Compared to any other band of warriors, the Company of the Fallen Hawk stand out as peculiar. Dressed in not even the meagerest of protection, save maybe a helmet, you would hardly expect them to make for much of an army. True enough, descriptions of their ashes deem the naked soldiers as “immature” with how they wildly goad enemies with their war cries or shield bashes and attack with reckless abandon. Still, they make full use of group tactics, the spirits in those ashes coordinating with each other to set up a wall of greatshields or unleash a barrage of arrows. They no doubt have some training as a professional army, even if afforded barely the metal to slice and guard with. And yet, this military unit is comprised of slaves, no different from misbegotten. Training and arming bondsmen has its risks, though these soldiers look to have been conditioned like gladiators — the uniform gashes on their head suggesting torture with a head crusher or similar device. That might explain why they look to receive the bare minimum, but it doesn’t clarify why they haunt the underground of all places.

The soldier corps was last ordered to explore the Eternal Cities. Besides Nokron, where we can witness the Fallen Hawk soldiers in person, (the same for Noklateo in Elden Ring: Nightreign) they have also made their presence known in Nokstella. Just as the former has a corpse carrying the greatshield soldier ashes, the latter has their archer ashes. Both Nokron and Nokstella too have mimic tears take the form of the Fallen Hawks’ naked form and unique shields, implying personal experience — more so than with trolls, which get mimicked the once. There are also bizarre signs of destruction in the two cities. The destruction in Nokron already exists before the meteor falls on Mistwood, so we can exclude it as a cause. Visitors’ lanterns likewise lay around the rubble, leaving no doubt that outsiders swept through this destruction, which has even collapsed infrastructure connecting Night’s Sacred Ground to the rest of the capital. And there, searching the rubble, collecting dewkissed herba among other things, are the Fallen Hawks. The Nox have come into conflict with these underground explorers, suffering serious damage as a result.

The company have been on this mission from their master for some time. When touring the Siofria River below Nokron, we inevitably come across large wooden platforms and bridges designed to climb the Ancient Dynasty ruins leading into the capital. We further obtain a medium shield bearing the company’s inverted hawk crest from a corpse encamped further downriver. Altogether, it is clear that the soldiers first tried looking for ways to reach the city, like Blaidd does for Ranni at present. One of their hair-brained schemes was to build a way up the ruins, even traveling with a nomadic merchant at one point. But they ultimately gave up on the plan, allowing Ancestral Followers to overrun it whilst abandoning their companion losing himself to the mad flame. Instead, they apparently found alternative ways of reaching Nokron, and the same for Nokstella. (not to mention Noklateo, as Nightreign later reveals) This has been a lengthy operation and is still ongoing.

Metal-made medium shield. Easy to handle compared to a kite shield.

The inverted hawk is the crest of a corps of slaves who were ordered to explore the Eternal Capitals.

But who do these slaves serve, where do they come from, and why press them to search for the Eternal Cities? The answer to the first two questions might be surmised from their crest. The image of a hawk turned upside down, as if dropping straight out of the sky, is an obvious symbol for proud warriors degraded to slave soldiers. And when it comes to that animal specifically, the only army to ever raise such a banner came from Stormveil Castle. In other words, it is possible for the Fallen Hawks to be formed from penal colonists defeated on the frontier. The Erdtree kingdom is certainly the only power to feasibly own a slave army following the rebellion but before the Shattering. The other bondservants mentioned earlier all belong to Marika’s empire, and the only dominion permitted to own troops of any kind besides Erdtree royalty was Liurnia — so long as the Carians still nominally ruled an independent state. That limits the Fallen Hawks origins to two periods: when Godfrey came to put down a rebellion, and when Morgott did the same many years later. And of the two, the latter seems more liable.

Recall that the Omen king rewarded Stormveil’s garrison with a return “home” as his private army for assistance in stamping out the rebels. What about those who chose to stand against the Grace King? The warriors who continued resisting Erdtree rule had only their pride in their heroic heritage and the vain hope of a free Stormveil pressing them on. Nonetheless, no warrior can hope for freedom if he is dead — what to do with those who eventually surrendered? If Morgott was creating an army to serve him, then why not include a slave corps? Better that than costing more forces fighting them to the death. The Grace King would happily spare their lives, just not their honor. If they march back to the Erdtree’s base, it would be stripped of that pride, humiliated through the city streets without their iconic armor and weapons; unlike their “traitorous” brethren. This also doubled to display the consequences of rebellion when Morgott returned to Leyndell. These “Fallen Hawks” with delusions of restoring an old, lost beast kingdom were the fates for any foolish enough to break the Shardbearer alliance.

If this was Morgott’s intention, it didn’t do enough to deter civil war. But if the Company of the Fallen Hawk are his soldiers, then it is easy to see why he later sent them to explore the Eternal Cities. After all, many of the same places we find evidence of the Fallen Hawks, we also find evidence of Golden Order fundamentalists, searching for a path to the nameless Eternal City. How convenient that the ruins where Godwyn is buried are the one Eternal City which the Fallen Hawks have apparently yet to explore. It is almost as if their never-ending explorations are for the purpose of securing a route to that city in particular, rendering their mission yet incomplete. It would be logical to check the other Eternal Cities for their paths between each other, making finding the way to one a stepping stone to the final destination. And along the way, the slaves would be escorting fundamentalists rushing to reach that destination alongside the likes of trolls.

The reason for Morgott to support their search effort is obvious. Leyndell is the heart of Golden Order Fundamentalism, and core to it lies the Erdtree priesthood. No matter his obsession with defending the royal capital, the Omen needs to maintain his base of support among the priests, especially when having them serve in the ongoing cold war as his commanders. The issues of Godwyn and the spawn of his Deathroot are a major concern for the most zealous faction of that base, so the king can’t ignore them when direct access to the Eternal City is cut off. But who to send as the fundamentalists’ protection while they search for a path? By this point, Morgott already committed his trusty Stormveil forces to the assault on Volcano Manor, and he couldn’t have the Leyndell army leave their posts. That left the slave corps, his most disposable troops. They were assuredly still in Leyndell at the time, given how Patches managed to pick up their greatshield. Worst case scenario, they die failing orders, no major loss to his war effort. The priesthood can’t say that he didn’t try, and Morgott can focus on his chief concerns.

To the Fallen Hawks’ credit, they have persisted despite years of setbacks. The enemy model appears pale and zombified, with an eye missing from its bloody socket. Clearly, they have become Hollows, the curse of life the only thing keeping them going after suffering against the Nox for so long. Perhaps it is a lack of clarity that keeps them single-mindedly focused on their mission at this point, forgoing retreat. Indeed, the blood on their hands, feet, and even mouths tells of the grisly decisions the slaves have made to survive down there. After running out of not just food but even fuel for their metal torches, the cannibals took the bones leftover from their comrades for kindling. Now they have ghostflame for torchlight, not to mention throwing pots and arrows, so they can remain underground searching and fighting forever. Nokstella has wiped one party out, but Nokron is still dealing with theirs. (Noklateo has its number all beheaded as “slaves” to the wandering mausoleum army instead) Condemned to endless conflict for a broken Order, it is truly a miserable downfall for the hawk.

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