Elden Ring Lore - Millicent, Pride of Malenia
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ค. 2022
- Who is Millicent? What is her connection to Malenia? And why do her sisters hunt her?
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With the amount of times Millicent says she wishes she could aid us in combat felt like just how Malenia is the blade of Miquella. Millicent wished to be our blade. Which made me hope that at the end of her quest after she dies we would find spirit ashes for her so we can call upon her to become our blade in battle.
considering how long her quest is, that would have been a cool reward
That is an interesting observation. Malenia's loyalty to Miquella wasn't underserved. He was the only one to give Malenia any relief from her disease. From her unalloyed needle that stills the rot, to the weaving of gold threads to slow her decay, to the prosthesis limbs that let her walk. You give the same things to Millicent, thus forming the same bond.
But it also raises a question. When you find Malenia, she has been badly neglected. This probably wasn't Miquella's fault. But this neglect came at a price of Malenia blooming a second time. Just as if you abandon Millicent, she too will bloom.
@@zenebean yeah, I mean the Millicents prosthesis talisman is very good but you only get it from invading and killing her which is dumb. I have done her quest in all 5 of my playthroughs so far and I can never bring myself to kill her.
@@timklafke4712 I understand I've only been able to betray her once and I just could never bri g myself to do it again so for the rest of my playthroughs it will always be me and her vs her 4 sisters ... And the god skin apostle and the gargoyle before the lift to the north parts of the map and that one draconic tree sentinel and that overgrown lava lizard aaaaaaaaand I think that's it unless I'm forgetting another one of her summon spots ?
If you do Seluvis' quest, you find out exactly how spirit ashes are made. You do not want Millicent to be a summoned spirit.
I like that there is some mirroring with the player should you do this quest while also being the lord of frenzied flame. You have to help Millicent regain her pride to get the needle back, and then you can use that very same needle to regain your pride as a tarnished and resist the frenzied flame
Powerful
That’s beautiful
It's not the same needle. You're giving back the needle Millicent purified to Malenia and Malenia gives you one of Miquella's special needles that has a different effect.
What!?!
@@ythandlename yep you essentially trade or exchange needles with the corpse of Malenia as Millicent's last wish before she succumbs to the rot of her own choice, but still holds the desire to return her needle to Malenia to return her pride she forsook on the battlefield against her brother
Honestly as a disabled person with life-long chronic pain, I felt like some things in ER just hit different to me. I couldn’t help but notice SO many narratives about sick warriors, people who need new bodies, the idea of new vessels, and people regarding their current form as a prison. Over and over again, it’s these characters being presented with a sick, weak, or unfit body and they each have different ways of solving this problem. It was so stark to me I started wondering if someone involved in writing these narratives might also experience chronic illness because it was just too much of an overtone to ignore.
I loved having so many characters that I truly, deeply relate to. Godrick, Marika, Radagon, Malenia, Millicent, Ranni, Radahn, Miquella, Sorceress Sellen…we even have Seluvis making perfect, hollow, *new* bodies for people like Sellen to insert their souls into. Rykard allows the serpent to eat his flesh to become stronger than he otherwise could have been.
This theme is just all up in ER and it was a cool experience for me personally to connect so deeply with the game and empathize with so many characters.
Don’t forget about bog the seamster he too felt trapped and limited by his body/race and he is beautiful just the way he is. You had jar bro who was in constant lament to his bodies limitations and you had Rogier who was a powerful warrior and mage who became lame and suffered from a terminal issue caused by him trying to help others who are also suffering. It does make me wonder why seluvis with his real body being seen in the second floor of that one building never transfers his souls into one of his puppets. I mean he had one for sellen so why not one for him as well? Him and sellen had a deal after all.
(Also Iam glad you could be moved by this game and hope you have a good life, I am in constant pain and have been for years now to the point I don’t take pain killers otherwise it’s very very hard to stop so while I might not be able to completely understand your position I do empathize deeply)
Also, Latenna who is a crippled Albinauric. Upon the killing of her wolf, she effectively took her own life and became a spirit to accompany you on your journey.
@@RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus I think Selluvis never went through the process of forming a primal glintstone within his body, whether because he didn't know how or cause he didn't want to we just don't know. The fact that Sellen's stone is unique even among the Primeval Current sorcerers seems to suggest it was a process only she knew or that maybe it was the the beginning stages of replacing her internal organs with glintstone like Lusat and Azur, and being that Selluvis is more concerned with power rather than enlightenment it seems fitting he never bothered to go down that path, especially when you consider the risk of becoming a semi-sentient ball...
