Queen Marika

queen marika lore npc elden ring wiki 300px
Location N/A
Role Ruler of The Lands Between
Voiced by N/A

Queen Marika is a background character in Elden Ring. Queen Marika the Eternal is the current ruler of the Lands Between, and the one who shattered the Elden Ring. She has many powerful Demigod offspring, who seek the Elden Ring's remaining power.

For her other half, see Radagon of the Golden Order.

 

Now, Queen Marika the Eternal is nowhere to be found, and in the Night of the Black Knives Godwyn the Golden was first to perish. Soon, Marika's offspring, demigods all, claimed the shards of the Elden Ring. The mad taint of their newfound strength triggered the Shattering.

-Intro

 

Elden Ring Queen Marika Notes & Trivia

  • PUZZLE AND STORY SPOILER AHEAD - Upon using the Law of Regression incantation on a statue in the Royal Capitol, a message will appear saying "Radagon is Marika". - END SPOILER
  • Marika's Hammer reveals that she was the one that shattered the Elden Ring, while Radagon used the same hammer to try and repair it.

 

 

Elden Ring NPCs
Abandoned Merchant Siofra River  ♦  Aeonian Spirit  ♦  Aeonian Swamp Spirit  ♦  Albinauric Village Spirit  ♦  Albus  ♦  Ashen Spirit  ♦  Blackguard Big Boggart  ♦  Blaidd  ♦  Bloody Finger Hunter Yura  ♦  Boc the Seamster  ♦  Brother Corhyn  ♦  Carian Manor Spirit  ♦  D's Twin Brother  ♦  D, Hunter of the Dead  ♦  Deathtouched Spirit  ♦  Diallos  ♦  Dung Eater  ♦  Eclipse Spirit  ♦  Edgar  ♦  Enia  ♦  Ensha  ♦  Erdtree Sanctuary Spirit  ♦  Fia  ♦  Finger Maiden Therolina  ♦  Frenzied Spirit  ♦  Frustrated Spirit  ♦  Gate Town Bridge Spirit  ♦  Gatekeeper Gostoc  ♦  Gideon Ofnir  ♦  Godwyn the Golden  ♦  Goldmask  ♦  Gowry  ♦  Grape Spirit  ♦  Gurranq Beast Clergyman  ♦  Hermit Merchant  ♦  Hyetta  ♦  Imprisoned Merchant  ♦  Irina  ♦  Iron Fist Alexander  ♦  Isolated Merchant Raya Lucaria  ♦  Isolated Merchants  ♦  Jar Bairn  ♦  Kenneth Haight  ♦  Kingsrealm Spirit  ♦  Knight Bernahl  ♦  Laiedd Spirit  ♦  Latenna  ♦  Lionel the Lionhearted  ♦  Liurnian Highway Spirit  ♦  Liurnian Lake Spirit  ♦  Lost Snow Spirit  ♦  Master Lusat  ♦  Melina  ♦  Merchant Kale  ♦  Millicent  ♦  Millicent's Sisters  ♦  Miquella  ♦  Miriel Pastor of Vows  ♦  Morne Spirit  ♦  Nepheli Loux  ♦  Nomadic Merchant Mohgwyn Palace  ♦  Nomadic Merchant West Altus Plateau  ♦  Nomadic Merchants  ♦  Patches  ♦  Pidia, Carian Servant  ♦  Preceptor Seluvis  ♦  Primeval Sorcerer Azur  ♦  Ranni the Witch  ♦  Renna  ♦  Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon (NPC)  ♦  Roderika  ♦  Rya  ♦  Rykard  ♦  Sanguine Noble (NPC)  ♦  Shabriri  ♦  Shaded Castle Spirit  ♦  Siofra River Spirit  ♦  Smithing Master Hewg  ♦  Sorcerer Rogier  ♦  Sorceress Sellen  ♦  Stranded Graveyard Spirit  ♦  Study Hall Spirit  ♦  Tanith  ♦  The Great-Jar  ♦  The Two Fingers  ♦  Thops  ♦  Three Fingers  ♦  Tower of Return Spirit  ♦  Twin Maiden Husks  ♦  Two Fingers  ♦  Volcano Manor Spirit  ♦  Wandering Artist Spirit  ♦  War Counselor Iji  ♦  White Mask Varre  ♦  Windmill Spirit  ♦  Witch-Hunter Jerren



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    • Anonymous

      So marika is of the Numan race which is a homophone for 'new man' and we know Marika indentifies as a new man called 'ragadon' I get it

      • Anonymous

        Marika and Radagon probably have "D brother condition" but reversed, 2 souls in 1 body. My guess to their origin: they emerged as a single body from the crucible, which was a great celestial tree with no allegiance to any outer god and got burned down by the fell god (possibly after the golden meteor hit it), and founded the city "Numen" in the shadowlands of the dlc. Female Numen became todays Blackknife Assassins and male Numen became Crucible Knights. From there, they got chosen by the greater Will, one burdened with the curse of regression (Radagon) and the other forced to suffer the consequences of causality (also a curse since she could not refuse the greater will, no matter the assignment).

        • Anonymous

          My theories:

          1. Marika smashes the Elden Ring so she can take the Death Rune away, thus eliminating death from this world. Because of this, Godwyn never dies. So she does that to save Godwyn.

          2. Maliketh says Marika betrayed him. There are two hypothesis here: 2a) Maliketh is an accursed being and resented on Marika because of Destined Death, having to survive of deathroots and having murderous rampages. So he call her a "traitor". 2b) Marika realy orchestrated Godwyn's death along with Ranni, which changes the plot entirely.

          3. Marika and Radagon being the same entity doesn't make much sense, since they were not the same entity initially.

          4. Marika was the Greater Will lapdog until she went crazy and changed sides entirely. This happened right after Godfrey becoming tarnished and banished. IMO all Marika is doing is getting revenge on the Greater Will for having banished the man she loved.
          4b) Godfrey lost grace after learning Marika and Radagon was the same being - that means she married with Rennala and had kids... thus cheating on him.

          Many of those theories are absurd I know, but maybe fun to discuss. What do you think?

          • Anonymous

            My own personal theory?

            There's some indication that she had orchestrated the entire thing with Godwyn, and assisted Ranni, in hopes of throwing off the yoke of the Greater Wills from the Lands Between. The Ring itself is seemingly imbedded in her very flesh, so when Godywn got knifed by her Assassins (Black Knives were supposedly Numen Assasin order, all women one, under Marikas thumb), the Ring being shattered was done in order to prevent the Wills from regaining full control in the Lands, at same time also securing her own place, being irreplicable. As she shattered the ring, it likely injured her to a grievous state we find her in, which in turn caused the Ring to either assume the form of Elden Beast, or the Beast itself to manifest in some way, not sure about how it works exactly, and impale Marika, neutralizing her as a further threat to the Ring.

