In these fantastical worlds, it's the human element that keeps people coming back to the stories told in Miyazaki's games. Being ostracised for being ginger is just another example of his effortless weaving of real-world struggles into his work.
One thing I've always liked about Elden Ring is how some of the friendliest NPCs belong to the same species as enemies you fight. You've got Hewg, Boc, Iji, Rya, Alexander and I'm probably forgetting a few others. Really helps show the player that they aren't just monsters. Hewg really helped me see the Misbegotten in a different light.
had that same thing happen to me in my ng+ run, you really don't wanna kill them, it's like, no my misunderstood thingies, chill, but they never do ☹️ so you know what's up 😂
The story of Castle Morne is quite fitting tbh, given its past. It was an old castle situated upon the coast, from which a fearsome clan of warriors presided. Godfrey slew them all, and in an bid of revenge, the last standing warrior of Morne took the blades of his clansmen and forged a grafted greatsword. Though even in death, the blade of the rebel revenger was memorialized. And so it’s quite fitting for the leader of the Misbegotten slaves of Morne to acquire such a sword, and lead his people against their slavers. It’s also quite telling of Godrick. In a desperate attempt to cement his status as Lord of the region, he assigns a banished knight as commander and castellan of Morne, accompanied by a number of allied soldiers and various nobles likely affiliated with the golden lineage’s failed insurgency of the capital. But it all went to crap when the slaves revolted and killed everyone. And so the slaves that belonged to Godfrey’s descendent evoked the revengeful wrath of Morne’s troubled past, set into place then by Godfrey himself.
I think Morne has one of the most interesting backgrounds in the game. Would love to have learned more about its original residents that Godfrey wiped out!
No. Land of Eochaid was laid to waste by Marika's warriors when she established her supremacy and Godfrey conducted raids to neighbouring lands. Surviving member of the clan of Eochaid swore revenge, melted the swords together, and set sail to Lands Between to enact his vengeance. He built a castle in the southernmost tip of the Lands Between, expanding the castle layer after layer, until it became mighty defensive bulwark. The castle clearly is made to defend attack by land, not by sea, and has been steadily built from sea to inland to ensure foothold in lands between. This revenger was Elemer. Elemer was apprehended by Godfrey and taken to Shaded Castle, where he was supposed to be executed. But revenger was not killed. Maleigh Marais, as he was private believer in scarlet rot, was not the most loyal executioner. He or Golden Order confessors thought use for Elemer and wrapped the Eochaid armor in cursed briars, that in Lands Between indicate "a sentence of death" and kept him around. He was forced to become a clandestine agent, made to hunt the nomadic people that were suspected being infected by Flame of Frenzy. This enlisting of death-row criminals is common practice in Lands Between, as they are used as workers and warriors in clandestine matters, in case of thorn sorcerers serving Fire Monks, and Elemer serving Marais family. Briars mark them as criminals and might even compel them to succeed in their duties. Elemer was to serve, until at last he was to be released from this service by execution. Elemer became infamous as Briar Knight, his true identity as a revenger kept secret, hunting nomadic merchants to quell the Frenzied Flame. But when he was supposed to be executed at long last, something happened. Perhaps it was Shattering which weakened magical bonds of briars, or later in timeline when unconscious Malenia and her escort, Finlay entered Shaded Castle with detachment of Cleanrot Knights. With troops loyal to Malenia, perhaps Elemer was able to stage a coup and wrestle the control of the castle from Marais. Or perhaps Maleigh Marais was so smitten by Malenia, he tried to create his own rot swamp outside, leaving things like duty and his responsibilities, quite figuratively to rot. So Elemer is in all effect castellan now. Whatever happened, Elemer was nonetheless able to escape his looming execution, stealing the storied sword of House Marais, and wielding it with arts of Eochaid. Maleigh Marais was unceremoniously dumped from his own castle. We eventually finish what our ancestor Godfrey started, and slay the final surviving member of Eochaid, the same revenger who arrived to Lands Between so long ago, seeking vengeance.
@@matiasluukkanen7718 I love how you just made all of that up. You can assert your own interpretation of the lore however you want, but what I just said can be pulled from the game word-for-word as well as observed. You have your personal correlations, I have my facts. It’s simple as that.
@@matiasluukkanen7718 That's very interesting... but pretty much nothing supports the idea that the grafted greatsword or castle morne has anything to do with Eiochad.
When discussing the connection between smithing, hammers, giants, and the misbegotten I was expecting a reference to arguably the most famous smithing moment in Elden Ring. Radagon attempting to repair the golden order.
I believe the giants themselves are cursed by their god - the malformed cyclopean flame deity of ruin. I would assume that is the case since their red hair is characterized as a curse, their purpose to harness the flame is a curse, and I can’t imagine having the likeness of your god growing out of your stomach to also not be a curse. Perhaps the Giants weren’t always “fire” giants seeing as they aren’t native to the mountains, and we do in fact find skeletons of giants in Caelid. Honestly feel bad for them ngl
That is a great connection, and if the growth was a manifestation of their god, that totally backs up an idea that the red hair curse would be a parasitic relationship, which supports the theory that Radagon was the humanoid manifestation of the curse Marika expelled from her body. Oh also I just saw an image while working on this, but the Trolls empty cavity looks like it sits right below where the nose of the face on the Fire Giant ends; like they carved out the face of their god when they betrayed the giants. Really cool detail I just never noticed!
Worth noting here, Trolls have something in their chests resembling an old tablet wrapped in roots, suggesting less of a liberation and more of a new master.
@@kitetales I think they were called that in 1.00 in an unused item description (Radagon Chimera) but not in Japanese. Just as the Nox were referred to as “Empyrean Family” or “Descendants of Marika.”
You've pulled together a ton of little details that made me go "hmm, these things FEEL connected but idk how or why" alongside another ton of things I never knew or noticed, and you've made a really satisfying tapestry of truths and theories, good job! I'd love to say I'm surprised but, to be honest, this is the kind of thing you nail in essentially every video - so instead, I'm just impressed, great work!
Thank you, Jay! I was excited at the possible connections with the sword and hair, but we're given so little to go on that I had a lot of assuming to do for this one, so I appreciate hearing it at least sounds like it fits together! :) Thanks for watching and for the kind feedback.
@@kitetales You deserve it! All of these links hold up, and - as you know - the best possible result of Soulsbourne theories and videos is that they can stand on their own two feet, rather than be proven by the creator (Miyazaki is never going to do that hahaha) When Elden Ring came out, Vaati said he'd hold off on videos to allow new creators to have the space to truly flex their wings and create great content that wouldn't be overshadowed by a similar video he had that would get more attention purely algorithmically - you are such a brilliant example of that philosophy working and I'm glad to give you a compliment that you see in that regard! I still regularly think about your Dominula video when playing the game - there's details that suggest different ideas, but both their behaviour and that sorcerer hanging around outside the town are so compelling that I think of you regularly and am still not swayed away from your theory haha - thanks for the consistent satisfying brain-tickles!
In regards to the Misbegotten Crusader at Cave of the Forlorn and how he could have been entrusted with the Golden Order Greatsword, I have a few interpretations: First off, the very title of this boss is pretty suggesting. We know as a fact due to Morgott's dialogue that the Grace-Given Omen King considered all other contendants during the Shattering wars, his own demigod brethren, to be traitors against the Golden Order. Including Miquella, whose rings of light incantations state that Radagon and his son exchanged these spells as gifts once Miquella decided to abandon Golden Order Fundamentalism, given that it could simply and bluntly put do nothing to treat her twin sister's cursed affliction, Malenia's scarlet rot. Could it be that Morgott too would come to see Miquella as a traitor sullying the Golden Order with his Unalloyed Gold, and thus, once the Shattering began, would have attempted to make war upon his province? It should be worth noting that reaching the Haligtree, as can be experienced in game, is no easy task. Both halves of the medallion are dispersed at way quirkier locations than their Dectus counterparts, and getting your hands on them involves defeating Gideon Ofnir's henchman Ensha first and then a ton more enemies before you reach Castle Sol for the second half. I doubt this had always been the case prior to the Tarnished returning to the Lands Between. As mentioned by the finger reader at Raya Lucaria's Bellum Road Gate, the one who wields the medallion needed to activate the Grand Lift of Dectus and reach the capital would be the new Elden Lord. Could it be that medallions could originally only be wielded by those claiming lordship over the lands beyond a Grand Lift? Another matter: why are the few Misbegotten present on Leyndell not in the sewers with the rest of the regal Omen? Whereas Morgott's dominion kept the Omen living their miserable existence underground, he seemed keen in letting the Misbegotten remaining in his golden capital stay on the surface relatively unchecked. This predicament could have been motivated by one main reason, most likely respect for the mandates of the recently disappeared Elden Lord Radagon. Finally, with the information, hypotheses and evidence provided and posited, I believe we can piece up a cohererent theory for the mistery involving the Cave of the Forlorn: Once the Shattering was set into motion, the Erdtree spurned all who attempted to enter from outside. Morgott would use this as his argument to become Leyndell's keeper and Guardian of the Erdtee, and would then wage war upon his demigod brethren. It is most likely that, just as the Elden Lord crown was shown to stay outside the Erdtree at the time of Marika's shattering of the Elden Ring, so could have been the Golden Order Greatsword. What if Morgott had entrusted a Leonine Misbegotten among the ones heading towards the Haligtree under Miquella's protection with this legendary armament to revolt against his new-found enemy, the Unalloyed? As stated above, only the Lord of a given land could wield its lift medallion, which in the Haligtree's case had one half stolen after Mohg kidnapped the ever-young empyrean. There's no way the Leonine Misbegotten Crusader could have gotten there otherwise on his own. After all, the entire Consecrated Snowfield us frequently stated to be "Miquella' secret land", inaccessible by any means other than the Grand Lift of Rold itself when using the "secret" medallion in question. I find it very likely that the Cave of the Forlorn is the only place where this crusaders either thought they could find refuge or establish a base of operations and then got trapped between giant crabs, land octopi and Theodorix, a magma wyrm in its full might, thus leading to the entire operation failing. Which would make sense considering that Morgott in all likelihood did not know what dangers awaited across the Consecrated Snowfield should one wander stray through the blizzard without any guide. Anyways, this is plainly put fully speculative and should be taken, like the vast majority of lore theories on Elden Ring, with a grain of salt. Also, mymost committed thanks to whoever is reading this for staying up until this point.
I wondered about that at times, it’s also possible that given his nature Radagon was trying to integrate the Misbegotten into the Golden Order as he had with Caria. Since Golden Order Fundamentalism is rooted in breaking down and studying the Golden Order, he might have taken an interest in the crucible. Also given the large numbers of nameless demigods that were slain on the night of the black knives, it probably isn’t a stretch to guess Radagon and/or Marika could have had some misbegotten bastard children.
Kenneth Haight certainly thought demihumans were redeemable. Not sure how misbegotten relate to demihumans. I Always kind of lumped them together as different kinds of demihumans.
It seems to be implied that demihumans are the descendants of the beastmen of Farum Azula, if not a separate race that has lived in the lands between alongside them and humans. Misbegotten may be born of humans like Omens, but I’m not sure about that. Given their features they definitely have ties to the Crucible.
@@cyborgcatrj6794the demihumans are more like cavemen, they a very inteligent they just live like neholitic people. There is a reasin sorcerers from raya lucaria were teaching them sorceries
Somewhat tangential thought: The Crucible, very much like a blast furnace, was designed and used for a purpose, to craft the Ancient Dragons. Once they were forged, the crucible was left to its own devices. cooled, and the blending of raw vitality and life led to...by-products, lesser dragons and less desirable things. The slag. The misbegotten. There's probably more in this metaphor, but it's late, and I need to be up for work later.
Slag is metal that is oxydized under high heat and often mixed with other trace elements and impurities. Its brittle and often typically not suitable for anything.
@@hamsterhotep I just remember having to chip the crappy stuff off my welds. If I welded a bead and didn't chip off the slag, then tried to weld another bead over it, that weld will break.
On a side note, Kite has such a kind and reassuring voice. You're having a bad day, and you listen to her, and you find yourself thinking "Yknow, things are gonna be ok." :)
@@kitetales oh I'm sorry to hear that. I pray thing are better now, and that this still pretty new year will have blessings in store for both of you :)
The lore surrounding Radagon never seems to end, he and Godwyn have the most mysterious backstories to me. Even more questionable and enticing than that of Marika or Ranni..
