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Kinda lame how they had you advertise their new "textra" versions but your discount doesn't apply to ANY "textra" products. Was really excited to purchase some :/
Love your videos but there were a couple of details missed at the start. The nobles are older apostles rather than being born into a higher class 'lowborn' seems to refer to non godskins. BonfireVN made a video removing the armour which shows them being fairly muscular.
I have not completed in research, but when I played through, my impression when I saw the purple eye was that it was supposed to reference the Cosmos as it looks like a galaxy to me. The frenzied flame ending also changes her appearance a lot which implied to me that she lost her "golden hue" from the end of the Erd tree.
how have you not yet realized that the gloam eyed queen is Rani. gloam eyed queen was her first alias. She failed in accomplishing ushering in her age of night and that's why she realize she had to be removed from her corporeal flesh. GLOAM eyed QUEEN. She has an eye for the setting of the sun. and she's royalty - lunar princess Rani. The claims that Dogo killed her were false. she was probably gravely injured, but still managed to get a shard of the rune of death from that encounter. Mark my words. Not very many people have this connection drawn, you should bring attention to it.
I figured the "gloam eyed" colour was the same shade as the purple gem the godskin apostle (and your cosplay) wears, therefore the purple eye that Melina has makes sense if she is the queen
I agree! It's such a centrepiece of their outfit (minus the faces) that the choice of colour must have been intentional! Or they are just fans of purple :)
@@miss_chalice Purple also color of the courtiers, noble people. Can you talk about the water lilies? So far, people discussed only miquella and trina's lilies. But there are one more lily in the game and it is called calla lily. We only see this lily in the Malenia's boss enter room and the area while we help Millicent againts her sisters. St. Trina has 3 personalities, and we have 3 lillies. It is very interesting actually :)
@@awendigowithinternetaccess4400 Yeah, trina means trinity. One is Miquella second is St. Trina and an adult male. But we don't know his name yet. St. Trina's Torch: Candlestand torch that burns with a light-purple flame. The carving depict St. Trina, but in adult form, somewhat unnervingly. We already know st. trina and miquella have child form. So this adult form (but I remember as a male, there should be another item explanation but I forgot xd) must be the third personality. Chaile has a video about that, you should check it out.
Melina is in fact the Gloam Eyed Queen. she lives burnt and bodiless because her defeat by Maliketh caused her to be burnt by the flame of destined death. She was born at the foot of the Erdtree, which means she is a child of Marika, her purpose given my Marika was part of Marika.s plan to change the status quo, IE destroying the two fingers and breaking their hold on her.
Important to note: 3 godskins are all guarding something related to Rennala's children: Swaddling cloth from Rykard's child; Ranni's corpse, Sword at the bottom of Radahn's tower. 4th set of Godskins are guarding Malekith. 5th is the one in Dominula, which we actually have no clue as to why he's there. Likely guarding something as well.
You shouldn't stare yourself blind at a potential pattern. 3 Godskins guarding something doesn't mean they all have to be. The Farum Godskins might be there on the same quest as us, seeking the Rune of Death. The Dominula Apostle might be there to keep watch over whatever they are doing in Dominula. Furthermore, I think only the Volcano Manor Noble sticks around specifically because of a child of Rennala, with Rykard being anti-Erdtree. The Tower Bridge Noble is probably guarding the curse mark, rather than the body that bears it and the Tower Basement Apostle is there for the sword, which could have been placed there long before it became "Radahn's tower".
@@elias.t I think it’s especially important not to do that because some things in these games are placed THEN have a lore reason made up AFTER the fact
😂 he's in the windmill village because his 3 special moves turn him into a windmill. That simple! You guys forget the fun Miyazaki has when designing souls games
I think the godskin apostle is in dominula because of Melania, apart of millicent's quest line is following the journey Melania made back to the haligtree from caelid, dominula might have been the last place known that Melania was seen and thus the godskin was looking for her
Not only does the flames look like a woman holding up a baby but the flame to the right looks like a godakin apostle holding his hooked side of the peeler up...
The idea of the Godskins making a pact with the dancing women because they recognized their potential is GENIUS, I had never thought about it like that.
And even if there wasnt a direct pact, it seems like mulching bodies (jars), eating corpses (Volcano Manor), blood (multiple things) are all ancient traditions we see involving a transfer of energy/power and rebirth. Its an interesting concept and one theory Ive seen mentioned is its a rebirth dance to connect to ancient powers of nature to bring rebirth and might be a tradition from Crucible era thats been cut off and they keep insanely trying to relive that era once all hope of Golden Krder failed. Would be opportune and desperate people to follow Godskins, but would make sense why otherwise regular people would follow one
Do none of you ever realise that Elden Ring isn't truly about the Lands Between. It's about the real world that you and I and a lot of strange humans inhabit. I.e. there are people who believe that Satan sleeps in their nose every night and they have to wash him out every morning, world's 2nd biggest religion. The shunning of omens even though they're saved by the Erdtree is more about how religious humans can shun certain groups for no good reason, it's not just about a fictional world.
I’ve always thought that the purple-blueish gemstone that the godskins wear is supposed to symbolise the colour of the dusk and thus their allegiance to the gloam-eyed queen. I think it’s very similar to the colour of Melina’s eye. It always reminds me of this deep hue that the sky has when it is almost night, but the sun hasn’t set completely. Excellent video, btw. I love the godskins and their lore so much!
@@boiya9327 Eclipse Crest Heater Shield - 'The sun in eclipse is said to be the symbol of the Wandering Mausoleum where the soulless demigods slumber.'
I'm personally in the camp that Melina is the gloam-eyed queen because she knew very little of her past, only her supposed duty and that she was, quote, "burned and bodiless" (plus the burns all over her). That combined with the flames of Malekith's destined death match up. Plus, Melina makes it a point to say to the Tarnished that the Lands Between need Death indiscriminate. That was, I think, the core tenet of the GEQ: to bring death to those who thought themselves above it. Marika, who sealed away destined death, then proceeded to lose her demigod offspring one by one, and I think she came to the realization that the entire order had to be remade, and thus broke it, and thus Melina, potentially the GEQ, though defeated and stripped of her power, is sent forth in order to bring that ruinous end to make new beginnings*, as she is one who can envision the flames, which was always her modus operandi. (*which makes me think of the God of Rot and that's a WHOLE other tangent)
I think that theory is on point and basically canon, the eye reveal would be pointless otherwise and while fromsoft is many things they're definitely not ones that go with style over substance. Not to mention if we assume she's not GEQ then her entire questline seems rather dull as well, there's not any other answer as to why she was so determined to take down Maliketh and release the rune of death.
"Lord of Frenzied Flame... I will seek you, as far as you may travel... To deliver you what is yours. Destined Death." I think this is a hint that Melina is the GeQ
i’ve watched a lot of elden ring lore channels but never clicked with a specific style. yours have a great style of explanation with very clear evidence for your points and boundaries on speculation. i didn’t see everything elden ring had to offer or follow every quest all the way through so these videos have been great for pointing me to additional dialogue and items i missed.
You add a layer to a game that completely blows my mind. Understanding and picking apart the lore the way you do just makes me love it more. Incredible work 🤜🏻🤛🏻
It's a neat coincidence that the Black Flame is reminiscent of the Deathbird Flames, just "drained of color" so that the former lacks the bluish hue of the latter. You see the phrase "drained of color" appear on items related to the Eclipse and on the Somber Smithing Stones / Ancient Dragon Scales (tying back them back to Faram Azula) - all things and places heavily associated with death, and in particular the death of gods. Probably a reach to say they're connected, but it parallels the whole Ranni / Melina discussion and the murder of Godwyn the Golden quite nicely. Another great video, and a really nice cosplay!
I highly recommend you check out Hawkshaw's video about colour theory in Elden Ring, and he even talked about things being "drained of colour" as well.
I'm 100% in the Melina used to be the GEQ camp. Something notable is that whilst twilight as a color is definitely debatable, Melina's eye is nearly a match for the purple gems that appear on GS apostles and nobles. In addition to the eye being sealed by a claw mark that fades only after Maliketh is defeated.
My personal theory is that Mellina, like her mother, has Shaman Flesh. She can be grafted. The purple eye does belong to the gloam-eyed queen. But it was grafted. Not unlike Messmer having a seal in his own eye. The reason the Gloam-Eyed Queen is defeated and not dead is because her parts were grafted everywhere, preventing a true death. In a world without death, scattering the undying body and sealing it in other bodies is a way to neutralize someone effectively. Destined Death was sealed away, taking away the power of the Black Flame but also preventing the queen from dying. If Destined Death were unsealed, then she'd get her power back. So an alternative ought to have been used.
I like Quelaag's theory that GEQ was Marika's twin. There are so many twinned births in Elden Ring who are thematically opposed, that it makes a lot of sense to have one sister venerate destined death only for the other to seal it away.
The GEQ is almost definitely related to Marika in some way, whether as a sibling (twin), offspring, mother, or Marika herself. There’s too much opposing dual symbology between the two for them to be of different descent
@@HeevaEgo Melina is the GEQ. she is a daughter of Marika. the Frenzied Flame ending confirms this, if you use yourself as kindling rather than letting Melina sacrifice herself, her other eye is opened and she vows you hunt you down and use destined death on you. the new open eye is Gloam coloured.
@@jeremyusername1548none of that “confirms” anything. She could be a gloam eyed disciple who just learned to wield destined death by studying the history of the world space.
I think a cool piece of evidence it’s the beast eye time that you get from Gurranq to track the death root. Not only does the color match Melina’s eye, but the claw marks on the item actually match up with the scar on her eye as well.
One detail I REALLY like about your videos is how you go on to share multiple theories, each with their good share of points but also their faults (since nothing is set on stone yet). Not only that, but how also the information is very well exposed to the viewer. Definitely my favorite theory channel on this community.
