Miquella is many things. A fundamentalist. The unalloyed. Creator of the Haligtree.
Lord of the Eclipse. St. Trina of the Cradle Song. And not just a demigod,
but a fearsome empyrean who has been captured,
but is unresponsive for now. And after watching this video,
I think you'll agree that Miquella is a topic
that almost has to be explored further in some upcoming DLC for
how could they not be? Their character is surely too
major, too foreshadowed and too intriguing to just ignore. So let's learn everything
that there is to know. For starters,
Miquella is the demigod child of Queen Marika and King consort Radagon, who, as I'm sure you're well aware
at this point, are the same being. You can learn more about the timeline
of events from my other videos. But basically,
after Radagon left Rennala, the Academy told Radagon
to go f*** himself, basically. But Radagon took that literally,
and he sired a third set of demigod children
all on his own. Who were the twins Miquella and Malenia. These children appear to be represented
by the butterfly items in the game, and the nascent butterfly appears
to represent Miquella. Its description elaborates
on his state of eternal childhood, stating that it "appears as if it's just emerged
from its cocoon for its entire life." Indeed,
the word nascent means that something is just coming into existence
and beginning to display signs of future potential,
and that naissance is eternal for Miquella. And I think that this eternal naissance
is incredibly important for his character. For Miquella and Malenia both seem to occupy different sides
of the life and death cycle. That's not to say that Miquella represents
life and Malenia represents death. Rather, it seems like both land somewhere
in the middle of each process. Malenia is constantly resisting her
Scarlet Rot and is in this perpetual state of dying, and Miquella
is in this constant state of naissance. He is newly born and showing an abundance
of life and burgeoning potential. Special thanks to Quelaag
for making this clear to me. So Miquella is nascent
but is also abundant, and I think that's another extremely key
word for him. For example, there's this cut weapon
called the Abundance and Decay Twinblade, which symbolizes the twins and suggests
that the twins were born from an inseparable fate and hold the runes
of both abundance and decay between them. Not to mention the word abundance is also literally spoken
by Miquella in his cut content. And thanks to a very recent discovery
by Sekiro Dubi, we know this cut dialog I'm about to voice is Miquella speaking
and here he appears to be leading you towards a unique ending for the game
and he talks about his ability to make life flourish, stating this is for thee. Mind abundance. My drop of dew. Quench thy thirst,
throughout thy frame. blossom and burgeon, time and again.
Grow larger, stronger. Until the day cometh.
When thou canst share in my dream. Elden Ring. O Elden Ring. Begets order
most elegant. From my tender reverie. and before I go on, I do want to say that
Miquella talking about his abundance is cut content,
and you shouldn't really take it as canon, but I think it does give us a deeper
look at not only the powers that Miquella might have had,
but also the world that he could create. He goes on to say,
If thou covetest the throne, impress my vision upon thine
heart. In the new world of thy making all things will flourish,
whether graceful, or malign. And I love that final line. all things will flourish,
whether graceful, or malign. because Miquella isn't enforcing
any real notions of good or evil here. Instead, in the new world of his making,
he simply wants all things to flourish. And I feel like
that is a very unique viewpoint for a character in a Souls game. Not to mention, Miquella
is certainly one of the few beings that is capable
of creating this new world. That's because he is an empyrean. He is one of the very few who were
candidates chosen by the Two Fingers to succeed Queen Marika
and to become a god to usher in a new age. Now, we could go into an entire debate
about why the twins are valid empyreans
and why they were born afflicted. But honestly, that could almost be
an entire video of its own. So for now,
I'll just give the simple answer, which is that
these twins were probably valid empyreans because they have singular parentage
from a god, but that this singular parentage
was probably also responsible for their afflictions
as well, due to the almost incestual implications
of such a thing. Why do I feel like it was George R.R. Martin that wrote this part? Anyway, let's move into the early childhood
years of Miquella's eternal childhood. Miquella's early years were clearly quite
inspired by their father, Radagon, who fostered a bit of a fundamentalist
streak in his prodigal son. And Miquella would go on to invent
fundamentalist incantations of his own,
dubbed Discus of Light and Triple Rings of Light,
which he gave as gifts to his father. These gifts reveal that Radagon and
Miquella had a good relationship, and Radagon must have been proud
of his son, because these two spells do represent those two key
fundamentals of the golden order, namely that there is a law of causality,
which is a branching cause and effect that goes outwards, but also that
there is a law of regression, that all things yearn eternally
to converge once again. And in gratitude, Radagon countered
