I Noticed Something Interesting...Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Story Trailer Lore Analysis
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- Опубліковано 21 тра 2024
- FromSoft just decides to blast my sleep schedule on a random Tuesday with an absolutely amazing trailer for Shadow of the Erdtree DLC that had me up all night. From Marika and the birth of the Erdtree, to Miquellas followers in the land of shadow, to seeing St. Trina in her glorious purple glory there is seriously a lot to dig into. And how does Messmer the Impaler somehow get cooler every time we see him????
It's cool Miyazaki, we know sleep is overrated anyway.
In this video I dig into some interesting observations, both my own and some others I stumbled across, and throw stuff at a wall hoping something sticks.
At the time of publishing, I seem to be the only one talking about Marika’s(?) uncharacteristically long braid??? Is it just that well-hidden or am I having a hallucination?
We also consider what might be a black knife assassin and their motivations for their conspiracy against Godwin, the darkness at the heart of the Erdtree’s birth and whether Miquella is indeed a villain or saint.
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For the record, I don't think a braid is enough to conclusively say it's Miquella! It does make me think though and I thought I would bring it to the table as an interesting piece of evidence.
Edit: guys I know Marika has a braid. 😅I'm talking about the fact that this braid looks very unlike hers.
Anyway Hope you guys enjoy the video! The DLC hype is real!
In the beginning shot where supposedly Marika is holding up those golden strings, I think that she is transforming into Radagon. The hair turns more red, she has a braid (Radagon has a braid) and the torso shape is more male like.
My theory is it is Godwyn the Golden we see. It makes sense. "An affair out of which Gold and Shadow are born." Godwyn is the only solitary child of Marika and both her consorts, the others are twins. So what if Messmer is Godwyn's twin. So maybe, to bring his brother the true death, as he puts it in the game, Miquella is looking to trick people into killing Messmer?
Also my theory about the figure holding the golden threads being Godwyn. He is buried in the roots of the Erdtree, from where he spreads his roots throughout the Lands Between, but also prevents the dead from passing on. Hence the pile of copses next to the figure.
I'm more inclined on the first person being Miquella than Marika. There's a noticeable lack of breasts on the figure, whereas on the beginning of the fight with Radagon there isn't. If we add this with the possible braided hair, I think it might be Miquella.
There are a ton of things that point to the women in the opening cinematic being Marika, including the braid. There's images of Marika crucified with a braid in her hair. Also Miyazaki himself mention that we will learn of Marika's history and how she birthed the Erdtree.
@@YayoDeAbreu Marika is frequently shown with braided hair. Look and her artwork where she is crucified and her statues. I think people are looking way too much into the hair. What about the fact that she is wearing the exact same jewelry as Marika? Not to mention how Miyazaki told us in an interview that we will learn about Marika's history and how she actually created the Erdtree.
I think Marika pulled a Griffith and sacrificed her people to become the vessel for the Elden Ring. The scene even looks similar to Eclipse in Berserk.
I think she conned and sacrificed the godskins
Or did miquella bewitch a people into sacrificing themselves for salvation
I think this is the look of the Crucible ... for me, she's just ascending to divinity, and put the sail on the region, in order to hide Mesmer's goal, to eradicate others competitors.
She retires the "Rune of Life Creation" from The Crucible at the beginning, the one to which she clings, which forms a concave arc, like a distortion of space, or a pregnancy.
@@DjDolHaus86 notice how gloam colored the sky was. I like this.
Same
The guy in the wide hat is the same guy who does kung fu in the original DLC trailer..
You're 100% right. Appreciate the correction man!
2J detected
ωχ βρηκα τον 2j
@ZayftheScholar the second guy from the right gives me sekiro vibes ... the coat he is wearing could be the one in the entry shot of the gameplay trailer also the voice would fit, he stands proud with arms behind the back like some old experienced master. He might be the master of the new throwing daggers type
what is that between the martial artist and the spartan in the end?
Marika also has a braid. Miyazaki also said this is the story of how she created the golden order. To me the bracelets and bracers pretty much confirm it's her. They show Miquella later in the trailer as a kid in the second half of the trailer.
I think it is Marika, but if that is true, it kinda leads me to believe that Miquella is basically Marika "reborn" in a way
yeah , its not miquella for sure so not even worth considering its him
I love crackpot theories because they make us look at the material in a different way, but they are usually inaccurate.
story of how she came to godhood - not of how she created the golden order, that was done with the removal of the rune of death
@@lolidiot4656 Good correction. I think Miyazaki was even more vague, saying it's the story of how Marika first set foot in the Lands Between.
1:37 Marika clutching the golden strands seems to make the Y-shape of Marika's rune,
I had this thought as well. It’s also similar to whatever she is bound to when we enter the Erdtree.
This is probably when she forged her Rune of Life, maybe she pulled out some golden strands of rune from a previous deity (not unlike how we see the Elden Ring inside her & Radagon)
@@Feoremar yeah you'll notice it's playing the Elden Beast theme during this segment
i just see a rune arc.
maybe im an uncultured heretic, but i dunno.
