Elden Ring took the gaming industry by storm, revolutionizing Soulslike games and providing players with a thrilling but convoluted story filled with mystery and some shocking spoilers. As players travel through the Lands Between, they encounter many characters with unique questlines and stories. Completing Elden Ring's main story is only a fraction of the content Tarnished can explore, and players can easily miss hidden missions with additional quests and characters. Additionally, while some Tarnished may have completed the game, it can be challenging to understand FromSoftware's lore and story presentation, leading to many story reveals going unnoticed.
[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Elden Ring.]
Elden Ring takes place in the Lands Between, where they control an unnamed Tarnished of little renown and seek to claim the Elden Lord title. An apocalyptic event called the Shattering has recently destroyed the Lands Between's way of life, leaving most of its inhabitants hostile and bloodthirsty. Players face dozens of powerful bosses in the open world and boss arenas, collecting Runes to power up their Tarnished characters. While advancing through the game's regions, players split their time between optional and required bosses, progressing character quests, and the main plot. However, it may take players dozens of hours to see all of Elden Ring's biggest reveals.
Since Elden Ring was released in February, it's likely many Tarnished have already completed the main story and have begun NewGame+ or have restarted their journeys. However, FromSoftware's quest design in Elden Ring can hide many secrets from players that don't explore the map thoroughly enough. Elden Ring has multiple endings, and each contributes to the lore revealed in the primary quest. For example, some players can become the Elden Lord, while others can destroy the current world order and break free from the Two Fingers and the Greater Will or destroy the Erdtree. Depending on the ending path chosen, some Tarnished may learn more about their world than others.
Elden Ring's Godwyn The Golden Survived The Black-Knife Assassins
In Elden Ring's opening cinematic, players witness Godwyn the Golden's death, a critical event in the decline of the Lands Between and the eventual Shattering that sparks the game's campaign. Before his death, Godwyn the Golden was Marika's favored child and represented her unwavering loyalty to the Greater Will. With Godwyn's death, Marika spiraled into insanity and shattered the Elden Ring, fracturing the natural order of the Lands Between. However, players who complete Fia's character quest in Elden Ring learn that this pivotal moment isn't as clean-cut as many characters believe. Godwyn the Golden did die, but resurrected as a Prince of Death after Fia, a Deathbed Companion, laid with his body and revived it. Unfortunately, the Black-Knife Assassin plot destroyed his soul, leaving Godwyn's body an empty husk.
Melina Dies In Elden Ring (But Can Be Saved By The Frenzied Flame)
When players start Elden Ring, Melina becomes their Maiden and guide throughout the Lands Between. Her unconditional company is a comforting presence for players navigating a hostile world. Unlike many characters in Elden Ring, Melina does not serve an ulterior motive and remains loyal to the player in many instances. Unfortunately, if players follow the Elden Lord ending path, Melina is doomed to die. To gain access to the Erdtree, Melina sets herself aflame so the Tarnished may take their place as the next Elden Lord. There are several ways to avoid Melina's fate, but her loyalty is difficult to regain once lost, as it relates to the path of the Frenzied Flame.
The Frenzied Flame ending for Elden Ring is the closest a player can get to obtaining a 'bad' ending. Instead of becoming the next Elden Lord, the Tarnished places their faith in the Three Fingers and destroys the current hierarchy of the Lands Between. Instead of returning order as the next Elden Lord, the Tarnished sets the Erdtree aflame along with most of the continent. The same flames used to kill Melina are instead transferred to the Tarnished and used to reassert the Three Fingers' dominance. Unfortunately, saving Melina from death results in the Maiden vowing revenge against the Tarnished and swearing to deliver "Destined Death" unto them. Players can either save Melina and earn her hatred or let her die while she still cares for them.
Elden Ring's Radagon And Marika Are The Same Being
Marika frequently appears throughout Elden Ring, in the form of statues and is referenced as a goddess (or destroyer) of the Lands Between. In Elden Ring's lore, Marika had two husbands: Godfrey, the first Elden Lord and Tarnished, and Radagon, the former lover of Rennala and father to Ranni, Radahn, and Rykard. However, it's later revealed that Radagon is the male half of Marika, though the two have separate wills and separate bodies. After Marika shattered the Elden Ring, the Greater Will (the god responsible for the Elden Ring's power and construction) sealed both Marika and Radagon away in the Erdtree. Players face Marika, Radagon, and the Elden Beast, confirming each character's shared body and soul. Like most lore in FromSoftware games, the nature of the relationship between Radagon and Marika is vague, as is the origin of their separated bodies and souls.
Ranni's Elden Ring Quest Is An Ongoing Rebellion
Ranni's quest in Elden Ring unlocks many secrets in the Lands Between and also accesses several unique endings aside from becoming Elden Lord. Players first meet Ranni very early in the game, as she is the NPC to gift the Tarnished a Spirit Calling Bell with which to use Spirit Ashes. However, it's later revealed that Ranni comes from a royal house with a deep connection to the Two Fingers. As players advance Ranni's quest, they learn that the princess played a role in the Black-Knife Assassination plot against Godwyn the Golden and sought to expel the Two Fingers (and Greater Will) from the Lands Between. Ranni received the Death Rune from Marika, and enacted a plot to kill her own body without destroying her soul, thereby freeing her from the Two Fingers. She is initially presented as a helpful and honest NPC, but is revealed to have close ties to the Black-Knife Assassins and Those Who Live In Death, seeking to undermine the current Golden Order.
In Elden Ring's Age of Stars ending, Ranni exchanges the Erdtree for the Moon and ends the Golden Order's influence over the Lands Between. This claims victory over Queen Marika, who constantly attacked her family and drove her mother to madness. While many characters are loyal to the Golden Order (such as D, Hunter of the Dead), many more have suffered at the Order's hands. Once the Age of Stars begins, the Guidance of the Stars ushers in an era of free will, with Ranni and Tarnished departing the Lands Between and leaving their people to govern themselves. In many ways, Ranni's questline is a traditional rebellion story, with the people retaking their free will from a corrupted hierarchy.
Many Elden Ring endings and quests hide other secrets, with the lore entries for many weapons and armor pieces unveiling new stories in-game. If Elden Ring follows Dark Souls' design, FromSoftware could likely produce DLCs that build off these reveals and stories, though the developer has neither confirmed nor denied this possibility. In any case, players are free to replay Elden Ring's journey and unlock all the secrets of the Lands Between, with story and lore hidden around every corner.
