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This was really well done! Do you think that the wraith callers have any tie to the death rite birds, as they use a bell to summon wraiths, kind of like an inbetween of spirit calling and rancor wraith summoning? And also, the only other enemies to use wraiths are Omens, do you think that they may have a tie to this at all?
As a bird enthusiast, I do want to mention that the deathbirds' skulls aren't very close to ravens or any other corvid. They're much closer to, for example, sparrows. The proportions make me think of nestlings, for whatever that means.
That's exactly what I thought. When I first fought one in the weeping peninsula, I thought they were some kind of canary or singer bird. When they scream, it kinda sounds like a tweet.
There are a few corvids that have beaks a bit closer to that shape though, like the jackdaw or some of the jays, which technically count. As for the overall cranial shape, I don't think there's *any* bird that has a skull anywhere close to that. It almost looks like a simian hybrid, tbh, which makes sense considering the creature's distinctly non avian physiology.
@@richt7525 You'd be surprised. Look up baby sparrows: the big head and small beak really make me think of baby barn swallows. Obviously it's not 1:1, but I don't see the simian beyond "big brain"
@@lilyy7318 It's more the rounded shape than the size, and in the orbital sockets being a bit more forward facing as though the creature were classically predatory. (i'm aware that corvids are often birds of prey, but I mean in the mammalian sense here) Ditto the lack of a downward slope from the side profile, this one instead has a distinct vertical fall off before the beak starts. It truly looks like a smallish monkey grew a beak to me. Only seems to be missing the suture seams to fit the category.
One idea i have on the wandering mausoleums: The Mausoleums wander around, to prevent the deathroot from reaching the soulles demigods. Roots grow slowly and cant get a grip on something that moves around. Maybe those soulles demigods where decapitated after their death and put into wandering graves, to prevent them from turning into godwyn like abominations. But eventually, when the player reaches the mausoleums, the deathroot managed to get a hold on the mausoleums. And maybe the sound of their bell was used to alarm nearby people that the deathroot got near the soulles demigod. People probably used to clean the mausoleums, before everyone turned into zombies. Because when the player removes the traces of death from the mausoleums legs, it calms down and settles back on the ground.
ok if the bell ringing is suppose to indicate that the roots got to the demigods, but the movement is also suppose to prevent the roots from getting to the demigods, which also rings the bell. i would think the bell ringing would mean the demigod is still untouched by the death root, and the bell being silent would mean the roots have got to the demigod. that is if we are talking about the headless corpse inside the mausoleums.
One thing I noticed is that the death birds can inflict death blight when they scream. Since death birds are presumably far older than the death of Godwyn this implys that the blight had existed before hand or that the death birds were also somehow effected by Godwyn's spread
More likely the former since that fits into the timeline as we understand it. This makes me wonder if Death itself (that which is trapped in the rune) is the remnant of that ancient outer god and its twin bird envoy. There's a similar theme going on with rot itself being what's left of another "defeated" outer god. And with the Fell God of chaos and destruction, again it is defeated, but cannot be eradicated. All of these examples point to the larger premise that the aims of order and containment that the Greater Will is striving for are inherently unnatural and unsustainable in this world.
@@alfalldoot6715 Some times I wonder if the Greater Will isn't really an outer God. I wonder if it is above what gods are, somethig even more abstract. We know that the Elden Beast was sent by the Greater Will and it became the Elden Ring. So yes, the Elden Ring is indeed a creation of the Greater Will, and the Greater Will created it with the Rune of Death in it. Unless someone added it to the ring at some point just as we can add the Mending Runes to it. The Greater Will itself doesn't seem to be against the idea of Death. It was Marika who for some reason wanted it gone. The "Red" of the crucible, that was gold with a red tinge, might have been due to the Rune of Death(The most reddish rune). This makes me feel like the Greater Will doesn't really care that much if there is or isn't Death in the world, since there was at least two eras under it's influence where, in one, there was Death, and in the other, there wasn't. Plus, through the flame of chaos questline, we learn that it was the Greater Will who divided what once was all the same, into all the different things. So it might be that ALL of the outer gods, might be creations of the Greater Will. Perhaps even the frenzied flame itself is a sort of "ungrateful child" to the greater will. Plus, from what we know of all the runes, the Elden Ring seem to only control the land of the living. The spirit world, seems to have it's own set of rules that are completely outside of the realm of the Elden Ring. I say this because of from all the themes we see in the game that seem related to the runes. I digressed a bit but I wanted to but these ideas out there before I forget them lol.
The Giants on Mountaintops seem to be impaled and killed with deathblight thorns emerging from their bodies. It would make sense Golden Order under Marika would weaponize Death-Blight against their most dangerous enemies, and then seal it away.
@@matiasluukkanen7718 it's probably more related to the thorn sorceries (briars of sin and briars of punishment). It would make more sense due to enemies that wield it being quite present before getting to Flame Peak
@@realm087 Yeah I agree but the reason I think Marika removed the rune of death was probably because of the remaining Godskin forces and she removed it just to make sure they never become a real threat again.
Although Deathbirds were IMO the most annoying field bosses, their lore and appearance always seemed out of place and therefore, pretty interesting to me. Like something way past the current age of the Erdtree, as if they shouldn't be there yet persists.
@@SmoughTown Especially with the many forms death is handled in the game. Are you eventually going to do a recap of the timeline of events after you covered the dragons? I mean, even Death has had many manifestations throughout ingame history from the deathbirds and ghostflame to Godskin apostle's blackflame and Godwyn's deathblight so I think it would be nice idea for a summary vid after covering everything in depth.
The first time I encountered the one in limgrave, the "stick figure" like design and derpy "tweety bird" skull shape immediately made me think of an "uncanny valley" old Mickey mouse episode. You know those very old black and white Mickey mouse movies/episodes, where Pete (or Mickey) had a small boat ? That but Miyazakified. Edit : Yes, I smoke a healthy amount of crescent moon grass, lol
King of lore videos is back. Seriously, I've never seen lore videos with so much content in it while still being thorough with every explanation. Well done.
Indeed. They are very good on depth clearity etc. And ties many things together. Definately one of if not the top lore channel for this generation of souls-blood-ring-demons-born-elden-soft games
I made a theory on honored madman about the death birds, they’re kind of like lanterns that seeks the spirits of The fallen and the more they collect the spirit the stronger their flames become to The point where they can make wings out of their ghostly flames , they’re like ravens but instead of feasting upon the rotten flesh of the fallen they instead seek the spirit that haven’t been claimed by the erdtree. It also explains their aggressive nature to tarnished since they live in between life and death and The death birds are still animalistic being very confused on what you are.🤔🐱
I love the fact that the raptor set is literally an altered version of the bandit set, this just adds lore to my favorite class in the souls series (and in Elden Ring). After all it would make sense that, as a bandit, you would want to appear menacing to the people you steal from and what better than death itself. Maybe some of them reached a point were they too became followers of such cult thanks to all the riches it gave them just with the attire, or maybe the bandits already revered such gods of death; either way it makes the class feel more complete!
The only good part of the Raptor set is the cape. The hood/mask looks cool too admittedly but they do not match. Cape is like a faded deep blue, whereas the hood is black and has splotches of blood literally identical to the cape on the Nightrider chest piece.
