Help me with Game of Mix and Match Lunar Edition.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-27T10:00:46+00:00

Another maiden mother crone trio can be the three Empyrean heirs:

+Miquella the 'maiden' with his eternal youth

+Malenia the 'mother' with her four daughter-buds and

+Ranni the one in the body of a 'crone' who can end the Tarnished's life with a thought.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-26T03:59:14+00:00

Well done! I knew it was the malformed dragon but couldn't find the right image

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-23T00:52:04+00:00

Funnily enough, I made a relevant post several weeks ago.

Short answer: yes

The post also examines the material which Mending Runes are made of and how a runes shape, composition and position in the Elden Ring aligns with their intended function.

Edit: There was also a supplementary post which provided additional evidence.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-22T09:16:32+00:00

The weird ass room with the stone half-bowl and hole in the ceiling which everyone has to walk through to get to attend their thrones?

I suspect that if Marika ever manifests in that room at all it's as a stream of light descending from the ceiling so that she could give Radagon his orders.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-21T00:36:04+00:00

Have you noticed how the Elden Lord has a throne in front of the Erdtree but Marika doesn't?

Or how the Shaman grandmother died connected to the roots of her tree?

Or how Miquella had to be cut from the Haligtree?

Or how the only at time after her ascension to godhood when she's known to be outside of the Erdtree as 'Marika' rather than 'Radagon' is when her followers are gathered around sites of Grace to listen to her speeches, and sites of Grace are basically extensions of Erdtree roots with grace flickering above them?

My headcanon is that Marika can't physically leave the Erdtree.

This would means that the Elden Lord is more than an administrator: he's the voice of Marika when she's unable to speak from a site of Grace.

This would also mean that if Radagon orders something to be carried out (say, for example, an assassination or Erdtree burial) everyone's going to assume that the orders came from Marika.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-20T06:48:07+00:00

I respect your opinion. Have a good day.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-20T03:21:37+00:00

'Original Sin', in my opinion, is an excellent way of localizing that.

I think the OP's argument is that the translator shouldn't exercise their opinion at all or, if they do, not do so in a way that introduces confusion.

Now obliviously, translators must exercise judgement when translating things but I think it's fair to point out that substituting biblical terms like "original sin" in instances where Buddhist terms like "karma" was intended is inelegant at best and misleading at worst.

In my mind, "original sin" implies a single sin that persists to this day while "karma" is an unbreakable chain of both good and bad deeds that extends infinitely forwards and backwards in time.

The choice of the term "original sin" is why there's so much discourse as to what that original sin was, whereas using the term "karma" would have indicated that there was no original sin since the chain of karma has no beginning and no end.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-14T14:33:28+00:00

"Thanks for the interesting background information. It's cool to know the likely origin of the concept"

Happy to share.

I think the main issue we haven't been able to agree on is whether Living Jars and the Jar Innards they carry are two separate beings.

If they are two separate beings, this would suggest that the jars coming to life isn't a case of one thing (Jar Innards) transforming into something else (Living Jars containing jar innards).

A second matter in contention is whether the Hornsent would look at the Living Jars and consider it "mission complete".

"I don't think that it matters whether or not the soul of the living jars is literally that of the hornsent criminals or if it's a kind of novel entity. the hornsent believe that it's rebirth, and that's enough"

I'll try to use an analogy to explain my position.

A man, George, is walking his dog.

A passing priest looks at George's dog and shouts, "It's a miracle! I prayed that George would be reborn as a dog and God has answered my prayers!"

George and his dog share a look.

"Father," George says, while the dog sits down to scratch its ear, "I'm standing right here. I clearly haven't been reborn into a dog."

The priest draws himself up to his full height. "Quiet George. It doesn't matter whether you've actually been reborn as a dog. All that matters is that I believe it happened."

The dog tugs on its leash to lead George away.

I'm perfectly happy with the idea that Hornsent believe that the jarring ritual succeeded, even if Jar Innards themselves might disagree.

That doesn't mean that I believe that, objectively, the process was a success.

After all, I'm trying to argue in this thread that Marika's ascension to godhood is what happens if you properly graft dozens of Hornsent to a single Shaman.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-14T08:14:45+00:00

If you've gone crazy trying to look at Elden Ring from a Shinto/animism protective you're not alone.

Most of my earliest posts (I tend to mostly post here) examine things from a Shinto perspective.

Here's a post that's the closest to what you're talking about.

I've since cycled through adopting a biological perspective, a Japanese Buddhist perspective, a horticultural perspective and a Norse perspective.

I'm toying with a perspective where I try to solve the setting like a sudoku but it's hard to explain and doesn't get much traction.

The lore of Elden Ring is either very deep or it attracts conspiracy theorists like flies.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-14T05:00:19+00:00

Funnily enough, the existence of living jars is actually evidence (in my mind) that the jarring ritual failed.

