Thanks to Factor for sponsoring this video Go to strms.net/factor75_smoughtown and use code POGSMOUGHMAY40 for my special Factor75 discount and to support my channel! Let me know your thoughts on the lore below!
@@nothanks9503 you're wrong - it's venetian weapon and an Italian word, would recommend this video here: ua-cam.com/video/L3wIYWG-cz4/v-deo.html - in which someone pronounces it about 1:07. I find it funny how people get so mad and so sure about things based on assumptions.
@@Gamespud94 it’s a play on when you first see gurranq and when you first give him deathroot. Instead of lore, he says bring me more death. Smoughtown is my top three lore creators for elden ring.
The whole concept of the feral beasts being warped/elevated to intelligence by an outer god against their free will almost seems like an inversion of Bloodborne's themes, their descendance back to their animal form the result of their god fleeing instead of them trying to meddle with it actively.
An interesting thing I discovered about the beastmen's faces is they're very similar to the dragon forms face from dark souls 1, perhaps this shows that most of the surviving beastmen might have deepened their bonds with their dragon masters to wield their red lightning.
Whenever Radagon does his gold shattering move five "fingers" spread out from his hammer. Considering Radagon's connection to wolves (even being called a "leal hound" by Marika) and his primordial red hair I wonder if he might have a connection to the beasts, figurative or literal. Maybe Radagon had the same "fullness" of order that the beasts once did. They both possess strength as well as intelligence and of course an integral sense of loyalty.
Could it be that he's more tied into the actual five fingers (godhand) before they split though? I've always contributed Radagons hair to be more of the giants than FA
most possible the perfect shadowbound created for the chosen empyrean/god Marika and as we know shadow bounds are forced to harm or even kill their chosen empyrean, when said candidate may choose too not follow the greater will/two fingers
Something I keep thinking about is how his great rune is an orderly set of lines, and how that compares to the wild roots we see in the Farum Azula Elden Ring depiction. I'm not sure where that leads, but it's a thought
@Luminous Azure I always thought Radagon's rune was a bramble of thorns to represent his theme of repentance, but that is a good observation. To add on to it Radagon's rune and those elden roots are both located towards the bottom of the ring. However Radagon's rune is somewhat obscured by the rest of the Ring, possibly representing how his ideals went neglected by the civilization at large?
The concept of ‘wild man’ losing his superior innate qualities such as strength and constitution as he comes to rely on society and tools is very reminiscent of Rousseau
Farum Azula has always been a special place to me because of the duality it represents: beasts and man, civilization and wildness, majesty and horror, age and timelessness. It's seriously my favorite place in the game, with so much amazing lore to absorb as well. So many context clue and so many items to give descriptions. I've always thought that part of the reason the Beastmen are starting to go feral again is because they're starving to death. There is no edible flora and no fauna up in Farum Azula. Every living non-dragon is dirty, wounded with exposed flesh and even bone, and emaciated, and there are so many starved dog and undead beastmen models that it's not hard to imagine that many are dying because of lack of food, and the reason there is any survivors at all is because the living have feasted on the dead. Gurranq, too, is plagued by the hunger of the Rune of Death. There is no more powerful force in this world than the will to survive, and nothing pushes us to our most bestial nature in our will to survive more than hunger. A living thing will eat ANYTHING if it gets hungry enough.
and yet with the removal of the Rune of Death they wouldn’t actually die would they? They would just be starving indefinitely while gradually losing themselves like the rest of the residents of the lands between explaining their apparent devolution.
@@emilyminnow I never said that their hunger was caused by the Rune of Dwath. I said *Gurranq's* hunger was caused by the Rune of Death. However, regardless of why, Gurranq's hunger is something that, in my opinion, connects him to his fellow beastmen up in Farum Azula.
@@NoahofWill I wasn't saying that's what you were saying, your theory that they are starving is perfectly sound (many in the lands between appear quite emaciated with the exception of some like Radahn who is regularly feasting on corpses) I was just pointing out that if they can't die naturally they will just keep wasting away into nothing indefinitely. Some of the Beastmen in Farum Azula that look particularly bad also resurrect after you kill them much like "those who live in death"
So we have beasts that became men, and we also have men that become beasts (bloodhound knights, drake knights, misbegotten) Thank you for another fantastic video. You're smashing it with every single one. Rest now, you've earned it.
13:00 when I first saw this statue and thought on it, I interpreted the figure to be Marika, and the wolves, a symbol of her empyrean status. The statue always felt similar to the one of Malenia and Miquella. Thinking that it could instead be of Placidusax's god makes me wonder how that would work anatomically lol
@@kamikazekiwi The best tinfoil theory I've seen go in that direction is that the statue _does_ depict Marika ...who was an Ancient Dragon to begin with and took her human form afterwards. Although since Ranni gives us wolf spirits and several times seemingly corporeal wolves ambush us via a storm gale I personally think it's a common myth/real cyclical trend in-universe, with Marika _potentially_ being the first depending on how old you believe her to be.
It's also worth noting the dichotomy between wisdom and intelligence. It often shows up in D&D, where Beasts almost always have a higher Wisdom than Intelligence, reflecting their wild nature. Intelligence is used for skills like Nature and History, while Wisdom affects skills like Survival and Perception.
The dragons in from software games are not just symbols of prehistoric primordial power, but they also represent the state of being beyond time, in this case literally in the storm beyond time, but also in the way following the path of the dragon requires meditative transcendence of karma cycles (aka of birth and death)
The Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone fully supports this rather overtly: "Smithing stone made polishing a golden Gravel Stone. A scale of the Ancient Dragonlord, and hidden treasure of Farum Azula. The Ancient Dragonlord's seat is said to lie beyond time. This stone lightly twists time, allowing the creation of a weapon capable of slaying a god." It's also why the godslaying flame can slay gods. The black flame is death and the white flame is frozen time, as explained by Hawkshaw's Color Theory video. So, a flame that freezes its target in death through time is definitely a way of killing a god. It's also a big reason why I agree with the theory that the GEQ is the god of Placidusax.
As per usual, gonna enjoy the content - gonna binge this. Beastmen and Farum culture, in perspective to the vast history of the Lands Between, has always been a point of interest for me.
I really appreciate how diligent you are with your sources, and other creators who influence your work. Your openness with correcting previous stances as your opinions change is also very much appreciated. These are things you would hope to be universal in lore videos like this, but it sadly isn't always the case. It not only makes your videos that much more trustworthy, but helps circulate viewers to these other channels which helps the community as a whole. Thank you!
Thanks Hugo - I think it’s important in this space because it allows us all to work together! Really pleased you enjoyed the content - thank you for the support
These videos are always time well spent! I can't help but feel like "Intelligence" was the equivalent of "Grace" during the reign of Placidusax, the way it seems to come on suddenly and makes whomever it touches more than they were. I wanted to offer some thoughts on Beastman religion. When evaluating the faith in the video I noticed you pointed a lot to the Beastial Incantations which by their name you would assume speaks to their religion but that doesn't actually seem to be the case. Beastmen venerated the dragons and the Elden Lord. We actually find one of their holy books in the form of the Ancient Dragon Prayer Book that's description reads it never reached the Lands Between, meaning it never left Farum Azula. When we see beasts casting incantations in Farum, aside from Gurranq, they are never slinging rocks rather they attack with red lightning. This illustrates that the beastman faith was pretty much a more indepth version of the modern Dragon Cult. The Beastmen burials are very telling, not just the Varna ones but the rest as well. The ritural they use is called sky burial, a method of burial involving leaving the corpse under open sky or tied to a growing tree. They body is then just weathered away under the open sky and eaten by birds and such. This leans further into the idea that the beastmen's faith was rooted not just in veneration of the dragons but the sky itself. With these ideas in mind: Intelligence being like grace, use of sky burial methods, use of red lightning incantations from a beastman exclusive prayer book; I'd like to circle back to the Elden Ring depiction in Farum Azula. I've commented before that I think this depiction of the Elden Ring is in fact of the Elden Ring in the "True Storm" (mentioned by Nephili). The zagging lines coming off the ring are in fact lightning or perhaps a "graced" lightning. I had many folks rebuff that they think it is roots because it is too smooth roots but I offer this counter; the beastmen have no demonstrated or stated cultural connection to trees (They don't have any signs of tree worship or veneration) but they do demonstrate lightning. Second, the Elden Lord and their God, based on Marika and her consorts, typically stick together. Placidusax lives in the sky in the heart of a storm, so in all likelihood his God did as well. If his god is in the storm, then the Elden Ring is in the storm and by merit of having the Elden Ring within it, it becomes a sacred thing. I think that folks married to the roots idea forget the game is called Elden Ring not Erdtree and that the tree motiff is the Ring's most recent interation. If you get Ranni's ending, the Dark Moon, to which she retreats fills the role of the Erdtree by merit that she is there with the ER. With all that set out and the new thought of Intelligence being gifted. I can't help but look at the mural and statue in Maliketh's arena and see: The god of the age of dragons surrounded by wolves, praying down the lightning grace of the Elden Storm. That these bolts of grace will strike these beasts and from them will arise beastMEN. When it comes to the Demi-humans I view them as the stepping stones between humans and beastmen. They may be an enduring hybrid or they may be the evolutionary link between the two. Which interestingly brings me to Hourah Loux. I feel like he is one or two generations off of being a beastman himself. Head on his facial features while clearly human have a very striking felineness to them not to mention the man literally roars like a lion when you are fighting him. However, even with these points it is wrong to assume this is how all humans arose in the lands between as we know some "humans" come from beyond.
Wow excellent deduction! I'm with you on the lightning coming off the FA Elden Ring, and that made me see Gransax's Bolt in the center of the Elden Ring by way of the twisting spiral! The same twisting lightning move that Placidusax uses in his boss fight
@@peinbody84 Thanks for the reply! Yay, I'm finally convincing folks! People have been calling me crazy lol! Good catch on the Gransax Bolt, I just lazily figured it was an interpretation of the Tornado but the Bolt, Chef's kiss!
Love your idea of connecting the Grace of humans and the intelligence of beasts! Grace seemed like a kind of primordial force to me that does its own things (or maybe Marika's orders - since she took Grace from the Tarnished and Godfrey) and it makes sense that Placidusax's god would have a similar force running around in the primordial times.
Incredible video as always, but the part around 18:00 about gurranq and him being at one point a bestial clergyman for farum azula makes so much sense! I love how you can bring up new context and info surrounding a character we're all familiar with and recontextualize them! That blew my mind a little bit to consider that Maliketh was at one point Gurranq in his former life before marika tailored him. Keep up the amazing work, can't get enough of these!
That's so great to hear - thank you so much for the kind words. I agree; I think I enjoy this reassessment of the shadows more than my original concepts back year. Thank you my friend! I will do and thank you for the ongoing support.
Haven't started the video just yet, but I have 1 question. How? Like how after more then a year of consistent gour long videos are you still finding stuff to discuss about? It's marveling, especially with the absolute quality of these videos
Thank you Boris - that honestly means so much. I'm not sure tbh haha - I just find the game to be full of deep symbolism and themes and that we have only scratched the surface! I think Radagon is next on my list
@@SmoughTown i know you probrably don't want outside influence, but I think this is kinda neat. I think Radagon is based a bit on the true norse thor. He has heritage in the giants, and hates them, he is a champion and a warrior who exterminated the giants, he weild a hammer, has red hair, marries twice and throws lightning.
Your videos are always so comfy and informative. It feels like a good bedtime story. They make your imagination run wild without jostling you or rushing you towards any conclusion. Very cozy, and always appreciated.
I think the most likely candidate for who granted the beastmen intelligence would be the Greater Will, acting through its fingers. I don't think it was the Two Fingers however, as the Cinquedea's imagery seems too literal. I believe it was the Five Fingers, because in this prehistoric era the finger schism (as The Tarnished Archaeologist describes in their video "Flame of Frenzy Part II: The Finger Schism") would not have happened yet, meaning the Two and Three Fingers were not yet separate entities.
Something I find interesting is how there's three wolves found outside Ranni's rise and I can't help but associate it with the wolves and goddess statue in FA. Like as though she's connected to that original FA Ringdom's lineage somehow.