I too see a Rune Arc, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Marika’s Rune incorporated the Rune Arc as her rune.
Then, once bound to Radagon’s Rune, allowed the Elden Ring to take a form that tried to exist separately from the crucible (referencing the OG Farum Azula Elden Ring).
Marikas hair seems red because of the red light reflecting from all the bloody bodies around her.
No I think the masculine body shape pointed out in editing and the more Miquella-esque hairstyle is actually indicative of this being Radagon!
I do believe it to be first Marika and then Radagon; which would make sense, since the hair of Messmer is red and not golden, thus he is the child of Radagon and maybe not even Marika
Possibly but I wouldn’t be so sure. They probably want us to be unsure about the hair color and intentionally set the surroundings to obscure any certainty about the color. You think it’s a coincidence there’s red light here?
@@daveyjoneslocker4703 Of course not, but I still think the body shape shown later on is more masculine
Again, that Messmer has red hair indicates him being related to Radagon, thus making him a child of both Radagon and Marika
That means Radagon isn't out of the question here
@@alchemicalalek7535 this is 100% not Radagon. just compare the feet from the trailer to Radagons model. static.wikia.nocookie.net/evil/images/f/f3/Radagon_of_the_Golden_Order_model.png/revision/latest?cb=20240327202932&path-prefix=pl
Yeah I think the person's hair is definitely Golden. But the framing and lighting for this scene is CLEARLY intentional. They purposefully made it seem like the hair could be Red and/or Gold. To me it looks like the base of the hair is more golden while the ends are more reddish. But again, like you said, this is most likely just the light reflecting off of the bodies.
What's more interesting is the braid appearing for a few frames where it wasnt before. I think it, coupled with the seemingly red tinge of the hair whether by actual color or reflection, is a nod towards this person being Radagon as well.
It means that Marika and Radagon were one even before she was the Goddess
About Miquella abandoning Trina, I somehow feel, that Miquella was the true successor to Marika, he was destined to godhood among his demigod siblings. Maybe in order to become a god, a demigod needs two personas: Marika and Radagon, and Miquella's case, Trina.
I think you're onto something, but I always thought that the two personas thing was a red herring. What really makes an empyrian could be the ability to bear children, that's why all empyrians are women or have a feminine form, in the case of Miquela. This would explain why Ranni discarded her body as a way to run from the control of the fingers, it can be why Marika has a longinus spear pierced through her womb, and is also why St. Trina would be Miquela's fate. There's a lot that makes sense if you see it through this lens. There's a Tarnished Archeologist video about this that's really convincing.
@@jonasfagundes8136
You are a genius! This explains how malenia ascended her godhood without the male persona. I see most people are implying the duality is what completes a god, I have malenia in mind every time when I see those speculations.
Well, I'm still holding on to the theory that Ranni and Melina are (or were) connected. Perhaps in her ritual, she also severed herself.
@@jonasfagundes8136 in what way does Ranni have dual personas?
@@TarnishedProductions I don't claim that she does, but I understand why some people see a duality in her, due to the ghostly face. I personally don't see it as that. I read it as her soul kind of misplaced/rejecting the doll? But usually, when speculations are made about what constitutes an empyrian, people bring up this duality (Ranni's "two faces", Malenia and the rot, Miquela and St. Trina, Radagon and Marika). Persona was not a good word for it, though.
From the looks of it, Messmer might be one of the oldest demi-gods. Thus meaning his father could potentially have been a fire Giant rather than Radagon.
So Marika had babies with a tarnished, with a wizard, even with herself. Now she also had a child with a giant before all of that lol?
@@JuliettKilo that would be so cool 😂 also smells a lot like something pervy George RR would think of 🤣
My take was she became a god and then the trailer said "some time later" which could have been after she made demi gods and they grew up. I don't think he was alive at the beginning of the trailer.
@@therealjeb GRRM has nothing on Greek mythology.
@@JuliettKilo Who was the wizard if I may ask?
Someone also brought up that the betrayal in question could be Marika posed as Radagon could have seduced the glome eyed queen and the baby they have is what marika used to steal those golden stands in the beginning to make the erd tree since that entire location looks like people have been skinned
Marika has done that before by using radagon to have children with rennala
She might have even seduced Plasidax and become his lord as radagon and after the dragons found out about her betrayal, gransax attached leyndall
My issue with that is that this part shows the birth of gold, the birth of the erdtree, which is long before marika and radagon fused
@@bombthing that is IF they fused. What if they were one and the same wayyy before we even found out and they only split and fused together when the situation arosed
@@mohammedrazaesmail6934 Maybe, it would be weird if they started out as one though, then again it's weird either way. Maybe Marika started out as just Marika, and the Radagon personality formed as she was selected by the greater will, with Radagon being an embodiment of the greater will's, er, will
@@mohammedrazaesmail6934 There's a strong implication that Radagon descended from the firegiants.
