To this day, the Hornsent Grandam beseeches her precious divine beast to unleash its wrath upon Marika’s “children” — the entire tribe she rules — for betraying her people, cursing them even with her dying breath. What she doesn’t realize is that her prayers were already answered long ago. Among those bearing vestiges of the […]
Preface One of the three pillars to my methodology is psychoanalysis, because a story is, ultimately, defined by its characters as much as its world or plot. It is not just about knowing what the characters do or when, but why that merits any discussion. In this respect, Elden Ring has the most effort put […]
Just Another Path The nomadic merchants were once a great caravan, flourishing as their clan traveled around doing business with others. Taking clear inspiration from cultures of the Eurasian Steppe, they garb themselves in distinctive clothes of varying colors and ride pack mules across the lands. Looking at their different inventories, their wares tend to […]
Despite the name, “man bats” (人蝙蝠) look to just be ordinary bats the size of men. The creatures love to hang in the shadows of cliffs, caves, and other rock formations by day and hunting in the field by night. That isn’t to say that none of them can be spotted active under the sun, […]
Preface There isn’t much to say when the good times are good. More often than not, these eras of peace and prosperity are the prelude to inciting incidents and great tragedies. Rarely do we see them carry a tale, yet it is always when those peaceful days are no more that we long to have […]
Amidst exploring the Ruin-Strewn Precipice immediately beneath Mt. Gelmir, we can come across a body carrying the Serpent-God’s Curved Sword, shaped after the snake worshiped in the land since long ago. This serpent god in question stands out for its longevity, apparently living eternally. When the immortal reptile is ostensibly killed during our boss battle, […]
Although now defined by Erdtree civilization, there was a time when Altus Plateau was rife with barbarians. A scarab rolls up Barbaric Roar at the base of Liurnia’s waterfall streaming from Altus. Another, invisible scarab stamping along the Altus highway amusingly collects Earthshaker, which uses blunt or otherwise inelegant weapons like large hammers and axes […]
Preface When first compiling my, very lengthy, analysis for Godfrey, I was amazed to discover just how much I kept coming back to characters and events largely unrelated to him. Despite him and Marika defining the world order, the Elden Lord’s rise and subsequent reign were very much informed by what came before. If not […]
Preface After analyzing Dark Souls for so long, I can’t deny that a conflict between dragons and gods feels familiar. But like so much of FromSoftware‘s lean on callbacks, the similarities end with the outline. The nature of both parties in this war and the worlds they exist in makes Elden Ring‘s crack at the […]
Preface Up until this point, my analysis of Marika and Godfrey has been rather bullish. Even when fate wasn’t necessarily on their side, the pair still came out on top in the end, with relatively meager impediments. Whatever their personal drama, history had looked kindly on their efforts to build and maintain a kingdom. Not […]
Lokey Lore 