Elden Ring's Snake Iceberg | Elden Ring Lore

every great story seems to begin with a snake the Elden ring snake Iceberg goes deep it reaches down past Reichard past dominula and daar past bloodborne and Dark Souls right to the upcoming DLC and even to the Deep Waters of the Gods the godkin apostles and the glowy Queen the sky is familiar to us all as we go deeper we will move into more obscure parts of the mystery that we have covered content warning this video contains graphic content that some may find disturbing including real world footage discussions and footage of a sexual nature religion torture and taboo conspiracy theories blood a heavy content warning for those with the fear of snakes there is real footage throughout this video showing every part of the snake and its life cycle the footage is as explicit as nature herself you have been warned also spoilers from start to finish for Elden ring the Dark Souls series and berserk the sky shining down on the iceberg is unclouded the lore in the sky is beautiful there is a lot including the godkin apostles are connected to snakes they have inhuman physiology Rya is Zoras a half snake half human she is somehow connected to Reichard feeding himself to the Great Serpent Reichard surprises his Heroes by wel in them as family together he plans to Devour the very Gods daar got up to some weird stuff there is an egghead King in ancient times there was a religion which worshiped a snake deity at the end of rikard's storyline tanith will eventually eat reichard's dead body but each of these law discoveries alone doesn't give us any answers what is the snake Obsession in this game and what does it mean on the surface of the Iceberg we will start to make connections if we draw the threads together do we start to see a pattern emerge just what is the snake in Elden ring on our first playthrough we notice snakes but they only confuse us the godkin apostles are in various locations but it seems with little connection the Church of agay and dominula feel worlds apart and the Divine Towers seem to be from a different age altogether why would they skin daar as punishment why is tanith so Charmed with reichart why are Gladiators riddled with snakes we learn to be wary of the snake like everything else and we complete the game without answers in the second playthrough these Impressions form a clearer image snakes seem unpredictable but some things repeat it can't be random that snake worshippers in dominula and in volcano Mana both seem obsessed with virgins during their festivals the dancing women of dominula dance around the virgins of The Village who are dressed in blue and in volcano Mana the unique iron virgins seem much more important than just an enemy the next pattern is the connection between snakes and fighting as a way of life we didn't notice at first because the examples are so far removed but no matter the culture snakes seem to be connected with fighting for power and jeweling the volcano Mana is a place of snakes and might's right is at the core of its culture its members are sent to fight their own eventually Reichard himself will face us seeking power yet if we slay Reichard his followers do not turn on us Bernal for example holds no ill will the strong take such is our code coincidence strikes again with the Gladiators part of a totally different culture they also Jewel and compete in strength they wear snakes snakes even emerge from the rot variants in their grab attacks now another thing comes to the Sur surface we start noticing the snake's connection to eating and hunger reichard's whole existence as a snake is centered on eating he has eaten well now that we start to notice it we start to remember snake hunger goes way back back through many from software games from primordial serpents to favorite Rings they have always eaten and eaten these patterns are bizarre but are becoming undeniable in the third playthrough some of the the deeper patterns emerge there are signs that the ancient past has snakes Twisted through its history they are connected to the Divine Towers where God skins lurk in their depths they are found on the Giant's Forge carved into stone as if warming themselves in the heat the serpent God's curved sword proves there was a serpent religion but it is long forgotten yet today the attitude toward snakes is clearly changed if the ancient past revered the snake it is hated in the modern era the Earth Tre citizens cheered as the image of the snake was beaten and battered reichards wants loyal followers attempt to kill him once he becomes the snake slowly we can see this is more than Randomness these patterns aren't just coincidence the snake's true nature is rearing up in front of us Miyazaki Martin and the team have welded together ideas from myth reality and human nature it has been distilled into a message and this message is found below the surface beneath the surface there is an answer the serpent isn't one of these patterns it is all of them mizaki said understanding his message would take several games there were hints about the truth in Elden ring back in Dark Souls 2 in the Covetous gold serpent ring gold ring depicting the snake both the servant and manifestation of the god of Desire the snake is the manifestation of animal desires emotions and instincts the serpent is red and one of these desires occurs so frequently alongside the snake it cannot be ignored the first manifestation of the snake is sexual sex in all its aspects is the snake lust desire passion once we look through this lens Things fall into place Reichard the snake likee Lord is anything but a monk when he met tanith she was a mere dancer not fit for a man of his social standing yet his lust for her was so strong that he made her his consort and his last may not have stopped there cut content would suggest that rikard is not faithful to tanith in the original description for daar's wo it seems daar was a male in the cut item description it says that this man was rikard's Paramore which means a lover taken while married and that isn't all daar is described as one of of rikard's paramor Reichard is so lustful a cross Cannon and cut content his transformation into a snake a manifestation of last is a fitting end snakes have the same theme elsewhere in the volcano Mana the iron virgins have snakes coiling around where genitals would be when they charge you this area flies open and snakes burst forth to draw you inside the women of dominula who worship the snake like Apostle dance around virgins in their ceremonies the it is a sexual definition it is not just being lustful that is snake likee being snakelike seems to seduce others only when rikard turns into a snake is tanith truly Charmed by him snake rings always have an attractive power and Rya is the perfect example of serpent passions at work despite or because of her snake nature fans call her the game's best waifu but Mia Zaki Mar and from software have not reinvented the wheel it was for the crime of lust that Medusa was punished with snake hair she had sex with Poseidon in the temple of the Goddess she worshiped Athena she had made a vow of Chastity to Athena but act like a snake and you will be turned into one daar in the final version of the game is female after her life of wicked Pleasures she has been punished for her snake like lust just like Medusa since she behaved like a snake punishment is to become like one and snakes lose their skin the devil may be the most famous cultural Serpent and in the Garden of Eden he is the Seducer of Eve in all cultures the connection of snakes to sex is so common it's almost the rule from the ancient past with the Hindu Sexual Energy cundalini meaning coiled snake it is literally coiled here to more modern times Miyazaki has hidden this pattern in dark Dark Souls too in Dark Souls those corrupted by Passion become like serpents part of se's motivations for his abductions of women is lust if he is trying to make a dragon