Elden Ring - Stormveil is being torn apart

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  • Опубликовано: 23 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 779

  • @ZullietheWitch
    @ZullietheWitch  Год назад +3991

    Something interesting I noticed about Godwyn's tendrils is, in keeping with his aquatic theming, there are some parts that look almost like the suckers of an octopus tentacle. Godwyn's usual Deathroot isn't particularly thorny, so whatever is going on at Stormveil seems like an unusual case if he is at fault.

    • @arandomshark2667
      @arandomshark2667 Год назад +100

      I wonder if they're going to expand on this in the dlc (being that the erdtree is decayed). I just don't know if its post burning or after deathblight had expanded in a normal fromsoft time jump lol. Anyways, great find as always!

    • @pg3223
      @pg3223 Год назад +42

      It's not an octopus tentacle. It is a jellyfish stinger.

    • @JoeKing69
      @JoeKing69 Год назад +1

      I always knew since I first saw those ugly ass holes that they represented something deeper, like the castle was in a state of accelerated decay.
      Did anyone else get a genuine visceral reaction from looking at them? They look like infected sores or something.

    • @serpentnightrevival1151
      @serpentnightrevival1151 Год назад +6

      maybe an outer god of sin?

    • @maliciouscookies5466
      @maliciouscookies5466 Год назад +68

      The thorns bear a biblical symbolism of those "who are consumed by the cares and anxieties of this physical life and the deceitful enticements of wealth". They're God's punishment for uncontrolled greed and desire, in this case Godrick and his family's desire for power, perverted as it is. The secondary meaning of thorns, specifically crown of thorns, is what the fire monks stand for; atonement, humility and fall from grace. In this case, guarding the giant's flame while making use of its profane powers.
      Might not be that relevant, but in Shinto, thorns usually symbolise a prohibited desire. Something sinful you're hopelessly ensnared by.
      Godwyn's death relates to all of this of course, as it created a new form of life. Life without meaning, direction and purpose. It can only spread while consuming everything else, cancer. In biblical sense, it's a sin of the highest caliber, living body without the spirit, basically reverse Jesus.
      And obviously, the thorny roots are what they are; tendrils of Deathblight slowly creeping around and consuming the Lands Between. The released DLC banner basically comfirms that Deathblight is taking over the Erdtree.
      Consumed by thorns is to be consumed by own sin, a living sin in the context of the game. Basically, every one of Marika's children mixes elements of the Bible, Shinto and Germanic mythology to portray different perversion of life as intended by the Greater Will.

  • @DERyuga
    @DERyuga Год назад +3254

    Its also interesting to note that this could be directly caused by grafting simply because of the carnage that it causes. The amount of littered corpses that arent disposes of carefully might attract the deathblight, similar to that alchemical worldview video you made before where simply the presence of dead flesh was enough to "create" bugs.

    • @zaidlacksalastname4905
      @zaidlacksalastname4905 Год назад +178

      Bug farming life hack

    • @hagridps1674
      @hagridps1674 Год назад +86

      They running on that spontaneous generation logic😂😂

    • @garvielloken8494
      @garvielloken8494 Год назад +176

      @@hagridps1674 you laughing, but for a fantasy world it's amazing theme, opening for a lot of concepts

    • @Neo2266.
      @Neo2266. Год назад

      @@zaidlacksalastname4905death hack

    • @hagridps1674
      @hagridps1674 Год назад +45

      @@garvielloken8494 I'm laughing because it's a notion of science that i revisited days ago, otherwise yeah it's pretty cool

  • @Hollowolfjas4014
    @Hollowolfjas4014 Год назад +1502

    Stormveil brings to mind the "Fisher Kingdom" trope, where a kingdom will suffer a sickness or pestilence to matches the sickness or evil of its royalty. The castle is an insane shadow of its original glory, being eaten from within by a combination of briars, the holes in its walls resemble sores or ulcers, a grim place of death. Just like a sickly, desperate, violent Godrick.

    • @strcmdrbookwyrm
      @strcmdrbookwyrm Год назад +70

      For some reason, skimming your comment and seeing the words "fisher kingdom" somehow reminded me of how some seaside cultures would revere corpses of whales that would wash ashore, as they provided many resources for food and tools. I don't know why I made that connection here, other than Godwyn's fishy appearance, but I thought it was interesting.

    • @harvesterofeyes8813
      @harvesterofeyes8813 Год назад +46

      Definitely something the GRRM has included in his books. Harrenhall and the nights watch castle with the rat cook off the top of my head.

    • @Tahanok2
      @Tahanok2 Год назад +40

      It wouldn't be the first Arthurian theme in this game, and combined with the death/aquatic-life imagery that shows up all over the game, it could go either way.
      It's almost frustrating how little explanation we're given for so many things in Fromsoft games. Not necessarily nothing, but just a little, which is enough to convince your brain that there are answers and other figurative puzzle pieces left to be found and put together, even when there's none left.

    • @uhoh7545
      @uhoh7545 Год назад

      ​@@strcmdrbookwyrmkos parasite brainrot

    • @iboofer
      @iboofer Год назад +21

      @@strcmdrbookwyrm Sounds fitting to the Fishing Hamlet's worship of Kos in Bloodborne.

  • @MisterOfu
    @MisterOfu Год назад +1076

    There's something really funny to me about a fantasy dungeon being called Edinburgh. Can't wait for the Glasgow DLC.

    • @SpiderGeometry
      @SpiderGeometry Год назад +149

      Glasgow DLC would slap. The Necropolis is imposing enough to be included for its beauty and people would complain about the difficulty spike at Maryhill Tesco.

    • @ashk0p450
      @ashk0p450 Год назад +66

      Fromsoft really seems to like UK cities with dystopian undertones.

    • @Sam-uk4mb
      @Sam-uk4mb Год назад +75

      Final boss of the DLC is an anthropomorphic fried mars bar

    • @tarille1043
      @tarille1043 Год назад +29

      Glasgow DLC would end up with the game needing a AO rating...

    • @noatrope
      @noatrope Год назад

      @@ashk0p450Birmingham DLC when

  • @__8120
    @__8120 Год назад +1221

    These deconstructions and deep dives into the game files and descriptions are endlessly fascinating. Thank you for putting out such high quality content

    • @ItRhymesWith
      @ItRhymesWith Год назад +18

      And obviously thanks to the devs for, as always, putting so much work and detail into their games

    • @ParadiseAndGin
      @ParadiseAndGin Год назад +7

      Plus the eerie music fits so well. I love her videos!

