The Lore of Elden Ring's Dragons

So you've become the Elden Lord. But before you,   it was Radagon, and before him it was Godfrey,   who items call the "First Elden Lord." And yet, even before Godfrey,   there was another, Placidusax. An ancient dragon who ruled as Elden Lord   in the prehistoric age before the Erdtree. It's him and his kin that you're going   to be learning about in this video. But to quickly summarise:   First, there were the ancient dragons who had these stone scales   that could twist time, making them essentially immortal.   And yet some ancient dragons can be found dead. Buried in the rocks of Farum Azula,   which twists and crumbles in an eternal storm.   On the ground, their descendants roam the Lands Between without the stone   scales of their ancestors. And instead of stone scales, they've   inherited aspects of their environments. The ice dragons roam the icy mountaintops.   The glintstone dragons feasted on sorcerers.   One's hatred was so strong that he even endured   The Scarlet Rot in Caelid. And it's here in Caelid,   that Greyoll, mother of all the mortal dragons, lies dying.   There's a lot to talk about. This is the story of Elden Ring's Dragons.   Many item descriptions note that the age of the ancient   dragons was "prehistoric." And, I think that's an important word,   because it might explain why Godfrey's recorded   title is the "First Elden Lord." Even though he's not.   Placidusax is. The word "prehistoric" denotes   a period of time before written history. And while there are spoken   legends from this time, I think what they're trying to get across   is that the Elden Lord before Godfrey wouldn't be well known.   This was before the age of the Erdtree, after all, and the Erdtree   would eventually come to be considered perfect and eternal.   So the idea that there might have even been   an Elden Lord that came before could have been considered   irrelevant at best, and sacrilegious, I think, at worst.   But what really is an Elden Lord? And why was Placidusax considered one?   I feel like the role of Elden Lord can be roughly narrowed down to three things.   You are made eligible by A) your strength. B) your validity as a consort   and/or C) your willingness to bring about a new age or order.   Specifically, the Elden Lord is tasked with bringing about The Greater   Will's order, one built around the Elden Ring that it sent here long ago.   Hence the name, "Elden Lord." Sounds simple, but then remember,   the nature of The Greater Will's order can vary wildly, as is shown   by all who come to champion it over the ages.   The Greater Will's order is malleable enough   that it can even accept a number of endings that our Tarnished brings about,   where the Elden Ring is mended by runes that will dramatically redefine the world.   So it is that our role as a Tarnished is actually pretty unique,   as our primary goal now is to reunite the broken shards   of the Elden Ring with Markia, the god that is the vessel of the Elden Ring   Locked away inside the Erdtree. It's not up to her to will   a new age into being. It's up to us,   and we have to gather the great runes to do this.   So it is, that in most endings, you ascend to the throne as Elden   Lord alone, without a God or living consort by your side.   Instead, your crumbling god is a vessel for your Elden Ring, and not much more.   But previously, it seems an Elden Lord was chosen by their God.   Chosen for their strength. Chosen to sire a lineage.   cChosen for their usefulness to their god's order.   So it was that Hoarah Loux was chosen to be the Elden Lord   as the Age of the Erdtree began. He defeated Marika's enemies,   He sired the Golden Lineage, and then was discarded   in favor of Radagon --> an Elden Lord, who betrayed Marika's enemies,   and sired more demigod children with her before being shattered alongside his god.   And since we don't actually know much about Placidusax's god,   we rely on Hoarah Loux, and Radagon, and Marika as well to teach us   the things that we should assume would have been   traditionally true about her. So it is that Placidusax's   god likely chose him as overlord because Placidusax was powerful,   politically expedient, loyal, and/or perhaps a valid consort.   And speaking of Elden Lords being consorts, it's   certainly possible that Placidusax consorted with his god.   But I don't think that means that all or any of the ancient dragons   would have been the result of that union. In fact, as noted by ZullietheWitch,   the heads of Placidusax are different, and are labeled   as "male" and "female" respectively. So who's to say Placidusax   didn't spawn their own ancient dragons? Whatever the case, the ancient dragons   were exceptionally loyal to their lord, and multiple item descriptions state   that "the ancient dragons who ruled the prehistoric era   before the Erdtree, would protect their Lord   as a wall of living rock." This is why "the shape of the dragon   has become symbolic of all manner of protections."   And indeed, we commonly see dragons on shields and on damage reduction talismans.   But even without his kin laying down their lives to protect him,   Placidusax is intensely powerful in their own right.   In fact, I'd say that Placidusax was likely chosen as Elden Lord   for their strength in battle, and the physical evidence of battle is all there.   Their form is severely scarred, and even his heads   have been severed in unknown fights. I think it's fair to speculate   that Placidusax put their life on the line for their God.   Just as Elden Lords would do for their gods in years to come,   and just as his ancient dragons did for him.   But what exactly is an ancient dragon? To help us distinguish between   all of the dragons in the game, it's important to note that not all dragons   in Elden Ring are of the ancient variety. Most are actually lesser   wyverns, like these. Though they're all   descended from the same stock, ancient dragons specifically   are characterized by their mastery of red lightning, as well as their four wings,   four limbs, and stone scales. These stone scales are perhaps   their most defining characteristic. You would have found these stone scales   in your playthrough. They would have been looted   as "Gravel Stones," which are said to be the scales   of the ancient dragons. These Gravel Stones can be used to craft   Dragonwound Grease, a weapon buff that increases the damage   you deal to dragons. It reads "When the dragons were born from   their ancient kin, they lost their stone scales, which can now   be used to cause them mortal harm." Talk about insult to injury.   So just like in Dark Souls, it's these stone scales   that gave the ancient dragons their signature immortality.   And as further evidence for that fact, consider the Dragon King's Cragblade,   which reveals that today's dual-winged, two-legged dragons are considered "paltry"   and "mortal" --> again confirming that the ancient dragons   were immortal by way of comparison. But why are they immortal?   Well, the mechanism behind this immortality is revealed   by the Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone's description, which marks   it as a "golden Gravel Stone" and a "scale of the Ancient Dragonlord."   Most importantly though, it reads "This stone lightly   twists time." Therefore, its Placidusax's very scales,   and likely also those of his kin that have time twisting properties,   explaining the ancient dragons longevity. It seems they're immune   to the effects of time. This also explains   why Placidusax's Old Lord's Talisman messes with time   "lengthening the duration of sorceries and incantations"   in the hands of the Tarnished. Most interesting, though, is that   the smithing stone goes on to state that it allows for "the creation of a weapon   capable of slaying a god." Presumably this is because of the scales   time twisting abilities, which I theorize   might help to sort of undo the god that gets smacked with this   from existing in the first place. Maybe time undoes them in that way,   or perhaps it speeds up their eventual irrelevancy   over time. It's really fitting that a god would be   weak at a time and nothing else really. Now, scales twisting time is one thing,   but all of Farum Azula seems to exist outside of time,   To some extent. There is no day and night cycle here, for example,   and this time twisting effect is particularly strong in Placidusax's   arena, which you access by lying down at the very edge of his storm.   In a way, you kind of become a part of the environment here in this moment,   as the space you're lying in is actually a shallow grave meant for entombment.   It's just missing a skeleton, whereas the other graves have them.   And now that you're part of Farum Azula itself,   time stops, then actually begins to bring you backwards   in time with the repairing ruins to Placidusax's forum,   where the dragon Lord once dwelled eternally beyond time.   So time is extremely convoluted in Placidusax's arena.   And I say this because it's here in the "heart of the storm beyond time"   that you're able to use an item called Miquella's Needle,   which is "one of the unalloyed gold needles that Miquella crafted to ward away   the meddling of outer gods." Now, currently   this needle is only a temporary solution. It only wards off the outer   god's influence. It doesn't cure   one of it, as Malenia is evidence of indeed the final silver version   of the needle reveals that "the needle is still as yet   unfinished and can only be used in the heart of the storm beyond   time, said to be found in Farum Azula." It's here alone that the needle does   finally function fully, removing the entire influence of the outer   god in your body. Miquella originally intended   to use this needle to repel   the Outer God of Rot within his system. But here, if you're locked into the Lord   of Frenzied Flame ending, you can use the needle to "cheat fate"   and undo The Frenzy God's influence instead.   This reveals that the final missing component of the needle is time.   It just needs this final time twisting effect to be complete.   So as with the smithing stones we just mentioned,   perhaps you are inserting the needle at a point   before the outer god's influence existed upon you.   Or perhaps the gods are simply, again, weak to time's effects.   I wonder if Miquella knew this. I wonder if he knew that time twisting was   what was needed to complete the needle. And I wonder if he even realized   that this is a place you could come to do that. Anyway,   the one weird thing about Miquella's Needle is that you can use it   in Placidusax's arena even though he's dead. Raising the question, you know, hang on,   If it's Placidusax's scales that twist time, why is it   time is being twisted here in a location even without him and his scales present?   