You are really owning Elden Ring lore my dude. I think every FromSoftware game has its standout lore theorists and creators, and while lots of smart and talented people are making Elden Ring content and certainly you're not operating in a bubble, your videos are just a head above everyone else's.
Imma be honest smough, I think you are one of the best elden ring lore youtubers out there and there are LOTS of people doing this. I love just sitting down, getting some tea and listening to you explain all this stuff while i go "woah how did i miss that?!". If you are done with elden ring one day you should really branch out to other games, but ofc thats just my thought. Keep it up man love the content
Something I haven't seen anyone talk about yet. The walls of Farum Azula seem to be made out of Beastmen corpses? It seems they used skeletons as bricks. Timeline wise this is probably the earliest burial ritual, even before the Deathbirds.
It's interesting how the blue, and red-feathered branchsword, and the spears the Death priests wield, look like the seven-branched sword from real life. I wonder why the devs decided on that design, and how it connects to the game lore, considering the tree/branch motif is usually connected to the Erd Tree, or Halig Tree, and deathbirds are remnants of "ancient" times pre-Erd Tree. It would make sense that they have some form of their own tree that they lived on (birds, trees, makes sense) from which this motif could've been drawn. But certainly the 'Helphen' three would've been older than the Erd Tree. Perhaps it's a reflection of the crucible (which is more connected to the red colour, than the Erd Tree).
I always saw the wings on the Masoleum knights armor as very reminiscent of the Eclipse Shotel, especially since their greatshield have the eclipse emblazoned on the front
14:15 A double headed eagle serves as a divine intermediary and/or servant, implying a quasi-godly status for the animal itself in Hittite culture (c.17-12 BC). Certainly throughout these lore videos I've noticed how the evolution of the Lands Between loosely follows a chronological pattern of our own world.
I recommend you check out The Tarnished Archaeologist’s channel, he makes similar connections in his videos. Particularly on real world archaeology connected to environmental storytelling in Elden Ring
Down the line you should consider making a book/audio book similar to the Plaeblood Hunt Bloodborne book. You do a very good job of getting from one point to another linearly while simultaneously connecting everything between them. I think of everyone making elden ring lore content you seem to be the best at thoroughly covering topics. But even if the book isn't for you, the videos on their own are fantastic, great work! 100k coming soon!
My favorite part of these lore videos is how different creators come together and share their own views and ideas to help each other out. The sense of community it creates is truly amazing. Also as a side note, I remember reading somewhere that the Winged Scythe weapon referencing angels is actually talking about Death Birds, could that argument hold any weight? I haven't really found any concrete information about the matter.
Your videos continue to be thought provoking and fantastic! It's curious the ghost (55:04) refers to Marika's "unwanted child," while the pests are similarly referred to as the "unwanted children" of Malenia. On the opposite side is Millicent rejecting Gowry as a parent given the choice she makes at the end, as well as Renna's rejection of her own fate that was initially set by her bloodline. Meanwhile, Renalla has tons of children but never the one she wants. And as a non-serious addition, Miquella may fill the "unwanted child" criteria though it would have been himself just not wanting to be a child forever. For some reason, I feel like Renalla's boss fight has much more lore implications than I've seen anyone discuss. The fact that her eyes and demeanor completely change once we break the seal (seemingly a spell cast by Ranni) opens many questions, given the significance eyes and their color hold in this world. Given her relation to Renna, Radagon, and her possession of a Great Rune, I still feel her lore is far from understood beyond being a once powerful, heartbroken queen.
I've always understood Renalla's second phase to be an illusion/summoning by Ranni of Renalla in her prime, similar to how Genichiro summons sword saint Isshin. That's why Renalla is unharmed and non hostile following her fight with her, we weren't really fighting her on the full moon lake, just a memory of what she used to be.
Yo I just noticed Godfrey in the opening cinematic images, is in the exact same state as Marika, crucified with a weapon piercing their side, that's very interesting
Loved all the new data, esp the axe and "psychpomp" lol The death birds have 3 characteristics you didn't discuss. Their skulls seem to have a similar quality to the astels with their skulls busted open. Only there's no manifest evidence of a death outer god. Secondly, the left eye socket (same eye destroyed as Marika's tho this is probly unrelated), is crushed up in the skull and this wound follows all along its neck and body, almost filleted. Except, given its burnt out eyes and the visual of the whole wound. It truly looks like damage from severe electrical shock, like lightning. This to me is just one of the supporting evidences that the dragons new Order superceded the culture of Death-birds. They were destroyed by Lightning. Lastly, their bodies esp heads are obv infant birds... A full-grown death-bird would become one of the twin-birds no doubt. They were destroyed in infancy. Final thoughts go to Iji. I have now decided. The reason he is not dying like others, i.e. ghostflame over black flame. It's because he wears that helmet. So when he dies he will not be reabsorbed into the Erd Tree. Iji is 100% outside the influence of Grace. He will pass into the natural realm of the dead. Oh yea, so awesome you gave Aesir Aesthetics a shout out 👍!
Excellent video! Some thoughts - I'm not sure the Deathbirds are Crows or Ravens - the skulls look more reminiscent of Sparrows or Owls. Owls in certain mythologies were said to carry the spirits of the dead to the afterlife and in some old European myths, Sparrows were said to be omens of the dead that also had the capacity to carry spirits. Either way, thank you for making all of the connections. I love the Deathbirds and the associated Ghostflame lore - I had no idea there was this much interwoven lore related to each other.
I wonder how the ghostly candletrees scattered about the Lands Between fit into all of this? In terms of gameplay they function similarly to the statues of Rosus, guiding us to undiscovered dungeons, but I’m not sure if the locations pointed to by the trees hold any thematic significance like how the statues of Rosus point towards catacombs. (I think I only discovered a candletree before its location a single time on my first play through) But the method of their guidance, having us follow in the footsteps of a spirit that perhaps is itself following the guidance of the candletree, quite obviously calls to mind death and the spirit world. These trees only seem to be directly mentioned in a single item description, the Candletree Wooden Shield, where it states that the depiction of a lit candletree was prohibited, as it was “thought to represent a surreptitious prophecy of cardinal sin,” so there’s possibly some connection to the burning of the Erdtree? It’s easy to see why a tree with fire in its branches would be considered sacrilegious to those who worshipped the Erdtree, but I wonder if it goes deeper than that? The description of Helphen’s Steeple mentions a “lampwood” which is perhaps another way to refer to a candletree? The sword doesn’t particularly resemble the candletrees in design, and the steeple of the Helphen lampwood is also said to be black, where the candletrees are bluish-white. Although this description only explicitly states that the steeple itself is black, so perhaps the rest of the Helphen isn’t? Or the candletrees could merely be projections, offshoots or descendants of the lampwood? The image on the candletree wooden shield is very similar to the branchsword talismans and the death ritual spear, so I don’t think the lack of resemblance between Helphen’s Steeple and the candletrees necessarily means the two aren’t directly related. So perhaps the prohibition on depicting candletrees goes beyond the mere visual similarities of a candle-laden tree and a burning one, but relates to how the Helphen lampwood/candletree provides an alternative to the guidance of Rosus, and thus a form of death beyond the purview of the Erdtree?
