Shadow Of The Erdtree - Tumblr Posts - Page 2

More observations for the trailer I am going insane!!!

I can't claim the original observation of this candle tree detail is mine, but it's from a Japanese Twitter user, here's a screenshot of the post and a link to it as well [x]

The rest of this observation IS mine though, so let's get to it:

With all the talk of cardinal sin, Messmer having a few parallels to Lucifer as pointed out by some friends of mine [x] I have to wonder if he is the cause of a speculated first burning of the Erdtree.

If this is the first time you have heard about this concept, I'll give a short summary. You know how Leyndell is covered in ash by the time we reach it in-game, and how that goes unexplained? We know for a fact that must be the Erdtree's ashes because after we claim the Rune of Death and the Erdtree burns even more, the capital is entombed in it.

We are also told that the Age of Plenty, an age in which the Erdtree gave physical blessings from its sacred sap, swiftly came to a close and the tree had to be changed to simply an object of faith...

So the theory claims that the reason why the Age of Plenty ended so swiftly was due to the Erdtree being set on fire. In theory spaces, the go-to culprit for this speculated action has often been the Gloam-Eyed Queen, with her connections to fire (Blackflame specifically) and Destined Death, but now there's the possibility that this was all Messmer's doing after all. Promotional material and dialogue seems to really denote his affinity for scorching and setting things ablaze.

This probably also means he is the inventor of that scary flame construct that according to Miyazaki as per this interview [x] was an old war machine, no doubt used during this "unsung battle".

Another important part of Messmer's design is the two snakes, which point us back to the Age of Plenty! Godfrey likely ruled during and directly after that time, and the arenas were likely built because of him. It had to be during Godfrey's rule because by the time Radagon became Elden Lord the practices of the colosseums had died down, as told to us by the Ritual Sword and Shield Talismans:

One of the more interesting aspects of the gladiatorial battles that once took place is the snake symbolism on the gladiators' armor.

So the snake was a symbol of a generic "traitor to the Erdtree", and it predated Rykard's blasphemy by an entire age at least... so what if it wasn't generic at all and it represented Messmer himself? He might have been the perpetrator of a betrayal so foul that Marika removed all traces of his existence from her empire's history, but kept the symbol of the snake as a spiteful reminder of him and all other subsequent traitors. After all, she does seem to have power over which one of her children gets remembered or not, and if not her, then the collective of the Golden Order:

Do note that we don't know when she said this. It could have been while she was still at the height of her rule or right before the Shattering. What we do know for a fact is that the soulless demigods inside the Walking Mausoleums have no known history to speak of, which is quite unlike Godwyn, one of the more accomplished members of the family. So yeah, being forgotten by history might be something the Golden Order does to those they deem unfit, so Messmer could be a likely candidate for such treatment... except instead of doing nothing noteworthy he did TOO much lol.

Now I gotta wonder if Marika hated him more or less than her Omen babies. One could argue that locking them down in a sewer close to where she lives was done more as an obligation than any true resentment. She could have sent them to the Shadow Lands if she really wanted them gone and unaccessible, as that place seems filled with Crucible-related things...

I am not saying she was a good mother to them because she didn't kick them to the Shadow Lands, but perhaps she DID have some small affection for them that she really couldn't follow through with.

Of course, maybe she just couldn't banish them anymore after banishing Messmer for whatever reason (maybe she cut-off a connection to that realm?). However, the most likely possibility is that he WAS known like the many soulless demigods and that Mohg and Morgott predate him. It's just that while those two were born undesirable through no fault of their own and were thus only hidden away, he BECAME undesirable which was worse in Marika's eyes so he gets the extra banishment and the removal of all of his history... there are so many possibilities...

The Land of Shadow. A place obscured by the Erdtree. Where the goddess Marika first set foot. A land purged in an unsung battle. Set ablaze by Messmer’s flame. It was to this land that Miquella departed. Divesting himself of his flesh, his strength, his lineage. Of all things Golden. -E L D E N R I N G : Shadow of the Erdtree (21.06.2024)

Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree

— Mother, wouldst thou truly lordship sanction in one so bereft of light?

Sir Messmer

Messmer, the Impaler

Do you think she'd accept mediocre trans girl? Asking for a friend

Huge fan of this design I'm glad people seem to have decided this is how Rellana looks

Rellana, Twin Moon Knight (HC)

🐺🐰

rellana and my tarnished

I was not expecting her questline to go this route

I was in an xbox party with people who had already beat the dlc while fighting this thing and I went "I swear to god if there's a 3rd one I am going to scream" and the entire party fell silent and in that moment I knew I was fucked

drew my accurate experience with the scadutree avatar

Meeting St Trina

As weak as a kitten and as thick as two planks of wood 😴

I had several big reveals spoiled for me today, so I'm coping by diving head first into the lore and theories.

Theory: Messmer's timeline and story will only make sense if you consider him Marika's beloved firstborn

Aka, welcome to my doomed Mother & Son presentation slide 🔥🫡

This is written with the assumption that readers are aware of the big reveal regarding Marika's past.

(spoilers for SoTE and long discussion from Messmer’s birth to his final moment)

edit to add this dialogue from Gideon:

"Spoken echoes linger here. Shall I share them with you?

In Marika's own words. 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. Amounting only to sacrifices..."

So I've been getting really deep into Elden Ring again. Almost finished the DLC, but struggling with the area right before the final boss. I promise I'm only a little tiny bit salty about the complete lack of lore regarding Melina's relationship with any of Marika's (other) children.

Oh well.

Art be upon ye.

I wrote down the basic background of my baby Marika AU! 💐

All art done with this setting will be tagged as er reverse parenting AU