I know George RR Martin mainly handled the world building, but I believe he had a hand in many of the characters as well. With most of the main characters baring one of his initials in the first letter of their name. The types of disabled or disenfranchised characters you mentioned play a major part in his books.
Couldn't agree more. "Overcoming adversities" is a massive theme throughout Elden Ring
Millicent was one of my favorite characters, mostly because She and I went along the same way. I was able to summon her for so many battles. The magma wyvern Makar in the pass, the godskin apostle, the draconic tree sentinel, the black blade kindered. And she helped me out so much. I was happy to see her every time. Her end was heartbreaking, But I understood, I was happy to fight alongside her one, last, time.
Kinda similar to Solaire, huh?
@@General_C yes!
How on earth did you do that? I keep hearing how people have had various NPC's assist them....I rarely saw any summon signs & fought almost all alone. Definitely all the ones you listed I fought alone 😔
@@guesswho1047 Honestly I didn't do anything super special, I know it has to do with certain characters and their quest lines, especially for characters like Millicent who's quest you need to progress in a certain way for her to be at every one of those fights. Then it's all about finding their summon signs. Which sometimes are in obvious places. And other times are very hard to find. For example, her summon sign for the Magma Wyvern Makar fight was super easy, it was just outside the fog door. However for the black blade kindered. I didn't even find her until my forth or fifth attempt.
@@Echo1608. Ahhh, ok thank you. I guess NG+ I will try to do things "in order" as opposed to organically discovering places, people...an amazing experience that can't be recreated 😃
The theory of Milicent being part of Melania's conscious works well with theory that queen Marika made radagon by splitting her loyalty to the elden ring from herself
I like this theory of Marika splitting herself by shattering the ring. However I have a hard time with the fact that Radagon and Renalla were married before the shattering (I think). So he was his own person. Unless him leaving to be King Consort and being present during the shattering of the ring, or the attempt to repair it bound Marika's soul to him. I guess that would definitely fit, but also that really sucks for Radagon basically being erased as his own person. Anyways this statement made me think!
@jjongeneel22 no, radagon IS marika, he only came into existence to subdue liurnia, they are never separated person. The twins were cursed because of their parents incest relationship, same parents means defective gene
@@seliamila1005 they are once a separate person, if you account NPCS dialogue you'll see marika and radagon that been in different places at the same time, them becoming one was due to elden beast ensuring marika scheme wouldn't comes into fruition
Millicent is my favorite NPC on Elden Ring, not only powerful as a summon helper, but also willing to lost her life rather than become a tool for others, something than not even other demigods were willing to do.
I think it quite likely that Gowry is the guise a spirit aligned with the Rot takes when possessing the Pests. Kind of like Shabriri in that regard. No matter how many Kindred of Rot you kill when you strike him, there will always be more to possess. Dude gave me the creeps from the beginning, and it is so satisfying when he laments that Millicent followed in Malenia's footsteps by refusing to spearhead the Order of Rot
If you kill him after the quest, he dies for real and gives you a talisman.
Malenia is a massive hypocrite. She spurned Gowry and the servant's of rot but then throws it all out of the window when she loses in a fight. She did it to radahn and she does it to our Tarnished as well.
@@orion3237 he likely finally dies ‘cause he realized that an Order of Rot would never work as even Millicent and Malenia forsake it, so he stops taking control of Pests
@@orion3237 I think he gives up . . . For now more than he “dies” I also think he is like shibri but one must remember shibri was/is different than the frenzy flame but is also a part of it. Shibri is pretty much a Christ like figure for frenzy flame. He suffered for his beliefs, He was mortal yet also a part of the god he served and came out of a dark tomb reborn. The more I look at it the more stuff lines up. If anyone also sees this or if I have just finally gone mad and need to go into a goal I’d love for input either way.
Yea I think that’s accurate
I liked Millicent, one of the few pure characters in the lands between. Wish we could've gotten a special cut scene with Malenia if we fought her after the quest.
The one character who dies a tragic death is one of the ones who's most kind to us. She never remarks about the player being a Tarnished and does nothing but trust and appreciate the player throughout her quest. Honestly my favorite character and I was so sad when she died, but proud that she lived as her own person and was happy fighting alongside the player.
That is one of the questlines that realy put me to just pause and stare at Millicent at the end...Letting her die as her own person...It was realy soul crushing. I just love this game and the characters and stroies that it contains.
Just as the Father of the Abyss was shattered into pieces of his own soul, so too does the Goddess of Rot seem to... Multiply.
