Shadow of The Erdtree | Story & Ending Explained [Lore]

SOME COMMENTS AND AMENDMENTS: 1. I am pronouncing Scadutree wrong - I just can't get my brain to change it haha. Sorry 2. I agree with people's point re the Grandmother - she is likely the statue/remains in the Village under the tree and will revise this in future. 3. Some people disagree with my take on Radahn - that the vow was 'mutual' rather than foisted on Radahn. I am coming around to this idea, however there are issues with that as well. If I was to accept this idea, I would need to see it as a vow that was made...but broke down for some reason and thus Malenia was sent to 'collect'. I find it hard to believe that the Aeonian war was some kind of ritual send off for Radahn that was agreed on between the two parties, given hundreds of soldiers also needlessly died and an entire region was 'nuked'. Surely they should have just had a 1v1 duel if this was the case. However I will go into more detail on both sides of this debate in future videos but thanks to everyone who has presented this alternate theory - tbh it wasn't something I had even considered. As always continue to give me your thoughts in the comments below.

It's deeply sad to see Messmer as a figure like Hades, having a duty he doesn't want, doing things he hates, and being hated by everyone

As a side note, I love how Miquella is like "Oh I want a gentle rule" while Freyja is like "Yippee! Radahn will be resurrected for war and conquest!!!"

I find it very interesting that the one statue of Marika we find in the dlc, that isn’t headless, is the one in Messmer’s chamber depicting her holding a baby Messmer. This observation coupled with Messmer consulting the aforementioned statue before plucking out his false eye goes to show that after all that transpired he still holds love for his mother.

An interesting idea I thought of, is the idea that the reason why Radahn is holding back the stars, was not to save others from a potential threat that the stars might bring upon the lands between, but to instead halt HIS OWN FATE of becoming Miquella's consort. I know a theory people had of why Radahn holds back the stars is because the stars couldve destroyed the town he learned gravity magic from. But why keep holding the stars back even after Malenia nuked Caleid? He mustve known everything would be destroyed anyways. But he keeps holding them back. Not for the town or for Ranni, but to halt his own fate. To spare himself what he believes would be a humilation by becoming consort to Miquella. To stop Miquellas plans of bringing about a new age.

Everyone to Mohg before the DLC: what a creepy little Mohg-lester.... Everyone to Mohg after the DLC: ........................................sorry Mohg.

Something i like about the idea of melina being messmer's sister is the irony of godwyn's fate. Messmer and Melina, Mohg and Morgott, Malenia and Miquella. All linked at birth by something as twins. And then there is godwyn, who isn't born with a twin but gets one in death in the form of ranni.

Reading between the lines, I think we can assume that the hornsent were unkind to the Numen people living in the land of shadow, so Marika flipped the script, created a system that would empower herself and oppress the horned race that wiped out her tribe. The fingers told Marika what she needed to hear, fed her desire for power and revenge, all the while setting themselves up as important oracles in Marika’s vengeful golden order.

One major spiral design from the base game is the Elden Stars which would explain why the Hornsent are venerating that shape, and having the reference of the "golden Crucible" could imply that the Golden Star was the thing that became the Crucible. An another observation is that the omens are probably not Hornsent, they are likely the resoult of a curse by the Hornsent. Near the schorched ruins there is a ghost who says that she will forge a curse on Marik's children out of the resentment of the dead. The omens are also haunted by evil spirits and those spirits look like a horned face according to the omen smirk mask. We can also see them having nightmares while they are sleeping and I doubt the Hornsent having the same issues. (The Gandam can doze off seemingly peacfully) The Omen bairn calls the Omen curse born, while the Horned Bairn doesn't mention any curse and it is depicted having horns only on it's head while the omens are having horns all over theit bodies. Similarly all other animals in the land of shadow have horns only on their heads.