I have some additions. Many pre-christian/ pagan religions have a major deity, either at the top or of near equal importance, be a Storm-god. Could Dragonlord Placudisax and the Beastmen be a play on this? Also, look up the Torslunda plates. It depicts what is believed to be Odin (a god of Wisdom and Beastial Frenzy) next to an Úlfhédnar or Berserker (Wolf-Shirt/ Bear Skin). Legendary warriors said to have taken on the shape and or spirit of the respective animal. They may play a part in the imagery and lore. They may just be a coincidence. I just thought it would be useful to share. I loved the video by the way.🐺🦁🐻🐏
13:05 It’s Miquella with 3 wolves. The first encounter with Ranni, she says: “ I was entrusted this, for thee. By Torrent’s former master. “ Then she gives you a Spirit Calling Bell & Lone Wolf Ash. So when you know Miquella looks like a child and you find a statue with a child playing with 3 wolves.. It not only tells you Miquella is the former master of Torrent, but had an enormous role in helping you from the very start of the game.
That link is clear… but it just begs more questions: why would a statue of Miquella and some spirit wolves be a statue in Farum Azula? Did the beast men carve it? Did Gurranq carve it or maybe bring it to FArum azula from leyndell or the Haligtree? Why a miquella statue and not a malenia statue - they are twins? Why not a marika statue, his bound Empyrean that he cries out to all the time?
@@danielpurcell7203 The statue is in Maliketh’s boss room, that would be prime golden order real estate. Miquella in my opinion is the main person behind everything, he has influence over everything, the bewitching branch: “The Empyrean Miquella is loved by many people. Indeed, he has learned very well how to compel such affection.” if you use it on someone they go against their own needs and wants. I believe he did everything to break free from the influences of outer gods which caused Marika to shatter the Elden Ring which lead to the shattering war with her consent or not. He sent his sister to stop Radahn from holding back the stars, but knew she would fail because before any of that he had Marika kick out the tarnished who would fulfill his plan. So when the game starts, Melina finds you via Torrent knowing you’re apart of the plan. Ranni had her orders to help you. I believe in the DLC it’s going to explain more about what Miquella has set into motion.
@@weavatronobservatory I don’t think the room you fight Maliketh in has anything to do with the Golden Order - beyond Maliketh being there. Do you think Maliketh lived in Farum Azula while Marika lived in Leyndell during the height of the Golden Order and they built Maliketh a room in Farum Azula despite the fact that he’s Marikas shadow bound beast - sworn to protect her. If the statue depicts anyone Maliketh knows, it might be a young Godwyn. Godwyn repaired the rift between dragons and humans and was possibly venerated with iconography that shows him in a pure innocent state among beasts. Maliketh left Leyndell because he felt he had failed Marika by letting Godwyn die, so maybe the statue reminds him of what he is doing. Also we know that the wolf spirits belonged to Miquella, but maybe the wolves (pre-death) belonged to Godwyn and Miquella kept them around because he couldn’t bring his brother back.
@@danielpurcell7203 If it’s not Miquella then it’s the Gloam Eyed Queen. Above the statue on the wall is the Elden Ring with the Rune of Death in the middle, from a time before it was taken. Then Farum Azula was conquered, the Golden Order did not start until the rune of death was taken after the defeat of the Gloam Eyed Queen. The Remembrance of Dragonlord Placidusax says : ( The Dragonlord whose seat lies at the heart of the storm beyond time is said to have been Elden Lord in the age before the Erdtree. Once his god was fled, the lord continued to await its return. ) The Gloam Eyed Queen was his god that fled after her defeat. Maliketh’s boss room may be where he fought her, which is why there is a statue of her. OR It’s Miquella. Miquella was trying to give his brother a true death ( Golden Epitaph: “ O brother, lord brother, please die a true death.” ) perhaps in Miquella’s search to better understand those who live in death to learn of a way to help his brother he consulted Maliketh, maybe a statue was placed there to remind Maliketh that Marika may have abandoned him, but not Miquella. OR It’s statue of a child version of Godwyn, for what ever reason.
@@weavatronobservatory Wasn’t the gloam eyed queen just an empyrean - never a full blown vessel for the elden ring / god like Marika? During the first phase of the Marikas reign (Age of Plenty) the gloam eyed queen rises up to try and overthrow Marika but fails thanks to Maliketh who, like the GEQ, draws power from the rune of death but does not possess the rune outside of the elden ring. After GEQ defeat, Marika wants to show her mastery over death itself and removes the rune of death from the elden ring so her age of plenty never ends. GEQ had nothing to do with dragons and was never a God, her title of ‘Queen’ was not the same as Marikas, but more similar to Renalla (Queen of Caria) and she may have been a Queen of an eternal city. If the Farum Azula statue was a statue of a vessel of the Elden ring, god of an age, wedded to an ancient dragon, and also the gloam eyed queen (associated with death and black flame and the godskins) why would it be depicting a child with some wolves? The QEG has nothing to do with wolves and is never referred to as a child and her childhood is never mentioned as being something so important it would be depicted this way. Same with Miquella, yes at some point he had some wolves (spirit wolves) but the other imagery strongly associated with Miquella: the Haligtree, miquellas lillies , unalloyed gold craftsmanship, and the eclipse are not featured… just the wolves and not even the spirit calling bell Miquella would have used to call them if they were spirits instead of real wolves. There’s just as much evidence that the statue doesn’t depict any character we know, but could be a symbolic representation of an idea - that sentient intelligent humanity started to flourish during an age of beasts and that humans and beasts co-mingled with the majority population being beasts (hence more wolves) and humans the minority.
Smough thank you for covering this and the five fingers! I’ve been waiting for someone on yt to do a deep dive explain the correlation of the five fingers with the three of chaos and normal 2 fingers, separation and the beastmen, great video!
24:00 I disagree with this talking about the vitality of beasts, it seems more to be alluding to the power of gold and the cycle of unending life. The "glinting with gold" bit seems more important than it being beast blood
Pretty unrelated, but I noticed some moveset similarities between Maliketh and Blaidd. Blaidd uses a similar move to the Destined Death move where he does two rotations before slamming his sword, and Wolf Assault is really similar to the other destined death move
Yes, I think you're right when you point to the young female statue in Farum Azula being an early, idealized depiction of the founder or ruler of Farum Azula. When I saw that statue, I immediately felt it had a strong resemblence to the depictions of Rome's founding mythos with young children and wolves. I also think this is likely an early depiction of the Gloam Eye'd Queen.
Thanks for another great video, Geoff. Your Elden ring videos are the best, and you've introduced me to a shit ton of other great channels. Super excited for your upcoming Bloodborne video and any other souls content you have coming.
In wilds beyond they speak your name with reverence and regret, For none could tame our savage souls yet you the challenge met, Under palest watch, you taught, you changed, base instincts were redeemed, A world you gave to bug and beast as they had never dreamed. Our cherished dreams you granted and delivered more, But in dismay you found too late our desires had no end, What cost to tame our savagery? You gave your all and then gave more. Yet still desires lay unquenched, more dreams remained, your energies spent. Amongst it sprang a dreadful scourge, That forced return our aggressive urge, And turned us back to beasts or husks, Our souls consumed by light above. Within your corpse can still be heard the plaintiff cries of one, Who took our pain, and loss, and dreams inside itself to... Through its pain we found a truth that must now be confessed, For nothing can contain such things but perfect emptiness.
I can’t wait for the DLC so we can keep getting awesome content like this. Your lore videos are part of what has made Elden Ring such a good game to me. Keep it up Smough!
Not even seen the whole video, but thus far the best content on the beasts on youtube. Great touch on the 2001Space Odissey analogy, great reflections about the obsession with death, and the compliment to TA's video about the architechture of Farum Azula. "I was wrong as I so often am": words of truly a man of class.
I never really paid much attention to the beastman, but this video opened my eyes to how cool they really are and the amount of detail and environmental storytelling went into them - and the way they represent the amalgamation of beast and humanity, is really fascinating
I think Lokey to be right about the small person statue with the three wolves in Farum Azula. I was thinking it might be Ranni or Miquella considering Ranni gives you the spirit calling bell along with the three wolves spirit ashes in the very beginning of the game. But considering *where* we find this statue I think he/you may be right. Fine Work, Geoff!
My typical albunauric blood clot comment aside, something I thought of while listening to the segment about the importance of death to the beast men, perhaps the death birds are the psychopomps of the beastmen? Were the death birds ever specified to belonging to a civilization other than just the nebulous “before the erdtree” description?
I just want to say how much I appreciate all your content! I started off just jumping around to the topics I was most interested in (i.e. The Frenzied Flame), but I've found myself starting from the very beginning and listening/relistening to all your lore videos. It's also awesome to see how much credit you give to other creators, much more than I've seen anyone else ever do, in the Elden Ring lore community as well as any other topic of discussion. Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into these videos for us! I'd suggest anyone else who loves Smough's content to do the same as I did and start from the beginning. He has a playlist you can save that is in chronological starting at his oldest videos. It's great to know what he's referencing from previous videos and interesting to see how his opinions on some things have changed over time as the lore community evolves their understanding of the game and it's lore elements.
So something i like to play around with is the idea of divesting beasthood, and a literal separation of self i.e. Marika and Radagon separating and joining again -shattering and mending. We see Marika chasing the idea of "refining" to remove impurities, from red gold, to pale yellow gold.
Love your lore videos, especially because you picked out one of my favorite parts of this game. Farum Azula is such a wild concept. Really makes you wonder what it all looked like in its prime.
I don't normally come into these videos ignorant, but I know basically nothing about the Beastmen, so this will be a real treat. Thanks for the steady stream of content, Smough!
Hey man, I just wanted to thank you for how much effort you put into your videos. I love that you've introduced me to other Elden Ring lore channels, and the way you format, and tell each story and segment them nicely into chapters, it makes everything come together very well! Especially your recent videos, it is very apparent that you are getting better at storytelling and it's just inspiring and kinda awesome to hear just how passionate you are about this universe. I love Elden Ring and many of the souls game, but man it's just crazy how deep these games really are and it just makes me appreciate the world even more. One story in particular that from playing the game myself, is I had no freakin clue what was really going on with the Godskins, but man seeing your first video around 8+ months I think? and then seeing your more recent one along with information on the Gloam Eyed Queen, it's just fascinated how everything kinda fits together, yet alot is left to speculation and I absolutely love that and that one players headcanon can be completely different from someone elses in regard to something and how even compiling information together can create a whole new perspective of how to interpret things and often I'll just have my jaw drop from some of the lore revelations or rather some implications and I'm just left utterly baffled at how all of this could exist in one game. Cheers man and it's so nice to see you grow, I've been passively watching for a few years and liking videos that I watch but haven't really interacted with the community here much but just wanted to let you know you are greatly appreciated!
Hey my friend, thank you so much for the kind comment - that really does keep me going. I really do love this game and this community and I'm so lucky I get such kind support like yours! More to come soon!
I can't believe it took a meme for me to realize it but.... THE LIVING BEASTMEN ARE BEARS! I saw an image of a bear that had been mostly shaved and it looks so much like the living beastmen it's crazy!
Holy hell I love that thumbnail! All of yours are really well made, but this is one of my favs so far!! Edit: Just almost finished, the beast evolving into humans theory is one I really like. Excellent work as always on the parts of both you, and Dark Tark!!
@@SmoughTown BTW i am just curios, what is your opinion or thought on who built the golems plus the divine towers? They have a similiar style. Maybe you spoke about it in a previous video and i just forgot.
I think the body's everywhere and the reference to the varna necropolis are references to the importance of ritual burial. Ritual burial is often considered to be an important distinction between more primitive hominids and more modern man.
Makes you wonder about the dragon option in character creation, the mentionings of lansseax shifting her form to commune with the dragon cult and vyke, and the human shaped beings in the sculptures on the architecture in faram azula as pointed out by the tarnished archeologists' channel... d&d style dragon polymorph shenanigans confirmed?
your videos are emmaculte. thanks for doing this. so many people are grateful to be able to understand more about their favorite game. all love brother.