If Millicent was pride, what could the other sisters represent? Pollyanna can be summoned to help fight Commander O'Neil and Mary is the only sister present if we attempt betrayal.
That leaves Maureen and Amy unaccounted for.
When I first saw Millicent, I mistook her for Malenia, and thought she was suffering amnesia.
Millicent should have been Malenia. Someone who lost her memories after Fighting Radhan . And Gowry wanted us to take her to the halig tree to remind her who she was. Imagine the plot line... We literally give her the prosthetic, Give her a temporary cure for her to function And get the most powerful boss fight in the end!!
And you know maybe this absence from the Haligtree after splitting herself is how Mohg managed to acquire Miquella's cocoon and bring it to Moghwyn Palace. And when you defeat Malenia, she returns to being Millicent in the form of a Spirit Ash or a collaberator, similar to Latenna the Archer, and you have to bring her to Mohgwyn Palace and defeat the Lord of Bleed to return Miquella to the Haligtree... somehow.
That would have been an awesome questline.
I remember THINKING this was gonna happen on my first play-through. Glad it didn't though
I'm pretty sure Gowry is a real person who worships the Scarlett Rot and thus is trusted by the Children of Rot to the point that they allow him to use their bodies as vessels of his projected spirit/will just like Morgoth uses the bodies of soldiers to project himself during the first two encounters with the Tarnished.
Agreed. When you kill him he says “…So many pests to choose from…”
I think he's something of a lich type of wizard who has become the highest ranked of the faith of the rot. As there is alot of evidence through varying items depicting a faithful worship of a Rot God, and even includes the Scorpion and the fabled Swordsman of the flowing blade
Wait, does Morgott use a soldier's body when you first fight him as Margit?
He transforms from a peasant body in the outskirts of Leyndell in the area with all the craters and giant ballista bolts
Very likely. Shabriri and Hyetta seem to have a similar ability to possess dead humans.
Just a thought, the concept of Millicent and her Sisters being physical manifestations of different qualities of Malenia kind of reminds me of the Remnants of Sephiroth from Advent Children.
Malenia herself did always remind me of Sephiroth. Lengedary undefeated warrior, crazy long katana, deathly yet angelic transformation, you could say the Goddess of Rot mirrors Jenova hellbent on corrupting anything it touches. Not to mention, Waterfowl Dance is basically Sephiroth's Octoslash. Make Seph a Valkyrie and you've got Malenia.
@@a.z.pantera5577and they both have backstories where they were prideful warriors who fall from grace. I never thought about the connections before but they are definitely there. The way the Scarlet Rot afflicts Millicent and Malenia is similar to the effects of Jenova cells on Cloud, Sephiroth, and the other SOLDIERS. In fact, I'd say that Millicent is to Malenia is as Cloud is to Sephiroth
They should have made an "Age of Rot Ending" associated with this quest
but hey they still have DLC to release so maybe they with add it
I'm pretty sure Gowry isn't an illusion that any bug wears, but a soul that hijacks a body much like Shabriri. It makes sense to me that the various powers of the world would also have body-unbound tricksters in the world meant to manipulate things to the ends of an Outer God, and that Gowry is to the Scarlet Rot what Shabriri is to the Frenzied Flame. Of course, don't even get me STARTED on how the Scarlet Rot and the Greater Will are connected, because the Rot keeps showing up in places the GW smote and also the Greater Will was heavily implied to just be straight up unwilling to cure Malenia of rot, given that the Giant's Flame God seems perfectly willing to grant that little miracle via incantations.
I also agree that he is a being that possesses Pests. The first time I met him, the dog outside rushed me and one shotted him. But when I returned, forgetting he initially died, he was still there
I did some mild research into the names of Millicent and her sisters. I was curious what parts of Melania the other sisters represented if Millicent was her pride.
Millicent or Milicent is a female given name that has been in use since the Middle Ages. The English form Millicent derives from the Old French Melisende, from the Germanic amal "work" and swinth "strength". Work Strength can be a decent was to describe pride, I guess, but we already know what she is.
Polyanna: "one who finds cause for gladness in the most difficult situations”. This one is pretty self explanitory.
Mary came up as "bitter", "beloved", "rebelliousness", "wished-for child", "marine", “drop of the sea”. While beloved and wished-for child can refer to her as one of the empyrean twins of Marika, rebelliousness is probably the aspect of Melania she represents.
Amy seems to mean beloved but, could be short for Amelia, which means Industrious, Striving, and could represent Melania’s ambition.