  • @Peptuck
    @Peptuck Год назад +244

    There's also the fact that the castle is actually being slowly torn apart. If you look at certain places in Stormveil, you can see where giant staples have been hammered into fissures that have ruptured in the stonework, implying that Goodrick's troops are aware that the castle is collapsing and are trying to keep it from falling apart.

  • @SirSaltythe1st
    @SirSaltythe1st Год назад +1059

    Stormveil is one of my favorite places in the game

    • @Jeffmetal42
      @Jeffmetal42 Год назад +3

      mine too

    • @Sauviller
      @Sauviller Год назад +7

      Ok

    • @Greendawn-di3dl
      @Greendawn-di3dl Год назад +35

      Leyendell is mine, dark souls loves to show vistas when you enter a new location and the view is immaculate

    • @JoseViktor4099
      @JoseViktor4099 Год назад +39

      The best Castle FromSoft has ever made imo.

    • @TheKnightDrag0n
      @TheKnightDrag0n Год назад +17

      It's the closest thing we got to real level design in the game, the royal capital and shunning grounds are also up there as far as I'm concerned.

  • @metalmonster9536
    @metalmonster9536 Год назад +113

    Everything about Godwyn's death is so interestingly ominous

  • @bbss2907
    @bbss2907 Год назад +590

    In the 2019 trailer, Godrick is shown having grafted a left arm that matches the size and skin tone of Godwyn.
    During the shattering, Godrick stole a bunch of treasures and hid amongst the womenfolk of Leyndell to flee.
    Godwyns left shoulder to around his lower back was cut on the night of black knives
    Rogier refers to the body under storm wind as a “relic of Godwyns from the night of black knives”. One definition of a relic is a part of a deceased holy persons body.
    Therefore, the sin that is being punished is that
    one of the treasures Godrick stole during the shattering was a holy relic; the left arm of Godwyn the Golden. He grafted it onto himself to gain power, but was likely corrupted by death blight and had to cut it off. He cast it into the moat where it has begun growing into a second corpse of the Prince of Death, like a starfish. This is the source of the thorns in stormveil castle.
    Godrick killed the dragon so that he could source a replacement left hand.

    • @giovannicarbone9441
      @giovannicarbone9441 Год назад +82

      This might also explain the presence (if not the only instance) of thorny Deathroot in Stormveil. It could be tied to the thorns being associated with sin and its punishment, as the thorns might be punishing not just the grafting but the very act of Godfrey predating on his own kin, Godwyn, one of his ancestors and symbol of the golden lineage. After all, all the Demigods are being punished for fighting each other, as in fighting their own blood, as their fate is to die at the hands of the Tarnished.

    • @biggestnoob4704
      @biggestnoob4704 11 месяцев назад +30

      Oh! Good catch! That might explain the corpse under castle where similar corpses haven't cropped up elsewhere!

    • @funguy398
      @funguy398 11 месяцев назад +7

      Godwyn corpse under the Leyndell have both arms? Maybe it grows itself another arm 💪

    • @jabbathehutt2774
      @jabbathehutt2774 11 месяцев назад +7

      I think Radagon must've attacked stormveil at some point. The thorns in stormveil seem reminiscent of the thorns on the corpses of the fire giants, a place where I do believe we know Radagon faught in that war. I think the grafting is tangentially related to the deathblight in stormveil but I don't the thorns are the deathroot. We also know that Radahn attacked stormveil at some point do to telltale giant rocks in the walls, so it's possible these attacks against stormveil are one and the same since we know Radahn loved his red hair and the golden order. Or perhaps it was another attack godrick thought he could simply hide from instead however it started from the inside rather than the outside.

    • @eMercody
      @eMercody 10 месяцев назад +4

      That’s a cool theory

  • @kaden1991
    @kaden1991 Год назад +572

    I wonder if Godrick would be foolish enough to graft Godwyn's corpse, or if that is perhaps the source of the castle's strange affliction.

    • @digiquo8143
      @digiquo8143 Год назад +250

      This seems like the most likely theory imo. Grafting pieces of Godwyn's corpse in an attempt to steal a portion of his power can only be considered one of the most unholy unions imaginable in Elden Ring.

    • @metalmonster9536
      @metalmonster9536 Год назад +124

      Imagine Godrick being a badass, grafting Godwyn into Stormveil and then grafting the castle to himself

    • @AtelierMcMuttonArt
      @AtelierMcMuttonArt Год назад +77

      @@metalmonster9536
      That's a *really* cool idea. I could see that happening if Grafting were a much greater focus of the overall story.

    • @ChadTasteInMusic421
      @ChadTasteInMusic421 Год назад +62

      ​@@metalmonster9536That would be awesome he literally becomes the castle

    • @metalmonster9536
      @metalmonster9536 Год назад +25

      ​@@ChadTasteInMusic421 Oh what fun Gostoc would have had living there 😂

  • @swosho
    @swosho Год назад +91

    King's Field IV music always hits the spot 🤌

    • @TheDanjaBus
      @TheDanjaBus Год назад +2

      Wish they would release the soundtrack for it instead of us having to find pirate rips.

  • @CokeNoseGoat
    @CokeNoseGoat Год назад +177

    Stormveil always blows me away with the amount of lore tie-ins it has. Great video as always!

  • @Consumstra
    @Consumstra Год назад +408

    The Erdtree always felt ominous to me, always there high above the sky, everyone always adoring it. So it was the most suspicious.

    • @jameswillen6749
      @jameswillen6749 Год назад +85

      Its a giant bewitching branch

    • @RagingBrachy
      @RagingBrachy Год назад +56

      Griffith tree.

    • @GillfigGarstang
      @GillfigGarstang Год назад +38

      Have you read berserk? If you get to the Fantasia Arc you will have a pretty good idea of how sinister the direct inspiration for the Erd Tree really is despite it’s ethereal beauty.

    • @alfalldoot6715
      @alfalldoot6715 Год назад +7

      It's a pretty tree

    • @mark0183
      @mark0183 Год назад +19

      When the erdtree is sus 😳

  • @eaglelord145
    @eaglelord145 Год назад +56

    Despite living there, I never made the correlations between Stormveil and Edinburgh Castle, but that’s so cool that it’s literally referenced in the files!