with a gift of his own showing Miquella Radagon's Rings of light. These incantations would go on
to become core fundamentalist spells, as they are true to those two concepts
that form the basis of the Golden Order. But there is another aspect
of Golden Order fundamentalism, and that is the persecution of Those
Who Live in Death hunters of these undead would attempt
to stamp them out with spells such as Orders Blade and Litany of Proper
Death, which deal additional damage against Those Who Live in Death
and prevent them from resurrecting. To recap, Those Who Live in Death exist
because of Godwyn the Golden, who was one of the early Sons of Marika
and Godfrey, who was eventually killed
with a fragment of the Rune of Death, and then the rune of death,
which eventually spread its undeath throughout the Lands Between via deathroot. And there is an entire debate
that we could have here about whether the persecution of those
who live in death is even true
to the core principles of fundamentalism. Goldmask
certainly doesn't seem to think so. In fact, according to the Order
Healing spell, Goldmask laments the hunters of Those Who Live in Death,
deeming them to be fanatics who wanted nothing more
than an absolute evil to contend with. And the reason I bring up this debate at all
is because you could argue that Miquella was on the side of these fanatic hunters
as he created multiple weapons that were capable of effectively slaying
Those Who Live in Death. For example,
this is Golden Epitaph and it is "a sword that was made to commemorate
the death of Godwyn the Golden, And first of the demigods to die." It is "infused with the humble prayer
of a young boy" and reads, O brother,
Lord brother, please die a true death." So this weapon is an effective tool
of killing Those Who Live in Death permanently. And clearly, the young boy who created
it was Miquella. We can infer this
because the sigil that appears when you use this blade's
skill is the Haligtree sigil. And once activated,
this ability called Last Rites imbues the sword with a holy power that prevents
Those Who Live in Death from reviving. But beyond this being a potential tool
to slay Those Who Live in Death is that this weapon points
towards an early kinship between Miquella and Godwyn, a relationship that might have made it all
the more painful when Godwyn's Soul would perish, but
his body would remain spawning deathroot. This is interesting as it gives
Miquella a legitimate emotional grievance
against Those Who Live in Death. And it's almost a bit hypocritical,
I think, for what I believe to be Miquella's character,
as we previously established that he might have been this character
who wants all life to flourish. But I guess that principle might not
extend to Those Who Live in Death For him. This sword might not be
the only representation of Miquella's relationship with Godwyn. That relationship
is potentially strengthened even more when we consider this statue
found in Elphael before the Haligtree. It depicts a larger figure
who is clearly embracing the two empyrean twins,
Miquella and Malenia. But then who is this larger figure? It could be their parent,
Marika or Radagon, but then it doesn't have their signature hair braid
and instead it has this long wavy hair. What's more,
the statue asset is flat chested, which appears to rule out
Marika at least. And after reading a good amount
of debate online about this, I think it's a fair conclusion
to say that this statue represents Godwyn, who himself does
seem to have long wavy hair. And this statue being enshrined here
really tells a story. It's a story of two gifted but afflicted siblings
who were supported by their older brother. But then they were left alone as the older brother
would become the first demigod to die. And this isn't the only statue
in this location. far more prominent in the area
are these statues, which depict two siblings left alone
after their brother died. There was one sibling, Miquella,
who was forced to remain as a young child and another who grew up in great pain,
eventually losing vision and limbs to rot and decay. These statues are everywhere in the
Haligtree, and they tell that sorrowful story. They are an early sign of Miquella's extreme
empathy for his sister, and they foreshadow his desperate attempts to give her relief
from her terrifying condition. And so the young Miquella abandoned
fundamentalism the some for it could do nothing to treat
Malenia's accursed rot. This was the beginning of unalloyed gold. So what is unalloyed gold? Well, an alloy is something that's created
when you combine metals, usually because you want to create a stronger
compound at the expense of its purity. So if we were to view Marika's
Golden Order as if it were a metal, which I think is something
that the lore wants you to do, considering the implications of the tarnished
and everything like that, then Marika's Golden Order
would definitely be an alloyed metal. Just think of all the foreign powers that it's absorbed
in the interest of strength. For example, Godfrey
and his Crucible Knights were enlisted to devastate Marika's
enemies and the ancient dragons were won over and eventually
became a part of Leyndell's forces. Even the house of the Erdtree
and the moon were married at one point, literally. After all, as Miriel puts it, all things