through his experiments he is focusing on making a female dragon for his own uses the theme continues in the sequel Mitha was the fairest Queen in the land until something unhinged her was it the poison found deep within the Earth or the passion that consumed her heart the queen sought the king's affection even poisoning herself to attain Beauty despite the Monstrous consequences but the true foundation for the snake's infamy are snakes themselves Mother Nature is the true artist if snakes are seen as sexual it is because their mating activities are extreme they rrap and constrict each other throughout biting is usual and sometimes they will kill if the mating goes wrong if nothing does go wrong meeting can last for hours but that is just for one one partner males and females can have many meeting partners and so the whole process can seem to never end but there is a greater animal desire hunger all consuming hunger is the snake prer Reichard was a greedy man but this was just a prologue since his transformation he has gorged himself like a fuagra goose swelling in size until he fills the core of a volcano yet he still hungers for his greatest meal yet the very Gods the Serpent's gluttony is in the game's opening sequence a snake is eating rard severed head and this snake is normal it was no great snake at all but now it's a wonder it doesn't collapse under its own weight the real snake is the king of hunger it's practically nothing but a huge mouth and one long horrific stomach capable of digesting anything it opens its mouth impossibly wide for each meal it's Jan stomach stretched to the Limit and just like Reichard they can become a victim of their own greed and snakes truly never stop growing growth only slows with age some snakes have reached unbelievable sizes the extinct Titan Boa was so big it would struggle to Slither its 50ft body through an open doorway Reichard is not from software's only hungry snake the God skins have their teeth and Jaws fully modeled and rendered in game this is incredibly unique perhaps after skinning their victims they eat the remaining flesh a cut boss from bloodborne has an attack just like Reichard it swallows us whole and the serpent God in SEO tries endlessly to consume us there is another desire that consumes the snake competition in nature snake competition is violent their fights are so hypnotically Savage that humans have always forced snakes to fight and bet on the results Reichard is obsessed with competition ultimately he wants to beat the very Gods the Gladiators join in violent competition both dressed in snakes only one survives and before becoming a recusant the volcano Mana wants proof we can kill our own to join their Clan you must compete as ruthlessly as the snake what do we feel approaching a fog gate as a boss Towers over us what do we feel when a snake crosses our path fear but usually all a snake wants is to escape fear is a snake's most common motivation for attack and so the snake is also a manifestation of fear and pain the volcano Mana drips in both torture vicious experiments on Alban orx crying abduct a virgins reichard's growth comes with pain a pain Reichard takes part in he may stay asleep simply to avoid the pain of his own growth after all his guts have literally opened from the inside the snake has good reason to be afraid with no real armor the snake bleeds easily even the Great Snake learns to fear us and so often the snake is too scared to fight fair are you afraid to fight me yourself you cowardly snake a snake am I perhaps you'd like to see how snake like I can [Music] be this video is sponsored by project Orochi Orochi not only make awesome street wear that you can check out but they were perfect for this video their clothes are inspired by mythology and video games such as Fon ghost of sushima and SEO they also have fun anime style designs more badass designs with tigers dragons Samurai and even y Mander and of course they have Dark Souls themed clothes such as the fluted night tea and the profane tea one tea that might be our favorite featured beautiful ancient Japanese art project toochi offers free shipping in the US and they are always sharing deals on their Instagram so be sure to follow them there click on our link below project.com Hawkshaw to head to their website and use the code havl for 10% off your entire order thanks again to project they've been great to work with now back to snakes we now have the basic parts of the snake but the snake can coil itself up in all sorts of confusing ways none of the passions are an island what happens when competition fixates on material wealth what happens when this combines with gluttony these coil desires appear a lot in from software games the gold serpent Rings boost our treasure finding framp hung go for material possessions and SE piles up Treasures in his archives the most valuable were pillaged in ancient culture this connection holds the Chinese zodiac predicts riches will come easy if you're born in the year of the snake and in modern storytelling hogwart's competitive and materialistic students assorted to slitherin but this is just one coil of the snake what happens when competition combines with last snakes fight so ruthlessly for a mate it can lead to death and it doesn't stop there even once the chance to mate has been one others will try to interrupt or take their chances once AA has left so un coils the next messy snake like pattern beware my lord of jealousy it is the greeneyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on the snake is the greeneyed monster and its solution for jealousy is brutal it keeps its mate from others with hooked barbs to maintain connection perhaps Juno hoslo has become a victim of the mana's jealousy if they can't have him no one can competition and an obsession with your own pain brings Revenge the snake always Strikes Back tanith warns us defeat is not the end he will one day Rise Again stronger we have seen combined with gluttony but what if pain gets involved the activities of the Mana are warped to say the least why would Giza a man of power have his face and arms wrapped as though he was injured tanith too is covered the cut content daar Had A peculiar habit he would test new methods of torture first upon himself making a gift of his pain and firsthand knowledge to the one he loved it seems as though pain in the volcano Mana is not that far from pleasure and competition with Hunger snakes are a rare animal in nature as many are cannibals their hunger and competition is so extreme that they will eat their own kind they gorge on the bodies of snakes that look just like them and the greatest cannibal snake is the king cobra how fitting that Reichard the human who has turned to eating his own is now the king of serpents in the world of snakes the strongest eat the rest the snake is all the red hot instincts and all their confusing combinations the snake is in Godfrey when he fights and when he begets Godwin the snake is in rala when rigan leaves her and she seees with jealousy and the snake is there when morgot coward in fear chained in his cell snakes are all of these passions and desires but why we have to go deeper ER deeper down to the body of the iceberg the body of the iceberg starts to take form and we haven't been seeing the whole picture as we move deeper down the snake mystery a question comes to mind why does pain or pleasure even exist why is the snake and its passions in us at all the snake is much more than sex violence and rock and roll what are these passions for what did daar's adultery and wicked pleasure bring if we follow the consequences of lust we can understand in every example of sex in Elden ring children are the common thread this seems obvious but remember sex and birth are ancient history in the lands between sex is nothing without fertility look closer the snakes that wind around the genitals of the iron virgin are not the only snakes she wears there is a belt of