At first i hear that "we've all ben sleeping WITH the misbegotten" and not sleeping on the mosbegotten and i had to go back to relisten. I was a thrown off there for a second, lol.
@@kitetales oh I'm sure there are plenty, lol. Tbf, they are kind of the ultimate furry, considering they have multiple animal parts mixed all into one.
I think Misbegotten motivations and origin is curiously tied to Miquella's Un-alloyed epithet. Marika/Radagon is not a true 100% child of gold. She was not born of proper wedlock (as a Numen), or even as a child of copper, (Fire-Giants). Marika is not all that golden. She/he was divine bastard child (favorite trope of Martin's) of Numen, and horribly stunted Fire-Giant, Milos, creating child of gold and copper, in other words, an alloyed child. Gold that we refer as gold most often is just alloy of different metals, most notably, often copper and gold. 50-50 of this mix is called red-gold, evoking red nature of Crucible to mind. It often has impurities as well. Marika, the divine bastard child, reviled her fire giant heritage and tried to externalise and separate her Fire-Giant half as much as she could, so much so that she split into two. Fully divided in mind and deed, (but not in body which they share) into her Numen half, and Fire-Giant half. Godly schizophrenic. They are the same person, but Marika is the side this God wants to show to the world. Marika is Radagon. Radagon is Marika. The Alloyed Child of Gold and Copper. Miquella was directly born from Marika's Numen side, while Malenia is born from Radagon's Fire-Giant heritage. Miquella is thus truly golden. Miquella, in his declaration of Un-alloyed Gold, is saying that he wants to become Greater Will's true representative, because unlike Marika, his gold is pure and truly un-alloyed. He is truly a child of gold, not a hint of impurity found. However, Misbegotten are the children of Radagon. Because Marika/Radagon is/are responsible of the new births through Erdtree, sometimes Radagon's characteristics "ruin" the golden batch Marika oversees. Cycle of new births is much like metallurgy in Elden ring, and the nascent life becomes alloyed with beastial and vestigial characteristics. These are misbegotten, mistakes of Marika, who inherit Radagon's nature in opposed to Marika. Marika is mother to all humans, made in image of her. But Radagon is father to all misbegotten. When Miquella declared he would create age of un-alloyed gold, there is implicit meaning there would be no more Misbegotten around. Because again, misbegotten are born partially of devolution through Radagon, who is Marika. Copper-Gold alloy has impurities. So the misbegotten reacted in religious fervor against Un-alloyed gold. They formed a great crusade, led by Leonine Crusader brandishing Radagon's trademark sword. They intended to storm the Haligtree to put stop to Miquella's plans. Vanguard traveled all the way to Consecrated Snowfield, and managed to slip into Haligtree Town, (either by flying or by deception) slaughtering its people. But after seeing Haligtree was dying and rotting anyway, they were horrified by their actions and after massacre, are praying forgiveness from Marika/Malenia/Miquella statues. And remaining misbegotten camp in cave of the Forlorn at the Snowfield is full of despairing Misbegotten, their entire crusade fully for naught.
Okay, you’re hired. 😆 This was beautifully written oh my gosh!! This is an amazing theory and it makes so much sense. Best theory on the Radagon/Marika debate I’ve seen. Thanks so much for sharing this here!
I must add that isn't what schizophrenia is, not at all. You're probably thinking of dissociative identity disorder, but that's still not quite the same as those two's situation, just similar in the way that it's multiple people in one body. But it's not a mental thing as much as it is just typical strange mythological god shenanigans.
While this is very convincing, and I agree with a great deal of it, I find some of your conclusions to be speculative at best. My main issue is your assumption that Milos is Marika’s father is, well, odd. All we know about Milos is that he was a giant of small stature. Certainly, this is not enough information to then say that he is the father of Marika. More likely, this is suggesting that he was the first of the trolls, and even that is sheer speculation. I think your theory is strong, the the inclusion of baseless conjecture stated as fact really brings it down a lot. You should state when you are speculating vs when you are stating confirmed fact, otherwise you will lower your credibility or misinform the reader.
Nah, Miquella is all about letting all flourish: misbegotten, omen, whatever. The Haligtree was for everyone outcast by the Golden Order. Unalloyed Gold is to REMOVE the influence of outer gods not to invite it: the needle is the only thing that cures rot or frenzy, so it would remove the influence of the greater will too.
@@kitetales Nah thank you! The depth of your research (really is graduate thesis level you aint lying), the way the footafe is captured, the tone you manage to set and most of all a soothing calm voice that reminds me of every good teacher I ever had. Btw I listened to this vid again while fighting Malenia and I won! That means you helped me win! Now which ending do you think I should go for this time?
I really appreciate you taking the time to leave me such nice feedback. It's definitely encouraging to keep the same level of editing! And yay that's awesome! Now if only I could beat her... gave up after like 20 times!
@@kitetales Never give up, never surrrender! I have full faith that someone of your caliber and capability will persevere. I took exactly 78 tries before I beat her the first time! (I kept a logbook with a death counter and everything!) Looking forward to your upcoming projects, Im sure they will be every bit as riveting and breathtaking as this. If I could humbly make a request to you to cover Shabriri in a video, (he vexes me like crazy) to hear what you think he did, what you think hes about to make us do and what we should do with him, I would be most obliged. Thank you for making these videos. Its amazing seeing such passion in them.
I had to pause for a moment at the Brick Hammer description as I had a (possible) realization. What if the labourer turned champion was Radagon himself? Suspected descendant of giants, famously known as a champion before becoming elden lord, and seen using a hammer as one too. Marika could have seen this devout former rebellion leader with giants blood as a a possible future threat (especially after his union with Renala) and chose to assimilate him, using his influence as a champion of the people as an asset to strengthen the golden order. Anyways, thank for the great video! very insightful, now on to watch your other ones.
I always assumed it meant radagon too, and honestly I always assumed the grafted greatsword spoke of hewg, since it would have taken a blacksmith to graft those blades, not to mention castle morne is misbegotten central so I just assumed grafted greatsword - hewg and brick Hammer - radagon. Still confuses me how radagon has sooooo much backstory and lore surrounding him if he's seemingly also supposed to be Marika. It's like the game goes back and forth between radagon ALWAYS being her or he was his own person and was absorbed. Radagon is one of the most fascinating characters because he actually seems to have had his own LIFE outside of Marika... Meanwhile Marika is veiled in mystery, with only HINTS of her living in a village with people who all look suspiciously like her, as if they're all mass produced creations, like the albinaurics.....
Someday the actual lore book is going to make it to the market. I love world building. Much respect and gratitude for the heroic time and effort you put into this whole endeavor. I can only imagine the lengths it took. Good job
Fingers crossed, there's a second strategy guide and an official art book coming out this year. I think I'll get both. But I really want that lore book. Even if it's just the stuff in the game already.
My theory on the brick Hammer was that it belonged to Radagon, who was a failed rebel forced to fight in Godfrey's gladiator arenas, and upon sufficient victory was "inducted" (read: had a compelling and overriding edict placed upon him like Hewg) into the golden order. From which he eventually merged with Marika, warred with Caria, and the lore as we know it proceeded. I think this because Radagon already fights with a hammer to deadly effect, so the brick Hammer being his fits. But also because as smithing and crafting are sacred to giants (or perhaps due to said brainwashing edict), Radagon sought to REPAIR the elden ring after Marika broke it. Radagon's unique great rune is even as much a lattice resembling skilled labor as it is a net designed to bind him to Marika's will. His devotion to the Golden Order is so single-minded that the only comparable case I could find was Hewg, who I viewed as being magically compelled or brainwashed by Marika.
It’s confusing, the Dark Moon Greatsword is the Carian King’s Badge of Office. Radagon reforged his sword to symbolize the bond between Caria and the Golden Order. The strangest part is how the Golden Order Greatsword ended up where it did, maybe when Radagon returned to the Capital to serve as Elden Lord Marika demanded he dispose of what was essentially his wedding ring to Rennala to prove his loyalty to her. It is possible that Radagon gave the sword to Miquella as he seemed worthy to carry on the lineage of the Golden Order as the sword is found in Miquella’s protected territory. And it also sounds like Radagon was cursed with red hair in retribution for his actions in the War against the Giants as it is believed that Marika and the Giants cursed each other via magic.
The last part of the comment, about Radagon being cursed by the fire giants, is really what I have believed since my first play through. My interpretation, which may go into a bit too much speculation admittedly, is that Marika had always been a rebus, and that she disguised herself as a man to fight alongside the tarnished and Godfrey in the war against the giants. The mimic veil is called “Marika’s mischief,” so the connection to Marika and the changing of one’s form as a disguise is textual. We also know that she was at the mountaintops during the war since she gave her speeches at the churches there. So then, she fights the giants and wins, cursing the last giant to tending the flame for eternity, and in return, her male half (which would have been the one that she was using at the time) was cursed with red hair. I think this curse actually led to the division between Marika and Radagon, in terms of ideology at least. I picture pre-curse Radagon to essentially just be Marika but with male features, representing the warrior half to Marika’s scholarly half (as seen by the effects of their respective seal talismans). But after the curse, Radagon became a separate entity with his own thoughts and ambitions. Let me know what you think.
After the DLC, my guess is, Radagon is part of Marika she abandoned just like Miqualla did to St. Trina, Marika was made saint by the hornsents, and Radagon symbolizes the crucible parts of Marika she fused with, so in some sense Radagon is a misbegotten himself, and that's why they worship him. Also there's a misbegotten illusion carrying another miquella's incantation in the stone coffin fissures area, I think they are still trying to draw the connection between Radagon and misbegottens.
Awesome video! Just one interesting thing I don't know if you missed is that the misbegotten are called "Children of Radagon" in the game files that the developers use. Which has to be taken with a grain of salt, as their story probably has changed since they named them that, but it's still an interesting connection.
Thanks so much! Yeah that’s definitely a good clue; I read an amazing comment yesterday supporting the theory that Radagon has the ability to create life so would line up with them being his children per creation.
I like how you tied in all my mini theories in one video. The giants, leonine and misbegotten and the crucible. That’s pretty cool and this a really good video
If this continues I’m not gonna be able to kill anything in ER without feeling serious amounts of shame Edit: this channel definitely deserves more subs
on the subject of that winged misbegotten dagger. it looks extremely close to the cinquedea wielded by the high ranking clergyman of farum azula with the main difference is the absence of the five finger decorations. makes me think that the misbegotten and the beastmen are closer than i thought, especially since it is thought the five fingers celebrated beastmen intelligence granted upon them.
YES!!! I thought the same thing! I ended up cutting it out though when I overlayed them and the shapes didn't line up... I thought the blade was too ornate compared to the Cinquedea, but I'm glad you see that connection too!
@@kitetales glad our thoughts sync up haha! though they may not exactly line up, i still personally think it could be significant, as the dagger couldve had a more traditional shape but instead has more or less the same blade profile of the cinquedea, could maybe hinting at some kind of evolution or past collaboration between beastmen and misbegotten? especially since youve made the connection of misbegotten possibly being linked to dragons, and that beastmen worshiped dragons (well ancient dragons but dragons nonetheless lol).
Ooh.. the golden order greatsword is even more like a cinquedea. That was made from a moonlight sword consecrated to the erdtree faith. Five finger blade.... 2 fingers + 3 fingers.... I don't know if it means anything. The Golden Order certainly has excised aspect thought to be impure and seemingly retains not the bestial aspect of the five fingers that signified the intelligence granted to beasts, but certainly the human aspects. Perhaps the Greater Will has similarly excised impurity from itself, that is of course the 3 fingers. Please excuse my rambling stream of thought. I'm not convinced of these things, it's just interesting to think about.
What do we have here? A lore video, featuring pleasant voiceover and tasteful cinematic gameplay shots, and a small following? I think you're gonna go far, honey! Subbed!
I love the way you’ve cited your sources and inferred new clues from environmental cues, which you also explain and cite. Your videos are a cut above other Elden Ring lore videos.
Could Radagon himself have been the owner of the Brick Hammer? The laborer who led the uprising became a "champion", which is the word always used to describe Radagon. Only someone with Giant's blood could lift it, which would explain Radagon's red hair. And we literally see him use a hammer both to repair the Elden Ring and as his weapon in the final fight.
New to your channel but wow I'm sold. I hope you have more. You're putting in tons of work for questions we all have but are left unanswered and your voice is incredibly soothing to boot. Elden Ring is confusing. I've played it twice and have read/listened to a whole bunch of lore and I just barely understand the major players and the overall happenings. Seems you're able to really break things down in a simple to understand way.
