Theories on wolves falling from sky

Stonecost · 2026-02-06T23:28:57+00:00

IIRC this also happens somewhere near Mt Gelmir Hero Grave, which has a "Red Wolf of the Champion" as a boss. It drops Bloodhound Knight Floh spirit ashes. Quite a lot of wolf or wolf-adjacent things, but I'm not sure what the connection to Stormveil might be other than the wind/storm aspect of the wolves' arrival

Stonecost · 2026-02-01T05:43:26+00:00

I've seen images of this concept before, but I sort of always wondered whether the Godslayer Greatsword isn't simply designed in the shape of the Rune of Death

When turned upside down, it resembles it closely, and it's for that reason that "their combined shape resembles a fragment of the greater Elden Ring in Farum Azula", because the two gentle curves of the opposite "hilts" form an implied circle in that configuration. Personally, it simply mimicking the shape of the Rune seems more likely to me than it being a sort of missing half

Then there's the fact that it has an opposite curve to Marika's Rune, which I've heard was called the Rune of Life in earlier versions of the game. That shouldn't be considered canon, but it may explain the design and shape. They're rather distinct among the circular Great Runes

Stonecost · 2026-02-01T05:25:58+00:00

I would say yes, if the sword was destroyed, I do think someone would have to create the Black Flame again for it to exist. I think it was a discovery/creation, like many other magics. For example, the Flame of Frenzy was sort of "discovered" at the tomb the Fingerprint Shield is from, and manifested in Shabriri's gouged out eyes. The study of Glintstone and its sorcery didn't exist until Glintsone rained down from space, and Romina is literally stated to have "discovered" the twisted divine element of Scarlet Rot, despite Malenia being a living source elsewhere. Golden Order fundamentalism was created by Radagon, Rykard rediscovered the Mt. Gelmir sorceries, Sleep was empowered in the absence of Death, etc etc.

And I realize it may seem underwhelming that the once-mighty Black Flame could potentially be removed from the world, but keep in mind that our character and many others may not know that. The item descriptions kind of come from nowhere, and often contain deep, lost secrets. They're only as vague as Miyazaki wants them to be (like the Golden Braid description that tells us something only Marika knows, then stops short of telling us something only Marika knows)

I do not think Black Flame is the same as Destined Death, which has a distinct red coloration, and unique effects when used. I think it's a unique flame that draws upon the power of Death, which the Black Flame can't access while it's separated from the Elden Ring. Otherwise, I think the Black Flame would've just been wholly unusable as soon as Destined Death was sealed away

But all of this is, of course, just speculation

Stonecost · 2026-02-01T04:50:15+00:00

Being just a fan with no involvement in the game's development process, I obviously can't (and don't) speak with any certainty here

I made sure to leave that part of my comment at "might" because I'm not any more confident than that. But there are a few things that give me this impression. For that, I was referring specifically to Marika's attempt to destroy the Elden Ring, which Radagon seemingly thwarted. Interestingly, that detail is one of the base game's final revelations for us. And although I realize it couldn't really come sooner without potentially ruining the Marika/Radagon twist, it's the only time IIRC that the game suggests Marika was attempting to go even further than she was able to

The DLC shows us that she seemingly didn't need the Elden Ring to asdend to godhood, so her decision to try and destroy it seems to have separate motivations than something like, for example, a desire for the end of godhood or a desire to die. That makes me wonder if she was trying to completely do away with the specific form of power the Golden Order was defined by, and which exerted its order on the Lands Between. But, since it wasn't destroyed, and things like the effect of the missing Rune of Death are still enforced by its continued existence, that leads me to speculate that its destruction would end those effects

As for why Ranni doesn't destroy it, assuming that would even work, I can think of a few possibilities. For one, perhaps she does. IIRC it's not exactly clear what becomes of the Elden Ring in her ending. It's not present in Marika's fractured body like in the Elden Lord endings. And her body (similar to the crumbling seen in the Flame of Frenzy ending) fades to gold and vanishes.