Finally, Maureen translates to Virgin. What a sad way to die.
When I said “light research” I meant bare minimum. If anyone has an alternative thoughts or suggestions please comment below!
So:
Millicent, Pride of Malenia
Polyanna, Hopefulness of Malenia
Mary, Resentment of Malenia, or Yearning of Malenia
Amy, Drive of Malenia
Maureen, Purity of Malenia
To me it sounds like her daughters arent really her daughters, but parts of her essence that splintered away from her when she triggered the scarlet rot bomb in Caelid, that took on their own flesh-and-blood forms.
It makes sense Millicent would choose to go out on her own terms at the end of her questline, too, given she is Malenia's pride.
Oh wow, i called their theory before even watching the video. Great minds think alike, i guess.
Wait, so technically we can say that Malenia "lost her virginity" to Radhan 💀💀
@@SophiaLilithUwU those were her price for victory.... well, “victory”
@@eyashawk6283 technically true, lol imagine how powerful their kids would have been... unless Millicent and her sisters technically would be their children?
So try this. Gowery IS the God of Rot, not just an image/illusion. He always refers to her as his daughter and always refers to they're relationship from a position of protector and protecty. He acts from a positions of authority, while he knows just how powerful she is now and potentially how powerful she will become. He knows her entirely to well, as if he is literally WITHIN her. When her sisters kill her with the (defiantly tainted) needle that, oh!, Gowery just so happened to fix, I think you are literally bringing forth the age of Rot by allowing Gowery the opportunity to be "reborn" into the landsbetween with the most powerful host imaginable. The God of Rot fully embracing all of the power Melanie's fought against her entire life. Gowery would literally be unstoppable. (Forgot to mention that the idea that every prawn is an excellent speaker, leir, manipulator and chooses to always bum rush the tarnished with a sharp stick and like 15 faith? Idk seems weak) Got this idea while stoned af.
Fun follow up. Melainiea sheds her pride and creates her daughter(s). The form her daughter takes is remarkably similar to a Tarnished but she is never called one and it feels implied that she is not. So a demigod shed an emotion or cast off an inner gate and unknowingly created life. A life that mirrors the form of humans and Tarnished alike. For Tarnished are dead who yet live, not humans. SO! What did Godfrey cast off or loose to unintentionally create the Tarnished? From here I can only guess(as i have been this entire time) that Godfrey lost his Will to fight after felling ever worthy enemy and providing this endless cycle of dead with zero deaths was unacceptable to the Greater Will. So this lost Will became the Tarnished. Grace faded from him, so is his lost grace the light the Tarnish follow? For the sights of grace fade from those who have grown passive, Godfrey's Will leaving them just as it did there King. Only the driven Tarnished can see the path, one filled with endless death.
Gowery, an incarnation of the god of rot?
IMO, best theory so far!
It’s more likely that he was an exiled Sellian sorcerer imo, he wears the garb and Melania is already the host of the God of Rot - maybe Gowry is more like Shabriri in the sense of when it comes to him possessing hosts?
I find it hilarious that you'd come up with such a genius idea while stoned. I definitely agree with you on the shrimp, civilized people just don't shoot sticky threads at everyone they see. Also, every actual person has some backstory, even if it's just a couple of lines. If Gowry were an exiled mage, a cult leader, or just a big fan of Malenia and her works, there would have been something, but the guy just does not exist. We and Millicent are the only ones who can even perceive him, and we stop perceiving him the second we go against his will. Outer gods pick and choose who gets to see them, so it seems most likely that old Gowry is the guise of the Rot god. Nice follow up, though I don't have any comments on it.
Ok now thats smart but when u kill gowry he becomes a kindred and says "would you abandon US like your mother did" hes a kindred
Great vid. I find Millicent’s storyline very moving. It is the mark of great art that with just a few strokes of the proverbial brush that FS can tell a powerful story. I’ve done several playthroughs now, and simply cannot bring myself to ever betray her.
A valkyrie that walks the same footstep as the goddess but a path such as that eventually leads one forgetting oneself. Also I was going to tell you the audio for the NPC’s is low or you can’t hear them at all.😺
Is this still an issue? Our first upload had that problem around the 4 minute mark but we pulled for a fix.
@@square-table-gaming honestly it’s a bit better. Since we can actually hear them though the sound is really low but not extremely.🐱
@@topcat59 its fine for me
@@square-table-gaming Hello, on my end the audio is still low on mobile. I've been binge watching your videos and I'm enjoying them a lot. Hope the volume can be adjusted!