I haven't played yet but I'm familiar with the lore and characters. I had a chuckle when you answered my question I had at the beginning about Hewg. When you showed the Misbegotten as a montage, it clicked.
@@kitetales I consider lore videos for Fromsoft to be like the Blind men and the Elephant. Even when I can't play, I can take the observations of other lore channels and put it together in my head with the patterns I collect. Not really spoiling myself cause the surprise is finding out how the lore fits in gameplay when I get there.
Reminder that I think is pretty fucking important for this theory and I'm 8:03 in and haven't heard it yet: Radagon is implied to have forged the Rune of Rebirth, which is in the amber that Renala holds and went delusional over. Which definitely means he could have had the skills to create other forms of life.
So first your theory around hewg is borderline genius Ive always been fascinated by the crime that landed him such a harsh sentence. Second, I'd recommend three other lore youtubers who really helped expand my mind on the subjects of elden ring and touch on some of the specific topics you brought up. First among them is the rising star tarnished archeologist who, in his three part video series, discussing godfrey, puts forward the theory that the statue you see in game that he calls the "sage statues" actually far far predate radagon and in fact were a part of the empire that godfrey and then marika would build on top of; hes got one of the most unique aproachs to lore discussion Ive ever seen by way of looking at the trends and history of culture and architecture to help understand the games lore. Second is the sleeper hit Quelagg, an absolutely amazing lore theorist who also really amazingly builds connections, especially through history religion and science. She's amazing, and she has tons of videos discussing her interpretation of the many different colors of elden ring and especially the red to gold connection; on the topic of giants specifically, she has a vid in which she gives some pretty amazing evidence for the giants having been the creators of the divine towers and alot of the oldest structures in the lands between (like the pillars that hold up the land) unfortunately I cant quite remember what vid that was and her vids can run hour+ on occasion. Finally, the only souls lore youtuber that's production value and presentation skills can challenge vaati is smoughtown, Ill be brief as possible, but his theories regarding the primordial crucibal and specifically mohg and morgott are excellent. Sorry for the long comment loved the vid!!
Thank you so much for the comment and the channel recommendations! I've heard so many people mention Tarnished Archeologist regarding the statues so I am definitely going to have a check out their channel!
@KiteTales & Flex I love this games world so much, and your video and perspective were really awesome, so I cant help but be excited at the idea of people looking at these different perspectives and throwing in there own 2 cents.
While the Misbegotten Dagger doesn't really line up perfectly with it, and definitely isn't the same model as it, its the same general type of dagger as the Cinquedea (which is a dagger/short sword type who's name is more or less a slight alteration of what would translate to Five Fingers (Cinque = 5 and dea is close to dito, which means finger)). Since the Cinquedea was a model of shortsword/longdagger that was used as a self defense weapon by commoners, and the dagger they have works perfectly well as one, it could just be that this is traditionally the type of dagger that worshippers of the Erdtree give graceless servants or people of low class who may need to defend themselves. Or they stole them from people who were allowed to own swords but were still on the lower class. The reason I say this is because the Cinquedea in Elden Ring is also the weapon of Guranq, the alter ego of Maliketh. It could have either been given to him or he took it up after he sealed away his sword inside himself and didn't want a fancy weapon so he could pose as Guranq. Which would either mean that they are a popular commoner's weapon, or that they are weapons given to beast-people in Erdtree society, and Maliketh's Black Blade is basically just the same design modified to be longer and have a different crossguard
Wow very interesting, Kit is like a walking encyclopedia with Elden Ring lore! And I nearly dozed off because your voice is just so relaxing. ☺ Hope everything is better for you!
Thank you for covering this! I've been wrecking my brain over the misbegotten for some time and came to similar conclusions (like the misbegotten - dragon connection) but I don't think I've seen anything on it yet. One thing that one could go deeper into is the connection to the crucible knights. They were Godfreys sworn knights, and a largely responsible for marikas victories. Yet they do not share the opinion that the misbegotten are cursed. There's even one fighting alongside a leonine misbegotten at Redmane Castle. This is further reflected in the tree armor variant we find in the deep root depths. It seems to me that Marika used Godfrey and his knights to her advantage to subdue all other powers, and then discarded them when they became a problem.
That fight against a Crucible Knight and a leonine misbegotten in Red mane Castle (not in Radahn festival mode) is another cool hint about their connection.
I actually thought the great hammer was radagon's. He is a smith and if we think of him as a descendant of the giants and all that self hate and repenting to the golden order it can be an interesting theory
I would also add that there is a fight against a Crucible knight and Leonine at the Redmane castle. Other than that this is an amazing video that changed my views a bit, I have seen Tarnished Archeologist take on a topic similar to this one but this video blows me away and connects everything perfectly
Glad to see someone talk about this connection. With exception to the weapon connection stuff it definitely fits. Though I think there’s way more involving the cave of the forlorn your missing. It’s unlikely that the crusader, wielding a sword that’d proof his affiliation with radagon and/or the golden order, who is in a cave with a dead dragon at its entrance is on the route to the haligtree by mere coincidence.
I've been getting into elden ring much more recently especially the lore and honestly i never considered looking at something that seemed so unimportant but this has to be some of my favourite ideas now im just seeing the existence of things like the misbegotten and the omens so much differently ill probably be looking more into this myself as i found this kind of society almost poetic weirdly enough. Amazing video. I'll definitely be watching more of your stuff.
A theory I've heard is that of the Brick Hammer actually belonging to Radagon. He is described many times as a Champion, he wields a hammer during his boss battle, and given that he reforged the sword Rennala gave him we can assume that he has some smithing abilities too.
I’ve seen that mentioned but I just don’t know if Radagon was ever a laborer, seems like that’s a post that would be beneath him if he was split from Marika.
First time finding your channel and was a very quick sub. Well researched and thorough video and an extremely soothing voice! Looking forward to going thru your catalog and any future videos!
I was already sympathetic to the plight of the misbegotten, but this was a really eye-opening video. I'm not so sure about your theory on Hewg, but there are enough connections there to be worth such speculation. I don't really have anything to add, but this was a really fucking interesting episode.
I like the Hewg backstory and giant connection! Another possible connection between Radagon, Castle Morne, and the Misbegotten is the Grafted Blade Greatsword tells about a “champion”. Radagon is always described as a champion, and the Misbegotten, specifically a Leonine variant, seems to be really interested with it for some reason. From what you’ve said, it seems to me the Misbegotten are/were preparing for some sort of holy war (the Leonine using Radagon’s sword is called a “Crusader”) using Radagon’s swords.
I've done some digging & it seems as though Radagon is a former Leonine Misbegotten Laborer turned Warrior/Champion... His story begins around Castle Morne & ends with his defeat to Godfrey. He was then given leniency by Serosh for his might. He was able to Rebirth himself into a human with the Amber Egg that he gained under mysterious circumstances, the one Rennala holds. His origins are more of a hidden story with slight clues in item descriptions. They will MOST DEFINITELY open up his story in an extended DLC though!
This is probably one of the most creative theories about him I’ve heard! I absolutely love it. I just can’t wrap my head around Marika calling him her other half though; that’s the one thing that just seems so intimate between them, that and the fact he brought the Golden Sewing Needle to the Caria Manor.
@@kitetales Yeah, it seems as though he was always a separate entity & Marika needed a New Champion after Godfrey. Their merging is a story element that adds mystery, but its just the truest form of Grafting that Godrick attempts to emulate. The Golden order simply amalgamates defeated parties into their ranks like the Roman Empire. Another addition to the connection of Radagon, Godfrey & Radahn is Radahn's Quote of "I was born a champion's cub. Now I am the Lord of the Battlefield's lion." is an indirect hint. He hails to the might of Godfrey and you will fight a Leonine/Crucible Knight duo on his castle grounds. This put my questioning of everything to shame.... Why is their a Leonine fighting beside a Crucible Knight for Radahn? They must both know of the connection between Godfrey & Radagon at Morne or a truce was struck behind the scenes. I do also believe Radahn was a Golden Order Loyalist of sorts, using simple Gravitational Magic as his connection to Rennala, but also having an immense amount of Strength to emulate Godfrey & Radagon. Halting the stars was his betrayal of his Carian Lineage.
@@kitetales One more thing, the Blood Star & Flame of Ruin seem to have a connection hinted at the Mountaintop of Giants with the Blood Witches & Fire Prelates. Mogh & Morgot have this so called Cursed Blood as the Omen, the Misbegotten have this Cursed Blood and so do the Red Haired Giants...
Unique content, wonderful presentation and editing, great choice of music as well. I really hope you guys blow up in views and subscribers soon - because this is quality content. Looking forward to more content on upcoming releases.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that. I am SO excited for some of the upcoming games this month: Sons of the Forest and then Atomic Heart at the end of February. And then Hogwarts Legacy this Friday! Hopefully lots of fun new stories to talk about!
I found myself smitten with these guys, they became my favorite designed creatures in game. I made a misbegotten character for an Elden Ring homebrew quest in D&D. I wish I knew exactly where they came from (as in how they’re born/made) as the game is conflicting on whether they’re born the way they are or it’s truly a curse/blessing from coming into contact with The Crucible.
Fun theories :) I always love hearing more about Radagon. I have always subscribed to the idea that he was a lot more his own person, rather than JUST marika in disguise. Even if he was a part of her in some way. The quote Melina gives in marika's bedchamber seems like proof of that to me :) But yea, this was really interesting!
Thank you so much! And I completely agree with you; I definitely believe Radagon had his own distinct autonomy. He's actually the focus of my next video, it's been a lot of fun working with all of the theories shared with me!
Very late to this one, but have you ever considered the connection of the Misbegotten to Vargram the Raging Wolf? The raging wolf armor set is uncannily similar to how the misbegotten looks. And just like the Misbegotten, he wields the Godslays Greart Sword. Another legendary weapon, and the misbegotten seem to constantly get their hands on these legendary swords. Considering the trailer materials always feature the raging wolf set, it surprises that there is very little lore exploration amongst the community around the mystery of vargram. Anyway just thought I'd share. Absolutely love your content Kitetales.
On the knife they use, the style of knife looks like a cinquedea, there is a dagger you CAN get called a Cinquedea but it looks like its covered in gold corpse wax and made of the same stone as the bestial incantations. the one the misbegotten use looks like more of a traditional one
i noticed the dagger the misbegotten is holding has a similar green and reddish bronze color as the "gilded greatshield" and the item description of that shield states: "The red tinge in the gold coat mirrors the primordial matter that became the Erdtree. The color of homeward yearning." When I hear primordial I usually think of the crucible so likely related in that regard, the homeward yearning part also seeming fitting for misbegotten who are misplaced and hated.
All i won’t now is a self insert dragonhearted crucible knight fighting for omens, misbegotten alike there rights and to be part of the golden order. under oure great omen king Margott the fell, (and the primordial crucible.) Fixing the system.
I like the idea that radagon is the dad of the misbegotten and they're all inbred, since they weren't always beastlike so they reproduced on their own and stayed this way
When we translate "Misbegotten" directly from Japanese we get "Hybrid". If we look very closely at the murals of Farum Azula we will see that some of them show creatures similar to the winged misbegotten. Personally I think they are just humans mutated by the powers of the Cruiible.
I bet Marika's blood probably contains some aspects of the crucibles, which explains why two of her three direct offspring are Omens, and those traits of this ancient characteristic materialized in the form of Radagon.
Great video, I hope you will make more Elden Ring content. My thoughts: I love the close-up of the misbegotten short gladius! I had not noticed its uniqueness at all even as is was being lodged into my face. I read some of the other comments and I don't think it has anything to do with the Cinquedea; The Cinq is straight edged with a rounded guard, the gladius has a SZ shape and a straight guard. But the close-up does show that it is made bronze, which is the crucible metal and it has gold trimmings in the shape of a Symbol or Icon. I am not sure, but it looks like a match for either the Night Sorcery Sigel or the Baldachin's Blessing Icon. I like the idea that Hewg was once a rebel leader. It is really substantiated atm, but I just want something better or more glamorous for him then just being Gidions pet. I don't know what to make of the Giant connection, being being referred to in the Hammer text. I don't think the statues are of Radagon. It is found in many places that Radagon never visited, like in the underground eternal cities, or buildings that are far older then he could be, like Stormveil Castle Undercrofts. But your case for the GOS in the hands of the Crusader is tight. Radagon no doubt gifted it to the misbegotten. And the web is abuzz with reasons why. A video by 'The Tarnished Archaeologist' makes some implications as to why the misbegotten are rampaging in half of the Haligtree. What is your take on TA's thoughts?