            Soon after, I imagine Radagon arrived, and found Marika in her "impaled" state. At this point I'd say the Greater Wills would also see Radagon as a threat, since if Marika could go against their plans, so could he. So, I'd assume he was scolded for his failure to prevent the events that transpired, both Radagon and Marika were merged, Radagon would keep her in check, while both of them were kept in the "stand by mode" we find them in, as punishment.

            Once we face off the "trio", we see resistance from first Radagon, and after we defeat him, the Beast and by extensions, Greater Wills, yet Marika does not oppose us the least, she remains in her "pacified" state. I imagine once all is said and done, and we repair the Ring, she too would eventually recover, and whatever she'd be thankful for our efforts, or would simply annihilate us to keep her power and station, now truly free without any forces trying to sway her.
            But all that is just my guess/take on it. DLC might shed some light on it.
            - Ze'ke.

            • Anonymous

              I'm very confused about one thing. Why was she broken?

              It's very clear that she is *not* the incarnation of the Elden Ring - yes, you can see it inside Radagon's body during the fight, but a) the cutscene at the beginning of the game clearly shows her using the hammer on an object *outside* of her, and then Radagon trying to fix it, and b) that's what the Elden Beast is, it says so on its remembrance.

              If she's not the Elden Ring, then what exactly made her end up in that broken way? She's got a redish spear in her.

              What the hell happened to her?

              • Anonymous

                Maybe the lore about Marika is more clear cut then we normally think.

                Marika simply want to have power eternally, but the greater will started to elect empyreans (who are typically female (Miquella is an exception because he's a twin of his sister)) to replace her for the next age. So she placed all her hope on her strongest son (Godwyn) to keep her in power, but he was killed for one reason or another. Marika had a 'If I can't have it, then no one can' reaction from Godwyn's murder, then shattered the Elden Ring to insure that the demigods (especially the empyreans) will be divided until the tarnished arrives to kill them all.

                If this is correct, it makes me wonder of Godfrey's army losing their grace was actually Marika's backup land or a product of Godwyn's death blight.

                • Anonymous

                  No one else sees the similarities between radagon/Marika and miquella/Melina? I'm thinking radagon and marika are twins? Incestuous twins of course, but it explains why radagon goes to marika willingly. And becoming "one again", as in the womb, makes sense. Twins are also genetic usually. Explaining why they birthed them and not godfrey

                  • Anonymous

                    These are the greatest proofs that Elden Souls are connected; Gwynevere's, Desert Sorceresses' (in DS2 & DS3), and Marika's (in the introductory cutscene) designs.

                    • Anonymous

                      My Theory:

                      Marika harbored doubts about the perfection of the Golden Order due to the births of Morgott and Mohg, as well as other omens. This new order can't be perfect it is causing people, her children especially, to be born malformed in this manner. However, she still had an underlying loyalty to the Golden Order that held her back from truly trying to understand its flaws. She was convinced that there was a better way, as the Golden Order had come to increase the grace of the inhabitants of the lands compared to the previous era. However, the Golden Order was not quite the proper way. Through a magic rite, she removes this part of herself, her loyalty, her beliefs, and her unyielding desire to preserve the Golden Order. Her other self, Radagon, would be born from this with his red hair born of an underlying curse given to Marika by the Fire Giants. However, this would not be sufficient as Radagon, as powerful as he is, would not let the Golden Order die. Marika knew that part of herself had to be destroyed. So, she entrusts this task to Godfrey and his warriors, divesting them of the grace of gold. Detached from the golden order and its influence, she sends them away to be called back when the time is right. She entrusts Hewg, to fashion for them a god-slaying weapon. Now, she needs someone who can take her place to bring about a better age. Radagon, guided by his underlying desire to become a complete being again, returns to Marika. She has three kids with him. Miquella (The one who would succeed her), Malenia (Miquella's protector), and Melina (the one who would burn down the erdtree and guide the chosen tarnished to unleash destined death to burn down the wall of thorns that Marika knew Radagon would conjure). Finally, she must make sure Radagon would be imprisoned so that he couldn't interfere with her plan. She joins with Radagon, and to ensure their imprisonment by the Greater Will inside the Erdtree, she shatters the Elden Ring.

                      -I didn't want to write everything down. Just the essentials. What do you guys think?

                      • Anonymous

                        I think understanding that Marika is a huge b1tçh and the ultimate girlboss is integral to understanding Elden Ring's lore. She banished Godfrey and his men not because she disapproved of them. Far from it, she wants them to "grow strong in the face of death" so they can eventually "return to the Lands Between, wage war, and brandish the Elden Ring." Similarly, she mocks Radagon's loyalty to the Golden Order, calling him a "leal hound." Lastly, she see conflict as a proving grounds, even when it comes to her children: "Hear me, Demigods. My children beloved. Make of thyselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord. Be it a God. But should ye fail to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken." And sure enough, the Walking Mausoleums contain the remnants of demigods that failed in this, with a spirit near the one wandering the Weeping Peninsula proclaiming that it carries Marika's "unwanted child."

                        Basically, the game is a huge śh1t test.

                        • Anonymous

                          Marika isn't an NPC. She isn't an interactable character and only appears in cutscenes for a few seconds. Very disappointed with this wiki for saying such things.

                          • Anonymous

                            Often times trees are hermaphroditic, male and female trees that formed together to make one tree, just like Marika and Radagon.

                            • Anonymous

                              Guys, it is not that complicated. The merging of Marika and Radagon is just a literal portrayal of the bond of marriage. This is classic western theology adapted to a game filled with western mythos. "Therefore a man shall... be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

                              • Anonymous

                                The lore here is quite simple. Marika feared being replaced as the ruler of the realm. So she smashed the elden ring in order to cut off the Greater Will's connection to the realm, all in an attempt to rule forever. However, the Greater Will still had a connection, and warped Marika into a different form as a last ditch effort to reconnect with the realm. Marika was forcefully turned into Radagon, who then tried to fix the shattered elden ring but failed. We do in fact fight Marika during the final battle, except she is in the form of Radagon because the Greater Will transformed her as an act of self defense.

                                • Anonymous

                                  Were they always two parts of one entity? This line of dialogue doesnt make that any clearer: "O Radagon, leal hound of the Golden Order. Thou'rt yet to become me. Thou'rt yet to become a god. Let us be shattered, both. Mine other self." Radagon was not yet Marika, nor that he was shattered. Did she fuse with Radagon to effectively seal him away to prevent him from claiming the Greater Runes? Radagon was as she implies a stern loyalist of Golden Order, and an incredibly powerful champion while she started to doubt the Golden Order. He would effectively foil Marika's plans left to his own devices.

                                  She only shattered the Elden Ring AFTER merging with Radagon, and he was condemned to the same punishment because he was bound to her.

                                  In the boss fight, Radagon's remains are subsumed by the Elden Beast upon his defeat, while fractured Marika remains in the same pose as she was imprisoned in.
                                  This could show that they no longer shared the same body, as I think the Elden Beast used Radagon's body to forge the Sacred Relic sword.

