#erwset

[tlgtw]

Bits and pieces of the still incredibly written backstory of Elden Ring continue to poke out from the dogwater, as it were.

St. Trina, as we learn, was a specific aspect of Miquella that was made separate: In Miquella's words, St Trina was the embodiment of his 'love.' And when he abandoned St Trina, he abandoned that aspect of himself that made her.

This newly introduced example reveals to us what the nature of Radagon's exactly was, in turn.

Radagon, the 'other half' of Marika in the exact same way that St Trina had been for Miquella, we learn here, had *himself* been a specific singular aspect of Marika's emotions or feelings.

With St Trina having been made out of Miquella's 'love.'

You wonder, too, what Radagon should have been made from.

What aspect of herself did Marika separate into her second person, as called by her the "Loyal Dog of the Golden Order"? We know Radagon was created prior to the creation of the Golden Order itself, since he was involved in the invasion of Liurnia.

So at the same time as Marika was married to Godfrey, begetting Godwyn and Mogh and Morgott. Radagon was married to Renalla, begetting Rykard and Radahn and raising the potential successor of Marika--the Empyrean Ranni. He was given a massive amount of responsibility, the seeming crux of the Liurnian-Leyndell alliance that ended the Liurnian Wars that Marika's empire was losing, and he by every account was completely dedicated and successful; even weakening the strength of the Carian royal family by reducing their practicing of astrology.

All yet, when push came to shove: After Godwyn was assassinated and Marika sought to destroy the Elden Ring. It was Radagon who dropped everything he had and stepped in to stop her.

"Proudly" as his Golden Order Greatsword says,

Radagon divorced his first wife, married his 'original self,' begettedthe Twin Prodigies Miquella and Malenia as two more potential successors to Queen Marika, set up the brutal inquisition and censorship of the Age of Radagon headed by his own son Rykard, and was even involved with the very the development of Golden Order fundamentalism!

Radagon did so much fucking stuff! He was so damn proactive! So what exactly must he have been!?

That Marika initially separated from herself? And who went on to try and stop her very own plans when they turned against the wishes of the Greater Will??

This conflicting 'half' of her original person! That nonetheless was all this strongly willed on his own!?

What part of Marika COULD Radagon have originally been!?!?!?

And it's awesome. It's really really well-designed writing.

Frankly, even, it's genius. It's not anything revolutionary in terms of narrative devices or anything like that, but it's really elegant. It's really meaningful and concise, and it's really cool!!!

A lot of Elden Ring's base game is, or now maybe--was. (It having been the basis of my entire show on YouTube.)

But the actual story, instead of solely the backstory, of the DLC, unfortunately, is not!

You ever seen a boss item whose entire description was literally entirely the game just fucking QUOTING ITSELF?

Hyetta at Frenzied Flame Proscription: "Become their lord. Take their torment, despair. Their affliction. Every sin, every curse. And melt it all away. As the Lord of Chaos."

Ghost outside Church of Inhibition in Liurnia: "Ahh, Lord Vyke, it seems that you were no lord, after all."

Midras's Flame of Frenzy, from killing Midras, Lord of Frenzied Flame:

Or! Better yet, ANOTHER boss spell, whose entire description is dedicated to literally just acknowledging its fucking colour!!

Land of Shadows, from killing the Scadutree Avatar:

I definitely sure wish I still hadn't!!

In fact, I don't think the level of vacuousness from Shadow of the Erdtree's descriptions has ever been seen before!

Not even in Dark Souls 3!!

AUGH

[tlgtw]

A note on this mystery Great Rune; it probably isn't Miquella's.

This comes from how the shapes of Great Runes are determined in the story.

"Mohg and Morgott are twin brothers, and their Great Runes are naturally similar." As Mogh's Great Rune tells us, that your genes are relevant towards determining the shape of your Great Rune. And that those who are directly related will have Great Runes that are similar in shape.

And by looking at all the Great Runes we have, for direct siblings, this is consistently true:

Mogh:

Morgott:

Sharing BOTH parents = Great Runes that are the exact same shape: A full circle with with a line across the middle.

Rykard:

Radahn:

Sharing BOTH parents = Great Runes that are the exact same shape: A full circle with a line across the left.

