Something to note about Rennala is her similarity to the Japanese myth Ubume, women who died during childbirth and are too devastated to pass onto the afterlife. They're usually depicted as hunched over and clutching a baby much like how Rennala holds and obssesses over the egg. The thematic ties she has to childbirth make me pretty confident this is the inspiration. What got me was realizing the depiction of the Ubume in Nioh is clutching a large chunk of amrita (Nioh's magic stones everyone is fighting over) instead of a child, and it looks exactly like Rennala's amber egg. Maybe it's coincidence, but what if?
Ooooh that's an awesome comparison! I just did some reading on this yokai and i agree with the similarities you drew ! How heartbreaking the delusions of a grieving mother are. Thank you for sharing this with me and everyone
Based on tarnished archeologist's findings, it wouldn't surprise me if rennala's behavior was taken directly from a human legend. It seems all of the inspiration for the game was taken directly from real human history
I love the poem at the end, that is such a great touch! I like to think Radagon truly loved Rennala both because it is more romantic and because, otherwise, Rennala looks like a complete fool for someone so incredibly intelligent. Radagon seemed to really love parts of his life in Liurnia too, considering all his work with sorceries, creating the Radagon Icon, and having his own magic dog. Radagon is just eternally loyal to the Golden Order, so he put his belief in it over his love of Renalla, no matter how deep it was. This is understandably heart-breaking enough to cause the kind of grief we see in Rennala, and it was probably not helped by all of her children lost to her (Radahn's rot, Ranni's bodily death, and Rykard's vore). Radagon could have given the amber egg completely out of kindness, and it just backfired horribly as this magic combined with her grief to completely drive her mad. So he sent his loyal dog to help guard Rennala, and bent himself completely into the Golden Order, turning his love for sorceries and philosophy into the fundamentalist school. This is just my headcanon. With a world a vast (and a timeline as long and fuzzy) as in this game, there is room for many interpretations
I think from Miriel's dialogue alone it is kind of explicitly said that Renalla and Radagon truly did love each other at some point. Maybe he still loves her to some extent if he has any will of his own left anymore.
No he did not. He legit left her with an egg that gave birth to useless "sweetings" that can't walk and act retarded. And he loves her so much he has a statue built of himself to remember him by. It sounds more like he loved himself, as all God's do.
I like this. I refuse to believe Marika/Radagon just came up with this plan of having Radagon sweep Rennala off her feet just to break her heart. I want to believe Radagon did love her.
The most overlooked fact and tidbit about Rennala is that in her youth, she was as much a warrior as Godfrey in his heyday. She founded the Carian Royal Knights and conquered Liunaria with both charm and might.
@@shiny_edin Marika is the reason Radagon had to leave Rennala in the first place. That is, if he has a will if his own at all. It could be Marika used Radagon just to take Rennala out, but idk. Either way, Marika sucks
It is worth noting that there is another interpretation of that Red Hound in the debate parlour. That parlour is full of bones, and doesn't seem to be in active use for its presumed purpose... the wolf almost seems like an occupying force in that context, there not as Rennala's protector, but her Warden. It certainly didn't seem to do anything to prevent her imprisonment at the very least. Likewise, the Amber Egg could be seen as a curse of sorts, fostering an obsession, could such a thing have been intentional? Neutralizing a potential Political Rival in the Lands Between, who had once fought his armies to a standstill could indeed be a cynical act of manipulation. Considering what we know of Radagon's other actions, choices and beliefs, I find it hard to imagine him acting in such a genuine fashion.
Tragic, she was a queen, she was cold and powerful like the moon, but when she was with Radagon, when she had children with him, she was so happy, she was warmed up by the stars that joined her in the night sky Then Radagon left to become Marika’s next consort, her children going with him, the stars leaving the moon alone in the cold night sky
This woman could have been casted to voice act in this game. Her voice is so soothing and soft. It brings something to these Elden ring lore videos that are unmatched 💛 it’s like listening to Ranni
The idea of Rennala rebirthing Radagon is an interesting one, like what if he wants to be separate from Marika and this will finally give him the means?
What evidence do we actually have for his simpage? The GO Fundamentalists were originally a sect based upon Scholarship, and the Sealing of the Erdtree directly goes against the Two Fingers- and if their word is to be trusted- The Greater Will. The Golden Order Greatsword is a good counter to this, what with it being potentially a reforged Moonlight Greatsword. Though that could be him remaking it to keep it, and the Japanese is more ambiguous- stating it could be made to mimic the sword instead
There's a fun theory mentioning how Radagon is working like a Cuckoo bird. He has the Cuckoo Army after all. A Cuckoo bird will go to a nest, destroy the Eggs and replace it with its own. Leaving the victim to raise the Cuckoo as her own. Radagon did sir 3 redhead children and gave Rennalla an egg. You could see it as a form of infiltration. Though there's no mention of the lore describing Radagon as a particularly evil person.
I like this theory. I also saw someone mentioning that if he wanted he could have used the celestial dew when he left Renalla to not leave her devastated. Instead he gave her the amber egg to obsess over, essentially taking her out as a player in the politics and power of The Lands Between
True, but if we think about radagon as marika, marika might have cuckoo'd/wanted to use rennala to birth her children since rennala was the most highly regarded sorceress.
It’s a cool theory, though I believe the Cuckoo Knights actually belong to Raya Lucaria itself, if not once Caria. The heraldry mostly refers to Carian / Astrologer Belief, not Golden Order Beliefs.
Just to note the hair in the egg is actually from the sweetings, the light just makes it look red. Originally rennalad egg was going to have fetus like sweetings in the egg, but it was removed. However, the can still be seen in the cutscene model.
Always a wonderful day when your lore and voice graces my algorithm 😁 wonderful video as always Chalice! I’ve always been fascinated by Rennala’s backstory and I think you did a great job exploring one of my personal favorite Fromsoft characters.
In my opinon, the gift of the amber egg is actually kind of a white elephant. Radagon gifted it to Rennala to keep her obedient to the golden order and to distract her from her true destiny as Queen of the Moon. It has literally made her mind go soft and she has become a shell of the person she once was, rebirthing her scholars over and over into puddles of nascent, obedient children. Zullie the witch has a video analyzing the egg too, there are actually bug eggs in the egg itself which might elude to corruption involving the scarlet rot adherents (spitballing here, I think there needs to be more analysis.) Just some extra food for thought, great video but I wanted to add this!
I like how the story at the end depicts a moon and sun rarely seeing each other, but in reality the moon has to be illuminated by the sun or else we don’t see it, which happens more often than not. Not to mention the moon being visible during the day quite often
@@MikaelTheRedeemed Moonlight is actually just the light from the sun bouncing off the moon. No sunlight = no moonlight. Like a crescent shaped moon, that's just partial blockage of the sunlight from our planet being in the way. ✌️
Here's a thought that came to mind about the amber egg. As we all know, Radagon is Marika, but there is a theory that during the war with the giants, Marika was cursed by the giants and the mark of this curse is her golden hair turning red. Perhaps in an attempt to free herself of the curse, Marika used the rune of the unborn in the amber egg and created a being from her own flesh who would be the carrier of the curse. That would explain why some of Radagon's hair is within the amber egg, because he was born of it. That's just my theory and I could be wrong, but it would make a little bit of sense.
Thank you for this one, Chalice! Always love your lore insights. I really like Rennala and the drama surrounding her relationship with Radagon, and your examination of it was super interesting! On that note, I think the fact that he gave her the amber egg may well have been a curse, rather than a blessing - perhaps a deliberate way of undermining the power of Carian royals through Rennala's grief. The conflict between Caria and the Academy may never have come to pass if not for Radagon leaving, and we know Radagon is himself a very strong supporter of the Golden Order, so it makes sense for him to rid himself of the Academy, who was setting up to become a strong force at play and whose magic was against the Order's (as mentioned in the video!)...
I look forward to your lore videos. Your voice is so relaxing and has put me me at ease when the world makes me want to break something. Cant wait for the DLC and more lore theory crafting.