                                  This is all just wild speculation on my end, but I feel there's definitely something more to it than just "Radagon is Marika"







                                  • It was a wonderful day in leyndell, it soon turned nightfall and you could see the wondrous erdtree illuminating the streets, until, godwyn was assassinated by black knifes, which were impossible to detect because of their invisibility, and many others followed, so marika was in grief, like every normal other person would be, until she decided its all the greater wills fault and broke the elden ring, and ruined everybody's life in the whole lands between, instead of trying to capture these black knifes and execute them righteously. What a *****

                                    • Anonymous

                                      I think her shattering the elden ring was because she was thinkin "how could the greater will allow this to happen to my boy?" after the night of the black knives killed godwyn the golden

                                      • Anonymous

                                        i can understand if someone has more than one personality, but more than one body but still one? that's f*cked up sh1t.
                                        male half, female half, each has their own life, the male had s3x with a magic queen and got some kids, the other had s3x with a lord got some kids too, then back together again and have s3x again and got some new other kids, but after all of that, still considered as one like a dang hermaphrodite but also two bodies at the same time.
                                        i'll just play this for the genre.

                                        • Anonymous

                                          Honestly wish i could murk her stupid ass, for all the horrible **** she's done and how much she ****ed everything/everyone up for her own selfish ambitions,Gwyn did what he did out of fear and paranoia, this evil hoe though? Yeah she can absolutely eat my ass, what a shitty god to have as a ruler.

                                          • Anonymous

                                            Marika was also known as Marika, the 'Eternal'. Black Knives are rumoured to be Numens, who are said to have close ties with Marika. Rogier stated that there are rumours that the Black Knives are scions of 'Eternal' City. Hm, what could be the relation here? Also, seeing as Marika can change shape into Radagon, and her body seems like it's made of some kind of metal, wouldn't that mean she is something similar to the Mimic Tear? If the mimic tears are the result of an attempt to forge a lord, then Radagon was that lord.

                                            • Anonymous

                                              It's pretty safe to assume that, at the very least, she shattered the Elden Ring to cancel the authority The Greater Will has over the Lands Between, and she did succeed around the end of the game, seeing how the Two Fingers are losing connection with the Greater Will. Elden Beast, the incarnation of the Order, is the manifestation of the System placed by Greater Will. It imprisoned Marika and fought us simply to protect itself like any system with self-defense protocol would do.

                                              • Anonymous

                                                Everybody in here talking about spiritual meaning this and plots that with a dash of Radagon/Marika Ranma 1/2 stuff. Me though? I'm just here for those THICC buns.

                                                • Anonymous

                                                  Marika sacrificed her kids/people. While some were against Marika, some were on her side.

                                                  Miquella and Malenia, were both on Marika's side. Miquella grew Haligtree, watered with Miquella's own blood since it was a sapling (from Haligtree Knight Armor). We saw statues of Malenia and Miquella throughout Haligtree, the statue of Malenia protecting Miquella, and Miquella supporting Malenia, two were born and bound together.
                                                  And in the middle of the Haligtree where we fought Royal Knight Loretta, there is the statue of twins Miquella and Malenia, held by Marika.

                                                  They were creating Haligtree, the place for every living being, and that is what Loretta came here for.

                                                  By the time when Miquella grows his Haligtree, Radagon is the ruler of TLB. There are a few items that actually noted the interaction between Miquella and Radagon.
                                                  From Incantation Triple Rings of Light and Discus of Light stated: A gift from the young Miquella to his father, Radagon.
                                                  And the Incantation Radagon's Rings of Light: A gift of gratitude to the young Miquella from his father, Radagon, as his reply to Miquella's gift.
                                                  This is a scene where young Miquella competes with Radagon, showing his thought about how powerless Golden Order is against the outer gods.
                                                  The young Miquella then abandoned fundamentalism, for it could do nothing to treat Malenia's accursed rot. This was the beginning of unalloyed gold.

                                                  Back in the day when Marika was the ruler of TLB, she started multiple wars to bring 'peace', removing everything threatening the Erdtree.
                                                  Everything believed would bring bad omen to the Golden Order was banished or buried deep under the Royal Capital, including the three-finger and her omen kids.

                                                  'Though watered with Miquella's own blood since it was a sapling, the Haligtree ultimately failed to grow into an Erdtree.'--Haligtree Knight Armor.
                                                  'Yet now, with the Haligtree misshapen, this wondrous rendition is a fleeting fantasy.'--Haligtree Crest Greatshield.
                                                  Men in TLB were looking forward Miquella to replacing the Golden Order, and the Haligtree was supposed to be the paradise for every living being, but it all became a fantasy because Miquella was kidnapped by Mogh. Without Miquella, Haligtree soon was taken over by the rot, misshapen.

                                                  Is it Marika banishing her omen kid causing his revenge? Or is it the omen kid bringing bad omen is now proven to be true?
                                                  Marika buried three-finger for it being a sign of bad luck, end up became the entry for the frenzied flame. It is the rule of nature, it is fate after all.

                                                  The prophet from the starting class, a seer ostracized for inauspicious prophecies.
                                                  Were sincere to the Erdtree, yet received catch flame incantation, encouraged the burning of the Erdtree.
                                                  Which I believe had the same fate as Marika and her omen kids.
                                                  The Erdtree showed the image of a bad omen, so the omen kids were born graceless, locked in the forsaken sewer.

                                                  People were upset about Marika's act. From a human's perspective, Marika definitely doing bad things. But human is not the only living being in TLB, nor the only living being ruled by Outer Gods.

                                                  The Greater Will will one day leave and abandon TLB. The fate of the first Elden Lord, Dragonlord Placidusax, is the exact image of being abandoned by their god.
                                                  Marika wants to prevent this from happening again. So she will appreciate anyone to replace and get out of the loop. (Except for the end of chaos)

                                                  • Anonymous

                                                    My theory regarding the *ahem* spoiler is that From pulled a classic JRPG move that is "making important plot points/lore details loosely based off of the Bible." I interpret the two being the same as a Jesus is God situation where they're also separate entities, except instead of being father/son they're wife and consort. Just a thought I've been sitting on for a while that I have neither seen nor heard anyone mention at all, I swear this wasn't religious propaganda.

                                                    • Anonymous

                                                      If from follows it's template for their demon /dark souls games, I think Marika would be the 3rd game end boss. Big if.

                                                      • Anonymous

                                                        "....Besides, it helps me forget. The sheer terror of her...."

                                                        Marika eons ago: "I'm gonna count down from three, and if you don't get me a god-slaying weapon by then..."

                                                        Marika now: "0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000001....."