A demigod's parentage determining the appearance of their Great Rune is further reinforced by whose Great Runes we see being similar, but *not* exactly the same. Instead, these are the Runes of demigod's who are half-siblings.

Rykard, son of Radagon and Renalla:

Malenia, daughter of Radagon/Marika:

Sharing ONE parent = Great Runes that are very similar in shape: A full circle with a line across the left VS a full circle with a line up the right.

Taking account of this helps us connect other errant dots along the story. (Such as how Ranni's rune, the Rune of the Unborn having the exact same shape as Malenia's expresses that genetically, their parentage is identical--confirming that Ranni was indeed an Empyrean as she says.) Much of which is as covered in my show, if you have any questions regarding the Rune of the Unborn.

But for here, specifically it relates to the mystery Great Rune we see in the Shadow of the Erdtree's gameplay trailer.

As Miquella is Malenia's twin brother, he obviously shares BOTH parents with her = His Great Rune has the exact same shape as hers: A full circle with a line up the right.

As for our mystery Rune:

It is a broken circle with a line across the right, with a cross in the middle.

Rather than a direct sibling of Malenia's, the owner of this Mystery Great Rune is genetically more than likely a half-sibling. Similar to Rykard, and yielding a Great Rune that as we see, is very similar, but not exactly the same.

The broken circle and the cross in the middle are also elements to a Great Rune that are totally unique. And bear no apparent connection to any other known demigods' parents. (Godfrey--ancestor to Mogh and Morgott, Rennala--ancestor to Rykard and Radahn, Godwyn--ancestor to Godefroy and Godrick)

Because of this, the owner of our Mystery Rune will more than likely be completely unrelated to the rest of our currently-known demigods, other than by their direct descending from Marika.

On account of the still-very similar shape, (a broken circle with a line across the right) it can probably be assumed that at least one of this runebearer's parents is indeed Marika/Radagon. (Making them half-sibling, at minimum, to Rykard and Malenia.)

All that can be said for now, is that this Runebearer isn't Miquella.

Miquella's Great Rune (when we see it) will have the exact same shape as Malenia's does.

And if I had to legit make a guess as to who this guy's Great Rune is. I'd bet that it's Messmer the Impaler's. Which is... probably the same as everyone else.

[tlgtw]

I am inconsolable.

That "the DLC's story could end up being bad" was not a possibility I had even remotely prepared for.

The standard was set by the base game's writing. And the base game wasn't rushed out in only two years.

God's why did they not just delay it....

[tlgtw]

Another WIP for the cover for the soon-to-be-released Issue #2 of the Official Fanclub's Kinda-Monthly Newsletter. Augh if only my wrist didn't hurt I would probably be able to finish it right now...!!

[tlgtw]

You can just make out her boob from behind in this shot so this figure is definitely Marika herself.

[tlgtw]

A new promotional image has been released.

I will not be able to include it in the upcoming video, unfortunately.

But, I currently bet 80 million dollars that this guy is Godwyn, Prince of Death.

[tlgtw]

"Yeah I've had them this whole time, what do you mean?"

With Birth Month over, the next episode of my show to which this lovely woman belongs, Elden Ring Explained with Snake-Eyes Teieruji, is now in production.

---

If you're interested in downloading the Full-Res of this image, you can find it available to Full Members of my OF: https://ko-fi.com/i/IG2G5RUKA5

[tlgtw]

This is also the same area we saw Miquella standing in in the final scene of the gameplay trailer.

[tlgtw]

Once again, I have begun slowly reforming myself from the puddle I melted into in response to the Elden Ring DLC having a really bad story and writing.

It only took me like a week and a half this time I'm getting faster.

[tlgtw]

-- Why Did Godfrey's Campaign End Before Caelid? --

Hello,

A safe bet, it will be, I believe, that the eventual Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring will take place in Caelid.

For one, judging by the relative location of the 'Shadow of the Erdtree' itself to where we see Miquella. That Shadow is a far distance forward and to the left.

Comparing spots from the game's map, the only regions that reasonably allow for this kind of angle are Caelid, and the Southern half of Liurnia.

Since Miquella himself is currently *under* Caelid, that should make the Wilds more likely out of the two.

The secondary reason is the real-life one: Will it really be that FromSoft WON'T show us what Caelid originally looked like? A place whose pieces on the map are made to look damaged, and where its entire character as a region is that it was defaced by the Scarlet Rot!?