I may be making a pretty bold claim here but I'll say that unlike Miquella, who mainly uses his powers to compel people into following him, Messmer inspires genuine loyalty from his followers without resorting to power or coercion despite seeming like a grim, sullen demigod who knows nothing but war and slaughter. - Rellana renounced her royal title to swear fealty to him along with some Carian knights and sorcerers, becoming known as his loyal “Sword”. - Commander Gaius is one of his close friends who leads his ground forces. Despite being an albinauric who would normally be shunned by the Golden Order, he remains loyal to Messmer and holds a high ranking and respected position. - His Lordsworn soldiers and knights are devoted to him (With spirit of one going as far as being outraged that Marika has never embraced him). They've proven to be difficult enemies with many tricks up their sleeve, implying a level of training and discipline higher than even some knights in the Lands Between. - The Fire Knights, his personal guard, came from Leyndell’s upper echelons and noble families. It's stated they didn't mind being ostracized and disowned by their noble families back in Leyndell if it meant being at their lord's side, and tried to put Messmer's flame into themselves, to show their unwavering support. On top of all that, they did all of this knowing they’ll be shunned by society and erased from record with their deeds unsung and forced to wage an unending war without mercy or honor. They also have no real reason to stay in the Land of Shadow anymore. The Golden Order has collapsed, Queen Marika is imprisoned in the Erdtree and the Lands Between was ravaged in the Shattering, all before the Tarnished comes to kill any and all remaining demigods left. Messmer and his army could’ve deserted the Golden Order, splinter up and resort to banditry. Yet, even after all this time, Messmer’s army remained at their posts, unaware of the developments in the Lands Between, with little to no hint of any rebellion or mutiny aside from a few black knights who abandoned Messmer after discovering his “serpentine nature” and was imprisoned for it. Even after Messmer quashed their rebellion, he gave them an honorable burial and mourned for their loss.

I like that on messmers kindling, it confirms that Melina is his sister bc it talks about how his younger sister also had a vision of fire

I'm wondering if Radahn holding back the stars was a way of him resisting Miquella's influence? Can't have your fate changed if your fate never moves 🤔 We dont really see any other characters meaningfully resist Miquella's embrace, and I think it explains why Radahn had to die and be resurrected

Can we really call what Marika did a "betrayal" of the Hornsent when she clearly never owed them any loyalty? If anything, her actions are just the turning of the wheel of violence. The people in power abuse those below them, their victims eventually rise up, only to repeat their tormentor's mistakes later on. Hurt people hurt people until something (or someone) comes along to break the cycle. And Miquella is NOT that person, as we come to learn.

That one line from Messmer where he curses his mother, made him one of the most interesting characters in all of Elden Ring. Just one line of dialogue changed how you viewed his character completely.

Visiting Bonny Village and Seeing how the Hornsent potentates would treat the Shamans.. and then making it to the Shaman’s village.. dear gosh the feels were hit.. it was all a story of an unending cycle of a broken Order being toppled and replaced by another broken one..

In regards to how Messmer's crusade was sold to the public by Marika it could've been similar to 40k's Penitent Crusades where the crusaders either voluntarily or forcibly undergo a Crusade to redeem themselves.

this might be a stretch, but isn't it such a sad detail that the jars in Jarburg, who probably distantly come from the shamans, are filling their village with flowers like the Hinterland is? and that the little ones dance around the flowers that grow around minor erdtrees, like the spell marika left behind in her home?

Once I was finished with the DLC and the last boss was defeated, I put down my controller, took a long exhale, and said to myself: "Now to wait for SmoughTown."

