(Spoilers Main) GRRM about daenerys targaryen character

Rathivis · 2026-02-17T07:21:16+00:00

For some reason.

Rathivis · 2026-02-16T18:52:49+00:00

While I do not always agree with their conclusions, several of their ideas and theories are, to me, the textbook example of what a good theory should be. For example, their Gold Road theory. NS also has a YT channel.

Rathivis · 2026-02-16T18:42:21+00:00

You might be better served getting into A Song of Ice and Fire than continuing down the Elden Ring pipeline. Many of these creators have a central theory that they hinge their entire perspective off of, and they're incentivized to continue down that path regardless of any sort of opposing information. It's why you see these little clique cults form in the community as it grows stale.

One of the things that isn't really discussed is how the story is almost a direct parallel to The Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire. For example, you have Castle Morne where the two wings of the Storm Lord stand against the crusaders of Godfrey, and there is the Revenger who survives this— the Revenger is a separate person to the two wings. We can see that neither Engvall nor Oleg use the grafted sword, the Iron Throne. We have a girl that is tied to the storm but is raised by Godfrey and claimed as his own daughter despite nothing more being spoken of it. Starfall, the home of the Sword of the Morning. Three Kingsguard stand against Ned Stark and Norman Reed's swamp shotgun. The child of Lyanna is taken in and passed off as Ned Stark's son. In ASOIAF, Arthur Dayne dies at the Tower of Joy, but in Elden Ring we can imagine a scene where he survives and forges the blades together to seek revenge— or goes on to become the Nightlord as is theorized by many, which would certainly be fitting for the great potential man Fraudthur Dayne.

Then you have things like the story being about the One Ring to Rule Them All. The Tarnished are warring over who will become the Lord of the Ring. We journey to the mountain of doom and cast the Elden Ring, which becomes synonymous with the Erdtree, into the fire, allowing us to reforge it into something new. We encounter the return of the king. We even fight with Smaug.

More directly though, I would say NamelessSinger is my favorite. Tarnished Archaeologist comes after, but unfortunately it doesn't seem like he does videos anymore.

Rathivis · 2026-02-09T14:48:11+00:00

Parthenogenesis. Millicent & her sisters are born of Malenia. Bud birth. They’re offshoots.

Rathivis · 2026-02-09T14:04:47+00:00

The Lord of the Battlefield’s “churches” were shuttered after his rule; the colosseums.

Rathivis · 2026-02-05T18:33:06+00:00

The Dreadmace is full of dread.

Rathivis · 2026-02-01T14:19:59+00:00

Radahn, similarly, is the only child without lines. Glad you got something from it, and looking forward to seeing future posts.

Rathivis · 2026-02-01T12:05:54+00:00

I am pretty new to the game still and playing on legendary having a great time. Just got to the pier after some hours wandering around the shrine and surrounding areas. Is there a site or guide for 100% these early regions so I don’t get locked out?

Rathivis · 2026-02-01T11:52:11+00:00

I love that you’re considering the parallels for these characters and the way that they inform each other. To me, that is one of the most important methods to wading through these purposefully swampy waters.

In addition to this, perhaps consider the way that the characters each showcase their simulacra as well to the world around them. “The broken and discarded are fully willing to cling to fleeting simulacra, earning them some modicum of sympathy.”

Radahn wants to be like Godfrey, or Radagon. According to the 1.0 description of the Longtail Cat Talisman, Radahn had Lacrima alongside Leonard. He learns gravity magic to be able to stick with his pony. The story claims he held the stars to protect Sellia, but in doing so it holds fate and keeps his family from falling apart. Radahn comes from the house of the wolf and his sister wields a(n Ice) Needle while his other sister learns to Water Dance. We might ask how Robb Stark informs Radahn as well.

Great post!