Well, the hair we see in the Amber egg is left over bits of the lullaby singers model (the reborn singers in her boss room) that used to be stuffed In it. That is cut content so make of it what you will. Source: Zullie the witch
Good stuff to listen to while painting miniatures. Also, about the juvenile scholars at 23:00, my own take on them is Rennala's failed attempts at duplicating her own genetic code into rebirthing her own self, a better self.
I'm pretty positive that Rennala is trying to rebirth Ranni, but she keeps failing because her soul is trapped in the puppet. The red hairs in the egg are probably hers.
That's cute how you started with Rennala both times, first youtube video and first full time one. I really enjoy that part of the game too and her saga is as interesting as it is devastating.
What if, instead of the egg allowing Rennala to re-birth a child or Raddagon, Raddagon gave it to her so she could renew herself? Out of love, to start life again without the heartbreak of him leaving? Or, even a different angle, a gift that would allow her to survive any catastrophic changes that might occur due to him mending/failing to mend the great rune? It could be a gift of his love, something that allows the one so precious to him to remain forever?
Marika bestowed the Rune of Destined Death to Maliketh for safekeeping sealed within a sword. It makes me wonder if there is something similar going on with the amber egg. There are many parallel to draw from: Radagon a reflection of Marika, the Unborn a reflection of Destined Death, a sword being a phallic symbol of masculinity and an egg that of maternity. If these were similarly pivotal moments in the history of the lands between it certainly isnt presented that way in the records left behind. It may be that the circumstances were not at all similar and one just echoes the other in symbolism or it could be another case where parts of Radagon's past was purposefully obfuscated from the world's inhabitants.
As I've gotten more and more knowledgeable on the world and lore of Elden Ring, I've come to realize how fitting the name "the Lands Between" really is. There is no one greater power, there is no one solution, everyone is struggling and everyone has some outer god they follow looking for a solution. All have good reasoning, yet all have great consequences. It's a great depiction of how unfair and vast life is.
I really think Marika led personally armies of the Golden Order against Liurnia and Caria under guise of Radagon. Godwyn was still around at this time, but there is no mention of Godwyn in Liurnian wars, even though he would have made much more logical commander of Marika´s armies than the relative nobody like Radagon. This is why I think Godwyn was left as a regent in Leyndell, while Marika took on her male persona and then led armies personally and in secret. Sorcerers are very powerful, and Marika had to be there in person (even if disguised) to give her troops the fighting edge. There is never indication that Marika and Radagon are separate people as everything in the game suggests they are single entity that regularly changes between each other. And Radagon was able to give Rennala piece of Elden Ring (Rune of the Unborn, rune belonging to unborn daughter of Rennala). This is feat that only vessel of the Elden Ring, Marika, could do, because Runes are part of the world-order. If they are removed from the Elden Ring, then so are also the concepts which they represent. I believe Ranni is not Rennala´s biological daughter, but literal cuckoo´s chick in the family nest. Cuckoo symbolism is rife with Carian family. And we know what happens to original nestlings that Cuckoo birds choose to invade. They are killed, though I don´t think Ranni did the killing in this situation. On the contrary, I think that Ranni and Rennala loved each other as subversion the cuckoo trope. But I think Rennala´s biological daughter was killed (by Radagon or by his orders) and trapped in a limbo of unborn state, unable to be reborn. And Ranni, self-conceived children of Radagon/Marika replaced her. Ranni is Empyrean, and only reason she can be Empyrean, is that she is child of a single god like Malenia and Miquella. I believe Ranni was also Marika´s experiment, prototype, if she could actually conceive children with herself/himself alone. When it was success, she then resolved to carry out her plan (marry herself/himself). In the end, Radagon/Marika revealed the horrible truth to Rennala when they gave her the amber egg, and Rennala is desperately trying to incarnate her unborn daughter suspended within. Amber is crystallized life-force, and golden amber egg is literally crystallized life-force of the unborn demigod daughter. But Rennala does not have Marika´s power and authority as a birthing goddess, and her attempts fail instead. Marika/Radagon knew that Rennala would be debilitated by the reveal, weakening Caria and Liurnia, and I feel that the grief over being betrayed by her "husband" and deathless limbo of her child is more compelling reason to drive her into depression than simply being heartbroken over Radagon. I think Marika might be just sadistic/cruel enough to reveal to Rennala who she is and what she did, and that she did not take kindly being defeated by Caria and Rennala in First Liurnian War. Also, about the wolf... They seem to be Ranni´s servants that have dealt surgical strike against rebelling Academy. There is even Bloodhound Knight clinging to Academy gates that has been killing fleeing sorcerers, one of which desperately clings to celestial dew, as if begging from forgiveness and trying to acquire absolution. Moongrum and Carian task-force has nearly fully taken control of the Academy when we enter it, which is why Sellen wants to return there in the first place. Sellen was the governess that was ousted by Ranni´s servants, and her portrait is hanging in Debate Parlour. My guess is that Red-Wolf attacked the debating sorcerers and killed them.
I find it interesting that all artificial life (I.e. albanurics, rennalas rebirths, and I think dragonkin solders) don't have functioning legs, I'm not sure what this could represent, but I find it cool.
Yeah like even in Bloodborne early on in the sewer area, there's those long arm crawly guys whose legs are all messed up and no longer able to walk. Something mentioned about the curse starting through the legs during early stages of ailment. Kinda cool seeing these similar things.
I always thought the symbol on the apron worn by the grandmasters symbolized the primeval current. It’s a hash pattern of weaving lines and Renalla does cast comet Azur. I think this is worth considering because I think it was Renalla who banned the primeval current. But that’s not as fascinating as her tragic story tho . My theory is radagon convinced her to ban it before he left or when they married
When clipping trough the model of the Amber Egg when it is on the ground and not part of Renala's model, you can see 3 juvenile scholars within it. The strands of hair are on those scholars so it is likely that they were left as a mistake when removing the scholars to create the 2nd model.
Off-topic but between the quality of the videos content creators like you put into videos, and also spreading awareness of lore in gaming, I'd love to see you guys get your own panels at anime and gaming conventions one day.
A theory I've had and seen be brought up was that the egg might represent a stillborn fourth child between Renalla and Radagon and Renalla's obsession with rebirth is that she feels it was that event that led to the dissolvement of their marriage.
I’ve always wondered why Ranni hated the Two Fingers. Maybe what happened to her mother contributed to that. I’ve been binging your videos recently and enjoying them. I havent finished the game so I’m skipping some to avoid spoilers, but will definitely come back once I’m ready. Thanks for the good content!
Please don't misunderstand, your soothing voice makes me calm and sleepy, which is a dicotomy by itself because your lore videos are the best out there! cheers and congratulations on such a work of art!
do you have any plans of making a playthrough series? i would really enjoy someone with a lot of knowledge playing through the game, maybe making some comments about the lore of each new area and npc, it would be really fun!
I think things become a lot more obvious once you go down the Goldmask side quest and reveal the truth about Radagon. At this point using the rule of Occam's Razor, this whole thing was a giant manipulation by Marika. First she creates the idea of Radagon out of whole cloth. She uses the guise of him to fight the war herself while allowing her people to be secure in her safety. She sees an opportunity to not only end the war, but to learn all of the Carian family secrets by having her made up champion marry Rennala. She secretly uses the egg's energy to give Rennala her children to create a permanent bond between her royal bloodline and Radagon. Then when she is finished getting what she wants, "Radagon" leaves her to "marry Marika" to end the illusion and consolidate her power base. Not needing the amber anymore, she leaves it with Rennala as a parting gift in order to pacify her with an obsession. It's devious to be sure, but it worked. And the entire charade continues to be held up by the ongoing illusion of Radagon's existence.