Now, I do have a theory that might reconcile this issue.   Remember how I brought up that time only starts moving backwards   when you lie down in a burial space and become a part of the environment.   Well, my theory is that, what if it's the landmass of Farum Azula itself   That also twists time? I think it might be able to do this   because the landmass literally has ancient dragons and the time-   twisting scales entombed within it. The official art book reveals   a ton of these ancient dragons, and indeed, ancient dragons can be found within   Farum Azula's geological stratum. I asked dataminer   ZullietheWitch to take a closer look at these assets, and she discovered   that there are two variants of these entombed dragons   that show up here, here, here, and here. So four dragons in total   that we can see, at least. At first I thought that   these might represent Placidusax's missing heads,   but the intact variant of the model displays four wings and four legs,   meaning these were entire ancient dragons. That said, they don't look entirely   like ancient dragons. In fact, the heads are actually the same   as Placidusax's, albeit   rendered in a lower level of detail. So personally, given the information   I have, I believe that this suggests that these entombed dragons might be   Placidusax's offspring or kin. Perhaps even an older   generation of ancient dragon entombed in a previous geological stratum   of Farum Azula's ancient history. So it is that   I think you can argue that the landmass of Farum Azula itself can twist time.   But additionally or alternatively Farum Azula's storm itself   might represent this time twisting Miquella's Needle does say that   it can only be used in the "heart of the storm" in Farum Azula.   So perhaps Placidusax's golden scales sort of "twisted" a storm into being,   And maybe that storm twists time, irrespective   of whether Placidusax is alive or not. Also, I really like the idea   that twisting storms are a visual representation of the scales   that twist time, because the scales do specifically use   the word twist in regards to time. So the storm and these twisting hurricanes   are so perfect visually for that. But as we move into the next chapter,   I want to point out one more interesting thing   about these golden scales, and it's that according to their item descriptions,   they're only "made" into ""stones after being "polished,"   and thanks to their older item description Text in version   1.0 of Elden Ring, we know exactly who it was that polished   these stones in the first place. They were "refined by sentient beasts   that regarded them as holy relics." So it is that we arrive   at the beastmen of Farum Azula who were the ancient   dragons clergymen, worshippers, and lessers. There are a few types of beastmen   in Farum Azula, but most wield their signature curved   sword, a weapon that is forged from dull iron but is so well designed that   despite its weight, it's "comparatively easy to wield for the damage   it delivers." This skill in smithing seems to extend   to their throwing weapons as well, which boomerang through the air towards   you like nothing else in The Lands Between. As the Beastman's Cleaver itself   states, "It's clear the beastmen possess knowledge   beyond human ken." As you start to progress towards   the latter half of Farum Azula, you'll start to be assailed   by red lightning wielded by the beastmen clergy.   Some warriors even carry weapons blessed with its effects.   This is significant because red lightning is explicitly called   the "weapon wielded by the ancient dragons." Lightning in Fromsoftware games   has always been a weapon of divinity, and those that wielded are naturally   the blessed adherents of that divinity. In this case,   the divines were the ancient dragons who wielded this lightning   within the storms of Farum Azula. So, for the beast men to wield it,   the art was probably taught to them. For additional context,   one of the only other characters who wields a weapon imbued with red   lightning is Vyke,   a Tarnished beloved by an ancient dragon. Indeed, certain beastmen   were, quote unquote, "chosen" or blessed in a similar way, with the   Azula Beastman Spirit Ashes stating that Farum Azula's giant   mausoleum was "guarded by chosen beastmen who wield weapons clad in lightning."   For more evidence of the beastmen's reverence of ancient dragons,   we can look to the five sites of grace in Farum Azula   that mark different sections of the "Dragon Temple. A sprawling place of worship   that features multiple statues of beast clergymen bent in reverence towards   ancient dragon statues, and the central part of the Dragon Temple   is this the place where you would have fought the Godsskin Duo   an altar overshadowed by an enormous dragon skeleton.   For reference, these skeletal remains dwarf even Placidusax   and are matched only in size by the Dragon Greyoll and the ancient dragon   Gransax, both of whom we'll discuss a little bit later.   The Azula Beastman Spirit Ashes states that Farum Azula   is "said to be the remains of a giant mausoleum enshrining an ancient dragon"   and given this dragon's prominent placement in the "Dragon Temple"   of all places, I actually think the enshrined Dragon in question   might be this one, though you could certainly make the argument   that the "enshrined ancient dragon" was Placidusax instead.   But, regardless of exactly what it's enshrining, Farum Azula really is   just a huge mausoleum with burial customs literally around every corner.   Considering all the jars in this place, one   such type of burial that comes to mind is jar burial,   a practice documented in ancient human cultures all across the globe.   Now, this practice would show up more explicitly   later in Elden Ring's timeline with the living Jars,   which are literally filled with the interred remains of powerful warriors.   But beyond the powerful funerary imagery in Farum Azula,   there's actually no explicit evidence that I can find   that suggests actual entombment within these jars.   In contrast, the Beastman's Jar Shield is quite clear that "the beastmen   have always fired earthenware jars for the express purpose of making shields."   The description comments that these ways are "strange,"   and I feel like I can offer a strange theory here.   We know that the beastmen value golden stone scales, right?   And, we know that there are literally ancient dragons   entombed within the earth of Farum Azula. So what if the beastmen value   the dragon-infused earth for this reason? Firing pots from this dragon earth   in an initial burial custom, then breaking them to use   as sacred shields. We established earlier   that the golden scaled ancient dragons are a symbol of protection.   And considering these are earthenware shields that are flecked   with the same golden hue as their scales, I feel like this theory is alright.   It's the only way I can rationalize making shields   out of pots that are made out of earth, anyway.   Somewhat predictably, the beastmen practice   entombment of their own species as well, And I'm not just talking   about their gold adorned tombs. I'm talking about the entombment   in the architecture itself as well. The skeletal remains of the beastmen   frequently show up within the architecture of Farum Azula itself.   This reminds me of the historical practice of immurement,   which was this sort of horrific form of capital punishment,   usually where the subject was entombed in a structure while alive.   That said, there are historical examples of   immurement being more about human sacrifice.   A part of a grand burial ceremony in some cultures,   and believed to make buildings sturdier in others.   And I feel like it would have been the beastmen   who built the architecture of Farum Azula, not the dragons themselves.   It is structured to be a mausoleum after all,   And since it's the beastmen who revere the ancient dragons, it's naturally   the beastmen who would have occupied the labor roles in society.   That said, I guess humans also could have built it,   since humans are depicted in the architectural reliefs of Farum Azula.   So, it stands to reason that humans were a part of this culture as well,   even at this early prehistoric period of time, which is kind of crazy   considering how much humans contrast with the beastmen here.   As with a lot of the architecture in Fromsoftware   games, I feel like it would be a bit dishonest of me   not to mention that these in particular are   reused assets also present in Bloodborne. So, it's possible that Fromsoftware   didn't expect us to read into these assets too hard.   But let's give them the benefit of the doubt,   and assume that they at least wanted to suggest   that there was a human presence in Farum Azula once.   So not only were humans present, but they were worthy of being enshrined.   Who were they? Well, our biggest clues   about different types of humans comes from origin text   in the character creation screen. And, there are two human types   in particular that I think might be a match   for the humans in these reliefs. First are the Numen.   The Numen are "supposed descendants of denizens of another world,"   and the Numen's Rune tells us that "The Numen are said   to have come from outside the Lands Between." Considering Farum Azula   experienced a cultural revolution with the coming of the Greater Will   and the Elden Ring, which arrived upon an extraterrestrial star.   I wouldn't be surprised if Numenoid humans came along for the ride as well.   Alternatively, the character creator reveals lore for "the stony   face of the people of the ancient dragons, among whom life is typically short."   It certainly seems to be suggesting that these humans are descended   from the ancient dragons. I else would note their "stony" faces   or their short lives in contrast to the ancients. As we'll discover later,   ancient dragons can turn into humans, so perhaps they intermingled   at some point in the past to create these humans.   That said, this is all just speculation and a human presence on Farum Azula   is otherwise quite hard to process considering   the beasts are clearly the legacy of Farum Azula, for it was the beasts   who would gain intelligence and shape the world around them, not humans.   Ancient historians have long speculated   that it was the development of long opposable thumbs that helped facilitate   early humans use of tools. Similarly, in Elden Ring, having "five   fingers" is something to be celebrated, as is revealed   by the Cinquedea, a weapon of the Beast Clergyman.   This item description is one of those ones that is just hugely significant   for the lore. The name "Cinquedea" means "five fingers,"   and it visually shows five skeletal fingers on the blade.   