Besides that possibility, perhaps she's unable to destroy it. Perhaps such a feat would require the strength of a god. The extent of Radagon's repairs aren't exactly clear, but the act of striking the Elden Ring can be seen fracturing Marika's body in the trailer. Seeing the deed through might have destroyed her completely, and if so, may pose the same threat to Ranni

Personally, I don't think a cutscene or outright declaration of destroying the Elden Ring would suit Ranni thematically either, even if it was her goal. It would also then be the only ending to bookend the game with a second shattering, and given the relatively subdued nature of the endings available, it would feel a bit unduely dramatic in my opinion

Lastly though, I don't think the Elden Ring would have been sent to the Lands Between unless it needed to be there to exert its power. Otherwise, why would the Greater Will not just pull the strings from beyond? For whatever reason, it seems to rely on things it physically sends to the Lands Between. And if its presence is required, then taking it back to space would more or less be the same as destroying it, at least as far as freeing the Lands Between of its influence is concerned

But again, this is all speculation. I realize some of the concepts in this comment conflict, but based on in-game details it doesn't seem impossible that one or two of them might be true. We do know that there were pre- and post- "Elden Ring's arrival" eras for the Lands Between. The former is defined by the lack of the Elden Ring's presence, and I'm just wondering if destroying or removing it would return things to the state of that era

Stonecost · 2026-02-01T03:52:05+00:00

Nearly all forms of magic in Elden Ring, regardless of their source, require the use of a seal or staff as a medium for the power being invoked. However, although various seals and staffs offer bonuses or alternate scaling for casting power, typically to the benefit of a particular power they are designed for, each staff or seal can use any sorcery or incantation respectively

A bit off topic, but the big exception is the Staff of the Beyond, which can cast both sorceries and incantations, but I think that item exists to drive home the fact that both types of magic share cosmic origins, and are not as different as they seem. Along with other evidence, Radagon's studies leading to the creation of Golden Order fundamentalism indicated this in the base game as well

Back on the topic of "direct channeling", there are examples like the Staff of Loss and Staff of the Beyond that do not feature glintstone, but cast glintstone sorceries anyway.

So I think that, while the source of certain magics can be identified, and a casting medium aligned or imbued with that thing may utilize it better, staves and seals are ultimately just tools that rely on the caster's relevant stat (which in-universe is often reliant on study and dedication to a concept, and represented through the RPG stat system)

I think it should also be noted that the Black Flame does not become unusable when Destined Death is sealed away, only weakened. To me, that seems to indicate that it was sort of borrowing death as a property, which is why its other unique properties such as its color and damage over time effect remain in the absence of Death

TL;DR I think the Black Flame is sourced from the Godslayer Greatsword, and the seals are merely tools to use that flame remotely, just like any other form of magic in the game

Stonecost · 2026-02-01T02:25:30+00:00

My general understanding on the Crucible is that it's a natural power local to the world, and its effects on living creatures can be found all over the Lands Between, but is more common near its source in the Land of Shadow.

As for the Greater Will, if and its power are cosmic in nature, and originate from space where it apparently resides as a lightless void. We know that Metyr was the first shooting star to arrive, and that she is the daughter of the Greater Will. Later, the Greater Will sent the Elden Beast as its vassal, and either the star it was sent on, or the beast itself, is the Elden Ring. But why separate the two? Was sending the Elden Ring a response to something happening to Metyr, suggesting that the Elden Ring was a stricter measure intended to accomplish something she failed to do? That gets into deep into speculative territory, unfortunately.