Also, with the alchemic metaphors the game is going for, it wouldn't make sense if they were always the same. The Elden Beast was trying to unify opposites to create a perfect being; male and female, sulphur and mercury. So I don't think they were always one.
@@felipefortaleza8280 I feel like, with the dlc the entire story of the fire giants is going to change. To start with, all the fire giants were “Impaled” by the exact same spear design as Mesmer is using, there is something very weird about that. And Godfrey who is thought to have fought the fire giants is not known for impaling.
Also, I find it super dumb that after Marika committed genocide of the giants all they could do was curse her with red hair? Which she then splint and gave the red part of it to radagon? Truly the giants curse couldn’t have been just destroying her fashion choices…. Maybe their curse was forcing a split or something because remember, radagon just mysteriously appeared one day from nowhere…
And it seems later on Marika was trying to get him back inside her to become ‘one’ after the giants split them…
The tree symbol on the soldier's helmet reminds me of the carvings depicted on the entrance to the Erdtree, where we see what looks to be the Elden Ring, a tree above it, and then what appears to be another tree - a bare tree - at the very top. The helmet design reminds me specifically of that uppermost, bare tree.
i thought the same thing as soon as i saw it! it looks exactly like that bare tree.
if you flip it upside down, it look sort of like the pattern than runs through the elden ring depicted in Farum Azula too
Ain't that the symbol that sits in tha background of malikeths in farum azula? Coz It made me wonder are we going back in time in this DLC🤔
And also it Looks Like the spell that Melina used in the Boss Fight with the omen king
It looks a bit like some of the reliefs on Tree Sentinel armor
It looks androgynous, like Marika mid transformation into Radagon.
Yeah I thought as much myself! I watched the trailer the first time and immediately thought of the very masculine body shape in the second half, but the very obviously feminine body in the first half:
I think its Marika walking up the stairs, and pulling out the strands of gold from the womb, but I believe its Radagon holding up the golden arc or the golden strands of the Elden Ring
It would also explain why its Radagon of the Golden Order: he is BORN from the very formation of the Golden Order, and is a byproduct of Marika's transition into Godhood
At this point Radagon could have existed, however he got the red hair after defeating the Fire Giants who cursed him with red hair and he hated it. And I do not think it could be Miquella, since he was not even born at this stage.
A very fair assumption... if we believe the scenes in the trailer are accurately being described by the narrator.
It would be weird for Radagon to be alive at the creation of gold, let alone already be fused with Marika. Also I always read the giants red braid as the giants kind were cursed with red hair, and assumed Radagon was just related to the giants, since the in game selectable race, Northerner, states they descended from giants and it also explains why Radagon's kids are so big, excluding miquella
@@bombthing hardly, there is enough evidence which supports the hypothesis that Radagon was always part of Marika as her alter-ego. The theory of him being individual which has been merged with Marika at some point has no evidence for it.
The *Giant's Red Braid* specifically says: _"Every giant is red of hair, and Radagon was said to have despised his own red locks. Perhaps that was a curse of their kind."_
It is apparent that Radagon had Golden hair as Marika and the red hair we know him with, are curse of Fire Giants. If he would be Fire Giant himself or relative, than he would had no reason to despite his red hair. And we also know, that Marika spared only one Fire Giant to protect the forge. And Radagon has already existed at that point since he was cursed.
@@capollyon no evidence for it? "Radagon, thou'rt yet to become me, thou'rt yet to become a god" And I never said Radagon was a fire giant, I said he was a descendant of them, and it would make sense for someone devoted to the golden order to have resentment towards the hair color of his ancestors that are seen as enemies. And another piece of evidence that Marika and Radagon werent together from the beginning is that during Radagon's time with Rennala, Marika was still at the capitol Leyndell, and after the Rennala part, he returned to Marika at the capitol, so them being one from the beginning theory kind of falls apart unless you believe that they were one, and then Marika split them into two different bodies, and then became one AGAIN after the Rennala affair
Radagon could’ve been created at the moment Marika did this
I suppose Miquella could've been trying to metamorphose into St. Trina inside the cocoon, assuming that hosting the Elden Ring to become the God of an age requires a female body. So, becoming Trina might've been the "fate" that was in written in the stars for Miquella all along - he was an Empyrean, after all.
"assuming that hosting the Elden Ring to become the God of an age requires a female body". That makes me think.
Marika's words towards Radagon are "Thou'rt yet to become me." I'm starting to suspect that Radagon is the original, not Marika. And perhaps the first shot of the trailer depicts Radagon stealing the ability to conceive from Gloam Eyed Queen and becoming Marika.
@@arturkushukov1815 I get the feeling that we will actually find out how the dualistic existence of Marika/Radagon came to be.