The item description goes on to state that "the design celebrates a beast's   five fingers, symbolic of the intelligence once granted upon their kind."   So, before there were beastmen, there were simply beasts here,   and it was the bestowal of intelligence, which is equated with having five fingers   that led to the beastmen. This of course   begs the question who, or what, bestowed intelligence upon the beastmen?   And luckily, it's a simple one to answer. It was the Greater Will.   The Greater Will is all about fingers. It speaks through the two fingers   it hates If you have three fingers, it will tolerate four fingers,   but five is the amount to be celebrated, or at least it was long ago.   And if this veneration of fingers wasn't enough evidence for you   while the 1.0 version of the Cinquedea literally states   that "it was the Greater Will who granted the beast's intelligence."   So, that's that. The Greater Will clearly also has a bit of a thing   for acting through beasts. Just look at the final boss,   it's an "Elden Beast." One that the Greater Will sent hurtling into the Lands Between   so that it could later "become the Elden Ring."   And, in this prehistoric period, the ancient dragons would be graced by   the Greater Will first with the beastmen later being granted intelligence as well.   All the better to revere the ancient dragons with   according to bestial incantations, "stones were the first weapons   of the beasts who had gained intelligence," and "having gained intelligence,   the beasts must have felt how their wildness   slipped away as civilization took hold." Of course, this is yet   another example of where the Greater Will takes away   wildness, or chaos, in favor of order. It seems to care little   what form that order takes. It only cares that some order takes hold,   preferably taking hold with a full five fingered   fist. In game   the five fingered Cinquedea is wielded by Gurranq,   the Beast Clergyman. According to the weapon   it is only "given to high ranking clergymen of Farum Azula," marking Gurranq   as one of their number. Presumably this means he is,   or was, a clergyman of the ancient dragon faith before being "repurposed"   by the Greater Will, becoming a shadow for Marika instead.   After all, when we encounter him in game, the Age of the Ancient   Dragons has long passed, yet he still achieves relevancy in this age,   in yet another subservient role, as is common to all beasts.   Except this time it's to Marika, and this time   he is a "Shadow of the Empyrean," which is a topic we should touch on next.   We first meet Gurranq at   the Bestial Sanctum, a place in Caelid   that bears a striking resemblance to Farum Azula.   There's even a bridge down the way called "Farum   Greatbridge," with a dragon defending it, no less.   These are no mere ruins that have fallen from the sky.   This architecture is intact and must have been built for, and by, the beasts   at some point after they received intelligence.   We'll get into that point a little bit later,   but for now, let's focus on Gurranq. We first learn about Gurranq   from his bestial incantations, which are given to us   when we hand him deathroot. They read "Long ago   Gurranq was a beast of such terrifying ferocity that his former name   meant 'death of the demigods.'" This former name in question was "Maliketh."   A new name to suit his new purpose, which was to seal away   the Rune of Destined Death for Marika, Who was his Empyrean.   So first he was Gurranq, then, as the Age of the Ancient Dragons   ended and Marika became a force in the world,   Gurranq became known as Maliketh instead, who was, and I quote, "A shadow bound beast   given to his Empyrean," who was Marika. Marika had one job for Maliketh,   and that was to "lock away Destined Death." To a degree, he fails at this task   and a fragment of Destined Death is stolen, becoming the deathroot   that spreads throughout the lands. So it is that Gurranq   has returned to the Lands Between now, trying desperately to scrape together   all the deathroot in the world. The Beast Claw incantation talks   about his present identity, as this spell "represents   the fury of Gurranq, His bestial nature returned,   as much as it does his restless agitation." But after realizing his mission   is impossible, Gurranq peaces out. And then we're only able to find him   in one place alone... Farum Azula, where he has ascended with a Draconic Tree   Sentinel as his defender. Here, he sort of exists outside of time,   defending what remains of Destined Death   within his very own flesh. It's easy to get confused about when   Gurranq exists in the game, so apologies for skipping over this topic quickly, but   this video is about dragons, after all. And the main thing   I really want to get across here is just how much the beasts have been repurposed   to suit the needs of the Greater Will. First, it gave them intelligence, and then   they served the Ancient Dragons Order. But then, when the ancient dragon's age   ended, beasts like Gurranq were given new purpose,   commonly as shadow-bound entities compelled to serve order once more.   Whatever form their Empyreans dictated that order   should take. The Raging Wolf set states that "according to the old legends,   wolves are the shadows of the Empyrean." It's certainly possible that this legend   originated in Farum Azula. There is, after all, a statue   that features three wolves deferring to a human woman.   It might be a stretch to assume that this is depicting   wolves as shadows of the Empyrean, but I thought I'd mention it   at least. Again, in case you've forgotten, an "Empyrean"   is basically one of the Greater Will's candidates for godhood.   And in Marika and Ranni's case at least, they were granted wolves   as their shadows. Wolves, who evolved to be   "man's best friend" as they say, are defined   as such because of their loyalty. And as stated by the Beast Champion Helm   "the beasts, the eyes and ears covered represent an oath:   See nothing, hear nothing, doubt nothing, and carry   on along the path set in stone." And, so it is   that Gurranq and Blaidd are wolves completely loyal to their Empyreans,   dedicated to protecting their lords just like the ancient dragons of old.   This loyalty to the Greater Will, and also their Empyreans,   causes this fantastic tension within these characters.   In the case of Gurranq, he was loyal to Marika, but now lives   impatiently with this impossible task of having to recover every piece of   deathroot. And in the case of Blaidd, his loyalty   to Ranni eventually forces him to betray the Two Fingers, in complete   defiance of the fate that he was born to. Speaking of which, Blaidd is quite unique   from Gurranq. Unlike Gurranq,   he has no apparent ties to Farum Azula. After all, unlike Gurranq, he was "created"   to be Ranni's Empyrean and grew up with her in a more modern age that was far   removed from Farum Azula's. Perhaps this is why   Blaidd takes on a much more human form. Blaidd was created   in a much more modern age than the beasts of old,   so it seems the Two Fingers skipped a lot of the history and simply created   Blaidd in a more half-man image. Creating him from scratch   as opposed to his forebears. The other beast worth mentioning   here is Serosh, the ethereal beast regent given to Godfrey to weigh down   his ceaseless lust for battle. Of course, Godfrey is Elden Lord,   not an Empyrean, just so, Serosh is not a wolf,   but a lion. Like Gurranq, he has a longer history, and according   to the Beastclaw, Greathammer He was at one point a "Lord of Beasts"   with black nails protruding from golden fur.   To quote the Champion Set, beasts are "drawn to champions, and to lords,"   and this holds true for the beastmen drawn to Serosh,   and in the future, it would hold true for Serosh himself, a beast that "became   Lord Godfrey's regent," intended to guide him and his golden lineage.   So, Serosh was drawn to Godfrey as well. But no matter who the beasts were loyal   to, whether it was to the Beast Lords, or to the ancient dragons,   or then, Elden Lords or Empyreans. Throughout all of this, they were always   following a deeper loyalty. A loyalty to the Greater   Will, and its ancient Elden ring. This Elden Ring looks very different.   For one, it appears to have many more circles,   many more great runes than the modern Elden Ring.   Considering its placement in Farum Azula, a place from long ago,   I speculate that this is an ancient variant of the Elden Ring.   A depiction of it back during the era of the ancient dragons.   What's more, this ancient Elden Ring has what appear to be roots   snaking down and descending from it. This is in contrast to the modern Elden   Ring, which has this latticed pattern instead. The lattice pattern is most   commonly seen as a symbol of Radagon, an "Elden Rune" that is visible   on his statues, and his scarseal as well. I always thought that the latticed pattern   might represent Radagon's efforts to sort of stitch   the Elden Ring back together when it was shattered,   and we'll speculate on what the roots might mean a little bit later as well.   As for why the Elden Ring looks different though,   well it makes sense that the Elden Ring would have changed throughout the ages.   We know the thing is malleable, after all. There are examples of runes   being taken out of it, and put back into it,   depending on the specific needs of the god who acts as a vessel for its power,   or the needs of the Tarnished who will become Elden Lord via great runes   or even via mending roots. The vessel of the Elden Ring,   we know in the modern era is Marika. She literally has the Elden Ring entombed   within her. But back in the age before the Erdtree,   the Elden Ring would have had a different vessel.   A different god. And unfortunately, all we know about them   is that they abandoned Placidusax, Who was their Elden Lord.   The Remembrance of the Dragonlord reads "The Dragonlord   whose seat lies at the heart of the storm beyond time   is said to have been Elden Lord in the age before the Erdree.   Once his God was fled, the lord continued to await its return."   I'm assuming that his god had a female aspect,   considering all the other Empyreans and gods in Elden Ring do.   So it is, that when we find Placidusax, he is in a state of eternal   maidenlessness, and who knows how long Placidusax   has been waiting for his god to return.   In fact, one community theory I love that   I've seen put forward a few times is that Placidusax's   pose is similar to that of the Two Fingers after you were rejected by the Erdtree.   