snakes wrapped around her waist a universal symbol of fertility the dominula women dress The Virgins in flowers that celebrate New Life they dance and pray to their snake priests for fertility they hope for children as part of losing their virginity the Serpent's amnon on the altar is used in a birthing ritual and the glowm mind Queen swaddled her Apostles however they're made they are her children last was just the beginning of the iceberg the iceberg is in fact much larger and this is just one one of the passions what about the rest what is the snake really the answer looks like a snake in reichard's Boss room we find it it is there in dominula in their hair and in the symbol on their clothes it is wielded by the godkin Apostle they worship in his attack and twisted into the godslayer seal it is in the snake arrows and it is in reichard's taker's Cameo formed by two snakes the spiral once you see it it is everywhere on the jar boys and the jar cannon in the plats of the ancestral followers it is in the prince of death's staff and the sword that Radigan becomes it is on mogs robes in spells and on the side of the tibia Mariners boat bogut's pot it is part of the Oracle Envoy horns as they play music for a new age and when we finally see melan's Hidden Eye at its Center is a spiral the spiral is a cycle it is what the ancestral worship and what mg hopes to begin with his new Dynasty it is creation from destruction competition and Discovery rot and growth life from Death the spiral is the true snake all these Cycles are processes and all of them have two sides like two snakes [Music] [Music] competing the spiral in the lands between always fits with this principle and outside the lands between it goes even deeper Chinese mythology has serpent deities called Nua and fushi who created almost everything their form two snakes intertwining Miyazaki may have made K and framp in their image they fight for different things and yet they come together in the end two in one a process a cycle like how the cadua staff of Hermes is represented balance balance is only achieved with opposites the Helix across human culture has been paired with the cycles of life and death so when the molecule at the center of life was discovered it seemed meant to be that it took the shape of a spiral the snake is much more than Instinct the snake is the manifestation of survival everything we thought it was are just its tools its tools of survival we can understand this idea better by looking at the snake's most paradoxical tool in every Souls born games snakes are associated with undeath snakes borrow beneath the Earth and back much like a buried Undead returns to the surface but it is much more than this similarity I why do volcano Mana perfumers study snakes to learn revivification which means to give new life or Vigor to why does GIS a necromancer hold company with a serpent the serpent is the symbol of undeath because true long-term survival must survive through death the snake uses death to live whatever living thing you choose no individual survives and yet life goes on not only that animals adapt through death evolution of a species is a modern idea but Improvement through destruction is an old one and so the snake embodies this truth of survival it lives and grows through death its most paradoxical tool this explains turning to the snake for the secrets of life from Death by understanding the snake GIS may be able to bring back his family and perfumer Karman may be able to renew himself indefinitely the same connection holds beyond the game Aus learns how to live forever by watching serpents bring each other back to life and Voldemort is snake-like because to cheat death he gave some of him himself to the serpent the tool of death is why the snake is carved on the Giant's Forge both the snake and fire are red both are Life Death Cycles destructive and productive both break down and Forge a new so the two seek each other the volcano is also like the snake full of fiery passion but each death is a sacrifice for New Life the partnership between snakes and Flame is still at the center of Elden Ring's Story the one who walks alongside Fay shall one day meet the road of destined death the snake is Undead in another way they shed their skin they leave behind a corpse of themselves to birth themselves a new bright and beautiful this idea is found everywhere in Elden ring we find a shed skin in the temple of AG it has a space just where reichard's face appears on the Great Serpent rard card must grow with the serpent and so he must be part of its shedding cycle when we meet the Great Serpent there are strips of skin hanging off it remnants from its last shed looking closely we can see rikard's face is built up in layers ready to be shed as he grows one day after rard has shed his face countless times his face will be like the face of a mountain life from Death is celebrated by all snake worshippers the dominula women dance next to perfect examples of life from Death windmills to Mill the lifegiving grain a little of the wind must die and what is the symbol of the godkin Apostles the coming together of a spiral death closes the cycle to form a seed for the future now the simpl snake passions become clear they are methods to stay alive in a ruthless world the mouth stretches and the stomach swells but what if it wasn't gluttony but desper spiration the snake Gorges itself at every opportunity but opportunity is scarce In the Jungle the Dark Souls 2 serpent ring says greed is traditionally viewed as a vice but only a fool lets that ruin a good opportunity greed wouldn't exist if it didn't help us survive the symbol of the snake living and renewing itself indefinitely is the uroboros the snake does this by eating itself feasting on itself to grow a new this magic is elsewhere in the lands between the serpentine land octopus eats their own limbs to regenerate Health Reichard in an inspired move puts himself into this Loop by feeding himself to the serpent countless Heroes then are eaten and live in Reichard until Reichard himself is eaten by tanith she feasts on her true love so that he may live inside her if he does survive he may still achieve his dream to eventually consume consume the entire world every act that aids fertility and birth is the snake when a snake spirals with a mate it produces offspring who survive the parents lust jealousy Envy are all just tools if they didn't work to survive they wouldn't exist for the snake is not just phallic it is an umbilical cord the connection to our ancestors even in sex itself orgasm is called The Little Death the tool of fear is a Basic Instinct the snake hides with camouflage borrows under the ground and Bluffs by hissing or lunging but fear is just a survival tool to tell you when odds aren't in your favor however big it grows the snake is always wary rikar doesn't dare show his face outside his volcano his manner is an insular Place only his serpent men roam outside and he doesn't even trust his Heroes with the truth reichard's fear of desertion is so strong only tth knows his secret after all even his followers tried to kill him to reveal himself to every faction would be like a snake slithering onto a beach the birds would forget their differences and turn on the serpent so Reichard bides his time afraid as every snake is but fear helps in the jungle to shed the skin takes friction and for the strongest survivors to prove themselves you need competition real snakes compete in spirals fighting over territory or mates the snake who admits defeat will respect the strength of the winner and leave him the spoils for a while at least we see this in the volcano manner competition helps the heroes rise to the top the coil Shield puts it best the snake on the shield rises above its peers as a particularly showy specimen tanith believes in snake likee competition so deeply that when we tell her we have slain her true love she says it's true then you've defeated