Cool detail that occurred to me: you have to kill both Mohg and Radahn to enter the Land of Shadow, thus you can only get there after collecting two Great Runes and gaining the right to become Elden Lord. Also, a thought regarding St. Trina: Miquella appearing to call her 'my love' may mean that, rather than her embodying his love and attachment, that they share a relationship similar to that of Marika and Radagon, i.e. that Miquella is in love with her. His abandoning of St. Trina may not only be part of shedding his connections to the old order, but he may have felt was necessary to 'make room' for Radahn to be his consort. It makes me wonder if this may also be part of why Marika physically separated herself from Radagon and sent him to fight the wars in Liurnia-- she had chosen Godfrey to be her Elden Lord, needed his strength and his battle prowess, and thus Radagon had to go, especially if they already had children together. Radagon is noted as having aspired to be complete, and it makes me wonder if there's some inherent pull between the two personas-- that once they become separate identities, they feel an innate need to be together so as to be complete. The idea that a Lord must be present for a god to ascend is interesting, since it begs the question: which Lord was present when Marika became a god? Was it Godfrey? Or, if Mesmer and Melina truly are the first generation of demigods, born to Marika and Radagon, did Radagon fill that role? Since St. Trina exists as a part of Miquella when he's still just an Empyrean and not a god, I think Radagon could have also existed before Marika became a god, though maybe he only gained a body of his own upon her ascension. Maybe, similar to how Miquella used Mohg's body as a vessel for Radahn's soul, someone else's body (maybe the person who Marika 'seduced' and killed) was used as a vessel for Radagon? That raises the possibility that, since the resurrected Radahn still carries traces of Mohg, Radagon might similarly show some characteristics of that person. What immeadiately jumps to mind is Radagon's red hair, which we know he despised, possibly because of some connection to the giants. Maybe the original owner of his body was a giant, or in some way related to them? If that person was also the god or Lord of the Hornsent, that would certainly add an interesting dimension to the giants' faces and the visage of the Fell God being used on the Furnace Golems. I would push back slightly on the assertion that Mesmer's crusade took place after the banishing of Godfrey and the Tarnished. As I understand it, once Godfrey was banished, Radagon immediately left Rennala to take his place as Elden Lord, thus breaking her heart and leaving her as the shell of her former self we see in-game, which doesn't really mesh well with the description of Rennala giving Rellana her blessing and gift, which to me sounds much more like Rennala in her prime, i.e. before Radagon left her. I think considering things and people from the Lands Between keep showing up in the Land of Shadows, it's entirely possible for Mesmer to have learned of the Tarnished after he was stranded in the Land of Shadows.

I've been staring at the Scadutree when taking final boss breaks since that grace has a great view. It looks very much like the Scadutree is the twisting trunk and the straight trunk is the Erdtree. The Sealing Tree seeming to be a simulacra of the Scadutree alone supports this, I believe. I'll discuss this twinned tree thusly in this post. Phantom Erdtree branches arise only from the straight trunk's canopy, and it also seems to be the one trunk that is oozing gold. The map art bears this out as well, to the point I'm surprised I haven't seen it discussed yet. There are also the veils that directly mimic the veils in Marika's Bedchamber, connecting at the canopy of the Erdtree here, and at the center of the ceiling in that room. The locations of these don't seem to cleanly align with either the divine towers or Marika's Bedchamber, though I still like the theory that the Divine Towers are involved in the sealing. From the three primary vantage points of Divine Gate Front, Suppressing Pillar, and Jagged Peak Mountainside, the veils never quite line up just right. The Jagged Peak section also provides a stunning view of the silvery Phantom Erdtree branching. If overlapping the maps, I believe based on this that you must overlap them at the actual Erdtree/Scadutree base. The warped wrapping reminds me of the self-mutilating twisting growth of Mohg's horns, with the Scadutree having pierced the Erdtree causing the oozing we see. This could be an indication of the resistance of the Crucible to being straightened or confined by Order, with the chaotic growth turning on the unnatural order imposed on it. Alternatively, this could be a representation of the metaphysical entanglement of God and Tree, and the oozing either coming from Marika's wounds after the shattering or from her psychic injuries that lead to her pursuing godhood, representing the inherently damaged nature of the Erdtree Order and mirroring the brokenness of Metyr. From Scadutree Base it also seems clear the Scadutree begins from intertwining trunks that form a singular trunk that is then twisted around the listing Erdtree, which originates far from the Scadutree base. The Hinterlands also gives a view that indicates it may be a great twisting with many origin points, perhaps better representing the Crucible. This Scadutree also branches several times along the trunk, while the Erdtree does not. All this may be representative of Marika's attempt to suborn the Crucible in creating Order, perhaps both trees were twisted and intertwining before her involvement. Whether this was as a literal paired, intertwined spiral tree or a Crucible Current manifested into these trees isn't super important here. Straightening one arm of the Spiral and veiling the discarded half seems extremely potent imagery for Marika, and also relevant to the themes of Miquella. Depending on how this is interpreted, it could have major implications for the Crucible, Marika's ascension, the Erdtree origin, the metaphysics of twinning, shadows, and spirals, and the timeline of the veiling of the Land of Shadow. I'd love to hear more diverse thoughts and takes on the twinned tree, how it came about and if these parts are indeed connected, but I think this is a good starting point for theorizing. Edits for formatting and clarity.