    • @AydarBMSTU
      @AydarBMSTU Год назад +15

      Holy sh*t, you lived in Stormveil! Amazing

    • @AdamOwenBrowning
      @AdamOwenBrowning Год назад +1

      it's one of my favourite UK castles and I didn't see it AT all lmao - I didn't see the link between Limgrave and Edinburgh much at all

    • @RealLenny
      @RealLenny 8 месяцев назад

      @@AdamOwenBrowning stormveil has holes in the walls, edinburgh has holes in the road and pavement

  • @Er404ChannelNotFound
    @Er404ChannelNotFound Год назад +152

    I think the reason the Erdtree uses thorns is specifically Radagon using thorns. He is implied to have lineage from the Giants and we see those Giants in the Mountaintops bursting with thorns out of their corpses. Furthermore his own Rune symbol is covering those thorns as we see that criss cross on his statues as well.

    • @sansenoy
      @sansenoy Год назад +24

      That rune symbol is meant to represent a trellis, a support structure for vine growth, as opposed to tree branches and trunks... It was in a hawkshaw or tarnished archeologist video, can't remember where

    • @Jergy2
      @Jergy2 Год назад +14

      Thorns seem to show up more than just from Radagon or the Giants though. Aside from Godwyn and deathblight, there's the Thorn Sorcerers/Abberant Sorceries and the Blood Star, as well as Elmer of the Briar and Eochaid.

    • @Er404ChannelNotFound
      @Er404ChannelNotFound Год назад +15

      @@Jergy2 I'm not saying thorns in general are exclusive to Radagon. I'm saying the reason they protect the Erdtree is very likely out of Radagon's own intervention rather than being innate to the Erdtree.

    • @Mare_Man
      @Mare_Man Год назад +4

      I'm pretty sure the giants in the Mountaintop are afflicted with Deathblight, just covered in snow. We see it all over the graveyards up there

    • @okname5335
      @okname5335 Год назад +1

      @@Mare_Man but wheres the deathblight frogs or godwin head onion things or those who live in death or like any other deathblight stuff all we see near the frozen giants are thorn sorcerers even tho there is a deathblight area in the mountaintops with those who live in death and deathblight onions theres no frozen giants or thorn sorcerers there

  • @torquevonthorne948
    @torquevonthorne948 Год назад +19

    Yes finally you covered this topic! I always wondered who attacked Stormveil from the SEA (it is clear the shot that hit the walls came from the west, and there is only the sea and the island where the tarnished begins his journey)... but your explanation is insightful

  • @geraltofrivia7448
    @geraltofrivia7448 Год назад +53

    Stormveil has always been an intriguing place. Especially since it has been in many trailers and there was hype built around it. Even tho we got to fully explore it, it always feels like there's something more to it!

  • @TheMightyNovac
    @TheMightyNovac Год назад +347

    I think none of these explanations conflict with each other, and rather they all add to each other in explanation:
    The literal source of the thorns is, in all likelihood, Godwyn's corpse -- it's consistent with its placement as the "secret of the castle", and narratively it explains his inclusion in Stormveil. The metaphysical connection is that Godrick is being punished for his sins, and that fate has brought the plague of Godwyn's corpse to his doorstep -- perhaps a coincidence, but it aligns with similar ideas of divine punishment. As for the Erdtree's involvement, as Godwyn and the Erdtree's roots are intertwined, I don't think you necessarily have to separate their influence. Rather, given the recency of the appearance of thorns to protect the Erdtree, it's possible that they appeared precisely because of Godwyn's corpse infecting its roots, as if his golden lineage is still protecting the tree now, or vice-versa -- that Godwyns accumilation of thorns is divine/phyiscal punishment by the Erdtree itself for being a sin against nature, infecting its roots.

    • @alyseleem2692
      @alyseleem2692 Год назад +28

      So, you're saying Godwyn's actually the guy gatekeeping us from his mom?
      Not gonna lie; never thought of that one before.

    • @TheMightyNovac
      @TheMightyNovac Год назад +31

      @@alyseleem2692 No, Godwyn is the first child gatekeeping us from his mom's new boyfriend. Don't get it twisted.
      And his dad (and her ex-husband) is also doing the gatekeeping too. This is actually too real now that I think about it.

    • @angelamengualcortinas3614
      @angelamengualcortinas3614 Год назад +34

      Its highly unlikely that the thorns that protect the Erdtree are Godwyn's. They are much more likely caused by Radagon, since if you pay attention to the design the thorns are making, it's identical to the mark that often accompanies Radagon's depictions in statues. Still, the rest of your theory is completely valid.

    • @alyseleem2692
      @alyseleem2692 Год назад +10

      @@TheMightyNovac You do remember her new boyfriend is also her, right?( my brain is still frying trying to explain how that works)
      And ###, you're right.

    • @quinnmcpherrin7131
      @quinnmcpherrin7131 Год назад +6

      We also have to remember that godrick is a descendant of godwyn, so maybe godwyn's deathblight is attempting to punish the discrace to his lineage.

  • @AdellRedwinters
    @AdellRedwinters Год назад +45

    Fun note about grafting, it's something often done with plants, grafting different species of them together to help them grow in different environments. I wonder if the implication is that the Erdtree itself is a grafted being, having grafted itself onto whatever great tree existed before the time of Elden Lords.

    • @jameswillen6749
      @jameswillen6749 Год назад +6

      Oh i like this. Like if you put a rose into a potato it grows into a rosebush but the roots are potatos

    • @okname5335
      @okname5335 Год назад +5

      tarnished archeologist has a video showing the lore pointing to that

    • @velhokala8456
      @velhokala8456 Год назад +1

      If I remember correctly there is even cut dialogue where Godrick talks about his followers bringing him a new "branch" to craft.

    • @Jack-tg9qm
      @Jack-tg9qm Год назад +1

      @@okname5335lol I read this comment and was like oh boy do I have a video for you, glad to see somebody already mentioned TA’s video

  • @gestalt7529
    @gestalt7529 Год назад +578

    After experiencing Stormveil and Raya Lucaria, most of other castle dungeons didn’t feel very special
    Mainly because of those early two being sooo unique
    Edit: I meant aesthetically, castle redmane/sol/shaded ain’t that cool as Stormveil/Lucaria/Leyndell.
    The lack of cutscene boss might be the reason I feel that way as well.

