So I feel like I need to clarify this since everyone keeps commenting the exact same thing. I know and understand you can see Farum Azula from Malenias Divine Tower. But like I said in the video, it could be in a different state when looking from far away than when we actually go there. Just like with the Roundtable.
You can go to Farum Azula via The Four Belfries too, so it's definitely in the physical world, just like the other two destinations. Also, there are too Roundtables in the game, one in the Capital and one on the corner of the map. Now it could be argued that they are the same hold, just in different times, but the important thing is, that there's only one Farum azula on the whole map. So it's not just like the Roundtable...
It's not in a dream state at all. It existed outside reality in its own dimension, an ancient catastrophic event most likely being the arrival of the Elden Beast caused it to be forced into the same reality as the rest of the world. That being said placidusaax lives in the storm beyond time. A fragment of the old dragon realm
I think the Roundtable Hold having its own map location is significant - the implication is that you're actually *in* that crumbling city you see in the distance. There's also a lot of emphasis on just how *old* Farum Azula is and how it's been crumbling a long time. Not that this disproves the dream theory, but I think the evidence is very thin. My poorly-supported theory - I think Stormveil used to be a land of flying cities/temples when the Stormlord was in charge. An inevitable part of his/its defeat was the collapse of the temples, without the stormlord to hold them up / channel Placidusax's power / whatever. Gurranq can be in two places because he holds a great rune, and that lets you do that (see: Margit)
I don't know why no one has commented this maybe it's dumb, but time travel or time bubble. That could be why for many of the ruins and things outside farum azula
One theory I like is that Faram Azula is a timeless prison that people who commit cardinal sins are sent to. Hence the teleportation once you burn the Erdtree. Alexander apparently tried bathing in the giant's fire to temper his jar, thus comiting a similar sin almost by accident and winding up there as well.
I like this idea it reminds me of the hunters nightmare from blood borne except of being a murderous hunter you break a a great rule that must be punished accordingly
This actually sounds pretty likely. Itd also explain why maliketh is there, as his sin was not protecting the rune of death well enough (he talks about sin when you give him deathroot)
See, this is the kind of lore that should be included in the game itself. People praise FS for their storytelling, but in my opinion they can do even better. Sometimes more is more.
“The one who walks alongside flame” is whatever Tarnished takes Melina to the Erdtree. She is the flame that walks along with us, the one destined to burn the thorns of the Erdtree
Or it’s the Flame of Frenzy. That description comes from her weapon. She encourages you to burn the Erdtree, but she swears to kill you once you have the Flame of Frenzy. She could easily be the Gloam-Eyed Queen’s daughter
@@christiankettlewellonly because she knows that the 3 fingers are chaos. They are necessary to the order of the lands between, but they are not to have full reign as everything would be cast into ruin eternally.
Isn't it possible that she refers to herself? Since she walked alongside flame(which i think is the ritual she does to burn the erdtree) thus meeting her Destined Death. And if you do it with the frenzied flame, she swears she will deliver yours.
idk if he didn’t do enough research or smthing but some things in the video just aren’t right even with some speculation like the reason the frenzied flame can be stopped in his arena is due to time being stopped there not because the three fingers are the dragons god
@@Darth_Bateman they aren't, the current theory is that the full hand of the greater will(5 fingers) was split into order(2 fingers) and chaos(3 fingers), and that the 5 fingers was the god of the dragons
I was going to say; you can see the waterfall at the eastern edge of the world, from the western side of FA. I may be mistaken, but I think you also see parts of the mainland? I'll have to load up my file, but i recall seeing the tower and the edge of Calid and Altus.
My biggest issue with Farum Azula's dream or altered representation or such is the presence of tangible NPCs like Alexander, Gurranq/Maliketh, and Bernahl being there. Especially Alexander's journey there more than any other, convinces me that we're in the actual real Farum Azula because Maliketh is a divine being in a sense and Bernahl literally assists or invades you but Alexander is just straight up physically, tangibly there. Another solid point is that there is a waygate in Liurnia that goes there with an imbued swordstone key.
There's a theory that the Greater Will repurposed Farum Azula into a prison for beings that commit a cardinal sins, Alexander and Bernahl probably committed a cardinal sin at some point. That would also explain the banished knights.
It isn’t in the character’s head, that’s just a massive reach of head cannon. It’s clearly a real, physical place so I’m not sure why anyone is even discussing it 🤷🏼♂️
@Mockle07 Because that's what the Souls community does, there have been many wrong theories in the community, but it's not a bad thing. If anything presenting a theory and having people provide evidence to the contrary is just solidifying what we do know about the world of Elden Ring. Also, it's just fun idk
Dragonlord Placidusax isn't waiting on the Three Fingers. The Three Fingers' whole thing is that they want to destroy the world with the Flame of Frenzy. Dragonlord Placidusax was previously the Elden Lord in ancient times, and if he was the Lord of Frenzy, then the entire world would have been destroyed before we even got to play the game. The Three Fingers weren't imprisoned below the capital at all, either. What actually happened is the nomadic merchants were imprisoned below the capital, and then they summoned the Three Fingers and the Flame of Frenzy as some sort of desperate attempt at retaliation against the Golden Order which imprisoned them. That's why all merchants use frenzy incantations and when they die they say "Melt away with the rest of it..." Also, Farum Azula is not in a dream. Farum Azula is a physical place which is visible from certain tall landmarks/towers around the map. It does not exist outside of time either. Farum Azula is a physical place that merely has anti-gravity properties. Dragonlord Placidusax's arena is the only aspect which is outside of time itself. It is the only area which can not be viewed from the outside, either. It is the only area where time is manipulated in order to reach. Miquella's needle is used to shut out the influence of any outer god. Miquella's needle only works outside of time due to its function not being complete/perfected. Miquella's needle isn't specifically for getting rid of the Flame of Frenzy. It works on any outer god, and would work in any area as long as its outside of time. Miquella's needle can also be used to cure Millicent's scarlet rot. The fact that Miquella's needle's function only works in the Dragonlord's arena is merely a coincidence.
Not a coincidence as the Dragon lord's arena is the only place that not affected by time or any outer Gods, that we have access to atleast. but 100% spot on all other points.
@@thanus6636 it has been suggested that something happened to farum azula that moved it outside of time. But I disagree with the video where he says it's "in the tarnished's head." It is a physical place, not some metaphysical concept of self lol.
@@thanus6636 if you actually complete Gurranq's quest he won't be there. Folk are simply confused because they don't finish his quest. That he remains after the Malikath fight is an oversight by FromSoft. Complete the quest, go fight Maliketh, and he won't be at the Bestial Sanctuary
You can actually see Farum Azula from one of the Divine Towers. I believe it's the one where we awaken Malenias Great Rune. It's the divine tower that we can get to by using the teleport chest on the Southern Peninsula. Instead of opening the door to the tower just turn around and look East. It's actually a really cool site so I highly recommend checking it out.
Also the random ruins scattered everywhere look like fallen pieces of Farum Azula, because what purpose would they have otherwise, being built there as the blocks they are?
The rocks around Farum Azula look like the ones levitating around and over the crater in Limgrave, after the battle with Radahn. If i remember correctly, Farum Azula was hit by a meteor/star and parts of the buildings fell and littered with ruins all the map.
2:11 Enia, the lady you buy boss weapons from, tells you just before or after you burn the Erdtree that the Rune of Death goes by two names. The other being Destined Death.
Ever wonder why Farum Azula is “doomed” or “slowly crumbling”? Well, I think this is because of the law of entropy - or in the Lands Between interpretation of it - the One Great which originally consisted of five fingers, is now broken up into 2 fingers representing Order, and 3 fingers representing Chaos. This one extra digit for Chaos, could mean it’s ever so slightly prevailing, hence the purgatory-like state of a slowly crumbling place that was originally ruled by the One Great. For all we know, Farum Azula could very well have been a temple, a place of worship, where as you can see on the wall carvings, knights are worshipping the Ancient Dragons, whose lord is Placidusax, first Elden Lord - the entire faction probably being Apostles of the One Great Outer God.
@@fredscoffeeThe fingers themselves aren’t what split though. It was the Greater Will and the Frenzied flame. 2 fingers are the servants of GW, 3 fingers are servant of FF. And Farum Azula seems to imply a significance of 5 fingers- a sign of Beasts’ intelligence. Besides that, we see a version of the Elden Ring in Maliketh’s boss arena that appears to be different from the one Marika/Radagon possesses. Placidusax’s remembrance mentions that he “awaited the return of his god” which may have been the One Great, eventually splitting the symbol of 5 fingers to the symbols of 2 and 3 respectively.
