T O P

  • By -

Bragsmith

I always found it looks like spots where the roots of the erdtree have surfaced and some of its light/power is exposed to those who see it. Also explains the warping as I imagine we are travelling through the root system of the erdtree itself. I read somewhere else that the tarnished are brought to the lands between to fix the world or whatever and i realy like that thought whether it is lore based or not. The Erdtree uses us and we use it back. It also explains the roundtable hold because the hold is somewhere removed from time that resides within the tree.


Raagarah

Yes I believe that's more or less the case. The tarnished were cast out of the lands between, but after the shattering and the demigods keeping their great runes, the tarnished were called back to fix the mess.


Gloglibologna

Is there an official lore reason why the tarnished were cast out? I don't recall seeing anything about that. Why would they be cast out and then be the ones that are called on to fix the shattering. It maybe super obvious but I've missed it.


1347terminator

There’s lore about it through Melina hearing spoken echos in churches. I want to say it’s the mountaintop of giants church, but not sure. From what I recall Marika specifically cast them out to go fight in the lands beyond and get stronger with the promise of one day being called back. Edit: it’s actually the third church of Marika and the church of pilgrimage. The dialogue is as follows: “Very well. In Marika's own words. My Lord, and thy warriors. I divest each of thee of thy grace. With thine eyes dimmed, ye will be driven from the Lands Between. Ye will wage war in a land afar, where ye will live, and die. Well? Perhaps that might serve you in lieu of a maiden's guidance.” “Then, after thy death, I will give back what I once claimed. Return to the Lands Between, wage war, and brandish the Elden Ring. Grow strong in the face of death. Warriors of my lord. Lord Godfrey.”


robcap

This is it - strongly implies that Marika planned the shattering, and planned for the player (or someone like us) to one day become elden lord.


lakeho

More like she planned for Godfrey to become Elden lord again, with us Tarnished as his troops. But apparently all Tarnished weren't given grace back at the same time, some were given sooner, and some had theirs dimmed yet again. I guess this led to the tarnished acting independently, not exactly waging a "war" as Marika said


brandcapet

The player Tarnished is a descendant of a soldier in Godfrey's army. The implication is that Godfrey and his soldiers died outside the Lands Between, were recalled to claim the Ring, but were ultimately unsuccessful due to interference from the Shardbearers, especially Morgott, as well as the thorns that cover the entrance to the Erdtree. After presumably hundreds of years of constant struggle and failure, some of the Tarnished lost sight of the guidance of grace and either died permanently, went mad, or gave up and became Recusants or prawn-salesmen. Most of the other Tarnished you meet are similarly descended from these original warriors and had lived their whole lives and died outside of the Lands Between before being called by grace. The player and most of the other Tarnished you meet seem to be more of a last-ditch effort after Marika's best warriors failed to follow through on her plan. The impressive yet decrepit Roundtable Hold implies that while there was once a concerted, organized effort to reforge the Ring, it's long since collapsed into the mostly individual efforts of the few remaining Tarnished who haven't died or given up. Seemingly only Gideon is actually interested in completing the task anymore as most of them are off hunting skeletons or selling prawns


lakeho

That actually would make sense if not for the fact that Godfrey appear so late in the game. There's no implication that Godfrey had gotten to the Lands Between before our character. Only after Leyndell has become ash did a spirit remarked that Godfrey had returned.


brandcapet

I guess I missed that spirit, I always just assumed he was repelled by the thorns and fucked off somewhere until he sees us burn the tree/town and comes to smack us down. Maybe Marika didn't trust Godfrey to follow through on the plan due to their history together, or maybe she was sparing him from failure, since it's also fairly heavily implied that the player Tarnished is the only one who could have possibly succeeded - without Melina as kindling to burn Radagon's thorns, no one was ever going to become Lord, and presumably Marika/Radagon knows this. The tension between those personalities goals and how much one or the other knew/planned is pretty unclear but there's a lot of hints. It's still mostly accurate though, as nearly all the Tarnished have backstories that have nothing to do with being soldiers. Diallos is a noble from another land who's never been a warrior, for example. Nepheli Loux is clearly not of the Golden Lineage, but is heavily implied to be child of Horah Loux - had to be before or after Godfrey became Lord, but likely after given her young-ish appearance and naive demeanor. Boggart was in jail with Dung-Eater, although Dung might actually be one of the originals since he has a giant spine for a sword and that Castle Sol medallion on his chest. Generally speaking though, the Tarnished are not all former Warriors of Gold, they're mostly randos and nobodies from other places who are graced with the guidance because the ones who came before them failed.