our Lord no I must thank you our Lord was yet weak you have taught us that competition is an invisible cycle that selects the best the whole becomes stronger despite the destruction along the way the ancestral followers worship multiple ancestral spirits but only one is King Godfrey has the same attitude thy strength beit the crown even reichart has earned his crown as king of the snakes but according to the law of the snakes we take his crown and so his followers respect us for it you killed Reichard I Harbor you no ill will the strong take such is our code competition helps survival from basic animal Dynamics to complex systems destruction is always part of the process if snake-like instincts didn't push individuals to risk themselves for the sake of greed the process stops working no competition brings nothing and too much competition corrodes the participants away but the right amount of competition is a creative Force the Venom of the snake in the right dosage is medicine miyazaki's Inspirations have the same message in berserk guts and griffith are in competition they seem to be two halves and it is not the first time similar pairs have battled this cycle seems to repeat again and again as though the pain and struggle of their suffering is all for a purpose to make something greater we haven't dared read the secret chapter of Berserk but our intuition tells us it reveals the same philosophy the power of competition even creates the spiral world tree in a fight between Griffith and the skull Knight it is the destructive power of a sword attack that creates it all these tools that are the SN snake have immense value and so the ancient cultures in the lands between slowly began to worship it in snake likee ways the dominula serpent worshippers celebrate skinning as part of their violent festival and on the altars dedicated to aay the serpent flesh is placed but why do the snake worshippers celebrate all this pain why is sacrifice always present it is because they know what the snake truly is pain may be bad but without it all would be lost it is the sacrifice for something greater as humans learn the confusing but undeniable connections of life and the horrific Necessities needed to sustain it all of nature must be worshiped because death brings life and so in time every great cycle of life will be worshiped as a God all in Balance everything you see exists together in a delicate balance as king you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures from The Crawling ant to the leaping Antelope but Dad don't we eat the antalope yes Simba but let me explain when we die our bodies become the grass and the antelope eat the grass and so we are all connected in the great circle of life the Giants God will only give his Aid if you burn a part of yourself the disgust of rot doesn't prevent its worship and in our own time MOG believes the gift and loss of blood that takes part in death birth and consumption may be its own cycle worthy of worship the religions of the land's between understand the idea of balance of dosage a snake's venom can kill but in the right amount it is medicine however the point of balance is always changing this snake in alchemy is also associated with sulfur and sulfur is volatile just like the snake but this element is also seen as transformative the Bas snake can change into a higher form all of the snakes processes are survival but in time they can work so well such a name is surpassed sometimes things can be the same and the same until they change deeper down the iceberg we find snakes are the big beginnings of something else the snake can become a victim of its own success snake methods work but they have worked so well that it starts to become crowded with such high numbers what has been so successful now stops working reproduction the essential tool of the snake can now cause populations to S so high that there isn't enough food this same high population means lust brings disease like never before competition worked well selecting for the best n but now eating another doesn't go unseen as it did in the jungle suddenly there are witnesses everywhere who will turn on the murderer now the snake can have too much of a good thing and can die from it just as the snake seeks heat to warm itself too much heat can kill [Music] it bizarrely the snake passions have created so much success they begin to cause their own redundancy they are less adaptive to the environment these passions must now be held back so a new spiral emerges the snake passions meet a new resistance and like two roots of creation from these forces arise Society it forms like a great tree under whose shade all can rest where everyone can be sheltered from The Wind by its trunk fed by its fruit and can climb its branches ESC escaping the old predators of the Jungle now we are no longer the victims of constant fear or hunger that were the daily realities in the wild it is as though we no longer have to craw in the dust to survive we are allowed to walk with our heads held high walking has dignity um yes dignity this new stage is like a miracle it feels impossible when we start with such wild raw materials the magic of how Society arises is summed up perfectly by the companion jar though the jars are brought to life by human flesh and blood they are all rather kindly folk perhaps they were made to be better than their innards together they are more than the sum of their parts and this benefit of coming together the benefits of society charms the snake now in this emergent environment there are new incentives we become more soulful and less instinctive there is less and less brutality the snake is no longer in the dust it is rising off the ground children are no longer abandoned at Birth as the snake abandons her eggs children are raised by their parents and know their mothers Bach is closer to Human Than Rya he knows his mother but she does not the individual is not so competitive it cannot work so directly for personal gain it cannot behave so territor the individual now finds greater benefit working for the group food is gathered together and shared this is so much easier than the way of the Jungle and everyone benefits just like the fire within the forge the power of the snake is tamed now under the shelter of this great tree intellect can explore the mysteries of the world with space from the immediate needs of the Jungle we can discover its beauty and its rules methods are found for further the growth producing food becomes Farms our Rivers Water Supplies and the land itself is not our Master but a tool roads towns and cities grow and multiply with more and more abundance works of art are created and enjoyed the academy learns from the stars the capital develops culture and ceremony the world has changed in this new world if you can Master the snakes within you then The Spoils of Society are yours we see this symbolized in game and in our own world snakes guard treasure and it's an analogy for overcoming our based desires to achieve what we truly want there is a repeated depiction of gripping one or two snakes in your hands to symbolize overcoming animal Instinct Mastery of oneself and the Philosopher's Stone which is seen as the key to the greatest Enlightenment is guarded by a snake in the capital of landal if you want to show just how far from snake passions you are you trade the showy red of the Jungle a display of animal force and Instinct for a cool rational blue you were displaying your commitment to this new world this new world seems to have a kind of Soul or flame a kind of life or sun and each of us adds a piece of their own fire to it and from this act everyone can be warmed by a shared sun and so the wearers of blue whose ancestors worshiped the snake as Divine now turn away from the serpent but the snake is not so easily tamed the snake is far too dangerous for that just like metal that is melted in the Forge the snake can slip through any Gap if the