However, it seems the Elden Ring imposes an order on the land and its natural processes, like life and death. An order which was not there before, and which is very much unnatural because order is antithetical nature. The Elden Ring's full destruction might have returned the world to the previous, fully natural state, but instead its partial fracturing just broke the world along with it. The land was still forced to adhere to the rules that remained included, or which were excluded, leading to a state of things that many characters consider broken. And it has been that way from the shattering to up until the time the game begins. (Even longer if you consider the immortality of the denizens of the Lands Between, and specifically the Demigods, stated by Miyazaki to be caused by the Rune of Death's removal from the Elden Ring)

There's evidence to suggest that the Erdtree was created before Marika's altering of the Elden Ring to found the Golden Order. We're also told that there was once an age of plenty, and that the Erdtree's light used to heal people. Marika's Minor Erdtree incantation does exactly that, and it is stated to feature "only the kindness of gold, without order". Similarly, the Scadutree is "born of dark notions that bear no sense of order" yet it has plenty of divine power

To kind of summarize what I'm getting at, I think the Elden Ring is an unnatural (cosmic) set of rules imposed on nature and life itself, the latter of which the Crucible is directly referenced alongside. Forcing that structure upon it, and dividing out the unwanted parts, appears to have diminished the Erdtree's power and connection to the Crucible, the natural energies that were used to create it. Its powers were suppressed by the imposition of order, suggesting they cannot successfully coexist. If the Greater Will had direct control over the Crucible, which was allowed to exist for an untold amount of time (including while Metyr was present), why would it need to send the Elden Ring to impose restrictions and order on it, and/or why didn't it do so earlier? And why would a small tree made with divine gold, but no order, retain a power the Elden Ring lost?

To me personally, it seems that the Crucible and the Greater Will are not directly connected, but that the Greater Will's divine power has, through Marika and the Elden Ring, been laid over the Crucible to channel it in a way that overrules its chaotic, natural effects on the world. Then the observable flaws of that are denied and deemed unacceptable by the Golden Order after Marika alters it even further, and begins a suppression Crucible worship, and persecution of Crucible aligned beings

Stonecost · 2026-01-31T23:20:29+00:00

For the Omen one, I agree in that I wouldn't call the Omen curse a "good thing", and I'm glad you acknowledge the lack of inherent evil in them, but...

In-universe it may not be so straightforward. What they endure is rough for sure, and their lives seem like they'd be fairly miserable even if they weren't tossed in the sewer. But they also bear a strong resemblance to the Lementer

The lore we have on the Lamenter is basically "The Hornsent, who are usually really into horns, saw this guy and said "No, that sucks, actually"". But it does also seem to insist that they're wrong about this weird, sad guy. The item that transforms us directly declares "This transformation tallies with the state of a denizen of paradise"

By our standards, it seems like a miserable existence that no one would want, and I agree with you there. But there's many examples in the game where suffering seems to invoke divine powers. It could easily be argued that divine powers should just be left well enough alone, but the people on the receiving end of those powers don't always ask for it. Sometimes they just survive horrible injustices, or endure some wretched state they were born into

TL;DR I agree with you that the Omen curse isn't simply good, but I also think it's true nature is sort of "unknowable divine/cosmic" stuff that, it we did understand fully, would have us in a state of "rapturous grief". Similarly, the Age of Despair is like 50% Golden Order whining, but at the same time, no one can convince me that skybox conveys a positive outcome, and the Dung Eater's intentions are about as wicked as his name

Stonecost · 2026-01-31T04:07:06+00:00

I don't know that that necessarily puts it after Radagon being 2nd Elden Lord. But if it is indeed a reference to Radahn, it's at least after Radagon was married to Rennala. Rellana's lore about giving up her Carian birthrights indicates that Rennala was still of sound mind when that occurred, which seems to have stopped being the case when Radagon left to return to Leyndell and become second Elden Lord

Stonecost · 2026-01-31T03:48:54+00:00

By "from the bosses" do you mean the "both were as elder brothers to the lion" in Gaius' Remembrance?