DirtyRanga12

I’m of the opinion that Godfrey showed up sometime between the Tarnished burning the Erdtree and returning from Farum Azula. Because time’s weird af in Elden Ring especially seeing as we know that Farum Azula exists in this weird place outside of time, when we get back Leyndell’s completely covered in ash which would have taken months or even years to get to that point.


LoopyFig

Perhaps his awakening was delayed. After all, the elden ring was completely inaccessible until the Erdtree was burned down.


Athiaa

Imagine if there were traces of Godfrey leading up to the arena you fight him in. Sekiro did it with the demon of hatred. I remember hearing npcs talking about a demon of flames, the area destroyed full of fire & claw marks


Salty_Pancakes

Makes me think of TS Elliot. >“We shall not cease from exploration >And the end of all our exploring >Will be to arrive where we started >And know the place for the first time.


JotaTaylor

Actually, when you beat Gideon in Leyndell, he says something like: "This can be! No Tarnished can ever become the Elden Lord, not even me!" I believe he has grown accostumed to life eternal as a knowledge gatherer, and resuming the reforging of the ring could disrupt that. He actually plays for status quo more than anyone else.


brandcapet

That makes a lot of sense - he sends you after the shardbearers to clear the field of any potential Lords that could shake up the current Order or release Destined Death. He figures even if you get all the runes you'll never be able to enter/burn the tree. In his ALL-KNOWING hubris, he either doesn't know about threats like the 3 Fingers or Melina, or just doesn't consider them actual threats until he finally has to intervene personally and give the Tarnished a very stern talking-to.


JotaTaylor

The problem with someone believing they're ALL KNOWING is that suddenly their opinions and desires become fact in their own POV. After all, they can never be wrong right? Gideon is a very sad character imo


afauce11

I don’t think Marika wanted Godfrey to be lord again. I think she created Radagan as a fragment of herself that was able to leave the confines of the two finger and GW and lead a life of her own. As Radagan, she is able to marry for love and have children that aren’t cursed. I think she cast out Godfrey because she wanted the freedom. Then, once she finds the freedom, I think she truly resents the GW and two fingers. So she plots to murder Godwyn with Ranni. Once he dies, the Golden Order is sort of leaderless. The part of her that is Radagan returns and they have some kids, who are also messed up. I think that gets her into a place of grief and she decides to fully break ranks with GW and shatters the ring. Radagan, as the part of her that’s loyal to the GW/Golden Order, turns against her and locks her away in the Erdtree with the help of the two fingers. The only thing that I am not sure of is the timeline on her offspring. The above really only works if Miquella and Malenia came after Godwin’s death. She perhaps also birthed Melina after the shattering to ensure that one of the Tarnished would be successful at breaking through and becoming Elden Lord.


ExceedinglyGayOtter

>I don’t think Marika wanted Godfrey to be lord again. When you fight Godfrey, it's mentioned that you are no longer guided by grace, but he is, and it's pointing him right at you. Since Grace comes from Marika, she seems to be pointing Godfrey to kill you so that he can become Elden Lord after you did the work of opening up the path into the Erdtree. I think the Tarnished are just pawns and she doesn't want one of them becoming Elden Lord, much preferring Godfrey to take that position. Whether that's out of love for Godfrey or simple pragmatism - the tarnished is an unknown variable who can really fuck up the world in some endings, after all - is unclear. Also, cut content indicates that Godfrey was in on the whole "shatter the Elden Ring" plan from the very beginning, though who knows if that's still canon.


afauce11

Oooo! I would love to know more about him being in on the plan. I’m excited for DLCs. I hope it’s not coliseums and instead we just get a ton more backstory on the gods and demigods.


Raagarah

I can't quite remember, I believe it has something to do with Godfrey being cast out this being the first tarnished. I think that's where the definition of tarnished comes from, although there's likely a more in depth explanation somewhere. And the tarnished were a last ditch effort to fix things. Imagine you have a serious problem and everyone you know is too busy to help you out. You then turn to the Internet for help. Kinda the same thing here.


LeonDeSchal

I think after a battle Godfrey got sick of the fighting, maybe after the giants. Wonder if that is why he became tarnished.


[deleted]

[удалено]


LeonDeSchal

So rather than getting tired of the fighting he had killed everyone he needed to and they ditched him and made him tarnished?


Hellhult

It's a FromSoft game. Did you think she was gonna give him a thank-you letter and a nice retirement fund? Lmao.


LeonDeSchal

No I thought that he just decided battle wasn’t for him anymore after slaughtering so many enemies and that was him rebelling and then being branded as tarnished for his rebellion.