    • @eredin105
      @eredin105 Год назад +52

      leyndell> stormveil

    • @Mrfallouthero
      @Mrfallouthero Год назад +57

      Shaded castle is cool. Castle sol was badass. And so was castle morne, carian manor all had their unique features

    • @metalmonster9536
      @metalmonster9536 Год назад +136

      Pretty sure they put a lot of extra effort into Stormveil, as it is meant to show the players what experiences Legacy Dungeons would bring.
      I'm not that disappointed in others though-except Redmane Castle, which is underwhelming even considering that it is focused on leading you into an epic boss raid

    • @Snacks256
      @Snacks256 Год назад +51

      Too bad Raya Lucaria is so tiny. The main path is smaller than areas in Souls games and we barely see the interior.

    • @AL3Z72
      @AL3Z72 Год назад +8

      @@Mrfallouthero tbh everything other than the legacy dungeons were dark souls 2-tier levels.

  • @radioactivecat6658
    @radioactivecat6658 Год назад +6

    God the buildup to Godrick as a boss is fantastic, from when you start out in Limgrave and hearing about him, to finally reaching Stormveil and seeing the carnage of his grafting firsthand, with ominous BG music to match, all finally peaking when you encounter Godrick. I feel like that boss “buildup” is a lesser talked about subject but it adds so much.

  • @ButcherGod
    @ButcherGod Год назад +91

    For me, the holes in the walls and in their own flesh is the biggest mystery of it all.
    And there must be some reason we don't see any signs of it on Godrick, maybe a Great Rune protects him, or maybe he isn't the reason for the affliction?
    The Oni in the courtyard is unaffected either, could be something about solely the knights of the Castle, since the Storm hawk's show no signs either, and haven't they been there the longest?
    Curious indeed.

    • @The5lacker
      @The5lacker Год назад +17

      I presume it's because all of his flesh is fresh, rapidly layering graft on top of graft not just for strength, but to keep the corruption at bay.

    • @jackbelmont4389
      @jackbelmont4389 Год назад +12

      I thought that the holes on the walls were caused by radahn attacking the castle when passing my limgrave, but Godrick never bothered to fix them

    • @toastmaster914
      @toastmaster914 Год назад

      Catapults

    • @hoodiegal
      @hoodiegal Год назад +17

      @@toastmaster914 I initially thought of something like that aswell, but... why? that side of the castle is facing the sea, and there's a 100 meter sheer cliffside below it. Even if you could construct a ship-mounted catapult capable of bombarding that side of the castle, why would you bother? There's nothing to gain from trying to wreck that side of the castle.

    • @ScrawnyTreeDemon
      @ScrawnyTreeDemon Год назад +15

      There are signs of it on Godrick, too, if you peel away his clothing and armour-- Dark, nasty splotches, a particularly prominent one being beneath the gauntlet of the arm he ends up amputating in lieu of the dragon-head. Granted, that doesn't explain the other oddities, but Godrick hasn't gone unscathed.

  • @carnasondrakith2553
    @carnasondrakith2553 4 месяца назад +1

    Something i noticed recently (and i'm truly not sure why i didn't notice it sooner) is that the chapel of anticipation (the building you wake up in at the start of the game) has the exact same architectural theming as stormveil, and in fact, includes the thorns and growing sores caused by whatever curse stormveil suffers from.

  • @noatrope
    @noatrope Год назад +1

    "A house malignant, boiling with leprosy, with lesions deeper than its walls..."
    - (Control, Anatomy, and the Legacy of the Haunted House)

  • @Double512
    @Double512 Год назад +1

    i always figured the holes were from Radahn's assault on the castle; they greatly resemble craters caused by high speed impacts being perfectly round and the entire castle garrison is oriented to defending the main gate. the thorns being an indicator of sin or depravity makes sense though

  • @IncoisaRadio87
    @IncoisaRadio87 Год назад +2

    The idea that all the sharp vines throughout Elden Ring are linked in some way is fascinating.
    "Iron vines" resembling barbed wire are used to punish the guilty, and the result was their discovery of aberrant sorceries, creating thorny vines out of their own blood, presumably taught by the "blood star" they found in the darkness without their eyes. The Erdtree protects itself with thorns, using thick, impenetrable vines to defend the gaping wound in its side from would-be invaders like the Tarnished. Godwyn's death and subsequent burial, an obvious defilement of the Golden Order of Marika the Eternal, resulted in the souring of the roots and spread of Deathblight. And now, after Godrick has grafted his flesh with other creatures, the castle he has laid claim to despite not being his own has been torn asunder by yet more thorns.
    In nature, there are many thorned vines that climb up the sides of trees, and as we all know that tree symbolism is very important in Elden Ring, it's not unlikely that the thorns are directly related to the Erdtree itself.
    It may not even be for punishment, as the thorns used on criminals are, as far as I can tell as a lore novice, artificial, implying they, if not the other vines, aren't made from the Erdtree. So what about the others?
    The Aberrant Sorceries were taught to those who had their eyes gouged out, for only then were they able to see their new teacher, the Blood Star. They had their eyes gouged to begin with as punishment for criminal deeds, and the sorceries themselves come from the blood of the caster, which is why they hurt to even cast.
    The ones protecting the Erdtree are to cover up the gaping cavity in its side, perhaps some form of injury, like a divine scab. It definitely has been there longer than the Tarnished's crusade for the Erdtree, as from what Morgott says, it seems to have been there as long as he's been Lord of Leyndell.
    Godwyn's bizarre death of soul but not body turned him into a cancerous mass that serves no purpose but to attempt to rebuild itself, something impossible without life within. Being buried in the Erdtree, it likely is attempting to infect the Erdtree itself.
    and then there's Stormveil. Not only is there signs of Godwyn's spread into the fortress underground, but this is also where Godrick would begin the process of grafting.
    What's the tie between all these things? The Erdtree's Thorns and Godwyn's Thorns are both signs of illness in the tree, and Godwyn's Thorns, the Aberrant Thorns, and Godrick's Thorns both seem to be tied to depravity and the profane.
    Perhaps thorns are a sign of perversion of the Golden Order, or something of the like.
    All this is ignoring the question that's been on my mind this whole time, though: if the vines in Stormveil are from Grafting, why are the exiles laden with thorns and decay, but Godrick himself is not?