@@arturkushukov1815 Don’t you contradict yourself though…? “Thou’rt yet to become me” “Thou’rt yet to become a God” it seems clear to me that Marika IS the original
I love this speculation
@@Ir1dellaYeah, I don't really think it makes sense with that dialogue.
That guy at 7:37 on the right.. his clothing looks like the one standing at moghwyn palace in the first trailer
I thought it was Miquella right at the get go. I can see how it can be Marika too.
Why would he be telling a story of the beginning and creation of the golden order and his own life if all of that happened before his birth
It could also be Godwyn, given he seems to be the eldest demi god it's possible he fought in the land of shadow alongside Messmer. It is also Godwyn who harnessed the golden lightning which can be seen wielded by the dancing lion in the first trailer.
@@blizzardgaming7070 yeah but how could he create the golden order is the thing. “The creation of gold” means everything gold as in the golden order the erdtree etc not just golden lightning. and marika is the only person in game who we’ve seen wearing that snake like bracelet is Marika. Plus Marika and Godfrey only had children after the creation of the golden order, hence godwyn mohg morgott godrick and godefroy being known as the golden lineage, so he couldn’t have even been around back in such an ancient time in the lore history. Finally he’s literally never been seen with the ability to manipulate runes of the elden ring, in fact, as long as they’ve been in runes still in the elden ring, the only people we’ve ever seen able to manipulate the elden ring are people who are currently or about to become ruling gods like Marika.
literally this. i dont get where people are pulling some of these theorys out their asses about her children being there before they were evem born. recently read one where someone is saying Messmer is somehow Godwyns twin and how Messmer is also an albinauric. idk where people are pulling these out from @@godly_potatoe69xd19
Same bracelets and arm bands as Merika
The woman in the burning city could be the glom eyed queen as the spiral sword could be the godslayer’s greatsword
I recommend actually looking at the godslayer's greasword bud, its comes too two tips and is not one solid blade.
The is concept art of a Godskin wielding a spiral spear that comes to a single point, but that weapon is also different from the silhouette.
Still want it, what the bet it has bleed?
It reminds me of the godslayer greatsword as well. It’s not it but reminds me of it. When he reminded me Melina is “burned and bodiless” my eyes got wide. I too think that could be the gloam eyed queen.
Not miquella, that scene is maybe the foundation of the Erdtree, how was made, in the left, shadow, in the center, golden and light,, Marika is ofering something to someone ( external deity or something) to create the Erdtree. Remember that the big one tree is growing by bodies in his roots, ro, we observe in the secene a lot of them, maybe the massacre that Mesmer does
It being Marika absolutely makes the most sense. Still...the braid makes me wonder.
@@ZayftheScholar is just hair, maybe she change it, Miyazaki says this is when MArika becomes a God, maybe the goddes Hair styleis become different haha (I can not does cause am getting baldy :c). the thing is, how magnificent the game is, telling us a very complicated and well made story trought the trailers, so much cinematography and so many questions and theories. This is a very masterpeace we have here, we just need to enyoy it
@@Riff3000Exactly the hair could’ve changed for literally any reason. This is her origin so she would definitely look different. Also not only the bracelets match but the flowing black robes on the lower half of her body also match the ones she wears in the erdtree at the end of the game almost. So i think it most likely is marika/birth of radagon
@@ZayftheScholarMarika has a braid. Just google her and you will see the artwork depicts it as well as any Marika statue
@@Verbmo yeah think the same, the back looks so androgenous in the pose that she/he made (based on the statues in the churches and radagons back). Its an amazing story that we have here
That trailer was an absolute BANGER! I had JUST woken up when I saw the tweet about the trailer! I wanna say maybe it's hair. But my theory is this and Imma call it right now, Messmer and the Gloam-Eyed Queen have some sort of relationship status. I'm almost certain now at this point Messmer AND Melina are the children OF the Gloam-Eyed Queen AND that BOTH are Byproducts of Marika and the GEQ. But this is just speculation of course but I'm not too sure and again just pure fun and speculation
And that’s what they’re referring to as the “seduction” and “affair,” that’s fun food for thought, good catch
Plot twist he is the bad guy. As you enter the final room you hear "I am Miquella blade of Melania"
Let Me Solo Him
Oh god, here we go again
Is typing Malenia's name wrong a meme or something? I see it so often on the internet
@yuomovaeh3028 honestly over half the characters in the game we have to keep up with start with M. I have no idea how to spell it 😂
I'm guessing that Miquella will play a similar role to Ranni in the lands between. Someone who has there own, ultimately selfish agenda, but has none the less opposed themselves to an oppressive force and does have good, or at least better, intentions than the current powers in charge.
Yeah that’s what I think Miquella will be doing in the DLC
I have to ask, how is it a selfish agenda when they’re trying to remove the golden order, which everyone knows, is bad?
Messmer is based on the summerian god, Ningishzida, which translates to "lord of the good tree". Messmer "planted" the Erdtree by piling up corpses. That first scene shows Marika entering the Erdtree, which we know has a gold lining around it. The Erdtree roots are always surrounded by corpses. Marika surrounded the Erdtree in gold to veil the fact that it is made entirely of CORPSES. That is the shadow of the Erdtree.