I didn’t realize that the ruins we see throughout the lands between were of Faram Azula but now that it’s pointed out to me I can’t unsee it, it just makes so much sense. that’s why I continue to love each and every video you make Mr. SmoughTown. Thanks again
I've always wondered (along with everyone else) who the lady is that is depicted among wolves in the statute of Maliketh's boss room. But something in this video made me think/theorize, what if it's one of the ancient dragons taking a human form. And the statue shows them caring for and teaching the beasts that would become the beastmen? I can't think of a reason why a dragon would take that shape for that sort of thing, but it would make sense why it seems like a center piece of the room. Sort of like a shrine to them gaining intelligence and becoming part of that current ages order. Maybe the lady is their God, the equivalent of Marika, and the being Placidusax is waiting for to return? All just a theory but figured I'd share! Amazing video as always and thanks for all the work you do on these!!
As always, a phenomenal deep dive! I adore binging all your videos!! As a side note, would you ever consider uploading the audio to a podcast app, as I could listen to all these forever.
@@SmoughTown No problem at all! Thank you for replying :D I'm always so impressed with all your videos! As someone whose first ever Frome Software game was Elden Ring, I like knowing exactly what backhanded me halfway across the map.
I really wonder if some Beastmen were just chilling in Farum Azula and suddenly their crashing to the ground What an unfortunate inconvenience 😔 By the way dude, good content, always nice to listen to Elden Ring lore while I play games and stuff
Maliketh being Marika’s step brother(armor description I think) probably makes him the god of the Dragons.. It makes sense to me. He even has unique death aura no matter which version you slay. That felt very strong to me in the story.
Actually makes a lot of sense the beast men do revert to their wild nature, considering the gurranq attacks the player after a time, and same goes for blaidd as he attacks the player. I kind of wonder if the erdtree has absorbed the power of the dragons with the fall of Gransax, allowing it to grant intelligence to beasts, as it tries to gain control of the Crucible of the past, being the bond between dragons and beasts. I thought it was odd that the crucible knight and misbegotten are a boss pair in Redmane castle, but the aspect of the Crucible being a tie makes a lot of sense. I am also curious as to if radahn has any connection to these beings, considering he has a connection to animals, his horse, and his long-tail cat, as well as being associated with a lion. Come to think of it, i just realized there is a lack of cat representation in enemy mobs, aside from guardian beast lions and the ones you find in dungeons made entirely of stone, which is odd because they are called "watchdogs". Hey i dont remember if you did a video on the man-serpents yet but i'd be interested to learn about them
I hope that the DLC mentions Melania's and Miquella's shadowbeasts! I've always been so curious about why they're never mentioned, considering they are Empyrium as well and should've been given 1 each as well
Your mention of sheep-based beastmen is really interesting, as the white-furred beastmen use exclusively lightning attacks, similar to the golden sheep located on the plateau in Altus where you fight Lansseax.
In regards to the statue with the wolves: I can't take credit for this but I think on Reddit someone suggested that was actually a statue of Miquella and his three wolves. If we are to believe that the Spirit Calling Bell to summon the spirit ashes belonged to Miquella and the wolves belonged to him, it may account for a lack of his shadow-bound beast gifted by the Two Fingers.
I was waiting for this...another video to watch at work and another video that will help me go to sleep on repeat. Keep up the great work love all your videos bro.
Maliketh is the blind swordsman. He has the same cape, white hair, the helmet covers the eyes, in his fight moves like he is dancing and is the only enemy that can do an atack with the same end hit as waterfowl dance (the "one mind" sekiro like attack)
Another thing of note, we can't forget the ties to Berserk. In Berserk, Gut's contends with his inner Beast, and this manifestation states that the more Guts represses it the stronger it would become and when it can no longer be contained it's outburst would be all the more violent. This of course is inspired by the Freudian/Nietzschean ideas of the Id and The Shadow, where man must find ways to contain their "Inner Beast". The way psychology and Guts have solved this dilemma is not to give in or shun but to Integrate these powerful aspects into our lives. Even Beasts can be calm and noble as they have no need to suppress, so Beastmen acting as a society has them appear more tame as they may be figuring out how to best integrate the primal aspects into themselves, and thus a figure like Hoarah Loux would definitely appear as the perfect example as the pinnacle of the merging between the Primal and Noble. However, it appears as if Loux's state was more of a facade, as his Bestial Rage was contained for who knows how long, never allowing it to surface as Marika demanded it. This Culminates in his killing of Serosh, a Beast who appears to have had far more success in "Integrating the Shadow" given he literally contains the Rage and acted as a Wise Advisor to Godrfrey, no doubt analogous to the Super-Ego, the part of the human psyche said to be tasked with this very act; reining in the Id and given balance to the Ego, the integrated psyche that we conduct ourselves with in society, in Hoarah Loux's case, the "Lord". In his desperation to defeat us, Loux unbalanced his psyche, literally tearing away his Super-Ego and thus allowing the Id, the "Beast", to rear it's ugly head. But we the Tarnished, through our trials and journey's... and many harsh lessons, have learned not to play as a Lord, but to truly embody one, and thus Hoarah Loux was not but beast in our path, a Powerful and Noble Beast for certain, but a beast nonetheless... though it admittedly took a few tries 😩
I think the evidence suggests the "modern dragons" were born during the crucible era, likely do to the mixing of stormhawk and dragon blood. perhaps greyoll was the first modern dragon to be born, likely from an ancient dragon and a stormhawk (potentially royal lineages of both?) which would explain her feathers and massive size. Moreover if she were of royalty or otherwise connected to the elden ring in some way its possible she could have access to the self reproduction quality that many of the powerful female characters share (Rennalla, Marika, Melaina) perhaps further explaining modern dragons' weakness compared to ancient dragons and their susceptibility to rot (Eckxykes) and glintstone (Adulla, Smarag).
The stone age, the bronze age, and the iron age... incredible work. Also enjoyed Hawshaw's use of Age of Mythology music... very fitting for ER, as it turns out
I agree its likely farum azula used to sit near beastial sanctum but im not so sure. The trees in farum azula match the trees in altus plateau, as well as both places containing wormface enemies. To top that off, ive always found it strange that leyndell appears to be constructed over the mouth of a massive hole. I think its entirely possible that farum azula used to sit where leyndell is now
47:47 huh, hearing you say Placidusax was serving "their" god and seeing his 2 remaining heads pointed up like that really made me think that he was trying to commune with the Greater Will like the Two-Fingers
I like the theory that Placidusax’s god was the Gloam Eyed Queen. It makes sense on so many levels. She’s not specifically referenced as a god but I think that was deliberately left out to not make it too obvious, as she is referred to as both an Empyrean and a Queen. Placidusax’s remembrance says his god was fled, and we don’t get any indication that the GEQ was killed, only defeated. This is mirrored in Maliketh having been pretty much abandoned by his god, which is ironic as he was the one who defeated the Gloam Eyed Queen in the first place. The presence of the Godskin Duo in Faram Azula, as well as Maliketh himself makes so much more sense if it was the GEQ’s seat of power. Then to top it all off we have Melina (who is at the very least closely linked with the GEQ if not the GEQ herself) that transports us to Faram Azula and ultimately the Rune of Death. At first it seems a bit janky and disjointed for us to be teleported out of the blue to Faram Azula after Melina reigniting the Flame of Ruin, but there’s just too many connections between Faram Azula and the GEQ for it to be a coincidence. It would also make sense as a fitting end to the GEQ’s story for Melina to be the key to overthrowing the Golden Order. She gives us the power to turn runes into the strength needed to get the job done, serves as kindling to the Flame of Ruin, and leads us to the Rune of Death that she once held mastery over as the final trump card in her centuries long revenge scheme.
@@alfalldoot6715 why not both? They’re not mutually exclusive. The rise of marika and human(oid)s toward the end of the age of dragons would be a threat to the dragon’s power and give them ample reason to be skinning Marika’s ilk. The Greater Will was behind both of them at some point, and it seems pretty clear that it has no issue pitting its followers against each other if one faction ultimately serves its purposes better. It’s just a theory/head cannon to be sure but it’s not implausible.
@BitterSteel Yeah but the godskins are probably artificial beings, so the GEQ would have had to go out of the way to reject her dragons and make some completely new species. The ancient dragons were led by Gransaxx when they attacked Leyndell, so why couldn't their queen just take back her throne? That's also ignoring the fact that the dragons use red lighting and the godskins use completely different black death flame.
@@alfalldoot6715 you make some good points, however there are a couple of things to point out. The GEQ herself wasn’t a dragon, the dragons were simply the dominant species in the Lands Between and she took her place as the ruler over them. Black Flame was her primary source of power and was associated with her specifically, with lightning being more closely tied to dragons intrinsically. She could have created the Godskins for the specific purpose of wielding the black flame and carrying out her bidding without question. This would make sense considering that the black flame is essentially the most powerful weapon in existence, so it’s logical to assume that you wouldn’t want to give that power to just anybody. As far as the dragon’s attack on Leyendell is concerned, I think it’s a safe assumption that this occurred after the defeat of the GEQ, the removal of the Rune of Death and the creation of the Golden Order. This is because Leyendell is already established as the royal capital and Goldwyn is in his prime. If the GEQ was Placidusax’s consort/god it would explain the motivation for the dragons to attack Leyendell after her defeat. However at this point the Rune of Death is sealed and the scales have already tipped in Marika’s favor, since Gransaxx was clearly defeated in the end. Eventually the dragons cut their losses and decide that if they can’t beat ‘em they might as well join em.
The Five Fingers symbol makes me think that the Two Fingers of the Erdtree and the Three fingers of frenzy were one entity that embodied both concepts during the age of the Crucible but later split into two separate entities when the age of the beastmen came to an end.
Loved your video this was amazing as usual, always a treat. The wording in bestial vitality, where they felt their wildness slip away as civilization took hold, made me take a hostile view on the civilization that was taking. In star trek they have a rule not to show themselves to low intelligence species as they will get worshipped as gods, seems like that is exactly what happened with the beastmen, having a giant species of powerful beings show up on the onset of their intelligence would have been overwhelming.