The instant Black Flame Ritual hit the screen. Before you highlighted anything, I saw it. That is the first time i had ever noticed there might be more to this image beyond the obvious. Somehow, just being aware that something hidden was about to be revealed made it crystal clear in my eyes, in an instant. Very neat! Well done, Miss Chalice. 😊
If she is a pre existing character the only one it really makes sense for it to be is Melina. Her not betraying us once we had exhausted our use could be explained by some specific event, or just time living under a different identity, causing some sort of character development. Maybe it was just her defeat by Maliketh that shattered her pride and she realized her path was guiding the tarnished towards goals she was not strong enough to achieve
27:31 On Melina not mentioning anythign GEQ-related before the Frenzied Flame Ending: Quelaag mentioned that her closed eye can be symbolism for some kind of amnesia, and I'd go a step further: Her only purple eye left being sealed may have been Marika's plan to snuff her personality, and as we see in the FF ending she _loses_ the golden eye. My hypothesis is that the golden eye may have been artificial personality, memories etc. implanted by Marika to make Melina her tool.
IF she is the GEQ then Maliketh defeated her as per item descr., to take back the rune of death. It might be a scar from that. It might be how she smuggled out part of the rune of death to begin with. Or the eye was recognised as being deviant by her family and 'locked away' for that reason, like how the omens horns are cut off but nobles omens are locked away instead
Now with the realease of the DLC, your comment fits even better. Similiar to how Messmers "curse" was sealed. Her curse very likely was sealed through her eye too. By the way. The "curse" is probably the influence of other outer gods. Being born from the same god probably made them inbreed and "sickly", allwoing for other outer gods to take iinfluence. It would be rather strange, if just Messmer and Malenia are "cursed" by other greater gods. And it would also fit the butterfly theory (every butterfly stands for the influence of a different outer god).
@@Grothgerek Heyyy! That indeed, when he revealed his eye had Marika's Rune (I got it a bit before his fight) I was like "Hey w-" and then he removed it, showing it was a SoreSeal I was like "WAITWAIT WHAT?!" and definitely pinned that to my knowledge of that theory :)
Why is nobody talking about Blackflame monks? Blackflame set description confirms GEQ was active after war of the Giants, after Marika became a god. And since GEQ was an Empyrian she has to be Marika's daughter. Melina is the only one who fits.
Or with new DLC out, Marika coulda did what miquella did and shed parts of herself, possibly to a higher degree, resulting in Melina. Just her younger rebellious self lol
It's almost certainly Melina. Her purple eye is sealed shut by a beast claw, Maliketh/The Elden Beasts' spell. Pair that with repeated mentions of 'destined death' throughout the game, especially at the end where there is a whole cutscene just for a reveal of her eye. Further, Godskins are mandatory and repeated bosses throughout the major questlines, including the main quest, Volcano Manor and Ranni. Why? Because the devs want you to encounter their lore without any chance of missing it, because it directly ties to one of the endings. Occam's razer, the lore of the Gloam-eyed Queen and her Godskin are mandatorily encountered, because in one of the endings, there is a reveal, and you're supposed to contextualize the reveal with that lore. There is a Gloam-eyed Queen mentioned who wields an aspect of Destined Death, then Melina reveals a purple eye while talking about Destined Death--after you become the wrong kind of God, one not intended by Marika, the Lord of Frenzied Flame. Surprise, the reveal is you've been accompanied by the Gloam-Eyed Queen in spirit form this whole time. (Bonus, only her hands are burnt, likely through manipulating the Black Flame, not just because she can act like kindling.) She's also likely an Empyrean herself, if born to Radagon and Marika, just like Miquella and Malenia. The purpose she says she was given by Marika is also probably to kill the Elden Beast/Radagon, who Marika knows will retaliate (which they do, imprisoning her) once she shatters the Elden Ring, by slaying either her imprisoned self and/or becoming Elden Lord (by slaying a god to do so). Maliketh could and, imo, probably was, sent not by Marika to defeat the GEQ but by the two-fingers. The GEQ was chosen by the two-fingers for godhood. It's quite possible Maliketh was either a shadow for the GEQ first, or then ordered by the two-fingers to defeat her once she rejected their calling (just like Ranni did, and Blaidd went feral/sent to kill her). Melina only opens her eye once Maliketh is defeated, too, as if his seal had broken or she recovered the beast eye item from him. (Think Messmer's scarseal eye.) Obviously, nothing is certain without dev confirmation. But let's say Melina isn't the GEQ. Why have the Godskins mandatory bosses if nothing comes of it? They failed to recover the power of the black flame, they are for all intents and purposes completely irrelevant to the broader story, and nothing in the endings relates to them. Why have Melina speak of Destined Death? Why have her reveal a specifically dark blue-purple eye? Remove all connections to the GEQ, and the big reveal in the Frenzied Flame ending is without anything to give it meaning, to contextualize or support it. Even Melina's hair begins to turn black and erratic, as if she's reverting back to her true form, her power no longer sealed. In the FF ending, Melina becomes something else, something vengeful and capable of delivering death to a god.
I feel like a potential possibility was left out here - namely the GEQ not being an Empyrean of the Greater Will at all, but rather being an Empyrean of a different Outer God altogether. It would also make more sense if she was the original holder of Destined Death, waging war against the Golden Order like so many other factions during Marika's original conquest, and then Maliketh became the guardian of Destined Death after her defeat - rather than Maliketh holding it from the beginning.
22:45 In that area, I see a hooded woman kneeling in the flames, looking down, with some sort of black specter behind & above her head reaching out and touching her. Strange Rorschach effect.
Another *fantastic* video and loreplay! I think the Gloam Eyed Queen may be my #1 of most mysterious and fascinating characters that we really just do not have enough information on to know much of how she and the godskins fit in. Which... seems quite intentional? Along with all these little hints and possible misdirection sprinkled all about. Definitely hoping we get some more in the DLC!
I've been seriously looking forward to this video, Chalice. Thank you for making it and A+ effort on the cosplay you made here. I love the lore behind the Godskins. The story of a god candidate who was in direct opposition to Marika's Order of Eternal Life, who wielded a black flame so powerful it could fell gods and created her own army to do it. I recently did a build based on their lore called the "Black Flame Acolyte". It was a very fun time. As always, great work, Chalice. Edit: You seem to adjust well to playing HUD-less for capturing your footage. I just wanted to compliment that because HUD-less can be pretty disorienting at first.
I find your videos the easiest to follow, your story telling is really good and you seem to be able to relay the information of the game in the most digestible way I love the very long lore videos to get a grasp on the world but for specific topics your my go too
I personally think that the inclusion of a fourth butterfly is proof of Melina's status as a child of Marika. Perhaps she was used as a vessel to seal the Gloam-Eyed Queen similar to how Malenia was accidentally host to the Rot. And her role as an expendable bundle of oil-soaked sticks may be symbolic of her original use of flame to attack Marika's line, just as she is represented by fluttering bugs that perpetually burn.
21:07 the wording here reminds me of the DLC trailer, 'those untouched by the grace of gold shall all meet death, in the embrace of Messmer's flame' Messmer could be the one who sealed the power of blackflame away. The fire Messmer uses is mostly fiery red with a dark core, destined death is blood red with a black core, the blackflame's ability to kill gods may have harnessed destined death, which was taken and given to Messmer for safe keeping. Combine Messmer's flame and the blackflame, you get destined death.
Messmer is spelled with two 's'es. But yeah I'm curious about the parallels between Messmer's flame and Maliketh's flame. Another theory I heard (I think on that Ratatoskr + Smoughtown podcast episode) was that Maliketh's flame is death of the demigods, while Messmer's is the death of normal people. Marika then banished Messmer outside of the Lands Between so as to protect the Tarnished she would later call back. And then, if that were the case, we could enter the Land of Shadow in a strange way which does not put our player character's body at risk of death.
@@minerman60101 similar as to how there's different star fragments, one blue that dictate the destiny of mortals and another amber-like that dictitates the gods' destiny. Very interesting theory
Gotta say, haven’t watched you for very long, but your cosplays are on point! It’s definitely appreciated, especially since that’s so much extra effort on your part. Congrats on receiving that Crimson Flask as well! That’s so cool!
What you brought up about iji referencing the dark path is brilliant never thought of it as it as a reference to the GEQ. I wonder if the long held belief that ranni and Melina are the same person is really the game showing there similarities as the two empyrean’s who defied the order. Also I wonder if anyone has used the needle to avoid the frenzy flame ending but then picked age of dusk ending. I wonder if Melina, still being alive, could unlock some dialogue if she was the GEQ? I’ve never seen or heard of anyone picking that ending but also saving Melina from flaming herself. Anyway thanks for another great vid!!
This is my favorite elden ring channel. And one of my favorites period. I love how informative and chill it is. It really helps when i feel overstimulated to listen to these. And they're always so entertaining too.
I wasn't sure I could watch these videos by Miss Chalice, but after I started playing Elden Ring on PC, I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm impressed! The amount of research and editing you must do to make these videos work is astounding, and then on top of that you do a damn fine job of cosplaying for each one as well. You obviously enjoy making the videos, and we the viewers get to reap the rewards. Thank you for your sterling efforts, these are top notch watching...btw, your voice would be great for asmr sleep videos, imo. Thanks again from Australia 👌🤘👍
the gloam eye queen is a queen like marika or renala, my guess is she was in charge before marika became queen, possibly her mum or sister (possibly twins), seems emperians are related, she is the opposite of marika like miquella and melania, life and death, and abubunce and rot, one cant be without the other it seems
Pretty much my thoughts, due to her name also being translatable as early night queen, or pre-night eyed queen, and with marika the eternal, now having been confirmed to have BECAME a god in the shadow world. My guess is that melina is her reincarnation, as her role and archetype is culminated as destined d3a th. Which was power stripped by malekith from her; it would make sense that marika would reincarnate that power as her own child, since she had dozens of children.
What makes me think Melena is the gloam eyed queen is simple. If you take on the frenzied flame. She tells you she's going to kill you. She says this with such assurance as if it'll be easy for her to slay someone who kills demigods.
Originally I thought she was the gloam eyed queen because the deep purple of her sealed eye. However I now think she is st Trina since the sleep fog is what is in her eye, she also appears suddenly and disappears suddenly as well.
It could just be that she isn't a match for us, but she's just so angry that she doesn't care/believes she can win anyway, or she could have a different source of power; there are several. I used to think she was the gloam-eyed queen, but the eye was really the only solid connection and frankly, it makes much, much more sense to be connected to St. Trina. But maybe we'll see in the DLC!