Looking forward to this one! The death birds always felt quite important, considering they had their own outer god and subsequent flame type, but felt a lot more underrepresented compared to others who had those. Cheers as always Smough!
It dawned on me, but what if the Blue-Feathered and Red-Feathered Branchswords have some connection to the Twinbird Kite Shield image? Like the Blue-Feathered Branchsword could be connected the dark/Death Bird and the Red-Feathered Branchsword could be connected to the Phoenix. And what if the feathers on both Branchswords actually came from the dark/Death Bird and Phoenix themselves?
I thought as much when he showed the feathered branchswords after the shield and said they were dropped by the deathbirds. seems kinda obvious when you look at them that the feathers came from the twinbird
I'd like to add on to the part about "we are kin to other tarnished, and would we have really know what to do without the guidance of the grace" with, how many times have messages, bloodstains and white ghost of fellow tarnished been actually helpful guidance as well. The white ghost being my favorite because its entirely unintentional if you see a live player doing something.
Can I recommend to anyone reading this: The Tarnished Archaeologist. His videos are absolutely golden and so informative. You will not regret the search!
Yea i like him too. I prefer this one for the quantity of details into one videos while tarnished archéologist gives a lot of hindsight of our current world into the one of elden ring. Both great creators
I wish someone would make a series off of the events leading up too the shattering. The lore behind elden ring could become a show as big as GoT or anything like that.
This is a much needed video. Death takes many forms and it's great to listen to your insight. Also yooooo congratz in the ad. That was a smooth transition. Haha
Just wanted to chime in, I'm sure it's probably been mentioned before but I think the fact that the Tibia Mariners and the Death Rite Birds share the same boss music is an interesting way to make the connection between the two as well. I'd like to see some OST analysis in the future, I feel like Elden Ring's soundtrack could use a closer examination in relation to the world and the associated characters. Otherwise bravo man, this channel has been a main go-to of mine for lore and I can't wait to see more in the future!
Death birds to me more resemble vultures than anything else. They can feed on the dead and use their power. Less benevolent guides and more using the power. idk if that makes sense but they do seem massively like vultures
I forget where but I heard somewhere, and I sort of agree, that deathbirds might've once been full fledged birds before the erdtree. They fed off death but still acted as benevolent guides. It was only after the era of the erdtree that they became twisted and malformed, desperate to feed.
Decapitation definitely is part of Erdtree society, as the Shaded Castle is the home of house Marais, a family of executioners that seem to employ decapitation. And they're located in the Altus Plateau. If they were against the Erdree before the Shattering, they would've been destroyed by Lyndell's forces.
They all but were though. Remember they took in Melania and it was actually her curse that caused their downfall. While it wasn’t rot in particular she still brought pestilence to the Shaded Castle. Hence why you can find her prosthetic and a portrait of her, meaning they likely served the Erdtree until the shattering and even afterwards to some extent and only turned away when Melania inadvertently brought their downfall.
Could 'Those Lost in Death' be compared to 'Those who Live in Death' in the same way Rani and Godwin are two sides of a world where death is not incorporated into order. What I mean is; Rani is soul without body and Godwin is body without a soul. Just like 'Those Lost' are spirits without bodies and 'Those Living in' are bodies without a spirit. It also makes sense to me that, since the rune of death was split in two, we would have two types of things which reflect a breakdown of ordered death. Love the videos, keep up the good work!
Thank you very much for your work, this made me realize how intricately connected the death rites are within the game, the Helphen spirit world may also have links with the Regal spirits which would highlight a possible whole other world hidden from us. But even so this makes me even more confused about this game, so much is unknown and so much théories can be made that I really have no idea about what all of this means. The repeated symbolism about the dead needing guidance and leadership really gives Godwyn I think a much more important role as I initially thought. If the spirit world and those who live in death are more closely connected than we imagined then being the Prince of Death could be a really big deal. I’ve always believed that in the DLC we would access Miquella’s dream and in the end we would defeat him but He would achieve the eclipse and engulf the sun which would revive Godwyn’s soul and perhaps all the demigods too And if that’s the case if the Regal ancestor spirit horns state that death can grant strength, then Godwyn could really be a force to be reckoned with.
What is rancor? "A feeling of long-lasting ire for another, sometimes to the point of hatred, over a perceived wrongdoing; bitterness." The most major thing that bothers me with Deathbirds and ghostflame alike is that spirits they rake from the kilns and those which emerge from the ghostflame are expressly told to be rancorous and vengeful in nature, filled with bitterness over some "wrongdoing". What is this wrongdoing that has been inflicted on them, I wonder? There is no mention of peaceful afterlife with Deathbirds and ghostflame. It is always linked with spiritual suffering. It is bitterness and these strong feelings of the rancorous dead that causes the projectiles/spirits to be attracted towards the living in the intent to harm and hurt them. Unlike, let's say Dark Souls where in description it is left open if humanity sprites feel either strong positive emotions or negative ones while pursuing others. Ghostflame spirits are in all their manifested instances full of wrath and strong negative emotions, and seek retribution by hurting others. Only other non-Deathbird related references and instance of rancorous afterlife spirits are in those devoured by Rykard, and residing in Dung-Eater. They are not in peace. And many if not all would agree that to be devoured by Rykard or molested by Dung-Eater is a hellish fate that would certainly fill your soul with strong negative emotions. So Deathbirds and their god are in questionable company already. Every homing "spirit" projectile we encounter is result of some cursed, dark and detestable rite that causes suffering to spirits in question. Dung-Eater, cursed Wraith-callers, Rykard, Death-birds. Thus, "afterlife" of Deathbirds seems to be similar ruse as Rykard's talk of his family, an afterlife of bitterness filled with hatred over betrayal; rancour. The idea that Deathbirds expressly operate on the dead in order to produce these vengeful spirits seems very disturbing, echoing Lovecraft's idea of whippoorwills, psychopomps who instead of helping dying spirits, devour the leaving soul for their own purposes. Deathbirds don't seem to guide the dead they burn to any notable goal, promised land, or towards spiritual fulfilment, but only to aid themselves, to absorb these hatred-filled spirits unto themselves to gain their dark wings.
I drop whatever I’m doing whenever SmoughTown uploads. Your thoroughness and academic voice is such a boon to the games you cover. Fantastic work. I’m super interested to hear your take on the histories of Caria and Raya Lucaria. I’ve been really intrigued about their relationship since I learned about the Liurnian Civil War.
Yes! Crunchy, V-Limit and you, Smough, are three content creators I discovered after steeping myself eyes deep into this wonderful game. I love listening to all y’all talk about these games, it’s so clear you’re very passionate about storytelling and sharing your ideas with your communities. Keep it up, brother. 👍
I appreciate your long-form videos. Often I learn something new from something you say in passing, which isn’t the primary focus of the chapter, but is something I hadn’t noticed before.
