Out of all of the characters in Elden Ring, I
still find Radagon to be the most intriguing. He's the one that I think about the most
and one that I have the most unanswered questions about. In what ends up being one of
the big, if not the biggest reveals in the game, we uncover Radagon's dark, guarded secret:
that he and Marika are one in the same. During an interview with Stephen Colbert, George RR
Martin said that FromSoft asked him to build them a world so that they could basically go in
and destroy it, so he wrote them a history of what happened five thousand years before the
current game, who all the characters were, and who was killing each other and what powers
they had. Listening to his interview sparked my imagination and it got me thinking about
this topic in a new way, so I'm going to try and present Radagon and Marika and their
motivations as Martin may have imagined them. We don't know much about Marika's background,
only that she's Numen. which are a group of people who hail from beyond the Lands
Between and are possibly the descendants of other worldly beings. The preset appearance
of the Numen is very aged and this corresponds to the line about them being long-lived but
seldom born. In the Mountaintops of the Giants lies the Zamor ruins. The Knights of Zamor were
hailed as heroes in the War Against the Giants, and their armor set describes them as long-lived
warriors, mortal enemies of the Fire Giants, devotees to winter. It's the phrase "long-lived"
that stands out to me as possibly having ties to the Numen. The Zamor could have descended from
a Numen tribe that settled in the far north, learning how to conquer the brutality of their
environment and developed their ice sorcery through their ceaseless struggle against
the Fire Giants. the Northerner template describes this hardy group of people as being
descended from giants, so we can see that it's possible to have giant heritage without having
a conspicuous appearance. This preset also has bright platinum hair and pale skin, similar to
Marika's coloring and in fact, in my opinion, Marika looks more like the Northerner than she
does the Numen, and it makes me wonder if maybe one of her parents was a Northerner and the other
was a Zamor. The forbidden romance of fire and ice, or should I say, ice and fire. Now where
have we seen this combination before? Another clue that makes me think that Marika has Zamor
blood in her is that one of the Ancient Heroes of Zamor drops Radagon's Scarseal. Having Zamor and
Northerner blood in her lineage would give grounds for Marika beginning her war campaign for the
Erdtree in the Mountaintops of the Giants region, as supported by the location of her first church.
And just in view of this church is the Forge of the Fire Giants. Marika growing up in the north,
watching that roaring flame grow day by day, and fearing what it meant for the safety of the
Erdtree and deciding to start her war campaign here because of that, is such great visual
imagery. The war against the Giants was Marika's key battle in establishing the Age of the Erdtree.
The Fire Giants who inhabited the mountaintops had a flame strong enough to destroy the Erdtree, so
Marika decided to extinguish them commanding her first husband, Elden Lord Godfrey, to lead that
fight. The fiants were attacked and wiped out, save for one whom Marika spared not out of
mercy, but as a prisoner cursed to tend to the undying flame for eternity. Which leads
us right into the first theory on our list. Curses are a big theme we see all throughout the
game. Is it possible that Radagon’s existence is the result of a curse placed on Marika? We know
that Martin likes using hair color as a code for lineage. And we see this with all of the demigods
who inherit Marika and Radagon’s hair colors. We all know very well by now that Radagon's red
hair is one of the most referenced traits in the game, and we learn later on in another
shocking reveal that his red hair is a trait shared with the Fire Giants. The Giant’s
Red Braid reads: Every giant is red of hair, and Radagon was said to have despised his own red
locks. Perhaps that was a curse of their kind. There seems to be a popular interpretation of this
last line to mean that the red hair was a curse inflicted on Radagon via Marika, that Marika
was cursed with this red hair as retribution for her slaughter of the Fire Giants, and she
hated it so much that she expunged it from her body in the form of an autonomous being who became
Radagon. Kind of like an Adam and Eve situation. The idea that the last surviving Fire Giant cursed
Marika with red hair is very difficult for me to get behind. Like the best that this last remaining
giant, who just witnessed the genocide of his entire race, could do was to give her red hair?