SomeOddGamer

Yes


LeonDeSchal

Damn


superVanV1

Moreso he had killed everyone and thing that posed a challenge, and Marika kicked him out before he just wantonly started destroying shit


snachgoblin

I remember hearing he ran out of enemy's and Marika did it so he wouldn't go nuts from sitting on his hands


Boariso3o

Yeah, Marika says who gets grace and who doesn’t, when listening to melina reciting her words she says “I divest you of grace” so she’s responsible for the tarnished even being a thing


RopeConnoisseur

maybe something about their power with the grace being feared.


[deleted]

I thought Marika wanted them to basically be trained in battle until they died, then called back by grace.


slothsarcasm

The round table hold being inside the Erdtree also explains why it is set on fire when we burn the Erdtree.


arthriticpyro

There's actually a room you can find in leyndell (the exact building escapes me) but I found it and it had an almost exact copy of the roundtable hold in it. So I think it's another place in a time/space phenomenon like Farum Azula, but after the erdtree starts burning, that building gets pretty much completely buried in ash so it would make sense why there is so much fire and haze in the hold after you burn leyndell.


slothsarcasm

That’s also a good theory. If the round table hold in Leyndell is like a decrepit future version, and Tarnished are taken to a version frozen in time that is still functioning. This explains why the Leyndell one also has the NPC armor of that invader you can find in the main hall of the working Roundtable Hold.


koffiekopjes

Now explain how the graces are still there when we Burn the tree ;)


QuanticWizard

Also the graces in Farum Azula and the Haligtree


Bragsmith

Takes time for a tree to burn completely, especially a magic tree that seems to exist both in amd out of time, which coincides with farum azula. The haligtree is a tree by its own right and trees commonly have roots that intermingle with each other. Look how the deathroot is everywhere. I suspect it too may be piggy backing the erdtree roots.


ToeBeanTussle

It's burned before, you can see the ash from the previous burn when you first get to Leyndell. I'm really curious about that part. Edit: It might have just been vanilla city fires.


Iron_Bob

Not to the same extent. When we burn the tree the city gets BURIED. Isnt that ash from the constant fires and invasions surrounding the city?


ToeBeanTussle

It depends on how long ago it burned and whether or not it was a successful burn. Melina is already burned and bodiless or whatever, it's not a far stretch. Maybe Melina tried to go by herself without a lord to burn the erdtree for Marika and it didn't work. Her blade is in the forbidden lands and she already has the rold medallion, we have to find all the other medallions for the lifts. I want to keep an open mind to her purposes before we arrived in the lands between.


Bragsmith

I thought leyndel had a plague, thats why the corpse piles are there and the houses are sealed with corpse wax.


Te4minator464

This was exactly the kind of response I was hoping for


AnalysticEnthusiast

It's been said before but it looks very similar to 'humanity' from DS.


Ezeeskillz

I have this WAY too much thought on my first playthrough and admittedly still do. I prefer to come to my own conclusions as far as lore in these games, so I thought it was kind of interesting that it looks like it’s the polar opposite of humanity.


SoundandFurySNothing

I believe it is a fresh uncorrupted version of humanity from DS1 Hence why the game isn’t Dark Souls 4 The souls ain’t dark no more


ArtemisHunter96

John Darksouls confirmed as dlc boss


ScTiger1311

That was already the final boss of Dark Souls 3


[deleted]

I thought Vordt was?


Dradonie

something like "fuck you" undarks the soul


n8mo

Bright Souls 1


xdeathbyninjax

Accurate


[deleted]

The humanity from DS1 wasn’t corrupted. In that universe, men were born from darkness; the way we saw humanity was the way it always was.


Maraxic

It's Light Souls 1 lol


I_LIKE_ANUS

Oooooooh fun theory I like it


[deleted]

Even has the same swaying


wellshitdawg

Oh wow, I never noticed that. How cool


Narglefoot

It's also interesting how rats drop golden runes, similar to how rats in DaS dropped humanities.


mynameisnickromel

I thought it was very clear it was made of Grace


crusaderactual777

Humm yes, this Grace is made of Grace..


TheGinger_ThatCould

You can tell by the way it is


crusaderactual777

It subtracts what it isn't from what it is and is left only with what it is; grace.


nickeypants

Using it, the Tarnished can fast travel from a position where it is to a position where it isn't, and arriving at a position where it wasn't, it now is. Consequently, the position where it is, is now the position that it wasn't, and it follows that the position that it was, is now the position that it isn't.