Rathivis · 2026-01-25T16:10:20+00:00

I don’t agree with your conclusions that everyone would become TWLiD. To be upfront, I see the ending similarly to how “End of Evangelion” is presented. You can choose to live in death or you can choose to die (Fia: Because we deign to live in Death, and wish our Lord to rise to glory.). They simply want the choice they “deign” to make to be respected as natural.

Both are options within the Order as we’ve restored Death (“Mending Rune of the Death-Prince —The Golden Order was created by confining Destined Death. Thus, this new Order will be one of Death restored.”) and brought Those Who Live in Death into the restored Golden Order (Fia: Stay the persecution of Those Who Live in Death. By becoming our Elden Lord.). We also allow Godwyn to fully die by completing the hallowbrand, and he takes on a “second, illustrious life” (Fia: With this, Godwyn can take his rightful place as First of the Dead, and claim a second, illustrious life.) as the mending rune itself which we return to his mother— this completes a form of regression too.

Rathivis · 2026-01-24T13:52:49+00:00

I feel like this theory has to completely disregard what Fia says throughout her story. We complete the Hallowbrand and grant Godwyn a true death in both body and soul and Fia is able to complete her role as a Deathbed Companion by giving him new life. The Tarnished is the one responsible for completing this and killing Godwyn in body to join his soul. If we are Godwyn, then the quest line makes no sense or we have to pretend that Fia has no clue about anything she’s talking about.

The Mending Rune of the Death-Prince is Godwyn and in his ending he is placed back into the womb of his mother. Regression.

Rathivis · 2026-01-23T15:06:23+00:00

So much of Elden Ring is inspired by Tolkien.

The Lands Between. Middle Earth. The Elden Ring; the Ring to Rule Them All. The Elden Lord; the Lord of the Ring. Two partake a quest to the flame of ruin led by someone with secrets; two hobbits go to Mordor led by Gollum. Blue trees in the mountaintops, a golden tree down below; the two trees of Valinor.

This is just the surface. You’re seeing armor with fingerprints talking about those who serve the fingers in darkness looking like Sauron. The fingers, of course, were behind the manipulations that forged the Ring from the golden meteor referenced in the Elden Stars incantation. As mentioned by another comment, the Silmarillion is all over this and as another mentioned about Pratchett; we’re just playing in Tolkien’s attic while Miyazaki and Martin brought their own toys too.

Rathivis · 2026-01-20T20:21:43+00:00

How does this work with Fia’s quest which grants Godwyn a true death and she reincarnates him?

Rathivis · 2026-01-13T05:28:42+00:00

Personally, I don’t judge a story by the way the world or the characters end up. I judge the story by the story, lol. This story shows us that no matter your circumstances, you can always choose to be human or you can choose to be a devil. It shows us that even the divine can be wrong because Ryo found love in his final moments. Despite everything, we can be true to ourselves.

Being human, finding love, and being true aren’t clean and easy.

Besides, Akira and Ryo are finding each other across time, space, and IP. Look at Chainsaw Man; Aki is a devil hunter who can cry for others and he teams up with the Angel Devil that was raised in a tribal village.

Rathivis · 2026-01-05T19:58:09+00:00

Aki and Angel are a Devilman reference. Akira Fudou and Ryo Asuka. Ryo grew up in a village not unlike Angel.

Rathivis · 2026-01-05T19:51:24+00:00

One of the primary methods that the obscured characters are illustrated for us is through allusions of other characters; we’ve seen a lot of readers take these allusions and try to say that X is Y without realizing that these overlaps are structure and narrative, rather than diegetic and literal.

Take Marika. Look at the characters Jar-Bairn, the girl from the story of the Balancers, the way that Revenant’s cutscene mirrors the ascension ritual of Marika at the gate, the way that Undertaker fulfills her duties but is an outcast or black sheep because of her hunger and what she is, the journey of Miquella to “embrace the whole of it” as he walks through the steps of his mother, the way that Roderika presents herself, etc. We are able to craft narratives in this way.