snake's nature is uncontrolled it will wreak havoc lust Envy violence these things can blot out the Sun whether small scale violence or widespread famine it wouldn't take much for the wheels to come off the gaps in the Forge must be closed tightly snake Behavior must be prevented and so it is punished instead of individuals seeking Revenge society as a whole will now punish those who misbehave but the greatest punishments of society are not clearly defined they are simply part of the invisible societal fabric the fear of reject ction by your group by friends and family embarrassment shame these regulate the snake within us whether it's a partner your role in society a child like a tide these compel you to behave be it as a tailor or a Lord and so the concept of evil arises in this new world in the animal world there was only effective and in effective life or death now behavior is also measured by how it helps or harms Society these attitudes emerge without consensus or even a knowledge of why but their power is phenomenal the thread that connects evil to society can be found in myth but it is subtle the name nidhog the serpent that tries to undermine Society became a Nordic slur this slur meant someone who has obtained the status of a villain or who has lost their honor both Concepts would be totally alien to a predator in the jungle evil is part of society it didn't exist before it slowly as the snakes are more and more controlled we are less and less adapted to deal with them so the snake and its passions come to be greatly feared in others and yourself this comes slowly for the snake has long Been Loved but eventually the monkeys climb higher up the tree no longer is cold or starvation the killer under the shade and protection of the tree many dangers are removed but the dangers of each other are not the snake and one another is now the top predator in time punishment and social attitudes are effective fear turns to hate and hate turns to disgust the snake that crawls on its stomach has no dignity and the snake-like passions are seen as low and vulgar artist gust for the snake can be so extreme that it doesn't matter if someone is working for the greater good if you show snake-like Behavior no matter the aim you will be cast out from society whatever rikard's intentions the story was the same as the Lord lost his dignity so too did these Knights lose their Master now with the worship of the snake a distant memory there is a new change the complexity of the Jungle is forgotten under the shade of the tree the tree is so beautiful it seems to be the only thing and a new religion arises not worshiping snakes death and life fertility and birth rot growth strength but simply one God the god of order the order that can be seen all around in society now the snake can be more than punished it can become an object of religious hatred the snake becomes a cult and Pagan now you cannot Escape your crimes even after death if you're man doesn't punish you God will hell is waiting for those who behave like a snake ancient Norse poetry tells of a snake Hall in hell that punishes those who behaved shamefully in life there is a serpent there who eats the bodies of men purged and wolfish murderers and the one who seduces the snake is no longer Godlike but a demon there's a demon inside of you it's inside both of you look everyone this is what hatred looks like this is what it does when it catches hold of you it's eating me alive and very soon now it will kill me fear and anger only make it grow faster and these ideas become fixed in the minds those born to this culture have never walked in the jungle or even seen a snake these ideas of sin root so deeply that they become foundational in the mind even those who rationally wish to turn against the rules will struggle with the effect of guilt and shame imagine one lives under a tyrannical regime with a king who the nation believes is placed there by God to work to overthrow the Tyrant will be seen as Pure Evil by the Believers and perhaps by part of yourself whether iard is Justified in his beliefs you can decide for yourself but he knew that the disgust he would cause would be so extreme that he even made a tonic of forgetfulness for his love to forget him the road of blasphemy is a hard one indeed Now new religious Concepts come into play reproduction is no longer of the Jungle marriage develops they are spiritual and religious ceremonies where people are joined for Life Concepts around birth that had never had meaning before such as maidenhood and soulmates come into existence as the great one religion gains force it seems the tree is growing Higher and Higher and we can keep climbing as long as enough members contribute to its growth there is now kindness health and Longevity like never before the Brilliance of invention and the ease of life is like nothing that the jungle could have dreamed of the Sun or the tree exist and don't exist in a beautiful miracle that seems almost like heaven we want to climb further to this heaven to touch the Divine but this desire can go too far the fear can become Obsession we start to avoid looking at any parts of the snake disgust turns to denial the snake is is not shown the snake is not talked about the snake is not acknowledged it is not part of us it never was we climb higher into the tree never looking down now we want the sun to shine forever an endless day the old principles of balance are denied some begin to say night is not necessary the dark twah flame is not needed anymore the faith begins to call what was the original state the Corrupted State we see this Paradox in our own world how can it be true that the secret knowledge of reproduction physical toil and competition over resources is the new and unoriginal state for Adam and Eve isn't it much more likely that Eden's Utopia is the childlike view or the ignorant view of someone raised in the near Perfection of developed Society shocked by the knowledge of the true original state to the Mind raised in shelter truth is hor horrific and ignorance is bliss this theme of fear and ignorance is in stories and myth the Chinese myth the White Snake involves a married man who in brief eventually sees his wife in the form of a serpent the man is so shocked he dies on the spot what might this myth be saying is it that the greatest fear in developed Society is that fundamentally even those closest to us can be snake likee no matter how well we know them the infamous Medusa turns us to Stone but is it her magic or our shock at seeing that a once Pious woman could behave how she did it is much more comforting to assume that all humans are not competitive lustful and aggressive but Angelic and touching the Divine just don't look too close this willful ignorance is shown in modern stories as well in Harry Potter when asked by the students about the Chamber of Secrets have a simple answer it doesn't exist it does not exist it cannot be a part of us and it cannot be a part of the school the snake cannot be so essential that it's in the very pipes and so ignorance grows this ignorance combines with fear of the snake who is to know which fears are grounded in reality and which are fantasy maybe snakes are poisoning the water supply what if we can't trust our own food who made the food after all in advanced societ we don't know anymore by now we probably want to keep it that way what is this divin looking amus Bush if I tell you I'm afraid you won't even try it and one fear that arises again and again in developed Society is what if our own leaders were snake-like or reptiles this Taps into a profound worry that has long existed once again myth reveals it clearly in Norse mythology at the top of the tree of life is not a reptile or a snake but a goat a goat is simple-minded milk giving and under our control it may eat some of the leaves but we have domesticated it we may choose to be led by goats because they are safe they will not take advantage of their