Is it possible the gloam eyed queen is like a title? Like the reverse of the lord // emperium to god model. Merikas crucifictoin, her arms and the rune arc she is “nailed” too: represent one half of a circle. The Elden ring perhaps. Notable merika seems unwillingly bound to only half the Elden ring. Looking at the ring from ferum ezula perhaps the current system is only part of a more robust older system. Saint Trina, by extension Mikala (and indeed perhaps Melina too) are attempting to not only grow a new tree, but break the golden order to restore something resembling a more primordial, more correct system.
Miss Chalice, your voice is so soothing and your cosplay is really well done. These were all very well thought out points. I swear, I could listen to you analyze disturbing and unspeakable horrors for all the hours of all of my days. You are very good at what you do.
It'd be quite awesome if in the DLC you can get that birdfoot tattoo that Melina has, and it shuts that eye. Then when you stand before the Elden Ring in the end, the eye opens, the Gloam-eyed Queen takes over your body and she enacts her own age instead of you.
where has this channel been all my life? 😂I just stumbled across you and Ive been binging videos for like the past 3 hours while playing elden ring, so cozy!
I like the theory that the Gloam Eyed Queen was really Marika rebelling for the first time against the Erdtree. She was defeated by Maliketh and a pact was made: Maliketh would keep the Rune of Death, to make sure she wouldn't repeat such an act. "But then she betrayed him again.." Perhaps that is when she was fused with Radagon, the loyal dog of the Golden Order, to keep an eye on her. Which is why she hated him so much. The Dark path of the Empyreans was probably first walked by Marika herself. Naturally, the official story , the one told by the Golden Order, would never admit it was actually Marika, but some mysterious Empyrean to whom Marika entrusted Destined Death. But Marika rebelled again, betraying poor Maliketh who accepted a heavy toll on his body and spirit in order to reach a pact that would spare her life and give her a second chance. She disbands the victorious army of the Erdtree, including its leader, she distributes the Elden Ring Great Runes to her children in order to weaken it and openly questions the tenets of the Golden Order, saying that people should question it and not blindly accept everything. So, she rebelled twice. The pregnant woman in the DLC painting, could be her mother and perhaps her parents made a deal with the Two Fingers when she was a child, or even an infant. Perhaps she never chose this fate for herself. None of the Empyreans we know offered to take the job of the God of the Lands Between, They were chosen. Why would Marika be any different.
My thoughts exactly! I'd never been much convinced by the Marika is the GEQ theory, but Miss Chalice managed to wrap it up in a convincing package. The only character who fills the bill more than her is Melina, who could very well be a fragment of Marika, in the same way Millicent is of Maliena. She's burned (by Maliketh's flame), she clearly went the dark and body less way of the empyrean, and she urges us to do Marika's bidding. She doesn't oppose Ranni's quest, so she's okay with rebelling against the two fingers, as is Marika.
I think your leap that the Godskins served Maliketh is a stretch. It seems to me that the Gloam-Eyed Queen and Godskins had that power until Maliketh killed the Gloam-Eyed Queen and took it, likely on Marika's orders. Melina being the Gloam-Eyed Queen could be possible though given that all we needed to do was burn the Erd tree yet she sends us to Farum Azula to release Destined Death, and even suggests everything deserves death indiscriminate something a killer of immortal gods would likely think, and yes the purple eye, and unleashing destined death would presumably give the Godskins their power back. Though that's a bit muddled as you could be sent there by the Greater Will for acting against it by committing a cardinal sin. I also assumed it killed the gods we killed already but a demigod being resurrected in the DLC makes that seem unlikely were it actually a true death.
Your production quality has gotten so good! As it stands you are by far my favorite soulsborne lore creator. Keep up the excellent work! Can’t wait to see your coverage of the dlc as well as some more bloodborne eventually
A Great video as always but I really have to commend the in-game fashion in the first clip! That set looks great together, especially with the cipher pata!
I don’t think godskins served Maliketh. He got destined death by defeating them and being tasked with guarding it by Merika. So it’s 2 different eras. Gloam eyed queen was killing a bunch of gods with it so Merika sent maliketh to quash that and now he’s the sole purveyor of destined death.
Miss Chalice!! I just wanted you to know that I am always super excited to hear your ideas and listen to you speak so passionately about what you enjoy. Your passion and enthusiasm rubs off on me and always puts me in a better mood than I was in before. Thank you, and keep doing what you love!
Miquella is Melina. The miquellas needle being in farum azula would be explained by his defeat to Maliketh, and he wanted to kill Maliketh to get destined death so he could give a true death to godwym. He is also the gloam eyed queen, since the use of "controlled" in the big gray fire sword could refer to how miquella "enchants" those who gets in contact with him. Another thing is that if the gloam eyed queen is a empyrean, she would have more things in game, maybe the all knowing talking about her as a different person, but no, there is nothing. Hell Miquella has 3 identities: miquella, saint trinna and gloam eyed queen. Truly the scariest demigod!
Miquella wasn't even born at that time. Destined Death was sealed away long before Miquella was even born. Sealing of destined death happened way before the union of Marika and Radagon which resulted in the twin protégés to be born. Also, Miquella's Needle wasn't found in Faram Azula, it was only used there. You can't use it anywhere else because you're under the influence of three fingers and the only place where they have no influence is in Placidusax's Arena since it exists outside time. Thus when we're in the Arena, we're completely ourselves and is given the opportunity to make a decision that goes against the influence of three fingers. This also explains why acquiring the Frenzied Flame locks you to that ending. It's because the influence of three fingers prevents you from diverting from that path.
22:14 Okay, I see a figure there too, but mine is different. She's facing right, what you see as her arms are part of her upper body still, with the bit on top being her head and hair (or a veil maybe.) And what you see as her head is a small bundle she's cradling in her arms, like a baby.
I love watching your videos. It's always nice to hear all the different perspectives on Elden ring lore. Could I make a request? I'd like to sleep with your videos playing in the background. However, it seems as though you've not put a compressor on you microphone track, so my ear buds are constantly getting destroyed by plosives. I'd really appreciate it. Im not sure if this is a lot to ask, and don't know what I could offer you other than my watch time. Lol
Been getting back into the Elden Ring mood with the DLC coming up and your vids are perfect for that. Your voice sounds like a perfect fit for an ER character so it really helps with the atmospheric immersion lol.
Great video. About the Godskin Duo being stuck in Farum Azula - I doubt this since they seem to appear out of thin air when you first enter the arena, meaning that they likely teleported there. Also, during the fight, they display the ability to summon other godskins from a different place- which would mean those weren't in Farum to begin with (since we fight 3-4 of them total). Maybe they all reside in a Godskin home somewhere far away lol.
I know we are all loving the Godskin/GEQ content this close to the DLC, and this video is so well done, Miss Chalice! I've held that Melina is the reincarnated, amnesiac GEQ for a long time, but that's me. One disagreement I have is with what you argue right around 23:40. I think that description is simply stating that the Nobles and Apostles served Destined Death while it was under the control of the Gloam Eyed Queen. My understanding of the timeline is that the black flame was imbued with the power of Destined Death while it was still a part of the Elden Ring. Once Malekith defeated the GEQ, Marika plucked the Rune of Death from the the Ring, thus creating the Golden Order, and transferred it to Malekith for protection. Malekith then wielded it in his sword openly until Ranni stole it for the Night of Black Knives. Because of his failure to protect it, Marika forced Malekith to hold it in that amulet on his hand and consume death root, the byproduct of his failure. So at this point, the Godskin's true power was removed from the world and their black flame was left less potent and colorless. Basically, they never served Malekith.
Just on my second play through and beat Morgott. Found it weird there was a black knife assassin outside the bed chamber waiting for you and a godskin and omen twin outside his rune tower. Is Morgott really controlling the black knives and godskins this whole time???
27:00 Look at the beast eye that Gurranq gives us. It looks almost exactly the same, definitely the same color, and it's used to detect pieces of destined death.
I'm a fan of the Marika = Gloam-Eyed Queen theory, because: 1. She's an Empyrean 2. Iji explains an Empyrean's shadow will go mad if they stray from the Greater Will's path; He could only know this if it has happened before 3. Maliketh is Marika's Empyrean Shadow; Serosh is not the same thing as Maliketh, he does function as a limiter but Godfrey is not an Empyrean, and their similarities are symbolic only. 4. Marika is a Numen; I won't go into details here but there is evidence that the Nox are descendants of the Numen (read into Sellia's Night Sorceries, the originator of Night Maiden's Mist being from the Maiden of an Eternal City; Who is the only person in the entire game referred to as "The Eternal?" Also: Game files list various Nox-related objects like "Marika's Pagoda") 5. Iji's helmet is the Nox Mirror Helm, designed to hide one's thoughts from the Greater Will; Iji may have once been an assistant of Gloam-Eyed Marika
I just discovered your channel and your voice work sounds like it came right out of the game! Your cosplay, storytelling, and presentation is incredibly immersive!
Thank you for finally going over this topic! it was incredibly interesting and I really love the way you cover stuff like this. I’m curious for your thoughts on the new story trailer.
Great video! The only thing I think is way of the mark here is the Godskins serving Maliketh - he only becomes a vessel for Destined Death late ish in the timeline when it is sealed away. Prior to this, its still part of the Elden Ring and it doesn't really make sense for him to otherwise embody it. The Godskins serving "Destined Death" in this context would just mean the GEQ - someone who weilds the black flame of destined death. Its past tense because the GEQ is either dead or MIA since her defeat (theres a lot of things in the game that refer to even events immediately pre-shattering as "a really really long time ago"). Obviously as others have mentioned and I'm sure you've considered, Messmer's situation in the DLC makes Melina an even more likely candidate than ever. We know she was his sister, a demi-god child of Marika, and we know she "had a vision of fire" much like his unique red and BLACK flame. Marika has a precedent for placing false-eye soreseals in her child to supress their curse/affliction/true nature now, too, and we see Melina lose her gold eye and gain the purple/gloam one in the FF ending. Its also worth noting Melina's eye tattoo-mark is a bird-claw, and birds are widely associated with Death in ER (something even more reinforced by the DLC).
