#arghanthy guardian of the flame

[catcas22]

what do you think the thief of the forge fire was planning to do.

Hm, let's take a look at the evidence.

His description:

The monks came to the land of Liurnia in pursuit of a fugitive who stole their fire.

His signature spell:

This legendary incantation is one of several that draws directly from the power of the Fire Giants. Releases a ball of raging fire said to be inhabited by a fell god. The fireball floats toward enemies and explodes, setting the area ablaze. Arghanthy, the chief guardian of the Flame, had kept this incantation a well-kept secret until it was stolen by Adan. The fell god still lurks within the Fire Giants.

And his armor appears to be an altered Fire Prelate Set, the armor worn by high-ranking fire monks.

Between the armor and the fact that he had access to Arghanthy, who lives on an isolated mountaintop, I'm led to believe that Adan is a former fire monk.

Two more descriptions, from the Fire Monk Set:

The grotesque face sculpted on the chest is said to depict the corrupt ancient god of the flame.

Taboos transform into lasting obsessions by virtue of the fear that they inspire.

And the Black Flame Monk Set:

The Blackflame Monks, enthralled by the god-slaying black flame, became traitors, abandoning their posts as guardians. The seduction of a taboo is never easily spurned.

There seems to be a pattern of those left to guard the flame being enthralled by it. Although the Fire Monks are presumably Golden Order aligned, they bear the mark of the Fell God and worship his Flame of Ruin. I wouldn't rule out the possibility that there's something inherent in the Flame, something almost sapient, that lures in those who gaze into it for too long.

My best guess is that while the Fire Monks built up their own isolated sect based around guarding/worshiping the flame, Adan reacted a bit more strongly. He was so enthralled that he tried to snatch the Flame for himself and run off. I don't think he even had a solid plan. I think it was just sort of a Gollum moment.

[yournextflame]

Gods and Deities of the Lands Between

My first attempt to sort out different gods and godike beings of Elden Ring. I used Japanese txt archive as English translation sometimes is questionable at best or misses some very important nuances.

外なる神 - outer god 

古き神 - ancient god 

神 - god, vessel for an outer god, an ancient god or the Elden Ring 

神人 - Empyrean (literally “god-person”)

デミゴッド - demigod (written in katakana, doesn't use the kanji for god)

Known outer gods: Formless Mother (Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear), unknown god of Twinbirds (The twinbird is said to be the envoys of the outer god in the description of Kite Shield), outer god of Rot (Scorpion's Stinger)

Known ancient gods: Flame of Frenzy (Fingerprint Stone Shield), ancient god of Rot (Blue Dancer Charm), Fell God (Fire Monk set)

Nowhere in either script is the Greater Will identified as an outer god, same with Ranni’s Dark Moon, Rennala’s Full Moon or Nox’s Black Moon

Known gods: Vessels of the Elden Ring - Marika, Placidusax‘s Sovereign, Malenia as Goddess of Rot  腐敗の女神, Radagon at the end of the game

Marika is the god of current age, age of the Erdtree, and she is the vessel of the Elden Ring

The Golden Order is founded on the principle that Marika is the one true god (c) brother Corhyn

黄金律は、女王マリカを唯一の神とする律です。それなのに…

Placidusax‘s Sovereign

The Dragonlord whose seat lies at the heart of the storm beyond time is said to have been Elden Lord in the age before the Erdtree. Once his god was fled, the lord continued to await its return

時の狭間、嵐の中心に座す竜王は 黄金樹の前史、エルデの王であったという だが神は去り、王は帰還を待ち続けていた  

Yes, Placidusax‘s god wasn’t an outer god 外なる神 or an ancient god 古き神, it was a host of the Elden Ring, the same kind of god 神 as Marika. Most likely it ruled during the age of Crucible.

It seems like all kind of deities need an avatar (Empyrean/god) to manifest their power in the Lands Between.