Another reason I don’t like this theory is that there is direct mention of someone being cursed
at the conclusion of the War against the Giants, but it’s Marika cursing the Fire Giant,
not the other way around. I also think the placement of these revelations about Radagon
are significant; the first one is in Leyndell, and the second is in the Mountaintops of the
Giants which you can’t access until you complete Leyndell. The big shocker obviously is that
Radagon is Marika. So what bigger revelation about Radagon can they possibly throw at us now
to rival that? That Radagon is part Fire Giant. There is one other detail that I feel
supports the theory about his giant heritage. The art of smithing originated with the
giants, and we learn this through Iji and Hewg, our beloved blacksmiths. When Marika destroyed the
Elden Ring, Radagon tried to repair it, a giant skill that he may have inherited or been taught.
And it’s this image of him smithing away with Marika’s hammer that became the iconic look we
know him by. Radagon also forges the Golden Order Greatsword; meanwhile Marika, assuming she doesn’t
know how to smith, had to imprison Hewg to get him to forge her commissioned god-slaying weapon.
I just think the signs point to Radagon being part giant, which means this curse theory doesn’t
work for me. So let’s move on to the next theory. Twins are another recurring theme in Elden
Ring. We see twins with smaller characters, bigger characters. We know that Martin loves
twins, so it’s not too far-fetched to think that Radagon and Marika might have been twins.
Radagon and Marika having once been separate entities has merit based on this
particular scene with Melina: It sounds like it wasn’t until after this
conversation that they were conjoined, that at this moment she was convincing him to become one
with her so that she could shatter the Elden Ring. And we’ve see how the demigods seem to inherit
one parent's traits over another. If Radagon and Marika were twins, they could have each
inherited distinct traits from the depths of their bloodline. And with the Zamor
being sworn enemies of the Fire Giants, having red hair would be humiliating for Radagon.
He’d have good reason to despise its association. Although I like the idea of this theory
because it fits the story given the theme of twins and I can picture Martin having
written Radagon and Marika this way, I don’t think it has enough support to draw
from, and it raises a couple of questions for me. While Radagon was married to Rennala, he
ordered the Carian preceptors to wear masks that had the mouths sewn shut to serve as
a reminder that all of their matters were to be kept private. He also brought with him
to the Caria manor a gold sewing needle that was used to tailor the clothes of demigods.
What secrets did Radagon want to hide so as to make sure his Carian teachers didn’t spill
the beans? And why would a former war general need to take a sewing needle capable of altering
demigod clothes with him to his new wife’s estate? I interpret this to imply that Radagon must
have been considered a god at this point, and his true identity was something he
wanted to keep under wraps. I don’t see how being Marika’s twin brother or having been
part giant would be reason enough for secrecy, especially because Rennala seems
to be one of the more accepting and progressive characters. The secrecy
had to be about something bigger. So if Radagon isn’t Marika’s
twin, who, or what, was he? Gold is the most prevalent color in the
Lands Between, from the Golden Order to the Erdtree and everything in between.
It’s the color of Marika the goddess. In an attempt to forge a more
refined version of herself, did Marika split off the unwanted aspects
of herself in the form of Radagon? Just to put this theory in context, An alloy
is a mixture of metals. Alloys are created in order to achieve desired qualities, like
improved strength, or certain colors. While we see lots of gold in the armor
sets and trinkets of Erdtree believers, we see red gold used distinctly in
reference to the Crucible Knights, who served Godfrey when he was Elden Lord. Red gold is achieved by the mixture
of gold and copper, not unlike the hair coloring of Marika and Radagon.
The idea of Marika considering her blood to be alloyed, mixed, with that of a Fire Giant of
all things, and her wanting to split off this part of her that represented the primordial crucible,
is fitting with the Golden Order’s teachings of selective grace. Marika as a secretly biracial
goddess who wanted to be pure fits in line with the prejudice and discrimination we see throughout
the game. And reminder, this is the same woman who chained up her children in the city sewers
because they basically weren’t pretty enough. But the thing that makes alloys desirable
is that they are physically stronger than unalloyed metals. Gold on its own is weak
and soft, but mix it with copper and silver, and it’s stronger. And Marika would eventually
come to learn this, that being divided into two different aspects of herself didn’t give
her the strength needed to shatter herself, thus melding with Radagon was necessary.