*(1/2)* This is a nice look at the beastmen and their civilization! I agree with a lot of the points you raised, so for the sake of fitting this reply in two comments at most, I'll just mention the topics I think can be further elaborated on or have alternative possibilities. Regarding the Farum Azula Elden Ring at 13:28 , on close inspection, the Elden Ring itself isn't much different. There are only four rings, with everything else being a sort of tendril of light that either stops on contact with a ring or deflects off and continues in an undulating line. The smooth lines and the wavy pattern seem reminiscent of vines, or in this case, they might be roots. If so, this mural could be depicting the Elden Ring within a sapling Erdtree that is only just beginning to sprout and spread its roots, akin to the later depictions of the Elden Ring within the various states of the grown Erdtree. On the subject of beasts being drawn to champions, I'm surprised you never mentioned how Torrent selected the Tarnished player character. Melina defers to Torrent's choice, even apologizing for merely pretending to have faith where Torrent was resolute. Torrent also seems to have his own agency in this circumstance, rather than being subjugated by someone else, as if he has an innate knowledge and wisdom in this regard despite not being a beastman. What's further curious is that, where Serosh may have been assigned by Marika, and Bernahl was given beastly armor but had no apparent beast, Torrent is genuinely selecting the Tarnished who he thinks can become Elden Lord. In that regard, the player character might be the most "legitimate" beast-chosen champion in the setting, aside from whoever may have first started that practice. For the burial practices of Farum Azula, I'm not sure that the beastmen would be getting "returned to nature" in most of those scenarios. Rather than being put in soil or natural rock, the remains are placed in alcoves carved into stone buildings, areas cut off from what is generally thought of as nature. Additionally, there are beastman remains interred within the buildings of Farum Azula, which would be difficult for any birds to access for a "sky burial", not to mention the few coffins that seem earnestly designed to store remains inside, rather than placing them on top. The beastmen who were chained to posts and left to die seem to still have a good deal of flesh on them too, implying that birds are not generally eating the flesh from beastman remains. Another thing to consider is that the beastmen chained to posts and trapped in walls and pillars seem to be screaming, as though they were pained and terrified. The chained beastmen's legs are even positioned as if to indicate that they were trying to climb up the posts, or otherwise push off of them to break the chains or the posts. Such positions imply that the beastmen didn't want to die and were instead killed, left to die for some purpose. The location of these chained corpses being within the actual burial rooms, and along the burial alcoves, also suggests that these beastmen weren't executed for devolving or crimes, but were instead ritually killed as part of the overall burial practices. If Farum Azula represents prehistoric times and the earliest civilizations, and if the city was designed as a mausoleum for Placidusax's use, I wonder if tons of beastmen were murdered to be buried alongside him, a la how Egyptian pharaohs and Chinese emperors would have the builders of their tombs murdered and interred, along with other random people. Additionally, in Japanese culture, there was a practice of murdering people and putting their remains in pillars and walls, which was known as "hitobashira" and done out of a belief it would mystically reinforce a building or appease an evil force. With the fact that even some dragon remains appear to be lodged in Farum Azula's walls, this could put a dark twist on how the Dragoncrest and Drake Talismans say the dragons would "protect their lord as a wall of living rock." As for the possibility of appeasing an evil force, perhaps the Twinbird depicted in murals throughout the city was such an entity. With how the Twinbirds' children, the Deathbirds, are referred to as sadistic and malevolent by their own affiliated items, and how the Twinbird Kite Shield has the buffs of both Branchsword Talismans, this might imply that the Twinbird was likewise malicious. Also, rather than beasts being unaware of the risks to their lives, they might actually be especially focused on such risks. Before being granted intelligence and opposable thumbs, the beasts would have seemingly just been animals, which would always be seeking food and shelter to not die, carefully picking their battles to avoid injuries that could kill them, always watching out for any predators that could kill them, and so on. If Farum Azula had a fixation on death, that could be something inherited from their animal origins, rather than a newfound feeling from being granted sapience by Placidusax's god, the Greater Will, etc. The knowledge (or gift) of a soul may have actually helped them start focusing on other things, like architecture and making gold jewelry. As to Gurranq's bestial nature, I don't think his attack at the Bestial Sanctum is connected with his beastly aspects. In his quest line, Gurranq is clearly affected by eating the Deathroot, and thus it's this energy of the Rune of Death that makes him go berserk and be murderous, akin to how the undead try to kill anyone and anything they can find. Gurranq's returning bestial nature could also be from him trying to suppress his Maliketh identity, the self that was something of a "civilized" knight in the Golden Order. It's also curious how, despite Gurranq teaching bestial incantations, the actual beastmen never use these arts, instead utilizing lightning. It's as though Maliketh is trying to get in touch with something older and more fundamental, which might explain why he teaches Beast's Roar, a technique done only by things like Runebears instead of the beastmen. Alternatively, Maliketh was never part of any lightning-wielding order. In that regard, perhaps Maliketh never was from Farum Azula, but either created long afterward or a distant descendant trying to get in touch with his people's roots while also masquerading as a survivor of their order. As for how Maliketh might be created instead of changed, the item description of the Royal Greatsword, the blade wielded by his fellow Shadow, Blaidd, says "In defiance of the fate he was born to, Blaidd swore to serve no master but Ranni." This choice of words might still imply that a Shadow is born a Shadow, and thus created as one, rather than already existing as a beast, beastman, or descendant of the beastmen and then being altered. Speaking of descendants, I think that the Draconians are less a reference to early man and more a twist on the Path of the Dragon from Dark Souls. Rather than humans desperately trying to become dragons and doing poorly, dragons are trying to become humans and encountering their own mishaps. The Draconians have clouded eyes and mottled skin, implying that they have poor health, which can explain why they might be short-lived despite having all the knowledge and survival skills of the modern day. As for Lansseax, she might have "perfected" a human form, not been in a human form for very long before returning to her dragon form, or she just used an illusion of sorts, a la Sellen's projection.
*(2/2)* Addressing the Beast Blood at 23:34 , this seems to imply that the gold is why the blood never rots or decays, similar to how gold preserves things in the Lands Between overall. We can even observe that Morgott, born without Grace, seems much older than everyone else, and Godrick, whose divine bloodline is diluted, similarly looks older than his relatives. Turning to the Golden Beast Crest Shield at 27:35 , while that calls Serosh a counselor to the golden lineage, the Beast Crest Heater Shield seems to use the lion as a warning of what one is like if they lose their sense of reason in battle. As such, Serosh might be considered unique among lions. Additionally, if the beastmen handcuffed to posts are exclusively the speculated "lion" type, then I wonder if Serosh killed his fellow lions for some reason -- to remove all equals, because they regressed or went insane and he alone did not, etc. The Beast Champion's Set is also intriguing for the implication of keeping someone unthinking and acting like a mere tool. Perhaps some beasts were only made just intelligent enough to carry out certain tasks, but otherwise kept as mere animals that were domesticated, so to speak. That could explain the oddities of the beastmen civilization, like how they make pots then shatter them to create the Beastman's Jar-Shields, a practice they're said to have always done, as though humans or other advanced species already existed back then to observe this. That might also tie into the peculiar and inefficient design of the Beastman's Cleaver compared to the Beastman's Curved Sword (despite its own design oddities), as though certain beastmen are permitted or denied certain levels of evolution to ensure they can fulfill a task but never surpass their station. The fact that lions are depicted as making someone blind and deaf to the world around them has curious ramifications for Serosh. It could be that Serosh's "counsel" to Godfrey may have actually just been the process of stopping Godfrey from thinking much on his own, thereby making Godfrey more compliant, or compliant at all, with orders like killing the hero of Castle Morne's whole clan, or allowing his own sons Morgott and Mohg to be banished to the sewers. It's intriguing how Nepheli Loux, raised in the warrior clan on its own, separate from the Golden Order, deeply values justice and preventing the downtrodden from being cheated. Perhaps this value was inherited from prolonged contact with the Golden Order as it became "civilized", or it's a value unique to Nepheli, but I'm curious if it reflects the clan when left to its own devices. If so, the embracing of Stormhawk Axes, the raising of hawks, the valuing of the storm, and so on might imply that the clan is more prone to assimilation, even with combat and conquest as some of its core values, than the extermination-based deeds Marika ordered. This could put Serosh's "counsel" into further perspective. The animals on Bernahl's armor aren't covering their own eyes and ears either -- they're covering Bernahl's own. Bernahl's overall armor even seems reminiscent of Godfrey's armor, most particularly in regard to the blue cape and woven designs. However, where Godfrey's armor was still practical even as it perhaps limited him, Bernahl's armor is a "classing up", like an invention of a later Golden Order era that is trying to reshape Godfrey's image while losing sight of what made him great. Bernahl's armor has excessive adornment everywhere, a cape over its cape, and his helmet limits his field of vision. Furthermore, the armor actually has major structural weaknesses, with less plating near the waist and sternum, and the inner chain mail layer being totally exposed near some of Bernahl's vitals. In that regard, Bernahl was being handicapped and forced into serving as an especially diluted second Godfrey. It's no wonder, then, that Bernahl's shock and despair over learning the full purpose of the Finger Maidens turned into a feeling that the Golden Order had utterly failed him and her, and was wretched. At the same time, the true mission of the Finger Maidens, and in turn, the true mission of the Tarnished, was better at accomplishing the Volcano Manor's proclaimed goals than the Volcano Manor's genuine actions, leaving Bernahl in a uniquely frustrating situation where the very mission he's trying to rebel against is also what the supposed alternative wants to achieve. Perhaps Bernahl kills as a way to ensure as few of the people who created and benefit from the state of the world can benefit from his ultimate actions. Finally, regarding the skeletal beastmen dropping Human Bone Shards, that might just be an error stemming from them generally having the same item pool as the human skeleton enemies. The skeletal beastmen aren't the only enemies with potentially erroneous items, as the Rotten Staff's item description mistakenly calls it a depiction of the Erdtree, even though the weapon is clearly fashioned after the common depictions of the Haligtree with its overlapping branches. Thanks again for this detailed analysis of what might be the Lands Between's oldest civilization!
23:51 I think Smough's mistaken here. With the knowledge gained from Hawkshaw's video on Elden Ring's colors, it becomes clear that the color gold contains unaging properties to it. The only thing special about beast blood is it's color red, which does boost vitality, but the part within the blood that's glinting with gold is the part that gives it it's longevity.
If a wolf can be given intelligence and thus be transformed into a bipedal tool wielding race... Then the storm birds can be given intelligence and transformed into dragons
I just thought of this but what if the woman in the statue is Lansseax in her human form? To my knowledge we've never seen that form. She was also the priestess of the dragon cult that taught dragon incantations. Its fitting that she could be the priestess to the clergymen guiding them to become more civilized just as she guided humans.
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Let me know your thoughts on the lore below!
Bro it’s sin-co not chin-co lol your country doesn’t border a Latin country and it shows
@@nothanks9503smfh
@@nothanks9503 you're wrong - it's venetian weapon and an Italian word, would recommend this video here: ua-cam.com/video/L3wIYWG-cz4/v-deo.html - in which someone pronounces it about 1:07.
I find it funny how people get so mad and so sure about things based on assumptions.
@@SmoughTown it’s literally called the 5 fingers guy
@@SmoughTown I know the weapon it’s based on I too am a lore nerd and Latin
I smell it, lore. Feed it me. Smough, bring more lore. I shall grant thee a like and subscription.
Oh it's here and I hope you feast!
giving me big "What, Still here? Hand it over, that thing, your dark souls lore!" vibes
@@Gamespud94 it’s a play on when you first see gurranq and when you first give him deathroot. Instead of lore, he says bring me more death. Smoughtown is my top three lore creators for elden ring.
@@theiberianbadger0123 I know lol, was just comparing it to another great misquotable line.
Be careful, he’s gonna attack you if you feed him more lore.
The whole concept of the feral beasts being warped/elevated to intelligence by an outer god against their free will almost seems like an inversion of Bloodborne's themes, their descendance back to their animal form the result of their god fleeing instead of them trying to meddle with it actively.
An interesting thing I discovered about the beastmen's faces is they're very similar to the dragon forms face from dark souls 1, perhaps this shows that most of the surviving beastmen might have deepened their bonds with their dragon masters to wield their red lightning.
I like that! All the non-ancient dragons have fur, which also could point to some kind of shared genealogy
If only there was a handsome, amazing, noble man who can reconnect us with the beast-men.
👀
Certainly there is! I'm sure you're referring to my boy Boc. He's got more rizz than he knows what to do with
@@riskybiscuits688 RADAGON IS BOC’S MOM
@@aetheraxe1781 huh?
SIR KENNETH HAIGHT
Whenever Radagon does his gold shattering move five "fingers" spread out from his hammer. Considering Radagon's connection to wolves (even being called a "leal hound" by Marika) and his primordial red hair I wonder if he might have a connection to the beasts, figurative or literal. Maybe Radagon had the same "fullness" of order that the beasts once did. They both possess strength as well as intelligence and of course an integral sense of loyalty.
Could it be that he's more tied into the actual five fingers (godhand) before they split though? I've always contributed Radagons hair to be more of the giants than FA
most possible the perfect shadowbound created for the chosen empyrean/god Marika and as we know shadow bounds are forced to harm or even kill their chosen empyrean, when said candidate may choose too not follow the greater will/two fingers
Something I keep thinking about is how his great rune is an orderly set of lines, and how that compares to the wild roots we see in the Farum Azula Elden Ring depiction. I'm not sure where that leads, but it's a thought
@Luminous Azure I always thought Radagon's rune was a bramble of thorns to represent his theme of repentance, but that is a good observation. To add on to it Radagon's rune and those elden roots are both located towards the bottom of the ring. However Radagon's rune is somewhat obscured by the rest of the Ring, possibly representing how his ideals went neglected by the civilization at large?