Amazed as always at how much you manage to pull out of such a seemingly small subject. Every time I click on a new video of yours thinking 'I think I got the basics of this lore subject' and I end up pleasantly surprised at all the stuff I missed. As to omissions in this video... nothing in particular really. Lots of thought provoking stuff, and eagerly awaiting your dragon video. The one thing mentioned that I might need some elaboration on is the soulless demigods housed in the wandering mausoleum's. Because if Godwyn is the first of the demigods to die and all these came after, awesome. Makes sense that after the way it went 'wrong' with Godwyn's corpse, they would take extra precautions with any subsequent deaths (because that's what the mausoleums strike me as: precautions against another Godwyn, up until their residents are resurrected in full). However, what I cannot help but wonder is 'who are these demigods?' Where did they come from? Because all demigods in the story are such due to their relationship to Marika/Radagon, and they've been imprisoned for almost as long as the Shattering. So were these soulless demigods alive and well and have simply died, unremarked upon, during the ages of the shattering? That's my confusion. I feel like I missed some pretty basic lore here.
I go off of the intro stating that Radahn and Malenia were “Two of the mightiest to remain”, and think that means there were more demigods produced, probably from the Golden Lineage of Marika/Godfrey. But during the Shattering, they led wars with their own factions and were defeated, and then interred to prevent another Godwyn.
@@TheTwilightmaster6 there was definitivly more demigods since level up girl says that Marika said they are gonna be forgotten if they will lose, and also Godrick exist
Some times I get cynical, and start to believe that people don't have passion for what they are doing, whenever that happens I put on one of these videos to hear someone who clearly has passion about their work, you're the best content creator on this channel I swear to god.
Visiting this video after the DLC trailer, and hearing the links of the shadow realm and pseudo-grace the lamplight is kind of blew my mind, got me super excited hoping the dlc expands on death sorceries
Thanks for taking the time to make these great lore videos! They're exactly what I want when I think of learning about and enjoying elden ring lore. Thanks again for all the hard work I look forward to every one!
Yet another interesting note for this topic, the exile soldiers and banished knights at castle sol appear visually like the mausoleum knights, and teleport the same way they do.
Really great video. One thing I have to mention that I haven't seen anyone talk about yet is that the instrument the Tibia Mariners wield is an alphorn. I wasn't able to find any connection between this instrument and funerary practices (at least in Swiss culture), but historically it was used for communication between cowherds residing on alps. I feel like this ties in nicely with the themes of the mariners as psychopomps. Like Swiss farmers, they are using their horns for communication (summoning Those Who Live in Death) and filling the role of a shepherd for the dead.
Thank you for another very interesting and insightful lore video. It's clear you put a lot of research into them. Watching them one learns not just the lore, but story-buildings blocks that are applicable outside of this particular context.
The Twinbird is that Outer God’s Elden Beast. Also the Phoenix And the Crow/Raven of the Twinbird matches the eyes of the gloam eyed queen/the ice witch to me. The eyes match the colors of the flames. Could be a different worship of the same thing. The thing about Melina/the ice witch/the gloam eyed queen and their opposite eyes being closed but also matching/corresponding with the colors of a lot of the lore is very interesting.
My guy pushing out the lore videos like a maniac, past few nights you got me too sleep dude need to listen to them again then smash this one seeings as I don't have work tomorrow xx
Can we be sure Garris didn't kill his family in order to harvest their souls for use in his necromancy? Might be giving him too much credit to say he went down a forbidden path in order to resurrect them.
Very cool! I never really thought that the deathbirds were widely seen as representations of death. I thought they were only the vestiges of a long death pre-erdtree culture. But theyre basically like this world grim reapers. They even have theyre own scythe: their death pokers
The idea of the red half of the twinbird being associated with battle is interesting to me, because it’s reminiscent of the role the valkyries play in Norse mythology. It was believed that they flew over battlefields and brought souls that died valiantly to Valhalla. Obviously, valkyries come up in elden ring in the context of Millicent’s questline, and the so called Scarlet Valkyries. I’m not sure what connection there would be between Malenia and the scarlet rot and the twinbird, but it’s something!
Downloaded the first iteration of this video earlier before work and thought it was without sound at parts it entertained me through the day, now I’m downloading this one and look forward to listening to it again and again as I do all your videos for weeks to come, keep up the great long form content always looking forward to what you put out next!!!
An intereresting note on the Grave Violets, they are shaped like Spider lillies/higanbana which have a symbolic connection to death in Japan. I was looking for anything specific that might be interesting for lore ideas and from an article thsy mentions their bulb being poisonus and planted to ward off burrowing pests "The flowers grow in graveyards for the same reason - to keep wild animals from feasting on the corpses. At least, that was their purpose in the olden times before cremation became the general rule." Ive also seen mentioned 2 superstitions about picking the flower, firstly that picking it will allow the dead to rise and secondly that picking one and bringing it home causes house fires.
Any discussion of the Twinbird obviously leads to discussion of the Deathbirds, but I wonder about a connection to the hawks of Stormveil as the “other side of the Twinbird”, considering the duality of “battle and death” that was mentioned. Ancient Stormveil predates the golden order to an age with a more tribal, nature-oriented worldview as shown by Godfrey’s original tribal name. This strikes me as similar to the primitive, nature-oriented death rites of the deathbirds predating the golden order in the same way. I see this “battle and death” cycle of the Twinbird as one of these same “shepherding of the dead” systems from an earlier time. Another thing I was thinking along the “shepherding of the dead” line is that you have to die to get to The Lands Between in the first place. Several of these afterlife systems are definitely trying to shepherd you at any given time, because you were dead before you even showed up. And really, these systems, which are basically metaphorical systems of nature, could be working more synergistically than they know. Let’s say the black steeples (not capitalized, so not A singular specific steeple) of the Helphen are erdtrees (lampwoods). Tree colored, non-glowing, erdtrees. One afterlife tradition buries their dead among the roots, coalescing into a Great Erdtree. Another afterlife tradition burns the dead, producing/releasing ghostflame. Another afterlife tradition burns the Great Erdtree and all the dead coalesced in it. It’s a big spiritual ecosystem of unifying and purging. From your character’s tiny perspective within one cycle of this ecosystem, it seems like a bunch of really important stuff gets messed up with it. But in the end, all the drama of the game world’s whole history is not even a significant change of direction in the spiritual cycle of a land that is essentially the afterlife. To get metaphorical with my last bit of rambling, which admittedly is a departure from real “LORE” and into abstraction (my personal favorite place): I see Marika (the *mother*), sending the Tarnished off to other lands to wage war, die, then return, as people being birthed into life (“other lands”), living (“waging war”… life is a struggle), and ultimately returning to the afterlife of The Lands Between when that life ends, where they undergo the death rites/processes discussed in the video, in order to be born again. The Lands are Between lifetimes.
Between you and vaati I am able to enjoy this lore even though I never have the time to delve this deep into the game so thank you to both of you honestly
Great video as always! I had no idea there was evidence of more demi-gods, and the death of them. Makes things much more interesting for the past of the lands between. Maybe in a dlc they will expand on these demi gods? Also I have a theory. They might not have been mentioned in the story because they were mere lords, which may have only held power in wealth and human power unlike the other demi-gods which also had physical power.
This man cannot miss. Another week, another hour+ of insightful AF content and lore, wrapped up in a nice little bow of credited content creators and inspirations. With every video, SmoughTown solidifies himself even further as the Elden Ring Lore GOAT. Geoff is 🐐. I really hope you keep this format in the future with other games. You put so much passion into your work that I'll watch your content even if it's about a game I don't like or care about, unlike Elden Ring of course XD
On the idea of ghostflame being vengeful spirits, I think it is interesting to note that the souls of omens are considered tainted. We see multiple instances of omens using a kind of brown flame that also has skulls sometimes. I think this is their own version of ghostflame that burns yellowish instead of a pure white because it uses the vengeful spirits of other dead omens.
