“ | Hear me, Demigods. My children beloved. Make of thyselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord. Be it a God. But should ye fail to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken. Amounting only to sacrifices. - Queen Marika the Eternal—as quoted by Melina | ” |
Demigods (デミゴッド, Demigoddo) are special beings found in the Lands Between. They are the majority of the primary characters in the history of the setting.
Contents
- 1 Overview
- 1.1 The Golden Lineage
- 1.2 Demigod Stepchildren
- 1.3 Twin Prodigies
- 1.4 Soulless Demigods
- 1.5 Marika's Declaration
- 2 Notes
- 3 See Also
- 4 References
Overview[]
The Lands Between are ruled by a family of demigods, heroes with an especially powerful blessing received from the blood of Queen Marika the Eternal.[1] They are immortals due to their fated deaths being removed from the Elden Ring[2] when Queen Marika created the Golden Order by sealing the Rune of Death.[3]
The Golden Lineage[]
The first Demigods were Godfrey, First Elden Lord and his descendants, known as the Golden Lineage.[4] The confirmed members of the Golden Lineage are Morgott, the Omen King,[5] his twin Mohg, Lord of Blood,[6] Godrick the Grafted,[7] Godefroy the Grafted,[8] and the Grafted Scions.[9] Godwyn the Golden's name, title, and the pattern on his clothing suggests his descendancy from the Golden Lineage.[10]
Godrick the Grafted was only a distant relation, his divine blood linking him to Marika sorely diluted,[11] indicating unseen generations of Golden Lineage demigods. According to Kenneth Haight, Godrick is the last of the Golden Lineage, but the Grafted Scions are also suggested to be the dregs of the Golden Lineage.[9]
When Godfrey was divested of his Grace, he became Tarnished,[12] and lost his demigod status.
Demigod Stepchildren[]
After Godfrey was hounded from the Lands Between, Radagon became King Consort and second Elden Lord by marrying Queen Marika.[13] This led to the children he conceived with Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon becoming demigod stepchildren, including Starscourge Radahn,[14] Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy,[15] and Ranni the Witch.[16]
Twin Prodigies[]
The union of Radagon and Marika led to the birth of at least two more demigods, the twins Miquella of the Haligtree and Malenia, Blade of Miquella, however they suffered afflictions from birth; the former was born with a curse of eternal childhood, and the latter harbored Scarlet Rot within.[17]
Soulless Demigods[]
The Walking Mausoleums found throughout the Lands Between cradle the corpses of soulless demigods. At least eight demigods became these soulless demigods, and at least one of them is an unwanted child of Queen Marika's.[18] They are guarded by the Mausoleum Knights, who watch over a soulless demigod until their resurrection.[19]
Marika's Declaration[]
At an unknown period, Queen Marika told her demigod children to make of themselves that which they desired, whether it be a Lord, or a God. However, she also declared that if they failed to become anything at all, they would be forsaken, and amount only to a sacrifice.[20]
The Night of Black Knives & The Shattering[]
During the Night of Black Knives, a fragment of the Rune of Death enabled the murder of Godwyn the Golden.[21] This was the first death of a demigod in all history,[22] and it was after this that the demigods began to fall.[23] This event was a precursor to the shattering of the Elden Ring,[24] whereupon several of the demigods inherited Great Runes, becoming known as Shardbearers.[25] The mad taint of the strength granted by their Great Runes triggered the Shattering, a war in which the demigods fought for control of the Lands Between. However, no lord arose from the Shattering, and the demigods were abandoned by the Greater Will.[26]
Upon their return to the Lands Between, the Tarnished were impelled by the Two Fingers to seek out the demigods and relieve them of their Great Runes.[27] At least three of the demigods were slain by The Tarnished in their quest to become Elden Lord.
Notes[]
- Localisation Notes
- Rather than "unwanted child", the soulless demigod(s) of the mausoleum is referred to as Queen Marika's "ugly bastard" or "ugly spawn." (醜い落とし子, Minikui otoshi-ko.)
- According to Finger Reader Enia, the demigods are each and all the direct offspring of Queen Marika.[28]
- According to the Overview Trailer, the demigods are "those who have inherited the blood of Queen Marika the Eternal."[29]
- It is often speculated that Melina may be a demigod, as she is called "DaughterMarika" internally.
- According to game director Hidetaka Miyazaki, the main demigod bosses of the game were initially written by George R. R. Martin.[30]
- Also according to Miyazaki, as a part of the creative process, Martin wrote the initial characters as grand heroes, and FromSoftware took them developed the way in which their Great Runes misshaped and distorted them.[31]
See Also[]
- Shardbearers
- Great Runes
- Queen Marika the Eternal
- Night of Black Knives
- Rune of Death
- Empyreans
- Elden Ring (concept)