@@rf-k9117 But Marika/Radagon already had a shadowbound beast
The concept of ‘wild man’ losing his superior innate qualities such as strength and constitution as he comes to rely on society and tools is very reminiscent of Rousseau
More kaczynski or ludd
Farum Azula has always been a special place to me because of the duality it represents: beasts and man, civilization and wildness, majesty and horror, age and timelessness. It's seriously my favorite place in the game, with so much amazing lore to absorb as well. So many context clue and so many items to give descriptions. I've always thought that part of the reason the Beastmen are starting to go feral again is because they're starving to death. There is no edible flora and no fauna up in Farum Azula. Every living non-dragon is dirty, wounded with exposed flesh and even bone, and emaciated, and there are so many starved dog and undead beastmen models that it's not hard to imagine that many are dying because of lack of food, and the reason there is any survivors at all is because the living have feasted on the dead. Gurranq, too, is plagued by the hunger of the Rune of Death. There is no more powerful force in this world than the will to survive, and nothing pushes us to our most bestial nature in our will to survive more than hunger. A living thing will eat ANYTHING if it gets hungry enough.
and yet with the removal of the Rune of Death they wouldn’t actually die would they? They would just be starving indefinitely while gradually losing themselves like the rest of the residents of the lands between explaining their apparent devolution.
@@emilyminnow I never said that their hunger was caused by the Rune of Dwath. I said *Gurranq's* hunger was caused by the Rune of Death. However, regardless of why, Gurranq's hunger is something that, in my opinion, connects him to his fellow beastmen up in Farum Azula.
@@NoahofWill I wasn't saying that's what you were saying, your theory that they are starving is perfectly sound (many in the lands between appear quite emaciated with the exception of some like Radahn who is regularly feasting on corpses) I was just pointing out that if they can't die naturally they will just keep wasting away into nothing indefinitely. Some of the Beastmen in Farum Azula that look particularly bad also resurrect after you kill them much like "those who live in death"
So we have beasts that became men, and we also have men that become beasts (bloodhound knights, drake knights, misbegotten)
Thank you for another fantastic video. You're smashing it with every single one. Rest now, you've earned it.
Thank you my friend means a lot 🙏in bed watching a film
Holy Shit Henry I haven't seen you since I was a boy, back in the Carlin days
13:00 when I first saw this statue and thought on it, I interpreted the figure to be Marika, and the wolves, a symbol of her empyrean status. The statue always felt similar to the one of Malenia and Miquella. Thinking that it could instead be of Placidusax's god makes me wonder how that would work anatomically lol
it also makes me wonder how such a wild form of the elden ring could possibly be contained in a humanoid body
@@kamikazekiwi The best tinfoil theory I've seen go in that direction is that the statue _does_ depict Marika ...who was an Ancient Dragon to begin with and took her human form afterwards.
Although since Ranni gives us wolf spirits and several times seemingly corporeal wolves ambush us via a storm gale I personally think it's a common myth/real cyclical trend in-universe, with Marika _potentially_ being the first depending on how old you believe her to be.
I thought the same considering she's Numen and long-lived.
It's also worth noting the dichotomy between wisdom and intelligence. It often shows up in D&D, where Beasts almost always have a higher Wisdom than Intelligence, reflecting their wild nature. Intelligence is used for skills like Nature and History, while Wisdom affects skills like Survival and Perception.
The dragons in from software games are not just symbols of prehistoric primordial power, but they also represent the state of being beyond time, in this case literally in the storm beyond time, but also in the way following the path of the dragon requires meditative transcendence of karma cycles (aka of birth and death)
The Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone fully supports this rather overtly:
"Smithing stone made polishing a golden Gravel Stone. A scale of the Ancient Dragonlord, and hidden treasure of Farum Azula.
The Ancient Dragonlord's seat is said to lie beyond time. This stone lightly twists time, allowing the creation of a weapon capable of slaying a god."
It's also why the godslaying flame can slay gods. The black flame is death and the white flame is frozen time, as explained by Hawkshaw's Color Theory video. So, a flame that freezes its target in death through time is definitely a way of killing a god. It's also a big reason why I agree with the theory that the GEQ is the god of Placidusax.
As per usual, gonna enjoy the content - gonna binge this. Beastmen and Farum culture, in perspective to the vast history of the Lands Between, has always been a point of interest for me.
Thank you as always for your support. Hope you enjoy
I really appreciate how diligent you are with your sources, and other creators who influence your work. Your openness with correcting previous stances as your opinions change is also very much appreciated. These are things you would hope to be universal in lore videos like this, but it sadly isn't always the case.
It not only makes your videos that much more trustworthy, but helps circulate viewers to these other channels which helps the community as a whole.
Thank you!
Thanks Hugo - I think it’s important in this space because it allows us all to work together!
Really pleased you enjoyed the content - thank you for the support
These videos are always time well spent! I can't help but feel like "Intelligence" was the equivalent of "Grace" during the reign of Placidusax, the way it seems to come on suddenly and makes whomever it touches more than they were.
I wanted to offer some thoughts on Beastman religion. When evaluating the faith in the video I noticed you pointed a lot to the Beastial Incantations which by their name you would assume speaks to their religion but that doesn't actually seem to be the case. Beastmen venerated the dragons and the Elden Lord. We actually find one of their holy books in the form of the Ancient Dragon Prayer Book that's description reads it never reached the Lands Between, meaning it never left Farum Azula. When we see beasts casting incantations in Farum, aside from Gurranq, they are never slinging rocks rather they attack with red lightning. This illustrates that the beastman faith was pretty much a more indepth version of the modern Dragon Cult.
The Beastmen burials are very telling, not just the Varna ones but the rest as well. The ritural they use is called sky burial, a method of burial involving leaving the corpse under open sky or tied to a growing tree. They body is then just weathered away under the open sky and eaten by birds and such. This leans further into the idea that the beastmen's faith was rooted not just in veneration of the dragons but the sky itself.
With these ideas in mind: Intelligence being like grace, use of sky burial methods, use of red lightning incantations from a beastman exclusive prayer book; I'd like to circle back to the Elden Ring depiction in Farum Azula. I've commented before that I think this depiction of the Elden Ring is in fact of the Elden Ring in the "True Storm" (mentioned by Nephili). The zagging lines coming off the ring are in fact lightning or perhaps a "graced" lightning. I had many folks rebuff that they think it is roots because it is too smooth roots but I offer this counter; the beastmen have no demonstrated or stated cultural connection to trees (They don't have any signs of tree worship or veneration) but they do demonstrate lightning. Second, the Elden Lord and their God, based on Marika and her consorts, typically stick together. Placidusax lives in the sky in the heart of a storm, so in all likelihood his God did as well. If his god is in the storm, then the Elden Ring is in the storm and by merit of having the Elden Ring within it, it becomes a sacred thing. I think that folks married to the roots idea forget the game is called Elden Ring not Erdtree and that the tree motiff is the Ring's most recent interation. If you get Ranni's ending, the Dark Moon, to which she retreats fills the role of the Erdtree by merit that she is there with the ER. With all that set out and the new thought of Intelligence being gifted. I can't help but look at the mural and statue in Maliketh's arena and see: The god of the age of dragons surrounded by wolves, praying down the lightning grace of the Elden Storm. That these bolts of grace will strike these beasts and from them will arise beastMEN.
When it comes to the Demi-humans I view them as the stepping stones between humans and beastmen. They may be an enduring hybrid or they may be the evolutionary link between the two. Which interestingly brings me to Hourah Loux. I feel like he is one or two generations off of being a beastman himself. Head on his facial features while clearly human have a very striking felineness to them not to mention the man literally roars like a lion when you are fighting him. However, even with these points it is wrong to assume this is how all humans arose in the lands between as we know some "humans" come from beyond.
Wow excellent deduction! I'm with you on the lightning coming off the FA Elden Ring, and that made me see Gransax's Bolt in the center of the Elden Ring by way of the twisting spiral! The same twisting lightning move that Placidusax uses in his boss fight
@@peinbody84 Thanks for the reply! Yay, I'm finally convincing folks! People have been calling me crazy lol! Good catch on the Gransax Bolt, I just lazily figured it was an interpretation of the Tornado but the Bolt, Chef's kiss!
Love your idea of connecting the Grace of humans and the intelligence of beasts! Grace seemed like a kind of primordial force to me that does its own things (or maybe Marika's orders - since she took Grace from the Tarnished and Godfrey) and it makes sense that Placidusax's god would have a similar force running around in the primordial times.
Incredible video as always, but the part around 18:00 about gurranq and him being at one point a bestial clergyman for farum azula makes so much sense! I love how you can bring up new context and info surrounding a character we're all familiar with and recontextualize them! That blew my mind a little bit to consider that Maliketh was at one point Gurranq in his former life before marika tailored him. Keep up the amazing work, can't get enough of these!
That's so great to hear - thank you so much for the kind words. I agree; I think I enjoy this reassessment of the shadows more than my original concepts back year.
Thank you my friend! I will do and thank you for the ongoing support.
Haven't started the video just yet, but I have 1 question. How? Like how after more then a year of consistent gour long videos are you still finding stuff to discuss about? It's marveling, especially with the absolute quality of these videos
Thank you Boris - that honestly means so much.
I'm not sure tbh haha - I just find the game to be full of deep symbolism and themes and that we have only scratched the surface!
I think Radagon is next on my list
Beeeen been been waiting for Radagon 🔥🔥🔥🔥
@@SmoughTown I wonder if the cut mimic quest could offer a hint to Radagon's inception.
@@SmoughTown i know you probrably don't want outside influence, but I think this is kinda neat. I think Radagon is based a bit on the true norse thor. He has heritage in the giants, and hates them, he is a champion and a warrior who exterminated the giants, he weild a hammer, has red hair, marries twice and throws lightning.
Your videos are always so comfy and informative. It feels like a good bedtime story. They make your imagination run wild without jostling you or rushing you towards any conclusion. Very cozy, and always appreciated.
That's so awesome and touching Tori - thank you so much. Kind words like these really keep me going
I use this playlist to go to bed to 😅🥱😴💤
@@ValyeriasCornerthis is the way
i wish that i had college professors that were able to lecture this well
@@nno7532
alright baby let's go I've been eating for this one since I noticed Serosh and Maliketh shared armor style
The normal beastmen also have a similar style, helmet covering eyes and a crop top chest plate.
I adore the visual aesthetic of farum
Me too, certainly one of my fave areas in any FS game
I think the most likely candidate for who granted the beastmen intelligence would be the Greater Will, acting through its fingers. I don't think it was the Two Fingers however, as the Cinquedea's imagery seems too literal. I believe it was the Five Fingers, because in this prehistoric era the finger schism (as The Tarnished Archaeologist describes in their video "Flame of Frenzy Part II: The Finger Schism") would not have happened yet, meaning the Two and Three Fingers were not yet separate entities.
Something I find interesting is how there's three wolves found outside Ranni's rise and I can't help but associate it with the wolves and goddess statue in FA. Like as though she's connected to that original FA Ringdom's lineage somehow.
I feel like that might be more related to Ranni's connection to wolves handed down to her through Radagon rather than the beast themselves.
Just saw this in my feed and yelled 'YAY!!' like an excited child.
Hope you enjoy Alexander!
I have some additions. Many pre-christian/ pagan religions have a major deity, either at the top or of near equal importance, be a Storm-god.
Could Dragonlord Placudisax and the Beastmen be a play on this?
Also, look up the Torslunda plates. It depicts what is believed to be Odin (a god of Wisdom and Beastial Frenzy) next to an Úlfhédnar or Berserker (Wolf-Shirt/ Bear Skin). Legendary warriors said to have taken on the shape and or spirit of the respective animal.
They may play a part in the imagery and lore. They may just be a coincidence. I just thought it would be useful to share.
I loved the video by the way.🐺🦁🐻🐏
My homie mentioned 2001…nicely done. Was just bouncing around in my head. Need to watch again
13:05 It’s Miquella with 3 wolves. The first encounter with Ranni, she says:
“ I was entrusted this, for thee. By Torrent’s former master. “
Then she gives you a Spirit Calling Bell & Lone Wolf Ash.
So when you know Miquella looks like a child and you find a statue with a child playing with 3 wolves..
It not only tells you Miquella is the former master of Torrent, but had an enormous role in helping you from the very start of the game.