Long time listener, first time commenter. I would like to suggest a Spirit Caller Snail episode. You can even make a snail puppet or add a blue hue to a regular snail puppet. (Barns and nobles have snail hand puppets sometimes.) The spirit caller snails are the boss of several dungeons! Even summoning godskin apostles in a cave of samurai. And then just chilling on Miquella's tree? They appear as white snakes which reminds me of the rebirth abilities of the pale serpent in sekiro. Now in shells which almost have an ocean theme such as Godwyn. It would also just be really funny to have a snail puppet episode.
When I describe your channel to my friends, I refer to you as the female Vaati Vidia. And when I say that, I don't wish to diminish anything about you or your work. What I mean is your voice is beyond perfect for what you do. Soft and melodical...very soothing. I envy whomever ends up getting to spend their life with you.
Holy CRAP you blew up! You deserve it from day 1...but... Any chance of an oldschool OG whisper version of a lore video? 😋 Your voice is beautiful no matter what. You're so clear and informative. I feel like you would make amazing journalist or author of some sort :)
Also nobles have a needle for precise more sophisticated craft while the apostle does the lowly gruesome job of peeling and getting dirty, when the skin is processed and clean it is given to the noble for assembly. Apostles don't get many faces either and their robes are made from smaller pieces seemingly leftovers and unwanted cuts.
Midsommar was such a great movie! That's a cool comparison between the dancing scene from the movie and the dancers in the windmill village. The Godskin Noble fight in the church near Volcano Manor specifically always gives me a decent amount of trouble every playthrough 😅
I don’t mean this in like- a weird way at all, but your voice is super soothing and great for lore videos! The cosplay is also great and looks surprisingly cute
This is an old write-up now, with some recent updates from the DLC. Marika is the Gloam/Dusk-Eyed Queen. - Red and black spike of death impales Marika and keeps her in place when we find her at the end. Only Maliketh wields this power, and only he could even defeat a God like Marika. But he's so loyal to her, why would he? - Maliketh "defeated" the Gloam/Dusk-Eyed Queen. We know Shadowbound hounds have to attack their former master if The Fingers feel like the Empyrean is acting against them. We play through this reality with Ranni's quest, and both she and Iji know Blaidd will go mad as she enacts her vision. How do they know this happens? They saw/heard of it happening to Maliketh and Marika already. - Only Marika would be able to guide Ranni to the location of the Rune of Death and how to use it for it to be stolen in the first place to forge the Black Knives. Remember, "Marika... is this what it is to sin?" "Why gull me..." Marika, after all, had only one use for Maliketh in the end, after the other work was done... a vessel to seal away Destined Death. And even then, she betrayed him. - The Beast Eye is a purple, scratched up eye. It's Marika's eye from being defeated and imprisoned by her Shadowbound. No other Queen or Empyrean is "defeated" but not slain, as the text implies there except Marika. And who but her purpose-made hound could even stop her, a God? The one entity empowered enough by the Ring/Fingers to be able to do so should the need arise. - Dominula Village is much like the Hinterlands and the Shaman Village. We find a skinning ritual and a Godskin Apostle there in Dominula. We learn that the "festival" is old and tacitly accepted by the Golden Order. The aesthetic of these villages is much the same, and they're intimately tied to Marika herself. - Gideon gives us a boon in the form of a secret rite known only to him, Black Flame Protection. He is alleged to have peered into the will of Queen Marika, and shuddered at the end that should not be. - The Scadutree is of a dual nature. So is Queen Marika. When Gold arose, so too was Shadow born. Gold and Shadow exist as necessary contrasts to each other, yet in a God, in Marika, this duality exists in coalesce, or it did once. - No other characters are named as Queen or Empyrean that aren't already accounted for/ruled out to be the GEQ, and by that I mean Melina, she was given purpose by her mother at the foot of the Erdtree and that means she is a daughter of Marika, not old enough to be the GEQ but possesses traits of both Marika and Radagon. Eye color and hair color are passed down traits we see in game. Well, sure enough, Melina shows us a purple/gloamy eye in one ending. Inherited trait from her mother, the Queen in Black. Marika's eyes are never shown to us, to judge their color. - Duskborn ending sees Godwyn rise to ascendancy and sees Death restored, with him as the Prince of Death itself. These titles aren't meaningless. Duskborn? The "Prince" of Death? Well, who would the Queen be? If Godwyn is Duskborn, and if he is a Prince, his mother would, of course, be associated with "Dusk" and be a Queen. And we know his mother is Queen Marika. - Fia is hooded with a black cloak and comes from some other land. She also helps create Godwyn's Duskborn ending and is Death-aligned. We see Marika wearing black hooded garb in a statue where she also is holding the twins Miquella and Malenia. Her tattered clothing as we find her at the end is also black. She is also associated with the Nox/Numen race and the Black Knife Assassins that come from there as well. - Statues of Marika in her crucified pose all show her with a flowing black cloth that wraps behind her in almost the exact same shape as the Godslayer Greatsword, which was the weapon or ritual sword of the GEQ/DEQ. You have to pivot the camera a bit to get a good view, but the shape is very similar. Coiled and then open, with one flap slightly longer than the other, same tip design on the Godslayer Greatsword. It's possible that she was propped up by the Hornsent culture and then part of the betrayal was killing other Gods in their pantheon, but what's maybe more possible is as Centered Tarnished pointed out, that Marika culled some other of her "unwanted" children after learning the truth of the broken Fingers and flawed foundations of her Order. - Godwyn is referred to as the "Prince of Gold" in an item description. If a Prince of Death could have been a Prince of Gold, why couldn't his mother hold this potential as well, even necessarily so? We see from the Death Knights that Gold and Death can somehow synergize even still... Gold and Shadow, born at the same time, same as it ever was. - Hewg prays to Queen Marika about his given task to craft a Godslaying weapon. Very interesting and specific task. Marika wants a God slain. He mentions "the sheer terror of Her..." regarding Marika. Godskins certainly take an interest in killing a God. Who was their leader? A "defeated" Queen who was once an Empyrean. Marika. - Raging Wolf Vargram is a would-be Shadow. Wolf imagery is on his armor. He wields the Godslayer Greatsword. The weapon art is "The Queen's Black Flame", of course. A statue of Marika exists in Farum Azula showing her with three wolves. - Marika learned the secrets of the Golden Order and realized her children would "amount only to sacrifices" as she instructed them. She knew the Erdtree was a soul parasite, and by sealing Death away, she weakened the Erdtree over time. She also had Godwyn buried at the roots of it, knowing that he would grow and overtake them, choking the Erdtree further. As he was, Godwyn was an "unwanted" child since he embodied the Golden Order, and she was a prisoner to it. He would end up much like Miquella would, a caged divinity of some kind. She was likely opposed to the Erdtree and Greater Will/Fingers for a long time, weaving plots in secret until the Shattering. She realized, only too late, that ultimate power has a way of becoming a curse when the truth of the nature of it all is finally revealed. Just as Marika shined so brightly with her Golden Order, another aspect of her was as deep as the abyss and as dark as any shadow.
Marika was punished for shattering the Elden Ring. Melina lacks a body (she was burned as punishment for her treason, she has scars all over her from that) and her eye is sealed by a beast claw/Another point directing to Maliketh. Which is hiding a purple eye. (we can see that in the Frenzy flame ending). She also proclaims to hunt and kill us. A lord of frenzied flame after all. A living god. So she must be extremely powerfull. Fromsoft does everything to make us believe she is the Gloamed eyed Queen. Therefore she is.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
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Kinda lame how they had you advertise their new "textra" versions but your discount doesn't apply to ANY "textra" products. Was really excited to purchase some :/
Love your videos but there were a couple of details missed at the start. The nobles are older apostles rather than being born into a higher class 'lowborn' seems to refer to non godskins. BonfireVN made a video removing the armour which shows them being fairly muscular.
I have not completed in research, but when I played through, my impression when I saw the purple eye was that it was supposed to reference the Cosmos as it looks like a galaxy to me. The frenzied flame ending also changes her appearance a lot which implied to me that she lost her "golden hue" from the end of the Erd tree.
how have you not yet realized that the gloam eyed queen is Rani. gloam eyed queen was her first alias. She failed in accomplishing ushering in her age of night and that's why she realize she had to be removed from her corporeal flesh. GLOAM eyed QUEEN. She has an eye for the setting of the sun. and she's royalty - lunar princess Rani. The claims that Dogo killed her were false. she was probably gravely injured, but still managed to get a shard of the rune of death from that encounter.
Mark my words. Not very many people have this connection drawn, you should bring attention to it.
Melina is NOT the gloam eyed queen. Melina is St Trina. Miquella has been with us all this time.
"You encounter the godskins seven times ingame" I encountered the godskins seven times in the godskin duo fight alone.
Hahah JUST seven ?!
If no summons that’s actually a MEGA flex
That fight is a joke if you use St Trina's sword.
@@PayThePiper247I watch so much ChaseTheBro that I expected you to say St Trina’s Torch lol
only 7? I feel like I meet 20 of those assholes 😭
Disclaimer: No actual Gods were skinned during the production of this video.
That's what YOU think 😳
@@miss_chalice 😅
Didn't you see that hood?
I dunnnoooooo, a giant chunk of my ass was gone this morning…
Also Disclaimer: No Tarnished were Maidenless during this storytelling.
The fact that you had to defeat and skin several gods just to make your video is quite impressive. 12/10.
29:15 Miss Chalice really did the "Have you seen this and that person in the same room? I haven't"
Incredibly sound logic that will DEFINITELY hold up in court !!!!
i NEED to hear about it from Miss Chalice specifically
That was my exact reaction to seeing this upload lmao
She’s my #1 yapper💕✨
@@braydenchadwick9836 top tier yapper
never seen her before, she's cute
I just can't trust anyone else, only her.
I figured the "gloam eyed" colour was the same shade as the purple gem the godskin apostle (and your cosplay) wears, therefore the purple eye that Melina has makes sense if she is the queen
I agree! It's such a centrepiece of their outfit (minus the faces) that the choice of colour must have been intentional! Or they are just fans of purple :)
@@miss_chalice Purple also color of the courtiers, noble people. Can you talk about the water lilies? So far, people discussed only miquella and trina's lilies. But there are one more lily in the game and it is called calla lily. We only see this lily in the Malenia's boss enter room and the area while we help Millicent againts her sisters. St. Trina has 3 personalities, and we have 3 lillies. It is very interesting actually :)
@Lena-de2ws Wait wait wait. St. Trina has 3 personalities?