can be conjoined under the Golden Order. So I think Marika was definitely open
to fusing factions and ideologies to an extent, as long as it made her
treasured Golden Order alloy stronger. So hopefully now
you understand what I mean when I say that
Miquella's gold is unalloyed. It is pure. It is untainted. And it is perhaps a singular ideology. And if you subscribe to the idea
that the cut content is still representative of Miquella,
then I would say that his ideology is what I had Miquella quote earlier
that in his new world, all things should be allowed to flourish,
whether graceful or malign. And that that is his pure ideology. Though, of course, that is my speculation
based on cut content as well. So please keep that in mind. But Miquella's unalloyed
gold couldn't have just been this metaphysical concept of pure ideology. It was a physical material as well. For example, this is an unalloyed gold
waterlily said to have been beloved by Miquella. This is a bewitching branch blessed
with an incantation of unalloyed gold. Unalloyed gold Decorated the armor
and shields of his soldiers. It was inserted into their weapons. And most importantly,
perhaps, it was forged into a set of armor
for his sister Malenia. Because remember the whole reason
Miquella embraced unalloyed gold in the first place,
it seems, was because he thought that it could treat his sister's accursed rot,
while fundamentalism could not. And he was right. For Malenia's
Scarlet Rot is no mere disease. It's literally
the divine essence of an outer god. And Malenia is its vessel
that will one day bloom into a true goddess, but unalloyed gold
is one of the few materials in the game that can ward away
such meddling of the outer gods. Another example of Mirror Helms,
like the one that Iji wears, which literally reflects
the influence of the outer gods. Personally,
I think the reason that unalloyed gold inhibits the meddling of the outer gods
is because it is a pure metal and potentially a pure ideology. But if that's not enough reason for you,
then Quelaag actually has a great video where she breaks down
potential reasons at a chemical level. But at any rate, reasons aside, Miquella
crafted needles of unalloyed gold which could be inserted into the tortured
flesh of one afflicted by rot to alleviate the suffering
and forestall the effects of the rot. And true to the needles
descriptions, the Outer God of Rot
isn't the only one affected by this. Our character actually uses the final
version of this unalloyed gold needle to subdue the Outer God of Frenzy,
which is something you might want if you decided to be a terrible person
and burn down the world. Anyway, when we first find Miquella's
needle, it's been broken, snapped in half and picked up by a commander
at the very center of the Scarlet swamp. But once this needle has been prepared,
we can give the golden needle to Millicent, proving
that it does indeed work to forestall the rotting sickness, to remove pain
and nightmares from the afflicted. It is after all, lovingly
crafted by Miquella himself. [Gowry]
Well. Well, this is a marvel indeed. The work of a true artisan. A meticulous, bold craftsman
who grasps the essence of life [Vaati] in crafting these needles
and pursuing unalloyed gold. Miquella is attempting to save his sister
from her affliction. It seems like this objectively good deed,
which is a rare sight in Elden Ring, especially for a demigod whose strengths have been known
to tip them towards madness. And that is what makes Miquella such a
pure and likable character in Elden Ring. So it's no wonder, really,
that Malenia venerated her brother. She is a character of undefeated prowess,
and she's an empyrean, no less. And yet she dedicated her blade to Miquella
and Miquella alone, for she believes that he possesses
the wisdom, the allure of a god, and that he is the most fearsome empyrean
of all. The story of their bond and duty to one
another is legendary, and that's something that becomes
quite clear when we explore Miquella's Haligtree and see these statues
depicting their embrace all around. And if you were one of the many
defiled outcasts in Elden Ring, you too might have felt
inspired by this story, and you might have felt inclined
to earn Miquella's favor and make the long pilgrimage towards
your salvation, towards the distant divine
Haligtree and its brace That was Miquella's Domain. So first, what even is the Haligtree? Well, it's pretty obvious
that it's a sort of Erdtree for one, Erdtree
avatars have clearly emerged from it, which they only do in order
to protect the Erdtree's own offspring. And then there's the Haligree
knight armor, which confirms that the Haligtree ultimately failed
to grow into an Erdtree. And one thing I've been wondering is
when exactly was the Haligtree planted then? If we knew when, then we might be able
to guess at its purpose. Was it planted before
or after the shattering of the Elden ring? Because when the Elden ring was shattered,
golden seeds flew from the Erdtree, scattering across the various lands as if
life itself knew that its end had come. These seeds create
these little illusory trees and likely spawned
the minor Erdtrees as well. So I think it's a fair assumption
that Miquella might have planted the Haligtree
from an Erdtree seed. And if that was indeed the case,
then it should have happened after the shattering for before that,