position by stealing our contributions and if they do they will not do so very effectively but what if a snake was leading us without our knowledge what if the high leaders of church and state were snakes in Disguise just imagine the disgust when those you believe to be the lowest of the low the most animal of all actually had slipped through and crawled up from the depths into a position of power even worse is the thought that what was once goat-like May transform leadership brings power and Temptation after all Reichard was a noble a prer and yet seeing the paganism he was tasked to Stamp Out started him on his Blasphemous path was he corrupted or did he see some of the reality that drives the wheels of mankind Miyazaki himself has said that many ideas for villains have come from meeting the leaders of large companies now I'm president he says I get to meet a lot of other company presidents they're such weird people I'm fascinated by them with a smile he adds I use some of them as enemy characters in our games the obsessive fear of the snake continues to grow among all Society members eventually anything connected to the snake must be gotten rid of extreme emotions sex and violence are one thing but now even the Deep snake will be tampered with if Society wants to reach the Divine that means it must overcome crude and vulgar methods of birth and death this society says we will take control of how we reproduce we will interfere with the timing the method and the cycle old methods will will be beast-like when compared to these now Society will dictate death and where the dead are taken where they are buried and the meaning given to their souls departure and so it moves higher birthing death competition all is controlled those who rise up are slain those who reproduce outside the bounds of the rules are punished snake Cycles are controlled almost completely this control has been taken in the time of America the spiral the natural cycles of life is there in the Elden ring of the Dragons it is there in the time of The Crucible it is plain to see in The Crucible symbols but in the present the spiral is gone the Society of the earth tree has taken full control and it has deleted what it found undesirable no longer will life come from Death all will be bright under the light of the earth tree there will be no dark no true death no no pain no rot no disease and no Rebellion but did ignorance play a part in these decisions we climb higher to flee the snake we want to touch the Divine but as was true for every stage of life before this one there is a balance there is always poison and Medicine the Society of the earth Tre seeks to fix the volatile in alchemy this is the snake nailed to the tree or to the crucifix but is this a Fool's errand in Genesis the snake is known as the deceiver certainly to follow the snake as a member of society is to be deceived you will cause yourself harm but perhaps the deception goes even deeper Revelation says the snake is the deceiver of the whole World perhaps the greatest trick the snake ever pulled was to get us to hate it too much because however High the monkeys climb snakes can also climb trees which leads us to the bottom of the iceberg miyazaki's Paradox myth is full of Heroes who bring their own downfall orus his wife uicy died of a snake bite after a long Quest he was granted the right to retrieve her from the underworld she would follow him up to the world of The Mortals as he left but he was warned he could not look back or she would remain in the world of the Dead Forever just before he finished his climb to the surface he couldn't help himself he looked back and his hopes died as the human monkey climbs the tree of society it cannot help but look back at the snake take a closer look at snake charming the snake isn't really being Charmed at all it's just afraid and the irony is that the ones who are really Charmed are every human who stands around watching and this is why a snake can never die the higher we try to climb the more we deny the snake's existence the more it gains in hypnotic power sin turns to Taboo which gives it more Fascination like a Hydra as we cut heads off more grow in their place there is a thrill in what is forbidden the feeling of pure risk I had that in the K's column but it's thrilling okay um then we'll move that thrill of risk the firon karma explains this taboos transform into lasting Obsessions By virtue of the fear that they Inspire and these monks tasked with protecting the Giant's flame fell into temptation now some are black monks who wear a hood that says the seduction of a taboo is never easily spurned once we look back at the snake and look into its eyes we are put into a trance hypnotized as we stare transfixed the snake seems to whisper ER Temptations in our ear as it did to Eve as it did to Reichard to try and fight the Temptation is like slowly being constricted as though you cannot breathe as though the snake were coiling around your chest your neck how can it be so impossible to resist if tal of the snake was only the Temptation Of The Forbidden wouldn't it be much easier to manage the feeling of not being able to breathe is the feeling of losing something essential if something is truly our CA of course we cannot kill it of course we cannot destroy the snake because it is still what drives our actions even in society look at the imagery of Dark Souls and those who actively maintain Society look at the humanlike enemies in bloodborne who are actually puppeteered by snakes from the inside or batilda bagshot also puppeteered by a snake all the Iron Maidens driven by snakes on the inside and what about the symbol of society itself the her tree well within the offspring of this tree is found something surprising beneath some minor her trees lives its tree Spirit a spirit that rides just like a snake and the name of this boss in the game data snake soul and there isn't just one snake in the roots of the world tree in the Norse epic the poetic Eder we are told more serpents there are beneath the ash than an unwise ape would think these snakes consume the dead and dying roots and so renew the tree and in a tapestry found in an ancient North Ship we can see snakes depicted in the roots of the tree intertwining in spirals let me just cut the damn thing up the snake is still essential it is just hidden only an unwise ape would ignore its hidden wisdom the serpent is the Earthly essence of man of which he is not conscious it is the mystery that flows to him from the nourishing Earth Mother in alchemy the serpent holds secret or deep knowledge it is beyond what is consciously knowable gmir staff shows this it takes Faith to use because to use the wisdom of the snake requires Faith the snake as Instinct seems to possess a peculiar wisdom of its own it is the reason why the snake signifies evil and darkness on the one hand and wisdom on the other miyazaki's paradox three Roots there are that three ways run neath the as tree igil this is miyazaki's paradox the roots of things are our Todds with each other it isn't meant to be easy society and instincts Duty and emotions they struggle against each other because that is what it means to live in the lands between Lorden or our own world it is what creates the whole damn thing if these contradictions feel frustrating and uncomfortable well they're not meant for you we believe M zaki's message is that if Society in its usefulness was the face of a clock then each of us are the cogs it is only through pressure that results are created the dark is necessary for the light snakes are the ones who pull the sun across the sky and who tried to swallow it and as part of miyazaki's paradox is a conclusion a message that is clear in all his games to try and resist this truth will bring tragedy there will be rot death and destruction in the world and we shouldn't try to escape these things but work with them as the coil Shield originally said how can you poison a