Keeping the iconography of the Twinbird Kite Shield in mind, is it possible that the blue and red imagery on the shield could be representative of both the blue-colored guidance from Rosus, as well as the red-colored guidance from both the Tibia Mariners and the Helphen's Steeple? The idea brought up in this video mentioning how one half of the Twinbird could represent Death, and the other half could represent Battle intrigued me, because the depiction of a phoenix on the Twinbird Kite Shield makes me think that Those Who Live in Death might be constantly wrapped up in a cycle of warfare and death. Furthermore, since other outer gods within Elden Ring's story seem to house selfish desires, and use their followers as pawns or vessels, it doesn't seem far fetched to me that the outer god using the Twinbird as an envoy would also use Those Who Live in Death - and Those Lost in Death - as cannon fodder. For what means, no ideas immediately come to mind, but the idea of how this cycle might be utilized is fascinating to me.
Mad respect the the VA of the narrator, as he is not only the first voice we heard from the game but he’s also the voice of the very first mandatory boss we fight Margit/Morgott. First he spurs our ambitious flame only to then rebuke us for having such a flame. The beautiful irony.
I like how you went from "sorry this video is too long already" to "I have three more ideas about this in a hour something video" it's a delight to see new content from you.
I've always been a vaati kina guy. But the amount of consistent lore and the BEAUTIFUL voice over has sold me! This is amazing! Keep up the great work! Much love and appreciation!
One thing I was curious about is the interaction between using holy enchanted attacks against those who live in death. When they are defeated by such an attack, their attempt to resurrect themselves using the ghostflame is prevented outright. Is it that there's an interaction between the Erdtree and the Deathbirds' "spheres" where using holy attacks on those who live in death is akin to forcing an Erdtree Burial upon them, thus taking them out of the sphere of the death birds and Ghost flame?
Having your videos on the second screen while gaming is the equivalent of falling asleep at church and waking up during a sermon and not knowing what the fuck is going on.
May I suggest that the more “sophisticated” version of calling upon spirits (with the bell) was pioneered by deathbed companions such as Fia? When she summons Lionel and Rogier it’s quite similar, but her summons are the same colour as the ghostflame…
Youre welcome man. very rarely do I even consier watching an hour long YT video so you must be doing something very right. Is there any way to support you other than liking/subscribing?
@@SmoughTown I had a thought after watching the video, wouldn't it be cool and possible that all the skulls that you hit on the Big Rock Masouleums legs are the skulls of the beheaded soldiers that that demigod commanded? Hence why it keeps moving, its some sort of eternal curse that binds them togheter? Thanks again for your service to the lorepart of this community ♥️
So, if I'm following along, burning the dead releases vengeful spirits and completes the dead's transition to the spirit world. It that's the case, what does that imply about our burning of the Erdtree, which contained within it the souls of numberless dead awaiting rebirth? Was the burning of the tree in actuality the old death ritual-long thwarted- finally being brought to completion, and if so does that imply Melina may have a connection to the old death rituals, and does THAT somehow tie into the idea that she could be the Gloam Eyed Queen?
“Had we players known what to do, if we hadn’t had grace.” Your point is valid but like the main point is to get it the erdtree and that thing is pretty much visible anyplace on the map lol. Either way amazing video
What if i said that spore floating into the Tarnished's hand in 4:52 is cordyceps, using the body of the tarnished to nourish the Erdtree. Just as insects infected with Cordyceps are guided by light to reach heights to spread their fungus, we tarnished are guided by the light of the guidance of grace. This would explain why we can resurrect as many times as possible.
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This was really well done! Do you think that the wraith callers have any tie to the death rite birds, as they use a bell to summon wraiths, kind of like an inbetween of spirit calling and rancor wraith summoning?
And also, the only other enemies to use wraiths are Omens, do you think that they may have a tie to this at all?
@5:23 this is wrong. The idea of being Tarnished is one of the essential pieces to this story.
Really enjoyed this one dude. Appreciate the links for other channels as well.
As a bird enthusiast, I do want to mention that the deathbirds' skulls aren't very close to ravens or any other corvid. They're much closer to, for example, sparrows. The proportions make me think of nestlings, for whatever that means.
100% it's very uncanny since you really expect a corvid shape. They look very juvenile
That's exactly what I thought.
When I first fought one in the weeping peninsula, I thought they were some kind of canary or singer bird. When they scream, it kinda sounds like a tweet.
There are a few corvids that have beaks a bit closer to that shape though, like the jackdaw or some of the jays, which technically count. As for the overall cranial shape, I don't think there's *any* bird that has a skull anywhere close to that. It almost looks like a simian hybrid, tbh, which makes sense considering the creature's distinctly non avian physiology.
@@richt7525 You'd be surprised. Look up baby sparrows: the big head and small beak really make me think of baby barn swallows. Obviously it's not 1:1, but I don't see the simian beyond "big brain"
@@lilyy7318 It's more the rounded shape than the size, and in the orbital sockets being a bit more forward facing as though the creature were classically predatory. (i'm aware that corvids are often birds of prey, but I mean in the mammalian sense here) Ditto the lack of a downward slope from the side profile, this one instead has a distinct vertical fall off before the beak starts. It truly looks like a smallish monkey grew a beak to me. Only seems to be missing the suture seams to fit the category.
One idea i have on the wandering mausoleums:
The Mausoleums wander around, to prevent the deathroot from reaching the soulles demigods. Roots grow slowly and cant get a grip on something that moves around. Maybe those soulles demigods where decapitated after their death and put into wandering graves, to prevent them from turning into godwyn like abominations.
But eventually, when the player reaches the mausoleums, the deathroot managed to get a hold on the mausoleums. And maybe the sound of their bell was used to alarm nearby people that the deathroot got near the soulles demigod. People probably used to clean the mausoleums, before everyone turned into zombies.
Because when the player removes the traces of death from the mausoleums legs, it calms down and settles back on the ground.
Amazing comment!
So that is the point of the 4 legged rocks which have a building on top? To beat at their legs or something?
I just commented the same, but noticed that you were way ahead of me! This is exactly how I feel about the mausoleums.
ok if the bell ringing is suppose to indicate that the roots got to the demigods, but the movement is also suppose to prevent the roots from getting to the demigods, which also rings the bell. i would think the bell ringing would mean the demigod is still untouched by the death root, and the bell being silent would mean the roots have got to the demigod.
that is if we are talking about the headless corpse inside the mausoleums.
I think you nailed that one.
One thing I noticed is that the death birds can inflict death blight when they scream. Since death birds are presumably far older than the death of Godwyn this implys that the blight had existed before hand or that the death birds were also somehow effected by Godwyn's spread
More likely the former since that fits into the timeline as we understand it.
This makes me wonder if Death itself (that which is trapped in the rune) is the remnant of that ancient outer god and its twin bird envoy. There's a similar theme going on with rot itself being what's left of another "defeated" outer god. And with the Fell God of chaos and destruction, again it is defeated, but cannot be eradicated.