Listen, if I saw a coffin at the end of a river of rot inside a temple of parasite monsters... I'd crawl inside too. Another great vid Jake, keep it up
"I'm out of healing, wading through literal rot-water, and man-sized roaches are spitting strands of goo at my back. I am so frickin' dead I may as well just accept it with grace and step into my future coffi... owo, what's this..."
I also disagree about the whole dream concepts, there’s other tarnished on the floating city, like that one guy you meet in volcanic manor that help you to kill godskin duo. Or just the godskins themselves who is likely also there to kill malekith to restore their black flame. The place feels very real and alive, and all these very much alive other beings somehow being in your dream just don’t really make sense
@@bathsaltshero You fight Fia’s champions as soon as you approach Fia in the deeproot depths. You cannot interact with her there at all until you kill them. In other words you can’t enter her dream until after that fight. The only living thing in her dream is Litchdragon Fortisax.
FA is definitely not a dreamscape. You can literally see it from the mainland and vice versa. It is very much intended to be a real tangible place where the Great One (five fingers) used to preside over Placidusax, before it split into two (the Two and Three finger entities of order and chaos), unknowingly, to Placidusax. Because iirc he believes the Great One just fled, or left, which is why he was still there waiting for it to return.
Almost certain Melina was talking about herself when she gave her final speech. Essentially saying this was her inevitable end and bidding you farewell.
Only question, how does she threaten you in the frenzied flame ending of she's met her destined death already? Perhaps it's the same reason she "yet lives, burned and bodiless", in her words, though that would make it more than "be kindling maiden". Wen TF dlc Miyazaki? I need the answers, WE need the answers.
@@jasonrobinson401if you inherit the frenzied flame and become lord of frenzied flame AFTER using her to burn the erdtree, her cutscene does not appear
@@arcstaff ahh, so she still is alive at the end if you burn yourself instead, then use the needle to pick another ending. She still won't talk to us anymore though, I thought that was exactly what the celestial dew was for? Is that just an oversight then? It kinda looks like one.
I think the dragons had the five finger god, still being the Greater Wills whole hand in a sense. But at a point, the hands are split into order and chaos. As for time, light and gold have represented time in other souls games, ancient dragon smithing stones hint to the same. Also note that roundtable to seems to be a almost statis. Also note it’s via Marika statues and signs that are in the shape of her rune that allow us to be summoned and rebirth at sights of grace. And in the past souls games summons signs are literally pulling someone from a point in time.
@@damianford2637 I’ll say this, the twin death birds fit for a envoy similar to the Elden beast. And the elden beast needs the sacred relic sword, or a Fingerslaying blade. So this twin death bird could have potentially used the GEQ as the Fingerslaying blade. The Nox are labeled as MarikasLineage in the games AI files. And the Fingerslaying blade is a ancient treasure of the eternal cities. And you can go into how Marika and the black knives and Numens then link to the eternal city. And it’s Maliketh, who uses the very weapon that speaks of the five fingers when not using his black blade that defeated the gloam eyed queen. Would explain also how Melina can be Marikas daughter but also a sorta the gloam eyed queen aka host to the same outer god as OG the GEQ once was
Nahh, he's waiting on an outer god that fled the greater will. Remember the fingers are just envoys of an outer god. I think the greater will split chaos (3fingers) from itself for absolute order and control over its influence in the lands between. Remember the frenzied flame ending just fucking rapes everything which is antithetical to what the greater will seems to wish to accomplish within the game workd.
@@CausalityUsurper Or maybe he's waiting for his waifu God who was once a vessel to the Elden Ring seeing as you know he's was an Elden Lord but they're never coming back back because they were usurped and replaced by Marika. Note how the Age of the Crucible that preceded the Age of the Erdtree was marked by Red Gold the very same Red Gold that Marks the Lightning wielded by the Ancient Dragons.I suspect that's why Godwyn and his dragon cult were allowed to be integrated into the Golden because for all intents and purposes the Dragons had just a part of a previous iteration of it. I also suspect Marika having witnessed the Greater will abandon and replace the previous vessel and of the previous age, specifically removed the rune of death from the Elden Ring avoid a similar fate at the hands of the Gloam Eyed-Queen who was said to be an Empyrean chosen by the two fingers, I mean we know the Greater Will planned to potentially replace Marika with Ranni so it the notion is well established in lore that the Greater will can replace its chosen God and vessel for the Elden Ring.
I think the Dragonlord's God was the One Great, or the original form of the 2 and 3 fingers. The symbolism of the beastmen having FIVE fingers seems super significant, and the "old version" of the Elden Ring you see in farum azula? The one people say looks like it has roots? I don't think those are roots. They look like flames. I think that the Greater Will is a fractured part of the One Great, which for whatever reason chose Marika (or perhaps she had a hand in dividing the outer God), as she is a Numen and likely came from Farum Azula. There was some form of coup, where the greater will rejected the chaotic half of the one great and forced it underground in order to maintain order. Also, the idea of an Outer God that is equal parts order and chaos, that exists in a city that is falling apart and crumbling, but always STAYS in that chaotic state, never really changing? Seems like a good fit to me.
I think Numen just means “new man” and is actually the precursor to humans as we know them now in the Lands between. I think they were basically what happens when Beastmen were born “outside of the grace” of the crucible (the reverse of what happens with Omen now). This is all wild speculation though. To accompany this idea though: I actually think those are roots, and that they represent the crucible (which is now the deep root that the Erdtree grows out of and modifies), which is responsible for the beastmen being, well, beast and man, until the Golden Order excludes the crucible, so now everyone is born more or less in the form of the Numen, though, since they’re “second gen” they’re not as powerful (like Albinaurics). But basically now that the crucible is excluded from grace via the Golden Order, no roots in the Elden Ring. What’s really cool is that you can see Miquella’s great rune in the Elden Ring. There’s no one else it could belong to, it looks just like his needle.
@@stuartcarter4139 Miquella's Great Rune? The Rune of Abundance is Cut content that may or may not be used in future DLC so no use speculating on that aspect.
Something that speaks against Melina teleporting us to Farum Azula is that we end up there, even if we burn the Erdtree ourselves using the Frenzied Flame.
There’s a great deal of symbolism regarding the beast men that emphasizes 5 fingers; 2 fingers + 3 fingers = 5 fingers, perhaps the original one great before the greater will from the age before the red tree. Placidusax even had 5 heads originally as evidenced by his 3 severed stumps. It really does seem like Farum Azula was the Lyndell from a time before the One Great was divided, or “fled”.
Does anyone find it ironic that in Dark Souls 1-3 the lore clearly states that Gwyn developed Lightning Miracles, with Seath's help, to kill the Dragons, but in Elden Ring the Dragons are the ones clad in lightning and grant you lightning powers after dying?
I always thought the reason we get teleported to Farum Azula was because we burned down the Erdtree, which is a cardinal sin and that the Golden Order wanted to punish us somehow
@ 11:18, something I've tried pointing out to others since the beginning is that you only have the guidance of Grace until you get to Farum Azula (if you look at the map, you can see little directional queues from the sites of grace but they stop after you kill the Fire Giant; there are none of the directional queues in Farum Azula). Glad you kinda touched on that.
It's pretty clear the Roundtable is in the Erd Tree, since it burns the same time the Erd Tree does, and the flames get worse the same time they do for the Erd tree.
My take on the walk alongside flame thing was that the "flame" is referring to Melina, as she is the kindling maiden The point is that at the end of your journey with Melina, you will reach the way towards Destined Death Also, Guranqq is supposedly howling at the Erdtree, where Marika is held prisoner since he's likely still able to sense her, but can do nothing about it As for the ruins, it does make sense to think that the ruins scattered all over the ground are from Farum Azula, since you can also get the ruins fragments and sanctuary stones from the debris under the Bestial Sanctum. But I'd like to think that there was another city in the sky besides Farum Azula, and that city was the one that was stuck by the meteor mentioned in the Ruins Greatsword. Perhaps it is the kingdom of the Sun alluded to in one of skeletons shield? To add to the above, I'd like to think that Farum Azula was once on the ground, filling the space between North Caelid and the Mountaintops, as you can see a waterfall in the middle of the ocean between those areas, which may have hinted that some landmass was there before it suddenly disappeared. This would also help explain why there are giant dogs and birds in both Caelid and the Mountaintops, as well as the gigantic skeletons that are only found in this two regions. It would make some sense if it was once connected for these creatures to mingle in both areas
The dragons god isn't surely the three fingers, the three fingers were summoned after the golden order captured and forced below the city all the merchants because Shabriri had accused them of being followers of the frenzy flame. The other remaining gods are the Giant's one, but I'm not sure if it can return after we slay the last fire giant, and the two headed bird of the death birds who is at the moment missing (the bird's god could be rappresented by the four fingers like the items they drop, and that most think brought bad luck). This would start to make sense if we see the look at the arrival of the gods in the lands between in a decrescent order : 5 finger(beast/dragon), 4 fingers (death birds/storm hawks), 3 fingers (Shabriri/first traveling humans), 2 fingers (civilized humans and society), 1 finger (perhaps the newborn god of the giants? The only one that could harm the erdtree?)