That link is clear… but it just begs more questions: why would a statue of Miquella and some spirit wolves be a statue in Farum Azula? Did the beast men carve it? Did Gurranq carve it or maybe bring it to FArum azula from leyndell or the Haligtree? Why a miquella statue and not a malenia statue - they are twins? Why not a marika statue, his bound Empyrean that he cries out to all the time?
@@danielpurcell7203 The statue is in Maliketh’s boss room, that would be prime golden order real estate. Miquella in my opinion is the main person behind everything, he has influence over everything, the bewitching branch: “The Empyrean Miquella is loved by many people. Indeed, he has learned very well how to compel such affection.” if you use it on someone they go against their own needs and wants. I believe he did everything to break free from the influences of outer gods which caused Marika to shatter the Elden Ring which lead to the shattering war with her consent or not. He sent his sister to stop Radahn from holding back the stars, but knew she would fail because before any of that he had Marika kick out the tarnished who would fulfill his plan. So when the game starts, Melina finds you via Torrent knowing you’re apart of the plan. Ranni had her orders to help you. I believe in the DLC it’s going to explain more about what Miquella has set into motion.
@@weavatronobservatory I don’t think the room you fight Maliketh in has anything to do with the Golden Order - beyond Maliketh being there. Do you think Maliketh lived in Farum Azula while Marika lived in Leyndell during the height of the Golden Order and they built Maliketh a room in Farum Azula despite the fact that he’s Marikas shadow bound beast - sworn to protect her.
If the statue depicts anyone Maliketh knows, it might be a young Godwyn. Godwyn repaired the rift between dragons and humans and was possibly venerated with iconography that shows him in a pure innocent state among beasts. Maliketh left Leyndell because he felt he had failed Marika by letting Godwyn die, so maybe the statue reminds him of what he is doing. Also we know that the wolf spirits belonged to Miquella, but maybe the wolves (pre-death) belonged to Godwyn and Miquella kept them around because he couldn’t bring his brother back.
@@danielpurcell7203 If it’s not Miquella then it’s the Gloam Eyed Queen. Above the statue on the wall is the Elden Ring with the Rune of Death in the middle, from a time before it was taken. Then Farum Azula was conquered, the Golden Order did not start until the rune of death was taken after the defeat of the Gloam Eyed Queen.
The Remembrance of Dragonlord Placidusax says :
( The Dragonlord whose seat lies at the heart of the storm beyond time is said to have been Elden Lord in the age before the Erdtree. Once his god was fled, the lord continued to await its return. )
The Gloam Eyed Queen was his god that fled after her defeat. Maliketh’s boss room may be where he fought her, which is why there is a statue of her.
OR
It’s Miquella. Miquella was trying to give his brother a true death ( Golden Epitaph: “ O brother, lord brother, please die a true death.” ) perhaps in Miquella’s search to better understand those who live in death to learn of a way to help his brother he consulted Maliketh, maybe a statue was placed there to remind Maliketh that Marika may have abandoned him, but not Miquella.
OR
It’s statue of a child version of Godwyn, for what ever reason.
@@weavatronobservatory Wasn’t the gloam eyed queen just an empyrean - never a full blown vessel for the elden ring / god like Marika? During the first phase of the Marikas reign (Age of Plenty) the gloam eyed queen rises up to try and overthrow Marika but fails thanks to Maliketh who, like the GEQ, draws power from the rune of death but does not possess the rune outside of the elden ring. After GEQ defeat, Marika wants to show her mastery over death itself and removes the rune of death from the elden ring so her age of plenty never ends. GEQ had nothing to do with dragons and was never a God, her title of ‘Queen’ was not the same as Marikas, but more similar to Renalla (Queen of Caria) and she may have been a Queen of an eternal city.
If the Farum Azula statue was a statue of a vessel of the Elden ring, god of an age, wedded to an ancient dragon, and also the gloam eyed queen (associated with death and black flame and the godskins) why would it be depicting a child with some wolves? The QEG has nothing to do with wolves and is never referred to as a child and her childhood is never mentioned as being something so important it would be depicted this way.
Same with Miquella, yes at some point he had some wolves (spirit wolves) but the other imagery strongly associated with Miquella: the Haligtree, miquellas lillies , unalloyed gold craftsmanship, and the eclipse are not featured… just the wolves and not even the spirit calling bell Miquella would have used to call them if they were spirits instead of real wolves.
There’s just as much evidence that the statue doesn’t depict any character we know, but could be a symbolic representation of an idea - that sentient intelligent humanity started to flourish during an age of beasts and that humans and beasts co-mingled with the majority population being beasts (hence more wolves) and humans the minority.
Smough thank you for covering this and the five fingers! I’ve been waiting for someone on yt to do a deep dive explain the correlation of the five fingers with the three of chaos and normal 2 fingers, separation and the beastmen, great video!
24:00 I disagree with this talking about the vitality of beasts, it seems more to be alluding to the power of gold and the cycle of unending life. The "glinting with gold" bit seems more important than it being beast blood
Pretty unrelated, but I noticed some moveset similarities between Maliketh and Blaidd. Blaidd uses a similar move to the Destined Death move where he does two rotations before slamming his sword, and Wolf Assault is really similar to the other destined death move
Great content as usual. Keep it rollin my man.
Yes, I think you're right when you point to the young female statue in Farum Azula being an early, idealized depiction of the founder or ruler of Farum Azula. When I saw that statue, I immediately felt it had a strong resemblence to the depictions of Rome's founding mythos with young children and wolves. I also think this is likely an early depiction of the Gloam Eye'd Queen.
Yeh great shout in regards to it being analogous to statues of Romulus and Remus
great observation bro
Thanks for another great video, Geoff. Your Elden ring videos are the best, and you've introduced me to a shit ton of other great channels. Super excited for your upcoming Bloodborne video and any other souls content you have coming.
Cheers Timbo, it’s comments like these that keep me going tbh. Appreciate your support
In wilds beyond they speak your name with reverence and regret,
For none could tame our savage souls yet you the challenge met,
Under palest watch, you taught, you changed, base instincts were redeemed,
A world you gave to bug and beast as they had never dreamed.
Our cherished dreams you granted and delivered more,
But in dismay you found too late our desires had no end,
What cost to tame our savagery? You gave your all and then gave more.
Yet still desires lay unquenched, more dreams remained, your energies spent.
Amongst it sprang a dreadful scourge,
That forced return our aggressive urge,
And turned us back to beasts or husks,
Our souls consumed by light above.
Within your corpse can still be heard the plaintiff cries of one,
Who took our pain, and loss, and dreams inside itself to...
Through its pain we found a truth that must now be confessed,
For nothing can contain such things but perfect emptiness.
I can’t wait for the DLC so we can keep getting awesome content like this. Your lore videos are part of what has made Elden Ring such a good game to me. Keep it up Smough!
Not even seen the whole video, but thus far the best content on the beasts on youtube. Great touch on the 2001Space Odissey analogy, great reflections about the obsession with death, and the compliment to TA's video about the architechture of Farum Azula.
"I was wrong as I so often am": words of truly a man of class.
Thanks so much Matteo, that means the world to me. Really enjoyed this subject
awesome, another video from my favorite Eden Ring lore channel. your vids are great to put on before going to sleep too.
Thanks so much James, really appreciate the kind words and support. Keeps me going!
I never really paid much attention to the beastman, but this video opened my eyes to how cool they really are and the amount of detail and environmental storytelling went into them - and the way they represent the amalgamation of beast and humanity, is really fascinating
I think Lokey to be right about the small person statue with the three wolves in Farum Azula. I was thinking it might be Ranni or Miquella considering Ranni gives you the spirit calling bell along with the three wolves spirit ashes in the very beginning of the game. But considering *where* we find this statue I think he/you may be right. Fine Work, Geoff!
I think Lokey is right too! Thank you my friend, I really appreciate the kind support
My typical albunauric blood clot comment aside, something I thought of while listening to the segment about the importance of death to the beast men, perhaps the death birds are the psychopomps of the beastmen? Were the death birds ever specified to belonging to a civilization other than just the nebulous “before the erdtree” description?
I just want to say how much I appreciate all your content! I started off just jumping around to the topics I was most interested in (i.e. The Frenzied Flame), but I've found myself starting from the very beginning and listening/relistening to all your lore videos. It's also awesome to see how much credit you give to other creators, much more than I've seen anyone else ever do, in the Elden Ring lore community as well as any other topic of discussion. Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into these videos for us!
I'd suggest anyone else who loves Smough's content to do the same as I did and start from the beginning. He has a playlist you can save that is in chronological starting at his oldest videos. It's great to know what he's referencing from previous videos and interesting to see how his opinions on some things have changed over time as the lore community evolves their understanding of the game and it's lore elements.
So something i like to play around with is the idea of divesting beasthood, and a literal separation of self i.e. Marika and Radagon separating and joining again -shattering and mending. We see Marika chasing the idea of "refining" to remove impurities, from red gold, to pale yellow gold.
Love your lore videos, especially because you picked out one of my favorite parts of this game. Farum Azula is such a wild concept. Really makes you wonder what it all looked like in its prime.
Added to watch later
just dropped by to leave a like , Gonna enjoy this on Saturday
Means the world to me Devon, thank you so much
Just finished the video good job man
Unreal
Top notch video as per usual! Making me adore this game even more than I already did :) thank you!
Thanks so much Ezio! That's great to hear
Besides sheep skulls being in graves in Farum Azula, sheep also have a specific relation to lightning, even having their own ash of war!
I don't normally come into these videos ignorant, but I know basically nothing about the Beastmen, so this will be a real treat. Thanks for the steady stream of content, Smough!
Thank you dude! Hope you enjoy
Hey man, I just wanted to thank you for how much effort you put into your videos. I love that you've introduced me to other Elden Ring lore channels, and the way you format, and tell each story and segment them nicely into chapters, it makes everything come together very well! Especially your recent videos, it is very apparent that you are getting better at storytelling and it's just inspiring and kinda awesome to hear just how passionate you are about this universe. I love Elden Ring and many of the souls game, but man it's just crazy how deep these games really are and it just makes me appreciate the world even more. One story in particular that from playing the game myself, is I had no freakin clue what was really going on with the Godskins, but man seeing your first video around 8+ months I think? and then seeing your more recent one along with information on the Gloam Eyed Queen, it's just fascinated how everything kinda fits together, yet alot is left to speculation and I absolutely love that and that one players headcanon can be completely different from someone elses in regard to something and how even compiling information together can create a whole new perspective of how to interpret things and often I'll just have my jaw drop from some of the lore revelations or rather some implications and I'm just left utterly baffled at how all of this could exist in one game. Cheers man and it's so nice to see you grow, I've been passively watching for a few years and liking videos that I watch but haven't really interacted with the community here much but just wanted to let you know you are greatly appreciated!
Hey my friend, thank you so much for the kind comment - that really does keep me going. I really do love this game and this community and I'm so lucky I get such kind support like yours! More to come soon!
I can't believe it took a meme for me to realize it but.... THE LIVING BEASTMEN ARE BEARS! I saw an image of a bear that had been mostly shaved and it looks so much like the living beastmen it's crazy!
I waited a day to watch but it's absolutely beautiful, always coming in with the amazing videos my man
Much appreciated my friend! Really Glad you enjoyed it
Holy hell I love that thumbnail! All of yours are really well made, but this is one of my favs so far!!
Edit: Just almost finished, the beast evolving into humans theory is one I really like. Excellent work as always on the parts of both you, and Dark Tark!!
Ive been hunting for a long while for more lore on the Beast men. Thanks my man! 💪💖
My pleasure my friend, hope this video delivers!
Great way to begin my Friday morning! Thank you for the upload!
My pleasure Peter, I hope you enjoy this one
Keep up the great work man love these lore videos
Thank you my friend, I will do
Nice video! The beastmen have always interested me due to how mysterious they are
Thank you so much! And me too!
@@SmoughTown BTW i am just curios, what is your opinion or thought on who built the golems plus the divine towers?
They have a similiar style. Maybe you spoke about it in a previous video and i just forgot.
Dark Tark was the last content creator I expected to get mentioned on this channel lol
Great vid as always Geoff!
Thanks so much Michal!
I don’t think you realize how needed this was Smough! After a long rough week, this video is keeping me going!