In case you forgot, it's at this stage that Enia says   the Two Fingers have taken up this pose because they're busy   "consulting with the Greater Will." Just so, the same might be true   of Placidusax, who has also been spurned by his god and the Greater Will, and   is trying perhaps to commune with them. To take this analogy   further, Placidusax has two heads now, but data recently uncovered by Zulliethe-   Witch suggests that he once had five. Not unlike how the Two Fingers assumedly   once came from a full five-fingered hand. That said, the old Lord's   Talisman depicts Placidusax with four heads.   To reconcile this contradiction, maybe we can just think that he had   four heads when this talisman was made, perhaps. Anyway, not a big deal.   What is a big deal is Placidusax's god, who represents this huge blindspot for us   in Elden Ring's lore. We don't know who they were,   we don't know what powers they had, and we don't know when or why they left,   or what age they really wanted to bring about.   As such, I'll be calling them "The Nameless God"   from this point forwards. Whoever they were,   all we know for certain is that they once saw Placidusax as a valid Elden Lord,   So they might have been all about the Age of the Ancient Dragons, once.   However, I feel like it says more about this god   that they fled this age and abandoned their loyal Elden Lord.   This reminds me a lot of what Marika did to her Elden Lord, Godfrey.   Exiling and abandoning him after he had won her wars,   and outlived his usefulness. Though, at least with Godfrey,   Marika had a secret plan for her Elden Lord and his Tarnished kin   to return. On the other hand,   Placidusax was abandoned and has waited for an eternity,   only to die at the hands of our Tarnished. So whoever his god was,   I feel like they really did abandon him entirely.   The Greater Will's gods are the vessels of the Elden Ring,   and Placidusax's Nameless God jumping ship with the Elden Ring would have   surely represented an enormous upheaval to what became Crumbling Farum Azula.   Speaking of which, I still haven't really explained   how it became "Crumbling" Farum Azula, although many descriptions state   that Farum Azula has been crumbling since time immemorial.   And, it's for this reason that you can find tiny   ruin fragments, and enormous ones too, scattered all over the Lands Between.   This is better explained by the description of one such ruin fragment   which was "honed into a weapon" called the Ruins Greatsword.   This is one of the legendary armaments. "Originally rubble from a ruin   which fell from the sky, the ruin it came from crumbled   when struck by a meteorite." As such, this weapon harbors   its destructive power. So meteorites with destructive power   are these purple spells in Elden Ring. And indeed this weapons   skill is Waves of Destruction, which manifests as purple energy.   So, a meteorite crashed into Farum Azula and that meteorite was purple   and imbued the ruins with a sort of gravitational magic.   But, beyond that, there's not really much we know about this meteorite.   We don't even know if it struck Farum Azula when it was a city on the ground,   lifting the city into the sky with gravitational magic,   or if it struck Farum Azula while it was already skybound,   crashing into the city while it was in mid-air.   So much Farum Azula's as history is hidden from us.   This meteorite   might even be the same meteorite as others mentioned in Elden Ring's lore,   because lots of meteorites have made landfall in the Lands   Between before. Some brought the Onyx Lords,   a race of ancients with skin of stone who rose to life   when a meteor struck. A creature called   Astel may have brought himself down on a meteorite and destroyed   an entire eternal city. A golden star Even once bore the Elden Beast   and the Elden Ring into the Lands   Between in the first place. Thus,   you could speculate that any one of these, or even a different one   entirely, laid waste to Farum Azula. Again, you could even speculate that   it was this meteor that imbued Farum Azula's ruins   with gravitational energy lifting it into the sky,   not unlike how the earth in Limgrave is lifted into the sky   after being hit by a meteorite. And so, perhaps similarly, Farum Azula's   world was lifted higher into the sky, twisting in place also thanks to the stone   scales of the ancient dragons. Whatever the case, as Farum Azula crumbled   and twisted in the sky, ruined fragments rained down upon the entire Lands   Between, some large and some small. Incidentally, these ruined fragments "glow   with a faint light from within" and are conducive to blessings from   the Two and Three Fingers respectively. That's what Warming   Stones and Frenzy Flame Stones are. They are pieces of rune   fragments imbued with power and light. And this makes a lot of sense   because these ruins are a part of the Royal City   that the Greater Will itself once graced. So, naturally, parts of its ruins   are very conducive to the effects of the Two and Three Fingers.   Anyway, we don't know many of the details behind Farum Azula's ruin,   but whatever the case, it's probably fair to say   that this meteorite dealt an enormous blow to their culture.   It might have even coincided with their god fleeing the city.   And whenever this nameless god did leave, I think it's important to speculate   on where they went next. After the Age of the   Dragonlord, the Age of the Erdtree began.   But before the Age of the Erdtree began, we learned that there was first   a "crucible of life," a "primordial crucible, where all life was once   blended together." According to Siluria's Crucible Tree Helm   this crucible was "the primordial form of the Erdtree."   a "manifestation of the Erdtree's primal vital energies."   So, Over the next few minutes, I'm going to try and argue that   The Crucible became rooted quite literally, quite physically,   in the great tree roots that we find underneath the Lands Between.   I don't think it's a coincidence that the ancient Elden Ring of Farum Azula   is burgeoning with roots and after Farum Azula's age ended   and it's god absconded with an Elden Ring that is burgeoning with roots.   I don't think it's a coincidence that a primordial crucible   gave way to a great tree that would dominate the Lands Between.   I think the Elden Ring physically left Farum Azula.   I think that led to the crucible, which led to great tree   roots, which led to the Erdtree growing. The Elden Ring is,   after all, the source of the Erdtree, and this should have been true   for the ancient Elden Ring as well, which would have buffed this tree.   As an additional piece of evidence that the Elden Ring   is at the source of the Erdtree, we can look to the engraving   on the stone door of the Erdtree itself,   which shows the Elden Ring literally at the roots of the Erdtree.   Its source below the surface. Perhaps the Elden Ring   wasn't rooted in the earth while Farum Azula   was floating up in the sky. But eventually it seems   it would be. according to the Gilded Greatshield and   Ordovis's Greatsword the color of the Erdtree's   primordial crucible was red. Or perhaps, more accurately,   red tinged with gold. "The red tinge in the gold coat mirrors   the primordial matter that became the Erdtree.   The color of Homeward yearning. Its red tint exemplifies   the nature of primordial gold, said to be close in nature to life itself."   This color is also seen in Root Resin, a secretion   from roots that were once connected to the great tree.   These two items, taken together, tie the red of the crucible to great tree   roots quite well. And if that wasn't enough, Crucible Knight   Siluria spends her exile amidst   these roots, with a spear and a helm that have "great tree ornamentation"   that is "modeled on the crucible." I've seen people speculate   that the crucible isn't a physical place and that it was just   a crucible of competition instead, where different creatures   battled against each other. And I think this misconception   might be due to the original description of the Old Fang in version   1.0 of Elden Ring, which reads "In times long past,   life was a crucible of competition." However, the item description was quickly   patched to remove all mention of competition,   and the patch description instead suggests that multiple overlapping fangs might be   "a vestige of the primordial crucible." So considering this updated description   and all of the color and mention of primordial matter,   I think fromsoft are certainly trying to suggest that the crucible   had a real physicality to it. And the crucible has long   been a topic plagued by confusing and perhaps mistranslated item   descriptions. Take the aspects of the crucible   which say that the crucible was once a place where "all life was once   blended together." The Japanese instead clarifies   that "once, life was blended together," which to me suggests   the crucible was a blending of existing life in the Lands Between,   rather than a source of all life. And I think there's more evidence   that this ancient Elden Ring of Farum Azula was already kind of laying the groundwork   for the crucible. For example,   we know from The Omen and Misbegotten that creatures of the Crucible   are characterized by chaotic growth considered aspects of devolution   in the modern era. These are aspects of wings, horns,   scales, feathers, and fangs just so Placidusax actually   has tons of random fang growths around their maw,   And later dragons even sprout feathers, Another aspect of devolution.   But if that wasn't enough, remember, the dragon's lightning is red   tinted with gold as well, which is the same color   of the primordial crucible, as we just discussed.   Thus, I think it's safe to say that the color and other aspects   of the primordial crucible were already kind of present in the ancient dragons,   the oldest of those graced by the Elden Ring that we know of.   So with that, we've essentially laid the groundwork for a theory   that I'd like to shout out from Lowkey, who is one of Fromsoftware   as most dedicated theory crafters. In this theory, he speculates on   the identity of the Dragonlords fled god. And I think this theory is special   because it manages to reconcile a couple of major loose ends in the game's   lore along the way. As the theory goes,   the Erdtree was created as a byproduct   of the Nameless God's death. Lowkey's   initial reasoning is that after we die, runes are left behind in our wake,   manifesting as small golden saplings. Therefore, since the Elden Ring itself   is made up of a gargantuan amount of runes, surely the Elden Ring   would sprout an enormous tree if the god-vessel carrying it were to die.   One thing I'll add to this theory is that our golden saplings   only remain so if the mass of runes is not claimed.   Just so, if no one knew that the Nameless God had died,   perhaps the Elden Ring's mass of runes was left to its own devices   to grow, as Lowkey posits, as a resilient protective vessel, a "firmly rooted" tree.   "That welcometh no man" and indeed the Nameless God did flee.   Not even telling her Elden Lord Placidusax where they had gone.   Thus, their runes might have gone unclaimed.   Directly below the Erdtree are the Deeproot Depths   where the Erdtree might have once been planted, so to speak.   And one of the lesser known paths along the routes here leads to this wall,   an illusory wall that reveals the Cathedral of the Forsaken,   The Frenzied Merchants and the Three Fingers of Frenzy.   One of the strangest items down here is the Fingerprint Stone Shield,   which is, and I quote, "part of the tomb of an ancient god."   Its with an "intricately carved fingerprint design."   And these imprints are "said to be the very seeds from which frenzy first sprouted."   Now, at first glance, you'd think that the ancient god in question   here would be the Three Fingers who marked this great stone slab with fingerprints.   And while I admit, this stone grave could be for the "Outer   God of Frenzied Flame" which manifests as the Three Fingers   who are imprisoned down here, I much prefer the theory that this stone   slab was the tomb of a different ancient god, one   that was found and desecrated by the Three Fingers   with their fingerprints, just as they desecrate the world   with fingerprints in their ending. And that's exactly what Lowkey's theory   proposes, that the Three Fingers desecrated a stone   tomb of the Nameless God, Placidusax's queen,   who had her final moments in this place. The Nameless God can also be used   to reconcile another lore gap in Elden Ring,   which is the identity of the corpse that makes up the Fingerslayer Blade.   The Fingerslayer Blade is "a blade said to have been borne of a corpse,"   "said to be able to harm the Greater Will and its vassals."   The Two Fingers. The shape of this blade   featuring the arms of a corpse as a cross guard   and culminating in a double helix, it bears a striking resemblance   to the Sacred Relic sword, a weapon wrenched   from the corpse of Radagon/Marika. The Sacred Relic Sword is, and I quote,   "wrought from the remains of a god who should have lived a life eternal."   The similarities between the Sacred Relic Sword   and the Fingerslayer Blade mean that they must have shared a source.   Not just a corpse, but the corpse of a god.   We know where the Sacred Relic Sword comes from,   it comes from Radagon and Marika. But then where does the Fingerslayer   blade come from? If it's wrought from a god, it's   a nameless god, as far as we know.   So it is that Lowekey concludes that the Nox who made a hidden treasure of the blade,   may have recovered the corpse of Placidusax's Queen,   The Nameless God, to wield as a weapon that could harm the greater will.   So I like these theories, to say the least.   They neatly tie up and reconcile a bunch of loose ends,   and that makes these theories really satisfying to believe.   It's nice to have an explanation for which god   the Fingerslayer Blade was talking about and which ancient god the Fingerprint   Stone Shield was talking about. Special thanks to Lowkey for this.   You can find more of his stuff in the description, and I   highly recommend you seek it out.   However, I should probably stress that this is still all speculation.   The circumstantial evidence is really strong.   Yes, but sometimes Fromsoftware leaves these sorts of loose ends in the lore   to be tied up by characters that they've yet to introduce.   And until DLC drops, I think it's wise to take this theory with a grain of salt.   But damn, you know, salt makes any meal taste a little bit better, doesn't it?   So it is that the Nameless God of Farum Azula might have become the Nox's   Fingerslayer Blade, a weapon they clearly brought about   in order to harm the Greater Will, which had banished them deep underground   beneath the false night sky. You can learn more about that   in this video. Here They live in eternal anticipation of the   coming age of stars and their leige. Who would be a Lord of Night.   These folk become obsessed with artificial imitation of life   above ground, all likely created in service of their goal,   which was to strike back at the Greater Will.   So it was that the Mimic Tears were created.   These are beings of quicksilver that were "the result   of an attempt by the Eternal City to forge a Lord."   These silver drops of dew, not unlike the Erdtree's drops of dew,   They also birthed the albinaurics, who are artificial   lifeforms untouched by the Erdtree's grace.   But the Nox also looked further back in time for inspiration,   Apparently, and they attempted to bring ancient dragons into being.   So it is that the Dragonkin Soldiers "were born in the Eternal City,   where they knew no true sky, nor true lightning."   Their name includes the word "soldier" and they even have evidence of clothing   and armor upon them, again revealing that these creatures   were created with the intention to fight back against Order.   But these Dragonkin experiments went about as well as copying dragons   usually does in Fromsoftware games, which is to say   the experiments were a failure. The main reason they were considered   failures was that these dragonkin   were not immortal, as the Nox had hoped. The weapons read   "Alas, the dragon console just never attained immortality   and perished as decrepit, pale imitations of their skyborn kin."   But the Nox had the right idea. At the very least,   it seems they had identified the source of the ancient dragon's immortality,   their stone scales. They just failed to   implement that source. Case in point: the Dragonscale Blade   is made by "sharpening a Gravel Stone scale thought to be the source of dragon   immortality." This blades skill is "Ice Lightning Sword,"   which wreathes the blade in the Dragonkin's signature ice lightning.   And, you know, even though the dragonkin were born mortal and crippled,   they did at least manage to manifest lightning,   which is a feat that the mortal dragons, who were actually the Ancient   Dragon's kin, never accomplished. On your   way through Caelid, you would have run past Greyll, a mortal dragon   who clearly owes their namesake to Greyoll, a veritable mountain found further down   the way where she lies dying, surrounded by her children   on her deathbed. But these aren't her only children.   According to Greyoll's Roar "Greyoll was the mother of all   dragons, dwarfing all who stood before her like a looming mountain."   To be clear, I seriously doubt this means that she's the mother of the Ancient   Dragons, considering she has two wings, two legs, and no stone scales.   No. Instead, she would specifically be the mother of the two-   winged dragons that you see widely across the Lands Between.   Indeed, the Japanese specifies that she's more   of a "great mother of dragons" rather than being mother of all dragons.   So, if we take that premise to be true, that means that the fire-breathing   dragons, the ice dragons, the rot-and-glintstone   corrupted dragons, all of them trace their ancestry back to Greyoll.   These are the "wyverns" contrasting with the true four legged "dragons",   which is the same dynamic that Dark Souls had as well.   And just like in Dark Souls, Elden Ring's dragons have a tendency   to take on aspects of their environment in lieu of their stone scales.   There are ice dragons, there are Glintstone dragons, all of that.   But the one element that these dragons didn't master, though, is lightning,   red lightning that remains exclusive to their ancient ancestors.   Earlier, we talked about how lightning has heavenly connotations,   and it makes sense that this lightning would be lost to   these lesser dragons who were born in a time long after   the ancient dragons had sort of lost the favor of the Greater Will.   These modern dragons are now easily wounded by the stone scales   that they've lost. These stone scales, once removed are called Gravel Stones,   and these are "compound stones that are found   in lands once beset by ancient dragons." For the most part, these Gravel Stones   are looted upon the Altus Plateau and surrounds, which makes sense   because this is the territory of Leyndell, the city that the ancient dragons   would eventually assault. So, of course,   this is where their scales would be found. But interestingly, the only other place   where gravel stones are found is Caelid. And that's curious   because Caelid is literally at the opposite end of the Lands Between.   one set of gravel stones I found here, and here, suggesting that at some point   the ancient dragon's progenitors to Greyoll were in Caelid as well.   And this fact is supported by other environmental evidence in the area.   Again, the Bestial Sanctum and Farum Great Bridge are in Caelid,   two cultural landmarks of Farum Azula that are architecturally intact   despite the crumbling city's current state.   These weren't just ruins that fell from the sky.   These were built. They are a grounded connection   to what we now know as a sky city. While I guess we can't rule out   the possibility that Farum Azula was always in the sky and later   built architecture on the ground here. It seems way more natural to assume   that the city was originally built on the ground where they would have been   the materials to build it, and that it was then lifted into the sky   at some point in the future. As for the mechanism behind Farum Azula   becoming skybound, I feel like there are two options.   Earlier we talked about how the Ruins Greatsword is a piece of Farum Azula   infused with gravitational magic thanks to the meteor that struck the city.   Thus, my first theory is that Farum Azula might have become skybound   in the instant that the meteor struck, floating upward as it was destroyed.   Alternatively, or additionally I guess, it could be some manifestation   of the storm that brought Farum Azula into the sky.   We've talked about how Placidusax might have had power over this storm,   evidenced by his golden time-twisting scales.   Not to mention you turn into a storm cloud when you channel Placidusax's   weapons skill. So perhaps Placidusax,   or the ancient dragons, whipped Farum Azula into the skies   as some measure of protection, and once it was up there,   that gravitational meteor could have come into play,   smashing the city into pieces on its way down to the Lands   Between, scattering ruins far and wide. At any rate, I'm glad there's   evidence of Farum Azula here in Caelid, and that's because this fact merges   so well with the lore of Greyoll. Again,   Greyoll is the mother of the modern dragons, and thus is the oldest modern dragon   that we know of who lost their stone scales.   And since she's in Caelid, it was likely from here that all dragons spread.   