This is one of the best lore channels. Fewest mistakes, best reading comprehension, good theories. And it’s always really well done. Always look forward to your videos.
Thank you!
Exactly! These shorter videos seem much more accurate and informative than Smoughtowns hour long dives that are filled with inaccuracies...
I like the idea of "little help" when we fight alongside millicent.
I was over lvl 200 and had knight's resolve on the red collossal weapon. They would just die in one hit while millicent was flying around XD
I basically had a dedicated RoB build and 3-shot each sister with the WA. But sure, “little help” lol
17:58 Lmaoooo, the "Millicent has died" pop-up just as you compliment her strength and resilience
Millicent deserved to become spirit ashes at the end of her quest.
Would it be ridiculous if we offered the repaired needle to Radahn instead of Millicent? It seems they were both affected by the same sickness.
Not quite. Radahn had is mind rotted as a result of the Scarlet Rot, while Millicent carries the rot within her the same way Malenia does. The needle prevents the meddling of the outer gods which comes into play with Millicent because she has the potential to be a vessel for the rot goddess just as malenia did.
Nice Video and Theory, I personally believe it's more likely that the "pride" Malenia abandonned was the gold Needle she took out in order to try and defeat Radahn. She took it out to let the Rot give her strength. At least that's what I believe.
Same here. She needed the power boost against Radahn. And even later on the exchange of needles she regains her "pride" even in death and we get a tool to fight against the outer gods
Honestly, I feel like Malenia actually couldve had children with Gowry, considering how much he cares for Milicent, and it's been who knows how long since we Tarnished returned. Milicent being a true daughter of Malenia, not a demigod, not a Empyrean, something new, is a pretty cool concept.
13:44
@@nyren6548 fuck no
Sister, Daughter, and Off-shoot, she’s all of them in her own right, born from Malenia by way of the Aeonian flower, and I believe that is all we are meant to understand.
Thank you for the video man. Come to think of it Millicent is amnesiac at the same time she wears the same clothing as Melina. Of which states that they are to face their destiny. Perhaps Melina is also just like Millicent both of them are their mother's pride. Because Melina says her mother gave birth to her at the foot of the erdtree and that her mother is also inside the erdtree yet she asks how it feels to have a mother when she took notice of Boc. Im definitely craving for more Melina lore lmao.
If you get the Fire Giant's Braid Whip and pump it to +10, that Weapons skill makes this fight against Millicent's sisters easy.
I was gutted at the end of Millicent’s quest line. The one character that deserved to be saved which ultimately ends up being another corpse at your hands, though this time willingly at least.
It was at this point that I decided to make everyone that stood in my way until I completed the game just another corpse. If we can’t save the good one’s than is there truly anyone worth saving?
for your last comment of the video, about whether you should continue the, “follow the questline and explain the story along the way” i say yes. rather than just explaining the story, the way you’ve done it also gives direct insight of the dialogue and how the story pans out through gameplay, also. i enjoyed it a lot. great video and looking forward to more!
we don't talk enough about the needle exchange you can do with malenia. there is an implication malenia is still alive as the flower she leaves and waiting to be reborn. if you return the unalloyed gold needle to her, she is grateful for you returning her pride and dignity, and she gives you miquella's needle and a somber ancient dragon smithing stone to undo the frenzied flame ending. malenia seems to be grateful and support you.
You should definitely do more of this. Snake lady next for sure
Love snake lady. Might actually have plenty of footage for her
Rya, best girl. Better than Ranni.
You and SmoughTown have perfect timing, as soon as I sit down to work my 2nd job yall both upload amazing lore videos thank you ✌️
Happy to be of service and glad you dig our content!
Great video! Milicent is my favorite npc in this game and I had no idea you could go back and forth to talk with Gowry during my playthrough of this quest. She can also be summoned to fight the black gargoyle at the foot the lift of rold! I summoned her cause I hate those guys haha.
I like this integrative format. The commentary and the questline make things clearer. You missed one bit where she could be summoned before we use the grand lift of rold. I would like to see your input on NPCs and their summons from a lore perspective while you are covering them in this format. As always enjoyed your take, on Millicent, the flower never to bloom 🥀
Wait, Millicent is a related to Melania?!
( proceeds to cancel the order for a Milicent body pillow)
All the best parts haha
Personally i believe Millicent is not an offshoot but in a way her daughter.
In an interview with millicents voice actor, she asked the interviewer if "we ever got to meet her mother."
That might as well have been an earlier plan for millicent that got changed later
Oh so that's why when Millicent died and the pride returned to Malenia and she proudly said the famous line "I am Malenia blade of miquella.
