Souls games, like Elden Ring, tend to open with a massive list of names. These could be characters important to the lore, including bosses, or just echoes of eons passed. Following these little threads can help you unravel the nature of the world. And, in Elden Ring, this is all the more important. These great family trees determine the fate of the world.
The many demigod children of Marika and Radagon are the major players. They all have their own reasons to want the shards of the Elden Ring. In this article, we'll take a look at each demigod and the desire that drives them.
Updated August 17, 2022 by Hilton Webster: Like all of FromSoftware's works, the world of Elden Ring is rife with historians and scholars seeking to unravel the mysteries of it all. Some of those answers are given directly by the game, while others only reveal themselves with deeper connections and even the game's cut content. The demigods in Elden Ring hold many mysteries of the world's past, and maybe even its future.
9 Godwyn - To Live In Death
There are a great many demigods in Elden Ring's long history, and plenty of them still populate the world. But perhaps the most important of them all is never seen alive in the game whatsoever. Godwyn the Golden, firstborn of Queen Marika, is killed during the Night Of Black Knives, triggering the Shattering. Though he doesn't die quite right.
Only his soul perished, and the body of Ranni. His body was laid to rest at the roots of the Erdtree, though it became twisted. It can be hard to say, truly, what Godwyn wants anymore, but the Deathbed Companion Fia claims that he deserves proper death, to be able to live a life of death in peace, instead of stuck between two worlds.
Lore Theories
Godwyn's own defiled corpse is what has rotted the roots of the Erdtree so, and is possibly the very thing that's corrupted the many catacombs across the land as well. Though he lived a bountiful life, his rival, the Lichdragon Fortissax, followed him into undeath. Though he never says it himself, it's quite possible that Godwyn wants to bring the whole world into that very same Death that he's suffered, though complete this time — as evidenced by the Rune of Death dropped by Fia.
8 Godrick - To Live Up To His Lineage
Time as a concept can be somewhat vague in Elden Ring. With the fractured Golden Order having fostered an Elden Ring without death, immortality graced the people of The Lands Between, and a great, long lineage of demigods was born. Amongst them was Godrick, a distant descendant of Godwyn.
During the Shattering, Godrick fled the capital to the castle of Stormveil, and named himself lord. But alas, the guidance of grace faded from the eyes of demigods, passed on to Tarnished. So Godrick took up grafting, attaching copious Tarnished to himself in hopes of siphoning their grace, a faint hope to live up to Marika's firstborn.
Lore Theories
Godrick is a pitiful soul, the last dregs of Gold without Grace wandering The Lands Between in the hope of divine intervention. The act of grafting runs in his family, employed too by Godefroy during the Shattering. Godrick even sought to duel Malenia, suffering a punishing humiliation. Time and again he has been proven unworthy of anything, yet seeks everything even still. It would be admirable, were he not so pathetic.
7 Ranni - To Bring About The Age Of Stars
Ranni is one of three special children of demigods. While her mother is Rennala and her father Radagon, she was born an Empyrean like Marika, meaning she had the means to succeed her. But Ranni saw injustice in the Golden Order and the Greater Will's influence on the world.
She sought to end it. Her mother was spurned by Radagon to become the consort of Marika, and her mother imprisoned. Her siblings fought for scraps to create a world that would still serve the Erdtree. And so Ranni sought a world without them, a world drowned in the dark of space and the light of the moon, and where the only ruler was yourself.
Lore Theories
Ranni is central to the lore in every aspect; past, present, and future. She instigated the Night of Black Knives, she guides you on your journey to become Elden Lord, and she may well usher in a new age for The Lands Between. But of particular interest is her peculiar similarities to Melena. They share a similar face, and opposing scars over the eye. Melena's Blade of Calling also functions incredibly similarly to the Black Knives freed by Ranni. Melena even seems to claim Marika as her mother. The connections between her and Ranni are too plentiful to ignore, especially when both want to change the world.
6 Rykard - To Burn The Erdtree To Ash
Rykard was another of the children born to Rennala and Radagon, though he was not an empyrean like his sister Ranni. But while Radahn cared deeply for his father, and Ranni for her mother, Rykard had no such affections and was happy even with the knowledge of Ranni's plans.
When the Shattering came, Rykard knew. He knew that a world held up by The Greater Will would never be a world of freedom. People were just slaves to their desire, a life lived only to empower them in death. So he formed the Volcano Manor of Mt. Gelmir to burn the Erdtree, and enlisted the help of a godly serpent to do so.
Lore Theories
Though the Rykard we see in-game is a scant memory of his former self, much of his conviction remains. He seeks to remove The Greater Will, though notably doesn't explicitly oppose Outer Gods in general. The Great Serpent of Mt. Gelmir is ancient, possibly a form of god native to The Lands Between, harnessing a form of magic all of its own. If anything, Rykard's absorption into the serpent was a means to return the world to its natural state.
5 Radahn - To Protect His Loved Ones
The final of the three children between Radagon and Rennala, Radahn had no such lofty ambitions. He was a man of flaming hair, taking after his father. It was a point of pride to take after such a champion of the Erdtree, and lived a life of warfare to pay homage. But also to Godfrey, the first Elden Lord who waged war against the giants.