I do like your idea of Marika becoming Radagon to possibly pacify the threat posed by Liurnia. However, the idea of the egg is the cause of the families creation i dont think it makes sense. The egg is definitely the amber of the erdtree, it contains a great rune. I also believe Radagon did love Rennala. I also believe that Radagon and Marika are two different identities that are both creations of the greater will and the elden beast. So even if Radagon didn't want to leave, he was forced to return to further the whims of the greater will. If he truly didn't love her and only had intentions of stealing power and deception, then creating a family would be pointless, and the time spent just seems unnecessary. Also, the children that came from all this ended up backfiring on Marika, leading to the shattering and war. I do like your idea it just seems like it brought so many issues, changes, and time loss that only served to harm Marika more.
Radagon and Marika share a body yes, but they do seem to be two distinct beings with different motivations and goals, otherwise one breaking and the other attempting to repair the Elden Ring would make no sense, to say nothing of other points of distinction. it is unclear whether the Greater Will smashed two separate people together, awoke a second, more compliant self within Marika once she began to express insubordination, or if the pair were born and existed as a dual-natured entity all along. I do not think we can conclusively say much of anything there as it's one of the biggest lingering mysteries.
@@leviadragon99 I think it's more possible that Marika shattered the ring for one purpose, and then Radagon tried to restore it because of something horrible that followed. Considering how we find them in the form of Marika, practically crucified on the remnant of the ring, with what looks like a red lightning spear through her gut? I think narratively we aren't being given the entire picture (hopefully the DLC gives us the rest). It really looks like there is another party involved who tried to make sure Radagon couldn't undo what Marika did. And that party could be WHY Radagon tried in the first place.
@@dj_daem0n The red spear strongly resembled the energy of the Rune of Death, the one bound to Marika's Loyal Hound, one loyal to her and not Radagon. It *especially* resembles the wound upon the air that formed when Maliketh perished and the rune was unbound. So, either Maliketh intervened to prevent Radagon from repairing the Elden Ring, giving Radagon a very pressing reason to put up the impenetrable thornwall, *Or* the spear was a recent development, caused by You when you unbound the rune of death from its host and caused a great deal of long-defied Inevitable Doom to be unleashed upon both the tree and the one responsible for restraining such an elemental force in the first place. the crucifixion is almost certainly due to the power of the Elden Beast, given that it uses a similar technique against you, the the other damage to radagon/marika's body is likely a consequence of one of these potential scuffles, or just the Elden Ring blowing up in their face when Marika shattered it.
Loved it! I enjoyed the Rennala battle as well. Visually beautiful. Loved the dress as well, very proper emulating the night and stars, right? I'll go watch Rellana's now, one of my favorite lore plays. Thank you Chalice
Great video as always Chalice! Congrats on the full-time!! Always loved the visual motifs and symbolisms of Rennala's boss fight(s) - I personally think it shows exactly how far From Software has come as a company, when you look at the pure artisty that goes into some of the spectacles and the gorgeously realised cutscenes, and this was just one of many examples in Elden Ring! I have a question: any other games/franchises other than The Witcher & Elden Ring that you'd be interested in covering? Blessings, Gen
excellent video! zullie the witch has some good theories about the egg as well, as always the more you look into elden ring lore the more questions you find lol.
I noticed that there is a theme of parentage, especially motherhood, in Elden Ring. Rennala is obsessed with rebirth. Fia wishes to rebirth Godwyn. Radagon left for the milk. Gideon disowns Nepheli. Edgar regrets putting his duty over his daughter.
Another lovely video! Though it does have me wondering now... Could the egg have been involved already in the birth of Radagon and Rennala's children?? The two of them did create three demigod children, despite Radagon only being a champion at the time, not yet a god. Maybe the egg was a gift from Marika or a creation of Radagon's that was included in the peace agreement of their marriage. The next generation of Carian Royals would be demigods Making "the unborn" a reference to Rykard, Ranni, and Radahn, not yet born at the time. And Rennala's obsession with the egg comes at least partially from repeated attempts to rebirth Ranni after her "death," which of course would fail because Ranni's spirit is still alive and well Rennala's final clear-minded words at the end of her fight, before her lunacy returns, is her daughter's name and a plea for her to return and achieve success, after all...
I’m proud to see your growth lady Chalice,I remember watching your videos when you had a few hundred subs. And I’m immensely proud of your progression and advancement as a narrator and VA. Keep up the great work!
There probably is a correlation between the rune being in amber and glintstone being also referenced as the "amber of the cosmos" so rather than obsession the study of cosmos amber, she wants to look into the amber egg
I’d love and appreciate the deep takes of Elden ring that you have And it is always interesting to see a even the smallest details connect and be a part of what is such a grand scale to the plot the lore is beyond fascinating and confusing
My head Canon time line: *Raya lucaria established *Renala joins and ages *Radagon is sent to destroy *Raya lucaria can hold it's own against the order *The order (or Radagon) try a new plan of integration *Radagon despite marrying for duty actually falls in love *The three kids are born and age *Ranni becomes aware of what's suppose to happen to her *Ranni forms plan to change everything (ultimately for selfish reasons but understandable) *the shattering happens *Godwyn now "dead" alerting the order *the order calls Radagon back who at this point, knows his daughter is also dead. *Renala is doubly upset because of loss of husband and child *Radagon, with remorse and sorrow gives Renala the amber egg so that she may bear another child in Ranni's stead. Also if I recall correctly, Ranni is the youngest. while rykard and Radhan are older than her. I think Ranni was the only one left at caria manor So we are looking at a messed up version of empty nest syndrome. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk 😅
I think that what people associate with madness in Renalla (Lunacy jokes aside) is that Radagon has opened her mind to understanding the nature of the power that she has. The potential that she possesses, not only as a woman, but as a person. That power is why the Erd Tree, why the Greater Will, has imposed itself upon the world. It needs whatever promise the lands between (vagina metaphor?) possesses.
Wonderful video thank you for sharing. The history behind Rennala bewitches me like she did Raya Lucaria. Would love to see more videos on this region. :)
First, your videos are informative and entertaining. I enjoy the atmosphere of them while learning lore at the same time. Secondly, you are just wow. No way to say it without sounding desperate or creepy so I'll just it at wow.
I use your lore to fall asleep. Nice and soothing voice of yours reminds me the time I was little and I was read bed stories. Thank you for doing this!
Sometimes I'm not even listening to the actual videos, her voice is just so soothing I have these playing in the background and I catch bits and pieces of the actual lore here and there
I always look foward to more of your videos, good stuff! I'm currently travelling through Raya Lucaria, this video just dropped at the most perfect moment 👌🏻
A few jours later i discovered this video, enjoyed the hell out of it, and binge listened to all of your ER lore videos ! Cannot wait for more, keep up the great work :)
There is a statue of Radagon, as seen in the Church of Pilgrimage and elsewhere, in the Great Library of Raya Lucaria. You only see it after you defeat Rennala - prior to that you’re too busy dealing with the juveniles and walloping the Queen as she falls to the floor to admire the environment … and then get whisked off to the surreal moonscape …
Personally, I'm skeptical of the English translation of the game. I remember that on release, there was at least one huge mistranslation in the Ranni ending. I don't know if the errors were fixed or not, but I don't think I can get fully invested in this game's lore without learning Japanese.
18:51 Rennala and the Egg -she is sitting on a cradle. And also, if Radagon left the Red Wolf to protect her, is the huge golden egg which shields her of the same origin? Protecting both her and ( maybe ) the Unborn?
