Dragonlord Placidusax. Having the lowest completion rate among
the bosses with achievements tied to them, Placidusax is one of the strongest and most
well-hidden bosses found in Elden Ring. As the leader of the ancient dragons
and a wielder of red lightning, he presents many implications about Farum Azula,
the outer gods, and maybe even potential plot points for future DLC. If we want to make
sense of the story of the ancient dragons, then their leader and the presumed true
first Elden Lord may hold the answers. Spoilers ahead… Dragonlord Placidusax, whose name probably comes
from the word “placidus,” which is latin for “calm,” can be found within Crumbling Farum
Azula. The player reaches this place by defeating the Fire Giant and kindling the Giants’ Flame.
Somehow, the act of kindling the Giants’ Flame, usually through the sacrifice of a maiden, seems
to be what can transport us to Farum Azula. Note that the only other NPCs that
you can find here are Bernahl, whose maiden threw herself into the fire,
and Iron Fist Alexander, who probably had the remains of at least one maiden inside
of himself that could be used as kindling after the battle with Radahn, and he was last
seen in the area that hides the Giants’ Flame. There’s a weapon that you can find earlier in the
game called the Ruins Greatsword, which reads: Originally rubble from a
ruin which fell from the sky, this surviving fragment was honed into a weapon. The ruin it came from crumbled
when struck by a meteorite, as such this weapon harbors its destructive power. This ruin in the sky refers to Farum Azula, and a
meteorite was responsible for its crumbling state. The greatsword’s weapon art
also utilizes gravity magic, which is commonly used by other creatures
that arrived in the Lands Between through meteorite impacts. These include the Onix
and Alabaster Lords, the Fallingstar Beasts, and Astel. We’re going to try to
construct a timeline of events related to Farum Azula and Placidusax, so let’s
keep this meteorite impact in mind for later. Throughout Farum Azula, hostile beastmen can be
found in varying states of decay. Their corpses can also be found in ornate graves, built into the
architecture, or, in some cases, being seemingly cannibalized by the other beastmen. The Azula
Beastman Ashes, found on one their graves, reads: Spirits of beastmen from doomed Farum Azula,
the slowly crumbling ruins in the skies. These ruins are said to be the remains of a
giant mausoleum enshrining an ancient dragon, guarded by chosen beastmen who
wield weapons clad in lightning. This item tells us that the beastmen guarded
Farum Azula and the ancient dragon it enshrines, pointing towards cooperation between
the beastmen and Dragonlord Placidusax. We’ll consider the choosing of the beastmen to
guard Farum Azula as another significant event. Another item that refers to the
Dragonlord is the Old Lord’s Talisman: A legendary talisman depicting the ancient king whose seat lies at the heart
of the storm beyond time. It is said that the ancient
royal city of Farum Azula has been slowly crumbling since time immemorial. Notice that this talisman
features a dragon with four heads. The final item description we’ll look at before the Placidusax fight is from any
of the draconic shield talismans: The ancient dragons, who ruled in the
prehistoric era before the Erdtree, would protect their lord as a wall of living rock. The beastmen, the ancient dragons, and
the mausoleum itself were all tools to protect the Dragonlord. Yet, Placidusax is
nowhere to be found. The only way to find him is to locate the heart of the storm beyond time. Along a hidden path at the bottom of Farum Azula, you can find an unoccupied beast grave that you
can lay inside of. Time begins to reverse, and you find yourself in the heart of the storm with
the leader of the ancient dragons, frozen in time. Placidusax shows the ability
to control red lightning, vanish into storm clouds, and breathe destructive,
golden flames. He’s already noticeably damaged, and he’s missing two of the four heads
depicted in the Old Lord’s Talisman. If you can defeat him, you receive
the Remembrance of the Dragonlord: 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 Erdtree. Once his god was fled, the lord
continued to await its return. Placidusax has been hiding outside of time
until the player finds and defeats him. The reign of the god of the dragons was likely
marked by this alternative version of the Elden Ring that is depicted in Maliketh’s boss arena in
Farum Azula, and could have ties to the primordial version of the Erdtree, the Crucible. Whether
this god was the Greater Will or some other unnamed outer god, their abandonment seems to
be a key event in the downfall of Farum Azula. But the question remains… What exactly ended Plasicusax’s reign? Obviously the absence of their god
contributed to the ancient dragons’ fall, but Placidusax shows signs of being
defeated in a physical battle. A plausible reason for this could
be the War of the Ancient Dragons. In the Royal Capital Leyndell, the corpse of
an enormous ancient dragon lies across a huge section of the city. We know this to be Gransax,
