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The moment you walk out of Elden Ring's tutorial, you come face to face with Marika. Well, as close to face-to-face as you can get in the wild. There are churches dedicated to her and stakes named after her scattered across the map, allowing for you to respawn and summon aid. To say she's an important figure would be an understatement.

Her children make up a good chunk of the games' main bosses while her story is tied to Elden Rings' key dilemma, the shattering of the titular ring. She's embroiled in the game's narrative, a clearly important figure you'll hear about time and time again.

RELATED: Elden Ring: Stakes Of Marika Explained

Queen Marika the Eternal, to use her full title, is the Elden Ring's vessel, and she is the mother of the demi-humans we find and fight across the Lands Between. But she's more than a queen and certainly more than a vessel.

Spoilers for Elden Ring ahead.

Who Is Radagon?

Radagon

To understand Marika, you have to understand that she has two halves, her female half and her male half — Marika and Radagon. This is where things get weird. Marika was married to the first Elden Lord, Godfrey, but when he became Tarnished and subsequently exiled from the Lands Between, she took a new husband — Radagon. She married herself.

But before the two wed, Radagon married Queen Rennala, bearing numerous children who Marika would then raise as her own step-children, turning them into demigods. If you don't know, Rennala is the Queen of the Full Moon and, by the time we arrive at the Raya Lucaria Academy, its master.

While Radagon left Rennala to be with Marika, he didn't go without leaving a parting gift. He gave her an amber containing one of the Elden Rings' shards, a Great Rune — a demigod. He also left her his wolf who guards the path to her prison.

What Happened To Marika?

Elden-Ring-Delay

Before Elden Ring even begins, there's a wealth of lore and world-building that's already well underway. The Elden Ring has shattered, sending the Lands Between into turmoil as the Tarnished flock back home to fix the mess the gods have wrought, seeking to repair the Elden Ring and become Elden Lords with this newfound power. But before the Tarnished were called home, there was the Shattering, a war fought between Marika's children over the shards of the Elden Ring.

Following the Shattering, Marika was locked into the Erdtree, imprisoned as her children ran rampant across the Lands Between. All the while, Radagon became corrupted and bitter. After we kill them at the end of the game, they arise as the Elden Beast, pushing the Tarnished to make their decision.

You can become the new Elden Lord, restore the Death Rune to end the curse of immortality, burn the Erdtree and become the Lord of Chaos, or help Ranni to replace Marika, with you taking the role of Radagon as their other half. Regardless of what you do, Radagon dies while Marika's fate is left in your hands.

Who Are Marika's Children?

Elden Ring Margit Boss

Margit and the Omen

There's Godwyn, Margit, Radahr, Malenia, Ryhard, and Ranni. Godwyn died shortly after the Rune of Death was stolen, while Margit is the first main boss we're supposed to fight in Elden Ring. Little is known about Margit, but there's an item we can buy from Patches that gives us an insight into his past — Margit's Shackle.

A fetish bathed in golden magic. Shackles were used to bind the accursed people called the Omen under strictest confinement. Though faint, the shackles still retain vestiges of power — enough to trap the once-bound Margit on earth, if only for a short time.

The Omen mentioned appears to be a bestial species, likely cast out for their appearance and nature. We meet the Omen King later in the game — Margott. He defended the Erdtree, although he was "never loved" despite his service. But being an Omen doesn't appear to be a choice. We're told that he was "born of the graceless Omen." However, we know that the Omen King "was born of the golden lineage," giving him some claim to royalty, so it's not all bad for our gruesome friend.

There are a variety of other Omen-based enemies dotted about the Lands Between such as the ogres. There's a chance when killing them that they'll drop an "Omen Cleaver" which takes "advantage of brute strength." Clearly, that's in their nature.

Elden Ring Radahn standing with his arms stretched out, screaming

Radahr and Malenia

General Radahr is cursed ever to wander. Eaten from the inside, by Malenia's scarlet rot, his wits are long gone. Now he gathers the corpses of former friends and foes alike, gorging on them, like a dog.

Radahr the Starscourge is another of Marika's children, described by many as the "Red Lion General". He's a towering behemoth, but he rides a small, scrawny mount. He does so by harnessing gravitational magic, allowing him to keep that tight bond with his steed regardless of his size. He actually learned gravitational magic just for that reason. He and Malenia, another of Marika's children, fought to a bloody standstill, neither ever managing to win their feud.

Volcano Manor Elden Ring queen sitting in her throne beside her knight in a red room

Rykard and the Volcano Manor

Rykard meanwhile is the master of Volcano Manor, a cult of invaders who seek to stop the cycle and usurp the Elden Ring and its grace. They are fighting against the grain, standing up for the Tarnished — or so they say. Rykard is a far cry from the other children who are warring for the power of the Elden Ring and its shards.

He's fittingly dubbed the Lord of Blasphemy, a gigantic snake monster that you'll be forced to fight through the story to rip away his shard.

Elden Ring Ranni looking into the camera with a blue light running down her right eye

Ranni

Finally, you have Ranni. We first meet her as 'Renna' when she gives us a bell that lets us summon spirits. She's arguably the most important of Marika's children, being the one who stole the Rune of Death, ushering in the age of immortality that now plagues the Lands Between. Nobody can die — that's because of Ranni.

She has an interesting journey with the Tarnished, helping them to slay the Two Fingers, bestowing upon them FromSoftware's signature Dark Moon Greatsword, and then ascending to the role of her mother Marika while you, the Tarnished, take the role of Radagon (if you choose that path).

Next: Elden Ring: What Are The Tarnished?