poisonous snake we need to accept that we aren't that far from monkeys after all and that's okay the evidence that Miaki Martin and the team believe that tampering with the snake causes problems is all around us we know that the spiral the cycles of the world have been sealed away long ago and what do we find in the world around us the roots of the great tree are ridden with insects wormlike creatures even lower than snakes have taken the place of once healthy tree Guardians they walk the land hunched and vomiting the lands between are becoming full of tarnished those who have lost their color and vitality even wealthy Nobles are old worn gray the unseal is returning but in terrible ways rth is seeping in where it shouldn't be even infecting the children of Lords the snake Souls of the minor her trees are becoming sick ulcerated the wild animals are blighted those who respect the Cycles are rebelling America has tried to seal away the Glide Queen and her power but the influence of her Apostles is growing other Rebels are rising up other gods worshiped and many colors being worn no seal can work forever Boger puts it best maybe something went tits with it maybe it's been broke for a good long time dominula is a perfect example of the suffering caused by removing the spiral The Majestic windmills were once wellmaintained they ground the Harvest that would feed the nearby Capital now the windmills are tattered whatever grain is left is rotten the villagers have turned to the snake in desperation they crave the renewing power of the cycle of life and death they crave it so much that they bite their own arms as a form of attack strength from Death the spiral of blood the dominula women are doing more to Kickstart renewing spirals they are Infamous for hunting their own men skinning and burning them but why the answer is found in the festival look at the virgins who play a special role in the celebration they are hardly young enough to still be maidens the hood they wear is described is a stunning blue that is only permitted for young Maids who play a central role in the festival but the blue is far from stunning the blue is even faded compared to the Navy hood that lies nearby worn by the corpse of a noble long dead these maidens are far from the prime of life isn't that bizarre why are such old women maidens and dancing in the hopes of losing their virginity well the spiral has been removed all the aspects of the snakes have been robbed of their power including lust the original turtleneck meat description says Turtle meat is said to boost fil but none in the lands between seem to have much appetite for it these days in the lands between the urge to reproduce has waned long ago the men of the village no longer feel physical desire but it seems that the women still want them and want children dominula villagers still dance with hope at their ceremony they are desperate for the men to to regain their potency so they can do the deed and this is why they are skinning their men just like a snake sheds its skin to be renewed bright and full of Vitality the women skin their men hoping that this ritual will give them back their snake power their libido not only do they skin them they burn them like metal in a forge to forge them a new and this may not be totally insane the men once cowed begging not to be skinned but as we walk by the burning pile of bodies the men stand up reborn all this pain simply because they have been denied what nature granted them they cry not unlike the iron virgins who cry as they hold a long for child the world in general is transforming for the worse without death the system is becoming weak I feel thin sort of stretched like butter scraped over too much bread and as the competitive snake knows weakness is vulnerability weakness means opportunity if the Earth tree refuses to burn in the fires of Rejuvenation a competitor will crush it and competitors are rising the supposed one God of America cannot hold its place the many gods are coming um and thus created the seven where most of the peasants say okay we have seven gods no no you have one God New Kings the god of scarlet rot who is growing their presence in the lands between they possess a wicked intelligence and shouldn't be underestimated and the greatest threat of all is the serpent rard growing endlessly beneath the Mana a threat so grave that morgot had to wage all out war against him and morgot knows what he is doing it is essential that rikard be stopped because just just as a demigod has a shadow that will one day Shepherd them to the world of the dead so too is everything given a time to die and so the Society of the earthree is no exception it too will end as those destined to kill the Earth tree begin to rise it will be called blasphemy just like every Uprising in the past just as America's early resistance against the king of England claimed to be chosen by God was called Blasphemous but in the end everything dies individuals cultures ages worlds because it is inevitable death cannot be sealed forever but have you noticed something throughout the whole playthrough of this game have you noticed that there has never not once been a true snake Reichard has limbs the apostles have assimilated snake biology but are not full snakes snake men are not not true serpents snake statues have wings some serpents are like snails as they make shells their home no serpent is pure so what is going on and how is this connected to dragons true serpents dragons shadows and much more all can be found in the deep dark depths beneath the iceberg but it is not just the reptilian appear there is something else that connects them the ancient dragons have a full set of Limbs and on their backs multiple pairs of wings but just like the true serpent starts Without Limbs and then seems to gain them so too can the dragon seem to lose its limbs the ancient dragon's weaker modern counterparts have lost a pair of Limbs and a pair of wings and this design choice is very consistent to cross from software games the snake and the dragon are clearly connected in our world the year of the snake is often called the year of the little dragon in Greek myth it can be a serpent or dragon that guards the famous golden apples and the most infamous of all snakes Satan himself is just as ambiguous how could the biblical serpent be punished to crawl on the ground if he started with no limbs well Satan was once called a dragon in the Bible and at the same time as lust Envy aggression is released onto the world in Dark Souls there is also this strange connection one imperfect dragon is the Hellkite Drake it is different from the Eternal dragons this difference has been important to the community for years what is an ancient dragon a dragon and a drake the mystery becomes even more confusing in the silver serpent ring item description which says the snake is an perfect Dragon if we combine the Eastern reverence for dragons with Mia zaki's snake SL Dragon ambiguity we can find the answer a thread that links the two like the Turning of the windmills and the twisting of the Whirlwind we can see the answer everywhere and nowhere the Serpent's amnon will never dry out the dragons are Eternal a snake can never die the god Shiva holds a trident showing the past the present and the future and with them is a snake both the snake and the dragon are the manifestation of time the dragon is divine eternity and the snake is Mortal eternity the dragon is part of the Heavenly realm it is truly Eternal but the snake is only Eternal thanks to the Mortal tools of survival it has to crawl on its belly the serpent if it wants to become the dragon must eat itself this is the connection between dragons and snakes and their difference the way they survive through time this is why when a dragon uses the methods of a snake it is cast down into the base mortal plain when ancient dragons turn to birth Envy lust they descend towards the snake grol gives birth to offspring