After making your technique to the Haligtree, there’s just one Shardbearer remaining in Elden Ring. The Lord of Blood waits for you in a hidden place deep underground, and when you enterprise into these depths, you may discover an enormous world. These subterranean locations have their very own historical past with the Golden Order and the Lands Between, and regardless of their destruction way back, they’re truly fairly necessary to the occasions you see on this planet above. Not solely is the final Shardbearer hidden right here, however we study some issues concerning the previous of the Lands Between, and what impacts the occasions of the sport’s historical past, just like the Night of Black Knives, have had on the world ever since.The underground world and the Eternal Cities you discover there have quite a bit to do with Ranni and her quests, and it is right here you may discover out concerning the final destiny of Miquella and Godwyn the Golden. There’s quite a bit to study down right here within the false night–and even an enormous properly of Scarlet Rot, the “Lake of Rot,” that may even home the essence of the Outer God chargeable for the affliction that plagues Malenia, Radahn, Caelid, and the Haligtree.Spoilers observe, after all, as we uncover the tales hidden beneath your toes as you enterprise by means of Elden RIng.More Elden Ring story explainersElden Ring Story Guide: The Lore and History of The Lands BetweenWhat Happens in Elden Ring? The Game’s Story, Part 1: LimgraveWhat Happens in Elden Ring? The Game’s Story, Part 2: Liurnia Of The LakesWhat Happens in Elden Ring? The Game’s Story, Part 3: CaelidWhat Happens in Elden Ring? The Game’s Story, Part 4: Mt. Gelmir and Volcano ManorWhat occurs in Elden Ring? The Game’s Story, Part 5: Leyndell, Royal CapitalWhat Happens in Elden Ring? The Game’s Story, Part 6: Mountaintops of the GiantsWhat Happens in Elden Ring? The Game’s Story, Part 7: Castle Sol and the Consecrated SnowfieldWhat Happens in Elden Ring? The Game’s Story, Part 8: Miquella’s HaligtreeThe Frenzied Flame and the Game’s Bleakest Ending, DefinedThe world undergroundIf you probably did quite a lot of exploring in Limgrave, you seemingly chanced on the Siofra Well, discovering an enormous underground space surrounding the Siofra River. This is your first inkling of the land beneath the Lands Between, and the cities which were constructed there: Nokron, Nokstella, and a metropolis that’s anonymous.As with quite a lot of areas in Elden Ring, the superb particulars about what is going on on with the underground lands aren’t all the time clear. The open areas themselves are populated by the spirits of Ancestor Followers, that are massive, humanoid of us who put on horn headbands. Unlike the general public you encounter within the recreation, these creatures appear extra linked to nature, the forests, and the creatures who inhabit them, particularly due to their proximity to a boss you may tackle known as the Ancestral Spirit.The arrows the Followers shoot at you deal magic harm because of the truth that they’re stated to be imbued with the spirits of small animals, and their use of horns–something we all know to be considerably taboo among the many Golden Order, because of Omen–all counsel they may be a extra historical folks from a time earlier than the Erdtree. The lore on their garments talks about Erdtree buds sprouting from their flesh and even “their souls,” which additionally gives the look that these are of us whose faith is about nature; not only one Erdtree, however all of them, in addition to the spirits of individuals and animals.The Ancestral Spirit additionally appears to be from a creature that’s maybe not linked to the Erdtree, however a spirit from the extra pure model of the Lands Between from earlier than the Golden Order. Lore linked to the Ancestral Spirit suggests new life springs from demise, which sounds fairly far at-odds with the Golden Order model of the world, by which Destined Death is locked away.The world beneath the Lands Between suggests a distinct algorithm from the Golden Order, a means life and demise labored earlier than the Erdtree.Connected to those areas is the Lake of Rot, a spot the place you may discover ruins populated by the creepy centipede pests, the Kindred of Rot, present in Caelid. The Lake of Rot appears to be the place from which Scarlet Rot springs. The Blue Dancer Charm lore tells of a legend by which a blind swordsman sealed away a god “that was rot itself,” and the map for the Lake of Rot means that some divine essence is sealed there. Thus, this would possibly properly be the situation the place the Outer God chargeable for Scarlet Rot is trapped, though exploring the realm, you may’t discover out a lot about it (or do something about it).The cities you discover underground, nevertheless, are usually not these created by the Ancestral Followers, who “eschew letters and metalwork.” Those had been created by the Nox, a bunch of people who as soon as went up in opposition to the Greater Will–and misplaced.Nokron, Nokstella, and the Nameless Eternal CityYou cannot attain