This quest broke me. I couldn't be convinced to betray her. I don't care what the reward is or how hard the fight would be. I couldn't do it. And it was the first time I was truly angry at a character.
There were other characters that made me feel sad to see them gone, but Millicent's quest actually made me cry. I'd like to think that what her purpose in the game was to show you who Malenia was when she has her dignity and pride.
And the part that truly makes this part sad? If you choose to fight along side her to defeat her sisters, she will give you the means to become yourself again, if you chose to side with the frenzy flame.
There is one state of being that would allow Millicent to be sister, daughter, and offshoot of Melenia at once. She is a younger clone of Melenia.
I loved her quest line. I almost missed it like I did nepheli Loux’s on my first play through. I don’t know where I should suggest this, but is it possible to do a lore video of the Company of the Fallen Hawk soldiers? I think it’d be more of theory crafting than concrete lore, but I’d enjoy it anyhow.
They’re the undead you find in nokron with the bloodied hands and feet.
I think Gowry is similar in nature to Shabriri. They are both interpreters of the will of Outer Gods and can possess people and take control of their bodies. They both do make a statement that killing them is pointless and impossible, though this is more clear when we slay Gowry as he states “There are plenty of other pests to use.” implying that he will just get another body to use almost indefinitely.
I love the format. I’d definitely watch more
Excellent video & yes indeed, continue with this story telling & quest line format! It’s informative, interesting & helpful all at once! Also, I can’t get enough Elden Ring!! Elden Ring for life!
Thnx for the great vids!
This game seriously, just dipping your toes in the lore of this game fills you with a sense of tragedy and a weird cathartic experience.
Loved this style of story telling
Beautifully done, thank you.
Can't help but notice parallels to Manus and his fragments taking human form
This was incredible you got my like and sub. I’m glad you covered my favorite character.
I enjoyed this video. It's good to see verity in styles of videos on this channel.
Love the new format!!
Great videos! This really hit home.
fantasticly done!! i loved it, keep it up. i look forward to much more. thank you.
I really enjoyed this quest video. More would be great.
If the land of shadows is indeed the land of the dead, then I hope we meet Millicent again.
I just noticed that Gowry has some strong Whisperer in the Darkness "Akeley" energy.
I wouldn't mind a Patches recap.
I'm not sure why but this questline has always really moved me...despite the work involved. Maybe because of it.
So, basically, Millicent was also a (secret) Empyrean, and a potential vessel to the goddess of rot
Worst part of Millicent is having to kill her to get one of the best talismans in the game 😢 I just killed her earlier today and I felt SO guilty the entire time. Luckily I don't ever have to do that again but it still hurts
Very late to the lore party, and I haven't played the game yet but this is some really awesome lore/theory crafting and a cool story A god's pride being so strong that she refuses to even merge with herself is so badass. Literally so prideful that she won't even submit to herself. Reminds me of a family guy joke "i don't play follow anyone's rules. Not even my own"
Seeing an internal conflict play out through a grand quest like this. Indirectly developing Malenia as a character, it's brilliant
The other siblings needing to gang up has so much symbolic meaning on it's own. Not only that they will always be subordinate, but that maybe she does have cowardly urges that will always be suppresed, as well as other pressures and thoughts but a;so the desperation that led her to use the rot in the first place.
I also like how there are multiple ways to interpret her refusal.
Since she tossed aside her pride, you can can see her refusal to return as saying her current self is unworthy after succumbing to the rot. So that way you can say she's as much a manifestation of her shame as she is her pride. You could also interpret it s being in denial, refusing to acknowledge her shame or even something like suicide with her choosing a dignified death.
More tragic is that she did, in fact submit. She did give in. She did lose, and killed her pride to do it. Her pride struggles to maintain it's dignity it clings to past glory and defiance, going on one last adventure but it's already dead, not able to move on it's own, withering to nothing. In that sense there's something almost pathetic about it...that's the duality of pride. Clinging to dignity she no longer has. In the end, she lost to the rot, she lost to herself.
I also like how you can as a personification of the rot's will or the curse itself speaking. As far as I can tell the rot is basically being chosen by an outer god, so you can interpret this as the outer god's arrogance. It simply can't comprehend that anyone would oppose it's will or see its will as anything but a loving gift.
I would always help Millicent. Never allowing to lose herself.
So good! Thank you!
Amazing video thank you!! I was kinda confused when I completed her questline and she mentioned being related to Malenia.