So, I'm glad the environment supports this lore   with its intact Farum Azula architecture and with the leftover Gravel Stones   of the ancient dragons as well, because it seems like the ancient dragons   made landfall here long ago,   and started a culture in Farum Azula, leaving Greyoll behind eventually   as their land bound legacy. And there are two other ancient dragons   in the vicinity to help support this claim as well.   These ancient dragons appear here in Limgrave and here in Caelid,   both dead at the sites of Dragon Communion.   The ancient dragons are immortal, but they can still be killed.   As you know. Though, we can only really speculate on what killed these two.   But back to Greyoll. Despite being a modern dragon,   Greyoll is large. Larger than any other dragon of the time,   even Placidusax. In fact, the only thing that comes to her   in size are Gransax, and the bones of the dragon in Farum Azula   as Dragon Temple, which Zullie has thankfully placed   alongside Greyoll for me. They're both very similar in size,   which made me think that maybe they could have been mates   at some point. Though of course that's just speculation.   And in the end we don't even know why Greyoll lost all of her stone scales,   passing this trait to all of her descendants.   Perhaps it was nothing more than a random birth defect.   Which reminds me, Seath's loss of stone scales was never really explained either.   Yet, he also found himself apart from his ancient kin all the same.   Perhaps this is why Greyoll found herself in the Lands Between.   Was this a place of exile? Maybe a place to die?   Her region is called Dragonbarrow after all,   And if you've read Lord of the Rings, for example, you might take the meaning   the word barrow to mean burial mounds, referring   to ancient burial places that are covered with large mounds of earth.   Perhaps the dragonbarrow was a place for these newly mortal dragons to die,   and Greyoll herself is indeed now finally dying.   The Scarlet Rot has blighted Caelid and the dragonbarrow.   And this is presumably why, when we encounter her,   she's already lost a lot of her health and she can't fight back,   nor even lift herself off the ground. Her dying roars rally her kin around her.   But they cannot save their mother. This level one Tarnished.   Just watch this sick YouTube guide on how to get 50,000   free runes at the start of the game, and nothing will stand in their way.   Now, we previously established Caelid and Greyoll as a sort of origin point   for the modern dragons. So after them in the timeline,   I think it's the ice dragons that would have shown up   as the first major variant. According to Borealis's Mist,   the ice dragons were once lords of the mountain tops.   Perhaps these dragons wish to be as close as possible to the heavens   from which their ancestors descended. After all,   we do see the modern dragons flying all around Farum Azula,   though they never make landfall. So, the mountain tops   might have been the next best thing as a home for the mortal dragons.   After all, the Sword of Night and Flame claims   that the mountain tops "nearly touched the sky."   Anyway, Borealis's Mist goes on to reveal that the ice dragons   were lords here at a very early point in the Lands Between's history.   As shortly after we know that they were chased from the peak   by the fire giants who also appeared at a very early point   and who claimed the mountaintops henceforth.   So, for the ice dragons to be here, you'd think, surely   they must have migrated here from Caelid. Now, we previously established Caelid   as an origin point for these modern dragons.   So for the ice dragons to be here, surely they must have initially migrated   here from Caelid. Obviously, they could have just flown   from Caelid to the icy mountaintops. But I remember early theories   that posited that a land bridge might have once existed between Caelid   and the mountaintops, and that certainly would have helped   with their migration. As the theory goes, Caelid in the   mountaintops are almost exclusively where you'll find the monstrous   crows, the giant dogs, and most notably,   the remains of the giants. These don't really appear anywhere else,   and it seems way more likely to think   that there was once a land bridge here. Rather than thinking   that they took long way round the lands between on foot.   what happened to this landmass is unclear, but the Lands Between itself   has experienced many other   geographical upheavals in the past, and losing a landmass to a meteor   or whatnot might also explain the divergent evolution of the ice dragons   compared to their fire-breathing kin. Also established in the mountaintops   around this time were the astrologists who "preceded   the sorcerers, established themselves in mountaintops   that nearly touched the sky, and considered the fire giants their neighbors."   This description comes to us from the Sword of Night and Flame,   an heirloom of the Carian Royal Family, which is headed by Rennala.   Rennala was a prominent astrologer, and thus has links to the Mountaintops   of the Giants. It might be a stretch to say   that she was actually there in the mountaintops all years ago, but   she did have an oathsworn giant and an oathsworn dragon   that can be summoned to fight for her. So I feel like it's safe to say that she's   connected to the place at least. At any rate,   eventually the fire giants would chase the ice dragons from the peak   and claim it for their own. Then in turn,   the Zamor, An icy race of warriors would ally with the Golden Order   and oust the fire giants. This is incidental,   but later in the timeline, a character called the "Snowy Crone" pops up.   She's an old witch associated with Caria who wielded snowy magics   that you could argue would have been derived from the Zamor's   icy mountaintops. The Zamor are   After all the only other beings that could use cold sorceries,   so perhaps she learned it from them. This snowy crone eventually imparted   her cold sorceries to Ranni, and Ranni has clearly taken   on such frost magics as a big part of her sorcerous identity.   Now, a couple of dragons actually had a habit of eating glintstone sorcerers.   And it was from this diet that they were corrupted,   not unlike the other dragons who took on aspects of their environment.   One of these dragons was Smarag fought here,   whose Glintstone Breath incantation reads "Smarag was a devourer of sorcerers, and   over time, his body became corrupted by their Glintstones."   Another such dragon is fought here defending Ranni   in both of her major quest locations. This is Adula, and she drops a cold-   infused sorcery that is representative of her knighthood.   And it reads "Adula, a devourer of sorcerers, was bested by Ranni   and subsequently swore a knightly oath to her Dark Moon."   This suggests conflict between the early sorcerers and dragons,   and this tendency for there to be conflict helps to explain why   Rennala might have gained an oathsworn dragon out of these conflicts.   And just like her mother before her, Ranni also had an oathsworn dragon of her own,   Adula. Adula reveals to us the mechanism behind this oath.   Ranni bested Adula in battle, perhaps earning Adula's loyalty   and respect. A trend that actually continues later on   with some other ancient dragons that would attack Leyndell,   but we'll get into that soon. The living ice dragon we meet is Borealis,   the Freezing Fog who remains upon the mountaintops.   And yet the item most closely associated with him   is actually found all the way back in the Temple Quarter of Liurnia.   It is the Icerind Hatchet, and its description reads   "A hatchet with a frost-coated blade. One of several gifts   given by Castle Sol in the distant north. Known as 'freezing fog,'   The blade is thought to be a dragon's scale."   Indeed, this is the dragon scale of Borealis,   because just as the scale is known as "freezing fog,"   Borealis also has the woods "freezing fog" As his namesake, when you fight him.   Apparently this scale was retrieved by Borealis's neighbors at Castle Sol,   who then gave it as a gift, presumably to the Liurnians,   since it is found near their temple quarter.   Obviously such a gift would have been given   to facilitate relations between the two lands.   And, as we established earlier with sorcerers like the Snow Witch and Rennala,   there is grounds to believe that these two places would have had a connection   the past. These days, though,   Castle Sol is currently still a mystery to us.   And without knowing their political alignments, it's hard to know for sure   why they gifted Liurnia with the scale and other gifts as well.   That said, there is a phantom in Castle Sol who hails Lord Miquella in his dialog.   Thus, it's possible that Miquella was Lord of Castle Sol   and that Miquella was giving gifts to Liurnia,   and there is evidence that Miquella had friendly relations with the Carians,   at least. Most notably in version 1.0 of Elden Ring.   Loretta's armor instead belonged to cut enemies called "Arbor Sentinels,"   who served Miquella, but who actually hailed from Raya Lucaria.   To quote the cut description, "these enchanted knights once   belonged to the Carian royal family, but were later gifted to Miquella."   Thus, perhaps Miquella, potential Lord of Castle Sol,   gifted the Raya Lucarians the Icerind hatchet, and several other gifts   besides, in return for all the knights   that he had gained from them. Again, this is all just speculation,   but this is the best theory I've got on the relationship   between these two lands and why the Icerind   Hatchet is found in Liurnia on the same plateau as Castle   Sol is the cave of the Forlorn. And it's a unique little cave   guarded by a Great Wyrm Theodorix.   Theodorix is a Magma Wyrm, A land-bound dragon, that looks more like   a giant lizard than a dragon. He's in this form   thanks to the act of "Dragon Communion," a primal ritual that involves consuming   a dragon's heart to become a dragon. Didn't work out so well for him,   but his scalesword at least resembles a dragon's jaw.   And the weapon suggests that Dragon Communion is "a grave transgression,"   For which the Magma Wyrms were "cursed to crawl the earth   upon their bellies, shadows of their former selves."   If they were cursed to be this way by any entity, I'd suggest   it was the Greater Will who we know favored the ancient dragons long ago.   And to be clear, only the English description says they were cursed   The Japanese description is nowhere near as damning,   simply saying that the heroes have "erred" and that "their land-crawling   form is the end result." To me, it sounds more like   these people were simply fools to think that they could achieve   such a metamorphosis. It goes against the rules of nature,   especially if you're trying to transform   into a being like an ancient dragon, who were graced by the Greater   Will in a bygone age. And, I think more than it being a curse,   I think this is more of an example of hubris backfiring   for each and every one of these partakers of Dragon Communion.   