  • @BionicmeLoL
    @BionicmeLoL Год назад +9

    I somehow got the idea that the thorned holes in the walls were from some form of biohazard coastal bombardment, seeing as most of them seem to be on the water-facing side of Stormveil, but this makes a whole lot more sense.

    • @aidanmacnaull3020
      @aidanmacnaull3020 Год назад +3

      Godwyn's deathroot shennaginerry does seem to have some connection to water so maybe if it is related to him it just naturally gravitated to the seaside of things

  • @n4rkotik
    @n4rkotik Год назад +1

    Hey Zullie, I actually live in Edinburgh. Can't believe your video blew my mind so quickly. Keep up your amazing work & wish you well.

  • @DerpsWithWolves
    @DerpsWithWolves Год назад +7

    I notice, though, that most of the damage to the castle appears to be external in nature. Mostly along the outer walls, as if struck by magic during a siege. The edges of the holes are even bent outwards, suggesting a sudden, violent force, rather than a slow rot.
    Unlike the slow rot on the castle's denizens, I suspect the thorns are simply infesting the 'wounds' the castle received during the war of the shattering, and perhaps slowly making them worse like plants growing up through a sidewalk regardless of their source.

  • @richardmcnamara8715
    @richardmcnamara8715 Год назад +1

    Stormveil is being torn apart by a purple man in a loincloth with a big club

  • @MitridatedCarbon
    @MitridatedCarbon Год назад +20

    I think it is Deathroot, and the thorns are a representation of Godwyn's fury, almost to declare the entirety of the lands between is guilty of his death. the various alternative theories are what ER does magnificently, which is tricking you into false lore, like Radagon being a giant.
    the reason why it isn't in Stormveil, I think is because Deathroot, being an extension of Godwyn, is attracted to places connected to him and his lineage. Or maybe the place underneath Stormveil was just another catacomb. looks like one.
    Also, it is interesting to see that the mercenary soldiers look pretty lively compared to the official soldiers. Hope the Expansion sheds some light on it.
    My theory is that the most blessed before the shattering got turned into walking corpses after the shattering, as there was no more Elden Ring and Erdtree (now dimming) to bless them with their strength, runes, and vigor. thus those who had lived without blessing look normal in the aftermath of the shattering, while those who belonged to the Golden Order society and got spoiled by the eternal blessing of the Erdtree had to live without its power, including their domestic dogs. that's why this weird hollowing seems to worsen the more the individual class is higher.
    Nobleman are walking mummies.
    high-rank soldiers look like zombies.
    common soldiers are gray-skinned and look dead, but not decomposed.
    Perfumers have a rotten face but are more aggressive probably from their overuse of potions.
    Commoners in service of the higher classes look old but are still sentient.
    The women from Dominula, lower class and heretic, look old and scary, but not corpse-like.
    Pages, who come from lower class, are almost stronger than elite soldiers and fight in a style reminiscent of a player character, and the skin on their hands is normal human look.
    Glintstone sorcerers were accepted by the Golden Order because of radagon and are pale and corpse-like, while those in service of the Carian Family, (considered not royalty anymore and suffered a coup), look like player NPCs (the Carian Knight for example).
    the player-looking Npcs are all, outcasts, criminals, renegades, nomads, or tarnished.
    the rest of the Lands Between's weird creatures don't look corpse-like.

    • @irregularassassin6380
      @irregularassassin6380 Год назад +6

      If that's the case, the whole game is a metaphor for the death of empires. When an empire falls, those most propped up by its institutions have the most to lose, while the people who are tied closest to the land often weather the change better. Farming is farming, smithing is smithing, etc. Mother Nature cares not for the rise and fall of nations, but merchants, bankers, and the ruling class certainly do.

    • @kylegonewild
      @kylegonewild Год назад

      Conflating "ambiguous" lore with "false" lore is a bit of an overreach. We have no proof Radagon isn't a descendant of giants, but we do have a lot of proof that he at least considered himself to be representative of their heritage. I have no particular problems with your pet theory regarding why the denizens of the lands between look the way they do though. It does kinda make sense animals without sentient souls wouldn't be part of the Erdtree's life cycle under the Golden Order. Life has seemingly flourished in this place since time immemorial, irrespective of the order which currently governs the elden ring. The only "animals" we see treated with any sort of special concern are the dragons, beastkin, and their descendants. Beastly creatures like the Misbegotten are treated as less than human slaves and it is unlikely the Erdtree under Marika's Golden Order ever bestowed upon them Erdtree rebirth.
      Edit: forgot the Death Rite Birds as another animal that gets special treatment from the lore, being sentient shepherds and representatives of death rites long past.

  • @toodles3492
    @toodles3492 Год назад +3

    This would also explain why the fire giants all have thorns in their bodies as well despite being a threat before Godwyn died.
    Something to keep in mind is that Godwyn is known as Godwyn The Golden. So he could very well have major aspects of the erdtree tied to his being and that could be the reason why deathblight has this golden hue sometimes and closely associated with thorns

  • @Tankboy-uv3lp
    @Tankboy-uv3lp Год назад +10

    I really like the erdtree theory but imo the deathblight theory makes a lot more sense being how its been shown to have an affect of the areas around it, although knowing fromsoft there is a chance for most things to be possible so i couldnt discount the other ideas

  • @lavoroxan8114
    @lavoroxan8114 Год назад

    Honestly peak videogame content. Bite sized, comfortably edited and comprehensive, subtitles and taking deep dive looks at details

  • @khajiitimanus7432
    @khajiitimanus7432 10 месяцев назад +1

    Crazy theory:
    Taking note that Godwyn's corpse is in Deeproot Depths, underneath Leyndell, and that he seemingly has another body underneath Stormveil....
    Perhaps the body underneath Stormveil is there as a result of Godrick's grafting. Maybe he took a piece of Godwyn and attempted grafting it, and the catastrophic result is the slow deathblight of Stormveil itself.