and she has lost a pair of wings her remaining pair have fused with her front limbs she is no longer a true ancient dragon modern dragons her descendants have the same traits they are weak in comparison the envious and deceitful SE is serpent-like and lacks the Eternal scales the Hellkite Drake may be big but it's on the Earthly plane it is not Eternal for it has been born as it will survive with Mortal methods it has less Limbs and wings a defining part of the Eternal dragons are their scales they are Stone and unchanging to lose them is to die but the snake scales must stretch change and eventually shed the snake must shed its scales over and over to live forever the dragon serpent relationship is beautifully illustrated by their two greatest bosses the dragon lord whines about himself like the coils of endless time strikingly similar to the position of the Great Serpent but the mighty Dragon SS effortlessly above the ground the dragon is of heaven and can survive effortlessly but the snake rests firmly on the earth amongst disparity forced to warm itself to survive in other stories we see the same pattern smell hungers for Treasure and what does tolken called this dragon that has fallen into Vice there was a most specially G greedy strong and wicked worm called smow fafner who murders for his treasure eventually has his limbs removed and Ying long a dragon from Chinese mythology is punished by the gods for disobeying them the dragon's punishment is to be cast down to the Earth to lose its wings and to be forced to live as a serpent the snake cannot rest like the dragon of mineral stone the snake must wind endlessly and yet as it craws you can see in it the shape of Infinity but if dragons are one end of a scale and they can fall it must mean that snakes can move up the scale too and become more Divine this is the reason for the pseudo snakes we see in game around the volcano Mana is a dream for all to see winged serpents reichard's fantasy this is why Reichard has limbs it is his first stage towards becoming Divine just as as the pillars around him have risen in spirals Reichard has risen too his snake cult is no longer the basist form of chaos it is on the way to becoming a new Society his family is large he has a community the numbers of snake men in the city are growing you couldn't call it a civilization yet but with time it will develop and his limbs will grow But Wings are a human fantasy the snake can only climb so far and the human with the snake within him is always of the Mortal plain you may have noticed that every Mastery of the snake we have mentioned was not a human achievement minan snake goddesses grip the snakes in both hands only Hercules could kill the Hydra the snake that could not be killed by Mortals he proved he was the son of Zeus and deserved to be back on Olympus Heaven is for the gods and you must be divine to overcome mortality humans are are the snake not the dragon in the Greek myth of esclipus esus watches snakes to unlock the secret of eternal life but Zeus watches him as he makes his Discovery Zeus strikes a sleepus down with lightning in punishment dragons can descend or take human form such as lancs the reverse however is impossible but like dragons themselves the idea of transcendence is a Perpetual human fantasy we try and cry but it always ends in Failure these tragic failures are everywhere in Elden ring the clearest is the magma worms they couldn't become Divine and so they are punished to be forever reminded of their snake-like mortality their scale sword States it said these land bound Dragons Were Once humans who partook in Dragon communion a grave transgression for which they were cursed to crawl the Earth upon their bellies Shadows of their former selves which leads us to the secret of the Gods in Elden ring now we realize The Serpent and the dragon are the manifestation of Eternity something else starts to become clear there is a godkin Noble in the Church of agay with the skin of Reichard given in worship and in phula there is the head of a dragon also given in worship which a godkin noble and a godkin apostle lur beneath this is a god both societies work worship phoua has endlessly been crumbling and the dragon lord who lives beyond time has been deserted by his God the godkin Tells a Story as though the god they worship wears the faces of all other gods brings them into existence and kills them the wearing of faces is not new to Martin's work the apostles are just like Martin's Priests of black and white who serve the god of death they call the god of death the [Music] manyfacedgod Arya asks simple questions after joining the black and white cult such as who should die and who their God Is The Answer could have been in Elden ring it is not for you to say who shall live and who shall die that gift Bel belongs to him of many faces we are but his servants swords to do his will Arya glanced at the statues that stood along the walls candles glimmering around their feet which God is he why all of them said the priest in black and white but if the glow Queen brings the dusk the ending of life and Maro gave the dawn the birth what God unites them who is the god of many fa faes in Elden ring the god worshiped in phula and volcano Mana that has deserted placex the god of the Glide queen and the godkin apostles is the god of time this God wears the faces of all other gods dressing in the guise of all events and all aspects of nature it is camouflaged it brings things into existence and can kill them all the gods of nature scorpions and rot or antlers and spirit all function within the god of time God with seven aspects and here they he their faces so they have seven faces so there's seven no there's one one placitas A's arena is an example of what happens when this God departs leaving its Lord in stasis time is present across the spirit and the physical world through it fate is linked in step this God is of such power that both snakes and dragons worship it the glow mind Queen serves this time God under whose watch every beginning and every end occurs and though the gods May resist the god of time cannot be sealed away if it were sealed it would be the ending of all things for everything must pass within time the message that time is the ultimate God killer can be learned from hug hug wants to forge a weapon that could slay a god what could have the power to kill a very God a man cannot kill a God to make a weapon capable of such power we need to imbue the weapon with the power to twist time and because this god holds the power of absolute ends and absolute Beginnings it has the power to end the cycles of mortal Realms A Farewell to it all a peace a gift from the god of time death is not the worst thing it is his gift to us an end to want and pain when our sins and sufferings grow too great to be born the Angel takes us by the hand to lead us to the nightlands where the Stars Burn ever bright for Mortals Miyazaki says that the plane we live on is Where We Belong until the god of time takes us Paradise is not for our kind we will always have pains and passions Trading Places it is the disparity of Life while it isn't Heaven maybe we should embrace the flame and the dark if we can't become Divine ourselves we may make things together that reach that realm greater than the sum of our parts like a great golden tree so peer for forward with your head held high there's something about this Mortal realm after all

Channel: Hawkshaw

Views: 211,138

Keywords: Elden Ring, Lore, Dark Souls, Hawkshaw, Hackshaw, Vaati, Gloam, Dragons, Queen, Marika, Radon, Ranni, Radahn, Demigod, Godwyn, Erdtree, Outer Gods, Greater Will, Colour, Prepare to Cry, Secrets, Vaatividya, Radagon, Ancient, History, Timeline, Blasphemy, Rya, Boggart, Prawns, Snail, Summon, Godskin, Eyed, Melina, Volcano, Manor, Leyndell, Farum, Azula, Maliketh, Gurranq

Id: T20CTwxKFIc

Length: 77min 4sec (4624 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 22 2023