Millicent is one of my favourite characters in Elden ring and I will all ways help her against her sister I was so sad when she died but at least she die her own person and my tarnished will always help her to the end
Dope video homie. Keep it up
I enjoyed it mate. Well done.
Thank you!
I have fallen in love with your channel!
I think Gowry is definitely a real person, and just uses the Kindred of Rot to avoid endangering himself. I mean, the Sage set pretty clearly states that the sages were an actual faction that was driven from Sellia. On top of that, he sets up outside Sellia almost as if to mock them, with the emaciated dog chained up and everything. It definitely always struck me as spiteful, and the Kindred of Rot wouldn't have that personal antagonism against Sellia like an exile from it would.
Also, the Kindred of Rot emerged from the swamp AFTER the blooming of Aeonia, and Gowry has memories and history preceding that, so it wouldn't make sense that he's some kind of invention of the bug people
I think you're bang on there. I read pretty much the same thing into this. Btw, this one really hit close to home for me and I gonna need a minute until I can touch the game again.
1:10 that demi-human gave me a good chuckle
TBH, when I found her originally it was just after she invaded me in the swamp. I laughed, took the item from the church and forgot entirely about her.
Woof missed an awesome quest!
Just imagine Millicent being summoned by Malenia as a Scarlet Valkyrie! You always summon friends to help you against bosses, why shouldn't bosses summon their own friends?
I just finished her questline. I couldn't find it within myself to betray her so i fought alongside her. I believe she has the right to decided for herself what she wants not what was premade for her.
No matter how many NG+ I go through, how much I farm to try to find every item in the game, I've come to a realization that I'll always be one Talisman short at the end bc I'll never betray Millicent so buh-bye ever getting the Prosthesis Talisman you get from fighting against her
In the Grand Cloister where those pests look up and pray to the sky. I look up above that altar and I see a giant statue that looks similar to Gowry.
I wonder is there any connection? Is that the founder of the cult? The leader of Rot Order. Or the human form of Rot God? Or just an object the devs put in there.
Unrelated the rot god came to the land but was defeated by a swordsmen with a flowing blade. This swordsmen later goes on to teach malenia
I really like the format. But I'm a Millicent simp so idk if that could be a bias. Liked the video.
I love this series bro
"My name is Millicent, Pride of Malenia. And I will never know defeat."
---That bastard who invaded me in the swamp that one time
Wow I never realized the fight with Millicent and her sisters were actually a fight of Melania’s personified ideals or egos, super cool!
Glad to see someone do a video on this theory. I found what appears to be the original post of it by Nihlus11 on Reddit last month and loved how it expanded on the lore around a quest that felt tragically unfinished otherwise and gave it an epic sense of closure. Hopefully this video helps it acquire some more traction. There are some details that I do feel you could have elaborated on in the video that were presented in said post, such as the significance of the Unalloyed Needle. Particularly how it changes throughout the questline, and Millicent's goal. For one, how if you side with Millicent in her battle against her sisters, you can later reclaim the Needle from her deceased body. Its appearance is slightly altered in color tone, and its description changes, stating that it somehow "bears no trace of befouled blood, but is faintly moist with dew." said dew originating from Millicent herself and it being a substance associated with the gods. The needle itself is untainted, but somehow changed, there being a semblance of Millicent's flesh within it, yet with no traces of Scarlet Rot. There is also the next part which states Millicent's intentions upon the Needle "It is something I must return to Malenia. The dignity, the sense of self, that allowed her to resist the call of the scarlet rot".
This is a hint to the fact that the player has to give the needle back to Malenia in order for them to receive Miquella's needle in return, also bringing a proper end to Millicent's journey, and intent when she was nearing her "mother's" location.It might also serve to imply that Malenia is still alive, and that the bloom we saw in her boss fight is actually her second bloom as the presence of her flower after her defeat and the Scarlet Aeonia incantation we can obtain suggests. Note that attempting to just give the needle to the Scarlet Aeonia that Malenia leaves behind after we defeat her without doing Millicent's questline doesn't work. Millicent is required to have utilized the needle herself and for it to contain traces of her being. Only then will giving the needle to the giant flower that Malenia leaves behind reward the player with an item called Miquella's Needle. The prompt itself states that you "Return" the needle back to Malenia, not that you utilize the needle on her flower, but instead give it back to her. Meaning it is possible that the needle the player receives in return, is in fact another needle entirely, one gifted by the Aeonia in return for completing Millicent's request. The description of Miquella's Needle also supports this idea, as it states that it is "One of the unalloyed gold needles that Miquella crafted to ward away the meddling of outer gods”. The key part of this statement is that it is one of multiple needles, more than just the singular one we Millicent and Malenia utilized. This suggests that the one we then claim for ourselves is in fact a different one altogether. The description of the second needle also differs from the first in that it specifies its use against the Frenzied Flame, while mentioning nothing about the Scarlet Rot or Malenia. You also receive an Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone from the process which you wouldn't have from simply utilizing the needle next to the Aeonia, again further implying that the sequence of events is an exchange of sorts.