I personally believe the wolf of Radagon is Ranni's. There are supposedly three princesses and there are three wolves in areas associated with the Carians the one in the academy one on the moon platue and one behind the Carians manor. I think the wolf is another layer of protection and Moongrum is there in service to Ranni as well. The Carian knights are specifically retainers of the Carian princesses
top tier stuff. I really enjoy the lore interpretations, the robe pattern linking the statue to Renala was very good. I buy that. For Radagons reason to attack, I feel its because the moon, the stars, whatever the sorcerers get their power from, is an outer god. The reason is blasphemy, basically worshipping/empowering an outergod different from the greaterwill/ erd tree. Just like Rykard, who worshipped that snake and was called Blasphemous over it. I feel that what ended the war was the greater will's admiration of the strength of the carians. I dont think its a coincidence that, Ranni, a demi god born from this union, is one of the top candidates to succeed Marika. I do think the love of Renalla and Radagon was genuine. Radagon is a slave to the greater will. His soreseal describes it as a gnawing curse with no deliverance. I believe the egg is a good gesture of radagons true feelings, a part of the elden ring. I wonder how that even works though, it must truly be a part of the ring because it counts as one of the shattered pieces so you can get in. Marika/Radagon is the elden ring. Perhaps it is Radagon giving a part of himself to her? Could explain the red hair inside it? I wonder if it was a way to reduce her grief? Like, what if she rebirthed herself to take her memories and broken heart away? Like the "memory fades into oblivion" bit from juvenile scholar cap? Which explains why she cant stand properly, she floats and kneels when you break the bubble, and her mind is in a strange rebirth fixated place. Her phase 2 isnt really her anymore. Its Ranni's magic making her move. I like the clone theory.Marika could be an artificial humanoid, the only thing you can get from her origin is somthing about numen stock. And the numen arent made of stone, they are flesh and blood humanoids. Marika was possibly created by the greater will using Numen dna as a base, to create a relatable deity that the people can follow. I really feel that the DLC will shed more light on these events, theres some spells that hint that miquella was close to Radagon, like the ring of light thing. Who knows?
at about 7:38, you mentioned the rule of parliamentary entitlement; I think Rennala's ascension speaks to an older theme from western mythology, which is the idea of hubris committed by sovereign royalty against the divine (e.g., the Judgement of Paris in the Illiad.) Rennala was not a queen, but did eventually ascend to Queendom, but this goes against the the Golden Order's fundamental divine command, which is hosted by God-Queen Marika the Eternal. I personally believe her ascension to the title of Queen occurred when she married Radagon and had her three kids by him (Rykard, Ranni, and Radahn). What this also reflects, however, is the symbol of a dooming omen: the Eclipse. Queen of the Full Moon, and the eventual Elden Lord of the Erdtree (which is also heavily coded as the Sun), in the moment of her ascension to Queendom, she became grafted to the Erdtree's power (and we can see this because her lucidity and memory of the divine cosmos [which she gained from being an astrologer] can be seen in the Elden Beast. Her "grafting" was cemented within the golden armament that has seal her mind in a finger trap-like Eboshi (I think it's specifically a Nae-Eboshi, which is a type worn by common guests in Japanese scholarly spaces, which is why the sorcerers of the academy claimed of Rennala that she was naught but a fraud.) By the nature of the exchanging hubris of the Erdtree, we can see what Rennala's mind has been replaced with: the mind of a divinely graceful goddess mothering the egg (similar to Filianore/the Angel & the Egg film) This timeline might be shaky, but like most things in Elden Ring, I think time has been converging in on itself, so the "timeline" between Rennala's ascension and later events like the Night of Black Knives are happening simultaneously. It also recontextualizes what Ranni says during her second phase, when the vision of the "real" Rennala is revealed. (p.s., a hint for when events in the timeline shift are when characters open and close their eyes)
So since the great rune is what is used to make demigods and the respec mechanic is called rebirth since your character is getting reborn with a great rune that births demigods does that make your character a demigod themselves
That last carian knight might be a traitor, there's a way up to where the boulder drops. A little platforming is required to get up there and there's a chest with a scarab helmet. Guarded by 3 sorcerers and a pumpkin head, guessing they enslaved it. Cause I don't know why else it would be in the academy
The stars (astrologers) and the moon (rennala) become associated at some point, the sun (radagon) notices that fact and tries to associate with the moon since the sun is a star. The sun and the stars, however are just different enough in concept that they can't relate in the way the stars and the moon can.
Oh I forgot that weapon description teased me with the prospect of Weapon Catalysts like we have had in dark souls 2 and 3, and absolutely did not follow through, instead having a set magic-flavoured ash of war.
nice lore with theory , I also try to learn more about song of ice and fire lore as Martin love to mirror the event in his book. it may applied to Elden ring too, more or less.
Are you of the opinion then that Radagon was a seperate entity during the war and marriage and got absorbed into Marika upon his recall? My reading was that Marika had shifted form into Radagon and the who!e marriage was a long con to get access to Carian magic and political secrets, emotionally destroy a leader when she/he could not do so in battle, insitgated the coup, and left a defective rune that was designed to drive her mad. What Marika could not take by force, she took by guile.
The hair strands in the amber egg are leftovers from a cut model that had a few sweetings crammed inside. Zullie shows it in the "Elden Ring - It's a lot worse than I thought" video. It's almost certainly not an intentional design nor referring to Radagon.
It might be possible to test this theory about the knights. You can disable the rolling ball trap, if you could do that without killing the knight, then lead a Glintstone Sorcerer to his area you could see if they aggro each other and know for sure what Rennala's status in the Library was.
My own personal theory is that the reason behind Radagon leaving Rennala had more to do with Radagon becoming Marika. Which could be why him leaving her was left in mystery.
The item descriptions for the juvi scholar robes make me think that there's also a little meta commentary as well; players becoming dependent on respecing over and over for ever more specialized builds.
To Miriel, the answer to the mystery is that Radagon IS Marika, that's why Ranni so powerful, Radagon can give great rune, Golden order accepting glintstone magic, and this we know Marika loved Rennala too, quiet a tragedy.
Something to note about Rennala is her similarity to the Japanese myth Ubume, women who died during childbirth and are too devastated to pass onto the afterlife. They're usually depicted as hunched over and clutching a baby much like how Rennala holds and obssesses over the egg. The thematic ties she has to childbirth make me pretty confident this is the inspiration.
What got me was realizing the depiction of the Ubume in Nioh is clutching a large chunk of amrita (Nioh's magic stones everyone is fighting over) instead of a child, and it looks exactly like Rennala's amber egg. Maybe it's coincidence, but what if?
Ooooh that's an awesome comparison! I just did some reading on this yokai and i agree with the similarities you drew ! How heartbreaking the delusions of a grieving mother are. Thank you for sharing this with me and everyone
I thought of that mob from Nioh 2 as I read this and saw you mentioned it.
Based on tarnished archeologist's findings, it wouldn't surprise me if rennala's behavior was taken directly from a human legend. It seems all of the inspiration for the game was taken directly from real human history
I think it has some similarity and inspiration from Artemisia queen of the Carians, from real world history
The Japanese lore with the moon runs deep with their culture.
I love the poem at the end, that is such a great touch!
I like to think Radagon truly loved Rennala both because it is more romantic and because, otherwise, Rennala looks like a complete fool for someone so incredibly intelligent. Radagon seemed to really love parts of his life in Liurnia too, considering all his work with sorceries, creating the Radagon Icon, and having his own magic dog. Radagon is just eternally loyal to the Golden Order, so he put his belief in it over his love of Renalla, no matter how deep it was. This is understandably heart-breaking enough to cause the kind of grief we see in Rennala, and it was probably not helped by all of her children lost to her (Radahn's rot, Ranni's bodily death, and Rykard's vore).
Radagon could have given the amber egg completely out of kindness, and it just backfired horribly as this magic combined with her grief to completely drive her mad. So he sent his loyal dog to help guard Rennala, and bent himself completely into the Golden Order, turning his love for sorceries and philosophy into the fundamentalist school.
This is just my headcanon. With a world a vast (and a timeline as long and fuzzy) as in this game, there is room for many interpretations
Sadly, intelligent people are not immune to abusive relationships. no-one is immune to being manipulated under the right circumstances...
I think from Miriel's dialogue alone it is kind of explicitly said that Renalla and Radagon truly did love each other at some point. Maybe he still loves her to some extent if he has any will of his own left anymore.
No he did not. He legit left her with an egg that gave birth to useless "sweetings" that can't walk and act retarded. And he loves her so much he has a statue built of himself to remember him by. It sounds more like he loved himself, as all God's do.
I like this. I refuse to believe Marika/Radagon just came up with this plan of having Radagon sweep Rennala off her feet just to break her heart. I want to believe Radagon did love her.