the Erdtree was considered perfect and eternal, and it wasn't even believed
that Erdtree seeds could exist. But on the flip side, the Golden Epitaph
Sword that we mentioned earlier likely existed before the shattering as it was
created to commemorate Godwyn's death. And this sword displays the Haligtree
sigil when its weapon art is activated. So one could infer that the Haligtree must have existed
at this point too, Right? So I guess it's always possible
that Miquella somehow procured an Erdtree seed before the shattering,
or simply grew it from his own being as he is a scion of the Golden Bough,
after all. But whatever the case, Miquella
clearly decided that growing such a tree was important, and he even went so far
as to water it with his own blood. This confirms that the Erdtree is indeed
a bloodsucking parasite. Just kidding. Sort of. I mean, you have to admit, it is pretty disturbing that an Erdtree
could flourish in such a manner. But this does lead us to the final question,
which is why was the Haligtree planted? What was the point of it? And at the end of the day,
the main reason is always going to be because it's like the Erdtree. It's natural to compare them, and the item descriptions seem
to want you to compare them as well. The Erdtree is this enormous icon
of power and faith in the Lands Between. So evoking that and inspiring worship
is clearly a valuable thing. But the Erdtree was only really
an icon of faith in its later years. Before that, it was a symbol of abundance,
with light as warm as the gentle sun that could gradually heal
all those who bathed in its rays. But perhaps most importantly,
during this time of abundance, it would drip sacred dew, sap
or tears that could bestow blessings, form crystal tears
and even be embedded into talismans. These were treasured things, and naturally this was an extremely valuable symbol
for Miquella to evoke. Since he is himself associated
with dew and abundance in the cut content. And his Haligtree did drip with dew, the greenish amber of the Haligtree
can even be seen in cut content items. It even looks as if it's mingled
with a bit of Miquella's own blood and that signature green hue of
Haligtree Amber is also seen in the Haligtree
Knight's sword, which is not a cut weapon. And this was modeled
after the Carian Knight's own swords, except it was embedded with Amber from
the Haligtree instead of Glintstone. Okay, so the Haligtree is a great symbol
of faith and power and abundance. And Miquella is related to abundance
in the cut content. But what else does the Haligtree
add in terms of value? Well, the Haligtree itself
is something of a vessel fit for a god. Miquella plants himself inside it. Later on, Malenia returns home to it. And speaking of it being a home,
many of the creatures have made their home within the tree and within the brace
that supports it as well. And I guess you could also argue that the Haligtree
might be a sort of a tool to be used. After all, Marika puts the Erdtree to use
in such a way, using its roots to absorb people
after their death, and perhaps even its branches to rebirth life
and then the Erdtree is later used as a prison with thorns
that are almost entirely impenetrable. But I don't think Miquella's planned
to use the Haligtree in such a way. Perhaps the biggest difference
between the Haligtree and the Erdtree is that the Haligtree was built
in a largely inhospitable region. It is extremely difficult to reach,
and unlike the Erdtree, it might not really be designed for the benefit
of the vast majority of the world. As it stands, the Haligtree strikes me as being more like the Painted World
from Dark Souls. It's a place for the outcasts,
the heretical and the malign. Not to mention the low and the meek
who are specifically named in the description
of the Sacred Crown Helm. While many of the Scarlet
Rot afflicted seem to be here because of the eventual decay
of the Haligtree, I think that there are
a number of refugees here that would have been here before that,
namely the misbegotten, the crystalian, These astray mages of Raya Lucaria. And of course, Loretta,
who deemed this place to be a great haven for the despised
Albinaurics. The second generation Albinaurics even
carry a weapon called the Ivory Sickle, which reads "These weapons are evidence
of their dedication to the Haligtree. Despite never having entered its presence." And we really don't find a single
Albinauric within the Haligtree. I'll admit I do find this a bit strange. You do find quite a few Albinaurics
so close to the Haligtree. It's a bit strange to me They don't go
just that little bit further. The reason given for the first generation
of Albinaurics not being at the Halig- tree is given by Albus, who says that their faded legs are the reason for that. But yeah, we find them defending
Miquella and his Haligtree all the same
at the ordinary liturgical town, which takes us to the Haligtree
via a puzzle within an evergaol The word liturgical means
relating to public worship, and this town is fittingly
filled with many statues of Miquella sitting alone, cradling
what might have become the Haligtree back
when it was still just a sapling. I also find it interesting
that the Haligtree is never called out as competing
with the Erdtree, or never called out
for housing all these undesirables. Perhaps the house of the Erdtree