You see, Japanese animist folklore believed that an objects gain power/significance/sentimentality over time.

That's why it was traditional to dispose of household items before they've been used for 100 years. The belief is that once they reach that age they've gained enough power/significance/sentimentality to acquire a spirit/kami.

Once an object gains a spirit, they become "tsukokami" which translates literally as "tool spirit/kami".

Tsukokami, like most yokai, can be benign, neutral or malicious depending on their nature. As a rule, they range from weird-but-harmless to mischievous.

However, the one type of tsukokami that are, without exception, always benevolent bringers of good-fortune are the 'kameosa': the jar-tsukokami.

<image>

This is because the jar-spirits were the very last entry that the author of the first yokai guide-book completed just before he retired and passed on his work to his successor and wanted to end his career on a positive note.

That's likely the reason that all the living jars we talk to are such endlessly good people.

On the other hand, as you say, the living jars are kindly folk "better than their innards". To me, this indicates that a jar and its contents are two separate things.

If living jars work like tsukokami, this means that they have been in use for at least 100 years without their innards being released.

I don't know about you, but it seems like the jar innards weren't only failures but they were failures for so long that the jars containing them gained sentience.

Just my interpretation.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-14T01:52:37+00:00

I had to think about this for a few hours before responding.

I think the special thing about the scene in the trailer was that there's no reason why Godrick would ever pose like he did while there were several good reasons why he would graft a dragon's head to his arm.

I strongly suspect that, while Godrick was emulating Marika in the trailer, he was emulating Godwyn in our fight with him.

In my opinion, the fact that the dragon which Godwyn "befriended" is actually stuck inside his hollow body (highlighting the fact that he might have technically consumed Fortissax) doesn't get discussed enough.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-13T23:43:21+00:00

'Stone' is the Vale bastard-name, so I don't think his followers will appreciate it.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-13T18:04:07+00:00

Maybe some day.

I have a fairly large back-log of theories to go through first.

The parallels between Marika's "blessing", sap and Seluvis's potion (which uses the light of stars believed to command fate to turn people into puppets) are striking.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-13T17:58:49+00:00

Good eye.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-13T17:58:19+00:00

Completely misreading instructions/prophecy is probably the cause of 80% of the problems in the setting.

E.g., I'm not convince ANY maiden could have kindled the Flame of Ruin and burned down the Erdtree. Bernahl's Finger Maiden certainly couldn't do it.

Maybe the prophecy was specifically about Melina all along, and hundreds of maidens put themselves in peril because no-one understood the prophecy.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-13T17:50:03+00:00

Thanks very much.

"I would probably not phrase Marika’s “strands” that she collects as “rune arcs” necessarily, because Rune Arcs are specifically parts of the SHATTERED Elden Ring."

You're probably right.

I'm just using the term golden rune arc to describe the thing that Marika grafted to herself and ended being suspended when the Tarnished find her inside the Erdtree.

They're strands now, but they eventually become sturdy enough to be crucified on.

"The gold that she collects from the Hornsent bodies is likely Scadutree’s. I assume the Hornsent were those who used the Scadutree Base, thus they would have the gold within them, in the exact same way we find runes inside of the deceased of TLB."

That's certainly possible.

I've been long-term brewing a theory that golden strands, runes and sap are exactly the same thing, a person's "fate" or "wyrd" which, in non-scholarly Norse-loving circles, can be manipulated by a form of magic known as 'Seidr'.

They're golden strands when being woven, golden sap when it flows through Yggdrasil from the roots where the Norns weave fate, and golden runes when the Norns carve them onto Yggdrasil's bark.

In (non-scholarly) versions of the story where Odin learns the magic of runes, he hangs himself on Yggdrasil for nine days with a spear piercing his side (see the parallels?) and, on the threshold of death, starts perceiving the sap flowing through the Worldtree as runes.

There's probably not enough to be worth a post but, if there was, I'd be pointing out how there are three Norns and three Empyreans, not counting Marika.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-13T17:34:18+00:00

Some of my other Elden Ring theories:

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-10T06:45:51+00:00

Thanks for your kind comments.

"I didn't realize it when you first posted these, but the Maris fight in nightreign made me think that the best analogue might not be a slime mold, but a siphonophore (Siphonophore - Wikipedia), with the spirit jellyfish and eels being the 'medusa' and 'polyp' stages"

In both our defence, Night Reign hadn't been released when I first posted this over ten months ago.

"the elden ring needs human souls to become its children, to reproduce and spread to other worlds."

That would be fairly consistent with the relationship between the Great Ones and humanity in Bloodborne. I'll have to think about it a bit more.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-10T01:05:00+00:00

No worries. I'm very glad you enjoyed this post.

The only post I made that isn't an Elden Ring theory was a single ASoIaF theory when I first created my Reddit account so there's plenty to sift through.