Thank you so much for the comment! I haven’t heard of that video but the premise sounds interesting; someone else mentioned the Misbegotten encroaching on the Haligtree so I wonder if that really is the case! The animation of them worshipping is just really interesting to me. Makes them stand out because I can’t think of any other characters that do that.
You say he's never been to the Eternal Cities, but that's honestly unlikely, his story is tied to them in a ton of ways. At the conclusion of the second Liurnian War, he repented his territorial aggressions by cleansing himself with a Night Tear. Night Tears are treasures of the Eternal Cities, so where on the surface would he get one? Do you suppose it was a generous gift from the Carians, who he was still at war with at the time? What about the amber egg he gave Rennala? It outright requires Larval Tears, a patented Eternal City technology, to even use. The egg using Larval Tears definitely isn't coincidence either, even Boc knew that one would be required for Rennala's rebirth. And if Radagon never went to the underground, then how could a Red Wolf of Radagon possibly end up in Nokron, the Eternal City that even Ranni didn't know how to access? Speaking of Nokron, don't forget that's where D is, too. The D brothers are pretty obviously supposed to parallel Marika and Radagon, so the fact that the Twinned Set is half silver, and one of them is found in an Eternal City, kind of suggests the two-in-one phenomenon is related to Silver Tears. The cut Asimi quest points in that direction too. Even if you assume Radagon didn't have any contact with the Eternal Cities prior to meeting Rennala though, he did then become the head of the Carian royalty, which owned two elevators to Nokstella. One at their study hall, and another at their lunar estate. Like the Larval Tears, this was clearly no secret either : Iji's dialogue indicates that any random Tarnished should be aware of Nokstella. By the way, on what grounds is Stormveil Castle "far older than Radagon could be?" What's the limit to how old he can be?
@@UltraStarWarsFanatic Celestial Dew is a requirement for cleansing, and yes that requires a silver tear, but it makes it a bit more plausible that Renalla gifted one. But you make good points on Radagon's age. My take on Stormveil's age was that the Stormlord was defeated by Godfrey when "all opposed the Erdtree". If Radagon was already around and 'a mere champion' by then, we would expect many statues of Godfrey and his axe. In the Et. Cities, there is no tree symbols at all, but the Templar statue is quite common. Why would there be statues of 'humble Radagon' when there is a perfectly good 'proud Radagon statue' (like the one in Leyndell).
@@AmryL Well that's exactly the question the game asks, isn't it? Why would Radagon cast Rennala aside, and why would a mere champion be chosen for the seat of Elden Lord? The simple answer to this question is the Radagon=Marika reveal. Of course there's a lot of ambiguity regarding the details of what that means, but the point is that Radagon wasn't who he said he was. An interesting thing about the statue is the fact that it's hooded. If it is assumed to be Radagon, then he he may have been trying to hide his hair, and by extension his identity, during the period it was built. Another important point is that while the Erdtree is what Marika is associated with in the modern era, she's definitely older than it is. Perhaps the same is true of Radagon. Also, I'm not sure what you're getting at with the "everyone was opposed to the Erdtree" line. Nothing ties that to Stormveil in particular. The Liurnian Wars were also one of the Erdtree's wars of conquest, and arguably the most important one (sans the War Against the Giants, which represented the Erdtree's birth) to the Erdtree becoming the embodiment of Order. Moreover, the Long March should have come directly after Godfrey's final conquest; Radagon left Rennala at that point, so that can't have been before the Liurnian Wars, let alone Radagon's birth.
The Tarnished Archaeologist has an interesting theory about the crucible being a coniferous Erdtree from witch the great underground root system originated but was cut and the current Erdtree was grafted onto the roots He believes the Misbegotten originate from when the graft was struggling to asstablish itself wille the Omens are the result of the original plant starting to take over again
I always love when a good Elden Ring video shows up in my recommendeds, and that thumbnail is 👌. Great stuff. I do think, based on Ranni's quest, that the Golden Order Great sword was refashioned from the Dark Moon Great sword which we know is given by a Carian Queen to her husband. He did this to show his ultimate loyalty to Marika and the Golden Order after he became Elden Lord. How did the Leonine get it though? Such a great question which depends on what you believe the Misbegotten to be doing at or near the Erdtree. If they are there as guest, it impliess one thing. But if Tarnished Archaeologist is right and they are besieging the Haligtree, then that Leonine with the sword means something very different. But whether the sword is the same or the statues are Radagon or not, I definitely think there's an implied connection between he and the Misbegotten. You articulated what I've been thinking about the color red and the Crucible as well. Maybe Radagon was like a missing link in the transition from the Crucible to the Erdtree and he despises that he isn't pure himself. Might also explain why Marika would marry and "become one" with him in an attempt to finally absorb everything that isn't purely of the Erdtree. And the Misbegotten look up to him or even share a bloodline with him. Just more theorizing. Great video again!
They're like the slag when you refine molten iron. It's metal that's been oxydized under the high heat of the crucible. And often its mixed in with other impurities.
Loved the video, very creative take on the missbegotten I've not heard before. As for an enemy I'm curious about probably the skeletal slimes, they can be they're everywhere and idk what they are
Really intriguing video! Just a question, have you ever seen the brick hammer as possibly being associated with Radagon? We know he's pretty handy with a hammer from his bossfight, as well as the fact he reforged his sword, as well as the fact he was a champion! That coupled with the fact it needs the strength of a Giant to wield it, helps paint him as a champion of laborers rights before he became a lord, which i think aids his connection to the misbegotten. And i think it falls under his beliefs as well, of conjoining things that oppose the Erdtree, like what he did with Raya Lucaria, as opposed to outright killing entire races like Marika. Really good video though!
Thank you so much! Okay I have to say, I did wonder if Radagon may have been the owner but dropped that theory because I didn’t know if it fit, but your explanation is amazing! I can totally see this as a possibility and it seems like a character that George RR Martin would create. This is such a great theory!
Unfortunately Hewg probably couldn't have been the wielder of the brick hammer, as he never became a champion. It seems more likely that it was Radagon.
Something to consider is the implications of the Rusty Anchor, which we find in the Weeping Peninsula after defeating the Scaly Misbegotten. It alludes to a ship that stayed behind when Godfrey and the Tarnished were harried from the Lands Between. This could be one of two things: either an origin for the Misbegotten or an explanation as to how they were further treated after the Age of the Crucible. If it's the latter, then perhaps the graceless Misbegotten were set to be exported from the Lands Between like the Tarnished, except the anchor of their ship was intentionally unkept and left to rust so they wouldn't be able to stay with the fleet of human Tarnished - leaving the Misbegotten to drift back to the Lands Between because not even Godfrey wanted to deal with them. If not that, if this is an origin, then perhaps the ashes for the Winged Misbegotten told something of a truth - that these were one group of Tarnished who stayed behind on purpose, sought to revolt against the Erdtree and Marika, and sought ancient power of the Crucible for strength and ended up becoming malformed. This feels like more of a leap, though. Plus, with the file name for Misbegotten being called "Bastards of Radagon," they were probably the Radagon-equivalent of Godfrey's omen children and were reborn as these graceless, Crucible-infested humans
Swords lose mass with frequent resharpening. I think the daggers the misbegotten carry are/were once the same as their short swords. But over time, heavy use, and frequent sharpening, they've been whittled down to the smaller size we see some carrying. It would also explain why they never appear to drop: they actually are, we just arent recognizing it as the same item. Not sure what that implies thematically, but that is my notion anyway. 😊
I really like this theory, a lot of the common interpretation in the community right now feel so very off nobody is talking about the myriad of things in the game that doesn't fit in with them. However I do not think misbegotten are a race that has existed, something occurred to these beings. If you put a lot of Godfreys march together you come to see a direct contradiction in the lore, It is both told to us castle morne was assaulted by Godfrey, but item descriptions also point to him being the wielder of the morne great sword. The grave on the coast, or big ass stone, is much more than a mere monument. There is also a massive amount of lore with the demi-humans and people ignore what is going on there, these lands are not a landmass we are seeing time being twisted and even possibly copying the same lands at different times.
An addition to the theory of Radagon himself being a decent of giants. Obviously one is the red hair but also what is he doing in the trailers of the game, trying to reforge the Elden ring. Radagon himself has the abilities of a blacksmith or at least its in his blood and he is even welding a hammer when we fight him, the hammer he is using to reforge the ring.
I think it’s worth noting that red tinged gold is the colour of the crucible. Leonine Misbegotten are red and gold in colour. Additionally they have enhanced misbegotten features. I think Leonine Misbegotten have come more fully into contact with the crucible and as a result more fully live up to the potential of the misbegotten.
![[ FREE ] Future Type Beat 2024 “Future”](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sF96cGMa4EM/mqdefault.jpg)
I FOUND THE DAGGER: studio.ruclips.net/user/videouIT-RMhxf_M/edit
Erdtree: If they didn't want to be slaves, they shouldn't have been born.
I’m gilding you for this comment
@@kitetales I honestly can't tell if you meant "Gelding" or "Gilding" and it makes both of these comments so much better lmao
They just like me frfr ong
Sounds like America 😂
In these fantastical worlds, it's the human element that keeps people coming back to the stories told in Miyazaki's games. Being ostracised for being ginger is just another example of his effortless weaving of real-world struggles into his work.
"Gingers have no souls" is the obvious message we've been missing all this time 😆
@@kitetales they might not have souls but at least they have a lot of runes! XD
no
@@WhySoSeriousSenpai bro said no 💀
Gingers are ostracised where you live?
Those kissed by fire are blessed with beauty we say.
One thing I've always liked about Elden Ring is how some of the friendliest NPCs belong to the same species as enemies you fight. You've got Hewg, Boc, Iji, Rya, Alexander and I'm probably forgetting a few others. Really helps show the player that they aren't just monsters. Hewg really helped me see the Misbegotten in a different light.
I love that too. Hewg and Iji were among my favorites.
I consume the runes of all, may the flame cleanse all
had that same thing happen to me in my ng+ run, you really don't wanna kill them, it's like, no my misunderstood thingies, chill, but they never do ☹️ so you know what's up 😂
Gathlan Wheel? Gathlan deal!
Gostoc is just a commoner servant but with one arm and the cynic attitude of a senior worker.
If radagon does have giants blood in him, it makes sense that he uses smithing to try to fix the runes that got shattered
Yes! He’d definitely know how to smith if it was in his heritage.
But he is Marika...
The story of Castle Morne is quite fitting tbh, given its past.
It was an old castle situated upon the coast, from which a fearsome clan of warriors presided. Godfrey slew them all, and in an bid of revenge, the last standing warrior of Morne took the blades of his clansmen and forged a grafted greatsword. Though even in death, the blade of the rebel revenger was memorialized. And so it’s quite fitting for the leader of the Misbegotten slaves of Morne to acquire such a sword, and lead his people against their slavers.
It’s also quite telling of Godrick. In a desperate attempt to cement his status as Lord of the region, he assigns a banished knight as commander and castellan of Morne, accompanied by a number of allied soldiers and various nobles likely affiliated with the golden lineage’s failed insurgency of the capital. But it all went to crap when the slaves revolted and killed everyone. And so the slaves that belonged to Godfrey’s descendent evoked the revengeful wrath of Morne’s troubled past, set into place then by Godfrey himself.
I think Morne has one of the most interesting backgrounds in the game. Would love to have learned more about its original residents that Godfrey wiped out!
No.
Land of Eochaid was laid to waste by Marika's warriors when she established her supremacy and Godfrey conducted raids to neighbouring lands. Surviving member of the clan of Eochaid swore revenge, melted the swords together, and set sail to Lands Between to enact his vengeance.
He built a castle in the southernmost tip of the Lands Between, expanding the castle layer after layer, until it became mighty defensive bulwark. The castle clearly is made to defend attack by land, not by sea, and has been steadily built from sea to inland to ensure foothold in lands between.
This revenger was Elemer.
Elemer was apprehended by Godfrey and taken to Shaded Castle, where he was supposed to be executed. But revenger was not killed.
Maleigh Marais, as he was private believer in scarlet rot, was not the most loyal executioner. He or Golden Order confessors thought use for Elemer and wrapped the Eochaid armor in cursed briars, that in Lands Between indicate "a sentence of death" and kept him around.