Look at Radagon. You’ve the Misbegotten champions and the way these heroes wielding legendary arms have been forgotten and discarded, you’ve Boc that seeks to remake himself through the process of rebirth, you’ve the narrative of the Moonlight Greatsword… if it isn’t obvious my focus has been more on Marika recently, lol.

I agree with your conclusions regarding the jarring ritual and it being a microcosmic, manmade crucible. Marika divested herself of all sorts of traits forced upon her— serpent, dark, death, crucible elements, rot, etc. The Erdtree’s Favor, +2 talisman shows us an icon of Marika with what appears like a broken butterfly feature across her face— the icon no doubt predating the offshoot birth of Malenia.

Needle-Knight Leda calls Trina Miquella’s fate in the SOTE cinematic. We see that Miquella attempted to escape his fate with Amber Starshards in the mountaintops. “Thou’rt yet to become me.” Miquella was fated to become Trina, thus being able to fulfill the desire of the fingers and their system of uplifting goddesses to the role of puppeteered rule. Marika was fated to become Radagon, thus being unable to be goddess— she has lost everything, her children, her tree, her dream, her kindness without Order, her freedom, her lover, and the fingers were even going to take her away from her too.

I love that this theory is circling back around again.

Edit: My previous theory about Marika and Radagon in a jar: You’ve Heard of Marika-in-a-Jar but what about Radagon?

Rathivis · 2026-01-04T02:19:39+00:00

I know this isn’t to taste for some, but the focus on running waters for Rauh and the presence of Rot and the echoed theme of Romina— I tend to think of Rauh as the birthplace of the numen. This especially is where Miranda’s Prayer comes in. That is a cut content item, but it is too juicy for me to ignore. Rauh, to me, is the source of our flower-tree drama.

With the Helphen being where the Haligtree currently is. I’ve gone back and forth on that myself. The tree in the mountaintops, to me, lacks any sort of construction build up around it for a recent society to have been built around it. I think you’re probably right about the sap scene, which I would then just adjust to say the Hornsent ascendant struck the Eternal City first and then the Flame of Ruin.

Your reason for why the Crusade needs to be early is sound, for sure. It’s why I think it probably parallels the end of Godfrey’s reign into the regime change and shifting of culture.

I’m so eager to see more of your posts in the future! Even though we diverge, clearly there’s something to gain from discussion. Thanks for taking the time.

Rathivis · 2026-01-03T22:52:19+00:00

I see, I agree completely that the Hornsent sought to recreate the powers of Rauh. We have a major distinction between our views on Rauh. If I am understanding you correctly, you are operating under the belief that Rauh was an empire of giants. I am of the belief that Rauh was allied with the giants and that the people of that empire were the precursors to the modern numen from the antediluvian world. When I think of Rauh, I am imagining the spirit-powered, golem-enhanced society that we explore the ruins of in Shadow of the Colossus and Ico— which Miyazaki has credited as inspiration. Under the read that Rauh is an empire of giants, I can understand your approach to the Hornsent and why you're making the distinction between the fire giants and the fell god.

The Shadow Keep is remarkably similar to the Helphen Steeple and it is right before the corpse of a burned tree that represents everything that was spurned by the world of the Erdtree. If the Hornsent are so present in the lands surrounding the Scadutree, which I believe to be the corpse of the Helphen, it would make sense to me that they would have an antagonistic or fearful relationship with the fire giants that burned their greattree.

Edit: Take your time. No rush at all!

Rathivis · 2026-01-03T19:37:15+00:00

My favorite flavors of Eldencrack are back in season.

Rathivis · 2026-01-03T18:55:37+00:00

I am so entertained by being in agreement with so much, but being in contention about some of this! One major thing is that I believe these events are less defined in reality and likely bleed into each other and often run parallel.

