her own confession to stealing a piece of Destined Death, perhaps with Marika's aid. Means (the black knife-print). Motive (to no longer be controlled by the Two Fingers). Opportunity (at night, when Godwyn would be least prepared for a fight, and with little means to defend himself). If anything, wouldn't it be more fitting to argue that Miquella sought to free his brother from living in Death?
But I ramble. Regardless, take care now.
Glad you enjoyed the video! It took me about a month to do the whole video, from writing the script to recording and editing.
With what we learned from the DLC promotional material we know that Miquella had "divested himself of his flesh" in order for his soul to reach the Land of Shadow.
So how does that fit in? Deathroot. When the Rune of Death was removed from the Elden Ring it made it so that Demigods and people could not die. In order for someone to truly die their body and soul must be fed to the Erdtree via Root Burial. With Deathroot this is not possible, souls are unable to return to the roots, this is why we can see ghosts and also why we can summon Spirit Ashes, ash unreturned to the Erdtree. Godwyn's death, as well as the Night of the Black Knives, causes the destabilization of the Lands Between and puts the Demigods in the current positions we find them. Without the Lands Between being destabilized Mohg would probably not have been able to kidnap Miquella and bring him to Mohgwyn, which seems to be very important for Miquella to travel to the Land of Shadow.
Since Deathroot prevents souls returning to the Erdtree Miquella's soul, I presume, can now safely travel to the Land of Shadow without being vacuumed up. It also leads to the events that would allow him to be kidnapped, if you agree with me that Miquella bewitched Mohg in order for him to move him to Mohgwyn.
There is also another wrinkle with Godwyn and his golden lightning and the Crucible puppet in the trailer using Golden Lightning but thats for another video!
Hope that all makes sense!
Appreciate the clarification, but my personal take is Mohg wanted to become a Lord, he had an Outer God's support in the form of the Formless Mother if you'll forgive the turn of phrase, and only needed an Empyrean to make into what I've been calling an Inner God but a God none the less. I can't imagine Mohg or Morgot weren't aware of what was happening in the Lands Between (that name has always bothered me, but that's neither here nor there), or at the very least the Royal Capital, and Mohg, being ambitious for Lordship, took the opportunity to strike.
Off the three known Empyreans, Miquella is his most obvious choice. Milenia is too powerful for him to take on, and would never agree to work with anyone besides Miquella, Ranni can be safely assumed dead, and even then, with the power she'd likely wield as a Carian Princess? Out of the question. That leaves one other; Miquella. Given his general charter of bringing the Erdtree's enemies or those bereft of Grace to his order of Unalloyed Gold, I wouldn't put it past Mohg to be able to sneak into the Haligtree and Elphael under the guise of an Omen who was cast out (technically not lying about that, for what it's worth), and when Milenia marches to go fight Radhan, who we can assume was attempting to imitate Godfrey in becoming Elden Lord and resuming Golden Order business as usual, he plucks the undefended Miquella from his tree-womb and bing bang bosh, Mohgs your uncle. Perhaps, if we were to fuse the theories, it is Miquella who convinces Mohg to set up his new dynasty in the ancient structure?
I guess the main thing I dislike about the "Miquella was the real villain the entire time" bit is that to me it ignores two things; Mohg's agency and shown ambition (which, you could argue Miquella wouldn't have had to do much to bewitch him to 'kidnap' him, which, fair enough), but it also feels to on the nose. We're told time and time again that Miquella is the most accepting and pure-hearted of the demigods. I think it's a more impactful story if these things are true, rather than a facade he's wearing to dupe the rest of the Lands Between.
Dunno, that's just my two cents. Could be totally wrong, could be 100% on the money, could be somewhere in between, could be so far into left field it lands in the right field. Only time will tell.
Love the longer videos I sandblast all day so I can't just go switch up videos without taking off my gear thanks for the entertainment
Happy you liked it! Look forward to the next video which looks like it’s coming in at about 2 hours on the ENTIRE history of Caria!
This video was great!
Thank you! I’m happy you liked it!
this is great writing and story telling very creative way to discuss lore
Thank you! It means a lot to hear you liked it! Hope to see you stick around for future videos!
Goosebumps anyone? Seriously chilling! Bravo good sir! Bravo!
Thank you! But it wasn't me that gave you chills, it was the wonderful music from Demon's Souls composed by the great Shunsuke Kida!
@JackisaMimic Don't cut yourself short friend, it's the combination of meaning, passion, mystery and sound that once put together deliver this feeling!
Subscribed. As a fan of both Elden Ring and Berserk, I really appreciate what you're doing here. Well done sir.
Thank you for subscribing, I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
I always felt like Ranni's line was delivered sarcastically.
"I see. Quite the sleuth, aren't we.
Indeed, I am the witch Ranni.
I stole a fragment of the Rune of Death, and used it to forge the godslaying black knives through fearsome rite.
I did it all."
But until now it felt that she was manipulated by Marika. I was wrong.
Happy I was able to convince you with my video! You watched it at the perfect time, the rabbit hole goes much deeper, and the direct sequel to this video should be finished within the next few weeks.
I hope you stick around for Part 2!
Miquella: I have the perfect gift. Rings that return once thrown
Radagon: CCAUSE AND REGRESS
top tier voice acting
Catch me in the DLC as Glaive Master Hodir
Halfway into it. Great summary so far with a creative narrative design. Very underrated channel
Glad you like the video! I've seen a few of your videos, mostly your lore ones, and I enjoy your analysis. If I'm honest though, I loved your video on Elden Rings game design, you were absolutely spot on!
@@JackisaMimic oh I didnt know you watched my videos. Thats good to hear. Also I like how you use Guts sword as collosol weapons and their posture breaking potential has made my 1st playthrough of elden ring a magical experience from a gameplay point of view. I enjoyed that aggressive boss AI and finding hard to see narrow punish windows a lot. I've uploaded my DLC analysis today. Maybe you might like it. Your voice is very calm and easy to listen to. Im sure this video has taken a lot of time to make as you explore and narrate multiple sidequests
I'll give the video a watch! I see you that you're pulling from Egyptian Mythology, which is very interesting. The game, at its base, is heavily Norse influenced. That being said, without having watched your video yet, I could see a "God of War" style endeavor where the game "jumps"(figuratively or literally) to something that is influenced by Egyptian myth. Looking forward to hearing your prediction!
@@JackisaMimic Jack let me put it like this. As you said, Egyptian Myth would also not be my 1st choice of avenue to explore however once I've seen the evidence for it discussed in the video, I had no choice but to make this video. I hope you like it. Tell me your thoughts in the comments if you watch it. Cheers
I just realized thats why your descriptive narrative is so strong. You speak like how a novelist would write the script. Since you like reading those books
subscribed. Love your narration and keep it coming!
Thank you for the compliment and subscription, glad you enjoyed the video!
We won’t fall for Griffi- I mean Miquellas ruse 🗣️
I’ve always thought of Miquella as a villain. Ever since I read the Bewitching Branch description something doesn’t seem right about him. Great video, btw!!
That bewitching branch won't work on us! Thanks for praise and comment!
My compliments. This is an excellent video. _Seriously._
Wow, thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
@@JackisaMimic Thank you for making it. Keep it up, Jack.
The name of the Black Knife Assassin leader Alecto is from one of the classical Greek Furies who punish those who transgress the laws of the elder gods. Nice shout out from the devs.