I will be shocked if it is...!

And with this proposal in mind, I think there's a lot to be considered regarding the region of Caelid as it originally was.

To start, there is a considerable amount of evidence that Caelid was originally a desert. Alike to the ones in the Southern US or Australia.

The dead ordinary trees in Caelid find their match in Faram Azula:

By the Faram Greatbridge and the Bestial Sanctum it is shown that Faram had had a direct presence in Caelid, so this itself makes sense.

So of note is the kinds of trees themselves found growing in Caelid in the first place. Gnarled and with thin leaves, a friend @slavonicrhapsody described them as alike to trees like mesquite trees. And I think they're right.

Not that the trees in Caelid and Faram Azula are *literally* mesquite trees. (Though imagine if something so specific was ever actually revealed lmao) but that they're like mesquite trees: They're evolved to survive in an arid region.

Also found (everywhere) in the Lands Between are tumbleweeds. Those things are fucked up. And since they're *there*, certainly, they've had to originally come from *somewhere,* right? Why not Caelid? It would fit with the other trees we see.

And, for these trees and tumbleweeds, the only way it would make sense for them to have come from Caelid would be, if the region hadn't originally been a swamp.

The shores of the Swamp of Aeonia are, notably for a swamp, made of yellow sand. If we compare similar shores, assuming that the Swamp of Aeonia was originally a lake--with Caelid being at a similar elevation to both of these place, as well as being directly connected to Limgrave, this proves unique.

The same brown mud texture is used for the shores of both Liurnia Lake and Agheel Lake.

And anyway real swamps aren't made out of sand in the first place. Nor are they yellow. They're made out of like black peat and stuff from all the organic material that dissolves in them.

Caelid, however, only yellow sand all the into the Heart of Aeonia.

Yellow sand, by the way, comes from the iron in it being exposed to the air and oxidizing. Dry beaches and deserts, where exposure to the air happens a lot, are thus where sand is yellow all the time. But in a SWAMP...!? That's exactly where soil touching oxygen DOESN'T happen!!

The muck you're traversing when making Torrent deal with the Swamp of Aeonia are the polluted remnants of a destroyed desert! As if the very scarlet rot nuked out by Malenia is terraforming the land into an environment optimized for that rot to propagate. Exactly alike as to what we see's been done to the Altus Plateau. (As shown in Episode 1 of Elden Ring Explained with Snake-Eyes Teieruji)

The caves in Caelid are also unambiguously filled with sand.

Which is perhaps a little more obvious.

With the question of *why* Caelid *would* be a desert, in the first place, having a very easy excuse: The Dragonbarrow!

Of extra note is how the map item for the area tells us that the Dragonbarrow is merely it's *new* name on account of Greyoll staking her claim over it in response to the Scarlet Rot.

So we don't actually know what the region's original name was.

But what the "plateau to Caelid's north" *would* do, would be casting it in its rainshadow. As seen when we're there, the Dragonbarrow has rain like all the fucking time, has a larger amount and concentration of trees there, and is the only spot in Caelid where there's a natural body of water. (The pond where you actually find the map item in)

*By* its elevation, then, the Dragonbarrow would've been the landform depriving Caelid of moisture in the first place.

With what rain the lower region did get being funneled into the likes of this Grand Canyon instead!

So that's what Caelid had been! An arid desert of yellow sands and tumbleweeds. Appropriate, perhaps, if the Regalia of Eochaid being only accessible through the Gaol Cave indicates the the long-gone realm of Eochaid itself, a region of "proud solitary ascetics" as Elemer's equipment informs us, was originally in Caelid!

Maliketh is also from New Mexico, although that's for unrelated reasons.

Recall also how Godfrey's campaign involved the invasions of Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula, but stopped right at the edge of Caelid: As the Sword Memorial near Smoldering Church outright tells us:

"Lord Godfrey, at last at the end of his campaign His golden armies unvanquished and unbowed Yet finds grace lost, tattered and faded"

What was his problem with Caelid!? Why was his campaign finished *before* Caelid? He'll kill everyone in Limgrave and the fucking Weeping Peninsula but not the same for here? Why didn't Marika's empire want Caelid!? Was it just not good enough for them to be worth it?

With the answer to be proven seeming "yes, it wasn't."