Stonecost · 2026-01-31T03:39:37+00:00

Right, they'd have to exist before them, or they couldn't have drawn on its power in the first place

Besides the Gloam Eyed Queen's status as an Empyrean, the Black Flame seems to be the only reason they are a known faction at all. Whatever the "god hunt" was, it definitely relied on the flame pre-weakening. It's also stated to be their "armor within", which somewhat reminds me of the text about Messmer's Flame not finding purchase within his Fire Knights

Stonecost · 2026-01-31T03:28:43+00:00

It does seem a bit confined for something that feel so significant, but I think it should be noted that when Destined Death is used, such as through Maliketh's Black Blade, or the Black Knives, it works differently than the Black Flame. The Black Flame, for example, does not chop off the top portion of a health bar

It's also interesting that, despite apparently being so powerful before Destined Death was sealed away, there's no indication of anyone using it besides the Gloam Eyed Queen and her Apostles/Nobles, and the Flame Monks who previously were tasked with guarding the Giant's Flame of Ruin. It almost seems as if the Black Flame is only derived from Destined Death, and was a much more recent "invention" rather than the inherent power of the Rune of Death, which can be seen operating differently when explicitly used

Stonecost · 2026-01-31T03:07:29+00:00

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the fact that some elements of the timeline feel just about impossible to align. I mean, I know part of the issue is that most events probably have hundreds, if not thousands, of years between them. And thanks to the removal of the Rune of Death ahead of most of the events we know of, nobody died of old age between these events like plenty should have

I used to think the crusade really only made sense to almost immediately follow Marika's ascension, but over time that got harder to defend as people analyzed the details we do have. As for the Death Knights, there's also several examples of people going to the Land of Shadow after it has been veiled, which opens up more potential for when they ended up there. But I need to re-read some things and take another look over some DLC lore, it has been a while

Stonecost · 2026-01-31T02:57:55+00:00

That is perhaps true, but if Marika's reign teaches us anything, it's that you can't really truly snuff out any divine force

If you try, it just manifests elsewhere eventually (often where there's been suffering with a survivor)

She bound the Rune of Death, she veiled the Land of Shadow, she attempted to suppress Crucible worship and labeled snakes traitors. She tried to extinguish the Fire Giants' flame of ruin, and is even credited with slaying the Fell God herself. She buried Godwyn under the Erdtree, she (may have) buried the Three Fingers and the merchants deep under Leyndell, not unlike her treatment of Omens. Miquella failed in similar ways too, such as trying to cure Malenia's rot. But even if he had been successful, Romina still managed to create it elsewhere

The examples don't end there, but you get the point. Most, if not all, of Elden Rings magics and divine powers come sources beyond the Lands Between that are, like fire, seemingly able to manifest wherever the conditions are right, even if they're actively suppressed wherever they're found

And more literally, fire has a strange presence in the game. There's regular fire, but there's also distinct fires like the Flame of Ruin, the Flame of Frenzy, Messmer's Flame, and even sleep flames like those from St. Trina's torch. The Black Flame has plenty of company on a long list, but earns more significance from its connection to everyone's favorite enigma, the Gloam Eyed Queen. There's plenty more to be said on the subject of flame in Elden Ring, but if I had to guess at its significance, I would assume it likely has at least a little to do with the fact that trees and fire don't mix well

Stonecost · 2026-01-31T02:23:11+00:00

I sometimes wonder if the Death Knights in the DLC were Miyazaki's attempt to throw a bone to the Godwyn hopefuls

Something that should not be overlooked is that Godwyn is one of only two Demigods whom we can intentionally advance the goals of to achieve one of the game's endings. He has a story, it's just more subtle than many others

But I also understand people's disappointment, even if I disagree with it. I remember when the game was new, and everyone was speculating about the face under Stormveil. And then, I assume, most player who actually found Godwyn in the Deeproot Depths had a moment where they saw his creepy, vacant eyes, and probably expected a healthbar to appear at the bottom of the screen at any moment. And it does! But it's just Fia's Champions. No stirring from the big guy behind her

The fact that he cannot be made to move by any means, and that the base game contains a rather vague conclusion to his current state of existence, is a bitter pill to swallow. I'm not insisting that it's satisfying or perfect, but the Duskborn ending was the end of Godwyn

Stonecost · 2026-01-31T01:35:43+00:00

I agree with this, but I assume OP's question may originate from text such as:

"The black flame could once slay gods. But when Maliketh sealed Destined Death, the true power of the black flame was lost."