the Eternal Cities correct till later within the recreation; in actual fact, the way in which to Nokron solely opens as soon as you’ve got defeated Radahn and launched the celebrities, inflicting a meteorite to fall into Limgrave and open the trail under floor. We know probably the most concerning the story surrounding Nokron, though precisely the place it matches within the timeline of Marika’s story or the better historical past of the Lands Between is not particularly clear.The cities of Nokron and Nokstella are nonetheless properties to some folks, however the two areas have seen vital calamity. From the armor of the Nox enemies, we study that the Nox folks angered the Greater Will not directly lengthy up to now, and for that, the 2 cities had been forged underground. What the Nox did, how precisely their cities had been buried, and the way the Greater Will was capable of enact that punishment is not precisely clear. It’s additionally not clear whether or not the cities had been forged down earlier than or after the folks of Nokron tried to battle and destroy the Greater Will.Nokron and Nokstella are largely intact underground, however are reduce off from the cosmos due to their treachery in opposition to the Greater Will.There’s quite a bit happening with the Eternal Cities, however it’s just a little bit combined up and hard to untangle. At some level up to now, the cities had been above floor, and the Nox gave the impression to be intently tied to the celebrities. The areas are an enormous a part of Ranni’s storyline, which can be all about destiny associated to stars and the cosmos. We can collect that the Nox hoped to throw off the management of the Greater Will, and had been additionally attempting to achieve the identical objective as Ranni sooner or later up to now, enacting an Age of Stars to overhaul that of the Erdtree. The Greater Will intervened, nevertheless, they usually failed.Nokron and Nokstella are the house of the Silver Tears, in addition to the Nox. These are creatures that appear to be manufactured from a dwelling liquid steel, and it looks like the Nox cultivated this substance to create Mimic Tears, which had been variations that had been able to mimicking different creatures and altering their varieties. When you battle Mimic Tears within the Eternal Cities, they typically turn into humanlike, and even mimic you at factors if you encounter them. The substance on the coronary heart of the Silver Tears is important for Rennala’s complete bizarre rebirth factor together with her Great Rune, and the shape-shifting substance additionally appears to have some hyperlink to what the sorcerers of Liurnia have used to create the Albinaurics, though the connections are considerably tenuous.What we do know concerning the Silver Tears, nevertheless, is that they will turn into considerably flawed people-like creatures, and it appears the Nox hoped to make use of Mimic Tears to “forge a lord.” There’s some suggestion that the Nox might need summoned a meteor, bringing the fabric that created the Silver Tears to the lands between–and that motion might need had some seirous penalties. It sounds quite a bit just like the Nox had hoped to make use of their Mimic Tears to take over the function of Elden Lord, in all probability as a way to bypass or usurp the Greater Will’s management of the Lands Between. We can guess that this might need been what made the Greater Will indignant sufficient to put the cities low, sending them under floor.This was a reasonably tough state of affairs for the Eternal Cities, as the celebrities had been an enormous a part of life for them, they usually had been now subjected to the “false night” of their underground world. The timeline of this can be a little tough, however it looks like the rebuke by the Greater Will drove the Nox to search out one other technique to battle again in opposition to the Greater Will. If you’re employed by means of Ranni’s story, you may discover the “hidden treasure” of Nokron: a dagger known as the Fingerslayer Blade. You can in all probability guess what it does.According to objects you get from the creature, a dwelling star known as Astel was chargeable for the destruction of the Eternal Cities.It appears the folks of Nokron had been by no means fairly capable of execute this plan, nevertheless, and the creation of the Fingerslayer Blade was itself “high treason” in opposition to the Greater Will. As talked about, it isn’t completely clear what occurred when, though–the Nox’s try and create a lord Mimic Tear may have occurred concurrently the creation of the Fingerslayer Blade, with each acts enraging the Greater Will, or it may simply be the blade itself that led to the Greater Will’s reprisal. And the last word destiny of Nokron, and whether or not it was additionally an act of the Greater Will, is not precisely clear, both.When you discover Nokron, your time within the place ends with a battle in opposition to an enormous beast known as Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. From what we are able to inform about Astel from its Remembrance and the gear