Also… what if those dream states are actually like inside Godwyns mind or memory? Like when we go into “fias” dream what if she just kinda tapped into godwyn which is why we fight his dragon friend😂
Destined Death to me, is the eventuality of Mortality. A great many beings in Elden ring are Immortal, because "Destined Death" is locked away from it's primary function of bringing that mortality to them. Once Maliketh is defeated, and the Rune of Death is unlocked or unbound from being controlled, Destined Death is unleashed indiscriminately. Those that carry Great Runes may still be technically Immortal I assume, until defeated by another Great Rune bearer, or Tarnished, who are bread of the power of runes them selves.
7:18 you can also physically see Farom azula form a distance at melania’s tower. I believe it might have something to do with the subtle connection between Melania and Maliketh with Maliketh having a similar special attack with wildly swinging consecutive hits. Also that the beast clergyman (Maliketh) being found in the caelid wilds. And if you wanna get real wacky with it, there’s an interesting link between Melania, Melina, Maliketh and Miquella what with all their names not only being similar but with Meliketh and Melina having a connection with destined death and Melania being the “blade of Miquella” having that connection to eternal youth. Kind of a yin Yang if you will. It’s made more interesting when you consider that both associated areas with Miquella and Melania are optional and hidden away. Specifically branching away from the greater will and the golden order
Farum Azula is the former city of the Gloam Eyed Queen, and her Elden Lord is Placidusax. I feel maliketh is there because that's the one place he can hide destined death from others, I have the theory that Farum Azula was hurdled into the skies when the three and 2 fingers were separated, being both one entity at one point before the Erd Tree. The godskin nobles are there because that was their capital city. Furthermore I think Placidusax keeps that city out of time in order to wait for his outer ggod to return, this las part would explain even if faintly why you can find Maliketh as the deathroot priest in the Lands between and in farum Azula, as he is living both times at the same time sharingg the experience somehow.
I think that the outer god of placidusax is in fact the Greater Will, just at a different time. This comes from two pieces of lord. The first being that Placidusax is specifically called an Elden Lord. This means that the dragon wielded the Elden Ring, which is a manifestation of the Elden Beasts power, which is a vassal of the Greater Will. The second piece of evidence is that the Greater Will may not have fled, but may have in fact abandoned the dragons. The fact that the Greater Will abandoned the demigods, and it’s apathy towards the Lands Between afterwards, seems to suggest that so long as “order” is present, it does not truly care who is in charge, and most likely abandoned the dragons because they were either a lost cause, as with the demigods, or simply saw a better option, which could lead into the rise of Marika to godhood.
I have a feeling that it wasn't the 3 fingers that he fought for but instead it was the two fingers and the three fingers combined into something like a hand (maybe like the god hand from berserk)
Placidusax is heavily damaged with 2 heads left, a pendant shows 4 heads originally but the boss model shows 5 heads, 3 stumps, the two heads seems to be similar to two fingers, seeming like the index and middle finger while the missing heads are the thumb, ring, and pinkie, similar to the three fingers
As a side note, Gehrmans theme always gets to me a bit. It's a truly heartbreaking piece. When I was a kid, I could have never imagined this would be video game music.
Being a studio ghibli fellow the first thought I had with farum Azula was it’s similarity to Laputa from castle in the sky. I believe the golems are also a reference to it. As are the the bits a pieces all over the world that have fallen off the city. I don’t thinks it’s a dream so much as a crumbling vestment of the previous order. Its also almost completely inaccessible which makes it a great place to hide things. I wouldn’t be suprised if the dynasty merika usurped was once headed there . It would make sense that the center of the dragons power would be in the sky.
Unlike Roundtable Hold, Farum Azula can be reached through a simple "magic but hole" teleporter from the Four Belfries area. And it's clearly the same Farum Azula, not a different version analogous to the "Roundtable Hold" in Leyndell. This makes me convinced that there is only one Farum Azula and that the one we see from the outside is also the same. Time is clearly distorted/frozen there in some ways, but it is not entirely outside time like the Placidusax arena is, nor outside the normal dimension of space like the Roundtable Hold.
The dragons didn’t lose their “outer god” they lost their equivalent of Marika and likey they also served the greater will as they can coexist with the golden order that derived from it
Also on farm azula location, if u use one of the portals at the four belfries it takes u to a far outer part of farum and u can see the beastial sanctum and cliffs in the distance, I feel like the ruin fragments around the lands between were flung from the far east
Not only that, Godwyns eyes can be seen growing through out Farum. It had to be connected to the rest of the continents if a tree somehow started to grow up there.
The Stormhawk King God is responsible for the winds of around stormveil, (check the item des. of the Stormhawk King) not Farum Azula, but i do think it was all up there in the sky at one point
I really enjoy your videos my man, and it’s great to follow along and kinda unwind this story. Elden ring is my first souls game and the community is great! Keep up the great work
My theory is that some programmers thought it would be cool to have a crumbling sky fortress as a setting in the game and they just kind of shoe horned it into the game without any real story reason.
I disagree with the interpretation of the phrase “Walks with Flame” I am under the impression Flame here was referring to Melina as she becomes the Flame and we ventured this far with her.
every video you come out with just gets better and better in production value. its clear to see the hard work you put into these. Keep up great work. (im Manderex from Patreon)
I disagree with the part where FA is inside the mind of the tarnished, since you can reach it earlier from the four belfries. It's a magical place, where time flows differently yes, but I don't consider it in an alternate reality. The Round Table Hold in the other hand...
I think Farum Azula has to be a physical location in some way, because there is a Waygate in Liurnia of the Lakes. I also think it includes information the player is not necessarily privy to, since you can see what looks like Miquella’s great rune (a needle) right in the middle of the old Elden Ring. I think it’s possible that this rune in play in Farum Azula also, since you can use Miquella’s needle in the Dragonlord’s arena. I think this is because the throne exists outside of time, and since the elden ring has only been shattered inside time. The weird thing is that the guidance of grace still works in Farum Azula, which is something I don’t really understand since with this theory of mine, the grace of the Erdtree and the Golden Order shouldn’t work. Lastly, I believe it used to exist where the bestial sanctum is now, since there’s a “Farum Greatbridge”… near where the dragon mound and bestial sanctum is, which I doubt is a coincidence.
Another awesome video man !!! I have become a big fan , I like the way you break things down. Your production value is getting better with every video . You give us lore lovers something to look forward to , thanks again and keep em coming !!!
Ever since I'd first gone through Farum Azula in my first playthrough, I've wanted to know *WHY* it's hanging in the air, half destroyed, but seemingly held together by the twister at its heart. This crumbling city is my favorite location in the entire game, and the more I find out about it, the more I'm drawn to it. Thank you for a fantastic video, love your way of breaking down lore 💙
I am using the co-op mod with my partner for our second playthrough. I am using dual moonveil and she is using dual sword of night and flame. Memes can be fun. My first playthrough was a quality build with spiked caestus.
Wow! Just strolling in my subscription then found this and just 16 second ago like lol what? Ok. Let watch This. But other comments are like 10 hrs ago...what happening here? RUclips?
I don't think that Placidusax was serving three fingers. The Miquella's needle was suppose to remove the influence of any god. It was said in the item description and we know that Malenia used it to stop the rot inside her. I think the fact that Miquella's needle can be used only in Placidusax's arena has nothing to do with Placidusax himself but rather the fact that his arena is frozen in time. Meaby the needle would require a huge amount of time to work but in a place where time doesn't apply it just works immediatly
Im so hyped for the dlc. I can’t stop thinking that elden ring actually leads to dark souls and the ancient dragons ruling over grey lifeless plains after the tarnished burn the entire world into ashes with the flames of frenzy, stopping life and births (exept for the everlasting dragons). That the ancient dragons were probably the rulers under the 3 fingers before even makes more sense for the theory!
Farum Azula is not in our mind we can clearly see it from the isolated Divine tower. Also if you are going for a flame of frenzied ending then malina does not light the fire and the tarnished does himself and false into the forge only to get transported to Farum Azula.
You got my sub👍🏽 I know lore in elden ring is getting scarce but the way you put it in your own words and described it to us is worth my sub. I’ve watched a few of your videos and I enjoy your content and not just the videos about new findings in the game but how you tell the backstory in a way that makes the game feel fresh. It’s made me want to explore more and potentially find things that might alter the way we see the lands between.
Farum Azula exists in a timeline detached from the timeline in which the whole game takes place. That’s why killing Maliketh doesn’t make him disappear from the beast Sactuary, that’s why we regress time to fight Placidussaxx, it is because it’s a place stuck in time in a branching timeline.