He was forced to become a clandestine agent, made to hunt the nomadic people that were suspected being infected by Flame of Frenzy.
This enlisting of death-row criminals is common practice in Lands Between, as they are used as workers and warriors in clandestine matters, in case of thorn sorcerers serving Fire Monks, and Elemer serving Marais family.
Briars mark them as criminals and might even compel them to succeed in their duties.
Elemer was to serve, until at last he was to be released from this service by execution.
Elemer became infamous as Briar Knight, his true identity as a revenger kept secret, hunting nomadic merchants to quell the Frenzied Flame. But when he was supposed to be executed at long last, something happened.
Perhaps it was Shattering which weakened magical bonds of briars, or later in timeline when unconscious Malenia and her escort, Finlay entered Shaded Castle with detachment of Cleanrot Knights.
With troops loyal to Malenia, perhaps Elemer was able to stage a coup and wrestle the control of the castle from Marais. Or perhaps Maleigh Marais was so smitten by Malenia, he tried to create his own rot swamp outside, leaving things like duty and his responsibilities, quite figuratively to rot. So Elemer is in all effect castellan now.
Whatever happened, Elemer was nonetheless able to escape his looming execution, stealing the storied sword of House Marais, and wielding it with arts of Eochaid. Maleigh Marais was unceremoniously dumped from his own castle.
We eventually finish what our ancestor Godfrey started, and slay the final surviving member of Eochaid, the same revenger who arrived to Lands Between so long ago, seeking vengeance.
@@matiasluukkanen7718 I love how you just made all of that up. You can assert your own interpretation of the lore however you want, but what I just said can be pulled from the game word-for-word as well as observed. You have your personal correlations, I have my facts. It’s simple as that.
@@matiasluukkanen7718 That's very interesting... but pretty much nothing supports the idea that the grafted greatsword or castle morne has anything to do with Eiochad.
When discussing the connection between smithing, hammers, giants, and the misbegotten I was expecting a reference to arguably the most famous smithing moment in Elden Ring. Radagon attempting to repair the golden order.
Exactly, I don't think that it's a coincidence. He is like a divine blacksmith trying to repair the Elden Ring itself
Radagon was a tailor, not a smith.
I believe the giants themselves are cursed by their god - the malformed cyclopean flame deity of ruin. I would assume that is the case since their red hair is characterized as a curse, their purpose to harness the flame is a curse, and I can’t imagine having the likeness of your god growing out of your stomach to also not be a curse. Perhaps the Giants weren’t always “fire” giants seeing as they aren’t native to the mountains, and we do in fact find skeletons of giants in Caelid. Honestly feel bad for them ngl
That is a great connection, and if the growth was a manifestation of their god, that totally backs up an idea that the red hair curse would be a parasitic relationship, which supports the theory that Radagon was the humanoid manifestation of the curse Marika expelled from her body. Oh also I just saw an image while working on this, but the Trolls empty cavity looks like it sits right below where the nose of the face on the Fire Giant ends; like they carved out the face of their god when they betrayed the giants. Really cool detail I just never noticed!
Worth noting here, Trolls have something in their chests resembling an old tablet wrapped in roots, suggesting less of a liberation and more of a new master.
Misbegotten are called « radagon child » in Japanese so I think you know what it means for your theory
Oh wow really?! Whew, then they did not get their daddy's genes!
@@kitetales I think they were called that in 1.00 in an unused item description (Radagon Chimera) but not in Japanese. Just as the Nox were referred to as “Empyrean Family” or “Descendants of Marika.”
They're called like that in MODEL FILES not as in game. Kind of intriguing but very misleading
@@kitetales Self incest usually lands you being an ugly looking sod,just ask malenia and miquella.
To be fair, even though they changed the file name, "misbegotten" literally translates to "bastard" in several languages
You've pulled together a ton of little details that made me go "hmm, these things FEEL connected but idk how or why" alongside another ton of things I never knew or noticed, and you've made a really satisfying tapestry of truths and theories, good job!
I'd love to say I'm surprised but, to be honest, this is the kind of thing you nail in essentially every video - so instead, I'm just impressed, great work!
Thank you, Jay! I was excited at the possible connections with the sword and hair, but we're given so little to go on that I had a lot of assuming to do for this one, so I appreciate hearing it at least sounds like it fits together! :) Thanks for watching and for the kind feedback.
@@kitetales You deserve it! All of these links hold up, and - as you know - the best possible result of Soulsbourne theories and videos is that they can stand on their own two feet, rather than be proven by the creator (Miyazaki is never going to do that hahaha)
When Elden Ring came out, Vaati said he'd hold off on videos to allow new creators to have the space to truly flex their wings and create great content that wouldn't be overshadowed by a similar video he had that would get more attention purely algorithmically - you are such a brilliant example of that philosophy working and I'm glad to give you a compliment that you see in that regard!
I still regularly think about your Dominula video when playing the game - there's details that suggest different ideas, but both their behaviour and that sorcerer hanging around outside the town are so compelling that I think of you regularly and am still not swayed away from your theory haha - thanks for the consistent satisfying brain-tickles!
In regards to the Misbegotten Crusader at Cave of the Forlorn and how he could have been entrusted with the Golden Order Greatsword, I have a few interpretations:
First off, the very title of this boss is pretty suggesting. We know as a fact due to Morgott's dialogue that the Grace-Given Omen King considered all other contendants during the Shattering wars, his own demigod brethren, to be traitors against the Golden Order. Including Miquella, whose rings of light incantations state that Radagon and his son exchanged these spells as gifts once Miquella decided to abandon Golden Order Fundamentalism, given that it could simply and bluntly put do nothing to treat her twin sister's cursed affliction, Malenia's scarlet rot. Could it be that Morgott too would come to see Miquella as a traitor sullying the Golden Order with his Unalloyed Gold, and thus, once the Shattering began, would have attempted to make war upon his province?
It should be worth noting that reaching the Haligtree, as can be experienced in game, is no easy task. Both halves of the medallion are dispersed at way quirkier locations than their Dectus counterparts, and getting your hands on them involves defeating Gideon Ofnir's henchman Ensha first and then a ton more enemies before you reach Castle Sol for the second half. I doubt this had always been the case prior to the Tarnished returning to the Lands Between. As mentioned by the finger reader at Raya Lucaria's Bellum Road Gate, the one who wields the medallion needed to activate the Grand Lift of Dectus and reach the capital would be the new Elden Lord. Could it be that medallions could originally only be wielded by those claiming lordship over the lands beyond a Grand Lift?
Another matter: why are the few Misbegotten present on Leyndell not in the sewers with the rest of the regal Omen? Whereas Morgott's dominion kept the Omen living their miserable existence underground, he seemed keen in letting the Misbegotten remaining in his golden capital stay on the surface relatively unchecked. This predicament could have been motivated by one main reason, most likely respect for the mandates of the recently disappeared Elden Lord Radagon.
Finally, with the information, hypotheses and evidence provided and posited, I believe we can piece up a cohererent theory for the mistery involving the Cave of the Forlorn:
Once the Shattering was set into motion, the Erdtree spurned all who attempted to enter from outside. Morgott would use this as his argument to become Leyndell's keeper and Guardian of the Erdtee, and would then wage war upon his demigod brethren. It is most likely that, just as the Elden Lord crown was shown to stay outside the Erdtree at the time of Marika's shattering of the Elden Ring, so could have been the Golden Order Greatsword. What if Morgott had entrusted a Leonine Misbegotten among the ones heading towards the Haligtree under Miquella's protection with this legendary armament to revolt against his new-found enemy, the Unalloyed? As stated above, only the Lord of a given land could wield its lift medallion, which in the Haligtree's case had one half stolen after Mohg kidnapped the ever-young empyrean. There's no way the Leonine Misbegotten Crusader could have gotten there otherwise on his own. After all, the entire Consecrated Snowfield us frequently stated to be "Miquella' secret land", inaccessible by any means other than the Grand Lift of Rold itself when using the "secret" medallion in question.
I find it very likely that the Cave of the Forlorn is the only place where this crusaders either thought they could find refuge or establish a base of operations and then got trapped between giant crabs, land octopi and Theodorix, a magma wyrm in its full might, thus leading to the entire operation failing. Which would make sense considering that Morgott in all likelihood did not know what dangers awaited across the Consecrated Snowfield should one wander stray through the blizzard without any guide.
Anyways, this is plainly put fully speculative and should be taken, like the vast majority of lore theories on Elden Ring, with a grain of salt. Also, mymost committed thanks to whoever is reading this for staying up until this point.
I wondered about that at times, it’s also possible that given his nature Radagon was trying to integrate the Misbegotten into the Golden Order as he had with Caria. Since Golden Order Fundamentalism is rooted in breaking down and studying the Golden Order, he might have taken an interest in the crucible. Also given the large numbers of nameless demigods that were slain on the night of the black knives, it probably isn’t a stretch to guess Radagon and/or Marika could have had some misbegotten bastard children.
Kenneth Haight certainly thought demihumans were redeemable. Not sure how misbegotten relate to demihumans. I Always kind of lumped them together as different kinds of demihumans.
It seems to be implied that demihumans are the descendants of the beastmen of Farum Azula, if not a separate race that has lived in the lands between alongside them and humans. Misbegotten may be born of humans like Omens, but I’m not sure about that. Given their features they definitely have ties to the Crucible.
@@cyborgcatrj6794the demihumans are more like cavemen, they a very inteligent they just live like neholitic people. There is a reasin sorcerers from raya lucaria were teaching them sorceries
Somewhat tangential thought:
The Crucible, very much like a blast furnace, was designed and used for a purpose, to craft the Ancient Dragons. Once they were forged, the crucible was left to its own devices. cooled, and the blending of raw vitality and life led to...by-products, lesser dragons and less desirable things. The slag. The misbegotten.
There's probably more in this metaphor, but it's late, and I need to be up for work later.
Slag is metal that is oxydized under high heat and often mixed with other trace elements and impurities. Its brittle and often typically not suitable for anything.
@@TheRisky9 Calcium silicate in an iron blast furnace, if I remember my chemistry.
@@hamsterhotep I just remember having to chip the crappy stuff off my welds. If I welded a bead and didn't chip off the slag, then tried to weld another bead over it, that weld will break.
On a side note, Kite has such a kind and reassuring voice. You're having a bad day, and you listen to her, and you find yourself thinking "Yknow, things are gonna be ok." :)
I appreciate that!! :')
Agreed analysis and presentation also excellent.
Thank you! ❤️
Legit thought it was that one tts at first
Agree with that david! 🥰 she has such a lovely voice
I missed you guys. You're positivity is a ray of sunshine in a world that needs every bit of it.
Aww thanks, David! It's been a rough year so far; I'm glad to kind of getting back to making things. :)
@@kitetales oh I'm sorry to hear that. I pray thing are better now, and that this still pretty new year will have blessings in store for both of you :)
The lore surrounding Radagon never seems to end, he and Godwyn have the most mysterious backstories to me. Even more questionable and enticing than that of Marika or Ranni..
I totally agree. Radagon’s story captivates me the most.
At first i hear that "we've all ben sleeping WITH the misbegotten" and not sleeping on the mosbegotten and i had to go back to relisten. I was a thrown off there for a second, lol.
Oh don’t disbelieve there is someone out there with a Misbegotten kink
@@kitetales oh I'm sure there are plenty, lol. Tbf, they are kind of the ultimate furry, considering they have multiple animal parts mixed all into one.
I think Misbegotten motivations and origin is curiously tied to Miquella's Un-alloyed epithet.
Marika/Radagon is not a true 100% child of gold. She was not born of proper wedlock (as a Numen), or even as a child of copper, (Fire-Giants). Marika is not all that golden.
She/he was divine bastard child (favorite trope of Martin's) of Numen, and horribly stunted Fire-Giant, Milos, creating child of gold and copper, in other words, an alloyed child.
Gold that we refer as gold most often is just alloy of different metals, most notably, often copper and gold. 50-50 of this mix is called red-gold, evoking red nature of Crucible to mind. It often has impurities as well.
Marika, the divine bastard child, reviled her fire giant heritage and tried to externalise and separate her Fire-Giant half as much as she could, so much so that she split into two.
Fully divided in mind and deed, (but not in body which they share) into her Numen half, and Fire-Giant half. Godly schizophrenic.
They are the same person, but Marika is the side this God wants to show to the world. Marika is Radagon. Radagon is Marika. The Alloyed Child of Gold and Copper.