@@awendigowithinternetaccess4400 Yeah, trina means trinity. One is Miquella second is St. Trina and an adult male. But we don't know his name yet.
St. Trina's Torch:
Candlestand torch that burns with a light-purple flame. The carving depict St. Trina, but in adult form, somewhat unnervingly.
We already know st. trina and miquella have child form. So this adult form (but I remember as a male, there should be another item explanation but I forgot xd) must be the third personality. Chaile has a video about that, you should check it out.
Melina is in fact the Gloam Eyed Queen. she lives burnt and bodiless because her defeat by Maliketh caused her to be burnt by the flame of destined death. She was born at the foot of the Erdtree, which means she is a child of Marika, her purpose given my Marika was part of Marika.s plan to change the status quo, IE destroying the two fingers and breaking their hold on her.
Important to note: 3 godskins are all guarding something related to Rennala's children: Swaddling cloth from Rykard's child; Ranni's corpse, Sword at the bottom of Radahn's tower. 4th set of Godskins are guarding Malekith. 5th is the one in Dominula, which we actually have no clue as to why he's there. Likely guarding something as well.
You shouldn't stare yourself blind at a potential pattern. 3 Godskins guarding something doesn't mean they all have to be. The Farum Godskins might be there on the same quest as us, seeking the Rune of Death. The Dominula Apostle might be there to keep watch over whatever they are doing in Dominula.
Furthermore, I think only the Volcano Manor Noble sticks around specifically because of a child of Rennala, with Rykard being anti-Erdtree. The Tower Bridge Noble is probably guarding the curse mark, rather than the body that bears it and the Tower Basement Apostle is there for the sword, which could have been placed there long before it became "Radahn's tower".
@@elias.t
I think it’s especially important not to do that because some things in these games are placed THEN have a lore reason made up AFTER the fact
😂 he's in the windmill village because his 3 special moves turn him into a windmill. That simple! You guys forget the fun Miyazaki has when designing souls games
I think the godskin apostle is in dominula because of Melania, apart of millicent's quest line is following the journey Melania made back to the haligtree from caelid, dominula might have been the last place known that Melania was seen and thus the godskin was looking for her
Not only does the flames look like a woman holding up a baby but the flame to the right looks like a godakin apostle holding his hooked side of the peeler up...
The idea of the Godskins making a pact with the dancing women because they recognized their potential is GENIUS, I had never thought about it like that.
And even if there wasnt a direct pact, it seems like mulching bodies (jars), eating corpses (Volcano Manor), blood (multiple things) are all ancient traditions we see involving a transfer of energy/power and rebirth. Its an interesting concept and one theory Ive seen mentioned is its a rebirth dance to connect to ancient powers of nature to bring rebirth and might be a tradition from Crucible era thats been cut off and they keep insanely trying to relive that era once all hope of Golden Krder failed. Would be opportune and desperate people to follow Godskins, but would make sense why otherwise regular people would follow one
Do none of you ever realise that Elden Ring isn't truly about the Lands Between. It's about the real world that you and I and a lot of strange humans inhabit. I.e. there are people who believe that Satan sleeps in their nose every night and they have to wash him out every morning, world's 2nd biggest religion. The shunning of omens even though they're saved by the Erdtree is more about how religious humans can shun certain groups for no good reason, it's not just about a fictional world.
@@SeanHoltzman i wonder if blessing of despair allows traditions of crucible era to return
I’ve always thought that the purple-blueish gemstone that the godskins wear is supposed to symbolise the colour of the dusk and thus their allegiance to the gloam-eyed queen. I think it’s very similar to the colour of Melina’s eye. It always reminds me of this deep hue that the sky has when it is almost night, but the sun hasn’t set completely.
Excellent video, btw. I love the godskins and their lore so much!
7 faces on the Godskin Noble armour. 7 Wandering Mausoleums. 7 headless demigods...
whose demigods are headless?
Inside the Wandering Mausoleums. The corpses are headless.
@@alchemical-architecture But how do you know they are demigods?
@@boiya9327 Eclipse Crest Heater Shield - 'The sun in eclipse is said to be the symbol of the Wandering Mausoleum where the soulless demigods slumber.'
@@alchemical-architecture souls are in the eyes as well ... and the faces have the golden eyes still in them
Knowing now about the relationship between Miquella and St. Trina, the Gloam-Eyed Queen being Marika, or another side of her, is much more plausible
I'm personally in the camp that Melina is the gloam-eyed queen because she knew very little of her past, only her supposed duty and that she was, quote, "burned and bodiless" (plus the burns all over her). That combined with the flames of Malekith's destined death match up. Plus, Melina makes it a point to say to the Tarnished that the Lands Between need Death indiscriminate. That was, I think, the core tenet of the GEQ: to bring death to those who thought themselves above it. Marika, who sealed away destined death, then proceeded to lose her demigod offspring one by one, and I think she came to the realization that the entire order had to be remade, and thus broke it, and thus Melina, potentially the GEQ, though defeated and stripped of her power, is sent forth in order to bring that ruinous end to make new beginnings*, as she is one who can envision the flames, which was always her modus operandi.
(*which makes me think of the God of Rot and that's a WHOLE other tangent)
I think that theory is on point and basically canon, the eye reveal would be pointless otherwise and while fromsoft is many things they're definitely not ones that go with style over substance. Not to mention if we assume she's not GEQ then her entire questline seems rather dull as well, there's not any other answer as to why she was so determined to take down Maliketh and release the rune of death.
"Lord of Frenzied Flame... I will seek you, as far as you may travel... To deliver you what is yours. Destined Death." I think this is a hint that Melina is the GeQ
Yo making that cosplay out of actual skin is WILD tho lol
Underrated comment
There's even an Albinauric head in the background! What madness is this?! 😂
Thank you! I am COMMITTED if nothing else.
Not if it’s actual godskin tho
she's a regular Buffalo Beatrice
Tall boi and Blob boi be like "Skin have layersss" before ripping you apart.
i’ve watched a lot of elden ring lore channels but never clicked with a specific style. yours have a great style of explanation with very clear evidence for your points and boundaries on speculation. i didn’t see everything elden ring had to offer or follow every quest all the way through so these videos have been great for pointing me to additional dialogue and items i missed.
You add a layer to a game that completely blows my mind.
Understanding and picking apart the lore the way you do just makes me love it more. Incredible work 🤜🏻🤛🏻
It's a neat coincidence that the Black Flame is reminiscent of the Deathbird Flames, just "drained of color" so that the former lacks the bluish hue of the latter. You see the phrase "drained of color" appear on items related to the Eclipse and on the Somber Smithing Stones / Ancient Dragon Scales (tying back them back to Faram Azula) - all things and places heavily associated with death, and in particular the death of gods.
Probably a reach to say they're connected, but it parallels the whole Ranni / Melina discussion and the murder of Godwyn the Golden quite nicely.
Another great video, and a really nice cosplay!
I highly recommend you check out Hawkshaw's video about colour theory in Elden Ring, and he even talked about things being "drained of colour" as well.
I'm 100% in the Melina used to be the GEQ camp. Something notable is that whilst twilight as a color is definitely debatable, Melina's eye is nearly a match for the purple gems that appear on GS apostles and nobles. In addition to the eye being sealed by a claw mark that fades only after Maliketh is defeated.
My personal theory is that Mellina, like her mother, has Shaman Flesh. She can be grafted. The purple eye does belong to the gloam-eyed queen. But it was grafted. Not unlike Messmer having a seal in his own eye.
The reason the Gloam-Eyed Queen is defeated and not dead is because her parts were grafted everywhere, preventing a true death. In a world without death, scattering the undying body and sealing it in other bodies is a way to neutralize someone effectively. Destined Death was sealed away, taking away the power of the Black Flame but also preventing the queen from dying. If Destined Death were unsealed, then she'd get her power back. So an alternative ought to have been used.
I really like that you ad the cosplay aspect to the lore videos, makes it more fun and visually interesting. Great work 😊
"they somehow have a mutual understanding through this nauseating union of dance".
....yeah that and a whole bunch of mushrooms.
Wow, such a good cosplay! If you made it yourself, I must say I am thoughroughly impressed!
Thank you!! And yes I did! Sewed the hood together, detailed with puffy paint and acrylic detail for the face. Then the necklace is worbla !
Wait a second, sewed it out of what? @@miss_chalice
@@edwardeliasenkvist969 smooth skin
I like Quelaag's theory that GEQ was Marika's twin. There are so many twinned births in Elden Ring who are thematically opposed, that it makes a lot of sense to have one sister venerate destined death only for the other to seal it away.
The GEQ is almost definitely related to Marika in some way, whether as a sibling (twin), offspring, mother, or Marika herself. There’s too much opposing dual symbology between the two for them to be of different descent
@@HeevaEgo Melina is the GEQ. she is a daughter of Marika. the Frenzied Flame ending confirms this, if you use yourself as kindling rather than letting Melina sacrifice herself, her other eye is opened and she vows you hunt you down and use destined death on you. the new open eye is Gloam coloured.
@@jeremyusername1548that doesn't outright confirm it. Melina could be the daughter of the GEQ, or maybe her most devoted follower
@@jeremyusername1548none of that “confirms” anything. She could be a gloam eyed disciple who just learned to wield destined death by studying the history of the world space.
I think a cool piece of evidence it’s the beast eye time that you get from Gurranq to track the death root. Not only does the color match Melina’s eye, but the claw marks on the item actually match up with the scar on her eye as well.
One detail I REALLY like about your videos is how you go on to share multiple theories, each with their good share of points but also their faults (since nothing is set on stone yet). Not only that, but how also the information is very well exposed to the viewer. Definitely my favorite theory channel on this community.
The instant Black Flame Ritual hit the screen. Before you highlighted anything, I saw it. That is the first time i had ever noticed there might be more to this image beyond the obvious. Somehow, just being aware that something hidden was about to be revealed made it crystal clear in my eyes, in an instant. Very neat! Well done, Miss Chalice. 😊
Thank you for your melodic voice bringing peace to life and discussing the coolest topics! Keep up the wonderful work!