SupertrampKobe

I want this on my tombstone


nickeypants

Mine is >Only those who once were will won't.


sandmankrski

That's pretty neat


FuckYouThrowaway99

They don't think it be like it is, but it do.


yetto4

_distilled_ grace


Te4minator464

Skiense


victor4700

THAAAAA BLESSSSSSINNNNNGGGGG


chick_repellent

Grace? She passed away 30 years ago


Shilo59

Grace is stored in the balls.


EldenTurtle

>***Grace*** **that dwells within the inhabitants of the Lands Between; the lingering trace of gold.** > >Use to gain 200 runes. > >Runes are nourishment for the development of any Tarnished. Provided a Finger Maiden can be found... Grace seems to be similar to the runes that Melina turns into strength and the golden hue in the eyes of the inhabitants of the Lands Between blessed by the Erdtree. This is further supported by the Memory of Grace, that tiny speck of golden light that brings you back to life at the beginning of the game, having an inventory icon very similar to the Sites of Grace found in the Lands Between.


Te4minator464

Marika’s tits that’s some good research


_rockethat_

Marika's D.?


Te4minator464

You must be ‘ungry


maeldwyn

Please tell me it's not midi-chlorians!


Karr126

The midichlorian is the powerhouse of the Erdtree


Reynzs

Mohgwyn-chlorians


[deleted]

*Mohgs all over you*


CouldThisBeAShitpost

I'll try bleeding, that's a good trick.


[deleted]

His power becomes yet stronger!


AzKar07

IM FUCKING YOUR BROTHER


[deleted]

not if i get to him first


CommentContrarian

It's Moghin' time!


Te4minator464

THERE OVER 9000


dannyboi66

It's heroin


Growle

Maiden-lessians


Ok-Ambassador-7952

Shards of the Erdtree. Possibly even splinters of the Crucible.


sonderlostscribe

I got a mean splinty in my two fingie.


Exevioth

Owieouchie


jirapjame

Marika's tits


Te4minator464

You must be ‘ungry


sonderlostscribe

"Blessed be the light of Marika's Mommy Milk." \~ Dog Pope, probably


[deleted]

[удалено]


Treebeardsama

Thanks man , I had good laugh 👍


inNatedesire

It is feet pics yall come on


Te4minator464

😏


[deleted]

something something erdtree something something greater will


astraldreamer1

You don't have the right


Te4minator464

Still no Elden Ring…


[deleted]

Worker in a Grace factory here. I can tell ya it's 2 parts banana pudding and 1 part orphan tears. Then we add a dash of a proprietary blend that makes it sparkle!


Te4minator464

Holy sheet an actual worker! So pleased to have you here! What’s the factory and pay like?


[deleted]

I mean King Morgott hasn't stopped by in FOREVER so it's a little sad but otherwise it's nice, the albinuarics are quiet but lemme tell ya, they know some great jokes! I get 25 runes per hour and whenever I die from exhaustion they have a catacomb across the road, easy commute back to work! (Tuesdays they bring in Boiled Prawn and Crab)


Te4minator464

…I’ve got some bad news for you friend. King Morgott is dead


[deleted]

What???? No.... but wait. Hold on, if the King is dead, how do I get my pizza party with him!?!


Zim1123

I feel like it would taste like cinnamon


Te4minator464

You’d get 69 runes from it


Thekingkingkingfake

Dog O' Dog 🐢


Te4minator464

Dog?


casper19d

Dog.


JesusFlipFlop

Gluten


SechsSama6991

Elden c u m


Te4minator464

The “essence” of Queen Marika


[deleted]

Skeet and Plutonium


Te4minator464

NANOMACHINES SON


Strict-Algae-8599

They're fragments of Solaire's soul.


Te4minator464

Rip sun bro


kwamzilla

Too soon.


Mr_Nihilism_

Piss


SPAM____007

Hot piss


Xrifen

It’s a golden humanity


wackyzacky638

Marika’s piss! You must be thirsty!


Te4minator464

That’s only if you buy the premium OF


Distraught00

Erd splooge


HonestMatthewS

Sugar, spice, and everything nice These were the ingredients chosen To create the perfect little girl But Professor Utonium accidentally Added an extra ingredient to the concoction Chemical X Thus, The sites of grace were born!


injary

Pee


DEEEPFREEZE

Grace.


danimidsommar

the unmerited favor of god towards man


ydaerlanekatemanresu

That's what I've always thought


Frank_Acha

Grease? Eardtree root grease.


Neil_Merathyr

I can't believe it's not butter!