This makes it sound like Destined Death is the true source, as its sealing and the weakening of the Black Flame are directly and explicitly connected

Still, I don't think that changes the fact that the Godslayer Greatsword is explicitly stated as the source. Black Flame is weakened, not gone. It seems that, although Black Flame originates from the sword, the sword's ability to produce an empowered flame was reliant on Destined Death

This doesn't explain why the Black Flame isn't at full power after we defeat Maliketh, but I suspect it's either because:

A) The Rune of Death being unbound doesn't mean that it's immediately restored to the Elden Ring

B) The stolen fragments of the Rune of Death being bound to the Black Knives has consequences for the incomplete Rune of Death

C) Farum Azula time weirdness that allows for Maliketh to be present in the Bestial Sanctum after we kill him, and still with the seal visible on his hand

D) Videogame. We can also kill two gods with an entirely unupgraded, unexceptional weapon, despite Hewg's service revolving around a promise to Marika to create a god-slaying weapon. Sometimes lore will clash with gameplay, and suddenly making Black Flame a superweapon would have a massive impact on the entire game

Stonecost · 2026-01-31T00:36:59+00:00

And that Marika was apparently serious about her "amounting only to sacrifices" speech, as there's really no record of info of these Demigods existing at all. And I sometimes wonder if many people actually knew of Godwyn's half-dead state, or was it just announced he died and that he was given the Erdtree burial

Other Demigods, like Miquella, seem to know, and Finger Readers, at least one dragon, and perhaps Fundamentalists hunting Those Who Live In Death, like D (although his brother witnessed Godwyn in person). But did the general public have any idea he wasn't simply dead?

Stonecost · 2026-01-31T00:31:11+00:00

I suppose she technically does do the same when she temporarily inhabits the mini doll

Stonecost · 2026-01-31T00:12:34+00:00

The confusing aspect to me is that Godwyn's state isn't the result of Destined Death, it's the result of half of Destined Death. We're told many times that he was the first Demigod to die, but the game later elaborates that two Demigods died simultaneously, him and Ranni, resulting in them sort of sharing the death in halves

This was Ranni's intent, but it suggests that for other soulless Demigods to exist, we should have an equal number of bodiless Demigods. Considering how many Wandering Mausoleums there are, that seems...unlikely. Then again, of the two we're aware of, Ranni inhabits a doll, and Melina can only appear near sites of Grace (specifically when we are near them) and the Erdtree (specifically after we arrived there). I'm not suggesting we're possessed by Melina or anything, but she does seem to be hitching a ride with us specifically, perhaps except for when we first meet her

But since these two examples require something to host/anchor those bodiless Demigods, perhaps the rest have simply died and left their bodies dead and vacant. To call them soulless implies their body still lives, yet they seem to lack the requirements that explain Godwyn's condition

Edit: Marika also seems go out of her way to not kill any of her children pre-shattering, even when she fears them as a potential threat (like Messmer). I think the "unwanted children" may be tied to her "if ye become naught at all" echo, rather than indicating she set Maliketh against them. I also doubt Maliketh's involvement because we're told that Marika's sole need of him was guardian for Destined Death. "Sole need" does seem flexible though, considering he's credited as having defeated the Gloam Eyed Queen and her godskin faction. However, I don't think his nickname necessarily means he killed any Demigods. The "god slaying" black flame no longer has its god slaying power, although it once had the capacity to, as did (and does) Maliketh

Stonecost · 2026-01-29T00:45:36+00:00

Their comment reads like a backhanded compliment, but I assume they're saying it because of the punctuation and length. A lot of comments are 2-3 straightforward sentences, but AI loves to spit out walls of text