Caelid itself is referred to as the "Caelid Wilds" multiple times across the game. Further referring to how it was ignored during the Age of the Erdtree.

Understanding Caelid to have originally been an arid desert, it's easy to presume why. Why forsake so much money and men to control an oversized region not likely to have been unified like Limgrave and Liurnia were, that was also just a bunch of sand!

Right!?

If so, then. With Caelid *being* a desert. That during the time of Godfrey, was seen as not worth subjugating.

What changed for when Radahn came there?

All of the information we're currently given about Radahn are of when he became the Starscourge during the course of the Shattering. But as we hear from the intro cutscene to Morgott's boss fight, it was *when* Radahn became the Starscourge, that he was *already* a General.

Ostensibly, the Red Lion General earned his title from his activity in Caelid. So,

like,

what did he do there?

What *was* there, *for* him to do, even?

That was evidently *not* there, worth doing, during the time that Godfrey himself had actually been Elden Lord?

The only other place we find the skulls of giants is in Caelid, after all...!?

So when the DLC is finally released, I'm very keen on what we'll find out about Radahn and his "younger days."

...

...

...

Oh yeah and the place we fight Radahn in is called the Wailing Dunes. "Dunes," for a place that is ginormous enough (it's literally bigger than Southern Caelid) that it's obviously not just a beach.

A more thorough view of what Caelid holds (the Formless Serpents, for one.) will be shown in a future episode of ERwSET.

In the meanwhile, email me questions to answer in the OF's Kinda-Monthly Newsletter! I've only gotten 2, and decent questions they are, sure, but I want more...!!

You can find my email in the pinned post of this blog.

Any topic! Whatsoever! And don't forget to sign yourself off with a pen-name, too.

I'll Be Yours,

T-L-G-T-W

[tlgtw]

Have to admit I appreciate how I recieved literally 0 pushback towards identifying Miniature Ranni as Ranni's Phone. Everyone seems to just take it and accept it, and I'm glad.

[tlgtw]

Gideon's Scepter. And Gideon himself

This is an excerpt from the article "Excerpts from Snake-Eyes's Diary (Observations That Didn't Make it into the Show)" from Issue #0 of the Kinda-Monthly Newsletter. Available here: https://ko-fi.com/post/Official-Fanclub-Members-Only-Kinda-Monthly-Newsle-T6T0QZG87

As a reminder, the massive 90-page Issue #1 of the Kinda-Monthly Newsletter is free for all, and includes the supplementary article "ERwSET; What Exactly are the Demihumans? (And All That Entailed)" is available for all, for free. If you enjoyed my powers from my YouTube show, you will enjoy these as well: https://ko-fi.com/post/Official-Fanclub-Members-Only-Kinda-Monthly-Newsle-W7W2YN36Q

---

"The pearl stands for the world, the heavens, and an eye, representing the many forms of knowledge, never fully attainable."

"The world, the heavens, and an eye" by the by representing; - that which objectively exists--the world. - That which subjectively exists--the heavens. - And the individual conscious by which a person can observe such things' existences--the eye.

The world and the heavens being the many forms of knowledge, and the single eye, of Gideon being merely a single person, being why it'll never be fully attainable. If Gideon wasn't a fucking idiot he'd remember that there exist these things called 'schools.' Where more than one person is involved in the pursuit of learning things. But this is, of course, the fatal flaw by which Gideon's character is defined. It's so beyond his comprehension to act in any kind of cooperative, non-transactional way, that in response to you getting Nepheli the throne in Limgrave, he apologizes for 'the hassle' you took to do it, and literally nothing else. As if, in some roundabout way, you were helping Nepheli for Gideon's sake--cause Gideon's obviously the most useful person you know, instead of just helping Nepheli for her own sake, because she's a hot babe your friend. The same as it is with Ensha. Upon being killed by you, Gideon doesn't even give a shit. "As his master, I'd like to express my regret. But now, Ensha is slain and gone. Finished, forever more." Ensha (or, more specifically, the 'unspeaking adherent of Sir Gideon the All-Knowing' wearing the armour made from, this guy who was called Ensha.)'s goal was to get the Haligtree medallions. He failed. And that's the end of that. People are considered like gamepieces, to Gideon, with him being the most valuable piece of them all, and 'a player' all to himself. With the player-character, our Tarnished, incidentally, becoming the one exception to this at the end: The first time, and the last time, that Gideon considers if his mantle of the 'all-knowing' could possibly be shared. In this way, Gideon Ofnir can perhaps represent the 'patriarchal academic.' A name I just made up. Whose personal impetus for learning about the world is, effectively, to just more totally control it.