  • @Neon-bd6vk
    @Neon-bd6vk Год назад +3

    It's really nice to have you back Zullie. I missed your content a lot. Hope you're still doing well

  • @Amalvipls
    @Amalvipls Год назад +1

    seeing lore videos so well made with an interesting theories and then comparing to vaati's shitposts is like day and night

  • @XTheJenovaProjectX
    @XTheJenovaProjectX Год назад

    The subject matter, the slow methodical pacing of the imagery and the music are what makes these videos so great.

  • @AwesomeWookiee
    @AwesomeWookiee Год назад +2

    Ah, the true Eldritch Horror: Scotland.
    To be fair, Shadow over Innsmouth is about the Welsh, so maybe all of us in the UK are extradimensionally awesome/horrifying.

  • @Neptunequeen42
    @Neptunequeen42 Год назад +26

    I always assumed the thorns were Briars of Sin. The game says grace can become briars, so it would make sense that Godrick, with more grace than the average person, would also produce more briars than the average person when he turns to sin (grafting). I interpreted it as a brilliant early moment showcasing the malevolence of 'grace' as a tool of control by the greater will - if having grace is desirable, more and more people will be susceptible to this punishment if they disobey the greater will.

    • @ScrawnyTreeDemon
      @ScrawnyTreeDemon Год назад

      That's a good one! Saving this comment for inspiration

    • @okname5335
      @okname5335 Год назад +2

      but how come godrick doesnt have vines or thorns or mottling and his eyes are still golden like morgots

    • @alfalldoot6715
      @alfalldoot6715 Год назад

      Getting punished for sin is a bad thing I guess now

    • @Neptunequeen42
      @Neptunequeen42 Год назад

      @@alfalldoot6715 It is when someone gets to decide wholesale what “sin” is. Do you trust a fungus from space to make decisions about whether or not you deserve to die? Do you think that space fungus’s morals perfectly align with yours? Don’t forget that refusing to be melted down alive and eaten by the erdtree is also a sin. would you agree to be “punished” for that?

    • @kylegonewild
      @kylegonewild Год назад +3

      @@alfalldoot6715 Sin as a very concept is subjective. What's even considered a sin in the lands between has likely changed over time. The fickle machinations of selfish and short-sighted gods should not be the measure by which one's actions are judged.

  • @lundylow
    @lundylow Год назад +35

    The fact that the worldbuilding of Elden Ring consistently creeps me out is part of why I'm fascinated by it. The effects of religion being physical and tangible and visceral.

  • @Johnny-tw5pr
    @Johnny-tw5pr Год назад +1

    I played Elden Ring right after finished DS3 and oh man when I got to Stormveil I had flashbacks from Lothric Castle. It's really cool to see how similar they both are and knowing a few tricks from Lothric Castle actually helped traverse through Stormveil

  • @julianrodales2228
    @julianrodales2228 Год назад +1

    It's always great to see you've uploaded. Your Elden Ring videos are amazing, Zullie.

  • @lucklesscope8367
    @lucklesscope8367 Год назад +1

    I love these short, but informative videos. And the ominous music really adds to the tension.

  • @sarossoras5054
    @sarossoras5054 Год назад +1

    The first one(grafting curse) is the myth, the 2nd one is the true reason, Godwyns corpse, it is also a way to make you explore deeper and find the reason for the castle and the soldiers looking like that.

  • @mikeyswift2010
    @mikeyswift2010 Год назад +1

    Your shit is so sick. I've been watching for a long time on many different youtube accounts. I rarely can be seen watching multiple channels across different account through time. Yours is one of them tho.

  • @davinsosa1438
    @davinsosa1438 Год назад +1

    Wow. I never considered the ramifications of the Erdtree being able to dole out punishment in this way. Great work, as always 🖤

  • @wackyflappybob
    @wackyflappybob Год назад +1

    I absolutely love these videos! Sometimes I wish it was narrated though so I didn't have to read the text and then look at the footage but I also feel like it may take away from the style of these. Great work as always, Zullie!

  • @RamAurelius
    @RamAurelius Год назад +72

    Im starting to get back into Elden Ring lore, and your videos always provide some unique insights. Keep it up!
    I am curious if there's any explanation given as to why such a "complete" manifestation of Godwyn is located at Stormveil Castle and seemingly nowhere else. It's odd to me that a full-on second corpse shows up there, while other locations are typically limited to Godwyn's eyes manifesting on Deathroot vines.

    • @ZullietheWitch
      @ZullietheWitch  Год назад +67

      Some of the likely possibilities seem to be that either one of the corpses is just a fully developed deathroot, or alternatively, one of the corpses is his actual corpse and the other is essentially a stillborn rebirth attempt by the Erdtree. People are seemingly reborn through the Erdtree itself, and it may have attempted to do the same with Godwyn, only for it to go horribly awry because his soul remained dead.

    • @RamAurelius
      @RamAurelius Год назад +14

      ​@@ZullietheWitch I agree that the "second corpse" is most likely the final evolution of Deathroot (minus the trademark Godwyn eyes interestingly enough). I'm just curious as to why Stormveil Castle was the one place to progress this far along in the Prince of Death's corruption. I'm sure the placement by Fromsoft wasn't arbitrary, but I personally can't pin down any potential connections there.

    • @VileLasagna
      @VileLasagna Год назад +15

      @@RamAurelius Stormeil is quite fascinating in many ways. It has its own entire culture signified by the storm winds, the banished and exiled knights with their stormy battle arts, unique architecture that isn't really present anywhere else.....
      And that whole area where you find Godwyn's corpse is quite peculiar. You have the corpse itself, an Ulcerated Tree Spirit lurking around and more unique elements with the whole cocoon coffin things laying around. Nowhere else in the game has anything like that. We see the weird petrified people in the eternal cities, similar people being absorbed by the erdtree's roots in the catacombs, the living jars which may have been used to transport corpses..... but those cocoon-like things? Only that one room. It's super intriguing, tbh. I always end up scratching my head when I visit that area for Rogier's quest

    • @gunsevenwhillans420
      @gunsevenwhillans420 Год назад +4

      ​@@RamAureliusperhaps all the corpses attracted deathroot and allowed it to grow so far?

    • @Brasswatchman
      @Brasswatchman Год назад +2

      ​@@ZullietheWitch One other thought occurs to me -- could the "second corpse" have grown from a piece of Godwyn, cut off from his main body and buried beneath his home? Perhaps his foot or leg?