The most overlooked fact and tidbit about Rennala is that in her youth, she was as much a warrior as Godfrey in his heyday. She founded the Carian Royal Knights and conquered Liunaria with both charm and might.
Kind of sad that she was reduced to a shadow of her former self by Marika. I hate Marika.
@@jungtothehuimanglmao what
@@shiny_edin Marika is the reason Radagon had to leave Rennala in the first place. That is, if he has a will if his own at all. It could be Marika used Radagon just to take Rennala out, but idk. Either way, Marika sucks
@@shiny_edinlmao are you slow
But radagon is marika
It is worth noting that there is another interpretation of that Red Hound in the debate parlour. That parlour is full of bones, and doesn't seem to be in active use for its presumed purpose... the wolf almost seems like an occupying force in that context, there not as Rennala's protector, but her Warden. It certainly didn't seem to do anything to prevent her imprisonment at the very least.
Likewise, the Amber Egg could be seen as a curse of sorts, fostering an obsession, could such a thing have been intentional? Neutralizing a potential Political Rival in the Lands Between, who had once fought his armies to a standstill could indeed be a cynical act of manipulation. Considering what we know of Radagon's other actions, choices and beliefs, I find it hard to imagine him acting in such a genuine fashion.
Tragic, she was a queen, she was cold and powerful like the moon, but when she was with Radagon, when she had children with him, she was so happy, she was warmed up by the stars that joined her in the night sky
Then Radagon left to become Marika’s next consort, her children going with him, the stars leaving the moon alone in the cold night sky
This woman could have been casted to voice act in this game. Her voice is so soothing and soft. It brings something to these Elden ring lore videos that are unmatched 💛 it’s like listening to Ranni
The idea of Rennala rebirthing Radagon is an interesting one, like what if he wants to be separate from Marika and this will finally give him the means?
like how ranni needed to be reborn to escape the greater will, radagon wanted to do the same but couldnt for whatever reason
Ehh, I don't see it, he was the one simping harder for the greater will, and clearly the one in Control of that body by the time we encounter them.
Seems more likely that the Greater Will called him back and forced them together to reel Marika in
What evidence do we actually have for his simpage?
The GO Fundamentalists were originally a sect based upon Scholarship, and the Sealing of the Erdtree directly goes against the Two Fingers- and if their word is to be trusted- The Greater Will.
The Golden Order Greatsword is a good counter to this, what with it being potentially a reforged Moonlight Greatsword. Though that could be him remaking it to keep it, and the Japanese is more ambiguous- stating it could be made to mimic the sword instead
@@leviadragon99An empyrean can't just decide to disobey the greater will
There's a fun theory mentioning how Radagon is working like a Cuckoo bird. He has the Cuckoo Army after all.
A Cuckoo bird will go to a nest, destroy the Eggs and replace it with its own. Leaving the victim to raise the Cuckoo as her own.
Radagon did sir 3 redhead children and gave Rennalla an egg. You could see it as a form of infiltration. Though there's no mention of the lore describing Radagon as a particularly evil person.
I like this theory. I also saw someone mentioning that if he wanted he could have used the celestial dew when he left Renalla to not leave her devastated. Instead he gave her the amber egg to obsess over, essentially taking her out as a player in the politics and power of The Lands Between
True, but if we think about radagon as marika, marika might have cuckoo'd/wanted to use rennala to birth her children since rennala was the most highly regarded sorceress.
The cuckoo night were not Radagon's but Raya's lucaria, which wanted it's own version of a Carian Knight before Rennala bewitched them with her moon
It’s a cool theory, though I believe the Cuckoo Knights actually belong to Raya Lucaria itself, if not once Caria. The heraldry mostly refers to Carian / Astrologer Belief, not Golden Order Beliefs.
Just to note the hair in the egg is actually from the sweetings, the light just makes it look red. Originally rennalad egg was going to have fetus like sweetings in the egg, but it was removed. However, the can still be seen in the cutscene model.
Always a wonderful day when your lore and voice graces my algorithm 😁 wonderful video as always Chalice! I’ve always been fascinated by Rennala’s backstory and I think you did a great job exploring one of my personal favorite Fromsoft characters.
In my opinon, the gift of the amber egg is actually kind of a white elephant. Radagon gifted it to Rennala to keep her obedient to the golden order and to distract her from her true destiny as Queen of the Moon. It has literally made her mind go soft and she has become a shell of the person she once was, rebirthing her scholars over and over into puddles of nascent, obedient children. Zullie the witch has a video analyzing the egg too, there are actually bug eggs in the egg itself which might elude to corruption involving the scarlet rot adherents (spitballing here, I think there needs to be more analysis.) Just some extra food for thought, great video but I wanted to add this!
I like how the story at the end depicts a moon and sun rarely seeing each other, but in reality the moon has to be illuminated by the sun or else we don’t see it, which happens more often than not. Not to mention the moon being visible during the day quite often
But the moon has it's own light. What do you mean?
@@MikaelTheRedeemed Moonlight is actually just the light from the sun bouncing off the moon. No sunlight = no moonlight.
Like a crescent shaped moon, that's just partial blockage of the sunlight from our planet being in the way. ✌️
The moon directly impacts the seas too or there’s no life
@@MikaelTheRedeemedBrother, I hope this comment is sarcasm.
Your lore videos are so great... you should seriously consider doing audiobooks. You've got the voice that can tell lullaby stories to adults
Here's a thought that came to mind about the amber egg. As we all know, Radagon is Marika, but there is a theory that during the war with the giants, Marika was cursed by the giants and the mark of this curse is her golden hair turning red. Perhaps in an attempt to free herself of the curse, Marika used the rune of the unborn in the amber egg and created a being from her own flesh who would be the carrier of the curse. That would explain why some of Radagon's hair is within the amber egg, because he was born of it. That's just my theory and I could be wrong, but it would make a little bit of sense.
Thank you for this one, Chalice! Always love your lore insights. I really like Rennala and the drama surrounding her relationship with Radagon, and your examination of it was super interesting!
On that note, I think the fact that he gave her the amber egg may well have been a curse, rather than a blessing - perhaps a deliberate way of undermining the power of Carian royals through Rennala's grief. The conflict between Caria and the Academy may never have come to pass if not for Radagon leaving, and we know Radagon is himself a very strong supporter of the Golden Order, so it makes sense for him to rid himself of the Academy, who was setting up to become a strong force at play and whose magic was against the Order's (as mentioned in the video!)...
I look forward to your lore videos. Your voice is so relaxing and has put me me at ease when the world makes me want to break something. Cant wait for the DLC and more lore theory crafting.
Well, the hair we see in the Amber egg is left over bits of the lullaby singers model (the reborn singers in her boss room) that used to be stuffed In it.
That is cut content so make of it what you will.
Source: Zullie the witch
Good stuff to listen to while painting miniatures. Also, about the juvenile scholars at 23:00, my own take on them is Rennala's failed attempts at duplicating her own genetic code into rebirthing her own self, a better self.
L pfp
So much story I missed in my playthrough, but I'm glad you're keeping up with the stories. Beautifully done. Keep it up😉
I'm pretty positive that Rennala is trying to rebirth Ranni, but she keeps failing because her soul is trapped in the puppet. The red hairs in the egg are probably hers.
They already peel the skin from the egg model, whatever details there are just left over from the other egg models with the scholars children in it.
Ranni's body is on top of the Liurnia Divine Tower, though.
Ranni hasn't died yet when radagon leftm
@maxmazza2987 at this time I believe it's because from rennalas pov, ranni had killed herself but doesn't know that she's a puppet now
She knows that Ranni is alive. When Rennala is defeated, her last sane words were "little Ranni, my dear daughter....weave thy night into being"
I always thought the juveniles inability to walk is an indication of infancy and they don’t live long enough to learn how to walk
that last bit was beautifully said, your voice is so soothing, love your vid. I feel like Rennala has that postpartum depression.
That's cute how you started with Rennala both times, first youtube video and first full time one. I really enjoy that part of the game too and her saga is as interesting as it is devastating.
What if, instead of the egg allowing Rennala to re-birth a child or Raddagon, Raddagon gave it to her so she could renew herself?