For this theory to work in my opinion, Marika or the Greater Will, or both, would need
to at some point consider her mixed heritage to be unfit for her post as goddess. So, in
order to make her pure gold, unalloyed gold, but weaker as a result, they split off the
red, copper aspect, in the form of Radagon, but then decided later on oh it's okay; he can
go on to sire children with her, even though we took him out because we don't like him.
I just don't agree with Radagon being the byproduct of some eugenics campaign,
because Radagon was called a champion; he was called a hero, and his children wore their
heritage representing him proudly. I just don't see him as being an unwanted offshoot that Marika
had to pluck from her body; I think his inception and design had to be more purposeful than
that. Which brings us to the next chapter. Mimicry is the ability to take on the appearance
of another thing. When mimicry happens in nature, it’s most often for the survival of the creature.
When people do it, it’s usually out of deception. We see references to mimicry in
three very interesting items: The Mimic Tear Ashes, the Mimic’s
Veil, and the Law of Regression. The Mimic Tear Ashes state that the Eternal
City used mimic tears to try and forge an artificial lord, and though this organism
takes on the appearance of the summoner, its mimicry doesn’t extend to
imitating the summoner’s will. The Mimic’s Veil is one of the items
that Godrick stole from Leyndell, and it was also known as “Marika’s Mischief.”
The Law of Regression is the incantation we use in front of Radagon’s statue to lay bare
his secret, and it states that it reveals mimicry in all its forms. This incantation can
also be used on the Mimic’s Veil to reveal the deceiver. The fact that the Mimic’s Veil
is called Marika’s Mischief might be one of the biggest hints about Radagon’s origins.
Godrick used this veil to disguise himself as a woman in order to flee from the capitol,
and before that, who knows how Marika used it. Is it possible that she disguised herself as a
powerful champion named Radagon, and then used a Mimic Tear to create a clone of that disguise
in order to carry out her secret assignments that she only trusted herself to handle?
This theory proposes some interesting speculations regarding Radagon's sudden appearance during the
Liurnian wars. Because the first Liurnian War didn’t end in a stalemate; it ended with Radagon
victorious. And if we’ve learned anything about the way that Marika likes to fight, we’ve
learned that she doesn’t show mercy. But instead of annihilating the inhabitants of the
Carian kingdom, as Marika did with the Giants, the Stormhawk King, and the original dwellers
of Castle Morne, the Carian kingdom is spared enough to rebuild their armies. It’s also
interesting to note that Godfrey wasn’t sent to deal with the Liurnian conflict. Because I’m
sure if Marika really wanted the Carian kingdom squashed, she could have sent in the big guns.
There's a curious bit of information we we learn from the Carian Knight’s Sword. "Weapon of knights
sworn to Carian royalty. Despite numbering fewer than twenty, this power made them a match
for even the champions of gold in battle." This made me wonder if perhaps during
that First Liurnian War, Marika, after seeing how overpowered the Carian Knights
were and realizing powerful sorcery at play here, thought that there might be greater benefit in
infiltrating their forces and learning from them, rather than destroying them, so she sent Radagon
back with a different approach. Furing the Second Liurnian War, Radagon is begging for Rennala's
forgiveness for his military aggressions and he's professing his love to her. Marika could
have created this image of the kind of man she thought Rennala would fall for, this tall,
red-headed, handsome champion. Even the naming convention of Radagon and Rennala is suspicious.
And by giving him red hair, it may have attracted Rennala to him even more, because I think
Rennala may have had a thing for redheads. And I am 100% serious so let me explain.
Let’s read the description of the Stargazer Heirloom: "A talisman engraved with the
legend of a queen. The young astrologer gazed at the night sky as she walked.
She had always chased the stars every step of her journey. Then she met the full moon
— and, in time, the astrologer became a queen.” And we know of course that this is
in reference to Rennala. But what connection do we see here that sticks
out? That Rennala was an astrologer. Now let’s look at the Sword of
Night and Flame: "Astrologers, who preceded the sorcerers, established themselves
in mountaintops that nearly touched the sky, and considered the Fire Giants their neighbors.”