you may create from it, this creature is actually a dwelling star, a cosmic horror from area that fell to the Lands Between, very like different creatures you’ve got confronted earlier than. Astel’s Remembrance says it destroyed Nokron and “took away their sky,” and the truth that you continue to discover Astel within the metropolis means that this was the very last thing to occur to Nokron. The Eternal Darkness spell says it was “the despair that brought about its ruin made manifest,” which means that the lack of the sky and stars had been the downfall of Nokron. From that, we’re left to surprise if Astel was despatched to the Eternal City by the Greater Will, or if Astel was summoned by the Nox themselves, maybe by accident or as a side-effect of the summoning that created the Silver Tears.Just how the occasions performed out is hard to say, with data misplaced to historical past. The folks of the floor have tried to search out and discover the Eternal Cities, it appears; within the Siofra Aqueduct and Nokstella, as an example, you discover pale undead-looking enemies known as the Falling Hawk firm. Ashes and equipment you discover associated to those poor souls says they had been slaves despatched under to discover the Eternal Cities, however they ran out of provides, ultimately turning to burning the corpses of their useless to keep up mild as they explored. They would by no means make it out of the Eternal Cities, and who is aware of how lengthy they, or their descendants, have been trapped there.The Prince of DeathGodwyn’s assassination modified every thing within the Lands Between.The pathway by means of Nokron and into the Siofra Aqueduct leads you to a different part of the underground world of the Lands Between: the Deeproot Depths. This location is much under the Erdtree, the place yow will discover lots of its roots. You’ll rapidly uncover that a few of them are rotted and corrupted, though they are not affected by the Scarlet Rot just like the Haligtree is. Instead, they’re black and liquid, troubled by one thing else: demise itself.If you make your technique to the highest of the Deeproot Depths, you may uncover what’s infecting the Erdtree. A wierd, twisted physique has melded with the roots. What you discover out, do you have to pursue extra data by means of just a few completely different sidequests, is that that is the physique of Godwyn the Golden–now deformed and unusual, like some type of Eldritch terror. What stays of Godwyn is the Prince of Death, the supply of Deathroot and Those Who Live in Death.The story of Godwyn is a bizarre one, and it has had a serious influence on the Lands Between. We’ve talked about it just a few instances earlier than, however this is a fast rundown. Before the Shattering, a bunch of assassins, the Black Knives, managed to steal a chunk of the Death Rune (which additionally goes by the identify Destined Death), which Marika had faraway from the Elden Ring, altering the way in which demise labored within the Lands Between and making a type of immortality. After that, not one of the demigods ever died; in actual fact, it looks like nobody would die of pure causes within the Lands Between, and in the event that they had been killed, their souls would return to the Erdtree to stay on. Destined Death was the pure means of the world and labored in another way. It was indiscriminate, visiting common folks, demigods, and even gods, and our bodies in addition to souls may die, ceasing to exist.So with Destined Death faraway from the Elden Ring, no demigods had ever died in historical past. That modified on the Night of the Black Knives, when the assassins used their rune-infused knives to assault and kill Godwyn. But although they did homicide Godwyn, what they killed was his soul. His physique lives on as an empty husk, a kind of dwelling demise.Godwyn’s twisted, mutated physique has turn into one thing wholly new, and appears to contaminate the Lands Between, rising new items and copies of him in every single place.Tangled with the roots of the Erdtree, Godwyn’s undead physique appears to be spreading corruption out into the land–you can see his eyes rising from roots and vegetation in varied locations all through the Lands Between, and there is even a complete second Godwyn face situated far under Stormveil Castle. And that unnatural an infection within the Lands Between created one thing new, a plant born of Godwyn’s corruption, known as Deathroot.The assassination itself is shrouded in thriller, though you may study quite a bit about who the Black Knives had been and are. We do not know all of the ins and outs of precisely why they did what they did, though there are quite a lot of theories. We do discover out in the course of the course of the sport that the Black Knives labored straight with Ranni as a part of her plan to free herself from the affect of the Greater Will and the Two Fingers. The assassination of Godwyn appears to have truly been a step essential to get Ranni away from her Two Fingers. Destined Death kills each physique and soul, however the Black Knives had been capable of cut