3:12 - In my mind, it could also be a metaphor that's similar to the phrase "He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword," if you see where I'm getting at here. Think of what fire symbolizes. Okay, now connect the dots. The one who *walks along-side flame* shall *one day* meet the *road of destined death.* I love the symbolism in these games so much.
I believe that farum azula is yet another location in elden ring but this time floating for some unknown reason. The tornado in the middle is somehow imbued with time twisting powers. It makes it so that the entire area is from another time but its range isnt the longest. Because of that u can still see the erdtree burning. The closer you are to it, the stronger the powers. And thas why u can only use the miquella's needle in the placidusax arena cuz ur in the storm. (sry for my english) Great vid btw
As someone that is still on my first playthrough I immediately became super suspicious of the fingers when Ranni asked how long I might remain obedient to them
From the lore I’ve read and studied: Azula used to be in the middle of the map, above the sea and in the center of all the divine towers. The dragons picked this strategic location because they could very quickly see and travel to pretty much any place in The Lands Between, hence cementing their rule for awhile when Placidusex was The First Elden Lord. Also, they can obviously fly, so it’s naturally a safe place for them to roost, away from non-flying enemies. Maybe their Outer God made the Temple in the sky just for them. But I digress. As rulers of pretty much everywhere though, you start to make enemies. These enemies are the ones who called to their Outer God to bring the Hurricane/Tornado thingy to sweep all Azula away, and it ended up off to the Far East (hence why we see a storm still covering where Azula used to be on the map). Makes a lot of sense to me. Now, I’m now sure if the dragons or the giants where in the snowy northern mountains first (I lean towards the giants), but either way, they started to become enemies and I think the giants called upon their Outer God (The Fell God), to help them defeat the dragons. The Fell God brought the storm. I think the giants lived there first when the trolls migrated up there and evolved into them long ago. Which is why it’s called the Mountaintops of the Giants, not of the Dragons. As the Dragons’ rule started to spread further, they finally started to invade the snowy north and made enemies with the giants. This is all long before the giants’ war with the erdtree of course, but maybe they wouldn’t have lost if they weren’t already weakened by their fight with the dragons, since they already possessed a way to burn the erdtree. Maybe they just didn’t have the numbers to execute their plan after fighting the dragons.
Given Placi originally had five heads, alongside the fact that Beastmen were distinguished from primitive beasts by their five-fingered hands (evidenced in the five shockwaves of the Beast Claw incantation), I think it's far more likely that Placi was Lord in the age of the Five Fingers, before the split between the Two and Three Fingers occurred. In fact, losing three of his heads may have been part of this split, though that's pure speculation.
In my opinion Farum Azula was part of the ring you can see on the map (whole Map looks like a whole ring, except the right part in the north of caelid). The isolated Divine Tower was part of it when it was on the bottom. Maybe it represent the shattering of the ring as its the missing part of the map.
In regards to that blade, you mentioned about 1/4 the way through the video, that is the exact blade you can see Melina wield when you call upon her to aid you in the fight against Morgott
I like to think that the Farum Azula we play in is in a different time line, which explains why Gurranq is still in Dragonbarrow after we kill Maliketh, you can see Farum from a divine tower which means it exists but when we play, we are in a different time line.
A theory that makes a lot of sense is that Placidusax was communing with the Greater will like Marica since Placidusax originally had 5 heads 3 of which were ripped out(3 fingers) while the other 2 are set in the same position the 2 fingers take when communing with the greater will pointing at the sky. Since Placidusax's 3 heads were ripped out probably "separating" him from the 3 fingers you can use Miquella's needle to cleanse yourself of their influence too. ALSO in the somber ancient dragon smithing stones it says that ancient dragons or maybe just placidusax can bend spacetime somehow and so can create godslaying weapons
There needs to be more info on this place in the game. The lore is really deep, but all the parts are really thinly connected to the main story - I'm at the point now where I just don't think its worth the effort trying to dissect it. Writing a series of connected plot points is way harder than coming up with a ton of filler. I really hope a DLC proves Miyazaki has some of the answers.
My theory is that somehow when we go to farum azula we are, along side it, stuck in time. Farum azula simply doesn't advance in time, to the point that no matter for how long gurrak was gone, the second he returns there, it is as if he never left, it feels like a hole in space time. Furthermore when we finally kill maliketh and touch what looks like the run of death, we go back to leyndel in ashes, the fire in the tree has spread immensely and the thorns are finally, indicating time has advanced while we were away. But while can we go back and forth out of the place and nothing changes? Well 1st game mechanics obviously, and 2nd it seems like touching the rune somehow "unlocks" time in azula again, since before it, time there could only go backwards with placid fight
Regarding Dragonlord P: I'd be more willing to believe that Bale the Dread defeated Plasidusax in battle (2 of Plasidusax's heads are seared into his body), and made him retreat indefinitely in Crumbling Fareum Azula, and because he was gone for so long, Godfrey and the Greater Will took over the Lands Between in his eternal absence.
What u can also notice is that there is like sum lands parts under the city with sum threes and stuff and also bridge that lead to nothing clear indication that it was once connected to the ground
It's pretty obvious that the roundtable hold that we keep going to is located in the Erdtree; when the erdtree is set on fire the hold is burning and is the only other location on fire besides the tree
This is what i love about fromsoftware. They make you really think about the world and what might have happend or will happen. And i really like that you took the first hunter soundtrack to have as background soundtrack, really threw me back to the bloodborne days.
I think that a really likely spot for farum azula to have been is in between malenias tower and leyndell. Looking at farum azula you can see roots all over the place, it being near the erdtree would explain this, and to get to malenias tower we have to take a teleporter, but we can see there is a cut off bridge that likely once led to malenias tower, but that gap is very large.But we also see that there is soemthing clearly broken off of malenias tower. Therefore my theory is that farum azula was once set in between the isolated divine tower and leyndell.
its very clear that crumbling faram azula is frozen in time, and the version we see from Malenia's tower is what it looks like after its already been destroyed by the storm surrounding it.
So I feel like I need to clarify this since everyone keeps commenting the exact same thing. I know and understand you can see Farum Azula from Malenias Divine Tower. But like I said in the video, it could be in a different state when looking from far away than when we actually go there. Just like with the Roundtable.
What about continental drift moving the Lands Between physically out from under Farum Azula?
You can go to Farum Azula via The Four Belfries too, so it's definitely in the physical world, just like the other two destinations. Also, there are too Roundtables in the game, one in the Capital and one on the corner of the map. Now it could be argued that they are the same hold, just in different times, but the important thing is, that there's only one Farum azula on the whole map. So it's not just like the Roundtable...
It's not in a dream state at all. It existed outside reality in its own dimension, an ancient catastrophic event most likely being the arrival of the Elden Beast caused it to be forced into the same reality as the rest of the world. That being said placidusaax lives in the storm beyond time. A fragment of the old dragon realm
I think the Roundtable Hold having its own map location is significant - the implication is that you're actually *in* that crumbling city you see in the distance. There's also a lot of emphasis on just how *old* Farum Azula is and how it's been crumbling a long time. Not that this disproves the dream theory, but I think the evidence is very thin.
My poorly-supported theory - I think Stormveil used to be a land of flying cities/temples when the Stormlord was in charge. An inevitable part of his/its defeat was the collapse of the temples, without the stormlord to hold them up / channel Placidusax's power / whatever.
Gurranq can be in two places because he holds a great rune, and that lets you do that (see: Margit)
I don't know why no one has commented this maybe it's dumb, but time travel or time bubble. That could be why for many of the ruins and things outside farum azula
One theory I like is that Faram Azula is a timeless prison that people who commit cardinal sins are sent to. Hence the teleportation once you burn the Erdtree. Alexander apparently tried bathing in the giant's fire to temper his jar, thus comiting a similar sin almost by accident and winding up there as well.
I like this idea it reminds me of the hunters nightmare from blood borne except of being a murderous hunter you break a a great rule that must be punished accordingly
Farum Azula = horny jail
This actually sounds pretty likely. Itd also explain why maliketh is there, as his sin was not protecting the rune of death well enough (he talks about sin when you give him deathroot)
That’s why the foreskin duo are there, shitty design
See, this is the kind of lore that should be included in the game itself. People praise FS for their storytelling, but in my opinion they can do even better. Sometimes more is more.
“The one who walks alongside flame” is whatever Tarnished takes Melina to the Erdtree. She is the flame that walks along with us, the one destined to burn the thorns of the Erdtree
Or it’s the Flame of Frenzy. That description comes from her weapon. She encourages you to burn the Erdtree, but she swears to kill you once you have the Flame of Frenzy. She could easily be the Gloam-Eyed Queen’s daughter
Or anyone with the flame of ambition
@@christiankettlewellonly because she knows that the 3 fingers are chaos. They are necessary to the order of the lands between, but they are not to have full reign as everything would be cast into ruin eternally.