All of these examples point to the larger premise that the aims of order and containment that the Greater Will is striving for are inherently unnatural and unsustainable in this world.
@@alfalldoot6715 Some times I wonder if the Greater Will isn't really an outer God. I wonder if it is above what gods are, somethig even more abstract. We know that the Elden Beast was sent by the Greater Will and it became the Elden Ring. So yes, the Elden Ring is indeed a creation of the Greater Will, and the Greater Will created it with the Rune of Death in it. Unless someone added it to the ring at some point just as we can add the Mending Runes to it. The Greater Will itself doesn't seem to be against the idea of Death. It was Marika who for some reason wanted it gone. The "Red" of the crucible, that was gold with a red tinge, might have been due to the Rune of Death(The most reddish rune). This makes me feel like the Greater Will doesn't really care that much if there is or isn't Death in the world, since there was at least two eras under it's influence where, in one, there was Death, and in the other, there wasn't.
Plus, through the flame of chaos questline, we learn that it was the Greater Will who divided what once was all the same, into all the different things. So it might be that ALL of the outer gods, might be creations of the Greater Will. Perhaps even the frenzied flame itself is a sort of "ungrateful child" to the greater will. Plus, from what we know of all the runes, the Elden Ring seem to only control the land of the living. The spirit world, seems to have it's own set of rules that are completely outside of the realm of the Elden Ring. I say this because of from all the themes we see in the game that seem related to the runes. I digressed a bit but I wanted to but these ideas out there before I forget them lol.
The Giants on Mountaintops seem to be impaled and killed with deathblight thorns emerging from their bodies.
It would make sense Golden Order under Marika would weaponize Death-Blight against their most dangerous enemies, and then seal it away.
@@matiasluukkanen7718 it's probably more related to the thorn sorceries (briars of sin and briars of punishment). It would make more sense due to enemies that wield it being quite present before getting to Flame Peak
@@realm087 Yeah I agree but the reason I think Marika removed the rune of death was probably because of the remaining Godskin forces and she removed it just to make sure they never become a real threat again.
Although Deathbirds were IMO the most annoying field bosses, their lore and appearance always seemed out of place and therefore, pretty interesting to me. Like something way past the current age of the Erdtree, as if they shouldn't be there yet persists.
Yeah they are super interesting lore wise
@@SmoughTown Especially with the many forms death is handled in the game. Are you eventually going to do a recap of the timeline of events after you covered the dragons? I mean, even Death has had many manifestations throughout ingame history from the deathbirds and ghostflame to Godskin apostle's blackflame and Godwyn's deathblight so I think it would be nice idea for a summary vid after covering everything in depth.
Spoopy as hell
They look really cool though like ravens mixed with curshed porcelain dolls. Ranni's dark moon tend to make quick work of them for me though.
The first time I encountered the one in limgrave, the "stick figure" like design and derpy "tweety bird" skull shape immediately made me think of an "uncanny valley" old Mickey mouse episode. You know those very old black and white Mickey mouse movies/episodes, where Pete (or Mickey) had a small boat ? That but Miyazakified.
Edit : Yes, I smoke a healthy amount of crescent moon grass, lol
King of lore videos is back. Seriously, I've never seen lore videos with so much content in it while still being thorough with every explanation. Well done.
Thanks so much. I really hope you enjoy
Agreed, I hope Vati's proud
Indeed. They are very good on depth clearity etc. And ties many things together. Definately one of if not the top lore channel for this generation of souls-blood-ring-demons-born-elden-soft games
so much passion my friend. cheers.
@@SmoughTown 😂
I made a theory on honored madman about the death birds, they’re kind of like lanterns that seeks the spirits of The fallen and the more they collect the spirit the stronger their flames become to The point where they can make wings out of their ghostly flames , they’re like ravens but instead of feasting upon the rotten flesh of the fallen they instead seek the spirit that haven’t been claimed by the erdtree. It also explains their aggressive nature to tarnished since they live in between life and death and The death birds are still animalistic being very confused on what you are.🤔🐱
“ARE YA ALIVE OR ALIVENT?” The Deathbird that just beat the shit out of me
@@battlericky17 "PICK ONE YA SONUVA#####!"
The Deathbird that pecked me to death.
Loving the random capitalisation!
@@alyseleem2692 😂😂😂 exactly. I’ll DECIDE for YOU!!!
@@ThommyofThenn death bird has “i type in capitals to scream” energy
I love the fact that the raptor set is literally an altered version of the bandit set, this just adds lore to my favorite class in the souls series (and in Elden Ring). After all it would make sense that, as a bandit, you would want to appear menacing to the people you steal from and what better than death itself. Maybe some of them reached a point were they too became followers of such cult thanks to all the riches it gave them just with the attire, or maybe the bandits already revered such gods of death; either way it makes the class feel more complete!
The only good part of the Raptor set is the cape. The hood/mask looks cool too admittedly but they do not match. Cape is like a faded deep blue, whereas the hood is black and has splotches of blood literally identical to the cape on the Nightrider chest piece.
You are really owning Elden Ring lore my dude. I think every FromSoftware game has its standout lore theorists and creators, and while lots of smart and talented people are making Elden Ring content and certainly you're not operating in a bubble, your videos are just a head above everyone else's.
Josh! Thanks for the very kind words 😍I hope I continue to provide quality content
Imma be honest smough, I think you are one of the best elden ring lore youtubers out there and there are LOTS of people doing this. I love just sitting down, getting some tea and listening to you explain all this stuff while i go "woah how did i miss that?!". If you are done with elden ring one day you should really branch out to other games, but ofc thats just my thought. Keep it up man love the content
Thanks so much Hammy 🙏you have no idea how much that means to me
Something I haven't seen anyone talk about yet. The walls of Farum Azula seem to be made out of Beastmen corpses? It seems they used skeletons as bricks.
Timeline wise this is probably the earliest burial ritual, even before the Deathbirds.
It's interesting how the blue, and red-feathered branchsword, and the spears the Death priests wield, look like the seven-branched sword from real life. I wonder why the devs decided on that design, and how it connects to the game lore, considering the tree/branch motif is usually connected to the Erd Tree, or Halig Tree, and deathbirds are remnants of "ancient" times pre-Erd Tree. It would make sense that they have some form of their own tree that they lived on (birds, trees, makes sense) from which this motif could've been drawn. But certainly the 'Helphen' three would've been older than the Erd Tree. Perhaps it's a reflection of the crucible (which is more connected to the red colour, than the Erd Tree).
That would certainly be an interesting theory. The Crucible representing primordial life, while the Helphen represents primordial death.
I always saw the wings on the Masoleum knights armor as very reminiscent of the Eclipse Shotel, especially since their greatshield have the eclipse emblazoned on the front
14:15 A double headed eagle serves as a divine intermediary and/or servant, implying a quasi-godly status for the animal itself in Hittite culture (c.17-12 BC). Certainly throughout these lore videos I've noticed how the evolution of the Lands Between loosely follows a chronological pattern of our own world.