Miquella was directly born from Marika's Numen side, while Malenia is born from Radagon's Fire-Giant heritage. Miquella is thus truly golden.
Miquella, in his declaration of Un-alloyed Gold, is saying that he wants to become Greater Will's true representative, because unlike Marika, his gold is pure and truly un-alloyed. He is truly a child of gold, not a hint of impurity found.
However, Misbegotten are the children of Radagon.
Because Marika/Radagon is/are responsible of the new births through Erdtree, sometimes Radagon's characteristics "ruin" the golden batch Marika oversees. Cycle of new births is much like metallurgy in Elden ring, and the nascent life becomes alloyed with beastial and vestigial characteristics.
These are misbegotten, mistakes of Marika, who inherit Radagon's nature in opposed to Marika.
Marika is mother to all humans, made in image of her.
But Radagon is father to all misbegotten.
When Miquella declared he would create age of un-alloyed gold, there is implicit meaning there would be no more Misbegotten around. Because again, misbegotten are born partially of devolution through Radagon, who is Marika. Copper-Gold alloy has impurities.
So the misbegotten reacted in religious fervor against Un-alloyed gold. They formed a great crusade, led by Leonine Crusader brandishing Radagon's trademark sword. They intended to storm the Haligtree to put stop to Miquella's plans.
Vanguard traveled all the way to Consecrated Snowfield, and managed to slip into Haligtree Town, (either by flying or by deception) slaughtering its people.
But after seeing Haligtree was dying and rotting anyway, they were horrified by their actions and after massacre, are praying forgiveness from Marika/Malenia/Miquella statues.
And remaining misbegotten camp in cave of the Forlorn at the Snowfield is full of despairing Misbegotten, their entire crusade fully for naught.
Okay, you’re hired. 😆 This was beautifully written oh my gosh!! This is an amazing theory and it makes so much sense. Best theory on the Radagon/Marika debate I’ve seen. Thanks so much for sharing this here!
I must add that isn't what schizophrenia is, not at all. You're probably thinking of dissociative identity disorder, but that's still not quite the same as those two's situation, just similar in the way that it's multiple people in one body. But it's not a mental thing as much as it is just typical strange mythological god shenanigans.
This make a insane amount of sense once properly know the lore
While this is very convincing, and I agree with a great deal of it, I find some of your conclusions to be speculative at best. My main issue is your assumption that Milos is Marika’s father is, well, odd. All we know about Milos is that he was a giant of small stature. Certainly, this is not enough information to then say that he is the father of Marika. More likely, this is suggesting that he was the first of the trolls, and even that is sheer speculation.
I think your theory is strong, the the inclusion of baseless conjecture stated as fact really brings it down a lot. You should state when you are speculating vs when you are stating confirmed fact, otherwise you will lower your credibility or misinform the reader.
Nah, Miquella is all about letting all flourish: misbegotten, omen, whatever. The Haligtree was for everyone outcast by the Golden Order. Unalloyed Gold is to REMOVE the influence of outer gods not to invite it: the needle is the only thing that cures rot or frenzy, so it would remove the influence of the greater will too.
Im so glad I found this channel. Im gonna binge this whole weekend
Yay!! Thank you so much! 😊
@@kitetales Nah thank you! The depth of your research (really is graduate thesis level you aint lying), the way the footafe is captured, the tone you manage to set and most of all a soothing calm voice that reminds me of every good teacher I ever had.
Btw I listened to this vid again while fighting Malenia and I won! That means you helped me win! Now which ending do you think I should go for this time?
I really appreciate you taking the time to leave me such nice feedback. It's definitely encouraging to keep the same level of editing! And yay that's awesome! Now if only I could beat her... gave up after like 20 times!
@@kitetales Never give up, never surrrender! I have full faith that someone of your caliber and capability will persevere. I took exactly 78 tries before I beat her the first time! (I kept a logbook with a death counter and everything!) Looking forward to your upcoming projects, Im sure they will be every bit as riveting and breathtaking as this.
If I could humbly make a request to you to cover Shabriri in a video, (he vexes me like crazy) to hear what you think he did, what you think hes about to make us do and what we should do with him, I would be most obliged.
Thank you for making these videos. Its amazing seeing such passion in them.
I had to pause for a moment at the Brick Hammer description as I had a (possible) realization. What if the labourer turned champion was Radagon himself? Suspected descendant of giants, famously known as a champion before becoming elden lord, and seen using a hammer as one too. Marika could have seen this devout former rebellion leader with giants blood as a a possible future threat (especially after his union with Renala) and chose to assimilate him, using his influence as a champion of the people as an asset to strengthen the golden order.
Anyways, thank for the great video! very insightful, now on to watch your other ones.
I always assumed it meant radagon too, and honestly I always assumed the grafted greatsword spoke of hewg, since it would have taken a blacksmith to graft those blades, not to mention castle morne is misbegotten central so I just assumed grafted greatsword - hewg and brick Hammer - radagon. Still confuses me how radagon has sooooo much backstory and lore surrounding him if he's seemingly also supposed to be Marika. It's like the game goes back and forth between radagon ALWAYS being her or he was his own person and was absorbed. Radagon is one of the most fascinating characters because he actually seems to have had his own LIFE outside of Marika... Meanwhile Marika is veiled in mystery, with only HINTS of her living in a village with people who all look suspiciously like her, as if they're all mass produced creations, like the albinaurics.....
The lore is just amazing and I would have never seen the complexity and the interconnectivity without these wonderful videos, thank you!
Thank you so much!!
Someday the actual lore book is going to make it to the market. I love world building. Much respect and gratitude for the heroic time and effort you put into this whole endeavor. I can only imagine the lengths it took. Good job
Fingers crossed, there's a second strategy guide and an official art book coming out this year.
I think I'll get both. But I really want that lore book. Even if it's just the stuff in the game already.
I just realized the design of the Troll's Hammer is the eye of the Fire God with a braid of hair as handle. That's so f**king cool.
My theory on the brick Hammer was that it belonged to Radagon, who was a failed rebel forced to fight in Godfrey's gladiator arenas, and upon sufficient victory was "inducted" (read: had a compelling and overriding edict placed upon him like Hewg) into the golden order. From which he eventually merged with Marika, warred with Caria, and the lore as we know it proceeded.
I think this because Radagon already fights with a hammer to deadly effect, so the brick Hammer being his fits. But also because as smithing and crafting are sacred to giants (or perhaps due to said brainwashing edict), Radagon sought to REPAIR the elden ring after Marika broke it.
Radagon's unique great rune is even as much a lattice resembling skilled labor as it is a net designed to bind him to Marika's will. His devotion to the Golden Order is so single-minded that the only comparable case I could find was Hewg, who I viewed as being magically compelled or brainwashed by Marika.
It’s confusing, the Dark Moon Greatsword is the Carian King’s Badge of Office. Radagon reforged his sword to symbolize the bond between Caria and the Golden Order. The strangest part is how the Golden Order Greatsword ended up where it did, maybe when Radagon returned to the Capital to serve as Elden Lord Marika demanded he dispose of what was essentially his wedding ring to Rennala to prove his loyalty to her. It is possible that Radagon gave the sword to Miquella as he seemed worthy to carry on the lineage of the Golden Order as the sword is found in Miquella’s protected territory. And it also sounds like Radagon was cursed with red hair in retribution for his actions in the War against the Giants as it is believed that Marika and the Giants cursed each other via magic.
The last part of the comment, about Radagon being cursed by the fire giants, is really what I have believed since my first play through. My interpretation, which may go into a bit too much speculation admittedly, is that Marika had always been a rebus, and that she disguised herself as a man to fight alongside the tarnished and Godfrey in the war against the giants. The mimic veil is called “Marika’s mischief,” so the connection to Marika and the changing of one’s form as a disguise is textual. We also know that she was at the mountaintops during the war since she gave her speeches at the churches there. So then, she fights the giants and wins, cursing the last giant to tending the flame for eternity, and in return, her male half (which would have been the one that she was using at the time) was cursed with red hair. I think this curse actually led to the division between Marika and Radagon, in terms of ideology at least. I picture pre-curse Radagon to essentially just be Marika but with male features, representing the warrior half to Marika’s scholarly half (as seen by the effects of their respective seal talismans). But after the curse, Radagon became a separate entity with his own thoughts and ambitions. Let me know what you think.
After the DLC, my guess is, Radagon is part of Marika she abandoned just like Miqualla did to St. Trina, Marika was made saint by the hornsents, and Radagon symbolizes the crucible parts of Marika she fused with, so in some sense Radagon is a misbegotten himself, and that's why they worship him. Also there's a misbegotten illusion carrying another miquella's incantation in the stone coffin fissures area, I think they are still trying to draw the connection between Radagon and misbegottens.
Awesome video! Just one interesting thing I don't know if you missed is that the misbegotten are called "Children of Radagon" in the game files that the developers use. Which has to be taken with a grain of salt, as their story probably has changed since they named them that, but it's still an interesting connection.
Thanks so much! Yeah that’s definitely a good clue; I read an amazing comment yesterday supporting the theory that Radagon has the ability to create life so would line up with them being his children per creation.
I like how you tied in all my mini theories in one video. The giants, leonine and misbegotten and the crucible. That’s pretty cool and this a really good video
Thanks so much! 😊
If this continues I’m not gonna be able to kill anything in ER without feeling serious amounts of shame
Edit: this channel definitely deserves more subs
Thank you so much for watching!! 😄
Nah fuk them. they attack, you're allowed to give them a good head splitting wack.
on the subject of that winged misbegotten dagger. it looks extremely close to the cinquedea wielded by the high ranking clergyman of farum azula with the main difference is the absence of the five finger decorations. makes me think that the misbegotten and the beastmen are closer than i thought, especially since it is thought the five fingers celebrated beastmen intelligence granted upon them.
YES!!! I thought the same thing! I ended up cutting it out though when I overlayed them and the shapes didn't line up... I thought the blade was too ornate compared to the Cinquedea, but I'm glad you see that connection too!
@@kitetales glad our thoughts sync up haha! though they may not exactly line up, i still personally think it could be significant, as the dagger couldve had a more traditional shape but instead has more or less the same blade profile of the cinquedea, could maybe hinting at some kind of evolution or past collaboration between beastmen and misbegotten? especially since youve made the connection of misbegotten possibly being linked to dragons, and that beastmen worshiped dragons (well ancient dragons but dragons nonetheless lol).
Ooh.. the golden order greatsword is even more like a cinquedea. That was made from a moonlight sword consecrated to the erdtree faith. Five finger blade.... 2 fingers + 3 fingers.... I don't know if it means anything. The Golden Order certainly has excised aspect thought to be impure and seemingly retains not the bestial aspect of the five fingers that signified the intelligence granted to beasts, but certainly the human aspects.
Perhaps the Greater Will has similarly excised impurity from itself, that is of course the 3 fingers.
Please excuse my rambling stream of thought. I'm not convinced of these things, it's just interesting to think about.
0:03 Yes, that was exactly what I was thinking
I knew it
Hell yeah I’m glad to see you’re getting back into making videos I missed listening to them
Man Leat I missed you specifically, man! Ready for some Hogwarts Legacy videos? 😆
@@kitetales most definitely ready for Hogwarts legacy might watch a couple of your videos before purchasing he game
elden ring has such cool lore omg!! also ur voice is so conforting and nice i love it
Thank you so much!! 😊
What do we have here? A lore video, featuring pleasant voiceover and tasteful cinematic gameplay shots, and a small following? I think you're gonna go far, honey! Subbed!
Thank you so much!! :)
I love the way you’ve cited your sources and inferred new clues from environmental cues, which you also explain and cite. Your videos are a cut above other Elden Ring lore videos.
Such a relaxing voice, makes me sleepy but the subject is to interesting to fall asleep
Thank you! 😊
Could Radagon himself have been the owner of the Brick Hammer? The laborer who led the uprising became a "champion", which is the word always used to describe Radagon. Only someone with Giant's blood could lift it, which would explain Radagon's red hair. And we literally see him use a hammer both to repair the Elden Ring and as his weapon in the final fight.
I’ve seen that suggested! I like that theory for sure
New to your channel but wow I'm sold. I hope you have more. You're putting in tons of work for questions we all have but are left unanswered and your voice is incredibly soothing to boot.
Elden Ring is confusing. I've played it twice and have read/listened to a whole bunch of lore and I just barely understand the major players and the overall happenings. Seems you're able to really break things down in a simple to understand way.
I haven't played yet but I'm familiar with the lore and characters. I had a chuckle when you answered my question I had at the beginning about Hewg.