FUCK!😮
The Shadow of the Erdtree is a literal entity, it's not merely symbolic. How does that fit into this theory?
@@ETBrooD where did you hear that?
Yeah, to me it looked like she was weaving threads of gold to hide the secret behind the erdtree, that being made of bodies. There is also a lot of insinuations of the erdtree/ER/EldenBeast being parasitic maybe needing the bodies. What my crackhead theory is that the first scene is Marika taking the Elden Ring from the Gloam-Eyed Queen, and that she was pregnant(I also think she might have been impregnated by Radagon form of Marika), and the child is Mesmer. Why I think it's GEQ is only because the sky to the left of the wide shot of Marika is 100% the "Those who live in death" colored
EDIT: To add why I think that is pregnant GEQ is two things: we see in first trailer a girl with black hair behind an old man and she holds her belly, also there seems to be a big belly like thing from where Marika pulls those gold goo-threads in this trailer, the cloth around that looks kinda like godskin stuff, and all the bodies around seem skinned
@@DougRobertson "Shadow" in the subtitles is written with a capital 's', which means it refers to some kind of entity. The Shadow of the Erdtree is a literal being that's as real as the Erdtree itself. Or rather as real as the gold of the tree.
Theory: The 'labial' imagery in the opening looks like there's a head inside that's crowning. I'm wondering if the 'gold' Marika is taking from that head is actually Miquella's. He was the one born with the grace of gold, and she took it from him.
I think that's cloth, at the top could be boobs/shape of boobs and the head is actually a baby bump, and she maybe grabs directly into the womb of some poor woman and rips those golden strands out. Maybe a reference to placenta, connection between mother and child/living/nutrition.
@@allimJher literally reaching into someone’s uterus on a story trailer would be a little on the nose for SO many reasons
Super underrated channel. I hope more people see your content.
I appreciate that!
I have two theories about St Trina:
1. St. Trina is the personification of Miquella's discarded fate as an Empyrean, and she longs to reunite with him.
2. St Trina is the form Miquella became after he divested himself of literally everything; Hence having this new appearance in the form of St Trina.
This
The golden strands hanging from the shadow Erdtree look like what Marika wears around her neck in the concept art! If you squint a lot it may even look like Marika hanging there in her crucified pose.
Your theory makes sense. If the entrance we see is actually the Erdtree, it means Melina was born in the Lands of Shadow since she says she was "born inside" the Erdtree. Also maybe the burnt female figure is the Gloam Eyed Qeen and she is the "Mother" that tasked Melina with burning the Erdtree... Or maybe I am just losing my mind waiting for the DLC.
It's Marika. Don't be silly. Took the time to add clues. Fromsoft doesnt do insane red herrings.
Lets gooo! Good stuff Zayf, I too am still hoping Miquella will be our homie and not a boss
Team Miquella homie!
Thank you Tim!! Your video was great!
i think you will be able to kill Miquella if you side against him somehow, but regardless, there will definetely be more endings for the dlc
In case your excitement for the dlc had started to wain ..... Boom, they drop an awesome story trailer !!! I am psyched!!! I am taking that friday and maybe even monday off !!! Cant wait !!!
I do think that was Maricka in the trailer and I think the ritual she was conducting was to make herself into a rebis which is a primary component of the Ripley scroll. The fact that she climbed stairs is consistent with "being on top" which, if you look at the Ripley scroll, the rebis is at the top of the world tree. For those that don't know, the entire game is a video game concept for this goofy looking scroll which allegedly was supposed to be a recipe to turn lead into gold.
The 2nd unknown guy you mention, if you look closely at their robes, has a similar design to that of the “skirt”(?) we see in Mohg’s boss arena in the first gameplay trailer for the DLC.
St. Trina might be the god of sleep/dreams, making Miquella a vessel to her in the same way Marika is vessel to the Greater Will. Either that, or Miquella fills the lord role and St. Trina is the vessel. That would go some way towards explaining their connection.
It's 100% clear that the first scene is depicting Queen Marika, as the 4 bracelets are identical and identically placed in the exact same location as Marika's golden bracelets, her hair is golden and the red hue is simply her golden hair reflecting the blood around her. Finally, the narrator states "Miquella the Kind spoke of the beginning, of the seduction and the betrayal. An affair from which gold arose." Miquella is talking about THE beginning, as in the beginning of the Elden Ring and the Golden Lineage which started with Queen Marika. It's not even open to interpretation at this point. Marika is also commonly depicted having braids (which is probably why Miquella himself wears them in the first place as he is the one who most resembles his mother) and the black cloths hanging from her waist match the ones she's wearing when we first see her upon entering the Erdtree.