was happy to see ungraceful folk leave their lands. Perhaps the Haligtree was extremely well hidden from everyone,
and they didn't know. Or perhaps Miquella could just get away
with it because he was beloved by all. For example, the bewitching branch is an item
that you can create from Miquella's Lilies, and it is blessed with an incantation
of unalloyed gold, and reads "The empyrean Miquella is loved
by many people. Indeed, he has learned
very well how to compel such affection," and that second part that says
he has learned how to compel affection. To me,
that's saying that Miquella is very good at knowing how to inspire others
affection to his own advantage. And nowhere is this more clear,
I think, than at Castle Sol. This is the Haligtree secret medallion. It's furnished with that signature
green amber and it features the Haligtree in the background, for it
allows you to access a secret lower level
of the Grand Lift of Rold and to progress through the consecrated snowfields
to this sacred place. Having both halves of this secret
medallion is therefore extremely desirable, for the medallion
has another name. It's called Miquella's Favour. [Finger Reader] Miquella's Favour can be yours... Slaughter... Slaughter... Slaughter... to all-hearing, slaughtered but alas, it was for naught. But all you need do... snatch it from the big pot [Vaati] Gideon
is the "all-hearing man" in this dialogue and he slaughtered an entire village
just for one half of this medallion. But he did not find it
in Albus's possession. But you can. And the other half is at Castle Sol,
right before a nameless phantom who says this. "Lord Miquella, forgive me. The son has not been swallowed. Our prayers were lacking. Your comrade remains soulless. I will never set my eyes upon it now. Your divine Haligtree." So this phantom seemingly has or
I guess, had one half of the medallion. And yet he laments that he will now
never set eyes upon the Haligtree. To me, this suggests that Miquella might have been withholding
the second half of the medallion from him, or that this phantom believed
that he could solicit the second half of the medallion from Miquella
and make it to the Haligtree. If he achieved his goal here
at Castle Sol and basically earned Miquella's Favour. What exactly was supposed to happen here
at Castle Sol? What does it mean when the Phantom says
the sun has not been swallowed? Our prayers were lacking. Your comrade remains soulless. It means, I think, that
the residents of Castle Sol and Miquella were attempting to restore the dead
soul of Godwyn the Golden. And just to refresh your memory,
when a fragment of the Rune of Death was used to kill Godwyn, it was also being used
at the exact same time to kill Ranni. And since they perished at the same time,
Ranni lost her body, And Miquella's demigod brother
Godwyn perished in soul alone. And despite this death
seeming so final, Miquella clearly believes that some sort of ritual performed here
could restore the soul of his comrade. For example, here's some more dialogue
from a different phantom that reads. "O great son, Frigid son of sol! Surrender yourself to the eclipse!
Grant life to the soulless bones!" But the question is how,
How does that work? How does an eclipse restore
life to Godwyn? Now you can just take Miquella at face value and trust
that he knows what he's doing. Or we can try to learn
as much as we can about the eclipse and see if we can reason out the mechanism
behind this process. So at Castle Sol, we find the Eclipse
Shotel, which reads "Storied sword and treasure of Castle Sol that depicts
an eclipsed sun drained of color. In Sol The sight of an eclipse inspires a dreadful awe, preventing an onlooker
from averting his gaze." The most important part
of this description, though, is the part that says it's
the storied sword of Castle Sol as this proves that the veneration
of the eclipse here goes back a long way. But what does an eclipse represent? So according to the Eclipse Crest
Shields, "the eclipsed sun, drained of color is the protective star
of soulless demigods." Honestly, I think calling it a protective star is kind of the closest we come
to understanding the mechanism here, because you could reason
that a protective star might be a sort of outer god that lends them power. Though that is just speculation. The description goes on to say
that "the sun in Eclipse is said to be the symbol of the wandering mausoleum
where the soulless demigods slumber." So note that it says demigods,
plural here. Now, this could be because the wandering
mausoleums come to house many demigods. From a gameplay point of view, because
you can take their remembrances here, but it could be a word
that is slightly lost in translation as the Japanese version of the word
demigods does not specify whether it's a plural
or whether it's a singular word. So my take on this is that I think the wandering mausoleums
became necessary when Godwyn died. I think that the mausoleum was intended
to be a resting place for him initially,
but then also for any future demigods. As all of a sudden all of their true
deaths had become possible as well, with the theft
of a fragment of the Rune of Death. The mausoleum knights themselves
are these headless soldiers who behead themselves, willingly
following their master into death. As such, they become
these headless spirits tied to the land so that they might better