If she is a pre existing character the only one it really makes sense for it to be is Melina. Her not betraying us once we had exhausted our use could be explained by some specific event, or just time living under a different identity, causing some sort of character development. Maybe it was just her defeat by Maliketh that shattered her pride and she realized her path was guiding the tarnished towards goals she was not strong enough to achieve
27:31 On Melina not mentioning anythign GEQ-related before the Frenzied Flame Ending:
Quelaag mentioned that her closed eye can be symbolism for some kind of amnesia, and I'd go a step further: Her only purple eye left being sealed may have been Marika's plan to snuff her personality, and as we see in the FF ending she _loses_ the golden eye. My hypothesis is that the golden eye may have been artificial personality, memories etc. implanted by Marika to make Melina her tool.
IF she is the GEQ then Maliketh defeated her as per item descr., to take back the rune of death. It might be a scar from that. It might be how she smuggled out part of the rune of death to begin with. Or the eye was recognised as being deviant by her family and 'locked away' for that reason, like how the omens horns are cut off but nobles omens are locked away instead
Now with the realease of the DLC, your comment fits even better.
Similiar to how Messmers "curse" was sealed. Her curse very likely was sealed through her eye too.
By the way. The "curse" is probably the influence of other outer gods. Being born from the same god probably made them inbreed and "sickly", allwoing for other outer gods to take iinfluence.
It would be rather strange, if just Messmer and Malenia are "cursed" by other greater gods. And it would also fit the butterfly theory (every butterfly stands for the influence of a different outer god).
@@Grothgerek Heyyy! That indeed, when he revealed his eye had Marika's Rune (I got it a bit before his fight) I was like "Hey w-" and then he removed it, showing it was a SoreSeal I was like "WAITWAIT WHAT?!" and definitely pinned that to my knowledge of that theory :)
Quelaag?
@@leahl5007 Another member of the lore community, she makes deep dive, long for videos where she shows her process. www.youtube.com/@quelaag
this was your best cosplay yet! it's beautiful!
Why is nobody talking about Blackflame monks? Blackflame set description confirms GEQ was active after war of the Giants, after Marika became a god. And since GEQ was an Empyrian she has to be Marika's daughter. Melina is the only one who fits.
Or with new DLC out, Marika coulda did what miquella did and shed parts of herself, possibly to a higher degree, resulting in Melina. Just her younger rebellious self lol
Gotta love these visual tests: for black flame ritual I see figures seemingly matching(on the left hand side they’re the white part of the flame
It's almost certainly Melina. Her purple eye is sealed shut by a beast claw, Maliketh/The Elden Beasts' spell. Pair that with repeated mentions of 'destined death' throughout the game, especially at the end where there is a whole cutscene just for a reveal of her eye. Further, Godskins are mandatory and repeated bosses throughout the major questlines, including the main quest, Volcano Manor and Ranni. Why? Because the devs want you to encounter their lore without any chance of missing it, because it directly ties to one of the endings. Occam's razer, the lore of the Gloam-eyed Queen and her Godskin are mandatorily encountered, because in one of the endings, there is a reveal, and you're supposed to contextualize the reveal with that lore. There is a Gloam-eyed Queen mentioned who wields an aspect of Destined Death, then Melina reveals a purple eye while talking about Destined Death--after you become the wrong kind of God, one not intended by Marika, the Lord of Frenzied Flame. Surprise, the reveal is you've been accompanied by the Gloam-Eyed Queen in spirit form this whole time. (Bonus, only her hands are burnt, likely through manipulating the Black Flame, not just because she can act like kindling.)
She's also likely an Empyrean herself, if born to Radagon and Marika, just like Miquella and Malenia. The purpose she says she was given by Marika is also probably to kill the Elden Beast/Radagon, who Marika knows will retaliate (which they do, imprisoning her) once she shatters the Elden Ring, by slaying either her imprisoned self and/or becoming Elden Lord (by slaying a god to do so). Maliketh could and, imo, probably was, sent not by Marika to defeat the GEQ but by the two-fingers. The GEQ was chosen by the two-fingers for godhood. It's quite possible Maliketh was either a shadow for the GEQ first, or then ordered by the two-fingers to defeat her once she rejected their calling (just like Ranni did, and Blaidd went feral/sent to kill her). Melina only opens her eye once Maliketh is defeated, too, as if his seal had broken or she recovered the beast eye item from him. (Think Messmer's scarseal eye.)
Obviously, nothing is certain without dev confirmation. But let's say Melina isn't the GEQ. Why have the Godskins mandatory bosses if nothing comes of it? They failed to recover the power of the black flame, they are for all intents and purposes completely irrelevant to the broader story, and nothing in the endings relates to them. Why have Melina speak of Destined Death? Why have her reveal a specifically dark blue-purple eye? Remove all connections to the GEQ, and the big reveal in the Frenzied Flame ending is without anything to give it meaning, to contextualize or support it. Even Melina's hair begins to turn black and erratic, as if she's reverting back to her true form, her power no longer sealed. In the FF ending, Melina becomes something else, something vengeful and capable of delivering death to a god.
I feel like a potential possibility was left out here - namely the GEQ not being an Empyrean of the Greater Will at all, but rather being an Empyrean of a different Outer God altogether. It would also make more sense if she was the original holder of Destined Death, waging war against the Golden Order like so many other factions during Marika's original conquest, and then Maliketh became the guardian of Destined Death after her defeat - rather than Maliketh holding it from the beginning.
I think our favorite story teller needs to explain how she made the outfit, specifically, what gods she used.
22:45 In that area, I see a hooded woman kneeling in the flames, looking down, with some sort of black specter behind & above her head reaching out and touching her. Strange Rorschach effect.
"It rubs the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the black flame again."
the lotion is spf 1000 to protect against said flame.
Another *fantastic* video and loreplay! I think the Gloam Eyed Queen may be my #1 of most mysterious and fascinating characters that we really just do not have enough information on to know much of how she and the godskins fit in. Which... seems quite intentional? Along with all these little hints and possible misdirection sprinkled all about. Definitely hoping we get some more in the DLC!
I've been seriously looking forward to this video, Chalice. Thank you for making it and A+ effort on the cosplay you made here.
I love the lore behind the Godskins. The story of a god candidate who was in direct opposition to Marika's Order of Eternal Life, who wielded a black flame so powerful it could fell gods and created her own army to do it.
I recently did a build based on their lore called the "Black Flame Acolyte". It was a very fun time.
As always, great work, Chalice.
Edit: You seem to adjust well to playing HUD-less for capturing your footage. I just wanted to compliment that because HUD-less can be pretty disorienting at first.
I find your videos the easiest to follow, your story telling is really good and you seem to be able to relay the information of the game in the most digestible way I love the very long lore videos to get a grasp on the world but for specific topics your my go too
I personally think that the inclusion of a fourth butterfly is proof of Melina's status as a child of Marika. Perhaps she was used as a vessel to seal the Gloam-Eyed Queen similar to how Malenia was accidentally host to the Rot. And her role as an expendable bundle of oil-soaked sticks may be symbolic of her original use of flame to attack Marika's line, just as she is represented by fluttering bugs that perpetually burn.
Great video, Miss Chalice! Loved the tie-in to Midsommar. Makes the dancing town even more macabre.
21:07 the wording here reminds me of the DLC trailer, 'those untouched by the grace of gold shall all meet death, in the embrace of Messmer's flame' Messmer could be the one who sealed the power of blackflame away. The fire Messmer uses is mostly fiery red with a dark core, destined death is blood red with a black core, the blackflame's ability to kill gods may have harnessed destined death, which was taken and given to Messmer for safe keeping. Combine Messmer's flame and the blackflame, you get destined death.
Messmer is spelled with two 's'es. But yeah I'm curious about the parallels between Messmer's flame and Maliketh's flame. Another theory I heard (I think on that Ratatoskr + Smoughtown podcast episode) was that Maliketh's flame is death of the demigods, while Messmer's is the death of normal people. Marika then banished Messmer outside of the Lands Between so as to protect the Tarnished she would later call back. And then, if that were the case, we could enter the Land of Shadow in a strange way which does not put our player character's body at risk of death.
@@minerman60101 fixed spelling
@@minerman60101 similar as to how there's different star fragments, one blue that dictate the destiny of mortals and another amber-like that dictitates the gods' destiny. Very interesting theory
Gotta say, haven’t watched you for very long, but your cosplays are on point! It’s definitely appreciated, especially since that’s so much extra effort on your part. Congrats on receiving that Crimson Flask as well! That’s so cool!
What you brought up about iji referencing the dark path is brilliant never thought of it as it as a reference to the GEQ. I wonder if the long held belief that ranni and Melina are the same person is really the game showing there similarities as the two empyrean’s who defied the order. Also I wonder if anyone has used the needle to avoid the frenzy flame ending but then picked age of dusk ending. I wonder if Melina, still being alive, could unlock some dialogue if she was the GEQ? I’ve never seen or heard of anyone picking that ending but also saving Melina from flaming herself. Anyway thanks for another great vid!!
This is my favorite elden ring channel. And one of my favorites period. I love how informative and chill it is. It really helps when i feel overstimulated to listen to these. And they're always so entertaining too.
I wasn't sure I could watch these videos by Miss Chalice, but after I started playing Elden Ring on PC, I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm impressed! The amount of research and editing you must do to make these videos work is astounding, and then on top of that you do a damn fine job of cosplaying for each one as well. You obviously enjoy making the videos, and we the viewers get to reap the rewards. Thank you for your sterling efforts, these are top notch watching...btw, your voice would be great for asmr sleep videos, imo. Thanks again from Australia 👌🤘👍
why couldn't you b sur you can watch it
the gloam eye queen is a queen like marika or renala, my guess is she was in charge before marika became queen, possibly her mum or sister (possibly twins), seems emperians are related, she is the opposite of marika like miquella and melania, life and death, and abubunce and rot, one cant be without the other it seems
Pretty much my thoughts, due to her name also being translatable as early night queen, or pre-night eyed queen, and with marika the eternal, now having been confirmed to have BECAME a god in the shadow world. My guess is that melina is her reincarnation, as her role and archetype is culminated as destined d3a th. Which was power stripped by malekith from her; it would make sense that marika would reincarnate that power as her own child, since she had dozens of children.
This is my new favorite channel I just play the game and listen to your soothing voice all day.