Isn't it possible that she refers to herself? Since she walked alongside flame(which i think is the ritual she does to burn the erdtree) thus meeting her Destined Death. And if you do it with the frenzied flame, she swears she will deliver yours.
I think you are right, since she is the KINDLING maiden ;)
Hey uh. In the isolated divine tower in leyndell, the one for rykard you can actually see farum azula in the distance.
I believe it's Malenia's tower, but yes. Also the belfry teleporter
idk if he didn’t do enough research or smthing but some things in the video just aren’t right even with some speculation like the reason the frenzied flame can be stopped in his arena is due to time being stopped there not because the three fingers are the dragons god
@@quianox1218 wait , the three fingers are Placediusax’s god? When was THAT on the table???
@@Darth_Bateman they aren't, the current theory is that the full hand of the greater will(5 fingers) was split into order(2 fingers) and chaos(3 fingers), and that the 5 fingers was the god of the dragons
I was going to say; you can see the waterfall at the eastern edge of the world, from the western side of FA.
I may be mistaken, but I think you also see parts of the mainland? I'll have to load up my file, but i recall seeing the tower and the edge of Calid and Altus.
My biggest issue with Farum Azula's dream or altered representation or such is the presence of tangible NPCs like Alexander, Gurranq/Maliketh, and Bernahl being there. Especially Alexander's journey there more than any other, convinces me that we're in the actual real Farum Azula because Maliketh is a divine being in a sense and Bernahl literally assists or invades you but Alexander is just straight up physically, tangibly there.
Another solid point is that there is a waygate in Liurnia that goes there with an imbued swordstone key.
There's a theory that the Greater Will repurposed Farum Azula into a prison for beings that commit a cardinal sins, Alexander and Bernahl probably committed a cardinal sin at some point. That would also explain the banished knights.
@@shadowcyberdemon8776 that would also explain why we’re instantly teleported there after burning the erdtree
And the sword from the crucible knight in redmane castle
It isn’t in the character’s head, that’s just a massive reach of head cannon. It’s clearly a real, physical place so I’m not sure why anyone is even discussing it 🤷🏼♂️
@Mockle07 Because that's what the Souls community does, there have been many wrong theories in the community, but it's not a bad thing. If anything presenting a theory and having people provide evidence to the contrary is just solidifying what we do know about the world of Elden Ring. Also, it's just fun idk
Dragonlord Placidusax isn't waiting on the Three Fingers. The Three Fingers' whole thing is that they want to destroy the world with the Flame of Frenzy. Dragonlord Placidusax was previously the Elden Lord in ancient times, and if he was the Lord of Frenzy, then the entire world would have been destroyed before we even got to play the game.
The Three Fingers weren't imprisoned below the capital at all, either. What actually happened is the nomadic merchants were imprisoned below the capital, and then they summoned the Three Fingers and the Flame of Frenzy as some sort of desperate attempt at retaliation against the Golden Order which imprisoned them. That's why all merchants use frenzy incantations and when they die they say "Melt away with the rest of it..."
Also, Farum Azula is not in a dream. Farum Azula is a physical place which is visible from certain tall landmarks/towers around the map. It does not exist outside of time either. Farum Azula is a physical place that merely has anti-gravity properties. Dragonlord Placidusax's arena is the only aspect which is outside of time itself. It is the only area which can not be viewed from the outside, either. It is the only area where time is manipulated in order to reach. Miquella's needle is used to shut out the influence of any outer god. Miquella's needle only works outside of time due to its function not being complete/perfected. Miquella's needle isn't specifically for getting rid of the Flame of Frenzy. It works on any outer god, and would work in any area as long as its outside of time. Miquella's needle can also be used to cure Millicent's scarlet rot. The fact that Miquella's needle's function only works in the Dragonlord's arena is merely a coincidence.
Not a coincidence as the Dragon lord's arena is the only place that not affected by time or any outer Gods, that we have access to atleast. but 100% spot on all other points.
How do you explain Gurranq being alive after killing Maliketh if Farum Azula isn’t outside of time.
@@thanus6636 it has been suggested that something happened to farum azula that moved it outside of time. But I disagree with the video where he says it's "in the tarnished's head." It is a physical place, not some metaphysical concept of self lol.
@@thanus6636 if you actually complete Gurranq's quest he won't be there. Folk are simply confused because they don't finish his quest. That he remains after the Malikath fight is an oversight by FromSoft. Complete the quest, go fight Maliketh, and he won't be at the Bestial Sanctuary
@@Ryan13489 I highly doubt this would have been an oversight. If you kill Morgott before Margit, Margit will no longer appear at stormveil gate.
You can actually see Farum Azula from one of the Divine Towers. I believe it's the one where we awaken Malenias Great Rune. It's the divine
tower that we can get to by using the teleport chest on the Southern Peninsula. Instead of opening the door to the tower just turn around and look East. It's actually a really cool site so I highly recommend checking it out.
Same thing I said. You can see it and the tornado
Also the random ruins scattered everywhere look like fallen pieces of Farum Azula, because what purpose would they have otherwise, being built there as the blocks they are?
You can see it from Morgotts too
100% this
The rocks around Farum Azula look like the ones levitating around and over the crater in Limgrave, after the battle with Radahn. If i remember correctly, Farum Azula was hit by a meteor/star and parts of the buildings fell and littered with ruins all the map.
2:11 Enia, the lady you buy boss weapons from, tells you just before or after you burn the Erdtree that the Rune of Death goes by two names. The other being Destined Death.
Ever wonder why Farum Azula is “doomed” or “slowly crumbling”?
Well, I think this is because of the law of entropy - or in the Lands Between interpretation of it - the One Great which originally consisted of five fingers, is now broken up into 2 fingers representing Order, and 3 fingers representing Chaos.
This one extra digit for Chaos, could mean it’s ever so slightly prevailing, hence the purgatory-like state of a slowly crumbling place that was originally ruled by the One Great.
For all we know, Farum Azula could very well have been a temple, a place of worship, where as you can see on the wall carvings, knights are worshipping the Ancient Dragons, whose lord is Placidusax, first Elden Lord - the entire faction probably being Apostles of the One Great Outer God.
As the fundamentalists put it, the law of causality
@@fredscoffeeThe fingers themselves aren’t what split though. It was the Greater Will and the Frenzied flame. 2 fingers are the servants of GW, 3 fingers are servant of FF. And Farum Azula seems to imply a significance of 5 fingers- a sign of Beasts’ intelligence. Besides that, we see a version of the Elden Ring in Maliketh’s boss arena that appears to be different from the one Marika/Radagon possesses. Placidusax’s remembrance mentions that he “awaited the return of his god” which may have been the One Great, eventually splitting the symbol of 5 fingers to the symbols of 2 and 3 respectively.
The only issue is every demigod had a 2 fingers
Listen, if I saw a coffin at the end of a river of rot inside a temple of parasite monsters... I'd crawl inside too.
Another great vid Jake, keep it up
The forbidden waterslide
Yeah, I mean... who wouldn't? It's basic common sense. 🤣
"I'm out of healing, wading through literal rot-water, and man-sized roaches are spitting strands of goo at my back. I am so frickin' dead I may as well just accept it with grace and step into my future coffi... owo, what's this..."
^^^ Sanest Souls-borne Enjoyer
It's called "intuition"
I also disagree about the whole dream concepts, there’s other tarnished on the floating city, like that one guy you meet in volcanic manor that help you to kill godskin duo. Or just the godskins themselves who is likely also there to kill malekith to restore their black flame. The place feels very real and alive, and all these very much alive other beings somehow being in your dream just don’t really make sense
@@bathsaltshero You fight Fia’s champions as soon as you approach Fia in the deeproot depths. You cannot interact with her there at all until you kill them. In other words you can’t enter her dream until after that fight. The only living thing in her dream is Litchdragon Fortisax.
You could argue that the “dream” locations are places of shared conscience, but I agree that the theory is shaky at best.
FA is definitely not a dreamscape. You can literally see it from the mainland and vice versa. It is very much intended to be a real tangible place where the Great One (five fingers) used to preside over Placidusax, before it split into two (the Two and Three finger entities of order and chaos), unknowingly, to Placidusax. Because iirc he believes the Great One just fled, or left, which is why he was still there waiting for it to return.
Almost certain Melina was talking about herself when she gave her final speech. Essentially saying this was her inevitable end and bidding you farewell.
Only question, how does she threaten you in the frenzied flame ending of she's met her destined death already?
Perhaps it's the same reason she "yet lives, burned and bodiless", in her words, though that would make it more than "be kindling maiden".
Wen TF dlc Miyazaki? I need the answers, WE need the answers.