defend the walking mausoleums. They also carry eclipse crested shields,
and the eclipse is said to aid the mausoleum knights
by keeping Destined Death at bay. It is their symbol
and by keeping Destined Death at bay. Maybe it's helping to keep their souls
tied to the land. We could speculate for a long time
on how the eclipse has this power. And I've done my best. Maybe
other people have a better take on it. And maybe you guys do in the comments. But in the end, it's simpler just to trust that Miquella knew what he was doing
with the eclipse at Castle Sol, where he wanted to block out the sun
and restore Godwyn's soul. Well, that said, We can't trust him too much, I guess, because it's important
to remember that this ritual failed. According to this phantom,
the sun was not swallowed. But I guess the protective star
of the soulless demigods did not listen to their prayers, And it did not appear. But it is really fascinating to learn
that such a thing might even be possible. But Godwyn,
whose soul seems to be as dead as Ranni's body, might actually not be so. If his soul is somewhere,
then where has it fled to? A part of me wonders if his soul is lost, Then maybe it's lost within a dream. One theory I did come up with
regarding the mechanism by which Godwyn Soul is brought back by the eclipse
is that his soul might be brought back by bringing about a sort of artificial
dusk with the eclipse. That's because Those Who Live in Death
are called the duskborn, after all. So there is an association
between night and death, to be sure. And there's also an association
between death and sleep. For example,
when you pursue Fia's questline, you use her as a medium
to enter Godwyn's deathbed dream, which is an entire dreamscape
where the Dragon Fortissax is futilely fighting against the death
in his companion. And then there's Rogier,
who speaks this line of dialogue as he is on the precipice
of succumbing to deathroot. [Rogier]
Maybe I should tell you. Lately, I feel I'm on the precipice
of falling into a deep... fathomless slumber. [Rogier]
He does say he's about to fall into sleep. So in conclusion, a realm of death
does seem accessible through dream. And I think this is the perfect time
to mention that Miquella has an alter ego. Some say she is a comely young girl. Others are sure she is a boy. This is where we have to talk about
the enigmatic figure named St. Trina. Perhaps the biggest in-game clue about St. Trina's
true identity is Trina's Lily, which bears this undeniable resemblance to Miquella's
Lily of Unalloyed Gold. Its description reveals
that it is "a symbol of faith in St. Trina. dulls the senses,
preventing agitation." Naturally,
it can be used to craft a bunch of sleep afflicting items like St. Trina's Arrow
which states that this "sweet oblivion of sleep
can become quite the habit." And it tells of the priests of St. Trina
who use these arrows to spread their teachings. Though the Japanese description
seems to specify that these were more of a tool used
for their rituals, so it's largely left to your imagination as to what rituals
these priests might have been performing. Though I will mention that it seems St.
Trina might actually be able
to be found somewhere within sleep. This is suggested by Fevor's cookbook,
which reads "a record of crafting techniques left by a man
who was utterly captivated by St. Trina. He continued the search
for her in his slumber." We get a side profile of her
in the hilt of St. Trina's Sword, which hints at that flowing astray hair
that she has. And then we get a much better
front on view of this feminine adult form Upon St. Trina's
torch "the carvings depict St. Trina,
but in adult form, somewhat unnervingly." The carving is indeed unnerving,
and it's certainly strange considering Miquella
is supposed to be eternally a child. It raises the question what has to happen
for Miquella to grow up into this and why is this bizarre creature,
the adult form that he takes? Another question worth asking, I think, is whether Miquella even
has total control of St. Trina. What if he's in a similar situation
to Marika/Radagon, where the alter ego
is an opposite of sorts and able to act almost as
if they have their own free will. So all of this is definitely a little bit
of a disturbing view of what St. Trina could be. But I guess we do have cut content
that does somewhat reassure me that the alter ego
is still a benevolent person. This cut content was first showcased
by Sekiro Dubi, and this cut content is truly ancient. It exists in one of the oldest
versions of the game that we know about. So a lot has probably changed since then. But regardless here we can learn about
St Trina's crystal ball, which once read "a crystal ball
full of mist. symbol of St. Trina of the Cradlesong. Copies
Dream missed from a sleeping being. Dream mist was once used as an ingredient
in rare and potent physicks. May the quietude of slumber
come to all and sundry, even to those whose red eyes burn
with the flames of frenzy." So this reveals that this cut version
of St. Trina even once had sympathy for those afflicted
by the flame of frenzy. They even went so far
as to teach the merchants their songs. [Kale]
Our song derives from an old lullaby. sung for us, long ago,
deep inside our tomb. But whoever it was sings no longer. Its melody allowed us to sleep, despite the cursed flame. [Vaati] the description of Miquella's