With all that in information taken into account, it would appear that by giving the needle to Malenia the player tarnished has brought a proper ending to Millicent's quest and journey. Millicent sadly dies before reaching her original, likely because of the intervention of her sisters, preventing her from meeting with Malenia before her time of demise. It is a tragic ending if left there, however the player has the option to finish the job for her by defeating Malenia and returning the needle that once belonged to the Demigod back to her, now imbued with Millicent's own essence. An ultimate test of loyalty and kinship towards the red haired swordmaster who you met across your own journey, even after her "passing". This results in the player being rewarded for their efforts, in helping another with overcoming their affliction with a tool to rid themselves of one they might potentially have themselves.
Interesting. Legitimately never came across this reddit post.
@@square-table-gaming Ah I see, great minds think alike I suppose. There is evidence for all these ideas in the game itself. It is then only natural for multiple people to come to the same conclusions.
@@C-Master109 to us, multiple people coming to the same conclusion in this community usually means we're all as close to right as we can get haha.
@@C-Master109 one thing of note is the bllom at the end is most likely third one. First is radahn, second is when we fight her, third is after boss. Considering gowry states millicent will ascend when she is defeated it means malenia may not be dead actually
Honestly thank you for this video. Miquella, Milicent and Malenia are my absolute favorite characters, and Elden Ring really tore me to shreds with the way things played out. I'm an orphan like Milicent, I got some gender issues like Miquella, I have red hair and I'm a disabled veteran so I got really attached to these characters. Milicent dying just outside of the room where she'd meet her ancestor, and get all the answers to her questions in addition to closure was just too much for me to bare. I've used gestures to convey my characters emotions, particularly sadness at the loss of some NPCs before, but never before had I been so despondent that tears streaked down my cheeks irl as I did that. I wound up with a gallery of images of my Tarnished on their knees, curled in the fetal position with her hand clasped with Millicents as though our Tarnished can't bring themselves to get up, and continue their journey without her, and for awhile I just grieved, and then I remembered that Gowry was still alive. Only then did we get up, vowing to Milicent that we'd make that Bastard die a million deaths if we couldn't make him stay dead.
i feel like there are some parallels between the players relationship with Millicent and Melina's relationship with the player.
you gave everything you could without getting much back every step of the way in Millicent journey until there very end when she chooses to throw away the two options for her fate and make her own
Melina gives you everything she can and eventually even her life and all she asks is for you to not become the chosen of chaos.
after following Millicent do you accept the two choices at the fire? burn Melina and choose which elden lord you will become or burn yourself and become lord of chaos? or will you be like Millicent and take her needle to forge your own path? burn yourself but reject the three fingers with Miquella's Needle to save Melina?
she will surely dislike this choice since she had accepted her fate but Millicent knew you wouldnt like her removing the needle either. somtimes to forge your own path you have to disappoint those you care about.
I enjoyed the new format, like storytelling rather than talking points. ✌🏼
this rules! great work :-)
Loved this quest
This kind of content is perfect for me...I'm to old got to many kids to play the game myself...but I love souls lore can't get enough..thank u
Amazing. Please do this for all NPC quests.
I would have gladly been infected with the scarlet rot to keep Millicent company in her last moment... I totally lost my wit when I saw that last scene.
Great work👍
This is one npc who I genuinely wish hadn't died no matter what you do
Showing the questline with the commentary is excellent. More of this please🎉
Dude I’m no like simp for game characters but Millicent was one of my absolute favorite characters. Wish she didn’t die :( but everyone in this game pretty much does😂😭
I always find it so much fun how often the art of war gets spammed in these vids
I honestly just love the look, it's so damn cinematic
Enjoyable video.
Only problem is the voice tends to lull me to sleep with these ER videos
I hope we see Millicent again some how
I don’t understand why she invades you attempts to slaughter you with the water flow dance
The Millicent that invades you likely isn't the one we know. Much like when other tarnished invade our worlds, she's from a different world.
You really don't want me to get this Prosthesis, do ya
Amazing video