@@jasonrobinson401if you inherit the frenzied flame and become lord of frenzied flame AFTER using her to burn the erdtree, her cutscene does not appear
@@arcstaff ahh, so she still is alive at the end if you burn yourself instead, then use the needle to pick another ending.
She still won't talk to us anymore though, I thought that was exactly what the celestial dew was for?
Is that just an oversight then? It kinda looks like one.
@@jasonrobinson401 yeah she's still alive if you do that but she leaves you permanently as soon as you're embraced by the three fingers
If you go to the "isolated tower" you can see farum azula way off in the distance
I think the dragons had the five finger god, still being the Greater Wills whole hand in a sense. But at a point, the hands are split into order and chaos. As for time, light and gold have represented time in other souls games, ancient dragon smithing stones hint to the same. Also note that roundtable to seems to be a almost statis. Also note it’s via Marika statues and signs that are in the shape of her rune that allow us to be summoned and rebirth at sights of grace. And in the past souls games summons signs are literally pulling someone from a point in time.
going off of the thought of a combined light and dark, i wonder if the gloom eyed queen was another contender for thanking the throne after plasidusax
@@damianford2637 I’ll say this, the twin death birds fit for a envoy similar to the Elden beast. And the elden beast needs the sacred relic sword, or a Fingerslaying blade. So this twin death bird could have potentially used the GEQ as the Fingerslaying blade. The Nox are labeled as MarikasLineage in the games AI files. And the Fingerslaying blade is a ancient treasure of the eternal cities. And you can go into how Marika and the black knives and Numens then link to the eternal city. And it’s Maliketh, who uses the very weapon that speaks of the five fingers when not using his black blade that defeated the gloam eyed queen. Would explain also how Melina can be Marikas daughter but also a sorta the gloam eyed queen aka host to the same outer god as OG the GEQ once was
The five finger god got split up when the walmart-in-between caught them shoplifting.
Nahh, he's waiting on an outer god that fled the greater will. Remember the fingers are just envoys of an outer god. I think the greater will split chaos (3fingers) from itself for absolute order and control over its influence in the lands between. Remember the frenzied flame ending just fucking rapes everything which is antithetical to what the greater will seems to wish to accomplish within the game workd.
@@CausalityUsurper Or maybe he's waiting for his waifu God who was once a vessel to the Elden Ring seeing as you know he's was an Elden Lord but they're never coming back back because they were usurped and replaced by Marika. Note how the Age of the Crucible that preceded the Age of the Erdtree was marked by Red Gold the very same Red Gold that Marks the Lightning wielded by the Ancient Dragons.I suspect that's why Godwyn and his dragon cult were allowed to be integrated into the Golden because for all intents and purposes the Dragons had just a part of a previous iteration of it. I also suspect Marika having witnessed the Greater will abandon and replace the previous vessel and of the previous age, specifically removed the rune of death from the Elden Ring avoid a similar fate at the hands of the Gloam Eyed-Queen who was said to be an Empyrean chosen by the two fingers, I mean we know the Greater Will planned to potentially replace Marika with Ranni so it the notion is well established in lore that the Greater will can replace its chosen God and vessel for the Elden Ring.
The whole "it was just a dream all along, the real elden ring was inside us all along" feels like a cop-out without any backing in the game.
I think the Dragonlord's God was the One Great, or the original form of the 2 and 3 fingers. The symbolism of the beastmen having FIVE fingers seems super significant, and the "old version" of the Elden Ring you see in farum azula? The one people say looks like it has roots? I don't think those are roots.
They look like flames.
I think that the Greater Will is a fractured part of the One Great, which for whatever reason chose Marika (or perhaps she had a hand in dividing the outer God), as she is a Numen and likely came from Farum Azula. There was some form of coup, where the greater will rejected the chaotic half of the one great and forced it underground in order to maintain order.
Also, the idea of an Outer God that is equal parts order and chaos, that exists in a city that is falling apart and crumbling, but always STAYS in that chaotic state, never really changing? Seems like a good fit to me.
I think Numen just means “new man” and is actually the precursor to humans as we know them now in the Lands between. I think they were basically what happens when Beastmen were born “outside of the grace” of the crucible (the reverse of what happens with Omen now). This is all wild speculation though.
To accompany this idea though: I actually think those are roots, and that they represent the crucible (which is now the deep root that the Erdtree grows out of and modifies), which is responsible for the beastmen being, well, beast and man, until the Golden Order excludes the crucible, so now everyone is born more or less in the form of the Numen, though, since they’re “second gen” they’re not as powerful (like Albinaurics).
But basically now that the crucible is excluded from grace via the Golden Order, no roots in the Elden Ring.
What’s really cool is that you can see Miquella’s great rune in the Elden Ring. There’s no one else it could belong to, it looks just like his needle.
@@stuartcarter4139 Miquella's Great Rune? The Rune of Abundance is Cut content that may or may not be used in future DLC so no use speculating on that aspect.
@@Shane-gg3hl yes, miquella’s great rune
tbh i think there’s ONLY use speculating on future content because then we get to see who’s right hahaha
Something that speaks against Melina teleporting us to Farum Azula is that we end up there, even if we burn the Erdtree ourselves using the Frenzied Flame.
There’s a great deal of symbolism regarding the beast men that emphasizes 5 fingers; 2 fingers + 3 fingers = 5 fingers, perhaps the original one great before the greater will from the age before the red tree. Placidusax even had 5 heads originally as evidenced by his 3 severed stumps.
It really does seem like Farum Azula was the Lyndell from a time before the One Great was divided, or “fled”.
'Elden Ring the most confusing lore ever' Kingdom Hearts series: "Hold my beer."
Does anyone find it ironic that in Dark Souls 1-3 the lore clearly states that Gwyn developed Lightning Miracles, with Seath's help, to kill the Dragons, but in Elden Ring the Dragons are the ones clad in lightning and grant you lightning powers after dying?
I always thought the reason we get teleported to Farum Azula was because we burned down the Erdtree, which is a cardinal sin and that the Golden Order wanted to punish us somehow
5:00 you can see faram azula from melanias tower in the lands between so no its not a dream
@ 11:18, something I've tried pointing out to others since the beginning is that you only have the guidance of Grace until you get to Farum Azula (if you look at the map, you can see little directional queues from the sites of grace but they stop after you kill the Fire Giant; there are none of the directional queues in Farum Azula). Glad you kinda touched on that.
I never noticed that what :O
Thanks! Spread the word yo ^^
I think there just isn't any in legacy dungeouns, no?
Remember those pieces of ruins you find accross the whole map, its from the temple in the sky, meaning faram azula
Your lore videos are some of the best and some of my favorite out there. The streams are amazing too :D
It's pretty clear the Roundtable is in the Erd Tree, since it burns the same time the Erd Tree does, and the flames get worse the same time they do for the Erd tree.
My take on the walk alongside flame thing was that the "flame" is referring to Melina, as she is the kindling maiden
The point is that at the end of your journey with Melina, you will reach the way towards Destined Death
Also, Guranqq is supposedly howling at the Erdtree, where Marika is held prisoner since he's likely still able to sense her, but can do nothing about it
As for the ruins, it does make sense to think that the ruins scattered all over the ground are from Farum Azula, since you can also get the ruins fragments and sanctuary stones from the debris under the Bestial Sanctum. But I'd like to think that there was another city in the sky besides Farum Azula, and that city was the one that was stuck by the meteor mentioned in the Ruins Greatsword. Perhaps it is the kingdom of the Sun alluded to in one of skeletons shield?
To add to the above, I'd like to think that Farum Azula was once on the ground, filling the space between North Caelid and the Mountaintops, as you can see a waterfall in the middle of the ocean between those areas, which may have hinted that some landmass was there before it suddenly disappeared. This would also help explain why there are giant dogs and birds in both Caelid and the Mountaintops, as well as the gigantic skeletons that are only found in this two regions. It would make some sense if it was once connected for these creatures to mingle in both areas
The dragons god isn't surely the three fingers, the three fingers were summoned after the golden order captured and forced below the city all the merchants because Shabriri had accused them of being followers of the frenzy flame.
The other remaining gods are the Giant's one, but I'm not sure if it can return after we slay the last fire giant, and the two headed bird of the death birds who is at the moment missing (the bird's god could be rappresented by the four fingers like the items they drop, and that most think brought bad luck).
This would start to make sense if we see the look at the arrival of the gods in the lands between in a decrescent order : 5 finger(beast/dragon), 4 fingers (death birds/storm hawks), 3 fingers (Shabriri/first traveling humans), 2 fingers (civilized humans and society), 1 finger (perhaps the newborn god of the giants? The only one that could harm the erdtree?)