                                                        • Anonymous

                                                          Some observation (or hot take lol), if posessing great rune made you a God, doesn't the demigods, fia, goldmaks, dungeta is already one? but no. This why Radagon the rune of order bearer isn't a God, therefore his offspring shouldn't have the demigods power, unless... Radagon is Marika in the first place, yet different personalities/aspirations. Think the "demigods Step children" part is a recognition that indeed they have demigod powers, no more secrets (note this happend before the shattering, nor they possess any great runes as power source).

                                                          The "thou have not become a god" may referred to their desire to become complete/perfect God. Free of Greater Will, although Radagon changes his mind at the last moment. By "let us shatter" means the Shattering of Elden Ring, we can see their fractured body and shattered rune. The Shattering War was a means of struggle for their Children to someday overthrow the Greater Will, so does Godfrey banishment, until... GW called upon our Tarnished.

                                                          • Anonymous

                                                            I think Marika "fused" with Radagon (and thus raised him to godhood) as an act of defiance against the Golden Order.
                                                            Brother Corhyn states that the Golden Order was based on the foundation that Marika was the one true god, but what happens when Radagon is raised to the same status? This is the imperfection that left Goldmask stumbled.

                                                            Radagon was close to perfect, and tried to reach ultimate completion. Marika tricked him, and used his power to defy the Golden Order and shatter the Elden Ring, which Radagon desperately tried to repair.

                                                            • Anonymous

                                                              Marika is always been Radagon theory intensified with the number of children she and Godfrey had (Godwyn, Omens, plus many more in the floating Mausoleum). Compare that to what Radagon sired with Rennala. It seems he didn't stay at Liurnia that often, only to learn glintstone magics, sewing perceptors, and made babies.

                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                Marika: *Clearly went insane after her firstborn's death to the point she shattered herself with a hammer and scared Hewg and Gideon shitless*
                                                                Tarnished: Aight Imma but the head back on what's the worst that could happen

                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                  Marika: *Clearly went insane after her firstborn's death to the point she shattered herself with a hammer and scared Hewg and Gideon shitless*
                                                                  Tarnished: Aight Imma but the head back on what's the worst that could happen

                                                                  • Ok, for anyone who isn’t afraid of spoilers and don’t want to scroll through 12+ pages to piece together the lore. I summarize the main lore path of Elden Ring involving queen Marika here, might include speculation but mostly depending on what was given in the game.

                                                                    The Land Between was previously a realm overseen by three most influential races: the Giants, the Dragons and humans – most notably the Carian Royal Family with their stronghold of Raya Lucaria Academy. And the dragons, with Placidusax presumably to be the previous Elden Lord.

                                                                    At some point, the Greater Will (otherwise known as an Outer God) invaded the Lands Between, establishing their own Golden Order with queen Marika as their image, along with her other half, Radagon, and a race of mighty warriors (that would later become the tarnished) led by lord Godfrey.

                                                                    They first waged war with the Giants, the goal was to smolder the mountaintop flame which can threaten the invincibility of the Erdtree (next to the rune of death, tho the later is already in their hands). The order were victorious, with the Giant race decimated, but when they realize they cannot extinguish the flame for good, Marika cursed the last surviving giant to forever tending to it, fending off anyone who draws near.

                                                                    Next they challenged the Raya Lucaria Academy and their queen Rennala, with Radagon leading the armies. The war saw no victor until it was ceased by an establishment of truce between the two parties, bridged by the marriage between Rennala and Radagon.

                                                                    After that, the Greater Will and the Golden order has increasing influence across the lands, and eventually become the dominant religion in the entirety of the realm.

                                                                    Some point after the Erdtree was installed and the order seemed complete, the war with the dragons broke, beginning with the dragon Granax attack on the capital. The outcome of this battle is unknown, but victory was presumably to be on the order side.

                                                                    When all wars were over, the warrior race (including Godfrey) that was once blessed by grace to fight for the order, starts losing sight of that grace and with that, their purpose in the Lands Between. They were eventually sent away by queen Marika to fight in distance land and apparently most perished.

                                                                    Later, during the night of the black knives, Marika’s first born, Godwyn, was slain and because he was killed by the Rune of death, Marika cannot use her power to revive him. Speculation at this point, but Marika intended to converse the Greater Will to revive Godwyn, but when she learnt that it is unable to do it, she was devastated and decided to shatter the Elden Ring with the hope to unlock its power possible to save her son. An act that triggers the Shattering and angered the Greater Will, she was eventually imprisoned within the Erdtree along with Radagon.

                                                                    The rest of the story continue in the game

                                                                    • Anonymous

                                                                      Marika has no personality. She might as well not exist as a character. The only thing we know about her is that she's scary (Hewg, Gideon, Maliketh dialogue). There is no record of her interactions with her children, nothing about her ideals or ambitions. She's just there, being the ruler of the Lands Between. It's so odd.

                                                                      • Anonymous

                                                                        I didn't finish the game yet but I already know that Marika shattered the Ring. I can't tell if I know it from spoilers or if some dialoge in the game told it to me. Cause I barely saw any spoilers.

                                                                        • Anonymous

                                                                          Curiously enough, she's symbolized by crucifixion, but if the most common theory about her motivations is correct, then she'd in effect be much closer to Lucifer than Christ.

                                                                          • Anonymous

                                                                            Marika, the Gloam-Eyed Queen and "Torrent's former master," aka the Snow Witch Ranni encountered as a young girl. are all the same person. She's also Ranni's mother. I know this through my extensive spiritual meditation on the nature of Ghostflame, Frostbite and the Godskin Apostles. No, I will not elaborate any further, but the DLC will prove me correct on all accounts.

                                                                            • Anonymous

                                                                              Marika’s motivation is easy to understand once you figure out what’s deal with Farum Azula and what exactly this location represents.

                                                                              Farum Azula, a dragon domain lost in time, reveals to the player the truth behind the Elden Ring — it works in cycles similar to the ages of fire and dark in Dark Souls. Here we can find the image of the previous Elden Ring and meet the real first Elden Lord and learn that there was a different god prior to Marika. We discover two important things - sometimes the Greater Will chooses new Empyreans, one of them takes the role of the new Elden Ring’s vessel and rules as a new god.

                                                                              Erdtree also works very similar to the Dark Souls fire, in various items we can read how long ago it produced blessings until it became just a fancy background decoration and object of worship.

                                                                              In the same location, we learn that Marika extracted the Rune of Death from the Elden Ring.

                                                                              Those two things combined give us hints to understand Marika’s motivation.

                                                                              So why did the Shattering happen?

                                                                              Marika ain’t a noble savior and doesn’t want to free the world from the Greater Will. In fact, she is obsessed with immortality, with eternity and wants to rule forever, stopping the next cycle of the Erdtree/Crucible or whatever form it will take next time happening. She effectively cut off communication between the Greater Will and the Two Fingers and prevented the possibility to choose more Empyreans aka next vessels of the Elden Ring, she sent off the Greater Will to chill in outer space until every demigod and Empyrean will be slaughtered. Each one of them is her competitor and they all need to die, while she is locked in the Erdtree in safety.