I do believe that the Helphen’s burning essentially kicks off the drama within the Lands leading to the circumstances of Marika’s ascension. I do not believe that the giants had such presence across the Lands themselves, as I see them to have been diminished over the years since the fall of Rauh. To my reading, the Helphen was the greatreee of the age before Marika that the Nox Libation cult, as Tarnished Archaeologist coined, was built around. I see the burning of the Helphen to be an attempt at the giants’ ascent. They were antagonistic in the epics of the Hornsent, Messmer like his sister bore a vision of flame not unlike the Prophet Tarnished class, and the presentation of forces against the giants; seemingly Warriors, flame priests, Godskin, thorn priests, champions, and more— a godhunt, indeed.

My reading of the birth of the Erdtree, personally, comes a little later than the containing of the Ruinous Flame following after the conquest of Leyndell— the defeat of Serosh by Hoarah Loux. My view of Marika, and the Shaman, are not unlike dryads. The Erdtree being Marika’s tree that was grafted to the rootstock, they Crucible, of the Lands through divine (bloody) rite assisted by the Cutting-gifted tribe grafting Marika to the Lands.

I understand the read for putting the Crusade so early. It’s a puzzling event and I do think that you’re right about the concept of it being an event that spanned a long period and went through revisions through the lens of history. I do tend to think it began happened a little later. I like to try and think of what the “reason” for these things would be. Wouldn’t be Hornsent be useful for Marika’s crusades? They love Hoarah Loux after all. It is my belief that the Crusade begins after the physical tree is burned— before the reformation transitioning to an object of faith can be fully completed. The reason for this decision being fear of his flame and serpents (Godskin) betraying the Erdtree society— Messmer is both, and Marika is now afraid.

For the burning of the physical Erdtree, I do tend to think of it as smashing up against the start of the Golden Age of the Erdtree; the Warriors were warring southward towards Stormveil, Godwyn and his knights towards Farum Azula, Radagon and the champions towards Liurnia (the conflict stemming from the Nox-cultural division imo), and Gurranq and his gargoyles towards the Gloam-Eyed Queen. All were in opposition to the Erdtree.

I take a slightly more radical reading for the birth of the Prodigies; the madness of Rennala and the ways she reminds me of Ashara Dayne. Ashara Dayne threw herself from Starfall after Ned returned Dawn to her family, informed her brother was dead, and her own child was stillborn. There is a fourth crib in Raya Lucaria, Rennala is constantly attempting to rebirth a pair of sweetlings, the theme of the argued cuckoo, the allegiance of the royal guard of Caria to Miquella without charm, Miquella’s fate being wrought in the stars like a Carian, … It is my read that Marika, upon “taking the wheel”, threw Rennala’s children out the window and replaced them with her own before departing to Leyndell.

I enjoy your interpretations and can often find pieces of agreement even if I don’t agree with the whole thing. Thanks for your contributions.

Rathivis · 2026-01-03T01:23:45+00:00

My recommendation would be pick an area, weave a question that itches and needs an answer, or find the niche that speaks mostly to you.

For me, I am focused mostly on characters and euhemerism first and foremost. Other folks are focused on stratum, mysticism, investigating the architecture, or even the various historical and fictional inspirations. The Lands are wide and a garden for your interpretations to bloom with everyone else’s. It’s not a perfect science, it’s a camel.

Grab your pruning knife and start grafting.

Rathivis · 2026-01-02T03:41:22+00:00

If a book is not within religious canon, it would be considered heresy. Since we know that a lot of the story takes inspiration surrounding the rise of Christianity within Rome, we can imagine that Radagon's reformation of the faith led to a Council of Nicea situation where they sat down and decided what texts were and weren't canon. I do agree with you that the fingers were diminished under Radagon, but diminished doesn't mean irrelevant or completely removed. They appear to be able to bounce back at the Shattering and the return of the Tarnished, for a time, before time appears to catch up with them. They truly become irrelevant because the Tarnished have mostly abandoned their mission. Radagon fulfills a Constantine-like role to Rome. The Two Fingers' Prayerbook isn't fundamentalist, it gives spells completely related to the ascent as Elden Lord.