My pleasure my friend! I really hope you enjoy this one!
@@SmoughTown I will! Your videos have helped me stay productive in college
@@rxblessed Im sorry it's been a long week; here's to you having a nice weekend
@@SmoughTown thank you my friend, I hope yours is also enjoyable and full of rest
@@rxblessed🤝
The Albinauric Blood Clot does it once again ! Amazing video as always thank u so much
It always saves the day! Great to see you here dude, thank you for the support.
I think the body's everywhere and the reference to the varna necropolis are references to the importance of ritual burial. Ritual burial is often considered to be an important distinction between more primitive hominids and more modern man.
Makes you wonder about the dragon option in character creation, the mentionings of lansseax shifting her form to commune with the dragon cult and vyke, and the human shaped beings in the sculptures on the architecture in faram azula as pointed out by the tarnished archeologists' channel...
d&d style dragon polymorph shenanigans confirmed?
your videos are emmaculte. thanks for doing this. so many people are grateful to be able to understand more about their favorite game. all love brother.
Thank you my friend - you have no idea how much comments like this mean to me. Much love back
Yooo lets go, been waiting for this to drop 🧡
Hope you enjoy my friend
I didn’t realize that the ruins we see throughout the lands between were of Faram Azula but now that it’s pointed out to me I can’t unsee it, it just makes so much sense.
that’s why I continue to love each and every video you make Mr. SmoughTown. Thanks again
I've always wondered (along with everyone else) who the lady is that is depicted among wolves in the statute of Maliketh's boss room. But something in this video made me think/theorize, what if it's one of the ancient dragons taking a human form. And the statue shows them caring for and teaching the beasts that would become the beastmen? I can't think of a reason why a dragon would take that shape for that sort of thing, but it would make sense why it seems like a center piece of the room. Sort of like a shrine to them gaining intelligence and becoming part of that current ages order. Maybe the lady is their God, the equivalent of Marika, and the being Placidusax is waiting for to return? All just a theory but figured I'd share! Amazing video as always and thanks for all the work you do on these!!
As always, a phenomenal deep dive! I adore binging all your videos!!
As a side note, would you ever consider uploading the audio to a podcast app, as I could listen to all these forever.
Thanks so much Kelsey! I appreciate that. We will do eventually, I am still figuring out the best way to do it etc
@@SmoughTown
No problem at all! Thank you for replying :D
I'm always so impressed with all your videos! As someone whose first ever Frome Software game was Elden Ring, I like knowing exactly what backhanded me halfway across the map.
The beasts are one of my favorite subjects.
Let's go!!
Me too! I hope you enjoy
Hell yeah, new lore video to keep me distracted from working!
Awesome! Enjoy
I really wonder if some Beastmen were just chilling in Farum Azula and suddenly their crashing to the ground
What an unfortunate inconvenience 😔
By the way dude, good content, always nice to listen to Elden Ring lore while I play games and stuff
Thank you my friend, really glad you enjoy my content and hope you enjoy this one too
Maliketh being Marika’s step brother(armor description I think) probably makes him the god of the Dragons.. It makes sense to me. He even has unique death aura no matter which version you slay. That felt very strong to me in the story.
Actually makes a lot of sense the beast men do revert to their wild nature, considering the gurranq attacks the player after a time, and same goes for blaidd as he attacks the player. I kind of wonder if the erdtree has absorbed the power of the dragons with the fall of Gransax, allowing it to grant intelligence to beasts, as it tries to gain control of the Crucible of the past, being the bond between dragons and beasts. I thought it was odd that the crucible knight and misbegotten are a boss pair in Redmane castle, but the aspect of the Crucible being a tie makes a lot of sense. I am also curious as to if radahn has any connection to these beings, considering he has a connection to animals, his horse, and his long-tail cat, as well as being associated with a lion. Come to think of it, i just realized there is a lack of cat representation in enemy mobs, aside from guardian beast lions and the ones you find in dungeons made entirely of stone, which is odd because they are called "watchdogs".
Hey i dont remember if you did a video on the man-serpents yet but i'd be interested to learn about them
You are doing a far better job than Vaati could ever do at this point, keep going!
that comparison to 2001: a space odyssey was actually magnificent. you’re just too good at writing the script for these videos
Was really enjoying the video..then *BAM* 2001 Space Odyssey being used as a reference point. 👏👏👏 Now I'm really enjoying it.
That's what I'm talking about!
Amazing work yet again man!
Thanks patches! Appreciate the support
Beasts be like, " Keep calm, and carry on."
I hope that the DLC mentions Melania's and Miquella's shadowbeasts! I've always been so curious about why they're never mentioned, considering they are Empyrium as well and should've been given 1 each as well
Your mention of sheep-based beastmen is really interesting, as the white-furred beastmen use exclusively lightning attacks, similar to the golden sheep located on the plateau in Altus where you fight Lansseax.
In regards to the statue with the wolves: I can't take credit for this but I think on Reddit someone suggested that was actually a statue of Miquella and his three wolves.
If we are to believe that the Spirit Calling Bell to summon the spirit ashes belonged to Miquella and the wolves belonged to him, it may account for a lack of his shadow-bound beast gifted by the Two Fingers.
He and Malenia do have shadows we just haven't seen them yet
I was waiting for this...another video to watch at work and another video that will help me go to sleep on repeat. Keep up the great work love all your videos bro.
Smough... my thanks... for thy... long labor. But I have watched... all I can... in this day.
1:06:15 I always that it was adorable that Serosh was always nibbling on Godfreys shoulder lmao
Maliketh is the blind swordsman. He has the same cape, white hair, the helmet covers the eyes, in his fight moves like he is dancing and is the only enemy that can do an atack with the same end hit as waterfowl dance (the "one mind" sekiro like attack)
i don’t think maliketh is the blind swordsman bro was doing parkour the whole 2nd stage😭
im sure eyesight is required
Another thing of note, we can't forget the ties to Berserk. In Berserk, Gut's contends with his inner Beast, and this manifestation states that the more Guts represses it the stronger it would become and when it can no longer be contained it's outburst would be all the more violent. This of course is inspired by the Freudian/Nietzschean ideas of the Id and The Shadow, where man must find ways to contain their "Inner Beast". The way psychology and Guts have solved this dilemma is not to give in or shun but to Integrate these powerful aspects into our lives.
Even Beasts can be calm and noble as they have no need to suppress, so Beastmen acting as a society has them appear more tame as they may be figuring out how to best integrate the primal aspects into themselves, and thus a figure like Hoarah Loux would definitely appear as the perfect example as the pinnacle of the merging between the Primal and Noble.
However, it appears as if Loux's state was more of a facade, as his Bestial Rage was contained for who knows how long, never allowing it to surface as Marika demanded it. This Culminates in his killing of Serosh, a Beast who appears to have had far more success in "Integrating the Shadow" given he literally contains the Rage and acted as a Wise Advisor to Godrfrey, no doubt analogous to the Super-Ego, the part of the human psyche said to be tasked with this very act; reining in the Id and given balance to the Ego, the integrated psyche that we conduct ourselves with in society, in Hoarah Loux's case, the "Lord".
In his desperation to defeat us, Loux unbalanced his psyche, literally tearing away his Super-Ego and thus allowing the Id, the "Beast", to rear it's ugly head. But we the Tarnished, through our trials and journey's... and many harsh lessons, have learned not to play as a Lord, but to truly embody one, and thus Hoarah Loux was not but beast in our path, a Powerful and Noble Beast for certain, but a beast nonetheless... though it admittedly took a few tries 😩
Enjoying the content as always! looking forward to the radagon video.
thank you so much! Looking forward to it as well, a subject I've always wanted to unpack
I think it was located right in the middle of the land which is why the pieces are everywhere, not just within the most Eastern parts
Yeh I would concur
Crediting Dark Tark. XD I love these vids man, too good.
I think the evidence suggests the "modern dragons" were born during the crucible era, likely do to the mixing of stormhawk and dragon blood. perhaps greyoll was the first modern dragon to be born, likely from an ancient dragon and a stormhawk (potentially royal lineages of both?) which would explain her feathers and massive size. Moreover if she were of royalty or otherwise connected to the elden ring in some way its possible she could have access to the self reproduction quality that many of the powerful female characters share (Rennalla, Marika, Melaina) perhaps further explaining modern dragons' weakness compared to ancient dragons and their susceptibility to rot (Eckxykes) and glintstone (Adulla, Smarag).
damn im ready to watch this 21 seconds after you posted this
hahaha thank you so much for being here!
Nailed the Cinquedea pronunciation
Only took me a year
The stone age, the bronze age, and the iron age... incredible work. Also enjoyed Hawshaw's use of Age of Mythology music... very fitting for ER, as it turns out
Smough. A bit of advice if I may. Hunt your beasts, and think no more on the secrets of the night. That is the best any of us can do.
i agree
Thank you, maybe it will make me feel better
@@SmoughTown For yourself! You make great videos. Making videos is work, effort, time. It doesn't go unappreciated.
@@idlehour Thank you Olivia! Comments like this keep me going
I agree its likely farum azula used to sit near beastial sanctum but im not so sure. The trees in farum azula match the trees in altus plateau, as well as both places containing wormface enemies. To top that off, ive always found it strange that leyndell appears to be constructed over the mouth of a massive hole. I think its entirely possible that farum azula used to sit where leyndell is now
47:47 huh, hearing you say Placidusax was serving "their" god and seeing his 2 remaining heads pointed up like that really made me think that he was trying to commune with the Greater Will like the Two-Fingers
I like the theory that Placidusax’s god was the Gloam Eyed Queen. It makes sense on so many levels. She’s not specifically referenced as a god but I think that was deliberately left out to not make it too obvious, as she is referred to as both an Empyrean and a Queen. Placidusax’s remembrance says his god was fled, and we don’t get any indication that the GEQ was killed, only defeated. This is mirrored in Maliketh having been pretty much abandoned by his god, which is ironic as he was the one who defeated the Gloam Eyed Queen in the first place. The presence of the Godskin Duo in Faram Azula, as well as Maliketh himself makes so much more sense if it was the GEQ’s seat of power. Then to top it all off we have Melina (who is at the very least closely linked with the GEQ if not the GEQ herself) that transports us to Faram Azula and ultimately the Rune of Death. At first it seems a bit janky and disjointed for us to be teleported out of the blue to Faram Azula after Melina reigniting the Flame of Ruin, but there’s just too many connections between Faram Azula and the GEQ for it to be a coincidence. It would also make sense as a fitting end to the GEQ’s story for Melina to be the key to overthrowing the Golden Order. She gives us the power to turn runes into the strength needed to get the job done, serves as kindling to the Flame of Ruin, and leads us to the Rune of Death that she once held mastery over as the final trump card in her centuries long revenge scheme.
Going from ruling over dragons to a bunch of skin men is a pretty big leap.
@@alfalldoot6715 why not both? They’re not mutually exclusive. The rise of marika and human(oid)s toward the end of the age of dragons would be a threat to the dragon’s power and give them ample reason to be skinning Marika’s ilk. The Greater Will was behind both of them at some point, and it seems pretty clear that it has no issue pitting its followers against each other if one faction ultimately serves its purposes better. It’s just a theory/head cannon to be sure but it’s not implausible.
facts
@BitterSteel Yeah but the godskins are probably artificial beings, so the GEQ would have had to go out of the way to reject her dragons and make some completely new species. The ancient dragons were led by Gransaxx when they attacked Leyndell, so why couldn't their queen just take back her throne? That's also ignoring the fact that the dragons use red lighting and the godskins use completely different black death flame.
@@alfalldoot6715 you make some good points, however there are a couple of things to point out. The GEQ herself wasn’t a dragon, the dragons were simply the dominant species in the Lands Between and she took her place as the ruler over them. Black Flame was her primary source of power and was associated with her specifically, with lightning being more closely tied to dragons intrinsically. She could have created the Godskins for the specific purpose of wielding the black flame and carrying out her bidding without question. This would make sense considering that the black flame is essentially the most powerful weapon in existence, so it’s logical to assume that you wouldn’t want to give that power to just anybody. As far as the dragon’s attack on Leyendell is concerned, I think it’s a safe assumption that this occurred after the defeat of the GEQ, the removal of the Rune of Death and the creation of the Golden Order. This is because Leyendell is already established as the royal capital and Goldwyn is in his prime. If the GEQ was Placidusax’s consort/god it would explain the motivation for the dragons to attack Leyendell after her defeat. However at this point the Rune of Death is sealed and the scales have already tipped in Marika’s favor, since Gransaxx was clearly defeated in the end. Eventually the dragons cut their losses and decide that if they can’t beat ‘em they might as well join em.