                                                                              It’s worth to note that in every variety of an ending where Marika is a “alive” we are restoring the Elden Ring and bringing back the Greater Will. Doesn’t it contradict with a popular theory that Marika was rebelling against it?

                                                                              But wasn’t Marika questioning the Golden Order? Yes, she does, but the Golden Order is the religion that she founded, not the outer god she serves. It’s two separate things and if you check the timeline you will find out that Marika was upset with the Golden Order in its more peaceful early days. But that’s a different topic, let’s talk about gods.

                                                                              Why did Radagon try to repair the Elden Ring?

                                                                              Contrary to a popular belief, he actually wants the next cycle to happen. He tries to repair the Elden Ring and restore the natural cosmic cycle of life and death, and let the current ring turn into dust and be replaced… with a new one.

                                                                              It is said that long ago, the Greater Will sent a golden star bearing a beast into the Lands Between, which would later become the Elden Ring

                                                                              First time I chose the standard Fractured ending I asked myself “Why was I fighting Radagon/Elden Beast and not Marika if I’m going to restore the Golden order? Isn't that what he wishes?” Just like in the case of Marika the ending a popular fandom interpretation of a character didn’t fit to what I’ve seen in the game.

                                                                              Actually, Radagon wants current age to come to an end, the current ring to cease from existance and the goddess, who overstayed her welcome, to **** off. He is a parent of all Empyreans after all, while Marika on *her own* gave birth to none. He wants his children to succeed and become vessels for the next Elden Ring, - Elden Beast. I know a lot of people dislike him as a boss, but from a narrative standpoint I find him fascinating. Design of Elden Beast reminds me of Princess Mononoke forest spirit, it's rather cute, it cowardly runs away from us in a similar way as Rom from Bloodborne. That thing acts like a child of lovecraftian horror.

                                                                              Both Marika and Radagon represent the different sides of eternity, Marika is a continuous existence, an immortality, and Radagon is an endless cycle of life and death, a rebirth.

                                                                              None of them is necessarily good or bad, and both are operating under the Greater Will, but I find it ironic how twisted their gender characteristics are in the context of mythos and fantasy archetypes. Marika’s path is violence, Radagon works via diplomacy, Marika throws her Omen twins in the sewers, Radagon gifts miracles to his cursed child Miquella, Marika’s signature item is a hammer, Radagon’s is a sewing kit, Marika uses her children as sacrifices to continue her reign, Radagon dies, protecting future Elden Ring.

                                                                              In the end they both suffered greatly and caused a lot of suffering for others.

                                                                              tl;dr: Elden Ring works in cycles, sometimes the Greater Will replaces its old vessels with new ones, the current cycle was coming to an end and the Greater Will started to pick new Emyperans as Marika’s replacements, Marika was scared that her ass gonna be whooped soon from the throne and she started giant battle royal between demigods and Tarnished.

                                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                                I wish we knew just a little bit about her motivations. It's really hard to figure out anything about Elden Ring because we have no idea what the most important person in the story even wanted to accomplish.

                                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                                  Rennala: Sooo... You're Radagon?
                                                                                  Marika: ...Yes
                                                                                  Rennala: But why?
                                                                                  Marika: ...thought you wouldn't accept me
                                                                                  Rennala: ...eh?
                                                                                  Marika: I'm sorry
                                                                                  Rennala: Aww babe I'll love you no matter what gender you are xoxoxo
                                                                                  Marika: *crying*

                                                                                  • Anonymous

                                                                                    I just realised Elden Ring's reveal trailer from all the way in 2019 actually showed Marika literally turning into Radagon while hammering the ring.
                                                                                    The secret was never secret but damn so obscure.
                                                                                    They really need to have the options to view all the trailers ingame.

                                                                                    • Anonymous

                                                                                      I really wish she was the final boss instead of barney the purple dinosaur. I understand lore wise why it wouldn't make sense for her to fight us but I wanted her to peel my face off to sad piano music so badly

                                                                                      • Anonymous

                                                                                        Stated Black knife assassins were numen relate to Marika did hint the night of the black knife was in fact planned by Queen Marika.
                                                                                        Marika has seen the cursemark of death in the past, carved at the moment of Death of the first demigod, gloam-eyed queen's body. She then found out the cursemark was mark of 2 centipede goes in a circle, there she came out with this crazy idea of half circle and 'half dead'.

                                                                                        She witness Great Will sent Astel to struck down the Eternal City due to the Fingerslayer blade. Ranni the Carian Princess, as the people of Liurnia, never not dreamt about revenge for her homeland. There Marika offer her plan to work with Ranni, a way to set her free and to get her revenge.

                                                                                        They'll need two demigod involve in order for cursemark to appear on two corpse, and the 2nd one is Marika's son Godwyn. It is very high possibility Godwyn agreed to participate, or else for 2 demigod to die at the exact same time would be nearly impossible. Godskin that once served gloam eyed queen still serve under Queen Marika. Marika sent a Godskin Noble to the Divine Tower to prevent anything from interfere Ranni killing her own body on time, while also guarding the cursemark that carved on Ranni's body.

                                                                                        Here comes the night, where the Prince of Death, became undead. 'The Golden Order has no mercy for those who trespass beyond life's bounds' (from item sacred order pot), Godwyn's undead body soon got disposed to the depth. Marika send Godwyn's body to the Deeproot Depth, the root of the erdtree, where bodies normally buried and 'return' to the erdtree. And in Godwyn's case, is a body that can't be return, causes deathroots to spread across the land, causing undead everywhere. This is the 1st step to bring down the Golden Order.

                                                                                        While things out there now out of control, it's then Marika's turn to shatter the elden ring, where she and Radagon faught for their body, took turn hammering the elden ring, to shatter/fix the elden ring. And it shattered. Marika became the sinner, hanged within the erdtree. The hanged Marika's figure became the sigil of the sinner we saw accross the land. With Marika's sacrifice, 2nd step of her plan achieved, by trapping Radagon with her inside the erdtree.

                                                                                        Shattered shards were sent to demigods, make them faught and took place to be the new Lord, by Great Will. But they didn't end up a new Lord. So we tarnished were graced, guided to gather the shards. Thou among the demigods, Morgott wasn't given a shard, he was given the crown and the throne. We saw this in the scene at the beginning, he held a crown but never wear it, but put it down on the throne instead. And when we reach the throne, he never sat on the throne. Because to him, the only Lord worthy is his dad, Godfrey.

                                                                                        Same to Marika. 'Make of thyselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord. Be it a God. But should ye fail to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken. Amounting only to sacrifices'. Shattered lead to war, if no Lord after war, Tarnished will took over their place. Including her consort Godfrey. Marika saw this coming in her plan, expecting one that will be the Lord, if not Miquella, it'll be Godfrey.