I recommend you check out The Tarnished Archaeologist’s channel, he makes similar connections in his videos. Particularly on real world archaeology connected to environmental storytelling in Elden Ring
Down the line you should consider making a book/audio book similar to the Plaeblood Hunt Bloodborne book. You do a very good job of getting from one point to another linearly while simultaneously connecting everything between them. I think of everyone making elden ring lore content you seem to be the best at thoroughly covering topics. But even if the book isn't for you, the videos on their own are fantastic, great work! 100k coming soon!
I miss Redgrave ;x;
Thanks so much 🙏I actual have been considering such a project tbh
But please, don’t repeat the mistake made by Paleblood Hunt: wait for DLC
My favorite part of these lore videos is how different creators come together and share their own views and ideas to help each other out. The sense of community it creates is truly amazing. Also as a side note, I remember reading somewhere that the Winged Scythe weapon referencing angels is actually talking about Death Birds, could that argument hold any weight? I haven't really found any concrete information about the matter.
Your videos continue to be thought provoking and fantastic! It's curious the ghost (55:04) refers to Marika's "unwanted child," while the pests are similarly referred to as the "unwanted children" of Malenia. On the opposite side is Millicent rejecting Gowry as a parent given the choice she makes at the end, as well as Renna's rejection of her own fate that was initially set by her bloodline. Meanwhile, Renalla has tons of children but never the one she wants. And as a non-serious addition, Miquella may fill the "unwanted child" criteria though it would have been himself just not wanting to be a child forever.
For some reason, I feel like Renalla's boss fight has much more lore implications than I've seen anyone discuss. The fact that her eyes and demeanor completely change once we break the seal (seemingly a spell cast by Ranni) opens many questions, given the significance eyes and their color hold in this world. Given her relation to Renna, Radagon, and her possession of a Great Rune, I still feel her lore is far from understood beyond being a once powerful, heartbroken queen.
I've always understood Renalla's second phase to be an illusion/summoning by Ranni of Renalla in her prime, similar to how Genichiro summons sword saint Isshin.
That's why Renalla is unharmed and non hostile following her fight with her, we weren't really fighting her on the full moon lake, just a memory of what she used to be.
Yo I just noticed Godfrey in the opening cinematic images, is in the exact same state as Marika, crucified with a weapon piercing their side, that's very interesting
its the death of the christ, after he was crucified the soldiers stabbed him with a spear to make sure he was dead.
Yeah they are both symbolized as christ being crucified.
I just realized that you aren’t at 100k yet and that’s insane to me… your videos are so in depth and well made, you deserve so much more
Thanks so much dude 🙏we are getting there for sure!
Loved all the new data, esp the axe and "psychpomp" lol
The death birds have 3 characteristics you didn't discuss. Their skulls seem to have a similar quality to the astels with their skulls busted open. Only there's no manifest evidence of a death outer god. Secondly, the left eye socket (same eye destroyed as Marika's tho this is probly unrelated), is crushed up in the skull and this wound follows all along its neck and body, almost filleted. Except, given its burnt out eyes and the visual of the whole wound. It truly looks like damage from severe electrical shock, like lightning. This to me is just one of the supporting evidences that the dragons new Order superceded the culture of Death-birds. They were destroyed by Lightning.
Lastly, their bodies esp heads are obv infant birds... A full-grown death-bird would become one of the twin-birds no doubt. They were destroyed in infancy.
Final thoughts go to Iji. I have now decided. The reason he is not dying like others, i.e. ghostflame over black flame. It's because he wears that helmet. So when he dies he will not be reabsorbed into the Erd Tree. Iji is 100% outside the influence of Grace. He will pass into the natural realm of the dead.
Oh yea, so awesome you gave Aesir Aesthetics a shout out 👍!
I hope we get to meet Rhosus as an NPC one day. He seems so interesting both in design and ideology.
Excellent video! Some thoughts - I'm not sure the Deathbirds are Crows or Ravens - the skulls look more reminiscent of Sparrows or Owls. Owls in certain mythologies were said to carry the spirits of the dead to the afterlife and in some old European myths, Sparrows were said to be omens of the dead that also had the capacity to carry spirits.
Either way, thank you for making all of the connections. I love the Deathbirds and the associated Ghostflame lore - I had no idea there was this much interwoven lore related to each other.
I think they are babies. Destroyed in infancy by Lightning.
I wonder how the ghostly candletrees scattered about the Lands Between fit into all of this? In terms of gameplay they function similarly to the statues of Rosus, guiding us to undiscovered dungeons, but I’m not sure if the locations pointed to by the trees hold any thematic significance like how the statues of Rosus point towards catacombs. (I think I only discovered a candletree before its location a single time on my first play through) But the method of their guidance, having us follow in the footsteps of a spirit that perhaps is itself following the guidance of the candletree, quite obviously calls to mind death and the spirit world.
These trees only seem to be directly mentioned in a single item description, the Candletree Wooden Shield, where it states that the depiction of a lit candletree was prohibited, as it was “thought to represent a surreptitious prophecy of cardinal sin,” so there’s possibly some connection to the burning of the Erdtree? It’s easy to see why a tree with fire in its branches would be considered sacrilegious to those who worshipped the Erdtree, but I wonder if it goes deeper than that?
The description of Helphen’s Steeple mentions a “lampwood” which is perhaps another way to refer to a candletree? The sword doesn’t particularly resemble the candletrees in design, and the steeple of the Helphen lampwood is also said to be black, where the candletrees are bluish-white. Although this description only explicitly states that the steeple itself is black, so perhaps the rest of the Helphen isn’t? Or the candletrees could merely be projections, offshoots or descendants of the lampwood? The image on the candletree wooden shield is very similar to the branchsword talismans and the death ritual spear, so I don’t think the lack of resemblance between Helphen’s Steeple and the candletrees necessarily means the two aren’t directly related.
So perhaps the prohibition on depicting candletrees goes beyond the mere visual similarities of a candle-laden tree and a burning one, but relates to how the Helphen lampwood/candletree provides an alternative to the guidance of Rosus, and thus a form of death beyond the purview of the Erdtree?
Looking forward to this one! The death birds always felt quite important, considering they had their own outer god and subsequent flame type, but felt a lot more underrepresented compared to others who had those. Cheers as always Smough!
It dawned on me, but what if the Blue-Feathered and Red-Feathered Branchswords have some connection to the Twinbird Kite Shield image? Like the Blue-Feathered Branchsword could be connected the dark/Death Bird and the Red-Feathered Branchsword could be connected to the Phoenix. And what if the feathers on both Branchswords actually came from the dark/Death Bird and Phoenix themselves?
I thought as much when he showed the feathered branchswords after the shield and said they were dropped by the deathbirds. seems kinda obvious when you look at them that the feathers came from the twinbird
I'd like to add on to the part about "we are kin to other tarnished, and would we have really know what to do without the guidance of the grace" with, how many times have messages, bloodstains and white ghost of fellow tarnished been actually helpful guidance as well. The white ghost being my favorite because its entirely unintentional if you see a live player doing something.
You bless us with another HOUR of lore. Truly top tier.
Can I recommend to anyone reading this: The Tarnished Archaeologist. His videos are absolutely golden and so informative. You will not regret the search!