up this effect–they killed Godwyn’s soul, not his physique, they usually killed Ranni’s physique, however not her soul. Ranni was then capable of switch her spirit into the doll physique you discover her in in the course of the recreation, and that appears to have gotten her out from underneath the Greater Will’s affect.As for the Black Knives, there are quite a lot of tidbits associated to who they’re and why they may have helped Ranni. They’re described within the lore as a folks known as the Numen, of which Marika was one–and in actual fact, the Black Knives lore tells us the assassins, all girls, had been intently tied with Marika herself.You can truly select to be a Numen firstly of the sport, if you’re creating your character, and on that display, the Numen are described as coming from “another world.” That’s unusual in and of itself, however when you discuss to Rogier, a personality you meet at Stormveil Castle, you may study extra concerning the assassins as he investigates what occurred to Godwyn. Rogier tells you that it was stated the ladies had been “scions of the Eternal City.” If that is the case, then Godwyn’s assassination could possibly be an extension of the battle between the Eternal Cities and the Greater Will. YouTuber Bandit has an incredible video delving into the Black Knives and the reference to Marika, the Eternal Cities, and Ranni–who Rogier tells us was truly behind the assassination itself. Ranni’s complete story is deserving of its personal rationalization, so we’ll skip it for now. Hunting Those Who Live in DeathThe assassination of Godwyn had an enormous ripple impact all through the Lands Between. It’s stated that, in her grief at dropping her first born and favourite little one, Marika ultimately would shatter the Elden Ring, though there appears to be just a little extra to it than that. Still, Godwyn’s demise positively was the catalyst that will ultimately result in the Shattering. Miquella would try to assist his soulless brother, to no avail, whereas members of the Golden Order would begin to search out Those Who Live in Death and destroy them, seeing their impure existence as a defilement of the Erdtree.That brings us again to Gurranq, the Beast Clergyman. You might need present in him in Caelid; when you work together with a personality named D in Limgrave and assist him slay a few of Those Who Live in Death, he’ll ship you Gurranq’s technique to enlist your assist in combating the undead. Those Who Live in Death are created, apparently, by coming into contact with Deathroot, and though D believes them to be evil folks whose souls refuse to return to the Erdtree, Rogier discovers the truth–people turn into undead by means of no fault of their very own.Gurranq, for his half, consumes Deathroot, and is seemingly even hooked on the stuff. He sees it as his responsibility to destroy Deathroot and Those Who Live in Death in an try and stomp out the corruption created by Godwyn. There’s a cause for that, which we’ll discover in better element in Crumbling Farum Azula.Those Who Live in Death do not select to be that means, it appears, and there are those that hope to guard the undead. If you’re employed your means by means of the search of Fia, the Deathbed Companion, you may study that she’s one in all these folks, hoping to cease the persecution of Those Who Live in Death. You can select which aspect of the state of affairs to be on, however it’s not clear what penalties there may be of serving to the undead, or what the continued corruption of the Prince of Death would possibly do to the Lands Between and the Erdtree itself. Maybe that is one thing to be revisited in some future Elden Ring DLC, as a result of there’s completely extra happening with Godwyn than we’re conscious of. You may even discover his mutant fish face on the backside of Stormveil Castle, as if it has been drawn there by means of the roots of the Erdtree–and that positively would not appear good.The Lord of BloodIn the Mohgwyn Mausoleum, you may discover out what occurred to Miquella.We briefly talked about Mohg, Lord of Blood in the course of the Haligtree portion of the story. If you make your means by means of the teleporter within the Consecrated Snowfields, you may discover Mohg’s domain–a bloody swamp together with his mausoleum-slash-palace on the middle. It seems that that is additionally a portion of the underground area close to the Eternal Cities, which means that Mohg in all probability did not construct this place, however simply moved in and took over when he determined to create the Mohgwyn Dynasty. You could make your means by means of right here, dealing with corrupted crimson Albinaurics, festering creatures, cursed corpses of followers, and Mohg’s noble disciples. Enter the mausoleum on the middle of the realm, and you may tackle Mohg himself to say the final of the Great Runes and defeat the ultimate Shardbearer.Mohg’s story is a tragic and horrible one. You can first begin to hear concerning the Lord of Blood in a little bit of a roundabout means. White Mask Varre, one of many very first characters you work together