Out of love, to start life again without the heartbreak of him leaving? Or, even a different angle, a gift that would allow her to survive any catastrophic changes that might occur due to him mending/failing to mend the great rune?
It could be a gift of his love, something that allows the one so precious to him to remain forever?
Your voice is so calming. You should do guided meditation videos, or do readings of audiobooks for real. Love your "Loreplay" videos 💚💜
your voice is so serene and soothing I actually opened up this video not only to learn but to help me catch up with sleep ❤️ I love these lore videos!
25:09 "Lunacy" - perfect word choice!
Marika bestowed the Rune of Destined Death to Maliketh for safekeeping sealed within a sword. It makes me wonder if there is something similar going on with the amber egg.
There are many parallel to draw from: Radagon a reflection of Marika, the Unborn a reflection of Destined Death, a sword being a phallic symbol of masculinity and an egg that of maternity.
If these were similarly pivotal moments in the history of the lands between it certainly isnt presented that way in the records left behind. It may be that the circumstances were not at all similar and one just echoes the other in symbolism or it could be another case where parts of Radagon's past was purposefully obfuscated from the world's inhabitants.
As I've gotten more and more knowledgeable on the world and lore of Elden Ring, I've come to realize how fitting the name "the Lands Between" really is. There is no one greater power, there is no one solution, everyone is struggling and everyone has some outer god they follow looking for a solution. All have good reasoning, yet all have great consequences. It's a great depiction of how unfair and vast life is.
I really think Marika led personally armies of the Golden Order against Liurnia and Caria under guise of Radagon. Godwyn was still around at this time, but there is no mention of Godwyn in Liurnian wars, even though he would have made much more logical commander of Marika´s armies than the relative nobody like Radagon. This is why I think Godwyn was left as a regent in Leyndell, while Marika took on her male persona and then led armies personally and in secret. Sorcerers are very powerful, and Marika had to be there in person (even if disguised) to give her troops the fighting edge.
There is never indication that Marika and Radagon are separate people as everything in the game suggests they are single entity that regularly changes between each other. And Radagon was able to give Rennala piece of Elden Ring (Rune of the Unborn, rune belonging to unborn daughter of Rennala). This is feat that only vessel of the Elden Ring, Marika, could do, because Runes are part of the world-order. If they are removed from the Elden Ring, then so are also the concepts which they represent.
I believe Ranni is not Rennala´s biological daughter, but literal cuckoo´s chick in the family nest. Cuckoo symbolism is rife with Carian family. And we know what happens to original nestlings that Cuckoo birds choose to invade. They are killed, though I don´t think Ranni did the killing in this situation. On the contrary, I think that Ranni and Rennala loved each other as subversion the cuckoo trope.
But I think Rennala´s biological daughter was killed (by Radagon or by his orders) and trapped in a limbo of unborn state, unable to be reborn. And Ranni, self-conceived children of Radagon/Marika replaced her. Ranni is Empyrean, and only reason she can be Empyrean, is that she is child of a single god like Malenia and Miquella. I believe Ranni was also Marika´s experiment, prototype, if she could actually conceive children with herself/himself alone. When it was success, she then resolved to carry out her plan (marry herself/himself).
In the end, Radagon/Marika revealed the horrible truth to Rennala when they gave her the amber egg, and Rennala is desperately trying to incarnate her unborn daughter suspended within.
Amber is crystallized life-force, and golden amber egg is literally crystallized life-force of the unborn demigod daughter.
But Rennala does not have Marika´s power and authority as a birthing goddess, and her attempts fail instead.
Marika/Radagon knew that Rennala would be debilitated by the reveal, weakening Caria and Liurnia, and I feel that the grief over being betrayed by her "husband" and deathless limbo of her child is more compelling reason to drive her into depression than simply being heartbroken over Radagon.
I think Marika might be just sadistic/cruel enough to reveal to Rennala who she is and what she did, and that she did not take kindly being defeated by Caria and Rennala in First Liurnian War.
Also, about the wolf...
They seem to be Ranni´s servants that have dealt surgical strike against rebelling Academy. There is even Bloodhound Knight clinging to Academy gates that has been killing fleeing sorcerers, one of which desperately clings to celestial dew, as if begging from forgiveness and trying to acquire absolution.
Moongrum and Carian task-force has nearly fully taken control of the Academy when we enter it, which is why Sellen wants to return there in the first place. Sellen was the governess that was ousted by Ranni´s servants, and her portrait is hanging in Debate Parlour.
My guess is that Red-Wolf attacked the debating sorcerers and killed them.
I find it interesting that all artificial life (I.e. albanurics, rennalas rebirths, and I think dragonkin solders) don't have functioning legs, I'm not sure what this could represent, but I find it cool.
Yeah like even in Bloodborne early on in the sewer area, there's those long arm crawly guys whose legs are all messed up and no longer able to walk. Something mentioned about the curse starting through the legs during early stages of ailment. Kinda cool seeing these similar things.
@DragoonPaladin fromsoft loves references and so do we
I always thought the symbol on the apron worn by the grandmasters symbolized the primeval current. It’s a hash pattern of weaving lines and Renalla does cast comet Azur. I think this is worth considering because I think it was Renalla who banned the primeval current. But that’s not as fascinating as her tragic story tho . My theory is radagon convinced her to ban it before he left or when they married
Renalla = Moon Mommy
It's true. The fandom has a point when they call her a MILF.
@@samf.s.7731 cringe
@@jarlwhiterun7478Fringe.
Fia = Death Mommy
Malenia = Rot Mommy
Sellen = Witch Mommy
Moony or moomy 😂
When clipping trough the model of the Amber Egg when it is on the ground and not part of Renala's model, you can see 3 juvenile scholars within it. The strands of hair are on those scholars so it is likely that they were left as a mistake when removing the scholars to create the 2nd model.
Off-topic but between the quality of the videos content creators like you put into videos, and also spreading awareness of lore in gaming, I'd love to see you guys get your own panels at anime and gaming conventions one day.
Omg i can’t believe it’s been a year already ! So happy you continued to make videos can’t wait to see you cover the DLC ❤️
A theory I've had and seen be brought up was that the egg might represent a stillborn fourth child between Renalla and Radagon and Renalla's obsession with rebirth is that she feels it was that event that led to the dissolvement of their marriage.
I’ve always wondered why Ranni hated the Two Fingers. Maybe what happened to her mother contributed to that.
I’ve been binging your videos recently and enjoying them. I havent finished the game so I’m skipping some to avoid spoilers, but will definitely come back once I’m ready.
Thanks for the good content!
Please don't misunderstand, your soothing voice makes me calm and sleepy, which is a dicotomy by itself because your lore videos are the best out there! cheers and congratulations on such a work of art!
Happy aniversary Challice 🥰, thanks for bringing such amazing content and creating so many interesting theories
do you have any plans of making a playthrough series? i would really enjoy someone with a lot of knowledge playing through the game, maybe making some comments about the lore of each new area and npc, it would be really fun!
I think things become a lot more obvious once you go down the Goldmask side quest and reveal the truth about Radagon.
At this point using the rule of Occam's Razor, this whole thing was a giant manipulation by Marika.
First she creates the idea of Radagon out of whole cloth. She uses the guise of him to fight the war herself while allowing her people to be secure in her safety. She sees an opportunity to not only end the war, but to learn all of the Carian family secrets by having her made up champion marry Rennala. She secretly uses the egg's energy to give Rennala her children to create a permanent bond between her royal bloodline and Radagon. Then when she is finished getting what she wants, "Radagon" leaves her to "marry Marika" to end the illusion and consolidate her power base. Not needing the amber anymore, she leaves it with Rennala as a parting gift in order to pacify her with an obsession.
It's devious to be sure, but it worked. And the entire charade continues to be held up by the ongoing illusion of Radagon's existence.