The Magma Wyrm's scalesword states that "these land bound   dragons were once human heroes." But that's only half true for Theodorix,   who was a hero, but who wasn't human. He was actually a troll.   His incantation Theodorix's Magma states "The name of the ancient   troll warrior Theodorix lives on - as a hero of the War against the Giants."   Actually, maybe his troll heritage explains why   his Magma Wyrm form is so much tougher than the others.   It has so much HP that, fun fact, you can actually lure a land octopus   to help you with this fight instead, and I think that's the intended way   because this guy is tough. What's also fascinating about   this guy is that he was specifically a hero of the War against the Giants,   a battle that many of his fellow trolls participated in,   betraying their giant ancestors and fighting alongside the Golden Order.   Now, I assume Theodorix was still troll at this stage and not a Magma Wyrm,   but whatever the case, you could definitely speculate that he is   still loyal to the Golden Order, even now, even here after his metamorphosis.   I argue this because of his placement outside the Cave of the Forlorn,   which has an end boss wielding a legendary armament,   The Golden Order Greatsword. One of Radagon's own weapons.   The Leonine Misbegotten themselves are curious as well,   with internal files calling them children of Radagon.   But that's a whole 'nother topic. Unique to this cave also   is that right inside there's a fire-breathing dragon, dead   and half entombed within the ice. For this type of dragon   to be preserved in this place might support   what I speculated on earlier, which is that Greyoll's fire-breathing   children must have come up here to settle on the peaks   before becoming ice dragons. And it might also support the theory   that Rennala acquired an oathsworn fire-breathing dragon   just like this one, early in the days when they settled here   alongside the astrologers. Or maybe it's just here   because a dragon-hunter is right outside. And I say dragon-hunter   because even though the dragon-hearted like Theodorix aspire to   become dragons by consuming their hearts, that doesn't mean that they respected   their lives. A phantom can even be found saying,   "I'm dry... Dry as a bone. fool dragon.   Surrender your strength. Let me feast on your heart."   As for the hearts of these dragons themselves,   they are riddled with Gravel Stone. You'll recall Gravel Stones   with the scales of the ancient dragons, making it somewhat ironic that   the mortal dragons actually do have these same scales just within their hearts,   not on their flesh. As such, their hearts,   which are clearly imbued with some ancient dragon immortality, are still alive   and beating, according to the description. And so, when you consume these hearts   in what is absolutely a sacrificial ritual,   especially considering the heart is still alive,   you're actually consuming Gravel Stone, ingesting the key   components of the ancient dragons via the hearts of their mortal kin.   It's pretty metal. Indeed, when you partake in dragon communion   with the heart at the Dragon Communion Altars, you're doing so right in front   a dead ancient dragon, not in front of a mortal one.   Thus you really are striving to be like   the ancients. Churches were built   upon the corpses of these undying beings who became, likely unwilling,   conduits for countless dragon-hearted who wished   to channel the power of dragons. Finally, the Dragon Communion Seal.   It's formless because it's made of dragon blood.   And even though it's a seal," Dragon Communion is too primal   in nature for the term 'incantation' to be appropriate."   Thus, "this seal scales incantations with one's arcane attribute."   So yeah, it's no wonder that all of the dragon-hearted   are considered to be so depraved. [Yura] You must not forget, though,   those who partake in Dragon Communion will one day shed humanity. Their hunger   for dragon, their yearning   only worsens. Until the floodgates burst, unleashing eternal torment.   The strength of a mighty dragon. Magnificent,   but deadly. It's no surprise   that drug and communion is ruinous. This is Yura, who you first   meet in Limgrave and nearby beside the Dragon-Burnt Ruins   is the mortal Dragon Agheel. Agheel frequents this place,   coming to burn the mindless nobles and their effigies here,   which is exactly what the nobles want. After death, most in the Lands   Between crave a proper Erdtree burial. But now, in lieu of that perhaps,   "The dead gazed at the skies over the lakes of Limgrave,   praying that the dragon's flames would burn them to ash."   They want this kind of release from life. If you get Yura to assist you   in taking out Agheel, then it's possible to get him to say this:   [Yura] That was my first dragon hunt in quite some time.   Paired up with a hot-head like you it was just like old times."   So, Yura was previously a dragon hunter,   which helps to explain his familiarity with communion.   And since being paired up with a hot-head like you was just like old times.   That means he must have once had a companion.   The most likely candidate for this is Eleonora,   a Drake Knight that Yura tracks all the to the Altus Plateau,   only to plead with them on a very personal level.   1:24:28:00 --> 1:24:15:20 [Yura] Please, please, Eleonora, yield to   the cessblood no longer. 1:24:15:30 --> 1:24:25:00   Do not stain the immaculacy of your sword, your flesh... your fire.   The precious little we know about Eleanora stems mostly   from her Drake Knight Armor, which is crafted from Dragon   wing membranes and "Features the spoils of a dragon catch, as an emblem of pride   as both dragon hunter and partaker of communion."   "from birth, drake knights speak not a word. They spend their lives   pursuing the strength of dragons for its sublime   beauty and inspiration of all." Therefore, while the drake knights   have more reverence of dragons, they are still partakers of communion.   Thus, as they consume more hearts, their eyes become yellow and slitted,   and inevitably they have a fate waiting for them as a Magma Wyrm.   So, given all you've heard about communion, is it really any surprise   that there would be a dragon named the "Dragon Communion Revenger?"   This is Ekzykes, who guards the decrepit temple of communion in Caelid,   attempting to prevent this abhorrent act of dragon communion   via sheer will and hatred. For Ekzykes   has had the misfortune of taking on the scarlet rot as his aspect,   something that has clearly taken a toll on him.   But according to his incantation, "Ekzykes, Dragon Communion Revenger,   did not forget his hatred even as he succumbed to the scarlet rot."   So Ekzykes, at least has a very good reason for attacking   you as he's preventing access to the nearby Altar of Dragon Communion.   But, speaking of dragons who attack humans, let's turn our attention   to the ancient dragons who would one day attack the city of Leyndell.   These ancient dragons attacked with all their might,   bringing with them Gransax, an ancient dragon   who is the largest dragon in the game, who "rained calamity down   upon the Royal Capital" with such force that this marks   the "only time in historical record that Leyndell's walls" had fallen.   Thus began Leyndell's war against the ancient dragons.   It's hard to know for sure   why the ancient dragons attacked Leyndell. If you want to go full tinfoil hat   and tie it to our earlier speculations, then you might say that it's   because they finally realized their god had fled here   and become the Erdtree or something, but that might be stretching it.   That said, they probably did come here because of the Erdtree.   After all, according to the Protection of the Erdtree incantations   "in the beginning, everything was in opposition   to the Erdtree," and the ancient dragons were probably no exception.   So it was that the ancient dragons fell upon Leyndell. Their forces   consisting of at least three dragons that we know of.   Lansseax, and her red lightning glaive. Fortissax,   and his twin pillars of Red Lightning. and Gransax, a gargantuan dragon   wielding a physical weapon actually, a decision   that seems unique to them. This is the Bolt of Gransax, a weapon   that's actually mirrored in Placidusax's fight against us   here. It's unclear   whether Placidusax is echoing Gransax   or if Gransax is echoing Placidusax. But the fact that Gransax shares   a weapon with Placidusax and the fact that Gransax is so large   certainly makes me think that Gransax is the closest thing   the ancient dragons might have had to a lord.   At the time of their attack upon Leyndell, At any rate. But, this weapon   would eventually fall from their grasp as the great Gransax was slain,   their stone body and weapon becoming this permanent landmark   within Leyndell's walls. According to Lightning Spears   description, "Godwyn the Golden defeated the ancient dragon Fortissax, known   as the mightiest Boulderstone." Assumedly, Godwyn could have executed   Fortissax here, or perhaps compelled Fortissax to swear an oath to him,   just like Rennala and Ranni once did. but instead, he befriended his fallen foe,   and as a result, for the sex would be loyal.   So loyal that Fortissax would eventually go beyond   to fight against the death that would take his companion.   Becoming a lichdragon, his aspect afflicted with death itself.   So to recap, when Godwyn was murdered on the Night of Black Knives,   the Rune of Death was carved into his being, destroying his soul,   but not his body. And so it was that his body spawned   deathroot, fragments of the Rune of Death   that spreads its influence throughout the Lands   Between spawning the visage of the Prince of Death,   who was Godwyn, in its wake. And while Godwyn does seem like a lost   cause Fortissax fought against the death   within him nonetheless. So it is that Fortissax occupies   a deathbed dream within his friend, fighting this impossible fight against the   corrupting influence of the Rune of Death, which has now corrupted Fortissax.   But I still don't think that Fortissax has been completely corrupted.   When you fight against Fortissax here, you actually do   So to bring about the Age of Those Who Live in Death, and considering   Fortissax fights against you, you could speculate that Fortissax   is still vehemently opposed to death, and those who live within death, even now.   