songs as a lullaby is referenced by the modern day sleep pot description,
which reads "like a lullaby, or a quagmire. Its light purple haze irresistibly draws
its victims down into sleep. Sweet dreams." This is the closest thing we have to Dream
Mist as well, which was an item that you could again
once collect from sleeping enemies. And after you did this,
you were supposed to sell this dream mist to the merchants who used it to quell
their flame of frenzy. But as the merchants once said, whoever
it was that sings now sings no longer. And this is a detail that has remained intact,
even in the final version of Elden Ring. With St. Trina's Sword
stating that St. Trina's "appearance was a sudden
as their disappearance." Something clearly happened to Miquella
that prevented them from continuing their work as St. Trina. And that is what we will discuss next. At some point, Miquella
embedded himself into the Haligtree. Why he did
this is never explicitly stated, but I think we can make a good attempt
at puzzling it out. So Miquella famously watered
the Haligtree with his own blood since it was a sapling
so I guess you could argue that he embedded himself in it
to simply feed the tree more. Which I guess is possible
because the tree does eventually wither without Miquella inside it. And Gideon seems to tie his removal
with the death of the Haligtree,
or it's turning into a husk. But I don't think that can be
the only reason why he embedded himself. For instance,
look closely at the Haligtree roots and you'll see the form of a tree-
like woman and where her womb should be. There's a gap. A gap that once contained Miquella's
cocoon cradled by the Haligtree. Now, either Miquella was attempting to fuse
into and become this woman like figure
who might even be the adult form shown on the St. Trina's torch
or there was a rebirth occurring here. This is a cocoon within a womb after all. So rebirth
could have been the intent here. But regardless, it seems things ended
prematurely for Miquella would eventually be ripped out of the womb
and the Haligtree would split and decay. And so when we arrive at the Haligtree
and the town of Elphael that is built into the brace that supports
it, the music here hits extremely hard. This place is just so sorrowful
for the Haligtree and Miquella's Lilies and even St. Trina's
Lilies are all wilting and all who live here are just hoping
and praying for their Lord to return. I love the little detail of the guards
looking outwards and sitting dejectedly.
to make matters worse for them It was here that they realized
that the sacred light inside them would explode upon their imminent
deaths. And yet, spite of this, their spirit ashes
show their faith, and state "May the flesh of our deaths
Guide Miquella's return." And Malenia is here too, holding
to the husk of Miquella, dreaming and waiting for Miquella to return
and believing full well that he will [Malenia]
corpse after corpse, left in my wake. as I awaited... his return. [Vaati] Malenia's set reveals that she
believes her brother will keep his promise. So what was that promise, I wonder? Or was it merely to return or was it
something more? How much does Malenia know? Why did she fight Radahn? We'll have to talk about all of that
in another video. So there is still faith. There's even this one
Phantom in the consecrated snowfields who has somehow puzzled out
who took Miquella, and even where they are. He is pointed
towards the portal that takes you to Mohngwyn Palace and Mohg The Omen. So indeed, it was the demigod Mohg
who somehow broke into the Haligtree and absconded with Miquella's infant form. And it's with him that the story ends. Or maybe it's where
this story truly begins. So if you're not familiar, Mohg is The Omen
son of Godfrey and Marika, and being an omen of royalty,
he was born into a wretched mire of filth in the Subterranean Shunning Grounds
below Leyndell Capital. But unlike his brother, Morgott,
who reviled his accursed blood, Mohg reveled in it. And it was assumedly
because of this accursed blood that he chanced a meeting with an outer
god called the Mother of Truth. And as Mohg stood before her
deep underground, his accursed blood erupted with fire. And he was truly besotted
with the defilement that he was born into. Mohg is just one of many characters
who discovers a new identity in the ways that they have been
discarded by the world. And how could he not? For his defilement was validated
by nothing less than an outer god. And as always,
we know very little about this outer god. We know she is called the Mother of Truth
and the Formless Mother. We know that she desires wounds
and bestows power upon accursed blood. Her followers can thrust their arms
into her body to scatter Blood flame. And followers of Mohg
can share in the Lord of Blood's power and send blood flies before them. There's even been some speculation
in my recent shorts, and my tiktoks as well, that the Formless Mother is also an outer
God called the Blood Star. But the one thing that all outer gods
seem to have in common is that they all require vessels
to move through. So in this case, the Formless Mother's
vessel was Mohg, for example, the sacred spear that he wields is a weapon,
but it's also an instrument of communion. And Mohg may well be doing her bidding
with his actions. These actions included him