Known Empyreans: Ranni, Miquella, Malenia, Marika/Radagon, Gloam-Eyed Queen; questionable - Placidusax’s Sovereign must be an Empyrean to become a vessel later, which opens an interesting possibility that not only humans can be chosen as Empyreans

Ranni, Miquella and Malenia belong to the new generation of Empyreans:

Worth noting that Ranni uses phrase “coming age”, considering that Placi’s god was replaced by Marika, it’s very possible that Marika’s age was coming to an end as well, but that’s a topic for a different post.

Marika’s and Radagon’s scarseals have the same description: these seals represent the lifelong duty of those chosen by the gods

Description of Black Flame Ritual: the Gloam-Eyed Queen led the apostles. It is said that she was an Empyrean chosen by the Fingers (questionable: Two or Three?)

(Interesting that all current Empyreans are fathered by Radagon, but nothing suggests that Marika and GEQ were relatives)

Questionable: everything about Fell God

それは、女王マリカが討ち取ったとされる かつて巨人たちが祀った悪神である

Once worshipped by the giants, this evil deity is believed to have been slain by Queen Marika ( One-Eyed Shield)

This description contradicts with the description of Glame of the Fell God

Arghanthy, the chief guardian of the Flame, had kept this incantation a well-kept secret until it was stolen by Adan. The fell god still lurks within the Fire Giants

それは、アダンが盗み出した 監視者の長、アーガンティの秘匿である 悪神は、火の巨人の内に、今も隠れている

it is said that Fell God was slain by Marika, but somehow is still alive. Both descriptions are using Fell God  悪神, but Firemonks Armor uses 火の巨人 Fire Giants, while One-Eyed Shield only mentions Giants  巨人.

Possible solution: the legend about Marika is a lie, Marika defeated a vessel of the Fell God, but not the Feel God himself, Elden Ring lore is a mess

Questionable: Serpent deity Eiglay is written 蛇神, but the Rykard’s Great Serpent is  大蛇. 

Interesting fact: Radahn is called the War God 戦神 in Japanese, but it’s used as a monicker, people simply respect his strength.

Questionable: maybe “ancient god” is just a different way to call outer gods, or it’s a hint that outer gods weren’t always “outer” to the Lands Between

Common misconception №1: the Greater Will is antagonistic to the outer gods

Malenia’s Great Rune is part of the Elden Ring, Order of Rot 腐敗の律 is still an Order 律. The concept of Order 律 is the key point of the Greater Will. The Greater Will is antagonistic to the Flame of Frenzy, which represents Chaos.

Common misconception №2: Ranni’s ending Age of the Stars bans the outer gods or the Greater Will

Description of Memory Stone:

Said to be a fragment of the black moon that once hung above the Eternal City

Description of Moon of Nokstella:

This talisman represents the lost black moon. The moon of Nokstella was the guide of countless stars

Guess what happened with the Nox, despite worship of the black moon and stars

Long ago, the Nox invoked the ire of the Greater Will, and were banished to the shadow realm deep underground

That’s not counting a giant Lake of Rot in Nox ruins. Guys were double-teamed by both Greater Will and outer gods.

Now cometh the age of the stars. A thousand year voyage under the wisdom of the Moon

Ranni minimizes the influence of the Order for 1000 years, she doesn’t remove it entirely and forever like the Flame of Frenzy, nor she does anything with the outer gods (it’s Miquella’s goal to banish them), she simply brings Order of the Chill Night 冷たい夜の律 until the next coming age.

Conclusion: no god rules forever.

[elden-ring-item-descriptions]

Flame of the Fell God

This legendary incantation is one of several that draws directly from the power of the Fire Giants.

Releases a ball of raging fire said to be inhabited by a fell god. The fireball floats toward enemies and explodes, setting the area ablaze.

Arghanthy, the chief guardian of the Flame, had kept this incantation a well-kept secret until it was stolen by Adan. The fell god still lurks within the Fire Giants.