  • @TheHonoredMadman
    @TheHonoredMadman Год назад

    The garrison of stormveil has quite literally become an embodiment of the whats become of the castle itself. Blasted to all hell and slowly being consumed by thorny vines

  • @jaancarlo
    @jaancarlo Год назад

    That shot of the erdtree through the crack in the wall is just something else. Amazing work once again, Zullie!

  • @LuisSanchez-fj6dt
    @LuisSanchez-fj6dt Год назад +1

    I remember when i first saw the godwyn corpse, it was so weird and terrifying

  • @ArturoDCC19
    @ArturoDCC19 Год назад +2

    as always your videos are awesome,thank you for your hard work Zullie the Witch

  • @Sliverism
    @Sliverism Год назад

    Very esoteric! thank you Zullie, you truly are the best at what you do

  • @Spleen2ween
    @Spleen2ween Год назад

    The writing on these vids just keeps getting better

  • @gwyndolinds-en8yt
    @gwyndolinds-en8yt Год назад +2

    Maybe the torns are a remembrance of Godwyn’s body, a memory of punishment, and so take this format as his grudge against his lineage decadence and murderers

  • @Dagarar
    @Dagarar Год назад +1

    Another amazing video, Zullie. Thanks for your hard work!

  • @Brasswatchman
    @Brasswatchman Год назад +3

    Regarding Godwyn's second "corpse" found beneath the castle -- what if the assassins also cut off one of his legs or feet? And this piece of Godwyn - the "sacred relic" - was buried beneath Stormveil, his home, leading to it becoming the "second Godwyn" and resulting in the area's deathroot infection being particularly vicious? Meanwhile, his remaining leg eventually developed into his mermaid-like tail.
    What do you think?
    Edit: Alternatively, it occurs to me that the "sacred relic" could be his dong, if the Black Knife Assassins chose to castrate him along with killing his spirit. That would certainly explain why Rogier doesn't go into specifics.

  • @jeffjefferson2853
    @jeffjefferson2853 Год назад +1

    I've always been fascinated by grafting in this game. There's strong evidence the Erdtree was grafted onto the Crucible, and Serosh was grafted onto Godfrey. A giant portrait of Godfrey is featured in Godrick's grafting room in Stormveil, and Godrick exclusively grafts Tarnished limbs. Note that Tarnished are now the Greater Will's chosen, which is why Godrick seems be drawn towards grafting them, until nearing defeat, at which point he grafts a dragon (the Greater Will's chosen in an ancient age)

    • @alfalldoot6715
      @alfalldoot6715 Год назад +1

      But the Crucible is the Erdtree, just in a more primal form

  • @WithinandThroughout
    @WithinandThroughout Год назад +9

    The Hanged Giant in this picture 1:40 always stuck out to me. Hanged Man is the tarot card that suggests ultimate surrender, sacrifice, or being suspended in time. It was guarded by two Scions. Names mean everything.

  • @dannywatson4253
    @dannywatson4253 Год назад +2

    Bear in mind that the grafting didn't start with Goodrich. Godfroy in the Evergaol is also grafted and being punished for it, though he has no thorns associated with him. It seems unlikely that Goodrich is the source of the thorns alone if his ancestor was not punished the same way.

  • @CoolJoePwns
    @CoolJoePwns Год назад

    Before the video I assumed it was a clear case that Godwyn's corpse was responsible, but you did a great job presenting points in favor of the alternative reason. I love the Elden Ring's lore has this ambiguity, and that things like this are genuinely open to speculation.

  • @Midnitethorn
    @Midnitethorn Год назад

    Glad to see you back! Always love your videos

  • @KazeMemaryu
    @KazeMemaryu Год назад +3

    I'd like to think that the sheer amount of dismembered corpses strewn about the entirety of Stormveil is what attracted Godwyn's presence to begin with. The accumulation of death feeds the deathroot, and in turn, it corrupts those who are tied to Godrick's feverish hunt for grafting material. While the thorns on their armor is most likely a symbol of their sin, their illness is probably a creeping influence of Godwyn and his deathroot.
    The thorny briars stretching across Stormveil are much more likely to be from Godwyn alone. In a different video, you covered the cause of damage to the castle, mentioning an off-screen conflict that took part in the past. This likely killed a lot of people in the castle, but with Godrick lacking any respect for the Golden Order and its customs, the dead were never even considered for Erdtree Burial ceremonies, so they just rotted away where they laid. This also attracted the deathroot extending its thorns, accumulating death before some soldiers may have thrown the bodies off the cliffs.

  • @ReneAensland
    @ReneAensland Год назад

    Thank you for another awesome video! Love these dives into the Lore.

  • @ServerYT
    @ServerYT Год назад +1

    Grafting could be what drew Godwyn to manifest a separate corpse all the way to Stormveil. All that death and decay could have made it easier for him to get involved.

  • @cryofreezie3943
    @cryofreezie3943 Год назад

    I can’t believe this came out now. 6 months ago I was literally writing about the Scottish influence on Elden Rings design architecture for my final design essay

  • @blahl9436
    @blahl9436 Год назад

    i was just going through stormveil the other day exploring the rooftops again on a new save. when i first played it i remember spending several hours in it, just going through every nook and cranny, and i didn't even find godwyn downstairs. it's very satisfying

  • @elijahherstal776
    @elijahherstal776 Год назад +1

    Don't forget ya boy, the Spellsword (I forget his name) that you meet here- he eventually croaks at the Roundtable Hold from a nasty case of thorn-cooties
    Or as the professionals call it: *Godwynorrhea*

  • @1SolaireOFAstora1
    @1SolaireOFAstora1 Год назад

    I've always wondered about the thorns on the exiles but clearly never read the shield description, another great video Zullie

  • @OneOnlyDan
    @OneOnlyDan Год назад

    I guess you could say that Stormveil is being... _thorn apart!_

  • @JtotheMeezy
    @JtotheMeezy Год назад

    Thanks for another interesting video Zullie. We all hope you're doing well and taking care of yourself, we don't want you to burn yourself out for us ❤️

  • @Gamefreak2998
    @Gamefreak2998 Год назад +3

    If you compare the exile armor set/enemies to what remains of the herald legion armor/enemies in the DS3 they are very similar, even down to the wear on their leg armor!