starting a new dynasty called Mohgwyn, deep below the earth in the grounds
of these ancient dynastic remains. This is a secret place, difficult to reach. And it was here
that Mohg brought the infant Miquella. Torn as he was from his cocoon. I mean, that's how we see him
in his opening cut scene. But in game, Miquella seems to be back
with a new cocoon here. You can even see it sat upon this giant
pelvic bone, which seems to be a reference to the womb of the Haligtree woman
That he was literally ripped from. And it's from the Remembrance of the Blood Lord,
that we can learn of Mohg's intent here. He wished to raise Miquella to full godhood
and become his consort. Taking the role of Monarch. To this end, Mohg has begun
soliciting blood offerings to Miquella, and that certainly explains the state
of so many who reside here. According to the Lord of Blood's
Exaltation talisman, he proclaimed
"Render up your offerings of to your Lord. Drench my consort's
chamber. slake his cocoons thirst. His awakening
shall herald the dawn of our dynasty." And then to return to Mohg's Remembrance. It stated that "so far
this has all been in vain." For no matter how much of his bloody
bedchamber Mohg tried to share, he received no response
from the young empyrean. So maybe nothing will happen. Or maybe,
according to the Pure-Blood Knights Medal, it is not yet time for Mohg yet slumbers
beside the divinity. Be patient. The new dynasty is nigh. What do you think? I mean, it's kind of hard to know. Even Gideon has no clue. But something does
seem to be happening to Miquella in
their, He has clearly grown
for one since being taken. So maybe his adult form is manifesting. And personally,
this is really speculation, but this reminds me a lot of berserk,
which we know Miyazaki is always inspired by. Spoiler warning. Really,
You should watch that show. But there's this moment at the very end
of the first chapter where Griffiths betrays his companions in this sacrificial
ceremony of carnage and bloodshed in order to be inaugurated and reborn
as a god within an egg of sorts. This really reminds me of that. It also reminds me of a scene
with Griffith where he allows himself to be abused,
basically, in order to get what he wants. So I wonder what if this was also
what Miquella wanted? We know that he is extremely proficient
at compelling others to love him,
and Mohg is clearly enraptured. We know that Miquella is an empyrean
prodigy, and we know that his sister, who knows him
best, has total faith that he will return. So you'd think he's still in
control of the situation somehow,
But that could be a part of the tragedy. And Miquella, this benevolent being,
might not have predicted this at all and is now being completely
taken advantage of. Or maybe he did intend to be taken, but he is going to get more than he bargained
for with the Mother of Truth. Or,
maybe Miquella's fate really is long gone. There's one other thing
I want to mention. There is this place called
Miquella's Hideaway in the Altus Plateau. And here we can loot Amber Starlight, which Seluvis mentions
is the very fate of a demigod. Clearly, since it's here,
you'd think it's Miquella's fate, right? And then you also have to consider
that the cut content that we are basing so much of this video on
is very much removed from the game because it might not fit
the developer's intent. That's always possible. So I really do hope you all bear that in
mind as I would really hate to promote ideas that are against the developer's vision
for this character. But I really do think
that it's a possibility that we're going to one day enter
the dream of this slumbering demigod. After all, there was once a cut
character called Rhico, who was supposed to say the following. Standing before Miquella's Cocoon at Mohgwyn's
Palace, he says, "Finally, I have found it. St. Trina's. No. Lord Miquella's Cadaver. such that I may aid you,
O Lord. So, please, I hope you welcome your humble
servant, Rhico... into your dream, The world of your heart.... Indeed, I beg you grant my wish,
that when you transcend from empyrean to god, allow me a place by your side." Plus, if we do get DLC, it's
going to need a new great rune to acquire. Right? That's a huge gameplay
mechanic in these games, and it'd be weird if DLC came
and you couldn't get more great runes. Apart from Miquella's Great Rune. The only one we don't know about
also is Ranni's Great Rune, which was allegedly cast aside,
so there's always that to consider. But hopefully we get some DLC
to answer these questions or more likely we'll get DLC
that will give us more questions than we started with. That's always how it seems to go,
but I really hope they throw us some good curveballs
with this one, as they always do. But regardless, it's always a ton of fun
to speculate with you all. So if you're still listening
to this extremely long video, thank you for giving me your time today. Thank you to Quelaag
for reviewing the script for me. Thank you, MisPap1,
for the incredible visuals, as always. And I also want to give a sincere
and really reverential shout out to Eugenia Lysa, who created
the speculative visuals of St. Trina. Please follow her work in the description. She's one of the most talented artists
that I've ever known. And yeah, thank you as always, of course,
for watching my videos and I'll see you next time. Captioned by in2thevoyde