Also… what if those dream states are actually like inside Godwyns mind or memory? Like when we go into “fias” dream what if she just kinda tapped into godwyn which is why we fight his dragon friend😂
The sky is lined with his eyes in that fight. I was wondering the same thing because if that.
@@micahbell9412 tell us what it is, not what it isn't.
@@micahbell9412 just let the neurodivergents have their fun theorizing come on😂
Destined Death to me, is the eventuality of Mortality. A great many beings in Elden ring are Immortal, because "Destined Death" is locked away from it's primary function of bringing that mortality to them. Once Maliketh is defeated, and the Rune of Death is unlocked or unbound from being controlled, Destined Death is unleashed indiscriminately. Those that carry Great Runes may still be technically Immortal I assume, until defeated by another Great Rune bearer, or Tarnished, who are bread of the power of runes them selves.
7:18 you can also physically see Farom azula form a distance at melania’s tower. I believe it might have something to do with the subtle connection between Melania and Maliketh with Maliketh having a similar special attack with wildly swinging consecutive hits. Also that the beast clergyman (Maliketh) being found in the caelid wilds. And if you wanna get real wacky with it, there’s an interesting link between Melania, Melina, Maliketh and Miquella what with all their names not only being similar but with Meliketh and Melina having a connection with destined death and Melania being the “blade of Miquella” having that connection to eternal youth. Kind of a yin Yang if you will. It’s made more interesting when you consider that both associated areas with Miquella and Melania are optional and hidden away. Specifically branching away from the greater will and the golden order
Farum Azula is the former city of the Gloam Eyed Queen, and her Elden Lord is Placidusax. I feel maliketh is there because that's the one place he can hide destined death from others, I have the theory that Farum Azula was hurdled into the skies when the three and 2 fingers were separated, being both one entity at one point before the Erd Tree. The godskin nobles are there because that was their capital city. Furthermore I think Placidusax keeps that city out of time in order to wait for his outer ggod to return, this las part would explain even if faintly why you can find Maliketh as the deathroot priest in the Lands between and in farum Azula, as he is living both times at the same time sharingg the experience somehow.
Gloam eyed queen is Melina and Melina is also miquella
I think that the outer god of placidusax is in fact the Greater Will, just at a different time. This comes from two pieces of lord. The first being that Placidusax is specifically called an Elden Lord. This means that the dragon wielded the Elden Ring, which is a manifestation of the Elden Beasts power, which is a vassal of the Greater Will. The second piece of evidence is that the Greater Will may not have fled, but may have in fact abandoned the dragons. The fact that the Greater Will abandoned the demigods, and it’s apathy towards the Lands Between afterwards, seems to suggest that so long as “order” is present, it does not truly care who is in charge, and most likely abandoned the dragons because they were either a lost cause, as with the demigods, or simply saw a better option, which could lead into the rise of Marika to godhood.
Bro Gherman’s theme hits so hard.
if you go towards the Isolated divinte tower, where Milenia's great rune is, you can actually see Farum azula in the distance.
I have a feeling that it wasn't the 3 fingers that he fought for but instead it was the two fingers and the three fingers combined into something like a hand (maybe like the god hand from berserk)
To me, it makes more sense that Melena is referring to herself rather than the forge when she calls us the "one who walks alongside flame."
Placidusax is heavily damaged with 2 heads left, a pendant shows 4 heads originally but the boss model shows 5 heads, 3 stumps, the two heads seems to be similar to two fingers, seeming like the index and middle finger while the missing heads are the thumb, ring, and pinkie, similar to the three fingers
3 fingers are the fingers for the crucible
I guess lol
As a side note, Gehrmans theme always gets to me a bit. It's a truly heartbreaking piece. When I was a kid, I could have never imagined this would be video game music.
I'm glad i wasn't the only one who noticed it
Being a studio ghibli fellow the first thought I had with farum Azula was it’s similarity to Laputa from castle in the sky. I believe the golems are also a reference to it. As are the the bits a pieces all over the world that have fallen off the city. I don’t thinks it’s a dream so much as a crumbling vestment of the previous order. Its also almost completely inaccessible which makes it a great place to hide things. I wouldn’t be suprised if the dynasty merika usurped was once headed there . It would make sense that the center of the dragons power would be in the sky.
Unlike Roundtable Hold, Farum Azula can be reached through a simple "magic but hole" teleporter from the Four Belfries area. And it's clearly the same Farum Azula, not a different version analogous to the "Roundtable Hold" in Leyndell. This makes me convinced that there is only one Farum Azula and that the one we see from the outside is also the same.
Time is clearly distorted/frozen there in some ways, but it is not entirely outside time like the Placidusax arena is, nor outside the normal dimension of space like the Roundtable Hold.
The dragons didn’t lose their “outer god” they lost their equivalent of Marika and likey they also served the greater will as they can coexist with the golden order that derived from it
The flame melina talks about is also the frenzied flame, she means that whoever gets possessed by the frenzied flame must die.
the thing is you can SEE farum azula at the isolated divine tower
Also on farm azula location, if u use one of the portals at the four belfries it takes u to a far outer part of farum and u can see the beastial sanctum and cliffs in the distance, I feel like the ruin fragments around the lands between were flung from the far east
Farum Azula is in the Lands Between otherwise it would not make sense that you can reach it through a portal at the Four Belfries.
0:43 that`s what she said
Not only that, Godwyns eyes can be seen growing through out Farum. It had to be connected to the rest of the continents if a tree somehow started to grow up there.
The Stormhawk King God is responsible for the winds of around stormveil, (check the item des. of the Stormhawk King) not Farum Azula, but i do think it was all up there in the sky at one point
It was most likely above Caelid. The Farum Greatbridge and the Beastly Sanctum have the same architecture as Farum Azula.
I really enjoy your videos my man, and it’s great to follow along and kinda unwind this story. Elden ring is my first souls game and the community is great! Keep up the great work
My theory is that some programmers thought it would be cool to have a crumbling sky fortress as a setting in the game and they just kind of shoe horned it into the game without any real story reason.
I like that thing u said nothing in life is worth doing if it isn’t hard
@@SYNNARO exactly my friend
I disagree with the interpretation of the phrase “Walks with Flame” I am under the impression Flame here was referring to Melina as she becomes the Flame and we ventured this far with her.
every video you come out with just gets better and better in production value. its clear to see the hard work you put into these. Keep up great work. (im Manderex from Patreon)
How did you post this before the video was posted? Do patrons get early access to videos?
@@tomohawk2177 yup we get videos 24 hours early. definitely worth to help support such a great creator
I disagree with the part where FA is inside the mind of the tarnished, since you can reach it earlier from the four belfries. It's a magical place, where time flows differently yes, but I don't consider it in an alternate reality.
The Round Table Hold in the other hand...
Its hell
literally
the only good thing there is
THE BELL BEARINGS
and PLASCIDUX
the rest is just
FEAR
I think Farum Azula has to be a physical location in some way, because there is a Waygate in Liurnia of the Lakes.
I also think it includes information the player is not necessarily privy to, since you can see what looks like Miquella’s great rune (a needle) right in the middle of the old Elden Ring.
I think it’s possible that this rune in play in Farum Azula also, since you can use Miquella’s needle in the Dragonlord’s arena.
I think this is because the throne exists outside of time, and since the elden ring has only been shattered inside time.
The weird thing is that the guidance of grace still works in Farum Azula, which is something I don’t really understand since with this theory of mine, the grace of the Erdtree and the Golden Order shouldn’t work.
Lastly, I believe it used to exist where the bestial sanctum is now, since there’s a “Farum Greatbridge”… near where the dragon mound and bestial sanctum is, which I doubt is a coincidence.
10:17 what the heck is happening in that scene tho :-O
0:17 , you think this is bad, try the Silmarillion
Another awesome video man !!! I have become a big fan , I like the way you break things down. Your production value is getting better with every video . You give us lore lovers something to look forward to , thanks again and keep em coming !!!
You can see Farum Azula from Malenia’s divine tower. Definitely a tangible thing.
Ever since I'd first gone through Farum Azula in my first playthrough, I've wanted to know *WHY* it's hanging in the air, half destroyed, but seemingly held together by the twister at its heart. This crumbling city is my favorite location in the entire game, and the more I find out about it, the more I'm drawn to it. Thank you for a fantastic video, love your way of breaking down lore 💙
20+ hours and 2 months into my playthrough and just found moonveil… tempting…
Do it. Join the weeb side of Elden ring
Yeah do it, it doesn’t matter if people complain
I am using the co-op mod with my partner for our second playthrough. I am using dual moonveil and she is using dual sword of night and flame. Memes can be fun.
My first playthrough was a quality build with spiked caestus.
Gehrman ost almost had me crying BB is truly a masterpiece, cool lore vid btw
Wow! Just strolling in my subscription then found this and just 16 second ago like lol what? Ok. Let watch This. But other comments are like 10 hrs ago...what happening here? RUclips?