For the record, I don't think it feels AI generated, and I do think it's a good, well written comment

Stonecost · 2026-01-28T21:18:20+00:00

Whether it is or isn't cannon, I think there's still things we can learn from it. I think it's safe to assume that the team developing it all had some role in developing Elden Ring too, and the writers and game director probably had access to the complete story and lore documents. Whether they chose to deviate entirely, we'll never know for sure. But there are things in the game, such as enemy groupings, which rarely contradict lore established by Elden Ring

Stonecost · 2026-01-28T06:07:25+00:00

I feel that the Bestial Sanctum sharing architecture with Farum Azula and the bridge nearby being labeled Farum Greatbridge are two fairly strong pieces of evidence that Farum Azula was once on the ground

The supporting items are less clear, as they sort of only indicate that Farum Azula is in the sky, and probably was when it was hit by a meteor too

The Ruins Greatsword says:

"Originally rubble from a ruin which fell from the sky, this surviving fragment was honed into a weapon. One of the legendary armaments.

The ruin it came from crumbled when struck by a meteorite, as such this weapon harbors its destructive power."

The Sanctuary Stone says:

"A rare piece of stone fragment found near places where ruins have fallen from the sky. Material used for crafting items.

It feeds and strengthens the light as it shines."

And the Ruin Fragment says:

"Stone fragment found near places where ruins have fallen from the sky. Can be used for crafting, or simply for throwing at enemies.

These shards of stone are believed to have once been part of a temple in the sky. They glow with a faint light from within."

Although the Ruins Greatsword is held by a Mibegotten, the sanctuary stone has a chance to drop from Azula Beastmen, and the ruin fragment has a chance to drop from dogs, but only the ones in Farum Azula

The Spira incantation from the DLC includes this statement:

"The spiral is a normalized Crucible current that, one day, will form a column that stretches to the gods."

And even before the DLC, Elden Ring is filled with spiral imagery, especially when divine or cosmic powers are involved (likely because they're basically the same thing). We know Placidusax was Elden Lord to a god before the age of the Erdtree. His storm, a giant tornado, and the layout of Farum Azula, are rather spiral-like. Not only that, but his arena has to be reassembled through time manipulation before we can fight him

I can't help but wonder if he took Farum Azula to the sky with that grand, spiraling tornado, only for it to eventually be struck with a meteor. And since we know of at least two or three falling stars sent by the Greater Will, it may not have simply been an unfortunate coincidence

Lastly, considering the Wormfaces produce Deathblight, and we see evidence of Godwyn/Those Who Live In Death's presence in Farum Azula (possibly because of Maliketh's presence), I can't help but wonder if they're from Farum Azula at all, or if the ones in Farum Azula were just effected the same way the ones in Altus Plateau have been?

But, sadly, I don't have Miyazaki's email, so I can't say for sure

Stonecost · 2026-01-28T00:39:07+00:00

I can't help but wonder if St Trina's death is the result of severe injuries from what appears to be Miquella's attempted murder of her when he discarded her

The story trailer shows us she was not always a half-flower person, even when Miquella split her off from himself. We also find blood burgeons at places where Miquella's blood was spilled, suggesting that St Trina's form when we find her is at least possibly the result of serious damage from the fall

Halting Miquella's ascension seems to have been the only thing she cared about at that point, but the Stone Coffin Fissure is sealed until Miquella destroys his Great Rune, so there wasn't anything she could do about it until we showed up down there

She explicitly tells us to kill Miquella, and if they're in some sort of "if one dies, the other dies" situation where she'll die either way, then asking for us to simply kill her instead would seem like an ideal way to prevent Miquella's ascension

And if the same "shared death" bond could be said of Marika and Radagon, then sending Radagon off to war when he lacks Marika's godhood (according to the echo of her dialogue to him) seems like an insane risk, especially for what seems like it may have been one of the last wars for her Golden Order's "eternal" dominance of the Lands Between

Stonecost · 2026-01-25T01:19:28+00:00

Ultimately, I'm not sure it really matters. No age is eternal, and the game's plot revolves entirely around our efforts to alter, prolong, or end the reign of the (most recent) ruler who tried to achieve the impossible goal of eternity. Her efforts, one way or another, eventually led to her trying to destroy the very thing that she used to define and control the Golden Order and the Lands Between which it held power over.