  • @thatbloomer5642
    @thatbloomer5642 10 месяцев назад

    I wouldn't have guessed that they labeled that castle, as Edinburgh. I assumed it was Spikey or dungeon_1.

  • @fayelawless2625
    @fayelawless2625 Год назад

    the colossal squid has claws on it's tentacles which strikes me as being very cool and also thematically in line with this

  • @Vespyr_
    @Vespyr_ Год назад

    Love this song and soundtrack so much. Always a treat.

  • @aconcretemoth9382
    @aconcretemoth9382 Год назад

    brilliant. i didnt make this connection about guilt and its obvious now. appreciate your deep thought and synthesis of community theories

  • @albertwesker4053
    @albertwesker4053 Год назад

    I always thought the holes were from previous wars in the shattering, and that the briars over growing them was just to show age

  • @mkdmc
    @mkdmc Год назад

    I love watching these little nugget videos. I know it’s already been some time but I’m glad your back Zulie! I hope your break was restful :)

  • @EinSilverRose
    @EinSilverRose Год назад +1

    One other thing to consider is how Elden Rin uses arboreal techniques very literally and taken to fantastical extremes. If, for example, the Erdtree itself is producing the thorns seen on the castle and under Godwyn's face under the castle it could also be a reference to how trees and plants who are transplanted onto an existed trunk or stem will begin to produce thorns as the host is still trying to survive by killing the new host it deems a parasite of sorts.

    • @ShinTheSilverDemon
      @ShinTheSilverDemon Год назад +1

      You know that last line feels like it could refer to Radagon and Marika as well

  • @isaacbenzing5686
    @isaacbenzing5686 Год назад

    so glad to see you back at it zullie, i hope youre doing well

  • @TheDanjaBus
    @TheDanjaBus Год назад

    That Kings Field soundtrack slaps to this day.

  • @lecrab8090
    @lecrab8090 Год назад +1

    Stormveil is the most intricate, well designed legacy dungeon in the entire game. They definitely put a ton of work into the earliest areas of the game and were a bit rushed toward the end.

  • @fragdoch-nicht1290
    @fragdoch-nicht1290 Год назад

    My old pc just bugged out and as the video stuttered it created an amazing King's Field OST remix never to be heard again

  • @michaeljohnston8891
    @michaeljohnston8891 Год назад +1

    What I find just as intriguing as the thorns is the holes and scars along the walls. They almost look like burn marks, and depending on the angle you look at them from, they seem to have this sickly black and yellow iridescence to them, which is unsettlingly similar to what we see on the door locking away the Three Fingers, albeit still glowing. Stormveil is also where we find our first Shabriri grape

    • @okname5335
      @okname5335 Год назад

      WHICH WALL WHERE

    • @michaeljohnston8891
      @michaeljohnston8891 Год назад

      @@okname5335 mainly the outer wall you use to sneak in. It's hard to tell at first, but there's some sections of the wall that just have this weird shading to them that makes me think Frenzy

  • @SpaiceCowboy
    @SpaiceCowboy Год назад

    To this day, godwyn's corpse never fails to creep me out

  • @galaxydragon1234
    @galaxydragon1234 Год назад

    Actually you can even see how the eyes of the eyes of the exiles are truning yellowish, just like the chaos madness flames. Stromveil is truly a hellish place if you look deeper into it

  • @VictorIV0310
    @VictorIV0310 Год назад

    It was very unsettling just seeing the castle rot away like it's being torn from the inside out.

  • @SirPream
    @SirPream Год назад

    "Return the limbs, or suffer my curse..."
    - Godwyn probably

  • @sharker5000
    @sharker5000 4 месяца назад

    So I think that Godwyn's corpse is the likely answer as to why the exiles are cursed and the thorns are growing all along the castle. However, There are a lot of holes and damage on the castle that do not have thorns in or around them, which due to the shape of some, I think were caused by Radahn's assumed attack of the castle that we find out about from Kenneth Haight (*"First he hid himself amongst the womenfolk to flee the capital, then hid from Radahn in that castle…"*). It would explain why the castle is in such disrepair and would also let the thorns wind there way out of the damaged walls. Love your videos :D

  • @cybertruckeralpha
    @cybertruckeralpha Год назад +1

    Makes me wonder how much of the living Godwyn still exists within the god of death he became. If Godwyn is producing thorned branches as an act of punishment against his transgressors, I wonder how possible is that Godwyn, on even a subconscious level, finds Godrick's murderous obsession of reaching a divine state to be reprehensible.

  • @leahl5007
    @leahl5007 Год назад

    I love the spooky nature of the darkness in Elden Ring. It was so wild the first time i found Godwyn’s weird giant head!

  • @itsawoodchuck4330
    @itsawoodchuck4330 Год назад

    Another major point to note, Leyndell’s walls are also covered in thorns where it was struck by artillery, same can be said for the field outside Leyndell’s wall were the Erdtree’s defender fired their own artillery at the besiegers. We know Stormvale was also besieged until Godrick came out to fight Melania. This leads me to believe that the artillery fired is what causes the holes and the thorns within them in the castle walls. It seems the type of ammunition they use in the lands between may have some sworn of thorns or magic containing them within the projectiles.

  • @TimeToTrollYay
    @TimeToTrollYay Год назад

    Zullie's theories and discoveries always blow my mind, thank you for always making Fromsoft's souls games even more of a masterpiece.

  • @HeisenbergFam
    @HeisenbergFam Год назад +8

    Stormweil is proof of FromSoft's great design

  • @danielv.6415
    @danielv.6415 Год назад

    I always assumed the holes where product of war. Always wondered which conflicted caused them but this makes so much sense

  • @Jeffmetal42
    @Jeffmetal42 Год назад +1

    I always figured it had something to do w fish man in the depths of the castle. Seems like the most plausible reason.

  • @DirtyMike124x
    @DirtyMike124x Год назад

    Idk why but I keep reading the thumbnail as "Something is destroying my castle"

  • @okamiv5
    @okamiv5 Год назад

    i also like the guess that godrick is trying to graft the thorns and is unintentionally spreading the death roots

  • @jonlava173
    @jonlava173 Год назад

    Makes sense about the Erdtree, it is a god after all: worshipped by admirers, reviled by enemies, benevolent and cruel