Always appreciate the detail breakdowns and interpretations! 🙌🙌
One interersting detail is that Miquella in the cocoon in Mohg's arena has a spiral-like ring on his ring finger that looks the same as the bracelet in the first shot of the trailer, which made me assume too at first that the figure is actually Miquella and not Marika.
Also cool hat guy was already shown in the previous trailer too as the martial arts character.
You're totally right! Thank you for the correction!
But marika has spiral bracelets, why wouldn't it just be marika who has already led campaigns against another civilizations.
@@MrNamenamenamename im sure its Marika now, Miquella was just my first hunch
It's possible that when Marika ascended to godhood she was manifesting as both Radagon and Marika at the same time.
Since I first saw the trailers, I thought it was Miquella because I thought the imagery was him finally out from his cocoon. Never even occurred to me that it night be Marika lol
I thought it wasn't marika too but after further research it is marika the bracelet gives it away
If we look at Radagons model and the painting he's depicted in the game, he also has braids, and a smaller braid on the side.
Also, the tree like structure on the helmets is very similar to the ones on the platforms where you light the fires in Ordina and Sellia.
You are totally right! So instead of it being Miquella, the braid could instead further solidify this being Radagon.
@@ZayftheScholar If this scene does depict the moment when Marika ascended to godhood, then were Marika/Radagon always a thing or did they merge much earlier? Could it be just an Empyrean thing, since the whole Miquella/St. Trina thing is also being explored, and Miquella divested him self of everything (including St. Trina?).
5:00 Many think it could actually be a spear, because if you look close enough there is what appears to maybe be a shaft. Though I’m not entirely sure since it’s so hard to see the supposed “shaft.”
I’m not sure Melina has an unused move set. She definitely fights like a Black Knife Assassin when you summon her to kick Morgott’s booty.
Thanks for being the guiding light of knowledge pertaining to the Lands Between and beyond!
I love discovering talented Souls channels and creators I didn't know about before, so this was a treat. 😊
Marika is the gloam eyed queen. She killed gods to protect the land of shadow but was seduced to craft the golden order.
The design on the helmet looks like an inverted version of that glowing symbol in Maliketh’s boss arena on Farum Azula
The one that sits above the three wolves and the child
I liked your take on the spiral imagery.
Guy with the sombrero shaped hat is the guy that we see in the 1st trailer using the ninja kick move
Given that the figure is wearing accessories we know are worn by Marika and that we've never seen worn by anyone else, is it even possible that Fromsoft would make that figure anyone other than Marika?(besides Radagon, who is Marika) AFAIK, we've never seen them do that before (have another character wear the characteristic accessories of one we know).
7:35 the guy with the cool hat is showcased in the first trailer of the dlc when the show us the new posibly fist weapons with the cool kung fu kicks on the twinblade knight
St. Trina is Miquella's alter ego and is probably the form he would've evolved into, should he have become a god. She's also likely the reason why even though Miquella is male, he was still chosen as an Emperyon. So him abandoning his fate is him casting away what made him a possible canidate for Godhood, St. Trina.
Is marika radagon, or is radagon marika that is what this trailer had me questioning.
Yes!! I've been wondering that for a few days now and this just makes me question it even more!
Marika was just Marika until Radagon became second elden lord and then they fused, thats the only possible reason Marika would say to Radagon "Radagon, thou'rt yet to become me, thou'rt yet to become a god"
@@bombthing It could be metaphorical. That she's saying that he has yet to become worshipped as a God; that his reputation is only that of a great warrior or champion and not the achievements that Marika has built up into a godly status and reputation.
@@bombthing She also says "mine other self" at the end of that quote. Radagon is already Marika when she says this to Radagon, so he is her irrespective of godhood.
I only watch a few of you guys (Souls Tubers) and I have been relentlessly checking to see if one of my YTer homies posted a video analysis cuz I’m dumb and you were first!
PS Thank you for all the content
Maybe that big sacrifice is all the people form the place where you see messmer and his troops taking over in one trailer
I noticed last night, while at the church of inhibition, the light that shines off the erdtree isn’t a straight line like light is, it curves just like the “veil” in the sky of the shadowlands.
Idk, maybe worth looking at, I haven’t seen anyone talk about it, only how marikas bedchamber also has a shroud over the bed
Love the erdtree being born of sacrifice theory. Really plays full circle with elden rings inspiration Berserk and how griffon must sacrifice everyone he cares about for power.
7:33 guy with the cool hat's armor set was used in the gameplay trailer to show off the new melee kick weapon.
That heavily impaled corpse in the stairs looks very sanguine/mohg like, and there is a lot of bloodflame theme
Great video and thanks for paying attention to the translation from Japanese to English - it definitely changes the perspective of what is being shown compared to some other videos I have watched where they think the gold mentioned at the beginning is about Godwyn The Golden and things of that nature.
I really appreciate when things like that are communicated like the Ranni ending of the base game which has a different 'feel' in the original Japanese compared to the English translation we hear in the game.
