The complete Elden Ring lore guide.

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This video is the culmination of hundreds and hundreds of hours of passionate work. I truly hope you all have enjoyed it. Thank you for watching.
If you have any questions regarding Elden Ring’s lore, please feel free to ask them in the comment section!

While I don’t like using external sources as direct reference for discussing From Software games’ lore – I’ve seen many get tunnel visioned because of that, same as with hyper-focusing on fan translations of the japanese script -, I of course know that understanding Miyazaki’s influences is very important to decipher his works. Here is a comprehensive reading list for this very purpose:

-Carl Jung’s complete works (the Book of Symbols being the most relevant one);
-The Golden Bough by James George Frazer;
-The Nag Hammadi;
-The Bible;
-History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen (especially the section about Uppsala);
-A Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R. R. Martin;
-Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism;
-Manly P. Hall’s works (The Secret Teachings of All Ages being the most relevant one);
-H.P. Lovecraft’s complete works (The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath being the most relevant one);
-Ovid’s Metamorphosis;
-Homer’s Odyssey;
-Plato’s complete works;
-Goethe’s Faust;
-The Berserk manga by Kentaro Miura;
-The Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind manga by Hayao Miyazaki;
-The Hermetic Arcanum;
-The Dune book series by Frank Herbert;
-J R. R. Tolkien’s works;

This list contemplates only the works which I’m absolutely certain were direct, major sources of inspiration for Miyazaki. I could elaborate in depth on why I selected each one of them. Of course, there’s more than a couple dozen books worth of material here, but I assure you reading them all will help you deeply understand Miyazaki’s writing. I assembled it off the top of my head, so I surely forgot quite a few; I’ll be updating this list when I remember which others I’ve missed.

Of course, I also recommend you to read general stories of world mythologies (especially the Norse, Kabbalah and Shinto), history, antropology and philosophy. Sometimes I’ll be reading a random book about one of these topics and notice a clear parallel to something I saw in one of Miyazaki’s games.

Timestamps:

0:00 – 4:37 The One Great and the Outer Gods
4:38 – 6:31 A Song of Ice and Fire’s influence; Macumber the Demiurge
6:32 – 9:56 Prehistoric times, the Beasts, Hawks, Demi-humans and Dragons
9:57 – 13:19 The Numen and the Shamans
13:20 – 16:16 The Serpent Cult and the Fire Giants
16:17 – 18:14 The Astrologers
18:15 – 24:32 The Fire Giant-Astrologer alliance, and the pre-eclipse age
24:33 – 26:32 The war against the Dragons, and the birth of Placidusax
26:33 – 28:12 The first three generations of Albinaurics
28:13 – 30:30 Saints, and the original sin
30:31 – 36:03 Marika, the Crucible, Godfrey and the Roundtable Hold
36:04 – 37:59 The war against the Fire Giants
38:00 – 40:04 Messmer, Melina, what are Empyreans
40:05 – 42:14 The next generations of Albinaurics
42:15 – 44:18 The Liurnian Wars, Ranni the Bastard
44:19 – 47:52 Bayle’s rebellion, the Dragon Cult and the Dragon Communion
47:53 – 52:25 Messmer’s inquisition, the burning of the Greattree, and the birth of the Omen
52:26 – 53:42 The Tarnished and their Long March
53:43 – 55:08 The second Elden Lord and the Empyrean twins
55:09 – 59:22 The Night of the Black Knives, Godwyn and Miquella
59:23 – 1:02:52 The Gloam-eyed Queen and her Godskin Apostles
1:02:53 – 1:10:00 The Shattering
1:10:01 – 1:14:36 Miquella’s master plan
1:14:37 – 1:16:41 Marika’s end
1:16:42 – 1:25:28 Alternate endings – Age of Stars, Age of the Duskborn, Age of Order, Blessing of Despair and Lord of Frenzied Flame

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15 thoughts on “The complete Elden Ring lore guide.”

  1. This video is the culmination of hundreds and hundreds of hours of passionate work. I truly hope you all have enjoyed it. Thank you for watching.

    If you have any questions regarding Elden Ring's lore, please feel free to ask them in the comment section!

    While I don't like using external sources as direct reference for discussing From Software games' lore – I've seen many get tunnel visioned because of that, same as with hyper-focusing on fan translations of the japanese script -, I of course know that understanding Miyazaki's influences is very important to decipher his works. Here is a comprehensive reading list for this very purpose:

    -Carl Jung's complete works (the Book of Symbols being the most relevant one);

    -The Golden Bough by James George Frazer;

    -The Bible;

    -History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen (especially the section about Uppsala);

    -A Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R. R. Martin;

    -Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism;

    -Manly P. Hall's works (The Secret Teachings of All Ages being the most relevant one);

    -H.P. Lovecraft's complete works (The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath being the most relevant one);

    -Ovid's Metamorphosis;

    -Homer's Odyssey;

    -Plato's complete works;

    -Goethe's Faust;

    -The Berserk manga by Kentaro Miura;

    -The Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind manga by Hayao Miyazaki;

    -The Hermetic Arcanum;

    -The Dune book series by Frank Herbert;

    -J R. R. Tolkien's works;

    This list contemplates only the works which I'm absolutely certain were direct, major sources of inspiration for Miyazaki. I could elaborate in depth on why I selected each one of them. Of course, there's more than a couple dozen books worth of material here, but I assure you reading them all will help you deeply understand Miyazaki's writing. I assembled it off the top of my head, so I surely forgot quite a few; I'll be updating this list when I remember which others I've missed.