                                                                                        The Golden Shade of the Godfrey before the Queen's bad chamber, picture of Godfrey in Roundtable, Marika always love Godfrey. But just like Ranni told us: 'Yet they both understand. What lieth beyond the dark path...That I must betray everything, and rid the world of what came before.' They will one day betray everything, including their consort, their Lord, for what should come next.

                                                                                        Although soreseal did shows Marika was the one with int side of stats while Radagon with str side of stats. Good thing while Marika is intelligent enough to plan all these, Radagon being half of Marika isn't as cunning.

                                                                                        Afterall, the fact that Marika had us her statue of Marika accross the land, save us tarnished from running all the way to the boss room, it's enough to show she's a great mama.

                                                                                        • Anonymous

                                                                                          I wonder if Marika being radagon is a not so subtle nod to Berserk. Specifically the fact that Griffith shares a body with Guts and Casca's son.

                                                                                          • Anonymous

                                                                                            To understand what Marika did, at the very beginning, there's a spirit sitting at the entrance of stormfoot catacombs, saying they're STILL waiting for the calling of the roots. In Radagon's Golden Order era, death are granted. Lifes can only took away by the roots of the erdtree. Bosses inside catacomb why? To prevent anyone try to get to the root and die without permission. Lifes born and being used forever, being slaves forever, being gods forever.

                                                                                            At this point Golden Order has became a selfish order. 'Those blissful early days of blind belief are long past. My comrades; why must ye falter?' Without progress and move forward, the world will only degenerate and degrade. Marika will sacrifice anything to create chances for the future.
                                                                                            Though she care about lifes, though lifes never ask for it. We don't understand and we never will.

                                                                                            'Make of thyselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord. Be it a God. But should ye fail to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken. Amounting only to sacrifices'. She'll appreciate it, no matter whom we became, as long as we're moving forward. If not, else who want to become the Lord will took over. Else who want to live, will took over. She doesn't need to be saved, but TLB need it.

                                                                                            Being at her position, you can't done everything looking cute. It's always cruel for both of us, cruel that she did those to her people, cruel that she had to do these.

                                                                                            • Anonymous

                                                                                              The ‘Radagon is Marika’ message is the most “DO YOU GET IT?” thing Miyazaki has ever done.

                                                                                              Like…seriously, of all the things you are too subtle about, you decide not to be subtle about the most OBVIOUS thing? We can SEE that the statue has changed, did we think we were too stupid to get the implication? Oh right, soulsfans and their low iq

                                                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                                                They really need to give more answers for this story, Michael Zack cant get out way with these half baked mysteries

                                                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                                                  When you consider that the last two bosses in the game are both her husbands, it seems she certainly likes her men strong.

                                                                                                  • Between Chrono Trigger's Lavos, Final Fantasy VII's Jenova, and now Elden Ring's Greater Will... it seems obvious Japanese video game developers want us to be mistrustful of aliens arriving on Earth.

                                                                                                    • Anonymous

                                                                                                      GW want GO to be the only 'force' in the lands between, use erdtree grace others to serve GW, thats how we tarnished respawn and guided.
                                                                                                      Then after they faught and earn other's power they'll be 'recycle' through erdtree's root so u'll see bodies in the root in every underground dungeons, retrieve its power and gain more new power. Thats how it live immortal and grow stronger.
                                                                                                      GW also instruct marika to mate with other power to give birth better offspring to replace marika, thats why Ranni, Malenia, Miquella(can be male/female like marika) three goddess are the chosen for more offspring in the future. thats why they're against Great Will.
                                                                                                      Miquella want more than GO can do, he care more about remove his sister Malenia's rot. And Malenia only care about Miquella as we know.
                                                                                                      Ranni and some others planned the night of the black knife to bugged out GO, Godwyn and Ranni became 'half dead' that cant be retrieve, causing deathroot and undead spread across the land make this bug goes out of control.

                                                                                                      Radagon is with GO, but Marika is against it, she break elden ring for new lord to rise and change these. After wars demigod didnt end up a new lord, thats when GW grace tarnished to retrieve the shard by bring us alive. This is also Marika's plan to bring back Godfrey, who's faded since the war against giants (from godfrey's helm).But on the way Godfrey back to save Marika that's when we met and faught.

                                                                                                      • Anonymous

                                                                                                        My interpretation... (warning, bad grammar ahead)
                                                                                                        Marika was lesser god compared to Greater Will, and she was chosen as ruler of land in between. She married the great human champion Godfrey as instructed by the greater will, to establish relationship between god and humans. But her role as ruler was nothing but facade, she grew tired, and told Godfrey, prompting Godfrey leaving her (but not betraying her) and planned to coup (shattering the ring) but failed, resulting her getting shackles by Elden beast (vassal of GW) , Greater Will splits her apart and took Marika as hostage towards Godfrey (That is why we met him before the final door) as he is protecting Marika, while Radagon (before repairing the ring), was cast into Land in between (with no memories) in order to re-establish god-human relationship, he was instructed (instinctively manipulated by the GW) to married Rennala, only for him to remember his real form, Marika, and went to her, only to find out it was a trap, and he was kept in order to repair the ring. But the land in between thought Radagon betrayed Rennala, and soon, Ranni, caught win on this, planned on how to ruin GW, but before she could do anything, she almost got killed, and so she had to fake her own death, Godwyn died helping her, but the story changes because no one know the reason, and so start the great war of demi-gods, but... before that, Greater Will messenger is the finger, but Higher Will messenger is the three finger, GW wants to rule Land in Between, while HW want everything return to Chaos, and Ranni wants to cut all ties of Will from Land of Between.... Wait I lost track.

                                                                                                        • I think they should have added 2 additional Secret True Endings:
                                                                                                          After beating Radagon, craft Marika's Hammer.
                                                                                                          Then Interact with Fractured Marika:
                                                                                                          1. Repair and Rebuild the Elden Ring - completing Radagon's goal.
                                                                                                          2. Destroy Marika - using her Hammer - obliterating the Elden Ring - thus completely erasing the Elden Ring from Existence permanently.
                                                                                                          Then afterwards unlocking a Secret True End Extra Boss Fight:
                                                                                                          Queen Marika - in her Female Marika Form.
                                                                                                          Where Marika either fights you to prevent the rebuilding of the Elden Ring or alternatively asks you to slay her fully to destroy the Elden Ring.