When you showed the Misbegotten as a montage, it clicked.
Hey that’s awesome you put that together though just with the knowledge you have! 😆
@@kitetales I consider lore videos for Fromsoft to be like the Blind men and the Elephant. Even when I can't play, I can take the observations of other lore channels and put it together in my head with the patterns I collect.
Not really spoiling myself cause the surprise is finding out how the lore fits in gameplay when I get there.
Fantastically well done lore video! It answers so many questions while leaving more to ponder. The misbegotten have been mostly overlooked. Subscribed
Thank you so much!! 😊
Reminder that I think is pretty fucking important for this theory and I'm 8:03 in and haven't heard it yet: Radagon is implied to have forged the Rune of Rebirth, which is in the amber that Renala holds and went delusional over. Which definitely means he could have had the skills to create other forms of life.
Oh yeah that is a great point! Someone else said that they're called his children in the Japanese translation, that totally fits.
So first your theory around hewg is borderline genius Ive always been fascinated by the crime that landed him such a harsh sentence. Second, I'd recommend three other lore youtubers who really helped expand my mind on the subjects of elden ring and touch on some of the specific topics you brought up. First among them is the rising star tarnished archeologist who, in his three part video series, discussing godfrey, puts forward the theory that the statue you see in game that he calls the "sage statues" actually far far predate radagon and in fact were a part of the empire that godfrey and then marika would build on top of; hes got one of the most unique aproachs to lore discussion Ive ever seen by way of looking at the trends and history of culture and architecture to help understand the games lore. Second is the sleeper hit Quelagg, an absolutely amazing lore theorist who also really amazingly builds connections, especially through history religion and science. She's amazing, and she has tons of videos discussing her interpretation of the many different colors of elden ring and especially the red to gold connection; on the topic of giants specifically, she has a vid in which she gives some pretty amazing evidence for the giants having been the creators of the divine towers and alot of the oldest structures in the lands between (like the pillars that hold up the land) unfortunately I cant quite remember what vid that was and her vids can run hour+ on occasion. Finally, the only souls lore youtuber that's production value and presentation skills can challenge vaati is smoughtown, Ill be brief as possible, but his theories regarding the primordial crucibal and specifically mohg and morgott are excellent.
Sorry for the long comment loved the vid!!
Thank you so much for the comment and the channel recommendations! I've heard so many people mention Tarnished Archeologist regarding the statues so I am definitely going to have a check out their channel!
@KiteTales & Flex I love this games world so much, and your video and perspective were really awesome, so I cant help but be excited at the idea of people looking at these different perspectives and throwing in there own 2 cents.
While the Misbegotten Dagger doesn't really line up perfectly with it, and definitely isn't the same model as it, its the same general type of dagger as the Cinquedea (which is a dagger/short sword type who's name is more or less a slight alteration of what would translate to Five Fingers (Cinque = 5 and dea is close to dito, which means finger)). Since the Cinquedea was a model of shortsword/longdagger that was used as a self defense weapon by commoners, and the dagger they have works perfectly well as one, it could just be that this is traditionally the type of dagger that worshippers of the Erdtree give graceless servants or people of low class who may need to defend themselves. Or they stole them from people who were allowed to own swords but were still on the lower class. The reason I say this is because the Cinquedea in Elden Ring is also the weapon of Guranq, the alter ego of Maliketh. It could have either been given to him or he took it up after he sealed away his sword inside himself and didn't want a fancy weapon so he could pose as Guranq. Which would either mean that they are a popular commoner's weapon, or that they are weapons given to beast-people in Erdtree society, and Maliketh's Black Blade is basically just the same design modified to be longer and have a different crossguard
Love this explanation of the dagger, I didn't know it was a commoner's weapon! That definitely fits for them. Love the things I learn from you guys. 😊
Wow very interesting, Kit is like a walking encyclopedia with Elden Ring lore! And I nearly dozed off because your voice is just so relaxing. ☺ Hope everything is better for you!
Thank you so much, man! Yes things are a lot better now, glad to be working on some things again!
It's amazing how Elden Ring is able to blend alchemical symbology with the lore of The Lands Between
Thank you for covering this! I've been wrecking my brain over the misbegotten for some time and came to similar conclusions (like the misbegotten - dragon connection) but I don't think I've seen anything on it yet.
One thing that one could go deeper into is the connection to the crucible knights.
They were Godfreys sworn knights, and a largely responsible for marikas victories.
Yet they do not share the opinion that the misbegotten are cursed. There's even one fighting alongside a leonine misbegotten at Redmane Castle.
This is further reflected in the tree armor variant we find in the deep root depths.
It seems to me that Marika used Godfrey and his knights to her advantage to subdue all other powers, and then discarded them when they became a problem.
Thanks for this, it’s neat to hear someone else’s thoughts on this guys. Also, I love this cave! 6:38
That fight against a Crucible Knight and a leonine misbegotten in Red mane Castle (not in Radahn festival mode) is another cool hint about their connection.
Yes! That’s another great connection of note.
I actually thought the great hammer was radagon's. He is a smith and if we think of him as a descendant of the giants and all that self hate and repenting to the golden order it can be an interesting theory
There is some material that refers to him as being a "champion" I think at the outset of the 1st Liurnian War. It's not on the sword monument though.
And here i thought you had stopped with the elden ring content, this made my monday more like a tuesday thanks!
The people want Elden Ring they get Elden Ring! 👏 Thanks so much for watching! 😊
I would also add that there is a fight against a Crucible knight and Leonine at the Redmane castle.
Other than that this is an amazing video that changed my views a bit, I have seen Tarnished Archeologist take on a topic similar to this one but this video blows me away and connects everything perfectly
Thank you so much for watching! And yes that fight with them at Redmane is more confirmation about their connection for sure.
Glad to see someone talk about this connection. With exception to the weapon connection stuff it definitely fits. Though I think there’s way more involving the cave of the forlorn your missing.
It’s unlikely that the crusader, wielding a sword that’d proof his affiliation with radagon and/or the golden order, who is in a cave with a dead dragon at its entrance is on the route to the haligtree by mere coincidence.
Ooo I like that connection! Maybe secret assault by the dragons that Radagon sent them to deal with?
@@kitetales personally I figure radagon or perhaps more likely morgott sent the red mane with the sword as proof that they wanted to talk.
I've been getting into elden ring much more recently especially the lore and honestly i never considered looking at something that seemed so unimportant but this has to be some of my favourite ideas now im just seeing the existence of things like the misbegotten and the omens so much differently ill probably be looking more into this myself as i found this kind of society almost poetic weirdly enough. Amazing video. I'll definitely be watching more of your stuff.
A theory I've heard is that of the Brick Hammer actually belonging to Radagon.
He is described many times as a Champion, he wields a hammer during his boss battle, and given that he reforged the sword Rennala gave him we can assume that he has some smithing abilities too.
I’ve seen that mentioned but I just don’t know if Radagon was ever a laborer, seems like that’s a post that would be beneath him if he was split from Marika.
First time finding your channel and was a very quick sub. Well researched and thorough video and an extremely soothing voice! Looking forward to going thru your catalog and any future videos!
Thank you so much! I appreciate that! Just get ready for some extreme diversity in topics if you go through my channel 😆
I was already sympathetic to the plight of the misbegotten, but this was a really eye-opening video. I'm not so sure about your theory on Hewg, but there are enough connections there to be worth such speculation. I don't really have anything to add, but this was a really fucking interesting episode.
Thank you so much!! :)
I like the Hewg backstory and giant connection!
Another possible connection between Radagon, Castle Morne, and the Misbegotten is the Grafted Blade Greatsword tells about a “champion”. Radagon is always described as a champion, and the Misbegotten, specifically a Leonine variant, seems to be really interested with it for some reason.
From what you’ve said, it seems to me the Misbegotten are/were preparing for some sort of holy war (the Leonine using Radagon’s sword is called a “Crusader”) using Radagon’s swords.
I've done some digging & it seems as though Radagon is a former Leonine Misbegotten Laborer turned Warrior/Champion... His story begins around Castle Morne & ends with his defeat to Godfrey. He was then given leniency by Serosh for his might. He was able to Rebirth himself into a human with the Amber Egg that he gained under mysterious circumstances, the one Rennala holds. His origins are more of a hidden story with slight clues in item descriptions. They will MOST DEFINITELY open up his story in an extended DLC though!
This is probably one of the most creative theories about him I’ve heard! I absolutely love it. I just can’t wrap my head around Marika calling him her other half though; that’s the one thing that just seems so intimate between them, that and the fact he brought the Golden Sewing Needle to the Caria Manor.
@@kitetales Yeah, it seems as though he was always a separate entity & Marika needed a New Champion after Godfrey. Their merging is a story element that adds mystery, but its just the truest form of Grafting that Godrick attempts to emulate. The Golden order simply amalgamates defeated parties into their ranks like the Roman Empire.
Another addition to the connection of Radagon, Godfrey & Radahn is Radahn's Quote of "I was born a champion's cub. Now I am the Lord of the Battlefield's lion." is an indirect hint. He hails to the might of Godfrey and you will fight a Leonine/Crucible Knight duo on his castle grounds. This put my questioning of everything to shame.... Why is their a Leonine fighting beside a Crucible Knight for Radahn? They must both know of the connection between Godfrey & Radagon at Morne or a truce was struck behind the scenes. I do also believe Radahn was a Golden Order Loyalist of sorts, using simple Gravitational Magic as his connection to Rennala, but also having an immense amount of Strength to emulate Godfrey & Radagon. Halting the stars was his betrayal of his Carian Lineage.
@@kitetales One more thing, the Blood Star & Flame of Ruin seem to have a connection hinted at the Mountaintop of Giants with the Blood Witches & Fire Prelates. Mogh & Morgot have this so called Cursed Blood as the Omen, the Misbegotten have this Cursed Blood and so do the Red Haired Giants...
I’m so happy I woke up to this I didn’t see you upload last night!!!! Thank you guys!
Unique content, wonderful presentation and editing, great choice of music as well.
I really hope you guys blow up in views and subscribers soon - because this is quality content.
Looking forward to more content on upcoming releases.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that. I am SO excited for some of the upcoming games this month: Sons of the Forest and then Atomic Heart at the end of February. And then Hogwarts Legacy this Friday! Hopefully lots of fun new stories to talk about!
I'm so jealous of your voice 😭and I love your story telling! I can't wait to see more
Aww thank you so much!! 😊
I found myself smitten with these guys, they became my favorite designed creatures in game. I made a misbegotten character for an Elden Ring homebrew quest in D&D. I wish I knew exactly where they came from (as in how they’re born/made) as the game is conflicting on whether they’re born the way they are or it’s truly a curse/blessing from coming into contact with The Crucible.
Fun theories :) I always love hearing more about Radagon. I have always subscribed to the idea that he was a lot more his own person, rather than JUST marika in disguise. Even if he was a part of her in some way. The quote Melina gives in marika's bedchamber seems like proof of that to me :) But yea, this was really interesting!
Thank you so much! And I completely agree with you; I definitely believe Radagon had his own distinct autonomy. He's actually the focus of my next video, it's been a lot of fun working with all of the theories shared with me!
Very late to this one, but have you ever considered the connection of the Misbegotten to Vargram the Raging Wolf?
The raging wolf armor set is uncannily similar to how the misbegotten looks.
And just like the Misbegotten, he wields the Godslays Greart Sword. Another legendary weapon, and the misbegotten seem to constantly get their hands on these legendary swords.
Considering the trailer materials always feature the raging wolf set, it surprises that there is very little lore exploration amongst the community around the mystery of vargram.
Anyway just thought I'd share. Absolutely love your content Kitetales.
Such a fascinating video. I hope we get a DLC where we learn so much more about the misbegotten and become their ally 😀
Awww I would love that so much! Little misbegotten sidekick would be so cute!
That thumbnail for the video is so hilarious!
Thank you!! 😆 It’s from Stepbrothers so I was hoping someone would get it!
@@kitetales that’s one of my favorite comedy movies
On the knife they use, the style of knife looks like a cinquedea, there is a dagger you CAN get called a Cinquedea but it looks like its covered in gold corpse wax and made of the same stone as the bestial incantations. the one the misbegotten use looks like more of a traditional one
I thought it looked a lot like the Cinquedea as well, glad to know others are seeing that comparison!
You have a positively lovely voice, and you speak very well! Thank you for making this video.