However, it does beg the question as to why there would be these seeming discrepancies between languages, however minor they may seem.
Again, great video - subbed.
The one thing I see that I have not heard noted yet is the figure holding up the gold strands, their head and hair looks like a comet streaking towards the sun.
That Helmet kind of looks like Sir Alonne helm. I think the DLC ultimately have much more Asian themed concepts.
Amazing video regardless!
I would love it if that's the case! Thanks for the support, Sax!
I think this first scene is one of two things, marikas rise to power and creating the erdtree, or an adult miquella taking the gold from maybe a child of the gloam eyed queen or some godskin thing to make his new graces that we see later in the trailer
I am sure someone may have said it already and you may not see this, but I wanna offer my own take on this.
“The Land of Shadow
A place obscured by the Erdtree
Where the Goddess Marika first set foot”
That is what we get from the first trailer, and then in the start of this one, we get:
“Miquella the Kind spoke of the beginning
Of the seduction and the betrayal
An affair from which gold arose
And so too was Shadow born”
Miquella is talking about the start of everything, which by putting pieces together would mean that we are in fact seeing Marika creating the Erdtree(an affair from which gold arose, and also we hear the Elden Beast theme in the background). Furthermore, “Shadow” could be born too as the Erdtree appeared and obscured the land of shadow. It also has to be Marika and not Miquella because it features the exact same bracelets in the wrists and the same armbands as we can see in the prologue cutscene of the base game.
Therefore, based on what we are being said both here and in the first trailer, Marika created the Erdtree through betrayal of somebody in the Land of Shadow, triggering a war in which Messmer was involved serving his mother and enacting this purge, which now must come to an end through Miquella and by extension us.
Heavy Bloodborne dlc vibes if you ask me.
I’d also heard of a theory where marika wanted the black knives to assassinate her children, to break apart the order she grew sick of
The figure on the stairs reminds me of Godfrey 🤔
Hi. Nice video. But Marika does have a braid, albeit a larger one, on her right side. This can be seen clearly on the official image of Marika (basically the image that appears first if you type Marika into the google search bar)
yep I know! are you seeing the thin braid that I'm talking about though?
@@ZayftheScholar Well the braid on the official image does appear to be larger than the thin braid shown in the trailer. However in the trailers, the woman only has one braid on her right side, which is consistent with Marika’s hairstyle on the official image - only one single braid on the right side.
I am also wondering that if it is actually Miquella, then shouldn’t there be more braids?
Might be either Miquella or Godwyn
She's done the whole radagon thing before. Marika definitely has braids that typical top down image of her look at the left flow of hair it's a braid 👍 also do tree seeds not have what appear to be slight hairs similar to what she pulls from what is clearly a belly under that cloth.
The video didn't come out on a random Tuesday, it was launched exactly one month away from the DLC release.
I think those golden strands being held up are actually binding the two corpse piles together to create the tree. I'm guessing as a way to stop things/people crossing between. Would make sense for how much FromSoft like to reference Berserk.
0:52 I got the godskin vibe from that thing alone too. The folds and the skin itself look like the cloth of the godskins
I sincearly hope that Miquella doesnt turn out to be a villain. I dont mind, and even expect, that hes going to be morally questionable, but I really hope that hes more of a reluctant, pragmatic hero who is willing to do what it takes to succeed, even if it means sacrificing everything. Thats a lot more interesting than an evil, mind controlling monster.
The tree symbol is seen in the eternal cities on those big chairs with skeletons
Re: the gate image - I'm pretty sure it's Marika. The musculature is probably meant to show strength and posture - almost an artistic relic. She also clearly has her bangles and arm bands on still
Always loved From dropping bomb shells without even a hint that it would happen.
Those bodies almost make it look like a gate like from the land of shadow to the lands between.
When I saw the burning lady holding the big spiral spear my mind immediately went to the gloam eyed queen. Idk but it reminds me alot of the og concept art for the godskin appostle that we got before elden ring released. Also the many bodies are all skinless, so personaly im thinking that this follows the godskin gloam eyed queen debockle. Idk man thats just what I think.
That scene where you said this is giving you black knife assassin vibes gives me Melina vibes. I feel like she will have her backstory revealed. The fires and with Melina being burned and bodiless has me feeling like she played or plays a big part in the shadow land.
I feel the the scene with the strands held over head resembles the cracked cocoon
Is it just me or does it seem like the golden threads seem to extend out all the way toward the bloody bodies? They appear illuminated with gold near the middle but then are nearly invisible as you'd expect as they move away from the light source. Thoughts anyone?
I see it now too, mostly on the left side of whoever is holding them up. I wonder what if this means something.
Somehow, you're the first lore tuber I've come across to actually make the connection between the strands coming from the womb in this trailer, and the strands on the hammer from the initial E3 trailer. Seemed like an obvious connection that whatever is going on here has to do with the birth of the Erd Tree and the forging of the Elden Ring.