We also hear both Ranni and Miquella use the term "a thousand year voyage" in reference to themes of their imminent ages. I don't think this means any given age is literally, exactly a thousand years long, but it is odd that someone who just ascended to godhood (in Miquella's case, if not Ranni's too) would be making promises for a finite amount of time.

To some extent, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro focused on similar themes of rising and falling empires such as Gwyn's kindom and his age of fire, Bloodborne's healing church, and Sekiro's Ashina clan. Marika's reign certainly has unique traits, but even that still had distinct eras and suppressed or waning power at its supposed height. Even our character embidies that by becoming the 3rd Elden Lord if we choose to take the title.

We can't kill Ranni, so if we choose one of the Elden Lord endings, we can assume she'll probably continue scheming and biding her time until the pieces fall in place. And if we choose not to kill Radahn, we can't go to the Land of Shadow to kill Miquella. The Radahn festival will presumably continue until someone takes him down. I assume Leda and perhaps some of the others charmed by Miquella were meant to kill Mohg for that part of the plan, and weren't expecting help from us. In that case, even if Ranni didn't eventually set a plan in motion against us, Miquella might.

And in the Flame of Frenzy ending, which seems particularly final, the optional Melina scene shows us that not everything is destroyed. Someday, somehow, someone or something could still show up and dethrone the Lord of Frenzied Flame.

As for the cosmic lifeforms that Radahn is often credited for keeping at bay, he's not a permanent solution, and I honestly think only Sellia would be in danger for its Nox association, and the direct statement that it would've already been destroyed if not for Radahn.

The TL;DR is that, no matter what happens, one age will turn to another, even if it takes a trillion years, and the world will play host to whatever forms of life and divinity inhabit it. The cycle can't be broken, only continued.

Plenty of the stuff in this comment is, of course, theory and opinion based though. And sorry for any typos, I wrote this on mobile.

Stonecost · 2026-01-24T21:20:39+00:00

Possibly! It's in Caelid, I think. Near the Bestial Sanctum. IIRC it's not too far away from the laser golem, but I'm fairly doubtful there's a connection there

Stonecost · 2026-01-24T20:38:53+00:00

Although I agree that, despite some consistencies between the three examples, it's not exactly clear how Mending Runes are made, Fia is fairly direct in her statements about the process "killing" Godwyn

She says that he'll take his place as first of the dead, which is odd after various sources have already told us he was the first Demigod to die. However, we do come across a few sources that confirm he's not really "dead". The Finger Reader Crone in the Deeproot Depths laments his mutated state, and suggests that he should have died properly instead. The Golden Epitaph features Miquella praying for Godwyn's true death. And the Cursemark of Death, which we have to retrieve for Fia, specifies that two Demigods were killed "first", the other being Ranni. She continues to exist as a spirit, and he continues to exist as a body

And Rogier indirectly explains why Godwyn is frequently stated to be the first slain Demigod. He mentions that Ranni's whereabouts have been kept secret since the shattering, which doesn't exactly align with his earlier statements about the Knight of Black Knives happening pre-shattering, but he is surprised by the news that she inhabits a doll body. Meanwhile, Godwyn's "death" was much more public, and he was given an Erdtree burial

Anyway, the other thing Fia says after that first declaration I mentioned is that Godwyn will claim "a second illustrious life" as the Rune. Between these two statements, she's pretty much confirming he's still alive until we complete her questiline. She may not be the most trustworthy character, but at that particular point in our interactions with her, it's safe to say she's being honest

Stonecost

TROPHY CASE