Thank you so much for watching!! 😊
Knowing Radagan is also Merika, I wonder if he was an attempt by Merika to 'purify' herself of any trace of the crucible.
i noticed the dagger the misbegotten is holding has a similar green and reddish bronze color as the "gilded greatshield" and the item description of that shield states: "The red tinge in the gold coat mirrors the primordial matter that became the Erdtree. The color of homeward yearning." When I hear primordial I usually think of the crucible so likely related in that regard, the homeward yearning part also seeming fitting for misbegotten who are misplaced and hated.
All the cool lore and awesome video aside, that was a sick Melina impression!
Haha thank you!! She rocks the creepy whisper voice!
I always thought that Roderika was the forgiveness the Hewg was promised by Marika.
It was a metaphor for how we treat gingers all along!
All i won’t now is a self insert dragonhearted crucible knight fighting for omens, misbegotten alike there rights and to be part of the golden order. under oure great omen king Margott the fell, (and the primordial crucible.)
Fixing the system.
I like the idea that radagon is the dad of the misbegotten and they're all inbred, since they weren't always beastlike so they reproduced on their own and stayed this way
Radagon siring thousands of inbred children is nightmare fuel
When we translate "Misbegotten" directly from Japanese we get "Hybrid". If we look very closely at the murals of Farum Azula we will see that some of them show creatures similar to the winged misbegotten. Personally I think they are just humans mutated by the powers of the Cruiible.
Oh nice I hadn’t heard that was the translation from Japanese!
It’s also wild to think that three of the legendary armaments are guarded by them and all three of them are great swords
I bet Marika's blood probably contains some aspects of the crucibles, which explains why two of her three direct offspring are Omens, and those traits of this ancient characteristic materialized in the form of Radagon.
I would assume the blood that lead to the Omens came from Horah Loux 🧐
Marika hittin the omens and misbegotten with that spiritual non-compete clause smdh 😔
Great video, I hope you will make more Elden Ring content. My thoughts:
I love the close-up of the misbegotten short gladius! I had not noticed its uniqueness at all even as is was being lodged into my face. I read some of the other comments and I don't think it has anything to do with the Cinquedea; The Cinq is straight edged with a rounded guard, the gladius has a SZ shape and a straight guard. But the close-up does show that it is made bronze, which is the crucible metal and it has gold trimmings in the shape of a Symbol or Icon. I am not sure, but it looks like a match for either the Night Sorcery Sigel or the Baldachin's Blessing Icon.
I like the idea that Hewg was once a rebel leader. It is really substantiated atm, but I just want something better or more glamorous for him then just being Gidions pet. I don't know what to make of the Giant connection, being being referred to in the Hammer text.
I don't think the statues are of Radagon. It is found in many places that Radagon never visited, like in the underground eternal cities, or buildings that are far older then he could be, like Stormveil Castle Undercrofts.
But your case for the GOS in the hands of the Crusader is tight. Radagon no doubt gifted it to the misbegotten. And the web is abuzz with reasons why. A video by 'The Tarnished Archaeologist' makes some implications as to why the misbegotten are rampaging in half of the Haligtree. What is your take on TA's thoughts?
Thank you so much for the comment! I haven’t heard of that video but the premise sounds interesting; someone else mentioned the Misbegotten encroaching on the Haligtree so I wonder if that really is the case! The animation of them worshipping is just really interesting to me. Makes them stand out because I can’t think of any other characters that do that.
You say he's never been to the Eternal Cities, but that's honestly unlikely, his story is tied to them in a ton of ways. At the conclusion of the second Liurnian War, he repented his territorial aggressions by cleansing himself with a Night Tear. Night Tears are treasures of the Eternal Cities, so where on the surface would he get one? Do you suppose it was a generous gift from the Carians, who he was still at war with at the time? What about the amber egg he gave Rennala? It outright requires Larval Tears, a patented Eternal City technology, to even use. The egg using Larval Tears definitely isn't coincidence either, even Boc knew that one would be required for Rennala's rebirth. And if Radagon never went to the underground, then how could a Red Wolf of Radagon possibly end up in Nokron, the Eternal City that even Ranni didn't know how to access?
Speaking of Nokron, don't forget that's where D is, too. The D brothers are pretty obviously supposed to parallel Marika and Radagon, so the fact that the Twinned Set is half silver, and one of them is found in an Eternal City, kind of suggests the two-in-one phenomenon is related to Silver Tears. The cut Asimi quest points in that direction too.
Even if you assume Radagon didn't have any contact with the Eternal Cities prior to meeting Rennala though, he did then become the head of the Carian royalty, which owned two elevators to Nokstella. One at their study hall, and another at their lunar estate. Like the Larval Tears, this was clearly no secret either : Iji's dialogue indicates that any random Tarnished should be aware of Nokstella.
By the way, on what grounds is Stormveil Castle "far older than Radagon could be?" What's the limit to how old he can be?
@@UltraStarWarsFanatic Celestial Dew is a requirement for cleansing, and yes that requires a silver tear, but it makes it a bit more plausible that Renalla gifted one.
But you make good points on Radagon's age.
My take on Stormveil's age was that the Stormlord was defeated by Godfrey when "all opposed the Erdtree".
If Radagon was already around and 'a mere champion' by then, we would expect many statues of Godfrey and his axe.
In the Et. Cities, there is no tree symbols at all, but the Templar statue is quite common. Why would there be statues of 'humble Radagon' when there is a perfectly good 'proud Radagon statue' (like the one in Leyndell).
@@AmryL Well that's exactly the question the game asks, isn't it? Why would Radagon cast Rennala aside, and why would a mere champion be chosen for the seat of Elden Lord?
The simple answer to this question is the Radagon=Marika reveal. Of course there's a lot of ambiguity regarding the details of what that means, but the point is that Radagon wasn't who he said he was.
An interesting thing about the statue is the fact that it's hooded. If it is assumed to be Radagon, then he he may have been trying to hide his hair, and by extension his identity, during the period it was built. Another important point is that while the Erdtree is what Marika is associated with in the modern era, she's definitely older than it is. Perhaps the same is true of Radagon.
Also, I'm not sure what you're getting at with the "everyone was opposed to the Erdtree" line. Nothing ties that to Stormveil in particular. The Liurnian Wars were also one of the Erdtree's wars of conquest, and arguably the most important one (sans the War Against the Giants, which represented the Erdtree's birth) to the Erdtree becoming the embodiment of Order. Moreover, the Long March should have come directly after Godfrey's final conquest; Radagon left Rennala at that point, so that can't have been before the Liurnian Wars, let alone Radagon's birth.
The Tarnished Archaeologist has an interesting theory about the crucible being a coniferous Erdtree from witch the great underground root system originated but was cut and the current Erdtree was grafted onto the roots
He believes the Misbegotten originate from when the graft was struggling to asstablish itself wille the Omens are the result of the original plant starting to take over again
I always love when a good Elden Ring video shows up in my recommendeds, and that thumbnail is 👌. Great stuff.
I do think, based on Ranni's quest, that the Golden Order Great sword was refashioned from the Dark Moon Great sword which we know is given by a Carian Queen to her husband. He did this to show his ultimate loyalty to Marika and the Golden Order after he became Elden Lord.
How did the Leonine get it though? Such a great question which depends on what you believe the Misbegotten to be doing at or near the Erdtree. If they are there as guest, it impliess one thing. But if Tarnished Archaeologist is right and they are besieging the Haligtree, then that Leonine with the sword means something very different.
But whether the sword is the same or the statues are Radagon or not, I definitely think there's an implied connection between he and the Misbegotten.
You articulated what I've been thinking about the color red and the Crucible as well. Maybe Radagon was like a missing link in the transition from the Crucible to the Erdtree and he despises that he isn't pure himself. Might also explain why Marika would marry and "become one" with him in an attempt to finally absorb everything that isn't purely of the Erdtree. And the Misbegotten look up to him or even share a bloodline with him. Just more theorizing. Great video again!
They're like the slag when you refine molten iron. It's metal that's been oxydized under the high heat of the crucible. And often its mixed in with other impurities.
Great video! Well researched and I always love your delivery!
Thank you so much!! :)
All are unified in death. It’s why I chose to not discriminate throughout the game.
Loved the video, very creative take on the missbegotten I've not heard before. As for an enemy I'm curious about probably the skeletal slimes, they can be they're everywhere and idk what they are
Very well thought out and easy to understand
Thank you very much! 😊
Really intriguing video! Just a question, have you ever seen the brick hammer as possibly being associated with Radagon? We know he's pretty handy with a hammer from his bossfight, as well as the fact he reforged his sword, as well as the fact he was a champion! That coupled with the fact it needs the strength of a Giant to wield it, helps paint him as a champion of laborers rights before he became a lord, which i think aids his connection to the misbegotten. And i think it falls under his beliefs as well, of conjoining things that oppose the Erdtree, like what he did with Raya Lucaria, as opposed to outright killing entire races like Marika. Really good video though!
Thank you so much! Okay I have to say, I did wonder if Radagon may have been the owner but dropped that theory because I didn’t know if it fit, but your explanation is amazing! I can totally see this as a possibility and it seems like a character that George RR Martin would create. This is such a great theory!
Unfortunately Hewg probably couldn't have been the wielder of the brick hammer, as he never became a champion. It seems more likely that it was Radagon.
The reason the Misbegotten are found at the Haligtree is because it's meant to be a haven to those who have been rejected by the Golden Order
Love your content!
Hey I just watched your video!! REALLY well done, looking forward to more of your stuff!!
@@kitetales wow thank you! Hoping to start my weekly schedule Monday with a new vid upload!
Something to consider is the implications of the Rusty Anchor, which we find in the Weeping Peninsula after defeating the Scaly Misbegotten. It alludes to a ship that stayed behind when Godfrey and the Tarnished were harried from the Lands Between.
This could be one of two things: either an origin for the Misbegotten or an explanation as to how they were further treated after the Age of the Crucible.
If it's the latter, then perhaps the graceless Misbegotten were set to be exported from the Lands Between like the Tarnished, except the anchor of their ship was intentionally unkept and left to rust so they wouldn't be able to stay with the fleet of human Tarnished - leaving the Misbegotten to drift back to the Lands Between because not even Godfrey wanted to deal with them.
If not that, if this is an origin, then perhaps the ashes for the Winged Misbegotten told something of a truth - that these were one group of Tarnished who stayed behind on purpose, sought to revolt against the Erdtree and Marika, and sought ancient power of the Crucible for strength and ended up becoming malformed. This feels like more of a leap, though.
Plus, with the file name for Misbegotten being called "Bastards of Radagon," they were probably the Radagon-equivalent of Godfrey's omen children and were reborn as these graceless, Crucible-infested humans
The rusty anchor is such a mind-boggling mystery...
Swords lose mass with frequent resharpening. I think the daggers the misbegotten carry are/were once the same as their short swords. But over time, heavy use, and frequent sharpening, they've been whittled down to the smaller size we see some carrying. It would also explain why they never appear to drop: they actually are, we just arent recognizing it as the same item. Not sure what that implies thematically, but that is my notion anyway. 😊
I can't stop laughing at that thumbnail
I really like this theory, a lot of the common interpretation in the community right now feel so very off nobody is talking about the myriad of things in the game that doesn't fit in with them. However I do not think misbegotten are a race that has existed, something occurred to these beings. If you put a lot of Godfreys march together you come to see a direct contradiction in the lore, It is both told to us castle morne was assaulted by Godfrey, but item descriptions also point to him being the wielder of the morne great sword. The grave on the coast, or big ass stone, is much more than a mere monument. There is also a massive amount of lore with the demi-humans and people ignore what is going on there, these lands are not a landmass we are seeing time being twisted and even possibly copying the same lands at different times.
You need a crucible to blacksmith, i thought that might be interesting
We also see Radagon using a hammer when we fight him
An addition to the theory of Radagon himself being a decent of giants. Obviously one is the red hair but also what is he doing in the trailers of the game, trying to reforge the Elden ring. Radagon himself has the abilities of a blacksmith or at least its in his blood and he is even welding a hammer when we fight him, the hammer he is using to reforge the ring.
When I first played this their appearance scared me, now I just feel bad…
Don’t worry, what they lack in looks, they make up in body count
I think it’s worth noting that red tinged gold is the colour of the crucible.
Leonine Misbegotten are red and gold in colour. Additionally they have enhanced misbegotten features.
I think Leonine Misbegotten have come more fully into contact with the crucible and as a result more fully live up to the potential of the misbegotten.