whose invasion of Leyndell triggered the war against the dragons. The Golden Order’s version
of the Elden Ring hidden within the capital was probably coveted by the dragons that
ruled before the age of the Erdtree, giving reason for their invasion and the
necessity for the Golden Order’s retaliation. The tree sentinels and Godfrey’s Crucible Knights
were among the forces that attacked Farum Azula. Godwyn, the demigod offspring of
Queen Marika and Lord Godfrey, defeats the dragon Fortissax during this
war and would befriend his fallen foe. Placidusax’s wounded body was likely caused
by a battle against the Golden Order’s forces. After this war, the forces of Leyndell came to a
conclusion, as stated by the Gravel Stone Seal: The worship of the ancient dragons does
not conflict with belief in the Erdtree. After all, this seal, and lightning
itself, are both imbued with gold. Fortissax’s friendship with Godwyn, the reverence
that Leyndell had for the power of the dragons, and the end of the war with Farum Azula would give
way to the Capital’s dragon cult being formed. Fortissax’s sister, Lansseax, would serve as
a priestess to this cult, and there’s evidence that the cult was already being formed before
Leyndell’s forces even returned to the capital. Also note that the dragon head in the Dragon
Temple resembles Placidusax’s unique head shape. Life goes on for the ancient dragons and Leyndell. Temples for the worship of dragons arise in
both Farum Azula and the Lands Between. The Elder Dragon Greyoll would give birth to a
new generation of dragons that, while feeble compared to the ancient dragons, are much more
commonly found throughout the Lands Between. Dragons are still revered to this day, as
shown by the practice of dragon communion and Godrick’s obsession with the
trueborn heritage of the dragons, but their age has long passed. Farum
Azula is perpetually crumbling, and it seems that the curse of Godwyn’s
infection has somehow partially taken over. Now, it’s likely that anyone who travels
to Farum Azula arrives at a similar point in time. If we operate under the assumption
that Maliketh and Gurranq are the same person, which you’re free to agree or disagree with, Maliketh’s unique dialogue with the player
if they have completed his quest and the fact that he still exists in the player’s world
after the boss version of him has been killed supports the idea that everyone arrives at the
same point in Farum Azula’s disconnected timeline. However, Placidusax remains
at the heart of the storm, forever awaiting the return of his
god and the reign of the dragons. Now, as confusing as it may be, we can try our
best to construct a timeline of these events. First, Farum Azula exists outside of time,
and is partially built from the graves of the chosen beastmen that would act as its
guardians. The ancient dragons would rule with their own version of the Elden
Ring and Placidusax as the Elden Lord. At some point, the god of the ancient
dragons leaves them, which I personally believe to mark when Farum Azula joins
the natural flow of time. Because of this, a meteorite is able to strike the floating
mausoleum and leave it perpetually crumbling. The age of the dragons ends, and the age of
the Erdtree eventually comes to take its place. As part of a plan to restore the rule of the
dragons, Gransax leads an assault on the capital, but Leyndell would retaliate with a war against
the dragons. Placidusax and the dragons are defeated, and Fortissax and Lansseax would
support the rise of the capital’s dragon cult. Now, probably due to the actions of Placidusax, Farum Azula remains outside of time once more,
but instead of time flowing only for Farum Azula, it now seems that time only flows for the Lands
Between, as everyone who travels to Farum Azula after the war seems to arrive
around a similar point in time. Godwyn’s infection spreads.
Finally, the player’s arrival and confrontation of the Dragonlord
brings an end to Placidusax’s legacy. This may be a bit convoluted, especially
since time manipulation is involved, so I may have gotten at least a few details
wrong along the way. If you have any further evidence or insight to this sequence of events,
I would love to hear about it in the comments. Other pieces of evidence throughout the
game could be tied to Placidusax as well. Stormveil was once ruled by the one known as
the Storm Lord long ago, and we could maybe draw a connection between that and the lord
of Farum Azula due to its theme of storms. On a final note, FromSoftware has been known
to often include time travel as a part of downloadable content in their recent games. With
an outer god that may be able to control time, is it possible that this power could
become important for future content? We could maybe learn more about the
Lands Between before the Shattering, as there’s so much story that could
be worked with for that concept. On that note, that’s all I have to
say about Dragonlord Placidusax, but as always, it’s great to hear your
thoughts on the video or its topics. Thank you so much for watching,
and I’ll see you next time.
