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

Shadow of The Erdtree had a compelling narrative that adds so much to the lore and world of Elden Ring. However it is a winding tale with many intersecting stories that need to be dissected: The Hornsent, Marika, Miquella, Mohg, The Shamans, Messmer, Radahn and much more. In this Lore Video we attempt to explain the story and ending of the DLC in as much detail as possible.

Intro: 0:00
The Crucible: 1:57
The Hornsent: 10:31
Marika & The Shamans: 19:56
Gold and Shadow: 37:07
The Shroud: 46:10
Messmer's Crusade: 59:49
Miquella: 1:16:32
Why Does Malenia Fight Radahn?: 1:30:08
Ending Explained: 1:34:39

From the Bandai Namco Website: Guided by Miquella, players embark on a new adventure into the Land of Shadow, a world full of dark secrets hidden behind the prosperity of the Golden Order brought upon by Marika.

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Soundtrack is Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Sekiro, King's Field and Elden Ring

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[SmoughTown]

SOME COMMENTS AND AMENDMENTS:

1. I am pronouncing Scadutree wrong - I just can't get my brain to change it haha. Sorry

2. I agree with people's point re the Grandmother - she is likely the statue/remains in the Village under the tree and will revise this in future.

3. Some people disagree with my take on Radahn - that the vow was 'mutual' rather than foisted on Radahn. I am coming around to this idea, however there are issues with that as well. If I was to accept this idea, I would need to see it as a vow that was made...but broke down for some reason and thus Malenia was sent to 'collect'. I find it hard to believe that the Aeonian war was some kind of ritual send off for Radahn that was agreed on between the two parties, given hundreds of soldiers also needlessly died and an entire region was 'nuked'. Surely they should have just had a 1v1 duel if this was the case.

However I will go into more detail on both sides of this debate in future videos but thanks to everyone who has presented this alternate theory - tbh it wasn't something I had even considered.

As always continue to give me your thoughts in the comments below.

[thecommissar]

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

[jmell]

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

[smurgledarf]

The mention of Shaman flesh melding well with others makes things in the base game make so much. How did Radahn survive the Rot? How did Rykard resurface after being digested by the Great Serpent? How is Godrick's grafting possible? Because their Shaman flesh is able to take in and integrate it. Why were Messmer, Miquella, Malenia, and possibly Melina born as the incarnations of Outer Gods of Flame, Sleep, Rot, and Destined Death? It's a stretch, but it can even explain why Godwyn's body was able to live on after death, spreading and mutating as his flesh along the GreatTree roots

[betheve]

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

[AlessandroAltosoleChannel]

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

[tazlolol]

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

[Swirlyx]

My theory on Radahn being Miquella's "promised" consort is that when they were children (which we know was when Miquella first saw a lord in Radahn), Miquella asked Radahn to promise to be his lord, and Radahn agreed. But then after the Shattering, Radahn went to war, what he had always wanted, and his childhood vow was forgotten, no more than the words of an immature child. But Miquella was afflicted with eternal youth. To him, their promise was just as real when Radahn went to war as it had been all those years ago when Radahn was still a child. So, when Radahn forgot their promise, Miquella asked Malenia to wage war on Radahn so he could finally uphold his part of their childhood vow.

[Bofore]

The shadow realms pulling in all manner of death so perfectly explains Godwyn's presence in that one place. I also maintain that his corpse is becoming a sort of anti-crucible with his twisted form representing the end of all life in the lands.

[lilpudin]

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

[Mustakrakish]

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

[devondorr]

One thing I find quite interesting is that, in the DS trilogy, all things happened because gwen feared the fire would die out; and in ER a shit ton happened because Marika feared the fire would burn down her rule.

[ZarMationStudios]

Now knowing what the Greater Potentates’ job was in Bonny village gives a whole different meaning to why the little jar of Jarburg wanted someone with soft hands…

It also makes the story of the living jars even more deeply tragic. They don’t know what horrors their kind were born from - they just want to live and grow their flowers. But to Marika and her perfumers they must represent something far more disturbing.

[MachineMindDesigns]

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

[VictorIV]

I may be making a pretty bold claim here but I'll say that unlike Miquella, who mainly uses his powers to compel people into following him, Messmer inspires genuine loyalty from his followers without resorting to power or coercion despite seeming like a grim, sullen demigod who knows nothing but war and slaughter.