To be fair, it could be a big bait-and-switch like you say: the person assumed to be Mareka weaving the strands into the shape of the rune looked a bit more masculine to me - it did seem to me like it could be Miquella on the first watch.
Who knows. I'm still hyped.
I think that female that siting in fire is Melina. why ? here is my thoughts ...
1st she said in the base game in one of dialogs "I was born at the foot of the Erdtree. Where mother gave me my purpose. Though now, everything is lost to me. I...have to ascertain for myself. The reason for which I live, burned and bodiless."
2nd burning marks on her hands.
3rd her quest is to burn the Erdtree.
maybe i am crazy i don't know :D
Everyone is missing that the bighat guy and the tallhelm knight in that group are also ij the trailer. Bighat is doing a kungfu kick and tallhelm is using an autocrossbow.
the helmets you mentioned are eerily similar to the prior tree symbolism we can find across the lands between. we have the erdtree, miquellas tree, the ancient erdtree, and then one unidentifiable one only found on few banners and select armor, which is also the most similar to the trailer helmets. also, saint trina is well regarded as an alter ego similarly to a marika/radagon type of existence, mostly because everything to do with st trina inevitably comes back to miquella but not vice versa. the butterflies for example would be miquellas nascent, melinas smoldering, malenias scarlet, and st trinas purple. and when i said st trina always go back to miquella, is because not only does unalloyed gold closely resemble the value of pure silver(st trinas stuff) but also because st trinas teachings ALL follow in miquellas steps, the fact that in TLB no one can actually decide or confidently(without religious faith in st trina that is) say what gender they are, the fact that sleep is heavily involved with miquella, the unaging slumbering demigod, and lastly the fact that miquellas presence has a creepily similar symptom of sleep magic, as miquella and st trina both influence those around them follower or not to be obsessed or fanatic towards them simply as a biproduct of existing and st trinas sleep is pretty much just an overdosage affect. to finish, id also like to point out that if you put the sleep butterfly as well as st trinas decent from the new trailer next to miquellas nascent, both are nigh identical to it.
Yea idk many people thought this could be marika
I’m almost certain whatever she’s reaching into is clothing or a bag. There’s a seam and stitching. The color and texture certainly reminds me of the godskins apparel though.
A rather interesting perspective - if the earlier theory about the Erdtree beeing made from mass sacrifice that could be a point in Miquellas Favor - maybe the Haligtree also failed because he wasn't willing to slaugther thousands but gave of his own blood instead. Or wasn't able atleast for now - if you follow the line of thinking were he is a villain. Then again if you look at the Haligtree Crest, it actually incorporates some spiral motif, so maybe he seeks to reincorporate the fallen enemies of the Order which kinda is his thing with the Albanurians etc. anyway.
the tree mark on the helmet looks similar to the weird elden ring - esque symbol we see on architecture in farum azula that could represent the form the elden ring took before the erdtree, back when it was the crucible, a "blending of all life" (mountain of corpses forming the trunk of the crucible "tree" perhaps?)
The soldier’s marking looks very much like the one seen on Radahn’s blade in The Remembrance of the Starscourge.
People keep saying the shape at the start looks like womb, I don't know what kinda flappy sack like womb people are talking about. It looks like a sack of skin or flesh. Doesn't look anything like a womb.
Nobody talking about how the corpse-pillars in the beginning are almost identical to the style that Rykard has and his sword?
Relating to the soldiers helmet im not sure but it kind of reminds me of the depiction of the elden ring in farum Azula but upside down just speculation tho
when the sun exist, then moonlight is reflected in water. it is this moonlight which offers a shadow.
We're seeing the future, a shadow cast.
The Marika we are told never existed she was a concept manufactured.
GRRM and Miyazaki did such a good job crafting this truly awesome world and its mysteries that I’m almost more excited for the new lore revelations than I am for the actual loot and gameplay. Which no action game has ever done for me besides the new final shape dlc for destiny 2 but that doesn’t really count since it’s the end of a plot line I’ve been following since I was 11 years old.
the tree shape on the soldier's helmet reminds me of crucible knight's armors
6:55 I think it's because Miquella developed his dream powers and the alter ego of St Trina, which was only starting to get following when he embedded himself/was kidnapped/retreated to the Shadow Lands (depending on when St Trina's last apparence lands on the time line).
So the "sacrificing his fate" part would be about the future he was building for himself, where he could be whoever he wants (as opposed to his original self stuck in childhood, with a set apparence) and have a following unrelated to the Golden Order.
(Wild speculation, to be fair)
the guy with the hat was the one delivering they tripple spin kick ash of war in the trailer
These trailers make me wish a story of this caliber was made into a movie.
The symbol on the soldier's helmet look like the decorations on the giant thrones in Nokron!
3:54 It's also reminescent of the Yggdrassil and its formation in Beserk.
The closest tree shape similar to the helmets, if I recall correctly, would probably be the Tree Sentinels' capes have a rather unique tree embroidery.
😎🍻😎