                                                                                                          • Anonymous

                                                                                                            Maybe stating the obvious but this is my understanding of the lore: The endings of the game revolve around transforming/reforging the Elden Ring into something else. I'm assuming Marika wanted to shatter the Elden Ring in order to do the same & re-forge it, perhaps to escape the influence of the Outer Gods or Two Fingers or whatever, or to finally be able to die or be replaced, not sure. Honestly if you're immortal long enough you're probably going to desire an end more than ending else. And immortality is universally depicted as a curse in FromSoftware games.
                                                                                                            She split herself to escape her imprisonment & her forced limitations to some extent, as she was essentially part of a system/game, but the greed of her offspring coveting the shards ruined her plans and all she could do is maintain the status-quo (lock down the Erd Tree) until someone (you) came along with the ability/will to do what she couldn't. Or, perhaps it was always her plan to essentially create a gauntlet of challenges from which a hero would arise, but then that doesn't explain Radagon trying to re-forge the ring, so I have to assume her original plan failed (assuming Marika and Radagon truely share one will).
                                                                                                            This doesn't really explain why she had so many children, including with herself. Surely she created them for a purpose, but it seems all they did is either ruin her plans or act as stepping stones for the player.
                                                                                                            Maybe she was hoping one would rise to replace her? Which is what Ranni seems to do, although perhaps not in the way Marika envisaged (Ranni seemingly assassinating many of her siblings) which is what prompted the Shattering, which was either deliberate or a fit of rage/grief by Marika. i.e 'I tried to be patient but now I'm going to shatter the world & rebuild it'.

                                                                                                            I'm pretty sure the entire circumstances of the game are just Marika either trying to escape influence or rid herself of her immortality & die. She even recruited Hewg to attempt to forge a god-killing weapon which is presumably either for use on Marika herself or perhaps the Elden Beast. I don't think it would be for use on the Outer Gods as they don't have a physical presence in the world & appear to essentially be above ordinary gods (Marika)

                                                                                                            • Anonymous

                                                                                                              I always thought Radagon and Marika as an "Adam and Eve" thing. Except Marika was first and Radagon was the "rib" and when Marika Shattered the Elden Ring Radagon had to bring himself to be "one" again with Marika in order to repair it. God (The Greater Will) Created Radagon from Marika in order to enact The Greater Will's will, LOL, more efficiently. Marika to Rule from home, have Radagon spread the "good word" and conquer(at some point gives that up be with Rennala). When things go awry though with Marika, Radagon flees Rennala giving up what would have been his own life that would've been his, separate from Marika and goes back to Marika to help fix things by becoming her husband.

                                                                                                              Of course things don't go as planned and Marika essentially rebels and shatters the Elden Ring. Radagon being devout to the Greater Will tries to repair it which would mean putting himself back inside Marika becoming one again. Seeing as it how it was incomplete and too late, the Greater Will punishes Marika for her disobedience and imprisons her. Fast forward a bit and we have Us (The Tarnished) Gathering the Shards of the Ring and at some point, The 2 fingers fall silent with no guidance in our journey.

                                                                                                              This is speculation of course, once you defeat Radagon and the Elden Beast appears (which is the Elden Ring itself) and attacks you, it's doing so because The Greater will had used you the entire time to rid itself of the Demi-God's, reclaim it's shards from them and then "tests" you for your worthiness or try ruling itself through the Elden Beast, I personally go with the former, due to you becoming a new Elden Lord one in which is not just a consort this time, but a complete direct line for the Greater Will to govern through unlike Marika, who had to be split/cloned.

                                                                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                                                                Marika is the most interesting character to me, especially since we’re not really told anything about her motives. Why did she shatter the Elden Ring, despite being the vessel for the Greater Will? Why is it insinuated that she helped steal a fragment of Destined Death when she was the one who gave it to Maliketh for protection in the first place? Why did she task Hewg with crafting a god-slaying weapon? Everything seems to point to the fact that she somehow became disillusioned with the Greater Will and his envisions for the Lands Between, but why is she questioning the motives of the very entity that is keeping her in power? Did she just tire of being a god? Remorse for the things she did for the sake of the Golden Order? Maybe she felt she had given too much of herself to the Greater Will and wanted some autonomy back, even if it meant chaos in the Lands Between. Such an enigmatic figure.

                                                                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                                                                  When you find Marika for the first time, she is pinned by spears of light and bound to a rune. If you look closely, this is exactly the same as when the player's character is struck by the grab the Elden Beast uses. It pins you to a run in the air, mirroring her pose, and you are impaled with spears of light...exactly like the one that crumbles out of Marika's body at the start of the cutscene.

                                                                                                                  This seems to imply the Elden Beast is the one who crucified Marika. This also makes sense since Marika's hammer states she shattered the Elden Ring, and the Elden Beast is explained to exist as "Order incarnate", and the guardian of the Elden Ring sent down by the Greater Will "as a star" to ensure it is protected.

                                                                                                                  • Anonymous

                                                                                                                    Ok, so its pretty much given that Marika was not letting anyone inside the erdtree and become her consort as 2 fingers wanted (Morgott says this after losing and Enia says as well that 2 fingers are confused about what to do now). But i am unsure what she really wants. Does she want a new Elden Lord or not? Because Melina says her purpose (given by her mother inside the tree) is to burn erdtree, release death and clear path for a new Elden Lord. But before you can reach Marika, Gideon says none shall become elden lord and Marika has high hopes for us. So does it mean she wanted erdtree and golden order destroyed, normal death resumed and no-one becomes elden lord? Thus total removal of outer-gods influence?

                                                                                                                    • Anonymous

                                                                                                                      This whole story about "Radagon is Marika" is very confusing for me. I need some story enlightenment.

                                                                                                                      1) The text from Radagon's Icon says: "As the husband of Rennala of Caria, the red-haired Radagon studied sorcery, and as the husband of Queen Marika, he studied incantations. Thus did the hero aspire to be complete."
                                                                                                                      -> When Radagon is Marika, what is the whole point of Radagon/Marika is the husband/wife of Rennala/Godfrey? Do they (Radagon and Marika) share the same origin/soul with different types of physical forms? Is Radagon the bad half and Marika the god half? Is Marika considered to be "Mothernature" and Radagon the ruler of the "Fatherland"?

                                                                                                                      2) The text of the prologue also says that all demigods were Marika's/Radagon's offsprings, which means that Rennala and Godfrey were both mortals, which is the reason why Ranni, Radahn, Godrick and so on are Demigods (=half gods) since Marika and Radagon are Gods. Am I right?

                                                                                                                      3) The text from Marika's Hammer: "[...] The tool with which Queen Marika shattered the Elden Ring and Radagon attempted to repair it."
                                                                                                                      -> For me this implies that they both have an own will or consciousness even though they are considered as "one person in two different physical forms". But I absolutley don't understand why Marika destroyed the Elden Ring? Is it considered a sin when both Gods, Marika and Radagon, were ruling together the lands between?

                                                                                                                      4) The Age of Stars ending replaced Marika with Ranni and Radagon with the player. Does it mean that Ranni and the player are becoming basically the same as Marika and Radagon before? In this ending can we say "Player is Ranni" the same way we say "Radagon is Marika"?

                                                                                                                      This is the only game, which leaves me alone with so many open questions regarding lore.
                                                                                                                      therefore,
                                                                                                                      so alone...