Gideon talks of aiming to learn everything, but without telling us why. I think, however, the reason why is clear, when we see what happens to Gideon upon finally learning something he was not equipped to face. "Knowledge begins with the recognition of one's ignorance. The realization that the search for knowledge is unending. But when Gideon glimpsed into the will of Queen Marika, he shuddered in fear. At the end that should not be." With the end of the Elden Ring would be the end of the Lands Between as we know it. The paradigm of the continent itself, and maybe even the entire planet, would be completely different, without the dictating magic of the Erdtree over it. No more Erdtree or Elden Ring-related incantations, no more Runes, no more Grace. What Gideon learned, that he was not able to handle emotionally, was the prospect of change. Something whose existence he could not fathom. But since he's supposed to be All-Knowing, if he can't fathom it, that must mean, it itself, is not possible. (This being the reason why it's 'should not’ instead of 'could not.’ The sentiment is specifically Gideon's opinion.) Out of desperation thus he concludes--and prominently, incorrectly concludes--that the task itself is just simply impossible. The whole Tarnished quest was a farce, "a man cannot kill a god," and the rest of his whining as we know. And as we also know. That old man gets fuckin' owned!!

Reason for Exclusion: Was replaced with the thing at the start of Episode 2. Which fit better with the rest of the content of that episode.

[tlgtw]

"Malenia Remembrance Decoder"

Video's nowhere near done yet but a couple of the diagrams for it are done and this one in particular was designed specifically to accomodate screencaps of it anyway.

The diagram I don't doubt does speak for itself--especially in lieu of my original failure of properly addressing the topic of how Empyreans are defined in Episode 1. So just take it now as well lol.

Send it to arguments on Discord! Send it to arguments on Reddit!

And whatever response you get, when they ask "Yeah so who's exactly the smart alek supposed to have made this, huh!?"

Send them to me.

And also, just in case: Yes. The Remembrance's description is accurately translated from Japanese.

[tlgtw]

Release: Issue #2 of the T-L-G-T-W Official Fanclub Members-Only Kinda Monthly Newsletter

Available for all OF members pledging 3$ or more. This issue of the Kinda-Monthly Newsletter includes the following:

The Nature of the Investigation and the Shadow of the Erdtree

"In the words of Italo Calvino..." ERwSETii First Potential Idea"

Excerpts from my Sketchbook

Excerpts from this Issue:

My worst fear has been realized. A fear so primal and evil that I did not realize I had had it. Until it was far too late.

The Shadow of the Erdtree’s story and writing are bad.

---

I am tearing my hair out. I am malding. There is smoke streaming out from my ears and the acidity of my tears are burning holes through my desk chair. I’m honestly at a loss, as to what to do from here...

---

...Etc. etc. the basegame’s story was good the DLC’s story is bad boohoo. BUT. There are still things there. A lot of people, in fact, do still love the DLC. And it isn’t solely for the gameplay. What FromSoft remains good at, even in its worst of times (and these are its worst of times) is… atmosphere. Cool-looking places, cool-looking people. Even what looks like its supposed to be a cool-looking story. Made of mist, maybe, but that mist… There is a way to use that mist. Something evocative. Based in the evocative. More narrative. More personal, that’s what it is! That’s what I have to do. I have to develop something that’s more personal...

---

Ranni has eyebrows in this drawing. But her actual model—she doesn’t have eyebrows.

Did anyone notice that? I never noticed it at all. Like, what the heck? Are they not in-fashion among the nobility of The Lands Between or something?

I thought Zorayas didn’t have eyebrows as well actually, but it turns out no; she was just blonde. (Very tragic)

[tlgtw]

Going to see about releasing Issue 2 of the Newsletter early next week. It'll still be a few whiles off before I'll have even begun production of ERwSETII, but I need to draw some lines in the sand after... the reckoning...

[tlgtw]

I'm this close to posting my Mt Leyndell video on Reddit but I'm scared because I don't want the commenters on the post will try to talk to to me...!

Oh the humanity!!