Check out this video for more on that. Anyway, so it should come as no surprise   that this friendship between Godwyn and Fortissax   was seen as significant in Leyndell when Fortissax was first defeated.   This moment of friendship was so significant that   it would make allies of all the ancient dragons,   and give rise to the Ancient Dragon Cult in the capital city.   It seems the Ancient Dragon Cult was born out of a desire   to defend the Erdtree. As stated by the Malformed Dragon Set   "After the great ancient dragon Gransax attacked,   the tree sentinels had an epiphany. The only way to truly protect the   Erdtree was to become dragons themselves." So it was that these regular tree   sentinels became 'Draconic' Tree Sentinels.   As a fun side note. The 1.0 description   of the Malformed Dragon Set instead talks about a dragon worshiper   named Nal, who I speculate is this individual   defending Maliketh in Farum Azula. His set once read "Once the dragon   worshiper from the capital, it's said that he pulverized   his golden armor with his bare hands in a fit of religious fervor,   covering it in his own blood as he reshaped it   in the likeness of a dragon." But anyway, in the final version   of the game, there's more than one Draconic Tree Sentinel, and they wield   armaments whittled from dragon claws, so that they could better honor   the ancient who they worship without resorting   to the primal act of dragon communion. And conveniently, for them   it was found that dragon worship   didn't clash with belief in the Erdtree. The Gravel Stone Seal   says as much, stating, "After all, this seal, and lightning itself,   are both imbued with gold." And this goes beyond just color.   The ancient dragons were originally a part of the Greater Will's plan   back in Farum Azula, and the golden scales reflect that.   And after the Dragon War, these ancients became a part of the Greater Will's plan   once more, albeit in a more subservient role than in their previous age.   One thing that's kind of difficult to reconcile with the Dragon cult   is the fact that their prayer books, cookbooks, spells   and even a Draconic Tree Sentinel can be found in Farum Azula.   Special thanks to V-limit on YouTube for making me aware of this.   The Ancient Dragon War in Leyndell would have surely happened   after Farum Azula's age had passed, so how did all of this   get up there? Either Farum Azula became sky bound much later   in the timeline than, I thought, or perhaps Dragon cultists   simply traveled up to Farum Azula with these relics somehow.   And I think this second is much more likely, because in an earlier   version of the game Farum Azula, it was actually called the Storm   Aerie, and was, and I quote, "a place   that only dragons can reach." This reminds me   a lot of Dragon Peak and Dark Souls III which could only be accessed   a sort of draconic meditation. So perhaps Farum Azula was once   planned to be accessed in a similar way. For all we know,   it could still be canon that those in tune with dragons are spirited up here.   For instance, some banished knights certainly found a way up here,   and they have dragons cresting their helmets.   And this helmet once described how they sort   the Storm Aerie, presumably through revering dragons.   Therefore, I feel like remnants of characters being spirited up here   due to their association with dragons is a bit of a hold-over   from a past version of the game that still exists in the current version.   And while we don't get spirited up in the current game   by becoming a dragon, we are certainly spirited up here.   This teleportation occurs when you sacrifice   Melina or yourself in the Frenzy ending. Now, mechanism behind   this is kind of unclear, but there is sort of a prophecy   that helps to explain it. Melina's Blade of Calling reads   "The one who walks alongside flame, shall   one day meet the road of Destined Death." So whether you walk alongside   Melina, the kindling maiden, or the God of Frenzied Flame,   or you're Alexander tempering yourself in the flames of Gelmir   and the Giant's Forge, you're going to make it up here one way or another   and meet the road of Destined Death. Speaking of which,   this also explains why Bernahl is up here. According to his Beast Champion Armor,   "his maiden threw herself into the fire," just like Melina does for us,   which is what gets us up here and he, too, also has a fate   that ends with Destined Death, just like we do.   So there's definitely some sort of fate associated   with Destined Death that is spiriting us up here.   I think that's for sure. And to explain most others up here in Farum   Azula, well again, I personally think that they will likely spirited up   thanks to their draconic nature, as explained by the cut content   from that earlier version of Elden Ring. For all the humans   who desired to commune with dragons, there was one dragon   who actually communed with humans. Lansseax.   Lansseax was the sister of Fortissax, and while you fight her as a dragon in game,   long ago, she took the form of a human to better commune with the Dragon Knights.   As a priestess of the Ancient Dragon Cult of Leyndell   the fact that she was able to take human form is pretty amazing.   This is almost a reflection of dragon communion.   But instead of changing form and communing with dragons,   she's changing form to better commune with humans.   A part of this communion apparently was love,   and according to Dragon Bolt Blessing, "only those loved by dragons   can survive the ordeal of cladding their bodies in lightning."   And of all the knights Vyke the Dragon- spear   was the one Lansseax loved the most. Fittingly, Vyke's Dragon Bolt is unique   in that it cloads him and his spear in red Lightning,   the signature weapon of the ancient dragons,   reserved up until this point for the beast men who served them in antiquity.   This also marks Vyke as a dragon cultist. Therefore, it's kind of crazy   to think that a dragon cultist almost became Elden Lord.   Something That surely would have had implications for the age   that would follow, you know, if Vyke was to take the throne.   This must have made it all the more painful for many   when Vyke suddenly disappeared, traveling below Leyndell   to visit the Three Fingers where he was burned by their frenzy, armor and all.   Knowing that he was a dragon cultist certainly helps   to explain how he got down here. The fact that he was surely   this highly regarded member of Leyndell's dragon cult, you'd think,   would open doors for him within the city. So Vyke likely   could have made the trip down here easily. Despite the existence of the Three Fingers   being sacrilegious to the Order up above, we get little information on   why Vyke made this trip, but in the end we eventually find him   imprisoned within an evergaol. And whether this imprisonment   is self-imposed or not also remains a bit of a mystery.   But anyway, back to Lansseax, who loved Vyke.   The most interesting thing here with her, I think, isn't   just the fact that we've learned that dragons can turn into humans.   It's the fact that dragons can love. Perhaps this love and powerful emotion   is part of what makes them so loyal. We see many becoming oath sworn   and then Fortissax, for example, going so far as to sacrifice himself   entirely for his friend. And it's this fact that makes the Elden   Lord Placidusax's abandonment by his god all the more tragic.   That their god would never return, and eventually a Tarnished   would find their way beyond time, putting an end   to the Dragon Lord and hewing their Remembrance into the earth.   In the end, all that remains is Placidusax's ruin.   "The dying wails of the Dragon Lord who once dwelled   eternally beyond time." Thank you for watching.   But before I go, do you want some Elden ring wall art to adorn your walls.   Well, Displate has you covered in this video   because they're back helping to support more Elden Ring lore content.   For a limited time only, they are giving you   these deals on screen to pick up some Displates in the next few weeks.   Link in the description. So, the choice is yours.   You can literally get official Elden Ring art to adorn your walls.   For example, this shot of Godfrey and Vyke look absolutely stunning.   But then you can also get some Elden Ring inspired pieces from my store,   if you like. For example,   this is Guardian of Moonlight, which features a dragon defending a moonlight   sword from knightly intruders. Or you could pick up Early Days, which   gives off some Elden Ring vibes from back before the game was even released,   if you were around then. Or if you're a fan of Fromsoftware   games in general, you could go and pick up The Painted World   with Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro and Elden Ring   all condensed into one world. It'll take you hours of scrutiny   to discover all of the references   that we've hidden in here. As I've said so many times before,   these prints are made of metal, they're easy to hang,   and somehow they achieve this gorgeous color, depth and accuracy   that exceeds most of the traditional prints   that I've sampled. Again, links in the description.   And thank you for watching. It feels good to be back doing Elden   Ring lore. My goal now is to wrap up everything I can   before the Elden ring DLC drops, so there should be some good times ahead,   you know, bringing in the   new year as well. Before I go,   earlier I shouted out Lowkey's theory on the Nameless God, as I call them,   and I'd again like to remind you to go and support Lowkey   and check out the other lore content for yourself, as well.   And if you have any other suggestions for other content creators   whose theories you'd like to see cited in future lore videos,   please let me know and I'll my best to do that.   Special thanks also to Mispap1 for doing an incredible edit   of this video. The footage looks amazing,   and it's incredible that he can get this much quality footage, even for a video   that is an hour and a half long. So I hope that fact really helps   you guys watch the content and engage with it.   Thank you again for watching, and I'll see you in the next video.

Channel: VaatiVidya

Views: 3,659,486

Keywords: guide, walkthrough, lore, dark, souls, dlc, two, bloodborne, story, vaatividya, vaati, vidya, videos, (video, game), shadows, twice, from, software, sekiro, tips, tricks, elden, ring, trailer, demon's souls, remake, ps5, playstation 5, queen marika, dragons, prepare to cry, secrets, ranni questline, rune farm, armored core 6, vi, all endings, best build, shadow of the erdtree, SotE, fires of rubicon, beastmen, beasts, farum azula, maliketh, placidusax, greyoll, fortissax, agheel, communion, smarag, adula, ekzykes, borealis

Id: PvYHhsjm684

Length: 102min 39sec (6159 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 26 2024