And there we have it. The basis of the connection between Radagon and Rennala. The Astrologers
called the Fire Giants their neighbors. The Sword of Night and Flame is a treasure of the
Carian dynasty, it represents a union between the astrologers and the Fire Giants. I think that
Rennala was fated to have a weak spot for Radagon, and Marika knew to exploit this. She
might have created Radagon as a way to infiltrate the Carian kingdom, or
to learn the secrets of Raya Lucaria, or maybe that contentious Fire Giant part of her
background was attracted to Rennala. But even though Radagon was created to be a Manchurian
Candidate, he develops his own autonomy. His icon states that as the husband of Rennala
he studied sorcery, and as the husband of Marika, he studied incantations. Thus did
the hero aspire to be complete.
This doesn’t read like a carbon copy of
Marika, nor an obedient puppet. This is his own desire being expressed. This
disguise that Marika created and then brought to life is very much its own entity
at this point and has a distinct identity. And whether or not Radagon was sent to Rennala
under false pretenses, I think that he genuinely fell in love with her. The bittersweet story
between Radagon and Rennala that Pastor Miriel recounts for us is the only loving relationship
between spouses that we see in the game. We certainly don’t see this language of love and
devotion used in reference to Marika and Godfrey. And when Radagon returns to Leyndell, he
takes his assignment of Golden Order lapdog, which Marika calls him, quite seriously, because
that’s most likely how he was designed to be. He develops Golden Order incantations and
forges a sword to represent its tenets. He’s the honor roll, straight A student,
something Marika clearly was not. I really like this mimicry theory because it allows
for Radagon to be an independent being, while still technically being Marika.
And I think it allows for other themes to be pulled into play without any conflict to
this one. Which brings us to our last chapter. The theme of duality is pervasive in
Elden Ring. It’s the very first image we’re greeted with when we start the
game. Marika shattering the Elden Ring, Radagon trying to repair it. He represented
duty, while she represented choice. These two conflicting wills are very clearly not of the
same identity. Take a look at the differences in which attributes are raised in Radagon’s
versus Marika’s Scarseals and Soreseals. Radagon’s raises vigor, endurance, strength, and dexterity, while Marika’s raises
mind, intelligence, faith, and arcane. He appears to be her opposite in every way. This idea of duality is another reason I
think that the Zamor and Northerner theory makes so much sense, because that union would
have caused a lot of inner turmoil in Marika. Both parts of her background being sworn
enemies with each other since the beginning of time, ice and fire. And maybe this extreme
dichotomy of her heritage caused an identity crisis. Radagon could be the result of some
expression of dissociative identity disorder. Radagon being the personification manifest of
Marika's conflicting will is such an amazing concept because he represented all of the things
that she was not, and by Marika removing this part of her, it caused disorder. Splitting off
these aspects of her infected the integrity of her body as a vessel, and that's when she realized
she'd have to be complete again in order to carry out her plans. And even though Radagon was a
fundamentalist follower of the Golden Order, he believed Marika and he obeyed her when
she asked this of him, two qualities that I think Marika may have removed from herself. And
because Radagon is the one loyal to the Golden Order and upholds his duty as ordained by the
Greater Will, he's the aspect of Marika that is released from their shackles inside the Erdtree,
and also the one that we end up having to kill. Although we may never get the full story of just
who Radagon is, I think that's part of his Allure and I'm sure there are a lot of other theories
and ideas out there about Radagon and Marika, and if you have any that you really like or
that you've come up with, definitely let me know in the comment section. I love reading
your comments I get such amazing feedback and I thank you very much for always sharing your
thoughts with me; I learn something new every single time I post a video. And just a quick
announcement that I have enabled membership for my channel so if you'd like to be extra generous
in your support I'd so greatly appreciate it. But everything goes back into video production so my
software licensing fees, my audio licensing fees, whatever expenses are associated with making
a video, it's just gonna go right back into that and I have a lot of amazing Ideas coming
up not just for Elden Ring; more Elden Ring, but other games that I think are going
to be really fun to discuss as well. So definitely check that out if you are interested
in that and I would appreciate it. But thank you so much for watching my video and for leaving
a thumbs up for subscribing for doing all the stuff that goes into successful channels
and last but not least I have a shout out for Sean Foox for coming closest to guessing
the topic of this video based on a screenshot I shared a couple days ago and I got some
really funny answers for that so thank you to everyone who played along. Alright guys
that's it for now I'll see you next time, bye!