Maybe a patreon member who got to see the video early
They're denizens of farrum azula
I don't think that Placidusax was serving three fingers. The Miquella's needle was suppose to remove the influence of any god. It was said in the item description and we know that Malenia used it to stop the rot inside her. I think the fact that Miquella's needle can be used only in Placidusax's arena has nothing to do with Placidusax himself but rather the fact that his arena is frozen in time. Meaby the needle would require a huge amount of time to work but in a place where time doesn't apply it just works immediatly
Im so hyped for the dlc.
I can’t stop thinking that elden ring actually leads to dark souls and the ancient dragons ruling over grey lifeless plains after the tarnished burn the entire world into ashes with the flames of frenzy, stopping life and births (exept for the everlasting dragons).
That the ancient dragons were probably the rulers under the 3 fingers before even makes more sense for the theory!
Farum Azula is not in our mind we can clearly see it from the isolated Divine tower.
Also if you are going for a flame of frenzied ending then malina does not light the fire and the tarnished does himself and false into the forge only to get transported to Farum Azula.
You got my sub👍🏽 I know lore in elden ring is getting scarce but the way you put it in your own words and described it to us is worth my sub. I’ve watched a few of your videos and I enjoy your content and not just the videos about new findings in the game but how you tell the backstory in a way that makes the game feel fresh. It’s made me want to explore more and potentially find things that might alter the way we see the lands between.
The gherman theme hitting hard😔
Farum Azula exists in a timeline detached from the timeline in which the whole game takes place. That’s why killing Maliketh doesn’t make him disappear from the beast Sactuary, that’s why we regress time to fight Placidussaxx, it is because it’s a place stuck in time in a branching timeline.
How did Alexander get there? :O
@@Ajial01 maybe they show us in DLC
3:12 - In my mind, it could also be a metaphor that's similar to the phrase "He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword," if you see where I'm getting at here. Think of what fire symbolizes. Okay, now connect the dots. The one who *walks along-side flame* shall *one day* meet the *road of destined death.* I love the symbolism in these games so much.
“Crumbling Farum Azula” sounds like a delicious variety of fancy cheese.
“Nothing in life is worth doing, if it’s not hard to begin with.”
Amazing, amazing words, AgtJake. :)
I believe that farum azula is yet another location in elden ring but this time floating for some unknown reason. The tornado in the middle is somehow imbued with time twisting powers. It makes it so that the entire area is from another time but its range isnt the longest. Because of that u can still see the erdtree burning. The closer you are to it, the stronger the powers. And thas why u can only use the miquella's needle in the placidusax arena cuz ur in the storm.
(sry for my english)
Great vid btw
As someone that is still on my first playthrough I immediately became super suspicious of the fingers when Ranni asked how long I might remain obedient to them
My first thoughts were that Farum Azula was originally going to be a DLC but got thrown into the main game last second to make the story a bit longer.
From the lore I’ve read and studied:
Azula used to be in the middle of the map, above the sea and in the center of all the divine towers. The dragons picked this strategic location because they could very quickly see and travel to pretty much any place in The Lands Between, hence cementing their rule for awhile when Placidusex was The First Elden Lord. Also, they can obviously fly, so it’s naturally a safe place for them to roost, away from non-flying enemies. Maybe their Outer God made the Temple in the sky just for them. But I digress.
As rulers of pretty much everywhere though, you start to make enemies. These enemies are the ones who called to their Outer God to bring the Hurricane/Tornado thingy to sweep all Azula away, and it ended up off to the Far East (hence why we see a storm still covering where Azula used to be on the map). Makes a lot of sense to me.
Now, I’m now sure if the dragons or the giants where in the snowy northern mountains first (I lean towards the giants), but either way, they started to become enemies and I think the giants called upon their Outer God (The Fell God), to help them defeat the dragons. The Fell God brought the storm.
I think the giants lived there first when the trolls migrated up there and evolved into them long ago. Which is why it’s called the Mountaintops of the Giants, not of the Dragons.
As the Dragons’ rule started to spread further, they finally started to invade the snowy north and made enemies with the giants.
This is all long before the giants’ war with the erdtree of course, but maybe they wouldn’t have lost if they weren’t already weakened by their fight with the dragons, since they already possessed a way to burn the erdtree. Maybe they just didn’t have the numbers to execute their plan after fighting the dragons.
In my opinion farum azula is a prison for those who commit a sin against erdtree.
The cookie that has crumbled
Given Placi originally had five heads, alongside the fact that Beastmen were distinguished from primitive beasts by their five-fingered hands (evidenced in the five shockwaves of the Beast Claw incantation), I think it's far more likely that Placi was Lord in the age of the Five Fingers, before the split between the Two and Three Fingers occurred. In fact, losing three of his heads may have been part of this split, though that's pure speculation.
In my opinion Farum Azula was part of the ring you can see on the map (whole Map looks like a whole ring, except the right part in the north of caelid). The isolated Divine Tower was part of it when it was on the bottom. Maybe it represent the shattering of the ring as its the missing part of the map.
"Fled" and "fell" are two different things.
Videos are great bro keep up the grind. I truly believe your channel will pop to high levels
In regards to that blade, you mentioned about 1/4 the way through the video, that is the exact blade you can see Melina wield when you call upon her to aid you in the fight against Morgott
I like to think that the Farum Azula we play in is in a different time line, which explains why Gurranq is still in Dragonbarrow after we kill Maliketh, you can see Farum from a divine tower which means it exists but when we play, we are in a different time line.
A theory that makes a lot of sense is that Placidusax was communing with the Greater will like Marica since Placidusax originally had 5 heads 3 of which were ripped out(3 fingers) while the other 2 are set in the same position the 2 fingers take when communing with the greater will pointing at the sky. Since Placidusax's 3 heads were ripped out probably "separating" him from the 3 fingers you can use Miquella's needle to cleanse yourself of their influence too.
ALSO in the somber ancient dragon smithing stones it says that ancient dragons or maybe just placidusax can bend spacetime somehow and so can create godslaying weapons
There needs to be more info on this place in the game. The lore is really deep, but all the parts are really thinly connected to the main story - I'm at the point now where I just don't think its worth the effort trying to dissect it. Writing a series of connected plot points is way harder than coming up with a ton of filler. I really hope a DLC proves Miyazaki has some of the answers.
My theory is that somehow when we go to farum azula we are, along side it, stuck in time. Farum azula simply doesn't advance in time, to the point that no matter for how long gurrak was gone, the second he returns there, it is as if he never left, it feels like a hole in space time. Furthermore when we finally kill maliketh and touch what looks like the run of death, we go back to leyndel in ashes, the fire in the tree has spread immensely and the thorns are finally, indicating time has advanced while we were away. But while can we go back and forth out of the place and nothing changes? Well 1st game mechanics obviously, and 2nd it seems like touching the rune somehow "unlocks" time in azula again, since before it, time there could only go backwards with placid fight
Regarding Dragonlord P: I'd be more willing to believe that Bale the Dread defeated Plasidusax in battle (2 of Plasidusax's heads are seared into his body), and made him retreat indefinitely in Crumbling Fareum Azula, and because he was gone for so long, Godfrey and the Greater Will took over the Lands Between in his eternal absence.
if you go to the isolated divine tower you can see farum azula, which proves it actually is where it's signaled in the map
What u can also notice is that there is like sum lands parts under the city with sum threes and stuff and also bridge that lead to nothing clear indication that it was once connected to the ground
The roundtable is likely inside of the Erdtree because when you set the Erdtree aflame, the roundtable also gets on fire.
It's pretty obvious that the roundtable hold that we keep going to is located in the Erdtree; when the erdtree is set on fire the hold is burning and is the only other location on fire besides the tree
This is what i love about fromsoftware. They make you really think about the world and what might have happend or will happen. And i really like that you took the first hunter soundtrack to have as background soundtrack, really threw me back to the bloodborne days.
I think that a really likely spot for farum azula to have been is in between malenias tower and leyndell. Looking at farum azula you can see roots all over the place, it being near the erdtree would explain this, and to get to malenias tower we have to take a teleporter, but we can see there is a cut off bridge that likely once led to malenias tower, but that gap is very large.But we also see that there is soemthing clearly broken off of malenias tower. Therefore my theory is that farum azula was once set in between the isolated divine tower and leyndell.
I think the ancient dragons can possibly break the speculation that crumbling farem azula is a dream
You can actually see farum azula if you go to the isolated divine tower. Behind Malenia’s two fingers you can see it quite clearly in the distance.
its very clear that crumbling faram azula is frozen in time, and the version we see from Malenia's tower is what it looks like after its already been destroyed by the storm surrounding it.
I love your videos, please keep it up! It makes my playthrough so so much better