Can't wait for the dlc, hope it brings alot more lore!
Me as well!
The Five Fingers symbol makes me think that the Two Fingers of the Erdtree and the Three fingers of frenzy were one entity that embodied both concepts during the age of the Crucible but later split into two separate entities when the age of the beastmen came to an end.
The Three Fingers want everything to become One, I doubt by One they mean dragons and beastmen and nature
@@ungratefulingrate1268 No they just want to kill everything
Loved your video this was amazing as usual, always a treat. The wording in bestial vitality, where they felt their wildness slip away as civilization took hold, made me take a hostile view on the civilization that was taking. In star trek they have a rule not to show themselves to low intelligence species as they will get worshipped as gods, seems like that is exactly what happened with the beastmen, having a giant species of powerful beings show up on the onset of their intelligence would have been overwhelming.
*(1/2)* This is a nice look at the beastmen and their civilization! I agree with a lot of the points you raised, so for the sake of fitting this reply in two comments at most, I'll just mention the topics I think can be further elaborated on or have alternative possibilities.
Regarding the Farum Azula Elden Ring at 13:28 , on close inspection, the Elden Ring itself isn't much different. There are only four rings, with everything else being a sort of tendril of light that either stops on contact with a ring or deflects off and continues in an undulating line. The smooth lines and the wavy pattern seem reminiscent of vines, or in this case, they might be roots. If so, this mural could be depicting the Elden Ring within a sapling Erdtree that is only just beginning to sprout and spread its roots, akin to the later depictions of the Elden Ring within the various states of the grown Erdtree.
On the subject of beasts being drawn to champions, I'm surprised you never mentioned how Torrent selected the Tarnished player character. Melina defers to Torrent's choice, even apologizing for merely pretending to have faith where Torrent was resolute. Torrent also seems to have his own agency in this circumstance, rather than being subjugated by someone else, as if he has an innate knowledge and wisdom in this regard despite not being a beastman. What's further curious is that, where Serosh may have been assigned by Marika, and Bernahl was given beastly armor but had no apparent beast, Torrent is genuinely selecting the Tarnished who he thinks can become Elden Lord. In that regard, the player character might be the most "legitimate" beast-chosen champion in the setting, aside from whoever may have first started that practice.
For the burial practices of Farum Azula, I'm not sure that the beastmen would be getting "returned to nature" in most of those scenarios. Rather than being put in soil or natural rock, the remains are placed in alcoves carved into stone buildings, areas cut off from what is generally thought of as nature. Additionally, there are beastman remains interred within the buildings of Farum Azula, which would be difficult for any birds to access for a "sky burial", not to mention the few coffins that seem earnestly designed to store remains inside, rather than placing them on top. The beastmen who were chained to posts and left to die seem to still have a good deal of flesh on them too, implying that birds are not generally eating the flesh from beastman remains.
Another thing to consider is that the beastmen chained to posts and trapped in walls and pillars seem to be screaming, as though they were pained and terrified. The chained beastmen's legs are even positioned as if to indicate that they were trying to climb up the posts, or otherwise push off of them to break the chains or the posts. Such positions imply that the beastmen didn't want to die and were instead killed, left to die for some purpose. The location of these chained corpses being within the actual burial rooms, and along the burial alcoves, also suggests that these beastmen weren't executed for devolving or crimes, but were instead ritually killed as part of the overall burial practices.
If Farum Azula represents prehistoric times and the earliest civilizations, and if the city was designed as a mausoleum for Placidusax's use, I wonder if tons of beastmen were murdered to be buried alongside him, a la how Egyptian pharaohs and Chinese emperors would have the builders of their tombs murdered and interred, along with other random people. Additionally, in Japanese culture, there was a practice of murdering people and putting their remains in pillars and walls, which was known as "hitobashira" and done out of a belief it would mystically reinforce a building or appease an evil force.
With the fact that even some dragon remains appear to be lodged in Farum Azula's walls, this could put a dark twist on how the Dragoncrest and Drake Talismans say the dragons would "protect their lord as a wall of living rock." As for the possibility of appeasing an evil force, perhaps the Twinbird depicted in murals throughout the city was such an entity. With how the Twinbirds' children, the Deathbirds, are referred to as sadistic and malevolent by their own affiliated items, and how the Twinbird Kite Shield has the buffs of both Branchsword Talismans, this might imply that the Twinbird was likewise malicious.
Also, rather than beasts being unaware of the risks to their lives, they might actually be especially focused on such risks. Before being granted intelligence and opposable thumbs, the beasts would have seemingly just been animals, which would always be seeking food and shelter to not die, carefully picking their battles to avoid injuries that could kill them, always watching out for any predators that could kill them, and so on. If Farum Azula had a fixation on death, that could be something inherited from their animal origins, rather than a newfound feeling from being granted sapience by Placidusax's god, the Greater Will, etc. The knowledge (or gift) of a soul may have actually helped them start focusing on other things, like architecture and making gold jewelry.
As to Gurranq's bestial nature, I don't think his attack at the Bestial Sanctum is connected with his beastly aspects. In his quest line, Gurranq is clearly affected by eating the Deathroot, and thus it's this energy of the Rune of Death that makes him go berserk and be murderous, akin to how the undead try to kill anyone and anything they can find. Gurranq's returning bestial nature could also be from him trying to suppress his Maliketh identity, the self that was something of a "civilized" knight in the Golden Order.
It's also curious how, despite Gurranq teaching bestial incantations, the actual beastmen never use these arts, instead utilizing lightning. It's as though Maliketh is trying to get in touch with something older and more fundamental, which might explain why he teaches Beast's Roar, a technique done only by things like Runebears instead of the beastmen. Alternatively, Maliketh was never part of any lightning-wielding order. In that regard, perhaps Maliketh never was from Farum Azula, but either created long afterward or a distant descendant trying to get in touch with his people's roots while also masquerading as a survivor of their order.
As for how Maliketh might be created instead of changed, the item description of the Royal Greatsword, the blade wielded by his fellow Shadow, Blaidd, says "In defiance of the fate he was born to, Blaidd swore to serve no master but Ranni." This choice of words might still imply that a Shadow is born a Shadow, and thus created as one, rather than already existing as a beast, beastman, or descendant of the beastmen and then being altered.
Speaking of descendants, I think that the Draconians are less a reference to early man and more a twist on the Path of the Dragon from Dark Souls. Rather than humans desperately trying to become dragons and doing poorly, dragons are trying to become humans and encountering their own mishaps. The Draconians have clouded eyes and mottled skin, implying that they have poor health, which can explain why they might be short-lived despite having all the knowledge and survival skills of the modern day. As for Lansseax, she might have "perfected" a human form, not been in a human form for very long before returning to her dragon form, or she just used an illusion of sorts, a la Sellen's projection.
*(2/2)* Addressing the Beast Blood at 23:34 , this seems to imply that the gold is why the blood never rots or decays, similar to how gold preserves things in the Lands Between overall. We can even observe that Morgott, born without Grace, seems much older than everyone else, and Godrick, whose divine bloodline is diluted, similarly looks older than his relatives.
Turning to the Golden Beast Crest Shield at 27:35 , while that calls Serosh a counselor to the golden lineage, the Beast Crest Heater Shield seems to use the lion as a warning of what one is like if they lose their sense of reason in battle. As such, Serosh might be considered unique among lions. Additionally, if the beastmen handcuffed to posts are exclusively the speculated "lion" type, then I wonder if Serosh killed his fellow lions for some reason -- to remove all equals, because they regressed or went insane and he alone did not, etc.
The Beast Champion's Set is also intriguing for the implication of keeping someone unthinking and acting like a mere tool. Perhaps some beasts were only made just intelligent enough to carry out certain tasks, but otherwise kept as mere animals that were domesticated, so to speak. That could explain the oddities of the beastmen civilization, like how they make pots then shatter them to create the Beastman's Jar-Shields, a practice they're said to have always done, as though humans or other advanced species already existed back then to observe this. That might also tie into the peculiar and inefficient design of the Beastman's Cleaver compared to the Beastman's Curved Sword (despite its own design oddities), as though certain beastmen are permitted or denied certain levels of evolution to ensure they can fulfill a task but never surpass their station.
The fact that lions are depicted as making someone blind and deaf to the world around them has curious ramifications for Serosh. It could be that Serosh's "counsel" to Godfrey may have actually just been the process of stopping Godfrey from thinking much on his own, thereby making Godfrey more compliant, or compliant at all, with orders like killing the hero of Castle Morne's whole clan, or allowing his own sons Morgott and Mohg to be banished to the sewers.
It's intriguing how Nepheli Loux, raised in the warrior clan on its own, separate from the Golden Order, deeply values justice and preventing the downtrodden from being cheated. Perhaps this value was inherited from prolonged contact with the Golden Order as it became "civilized", or it's a value unique to Nepheli, but I'm curious if it reflects the clan when left to its own devices. If so, the embracing of Stormhawk Axes, the raising of hawks, the valuing of the storm, and so on might imply that the clan is more prone to assimilation, even with combat and conquest as some of its core values, than the extermination-based deeds Marika ordered. This could put Serosh's "counsel" into further perspective.
The animals on Bernahl's armor aren't covering their own eyes and ears either -- they're covering Bernahl's own. Bernahl's overall armor even seems reminiscent of Godfrey's armor, most particularly in regard to the blue cape and woven designs. However, where Godfrey's armor was still practical even as it perhaps limited him, Bernahl's armor is a "classing up", like an invention of a later Golden Order era that is trying to reshape Godfrey's image while losing sight of what made him great. Bernahl's armor has excessive adornment everywhere, a cape over its cape, and his helmet limits his field of vision. Furthermore, the armor actually has major structural weaknesses, with less plating near the waist and sternum, and the inner chain mail layer being totally exposed near some of Bernahl's vitals.
In that regard, Bernahl was being handicapped and forced into serving as an especially diluted second Godfrey. It's no wonder, then, that Bernahl's shock and despair over learning the full purpose of the Finger Maidens turned into a feeling that the Golden Order had utterly failed him and her, and was wretched. At the same time, the true mission of the Finger Maidens, and in turn, the true mission of the Tarnished, was better at accomplishing the Volcano Manor's proclaimed goals than the Volcano Manor's genuine actions, leaving Bernahl in a uniquely frustrating situation where the very mission he's trying to rebel against is also what the supposed alternative wants to achieve. Perhaps Bernahl kills as a way to ensure as few of the people who created and benefit from the state of the world can benefit from his ultimate actions.
Finally, regarding the skeletal beastmen dropping Human Bone Shards, that might just be an error stemming from them generally having the same item pool as the human skeleton enemies. The skeletal beastmen aren't the only enemies with potentially erroneous items, as the Rotten Staff's item description mistakenly calls it a depiction of the Erdtree, even though the weapon is clearly fashioned after the common depictions of the Haligtree with its overlapping branches.
Thanks again for this detailed analysis of what might be the Lands Between's oldest civilization!
23:51 I think Smough's mistaken here. With the knowledge gained from Hawkshaw's video on Elden Ring's colors, it becomes clear that the color gold contains unaging properties to it. The only thing special about beast blood is it's color red, which does boost vitality, but the part within the blood that's glinting with gold is the part that gives it it's longevity.
If a wolf can be given intelligence and thus be transformed into a bipedal tool wielding race... Then the storm birds can be given intelligence and transformed into dragons
I just thought of this but what if the woman in the statue is Lansseax in her human form? To my knowledge we've never seen that form. She was also the priestess of the dragon cult that taught dragon incantations. Its fitting that she could be the priestess to the clergymen guiding them to become more civilized just as she guided humans.