                                                                                                                      lol

                                                                                                                      • Anonymous

                                                                                                                        can we talk about the red lightning that pierces their body ?
                                                                                                                        Looks like maybe dragon's red lightning, in particular Fortissax, friend of Godwynn? Maybe I gone too far, but we can discuss about the fact they are "chained" and injured?

                                                                                                                        • Anonymous

                                                                                                                          "She has many powerful Demigod offspring." I believe you mean THEY have many powerful Demigod offspring. Check yourself omg.

                                                                                                                          • Anonymous

                                                                                                                            Radagon is not Marika. It's so stupid...
                                                                                                                            There were two "families": Marika + Godrey and Rennala + Radagon.
                                                                                                                            M+G had children like Godrick or Godwyn (all starting with G) , while R+R had children like Ranni, Rykard and Radahn (all starting with R).
                                                                                                                            Radagon left Rennala to become the second Elden Lord to seek the power of both Intelligence (Raya Lucaria) and Faith (Erdtree), which is written in his Icon Talisman.

                                                                                                                            This whole "Radagon is Marika" bs absolutley makes no sense to me, because it basically means that...
                                                                                                                            1) Radagon both destroyed the Elden Ring and tried to repair it. (wtf?)
                                                                                                                            2) Radagon "called" the Tarnished to help him for nonsense reasons, because we were basically sent to kill his whole family including himself. (sure)
                                                                                                                            3) Godrick, Ranni, Radahn, Rykard and Godwyn were all siblings, but there are simply not.
                                                                                                                            4) Marika's statue was in reality always Radagon. So when we died it was him to revive as at the statue. (sure)
                                                                                                                            5) Radagon ordered Hewg the smith that he should craft a blade, which was powerful enough to kill gods. (sure)
                                                                                                                            6) Radagon was a lesbian because Rennala was his/her wife, which means all of their children were adopted.
                                                                                                                            7) Radagon left Rennala, because he wanted to "marry" Marika, which means he wanted to be his own husband and waifu. (sure)
                                                                                                                            and so on...

                                                                                                                            Please help me, what is this whole story...?

                                                                                                                            • Anonymous

                                                                                                                              When someone becomes Elden lord(like Godfrey) Marika is married to him as wife. If an Elden lord is female Marika turns into Radagon to fill husband role. However the Ertree has rejected everyone trying to claim Elden lord title because Marika(wife) used Radagon(husband) to fill those roles.

                                                                                                                              • Anonymous

                                                                                                                                Seeing as how Melania and Miquella are born both with horrible deformities denoted as curses I actually do think they might just be one person. The theory here is that because they are the same person when they bore Melania and Miquella it was essentially the same reaction from like a product of incest. Miquella was stunted and trapped in the body of a child and Melania was born with the rot.

                                                                                                                                • Anonymous

                                                                                                                                  So is there anything one way or the other to go with the idea that Marika and Radagon were originally separate beings that fused, or that they were originally one who split apart at some point?

                                                                                                                                  • Anonymous

                                                                                                                                    With all the lore speculation and such, keep one important thing in mind: Malenia and Miquella are the children of Marika and Radagon. So, at the very least, they were not always one entity.

                                                                                                                                    • Anonymous

                                                                                                                                      just a theory i believe its marika herself that prevents us from entering the erdtree, and after a while of thinking it seems pretty obvious why. when fighting Gideon he tells us "Alas, none shall take the throne. Queen Marika has high hopes for us. that we continue to struggle unto eternity." we know by now queen marika was starting to oppose the greater will and the golden order, and in the end was not in their favor. i believe gideons statement about her high hopes for us, is that we no longer need the guidance of outer gods to live. we no longer need the guidance of grace, or elden lords, or any other age that comes after the golden age. whether it be the greater will, the silent mother, or some other outer god, their rule only ever ends in tragedy in the end, and the people of the world are the ones to suffer. its also for this reason Ranni's ending is probably the best outcome. her rule as an outer god would take her order from the world, and leave the world to its own devices. they would know be able to see, or touch her rule, and it will be completely unperceivable to citizens, and they will be free of it all. it will be very much like real life. you are free to believe in any religion you wish or none at all, and there is no obvious direct influence of any of them.

                                                                                                                                      • Anonymous

                                                                                                                                        i hope if theres dlc we get to properly meet her. we already know time can be traversed and messed with in farum azula.

                                                                                                                                        • Anonymous

                                                                                                                                          I must say, reading through all the lore theories is fascinating. Just one thing that came to my mind:

                                                                                                                                          (just in case: possible Spoilers ahead)

                                                                                                                                          I find it odd that Marika and Radagon supposedly stem from the same „entity“, since they are so different in their behavior and actions. If they come from the same entity, i would assume they would both be in line with the Golden Order, which Marika obviously wasn’t in the end. Let’s assume for a moment they are both „champions“ oft the Greater Will at the beginning, but seperate characters. Both with the task to further the Greater Will’s influence over the Lands Between in their own respective ways.

                                                                                                                                          When Marika opposed the Greater Will, she was imprisoned in the Erdtree and Radagon was forced by the Greater Will to leave Renalla and go to the Erdtree.
                                                                                                                                          So now, couldn’t it be the case that Radagon and Marika were merged/mended by the Greater Will in an attempt to create the Greater Will’s perfect proxy in the Lands Between? They were merged/mended inside the Erdtree like we (depending on the ending) mended the Elden Ring?
                                                                                                                                          After all, Marika was an intelligent and capable leader, but opposed the Greater Will. Radagon was a great warrior, followed the Greater Will blindly, but maybe lacked Marika’s prowess as a ruler. The mending would be an attempt to „repair“ Marika and make her the Greater Will’s puppet once more.

                                                                                                                                          Though obviously the mending didn’t go as planned, because that merged entity is in a desolate state when we reach the Erdtree. Maybe Marika partially resisted the merging, so that the bodies were merged, but the minds were still split.
                                                                                                                                          This would also explain why the Fingers were confused, that the thorns didn’t let us pass. Maybe Marika created the thorns to imprison Radagon, the Elden Beast and thus the direct influence the Greater Will had over the Lands Between. If Marika’s ultimate interest was to sever the Greater Will from the lands between, it would mean a partial victory for her, since all the Greater Will has left at that point are the Fingers and Finger-Readers. So just indirect, limited influence.

                                                                                                                                          Regarding the state oft that merged entity inside the Erdtree, Marika also wouldn’t know the intentions the player would approach the Erdtree with, because that prison wouldn’t allow interaction with the outside world and thus the thorns wouldn’t open. At the same time, since interaction with the outside world wasn’t possible, the Greater Will might even not know the thorns are even there, it just seems like a „shut door“ from the inside. Which again would explain the confusion oft the fingers/Greater Will.

                                                                                                                                          I don’t have any specific evidence for this so far and i don’t know if this was discussed somewhere else before, so feel free to strengthen, falsify or ignore this theory.

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