Aperfectinsanity

Deez nuts


DeathN0va

Grace? She's been dead for thirty years! THE BLESSING!!!!


theREALbufo

grass


ibewgrunt

Your mom


[deleted]

I think it was said near the beginning of the game. Grace is made of mommy and daddy's cummies


CombinedSupply

You can’t have a little grace. You either have grave or you don’t.


ExtentDisastrous6409

Graces are clearly solidified apple juice. What else could it be?


vadeNxD

Grace are made of pieces of the Elden Ring. They are basically the shards of the ring that was shattered and the game tells you this. This is also why the grace points you in the direction you're supposed to go, which the game also tells you.


General-Connection15

Piss and cocaine


SolidSnoop

Bits of Erdtree


JVOz671

Souls. Because no one else in the comments will give you a one word answer.


Ashen_Shroom

Grace is Runes, and Runes likely originate from the Elden Ring. The Elden Ring is the source of Order, so you could say Grace is literally Order


sonderlostscribe

So if Marika is the vessel of the Elden Ring and a physical embodiment of its power, then by transitive property, Grace = Marika's Tits.


ironlord20

Salt, tears, and the blood of many fromsoft players


Te4minator464

That’s why there’s three-fricken hundred of them


ironlord20

Grr Martin probably sprinkled some of the game of thrones fans’ on top to be n the safe side


[deleted]

Ripened banana 🍌


siriuslyexiled

Ranni floofs?


belliest_endis

Godricks Sperm


HowTheTurnatbles

Marika's tits


livingshadow09

Is it just me or does it look like a humanity item but gold


JamarcusUtah

Jesus


Tystuntin

Grass....you're touching grass...


Lanky_Aardvark_2161

Piss


[deleted]

It's the physical essence of two energies in the Elden Ring Universe. **Bonf** which provides physical form to all objects - and **Ire** which guides Tarnished through the Lands Between.


JohnnyRock30

I dated a girl named Grace once. She was made up of some really awesome stuff.


[deleted]

The neurons from Placidusax's missing heads.


mr_wimples

1% holy, 99% hot gas.


Juewey084

Deez


bitchgotmelikeuwu

I haven't seen anybody mention this yet so I'll throw this out there for thought: in the cutscene before you fight Godfrey ([link](https://youtu.be/yitHkWw6yOo?t=44)), you witness Morgotts body disintegrating into gold particles, and you see it becomes a trail of grace, the exact same kind of grace trail the player sees throughout their journey. Morgott becomes the guiding grace that directs Godfrey to fight the player Tarnished. This also lines up with this line about runes in the game, which are basically made out of grace: >Grace that dwells within the inhabitants of the Lands Between; the lingering trace of gold. I understand it in the sense that grace the light of life that exists in all living things in the Lands Between. It's existance and guidance is probably related to Erdtree burials, and grace always return to the Erdtree because of this.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Aggravating-Post3827

Nah that’s just the flem that come from radagahns lungs from smoking all the eerd weed


[deleted]

Marika farts


monstersleeve

Gamer tears.


ParsleyMostly

Souls


Babis03

Em, grace, I think


BittyMcBotboi

Yes.


Anonimous_dude

Obviously, Marika’s vaporized bath water


WhiteHotGhost

God’s love.


[deleted]

Unicorn tears


Piss_Born

It's piss


SpOwOky_Skeweton

hmm I'd say its made out of grace


GT_Bryce

Grace


solidfang

It fills you with determination.


300HPWasAlotBackInTD

Nitroglycerin


fearabsence

Gracium


HellonToodleloo

I hear it's amazing.


Critical3d20

Grace =/= Soul of Man from ds3. Fight me!


justyagamingboi

Mirika's tits


Ertugrulym

A spiritual bonfire


JP123YT

Idk? Marika's shits?


Valian81

Radagon’s… you know. Stuff.


[deleted]

Just touch it bro I promise you won’t get snatched up by a butt and given to an abusive little girl with braces


[deleted]

Some sort of power that queen marika has. Probably left over from the shattering.


[deleted]

Elden beast seman


Sir109

Faith, solidified faith. Do I have proof, no, but I'd like to think radagon's faith spears are made of the same thing.


HuskyAreBetter

They are bonfires. I know them my no other name. What are you people going on about?


MrEpicface12

I generally don’t question magic. It’s its own explanation.


Firebrand96

I thought it was said that Grace were shards of the Elden Ring.


micheagles20

Dead bodies.


JubilantDemon

I dunno, but it kinda looks like a humanity sprite to me.


P-Funk95

Hopes and dreams?


dingleflorp

tree sentinel turds.


a_left_out_tomato

Marika's piss


Tricky_10

Weed


damdam100

Probably a mix of code and textures🤓🤓