I do like your idea of Marika becoming Radagon to possibly pacify the threat posed by Liurnia. However, the idea of the egg is the cause of the families creation i dont think it makes sense. The egg is definitely the amber of the erdtree, it contains a great rune. I also believe Radagon did love Rennala. I also believe that Radagon and Marika are two different identities that are both creations of the greater will and the elden beast. So even if Radagon didn't want to leave, he was forced to return to further the whims of the greater will. If he truly didn't love her and only had intentions of stealing power and deception, then creating a family would be pointless, and the time spent just seems unnecessary. Also, the children that came from all this ended up backfiring on Marika, leading to the shattering and war. I do like your idea it just seems like it brought so many issues, changes, and time loss that only served to harm Marika more.
@@Lord_Nikon33 The end of the game confirms that Marika and Radagon are the same being. You literally see her transform into him.
Radagon and Marika share a body yes, but they do seem to be two distinct beings with different motivations and goals, otherwise one breaking and the other attempting to repair the Elden Ring would make no sense, to say nothing of other points of distinction. it is unclear whether the Greater Will smashed two separate people together, awoke a second, more compliant self within Marika once she began to express insubordination, or if the pair were born and existed as a dual-natured entity all along. I do not think we can conclusively say much of anything there as it's one of the biggest lingering mysteries.
@@leviadragon99 I think it's more possible that Marika shattered the ring for one purpose, and then Radagon tried to restore it because of something horrible that followed. Considering how we find them in the form of Marika, practically crucified on the remnant of the ring, with what looks like a red lightning spear through her gut? I think narratively we aren't being given the entire picture (hopefully the DLC gives us the rest). It really looks like there is another party involved who tried to make sure Radagon couldn't undo what Marika did. And that party could be WHY Radagon tried in the first place.
@@dj_daem0n The red spear strongly resembled the energy of the Rune of Death, the one bound to Marika's Loyal Hound, one loyal to her and not Radagon. It *especially* resembles the wound upon the air that formed when Maliketh perished and the rune was unbound.
So, either Maliketh intervened to prevent Radagon from repairing the Elden Ring, giving Radagon a very pressing reason to put up the impenetrable thornwall, *Or* the spear was a recent development, caused by You when you unbound the rune of death from its host and caused a great deal of long-defied Inevitable Doom to be unleashed upon both the tree and the one responsible for restraining such an elemental force in the first place.
the crucifixion is almost certainly due to the power of the Elden Beast, given that it uses a similar technique against you, the the other damage to radagon/marika's body is likely a consequence of one of these potential scuffles, or just the Elden Ring blowing up in their face when Marika shattered it.
Loved it! I enjoyed the Rennala battle as well. Visually beautiful. Loved the dress as well, very proper emulating the night and stars, right? I'll go watch Rellana's now, one of my favorite lore plays. Thank you Chalice
Great video as always Chalice!
Congrats on the full-time!!
Always loved the visual motifs and symbolisms of Rennala's boss fight(s) - I personally think it shows exactly how far From Software has come as a company, when you look at the pure artisty that goes into some of the spectacles and the gorgeously realised cutscenes, and this was just one of many examples in Elden Ring!
I have a question: any other games/franchises other than The Witcher & Elden Ring that you'd be interested in covering?
Blessings,
Gen
Patiently awaiting the day Chalice realizes her calling as a VA. Seriously that voice would fit into a FromSoft NPC perfectly!
excellent video! zullie the witch has some good theories about the egg as well, as always the more you look into elden ring lore the more questions you find lol.
Jesus, the poem about the moon and the sun rocked me to my core. This is a beautiful channel.
I noticed that there is a theme of parentage, especially motherhood, in Elden Ring. Rennala is obsessed with rebirth. Fia wishes to rebirth Godwyn. Radagon left for the milk. Gideon disowns Nepheli. Edgar regrets putting his duty over his daughter.
lmao at the radagon part
The background is so bright >.> that goldmask is putting in work. But keep up the work Chalice. Lilith cosplay D4 huh huh huh :P
Another lovely video! Though it does have me wondering now...
Could the egg have been involved already in the birth of Radagon and Rennala's children?? The two of them did create three demigod children, despite Radagon only being a champion at the time, not yet a god. Maybe the egg was a gift from Marika or a creation of Radagon's that was included in the peace agreement of their marriage. The next generation of Carian Royals would be demigods
Making "the unborn" a reference to Rykard, Ranni, and Radahn, not yet born at the time. And Rennala's obsession with the egg comes at least partially from repeated attempts to rebirth Ranni after her "death," which of course would fail because Ranni's spirit is still alive and well
Rennala's final clear-minded words at the end of her fight, before her lunacy returns, is her daughter's name and a plea for her to return and achieve success, after all...
I can’t play these but love the lore so much. Thank you for making it accessible.
radagon belongs to the streets
I’m proud to see your growth lady Chalice,I remember watching your videos when you had a few hundred subs. And I’m immensely proud of your progression and advancement as a narrator and VA. Keep up the great work!
VA?
@@alexterieur8813 voice actor
Something good after a tough week. A most welcome end to a Sunday :D
So glad I could help! I promised to deliver this weekend so I stayed up to get this out in time for you all!
@@miss_chalice thanks Chalice! Hope you love making them as much as we love watching them
There probably is a correlation between the rune being in amber and glintstone being also referenced as the "amber of the cosmos" so rather than obsession the study of cosmos amber, she wants to look into the amber egg
I’d love and appreciate the deep takes of Elden ring that you have And it is always interesting to see a even the smallest details connect and be a part of what is such a grand scale to the plot the lore is beyond fascinating and confusing
My head Canon time line:
*Raya lucaria established
*Renala joins and ages
*Radagon is sent to destroy
*Raya lucaria can hold it's own against the order
*The order (or Radagon) try a new plan of integration
*Radagon despite marrying for duty actually falls in love
*The three kids are born and age
*Ranni becomes aware of what's suppose to happen to her
*Ranni forms plan to change everything (ultimately for selfish reasons but understandable)
*the shattering happens
*Godwyn now "dead" alerting the order
*the order calls Radagon back who at this point, knows his daughter is also dead.
*Renala is doubly upset because of loss of husband and child
*Radagon, with remorse and sorrow gives Renala the amber egg so that she may bear another child in Ranni's stead.
Also if I recall correctly, Ranni is the youngest.
while rykard and Radhan are older than her.
I think Ranni was the only one left at caria manor
So we are looking at a messed up version of empty nest syndrome.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk 😅
Having a replica of the Queen's Crescent Crown irl would be amazing - i think it's so tall that you wouldn't be able to ware it much indoors though
I think that what people associate with madness in Renalla (Lunacy jokes aside) is that Radagon has opened her mind to understanding the nature of the power that she has. The potential that she possesses, not only as a woman, but as a person. That power is why the Erd Tree, why the Greater Will, has imposed itself upon the world. It needs whatever promise the lands between (vagina metaphor?) possesses.
Wonderful video thank you for sharing. The history behind Rennala bewitches me like she did Raya Lucaria. Would love to see more videos on this region. :)
First, your videos are informative and entertaining. I enjoy the atmosphere of them while learning lore at the same time.
Secondly, you are just wow. No way to say it without sounding desperate or creepy so I'll just it at wow.
What if the Moon is an outer god, and by doing Ranni's quest, we did the same thing as when we didn't kindle in DS1?
I use your lore to fall asleep. Nice and soothing voice of yours reminds me the time I was little and I was read bed stories. Thank you for doing this!
Where can I find that sun and moon poem? I wanna use that for my d&d campaign!
great video and congrats on the rapid growth ur channel is having!
Sometimes I'm not even listening to the actual videos, her voice is just so soothing I have these playing in the background and I catch bits and pieces of the actual lore here and there
I always look foward to more of your videos, good stuff! I'm currently travelling through Raya Lucaria, this video just dropped at the most perfect moment 👌🏻
A few jours later i discovered this video, enjoyed the hell out of it, and binge listened to all of your ER lore videos !