When the Shattering came, Radahn already had a place: the battlefield. With the war prowess of his father and the gravity magic of his mother, he was an unstoppable force. Until he met the Goddess of Rot. Consumed by rot, only the barest notions remained. To halt the very stars and use gravity to save his horse from his rot-infested form.
Lore Theories
Radahn was short of neither praise nor glory in his life. He comes from a lineage of relation to Rennala, Radagon and Marika, gods and champions all. Yet his red hair of his father's, that he takes such pride in, is a point of contempt for Radagon, hating that he looks so alike to the giants. Radahn's Redmanes also use fire in their weapons, just like the Giants who oppose the Erdtree. Radahn, though loving of his lineage, would seemingly go to any length to achieve higher glory, even in admiring the techniques of his sworn enemies.
4 Mohg - To Create His Own Dynasty
Perhaps the most distinct of the demigods, Mohg was born to Marika and Godfrey, though as an accursed omen that was to be shunned and buried below the city. For the sin of birth, Mohg was denied the grace of the Erdtree and a life with his family. So he made a new one, a communion with the Formless Mother.
If he wasn't to be given grace by his own family, he would create a better world. But Mohg was no empyrean, and thus could not be a vessel for the Formless Mother. So he kidnapped his half-brother Miquella, in hopes he could house the Formless Mother, and give Mohg a dynasty that could far surpass the Golden Order.
Lore Theories
Mohg is one of the few characters who has already contacted another Outer God directly, and took his own half-brother to do so. Much of Mohg is shrouded in mystery. He's deeply resentful of how he was shunned for being an accursed Omen and wants his own Dynasty. However, does he truly have a goal, or is it just revenge? Is Miquella just a tool for him, or does he truly hope he can help his half-brother escape his empyrean curse by ascending him to godhood?
3 Morgott - To Be Worthy Of Grace
Twin to Mohg and child of Marika and Godfrey, Morgott strove to take a different path than his brother. While also born an omen and shunned by the Erdtree, Morgott sought desperately to be worthy of that grace. Maybe, if he just showed enough reverence for long enough, he would become worthy.
But that time never came. And maybe beneath it all, he understood. That an omen like he could never be Elden Lord, despite being born of a god. And so he declared himself Lord of Leyndell, a halt to all seeking audience with Marika. If he could not succeed his mother, then no one could.
Lore Theories
Morgott feels like the opposite of his brother Mohg in many respects, seeking the love of The Greater Wills rather than forming his own new world. Omens are natural to this world, unlike the Erdtree and The Greater Will, yet Morgott professes undying loyalty to them. It could be in reverence to his own mother that lies within, a rage that his siblings would fight for glory rather than unity, or maybe even his father — Godfrey's — return. Yet, he still defends the Erdtree to his dying breath.
2 Malenia - To Protect Her Brother
Malenia is a legendary figure across the game. Impaled swords are scattered across the land, epitaphs of wars since passed, many won by Malenia. Child of Radagon and Marika, Malenia was born an empyrean, though afflicted with the Scarlet Rot from her very birth. Every battle was against her opponent and the rot within her.
But her brother Miquella sought to solve this, even temporarily, and created the Unalloyed Gold Needle to hold the Rot at bay. And it worked, until the time came when Mohg carried Miquella away while Malenia was at war with Radahn. And with no one to remind her of the pride she had or to keep the rot away, she was left at the base of the Haligtree, to await her beloved brother's return.
Lore Theories
Malenia feels like a fabled hero throughout The Lands Between, monuments scattered about detailing her endless victories. Yet she seems to have disappeared, with whispers of her becoming the Goddess of Rot. Though she unleashed that power to defend her life, this rot within may well have been the influence of an Outer God. The Scorpion's Stinger, found at the Lake of Rot, deals Scarlet Rot damage and was fashioned from the remnants of an Outer God, and Miquella's goal was to remove this very influence from the world. Her own perseverance against the Scarlet Rot within her was too an act of devotion to her ailing brother.
1 Miquella - To Remove Outer Gods
Twin to Malenia, Miquella was the other child of Marika and Radagon. And just like his sister, he was also born an empyrean with a cursed body. For him, his body would not age, and he was stuck in the form of a young child eternally. But this did not dampen his ambition. If anything, it spurred it on.
Miquella deemed these afflictions to be that of Outer Gods, and so dedicated his life to beating back their influence. He grew the Haligtree from his own blood, creating a home for he and Malenia. And yet when he chose to rest within the Haligtree, in hopes of, at last, finding a solution, he was taken by Mohg, with no true clarity as to whether Miquella ever came to a conclusion.
Lore Theories
The tale of Miquella is a tragic one. He is seen only once in the game; his bare, seemingly lifeless arm drooping from Mohg's cocoon. His life is a mystery, much of it lived away in the Haligtree. However, the Eclipse at Castle Sol mentions Miquella plenty, possibly in attempts to resurrect his brother Godwyn, and cut content even implies Miqeulla is St. Trina. Where others warred amongst themselves, Miquella actively sought the betterment of the world. In fact, his role as St. Trina may imply he is sleeping and dreaming even now.