- Rellana renounced her royal title to swear fealty to him along with some Carian knights and sorcerers, becoming known as his loyal “Sword”.

- Commander Gaius is one of his close friends who leads his ground forces. Despite being an albinauric who would normally be shunned by the Golden Order, he remains loyal to Messmer and holds a high ranking and respected position.

- His Lordsworn soldiers and knights are devoted to him (With spirit of one going as far as being outraged that Marika has never embraced him). They've proven to be difficult enemies with many tricks up their sleeve, implying a level of training and discipline higher than even some knights in the Lands Between.

- The Fire Knights, his personal guard, came from Leyndell’s upper echelons and noble families. It's stated they didn't mind being ostracized and disowned by their noble families back in Leyndell if it meant being at their lord's side, and tried to put Messmer's flame into themselves, to show their unwavering support.

On top of all that, they did all of this knowing they’ll be shunned by society and erased from record with their deeds unsung and forced to wage an unending war without mercy or honor. They also have no real reason to stay in the Land of Shadow anymore. The Golden Order has collapsed, Queen Marika is imprisoned in the Erdtree and the Lands Between was ravaged in the Shattering, all before the Tarnished comes to kill any and all remaining demigods left. Messmer and his army could’ve deserted the Golden Order, splinter up and resort to banditry. Yet, even after all this time, Messmer’s army remained at their posts, unaware of the developments in the Lands Between, with little to no hint of any rebellion or mutiny aside from a few black knights who abandoned Messmer after discovering his “serpentine nature” and was imprisoned for it. Even after Messmer quashed their rebellion, he gave them an honorable burial and mourned for their loss.

[PrinceBilliamTheFourth]

I think I got it figured out, guys.

There used to be one single tree, the one depicted in crucible imagery and in Placidusax’s boss fight arena. Upon becoming god via the mechanism of the Divine Gate, Marika had her then-youngest child, Melina, burn the Crucible Great tree, and via some other mechanism (god power lol) literally inverted the area of Shadow Realm, including the charred remains of the Crucible tree (Scadu tree looks charred). Then, by re-arranging the runes of the Elden Ring Marika created the Golden Order (of runes in the Elden Ring), which created the golden (spirit) Erdtree, having the Scadutree as its roots (i.e., charred remains of the previous great tree).

I feel, somehow, the reason for the crusade wasn’t just vengeance, but rather that the endless rebirths of the Golden Order are ”paid for” by the never-ending slaughter in the Shadow Realm. Also, the Erdtree root system, which is the Scadutree, rebirths (or at least used to until the Elden Ring was shattered) things accepted by Golden Order back to the Lands Between, and the things rejected by it to the Shadow Realm, hence what we see therein.

Furthermore, the great sin referenced in multiple places is likely the act of burning the former Crucible Great Tree to create the Scadutree and/or the slaughter of the inhabitants of the Shadow Realm to ’feed’ the Golden Order. The roots ’feed’ a tree, the same is occurring here.

[imannam]

"the Shamans' flesh was said to meld harmoniously with others"
all I'm gonna say is maybe Godrick has more of Marika's genes than we initially assumed...

[AdamCBM]

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

[olive]

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

[FireSinger]

I think the Gloam-Eyed Queen was the Empyrean queen of the Hornsent. The trailer speaks about 'a seduction and a betrayal' on Marika's part, and clearly shows her hand taking something from a corpse that looks a lot like Godskin - we know the Gloam-Eyed Queen led the Godskin cult. I think it would have looked something like this:

- Marika, among the last of her shaman/Numen people, seduces the Gloam-Eyed Queen in the form of Radagon.
- This coupling bears two children, Messmer and Melina. Messmer has Radagon's hair, and Melina has a funky gloam-eye, as shown in the Frenzied Flame Ending.
- Marika, having made contact with the Fingers (perhaps for power to avenge her people?), receives her shadow from the Greater Will: Maliketh.
- The 'betrayal' is Marika using Maliketh to kill the Gloam-Eyed Queen.

The linking piece of evidence is the Godslayer's Greatsword, which we know was the Gloam-Eyed Queen's personal weapon. And it's indisputably a spiral, the sacred symbol of the Hornsent. Presumably, what Marika is seen taking from the Queen's corpse is the Rune of Death.

Maybe I'm lost in the sauce, I dunno.