I came across your vids bc I some lore to fall asleep to so I never sat and watched a vid....but you serve us elden looks too?!?!?! glad I subbed ❤
What makes me think Melena is the gloam eyed queen is simple. If you take on the frenzied flame. She tells you she's going to kill you. She says this with such assurance as if it'll be easy for her to slay someone who kills demigods.
Originally I thought she was the gloam eyed queen because the deep purple of her sealed eye. However I now think she is st Trina since the sleep fog is what is in her eye, she also appears suddenly and disappears suddenly as well.
It could just be that she isn't a match for us, but she's just so angry that she doesn't care/believes she can win anyway, or she could have a different source of power; there are several. I used to think she was the gloam-eyed queen, but the eye was really the only solid connection and frankly, it makes much, much more sense to be connected to St. Trina. But maybe we'll see in the DLC!
Doesn't she also kinda put us to sleep before burning herself before the ErdTree? Hmmmmm @@blizzardgaming7070
Is it possible the gloam eyed queen is like a title? Like the reverse of the lord // emperium to god model. Merikas crucifictoin, her arms and the rune arc she is “nailed” too: represent one half of a circle. The Elden ring perhaps. Notable merika seems unwillingly bound to only half the Elden ring. Looking at the ring from ferum ezula perhaps the current system is only part of a more robust older system.
Saint Trina, by extension Mikala (and indeed perhaps Melina too) are attempting to not only grow a new tree, but break the golden order to restore something resembling a more primordial, more correct system.
@@AdamKane-hp1qb no
Miss Chalice, your voice is so soothing and your cosplay is really well done.
These were all very well thought out points.
I swear, I could listen to you analyze disturbing and unspeakable horrors for all the hours of all of my days.
You are very good at what you do.
It'd be quite awesome if in the DLC you can get that birdfoot tattoo that Melina has, and it shuts that eye. Then when you stand before the Elden Ring in the end, the eye opens, the Gloam-eyed Queen takes over your body and she enacts her own age instead of you.
where has this channel been all my life? 😂I just stumbled across you and Ive been binging videos for like the past 3 hours while playing elden ring, so cozy!
I like the theory that the Gloam Eyed Queen was really Marika rebelling for the first time against the Erdtree. She was defeated by Maliketh and a pact was made: Maliketh would keep the Rune of Death, to make sure she wouldn't repeat such an act. "But then she betrayed him again.."
Perhaps that is when she was fused with Radagon, the loyal dog of the Golden Order, to keep an eye on her. Which is why she hated him so much. The Dark path of the Empyreans was probably first walked by Marika herself.
Naturally, the official story , the one told by the Golden Order, would never admit it was actually Marika, but some mysterious Empyrean to whom Marika entrusted Destined Death. But Marika rebelled again, betraying poor Maliketh who accepted a heavy toll on his body and spirit in order to reach a pact that would spare her life and give her a second chance.
She disbands the victorious army of the Erdtree, including its leader, she distributes the Elden Ring Great Runes to her children in order to weaken it and openly questions the tenets of the Golden Order, saying that people should question it and not blindly accept everything. So, she rebelled twice.
The pregnant woman in the DLC painting, could be her mother and perhaps her parents made a deal with the Two Fingers when she was a child, or even an infant. Perhaps she never chose this fate for herself. None of the Empyreans we know offered to take the job of the God of the Lands Between, They were chosen. Why would Marika be any different.
My thoughts exactly! I'd never been much convinced by the Marika is the GEQ theory, but Miss Chalice managed to wrap it up in a convincing package. The only character who fills the bill more than her is Melina, who could very well be a fragment of Marika, in the same way Millicent is of Maliena.
She's burned (by Maliketh's flame), she clearly went the dark and body less way of the empyrean, and she urges us to do Marika's bidding. She doesn't oppose Ranni's quest, so she's okay with rebelling against the two fingers, as is Marika.
I think your leap that the Godskins served Maliketh is a stretch. It seems to me that the Gloam-Eyed Queen and Godskins had that power until Maliketh killed the Gloam-Eyed Queen and took it, likely on Marika's orders. Melina being the Gloam-Eyed Queen could be possible though given that all we needed to do was burn the Erd tree yet she sends us to Farum Azula to release Destined Death, and even suggests everything deserves death indiscriminate something a killer of immortal gods would likely think, and yes the purple eye, and unleashing destined death would presumably give the Godskins their power back. Though that's a bit muddled as you could be sent there by the Greater Will for acting against it by committing a cardinal sin. I also assumed it killed the gods we killed already but a demigod being resurrected in the DLC makes that seem unlikely were it actually a true death.
The funniest plot twist would be if the gloam eyed queen was Saint Trina. Death and sleep are 2 sides of the same coin and all that.
Your production quality has gotten so good! As it stands you are by far my favorite soulsborne lore creator. Keep up the excellent work! Can’t wait to see your coverage of the dlc as well as some more bloodborne eventually
What material is your cosplay made from?? 😱😱
This is calico cotton! I then painted over it with a pinkish metallic to try and give it a more skin-like texture!
Godric the Grafted is missing some arms now
A Great video as always but I really have to commend the in-game fashion in the first clip! That set looks great together, especially with the cipher pata!
I don’t think godskins served Maliketh. He got destined death by defeating them and being tasked with guarding it by Merika. So it’s 2 different eras. Gloam eyed queen was killing a bunch of gods with it so Merika sent maliketh to quash that and now he’s the sole purveyor of destined death.
Miss Chalice!! I just wanted you to know that I am always super excited to hear your ideas and listen to you speak so passionately about what you enjoy. Your passion and enthusiasm rubs off on me and always puts me in a better mood than I was in before. Thank you, and keep doing what you love!
Good heavens I’m early!
0:29 I killed the Godskin Duo (no summons, no sleep pots) before I killed this guy
Yessss
your voice is so soothing 🥰 i appreciatr your channel a lot ! it is apparent that you spend a lot of time researching your subjects ,thank you !
Miquella is Melina. The miquellas needle being in farum azula would be explained by his defeat to Maliketh, and he wanted to kill Maliketh to get destined death so he could give a true death to godwym. He is also the gloam eyed queen, since the use of "controlled" in the big gray fire sword could refer to how miquella "enchants" those who gets in contact with him.
Another thing is that if the gloam eyed queen is a empyrean, she would have more things in game, maybe the all knowing talking about her as a different person, but no, there is nothing. Hell Miquella has 3 identities: miquella, saint trinna and gloam eyed queen. Truly the scariest demigod!
Miquella wasn't even born at that time. Destined Death was sealed away long before Miquella was even born. Sealing of destined death happened way before the union of Marika and Radagon which resulted in the twin protégés to be born. Also, Miquella's Needle wasn't found in Faram Azula, it was only used there. You can't use it anywhere else because you're under the influence of three fingers and the only place where they have no influence is in Placidusax's Arena since it exists outside time. Thus when we're in the Arena, we're completely ourselves and is given the opportunity to make a decision that goes against the influence of three fingers. This also explains why acquiring the Frenzied Flame locks you to that ending. It's because the influence of three fingers prevents you from diverting from that path.
Dam. Glam-Eyed Queen would have made a very cool dlc boss
Are you Melina
Lol.
22:14 Okay, I see a figure there too, but mine is different. She's facing right, what you see as her arms are part of her upper body still, with the bit on top being her head and hair (or a veil maybe.) And what you see as her head is a small bundle she's cradling in her arms, like a baby.
I love watching your videos. It's always nice to hear all the different perspectives on Elden ring lore.
Could I make a request? I'd like to sleep with your videos playing in the background. However, it seems as though you've not put a compressor on you microphone track, so my ear buds are constantly getting destroyed by plosives.
I'd really appreciate it. Im not sure if this is a lot to ask, and don't know what I could offer you other than my watch time. Lol
Been getting back into the Elden Ring mood with the DLC coming up and your vids are perfect for that. Your voice sounds like a perfect fit for an ER character so it really helps with the atmospheric immersion lol.
Great video. About the Godskin Duo being stuck in Farum Azula - I doubt this since they seem to appear out of thin air when you first enter the arena, meaning that they likely teleported there. Also, during the fight, they display the ability to summon other godskins from a different place- which would mean those weren't in Farum to begin with (since we fight 3-4 of them total).
Maybe they all reside in a Godskin home somewhere far away lol.
You've blown my mind with some of these revelations. Yet another detail I overlooked in this amazing game.
I know we are all loving the Godskin/GEQ content this close to the DLC, and this video is so well done, Miss Chalice! I've held that Melina is the reincarnated, amnesiac GEQ for a long time, but that's me. One disagreement I have is with what you argue right around 23:40. I think that description is simply stating that the Nobles and Apostles served Destined Death while it was under the control of the Gloam Eyed Queen.
My understanding of the timeline is that the black flame was imbued with the power of Destined Death while it was still a part of the Elden Ring. Once Malekith defeated the GEQ, Marika plucked the Rune of Death from the the Ring, thus creating the Golden Order, and transferred it to Malekith for protection.
Malekith then wielded it in his sword openly until Ranni stole it for the Night of Black Knives. Because of his failure to protect it, Marika forced Malekith to hold it in that amulet on his hand and consume death root, the byproduct of his failure. So at this point, the Godskin's true power was removed from the world and their black flame was left less potent and colorless. Basically, they never served Malekith.
Just on my second play through and beat Morgott. Found it weird there was a black knife assassin outside the bed chamber waiting for you and a godskin and omen twin outside his rune tower. Is Morgott really controlling the black knives and godskins this whole time???
27:00 Look at the beast eye that Gurranq gives us. It looks almost exactly the same, definitely the same color, and it's used to detect pieces of destined death.
I'm a fan of the Marika = Gloam-Eyed Queen theory, because:
1. She's an Empyrean
2. Iji explains an Empyrean's shadow will go mad if they stray from the Greater Will's path; He could only know this if it has happened before
3. Maliketh is Marika's Empyrean Shadow; Serosh is not the same thing as Maliketh, he does function as a limiter but Godfrey is not an Empyrean, and their similarities are symbolic only.