    Of course, I also recommend you to read general stories of world mythologies (especially the Norse, Kabbalah and Shinto), history, anthropology and philosophy. Sometimes I'll be reading a random book about one of these topics and notice a clear parallel to something I saw in one of Miyazaki's games.

    Reply

  8. The effort you put into these videos is astonishing. Your passion for the subjects you explore is evident in the lengths you go to for research, which is genuinely admirable. I would even go as far as to call this your magnum opus. That said, I have a few questions that have been on my mind for months:

    1. I also believe that Melina is the Gloam-Eyed Queen, it's as clear as day. However, why is the Blackflame Sigil shaped like a fingerprint? This has led some to speculate that Metyr is the GEQ, but that claim tends to fall apart when considering other story elements.

    2. Do you think the figure depicted on the Godskin weapons is meant to represent the GEQ?

    3. Why is Melina so different from the other demigods? She appears surprisingly small for a demigod. Is this due to her being a spirit?

    4. Regarding Melina's unique attributes, why is her incorporeal state so different from other spirits? Even Ranni had to attach herself to an object to communicate with the living. Was Melina reborn from the Erdtree after her death as the GEQ, contributing to her distinctiveness?

    5. How did Melina acquire the Twinbird's seal on her eye?

    6. Why do Melina and Millicent wear the same attire? There seems to be a connection, but what is it? Some speculate that Melina is an offshoot of Marika, much like Millicent is of Malenia. However, if that were true, she would have blonde hair, which she does not.

    7. Speaking of offshoots, did Miquella become an alchemical rebis upon reaching the divine gate, or was he always one due to St. Trina?

    8. Are the butterflies meant to symbolize Empyreans? If so, what is the connection, and why doesn't Ranni have one?

    9. I agree that Ranni is an illegitimate child of Radagon, but doesn't the cuckoo metaphor refer to the literal egg Rennala holds, given to her by Radagon? This egg bears the rune of unborn demigods, with a line representing a child of Marika and Radagon. Or is the egg merely a symbol of Ranni's illegitimate nature?

    10. What accounts for the distinct appearance of Farum's Elden Ring?

    11. Is the statue of the young girl with wolves on Farum Azula meant to represent Marika?

    12. Is Greyoll a descendant of Bayle, or a mate of his, thereby starting his lineage?

    13. Regarding Drakes, what's the deal with the giant dead drake on Jagged Peak? What is that large structure penetrating it, and how did it meet its end?

    14. Is the statue of the woman with the octagonal hat in one of the ruins in the Shadow Lands Romina, before she succumbed to the Scarlet Rot?

    15. Do you plan to create more videos on Elden Ring? Perhaps delving deeper into its themes and characters, or is this all you have planned for the moment? Either way, I will follow your work with great interest. It’s refreshing to see someone approach these topics from a unique perspective.

    Reply

  14. Damn, that was really good. Probably the best lore video out there. You and Scum Mage are the best lore theorists in my mind.

    I love the theme of the conspiratorial chess match between Miquella and Marika. And how much they are alike, yet, at odds.

    I'm glad you touched on Marika and Velka comparison. How the Golden Grace takes on the form of the Black Humanity in DS.

    My pet theory is that Radagon is a reincarnation of Ulh. That he acted as a tutelary deity or Platonic daimon and convinced Marika to overthrow the past age for a "Luciferian" promise of eternal life with no death. This way, i can cast Miquella as the anti-christ figure😂

    But, also, this would parallel Dark Souls. In the sense, Radagon acts as "Gwen," who conspried against Velka/Marika, and imprisons Velka, instead of Gwen being forced to link the flame.

    Idk. I really enjoyed this video. It finished playing on my Bro's account. Thank you so much!

    I do wonder about the Draconian race. Sometimes I like to connect them to the nomadic merchants. That the merchants were citizens of Farum Azula, thus their "five finger hand" at the end of their violin bow. With Placidusax being defeated, their cultural heritage was buried and lost. Same with the worm faces being priest of Farum Azula.

    My last note. If you give Corhyn the Two Fingers pray book, he will call it heresy to the Golden Order, which suggest a schism between Metyr/two-fingers and the Golden Order/Elden Beast. I havent truly been able to reconcile that in my head cannon 😂

    Idk. Thanks again! Ill check out the comment section and discord for future development!

    Reply

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