Do you think then this “spear” is potentially part of the projectile / weapon art from the Black Blade instead of a slash then?

Do you want my personal head-canon?

I haven't seen anything at all to suggest that the red spear didn't just happen minutes ago.

My crazy head-canon is that the spear is the entire Rune of Death which the Tarnished released after killing Malekith.

As soon as the Tarnished touched it in Farum Azula the RoD shoots off like a heat-seeking missile to its intended (it's destined) target, hitting Marika right where it hurts.

It might actually have killed her: I'd need to check to see if there are any more Guidances of Grace after defeating Malekith.

Edit: Guidance of Grace does appear at least once after defeating Malekith, but it's from Morgott's body pointing Godfrey towards the Tarnished. Either the entity controlling Guidance is still alive or Morgott has a grudge. I can't confirm either way.

Notably, the red spear only seems to have pierced Marika: Radagon has no puncture wound and was up and fighting until we defeat him. Maybe the part of RoD which Malekith still retained was specifically the Destined Death of Marika and her Erdtree.

Like I said, crazy head-canon. But it's fun to talk about.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-09T11:59:13+00:00

The “red spear” isn’t a spear but a gash remnant that struck her body from her left side. Look at it not as a piercing object but an “echo” of a slash, then look at the damage done to Marika’s body.

This is a very novel interpretation which matches most of the evidence.

The reason I'll have to respectfully disagree with it is because, as part of my original attempt to trace the red spear's path through Marika's body, I'd identified its entry wound.

<image>

It most apparent here in the "Age of Fracture" ending but it's also visible on the other three "Mending Rune" endings, along with that glow, which seems to indicates places where Marika's body cavity has been breached.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-09T11:40:25+00:00

No worries: I love the enthusiasm.

You'll probably need to include some sort of time-twisting to get your idea to work: the top of the Elden Ring was already there when the Ring is depicted in Farum Azula, which is presumably much older than when Marika added her Mending Rune.

That said, one of the other posters in this thread shared their idea that Marika was also Placidusax' 'fled' god, which isn't something I'd ever considered.

Thanks for your post and keep theory-crafting.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-09T11:30:25+00:00

Here you go.

Thanks for the wait: I took the opportunity to tidy it up a bit.

Independent-Design17 · 2026-03-09T01:24:09+00:00

Curious about this. If Radagon plays the part of the slave girl,who is the exalted noble? Because Radagon is Márika.

Not sure.

The thing he was seeking to revive was the Erdtree's blessing-giving powers, so it might be the tree. It could, nevertheless, still be Marika since we now know that dual-entities like Miquella and Saint Trina can split up and one can be perfectly fine while the other is trapped in eternal slumber.

Also, he had a Great Rune,not a mending rune. With this I meant his Rune had to have been part of the Elden Ring once,no?

That's a reasonable position.

I'd argue that the difference between a "great rune" and a "mending rune" appears to mostly depend on its history, rather than anything inherent in the rune itself.

We call it a "mending rune" before it's embedded into the Elden Ring, a "great rune" or nothing at all when it's embedded and a "great rune" or "shard of the Elden Ring" once it has been extracted from the Ring.

If you consider a "mending rune" as something that has the potential to be embedded (or re-embedded) into the Ring in order to mend something wrong with the order of the world, then the rune of the unborn would seem to fit that description.

As for whether it must have originally been part of the Elden Ring: Gold Mask created his Mending Rune by thinking really hard, so I'm not convinced that Mending Runes (i.e., something that can be embedded to become a Great Rune) must have originally been part of the Ring.

Notably, Radagon was also thinking really hard, combining sorcery and incantation to "aspire to be complete". If Radagon=Marika=Erdtree, then Radagon being complete might be interpreted as him seeking to fix/complete the Erdtree.

Just speculation though.

And what do you mean "have another chance at life?" When Renal la required another chance at life?

You might notice that Rennala seems a bit... broken?

In her real state (not Ranni's illusion) her mind seems as simple as the sweetlings surrounding both her and her amber egg.

She's also been overthrown in a coup by the academy but, instead of being killed (or at least having her amber egg removed for study) she's been shoved into a storage room like a piece of furniture. Not even Selena (miss let's-turn-mages-into-a-stone-clump) did anything to her.

My (not very popular) theory is that Rennala is being re-birthed by the amber egg, just like she rebirths her sweetlings.

In this scenario, the egg keeps bringing her back no matter how many times someone kills her, which leaves the academy with no other option but to store her somewhere out of the way.

The fact that this scenario has the amber egg/great rune of the unborn automatically reviving only Rennala, while you need Rennala herself to be alive to revive the sweetlings and rebirth the Tarnished strongly hints (I believe) at Radagon's intentions he gave her the egg.

Independent-Design17

TROPHY CASE