Cannot wait for more, keep up the great work :)
There is a statue of Radagon, as seen in the Church of Pilgrimage and elsewhere, in the Great Library of Raya Lucaria. You only see it after you defeat Rennala - prior to that you’re too busy dealing with the juveniles and walloping the Queen as she falls to the floor to admire the environment … and then get whisked off to the surreal moonscape …
Personally, I'm skeptical of the English translation of the game. I remember that on release, there was at least one huge mistranslation in the Ranni ending. I don't know if the errors were fixed or not, but I don't think I can get fully invested in this game's lore without learning Japanese.
Lore Mommy, all you need to do is title your vids "Elden Ring lore asmr" and you will absolutely pop off in the algo. People love that shit.
18:51 Rennala and the Egg -she is sitting on a cradle. And also, if Radagon left the Red Wolf to protect her, is the huge golden egg which shields her of the same origin? Protecting both her and ( maybe ) the Unborn?
Happy Birthday. !🎉. Wow, this channel has grown a lot un one year. !
Wake up babe, a new video from lore mommy just dropped.
I personally believe the wolf of Radagon is Ranni's. There are supposedly three princesses and there are three wolves in areas associated with the Carians the one in the academy one on the moon platue and one behind the Carians manor. I think the wolf is another layer of protection and Moongrum is there in service to Ranni as well. The Carian knights are specifically retainers of the Carian princesses
top tier stuff. I really enjoy the lore interpretations, the robe pattern linking the statue to Renala was very good. I buy that.
For Radagons reason to attack, I feel its because the moon, the stars, whatever the sorcerers get their power from, is an outer god. The reason is blasphemy, basically worshipping/empowering an outergod different from the greaterwill/ erd tree. Just like Rykard, who worshipped that snake and was called Blasphemous over it.
I feel that what ended the war was the greater will's admiration of the strength of the carians. I dont think its a coincidence that, Ranni, a demi god born from this union, is one of the top candidates to succeed Marika.
I do think the love of Renalla and Radagon was genuine. Radagon is a slave to the greater will. His soreseal describes it as a gnawing curse with no deliverance. I believe the egg is a good gesture of radagons true feelings, a part of the elden ring. I wonder how that even works though, it must truly be a part of the ring because it counts as one of the shattered pieces so you can get in. Marika/Radagon is the elden ring. Perhaps it is Radagon giving a part of himself to her? Could explain the red hair inside it? I wonder if it was a way to reduce her grief? Like, what if she rebirthed herself to take her memories and broken heart away? Like the "memory fades into oblivion" bit from juvenile scholar cap? Which explains why she cant stand properly, she floats and kneels when you break the bubble, and her mind is in a strange rebirth fixated place. Her phase 2 isnt really her anymore. Its Ranni's magic making her move.
I like the clone theory.Marika could be an artificial humanoid, the only thing you can get from her origin is somthing about numen stock. And the numen arent made of stone, they are flesh and blood humanoids. Marika was possibly created by the greater will using Numen dna as a base, to create a relatable deity that the people can follow.
I really feel that the DLC will shed more light on these events, theres some spells that hint that miquella was close to Radagon, like the ring of light thing. Who knows?
at about 7:38, you mentioned the rule of parliamentary entitlement; I think Rennala's ascension speaks to an older theme from western mythology, which is the idea of hubris committed by sovereign royalty against the divine (e.g., the Judgement of Paris in the Illiad.) Rennala was not a queen, but did eventually ascend to Queendom, but this goes against the the Golden Order's fundamental divine command, which is hosted by God-Queen Marika the Eternal. I personally believe her ascension to the title of Queen occurred when she married Radagon and had her three kids by him (Rykard, Ranni, and Radahn). What this also reflects, however, is the symbol of a dooming omen: the Eclipse. Queen of the Full Moon, and the eventual Elden Lord of the Erdtree (which is also heavily coded as the Sun), in the moment of her ascension to Queendom, she became grafted to the Erdtree's power (and we can see this because her lucidity and memory of the divine cosmos [which she gained from being an astrologer] can be seen in the Elden Beast. Her "grafting" was cemented within the golden armament that has seal her mind in a finger trap-like Eboshi (I think it's specifically a Nae-Eboshi, which is a type worn by common guests in Japanese scholarly spaces, which is why the sorcerers of the academy claimed of Rennala that she was naught but a fraud.) By the nature of the exchanging hubris of the Erdtree, we can see what Rennala's mind has been replaced with: the mind of a divinely graceful goddess mothering the egg (similar to Filianore/the Angel & the Egg film)
This timeline might be shaky, but like most things in Elden Ring, I think time has been converging in on itself, so the "timeline" between Rennala's ascension and later events like the Night of Black Knives are happening simultaneously. It also recontextualizes what Ranni says during her second phase, when the vision of the "real" Rennala is revealed.
(p.s., a hint for when events in the timeline shift are when characters open and close their eyes)
So since the great rune is what is used to make demigods and the respec mechanic is called rebirth since your character is getting reborn with a great rune that births demigods does that make your character a demigod themselves
That last carian knight might be a traitor, there's a way up to where the boulder drops. A little platforming is required to get up there and there's a chest with a scarab helmet. Guarded by 3 sorcerers and a pumpkin head, guessing they enslaved it. Cause I don't know why else it would be in the academy
I really though I knew everything about her.
But I didn’t. Thanks for the awsome video. Your research is always on point.
One rhing i find a bit funny about carian knight helmet is that there is something on the top of it wich looks like a Queen chess piece.
The stars (astrologers) and the moon (rennala) become associated at some point, the sun (radagon) notices that fact and tries to associate with the moon since the sun is a star. The sun and the stars, however are just different enough in concept that they can't relate in the way the stars and the moon can.
Oh I forgot that weapon description teased me with the prospect of Weapon Catalysts like we have had in dark souls 2 and 3, and absolutely did not follow through, instead having a set magic-flavoured ash of war.
25:40 Haven’t read this Romeo & Juliet fanfic before, haha.
nice lore with theory , I also try to learn more about song of ice and fire lore as Martin love to mirror the event in his book. it may applied to Elden ring too, more or less.
congratulations on going full time with your content.
Are you of the opinion then that Radagon was a seperate entity during the war and marriage and got absorbed into Marika upon his recall? My reading was that Marika had shifted form into Radagon and the who!e marriage was a long con to get access to Carian magic and political secrets, emotionally destroy a leader when she/he could not do so in battle, insitgated the coup, and left a defective rune that was designed to drive her mad. What Marika could not take by force, she took by guile.
I definitely thought it was a Marika plot to throw the lands between back into chaos because Marika was just over her role.
@@anthonywatkins462 Or seeking to destroy the only potential threat to her rule.
The hair strands in the amber egg are leftovers from a cut model that had a few sweetings crammed inside. Zullie shows it in the "Elden Ring - It's a lot worse than I thought" video. It's almost certainly not an intentional design nor referring to Radagon.
It might be possible to test this theory about the knights. You can disable the rolling ball trap, if you could do that without killing the knight, then lead a Glintstone Sorcerer to his area you could see if they aggro each other and know for sure what Rennala's status in the Library was.
Moon groom aint summoning the balls. Its a punpkin head and a glint guy
My own personal theory is that the reason behind Radagon leaving Rennala had more to do with Radagon becoming Marika. Which could be why him leaving her was left in mystery.
Idk why it would be hilarious for Chalice to do a loreplay video, but on Turtle Pope Mirial lol
Loving these vids, they're very relaxing
Thank you!! And glad you like the style :)
Congrats on your success with the channel🎉
The item descriptions for the juvi scholar robes make me think that there's also a little meta commentary as well; players becoming dependent on respecing over and over for ever more specialized builds.
I can't get over your voice, best way to get Elden Ring lore dumps.
Wow I've been wondering who those hooded statues were for a while. They're found at the shaded castle too. Why'd you think that is?
To Miriel, the answer to the mystery is that Radagon IS Marika, that's why Ranni so powerful, Radagon can give great rune, Golden order accepting glintstone magic, and this we know Marika loved Rennala too, quiet a tragedy.
no shot its already been a year. congrats and looking forward to another ❤
All new to me, but I'm happy to learn. Exceptionally soothing though :) Congratulations on a successful first year.