with within the recreation, will ultimately lead you to becoming a member of the followers of Mohg. Varre’s gear tells you that he was as soon as a battle surgeon in the course of the Shattering, and means that possibly he had an excessive amount of of a style for hacking off limbs. Continue down Varre’s quest and he’ll ship you to invade the video games of different gamers to kill them; as with the followers of Rykard, murdering different Tarnished is near Mohg’s coronary heart.Like Morgott, Mohg is an Omen little one of Marika and Godfrey, and was stored within the sewers under Leyndell. Unlike Morgott, although, Mohg positively did not really feel a loyalty to his household or to the system that exacted such cruelty on him. At some level, he was visited by an Outer God known as the Formless Mother, and his followers view that is as a kind of holy occasion. The Formless Mother granted Mohg energy by means of blood and wounds and it looks like, for the primary time, Mohg noticed his Omen type as one thing optimistic, slightly than a curse. When you battle Mohg, you even see him stabbing into the air together with his trident, which is famous as a way of communing with the Outer God. What you are seeing is actually Mohg stabbing into the Formless Mother to attract her blood and use her energy.The blood the Formless Mother granted, nevertheless, wasn’t all great–it was additionally a curse, burning inside Mohg, which sounds prefer it was each painful and troublesome to regulate. That’s why Mohg kidnapped battle surgeons like Varre: to “tame the accursed blood.” The different surgeons failed, however Varre succeeded, it appears. With the bloody energy of the Formless Mother, Mohg made his means out of the sewers and slipped into the situation the place you discover him underground, biding his time and rising his energy from there.Mohg presents his allegiance to the Formless Mother, gaining a substantial amount of energy from drawing on the blood of the Outer God.Varre offers an impression of how Mohg interacts with the world of the Lands Between, as he largely appears to remain hidden within the shadows. Talking with White Mask Varre, he’ll let you know concerning the Roundtable Hold and offer you details about the Guidance of Grace, however ultimately he suggests that you just should not belief the Two Fingers and that the opposite Tarnished are as much as no good, as properly. He guides you towards a distinct path, ultimately enlisting you in Mohg’s service. There’s additionally a concept that the useless Finger Maiden you discover early within the recreation ought to have been your maiden, and that she was killed by Varre; that is how he is aware of from the beginning that you just’re Maidenless. The thought, it appears, could be to mess up your potential to observe the trail laid out for you by the Guidance of Grace and the Two Fingers, both to mess up the plans of the Greater Will, or, maybe extra seemingly, to subtly information you towards becoming a member of up with Mohg.During the Haligtree portion of this sequence, we talked about how Mohg kidnapped Miquella from his place inside the Erdtree, however we did not talk about why. When you lastly meet Mohg in his Mausoleum, you study what he wished: to turn into Miquella’s consort. Miquella is an Empyrean, and as such, he can turn into a god to switch Marika. The consort of a god turns into Elden Lord, like Godfrey and Radagon. Thus, we discover out that Mohg’s objective is not to turn into a god himself–he cannot pull that off–but to make use of Miquella to realize the function of Elden Lord and rule the Lands Between that means. He desires to determine the Mohgwyn Dynasty as a brand new order, pushing out Marika and the opposite demigods and placing an finish to the Golden Order and the management of the Greater Will.Recall from our dialogue of Miquella his potential to bewitch folks, to pressure them to like him and, in that means, management them. It’s not clear if this was the case with Mohg, and it looks like, regardless of having Miquella and his cocoon, the Lord of Blood was by no means capable of wake him up. So it is unclear what would possibly occur if Miquella ever awakens and ascends to godhood; not even Sir Gideon Ofnir is conscious of what that will imply. In truth, Sir Gideon offhandedly considers destroying the cocoon and Miquella inside it to stop that from occurring. Even after you kill Mohg and declare his Great Rune, Miquella stays within the Mohgwyn Mausoleum, and we do not know what would possibly occur with him.Felling Mohg marks the destruction of the ultimate demigod, and the chance to say the final of the Great Runes from the Shardbearers. That marks the top of all of the demigods, save Miquella, who slumbers in his cocoon, and Ranni, who, as Sir Gideon says, “cast aside her Great Rune,” and thus is not one in all your targets. There’s one very last thing to say: Destined Death. It waits for you in Crumbling Farum Azula, the ultimate merchandise earlier than you may return to Leyndell and restore the Elden Ring.
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