4. Marika is a Numen; I won't go into details here but there is evidence that the Nox are descendants of the Numen (read into Sellia's Night Sorceries, the originator of Night Maiden's Mist being from the Maiden of an Eternal City; Who is the only person in the entire game referred to as "The Eternal?" Also: Game files list various Nox-related objects like "Marika's Pagoda")
5. Iji's helmet is the Nox Mirror Helm, designed to hide one's thoughts from the Greater Will; Iji may have once been an assistant of Gloam-Eyed Marika
The gloam-eyed queen's sword is a spiral - some connection to the Hornsent?
I just discovered your channel and your voice work sounds like it came right out of the game! Your cosplay, storytelling, and presentation is incredibly immersive!
@ 21:56 Why didn't you dodge that? GIT GUD! Anyway. Great Video! Please do more!
The art stood out on today's thumbnail! The cosplay looks very in-verse as well, amazingly done :) P.s. new mic too? Sounding clear and good
I just found your channel. I love your story telling and voice, I site you as a source for all of my elden lore to my friends. ❤
Thank you for finally going over this topic! it was incredibly interesting and I really love the way you cover stuff like this. I’m curious for your thoughts on the new story trailer.
Great video! The only thing I think is way of the mark here is the Godskins serving Maliketh - he only becomes a vessel for Destined Death late ish in the timeline when it is sealed away. Prior to this, its still part of the Elden Ring and it doesn't really make sense for him to otherwise embody it.
The Godskins serving "Destined Death" in this context would just mean the GEQ - someone who weilds the black flame of destined death. Its past tense because the GEQ is either dead or MIA since her defeat (theres a lot of things in the game that refer to even events immediately pre-shattering as "a really really long time ago").
Obviously as others have mentioned and I'm sure you've considered, Messmer's situation in the DLC makes Melina an even more likely candidate than ever. We know she was his sister, a demi-god child of Marika, and we know she "had a vision of fire" much like his unique red and BLACK flame. Marika has a precedent for placing false-eye soreseals in her child to supress their curse/affliction/true nature now, too, and we see Melina lose her gold eye and gain the purple/gloam one in the FF ending.
Its also worth noting Melina's eye tattoo-mark is a bird-claw, and birds are widely associated with Death in ER (something even more reinforced by the DLC).
How not to love your channel, your appearance, your calming voice and the way you describe your content? 🤷♂️
Coolest cosplay I've seen on the channel yet! The pendant is a perfect touch.
I really like how you exposes theories point by point 💪
Long time listener, first time commenter.
I would like to suggest a Spirit Caller Snail episode. You can even make a snail puppet or add a blue hue to a regular snail puppet. (Barns and nobles have snail hand puppets sometimes.) The spirit caller snails are the boss of several dungeons! Even summoning godskin apostles in a cave of samurai. And then just chilling on Miquella's tree? They appear as white snakes which reminds me of the rebirth abilities of the pale serpent in sekiro. Now in shells which almost have an ocean theme such as Godwyn. It would also just be really funny to have a snail puppet episode.
This comment gave me brainrot. Name 3 dungeons that they're a boss in
When I describe your channel to my friends, I refer to you as the female Vaati Vidia. And when I say that, I don't wish to diminish anything about you or your work. What I mean is your voice is beyond perfect for what you do. Soft and melodical...very soothing. I envy whomever ends up getting to spend their life with you.
Holy CRAP you blew up! You deserve it from day 1...but...
Any chance of an oldschool OG whisper version of a lore video? 😋
Your voice is beautiful no matter what. You're so clear and informative. I feel like you would make amazing journalist or author of some sort :)
Also nobles have a needle for precise more sophisticated craft while the apostle does the lowly gruesome job of peeling and getting dirty, when the skin is processed and clean it is given to the noble for assembly. Apostles don't get many faces either and their robes are made from smaller pieces seemingly leftovers and unwanted cuts.
Midsommar was such a great movie! That's a cool comparison between the dancing scene from the movie and the dancers in the windmill village. The Godskin Noble fight in the church near Volcano Manor specifically always gives me a decent amount of trouble every playthrough 😅
Thank you for doing this! My favorite lore in the game. I role-played as a God Skin Apostle after acquiring all armor and spells.
I don’t mean this in like- a weird way at all, but your voice is super soothing and great for lore videos! The cosplay is also great and looks surprisingly cute
So much potential lore and new stories for Elden Ring 2! I love how deep they went into the world building
This is an old write-up now, with some recent updates from the DLC.
Marika is the Gloam/Dusk-Eyed Queen.
- Red and black spike of death impales Marika and keeps her in place when we find her at the end. Only Maliketh wields this power, and only he could even defeat a God like Marika. But he's so loyal to her, why would he?
- Maliketh "defeated" the Gloam/Dusk-Eyed Queen. We know Shadowbound hounds have to attack their former master if The Fingers feel like the Empyrean is acting against them. We play through this reality with Ranni's quest, and both she and Iji know Blaidd will go mad as she enacts her vision. How do they know this happens? They saw/heard of it happening to Maliketh and Marika already.
- Only Marika would be able to guide Ranni to the location of the Rune of Death and how to use it for it to be stolen in the first place to forge the Black Knives. Remember, "Marika... is this what it is to sin?" "Why gull me..." Marika, after all, had only one use for Maliketh in the end, after the other work was done... a vessel to seal away Destined Death. And even then, she betrayed him.
- The Beast Eye is a purple, scratched up eye. It's Marika's eye from being defeated and imprisoned by her Shadowbound. No other Queen or Empyrean is "defeated" but not slain, as the text implies there except Marika. And who but her purpose-made hound could even stop her, a God? The one entity empowered enough by the Ring/Fingers to be able to do so should the need arise.
- Dominula Village is much like the Hinterlands and the Shaman Village. We find a skinning ritual and a Godskin Apostle there in Dominula. We learn that the "festival" is old and tacitly accepted by the Golden Order. The aesthetic of these villages is much the same, and they're intimately tied to Marika herself.
- Gideon gives us a boon in the form of a secret rite known only to him, Black Flame Protection. He is alleged to have peered into the will of Queen Marika, and shuddered at the end that should not be.
- The Scadutree is of a dual nature. So is Queen Marika. When Gold arose, so too was Shadow born. Gold and Shadow exist as necessary contrasts to each other, yet in a God, in Marika, this duality exists in coalesce, or it did once.
- No other characters are named as Queen or Empyrean that aren't already accounted for/ruled out to be the GEQ, and by that I mean Melina, she was given purpose by her mother at the foot of the Erdtree and that means she is a daughter of Marika, not old enough to be the GEQ but possesses traits of both Marika and Radagon. Eye color and hair color are passed down traits we see in game. Well, sure enough, Melina shows us a purple/gloamy eye in one ending. Inherited trait from her mother, the Queen in Black. Marika's eyes are never shown to us, to judge their color.
- Duskborn ending sees Godwyn rise to ascendancy and sees Death restored, with him as the Prince of Death itself. These titles aren't meaningless. Duskborn? The "Prince" of Death? Well, who would the Queen be? If Godwyn is Duskborn, and if he is a Prince, his mother would, of course, be associated with "Dusk" and be a Queen. And we know his mother is Queen Marika.
- Fia is hooded with a black cloak and comes from some other land. She also helps create Godwyn's Duskborn ending and is Death-aligned. We see Marika wearing black hooded garb in a statue where she also is holding the twins Miquella and Malenia. Her tattered clothing as we find her at the end is also black. She is also associated with the Nox/Numen race and the Black Knife Assassins that come from there as well.
- Statues of Marika in her crucified pose all show her with a flowing black cloth that wraps behind her in almost the exact same shape as the Godslayer Greatsword, which was the weapon or ritual sword of the GEQ/DEQ. You have to pivot the camera a bit to get a good view, but the shape is very similar. Coiled and then open, with one flap slightly longer than the other, same tip design on the Godslayer Greatsword. It's possible that she was propped up by the Hornsent culture and then part of the betrayal was killing other Gods in their pantheon, but what's maybe more possible is as Centered Tarnished pointed out, that Marika culled some other of her "unwanted" children after learning the truth of the broken Fingers and flawed foundations of her Order.
- Godwyn is referred to as the "Prince of Gold" in an item description. If a Prince of Death could have been a Prince of Gold, why couldn't his mother hold this potential as well, even necessarily so? We see from the Death Knights that Gold and Death can somehow synergize even still... Gold and Shadow, born at the same time, same as it ever was.
- Hewg prays to Queen Marika about his given task to craft a Godslaying weapon. Very interesting and specific task. Marika wants a God slain. He mentions "the sheer terror of Her..." regarding Marika. Godskins certainly take an interest in killing a God. Who was their leader? A "defeated" Queen who was once an Empyrean. Marika.
- Raging Wolf Vargram is a would-be Shadow. Wolf imagery is on his armor. He wields the Godslayer Greatsword. The weapon art is "The Queen's Black Flame", of course. A statue of Marika exists in Farum Azula showing her with three wolves.
- Marika learned the secrets of the Golden Order and realized her children would "amount only to sacrifices" as she instructed them. She knew the Erdtree was a soul parasite, and by sealing Death away, she weakened the Erdtree over time. She also had Godwyn buried at the roots of it, knowing that he would grow and overtake them, choking the Erdtree further. As he was, Godwyn was an "unwanted" child since he embodied the Golden Order, and she was a prisoner to it. He would end up much like Miquella would, a caged divinity of some kind. She was likely opposed to the Erdtree and Greater Will/Fingers for a long time, weaving plots in secret until the Shattering. She realized, only too late, that ultimate power has a way of becoming a curse when the truth of the nature of it all is finally revealed.
Just as Marika shined so brightly with her Golden Order, another aspect of her was as deep as the abyss and as dark as any shadow.
Marika was punished for shattering the Elden Ring. Melina lacks a body (she was burned as punishment for her treason, she has scars all over her from that) and her eye is sealed by a beast claw/Another point directing to Maliketh. Which is hiding a purple eye. (we can see that in the Frenzy flame ending). She also proclaims to hunt and kill us. A lord of frenzied flame after all. A living god. So she must be extremely powerfull. Fromsoft does everything to make us believe she is the Gloamed eyed Queen. Therefore she is.
Great lore videos, Beautiful, Sweet voice, Awesome costumes. I'm hooked
I love the godskins and I love your channel, its grand to have both in one video 😭💞