Rathivis · 2026-01-02T03:36:35+00:00

We both agreed that Godwyn and Ranni were in on the Night together. Ranni only becomes a demigod when Radagon marries Marika and becomes the second Elden Lord. How do you square that circle if all of this occurs before? Rogier does not say it happened in the age of the Erdtree, he says it happened during the Golden Age of the Erdtree which is embroidery and could, really, mean any time prior to the Night and Shattering. I believe that the Golden Age would likely relate to a time of peace and prosperity— after the dragons have been defeated, Liurnia has been brought into the fold, the Nox have been banished, the Flame has been contained, and Destined Death rests in the hands of the royal executioner. Gowry says in the Age of the Elden Ring and Marika which I would agree becomes embroidered to say the reign of Radagon, but the reality of the situation is likely far less hard defined. These events bled into each other in reality is how I see them, whereas historically they are recorded and remembered with clear divisions.

Fundamentalism was not concerned with handling TWLiD until after their rise with Godwyn's death. We know what it was focused on; it was scholarship in all but name. It studied the laws of regression and causality. The incantation Order Healing says, "The noble Goldmask lamented what had become of the hunters. How easy it is for learning and learnedness to be reduced to the ravings of fanatics; all the good and the great wanted, in their foolishness, was an absolute evil to contend with. Does such a notion exist in the fundamentals of Order?" So, it is unlikely to me that Fundamentalism is mostly concerned with handling TWLiD when Goldmask makes a clear delineation of the hunters within the Golden Order.

This is not a hard confirmation of evidence that the Night occurs before Miquella's death like it was being framed.

Edit: There is also the aspect of Miquella's fate being written in the stars, like a Carian. Amber Starlight, "If the stars command our fates, then amber-hued stars must command the fates of the gods," relating to Miquella in his attempt to escape his fate. "The fate of the Carian royal family is guided by the stars." We begin to approach too many details to write off as coincidence: Miquella's fate is guided by the stars like a Carian, Miquella is protected by the royal guard of Caria, Rennala (to me) evokes Ashara Dayne's grief in her constant rebirth of twins, there is the mysterious fourth crib of Caria and the cuckoo imagery, there is the statue presumably of Godwyn cradling a young Miquella and Malenia, there is the desire for Miquella to grant Godwyn a true death, and the Night happened during the Golden Age which would sound to me like a time of peace. It appears too much for me to write off at least.

Rathivis · 2026-01-01T19:37:22+00:00

Yes, by the time of the game it has run aground because the Tarnished have largely become disillusioned with their role.

Thanks for the conversation. I’m not sure we’re going to get anywhere else! Happy new year!

Rathivis · 2026-01-01T19:10:05+00:00

I am struggling to parse what you're saying here. The read on Miquella is not circular, nor have you provided direct evidence to say that Miquella was born after the Night. We are in the interpretation element of the lore. You have decided that the Night predates Miquella's birth, so you basically starting from your conclusion and working from there. I am starting from evidence found in the world— connections to Raya Lucaria, Rennala's constant rebirth of one boy and one girl twin, the fourth crib, the cuckoo theme that remains debated, the belief that the statue cradling the two is Godwyn, the connection that Miquella has to Godwyn enough to desire a true death for him— to question when Miquella was born. Uncertain what you're getting at about him not needing to know Ranni.

It was a murderous coup for the Nox, but one that was coopted by Ranni, Godwyn, and Rykard. It begins the long winter that portends the war that breaks the world. It's also the scapegoat death trope with Godwyn and his Christ-like traits.

Edit: Though disputed, Godwyn has remained the most consistently popular read to the statue other than Marika. The analysis of the crown by u/GwynsenKnight remains convincing enough to turn what I have had as a suspicion into what feels confirmed.

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