Yea i like him too. I prefer this one for the quantity of details into one videos while tarnished archéologist gives a lot of hindsight of our current world into the one of elden ring. Both great creators
I wish someone would make a series off of the events leading up too the shattering. The lore behind elden ring could become a show as big as GoT or anything like that.
This is a much needed video. Death takes many forms and it's great to listen to your insight. Also yooooo congratz in the ad. That was a smooth transition. Haha
Hahaha thanks Kyle
Just wanted to chime in, I'm sure it's probably been mentioned before but I think the fact that the Tibia Mariners and the Death Rite Birds share the same boss music is an interesting way to make the connection between the two as well. I'd like to see some OST analysis in the future, I feel like Elden Ring's soundtrack could use a closer examination in relation to the world and the associated characters.
Otherwise bravo man, this channel has been a main go-to of mine for lore and I can't wait to see more in the future!
Death birds to me more resemble vultures than anything else. They can feed on the dead and use their power. Less benevolent guides and more using the power. idk if that makes sense but they do seem massively like vultures
I forget where but I heard somewhere, and I sort of agree, that deathbirds might've once been full fledged birds before the erdtree. They fed off death but still acted as benevolent guides. It was only after the era of the erdtree that they became twisted and malformed, desperate to feed.
Decapitation definitely is part of Erdtree society, as the Shaded Castle is the home of house Marais, a family of executioners that seem to employ decapitation. And they're located in the Altus Plateau. If they were against the Erdree before the Shattering, they would've been destroyed by Lyndell's forces.
They all but were though. Remember they took in Melania and it was actually her curse that caused their downfall. While it wasn’t rot in particular she still brought pestilence to the Shaded Castle. Hence why you can find her prosthetic and a portrait of her, meaning they likely served the Erdtree until the shattering and even afterwards to some extent and only turned away when Melania inadvertently brought their downfall.
Could 'Those Lost in Death' be compared to 'Those who Live in Death' in the same way Rani and Godwin are two sides of a world where death is not incorporated into order. What I mean is; Rani is soul without body and Godwin is body without a soul. Just like 'Those Lost' are spirits without bodies and 'Those Living in' are bodies without a spirit.
It also makes sense to me that, since the rune of death was split in two, we would have two types of things which reflect a breakdown of ordered death.
Love the videos, keep up the good work!
i’m so excited for this you have no idea. ghost flame is my favorite thing in game
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Thank you very much for your work, this made me realize how intricately connected the death rites are within the game, the Helphen spirit world may also have links with the Regal spirits which would highlight a possible whole other world hidden from us.
But even so this makes me even more confused about this game, so much is unknown and so much théories can be made that I really have no idea about what all of this means.
The repeated symbolism about the dead needing guidance and leadership really gives Godwyn I think a much more important role as I initially thought.
If the spirit world and those who live in death are more closely connected than we imagined then being the Prince of Death could be a really big deal.
I’ve always believed that in the DLC we would access Miquella’s dream and in the end we would defeat him but He would achieve the eclipse and engulf the sun which would revive Godwyn’s soul and perhaps all the demigods too
And if that’s the case if the Regal ancestor spirit horns state that death can grant strength, then Godwyn could really be a force to be reckoned with.
I just want you to know that the transition into the advertisement was absolutely perfect.
What is rancor?
"A feeling of long-lasting ire for another, sometimes to the point of hatred, over a perceived wrongdoing; bitterness."
The most major thing that bothers me with Deathbirds and ghostflame alike is that spirits they rake from the kilns and those which emerge from the ghostflame are expressly told to be rancorous and vengeful in nature, filled with bitterness over some "wrongdoing". What is this wrongdoing that has been inflicted on them, I wonder?
There is no mention of peaceful afterlife with Deathbirds and ghostflame. It is always linked with spiritual suffering.
It is bitterness and these strong feelings of the rancorous dead that causes the projectiles/spirits to be attracted towards the living in the intent to harm and hurt them.
Unlike, let's say Dark Souls where in description it is left open if humanity sprites feel either strong positive emotions or negative ones while pursuing others.
Ghostflame spirits are in all their manifested instances full of wrath and strong negative emotions, and seek retribution by hurting others.
Only other non-Deathbird related references and instance of rancorous afterlife spirits are in those devoured by Rykard, and residing in Dung-Eater. They are not in peace. And many if not all would agree that to be devoured by Rykard or molested by Dung-Eater is a hellish fate that would certainly fill your soul with strong negative emotions.
So Deathbirds and their god are in questionable company already.
Every homing "spirit" projectile we encounter is result of some cursed, dark and detestable rite that causes suffering to spirits in question. Dung-Eater, cursed Wraith-callers, Rykard, Death-birds.
Thus, "afterlife" of Deathbirds seems to be similar ruse as Rykard's talk of his family, an afterlife of bitterness filled with hatred over betrayal; rancour.
The idea that Deathbirds expressly operate on the dead in order to produce these vengeful spirits seems very disturbing, echoing Lovecraft's idea of whippoorwills, psychopomps who instead of helping dying spirits, devour the leaving soul for their own purposes.
Deathbirds don't seem to guide the dead they burn to any notable goal, promised land, or towards spiritual fulfilment, but only to aid themselves, to absorb these hatred-filled spirits unto themselves to gain their dark wings.
That would coincide with them serving an outer god, they have no reasons to be a grim reaper type outside of some gain for themselves
I drop whatever I’m doing whenever SmoughTown uploads. Your thoroughness and academic voice is such a boon to the games you cover. Fantastic work.
I’m super interested to hear your take on the histories of Caria and Raya Lucaria. I’ve been really intrigued about their relationship since I learned about the Liurnian Civil War.
Thanks so much Kitty 🙏really glad to hear that. I have had the Carian royal family on the backburner for a while! Promise I’ll get there
@@SmoughTown looking forward to it!
Yes! Crunchy, V-Limit and you, Smough, are three content creators I discovered after steeping myself eyes deep into this wonderful game. I love listening to all y’all talk about these games, it’s so clear you’re very passionate about storytelling and sharing your ideas with your communities. Keep it up, brother. 👍
Thanks so much dude - they are both tremendous creators
I appreciate your long-form videos. Often I learn something new from something you say in passing, which isn’t the primary focus of the chapter, but is something I hadn’t noticed before.
the fact that soulsborne content creators are willing to share info rather than be all territorial is so wholesome
Amazed as always at how much you manage to pull out of such a seemingly small subject. Every time I click on a new video of yours thinking 'I think I got the basics of this lore subject' and I end up pleasantly surprised at all the stuff I missed.
As to omissions in this video... nothing in particular really. Lots of thought provoking stuff, and eagerly awaiting your dragon video. The one thing mentioned that I might need some elaboration on is the soulless demigods housed in the wandering mausoleum's. Because if Godwyn is the first of the demigods to die and all these came after, awesome. Makes sense that after the way it went 'wrong' with Godwyn's corpse, they would take extra precautions with any subsequent deaths (because that's what the mausoleums strike me as: precautions against another Godwyn, up until their residents are resurrected in full). However, what I cannot help but wonder is 'who are these demigods?' Where did they come from? Because all demigods in the story are such due to their relationship to Marika/Radagon, and they've been imprisoned for almost as long as the Shattering. So were these soulless demigods alive and well and have simply died, unremarked upon, during the ages of the shattering? That's my confusion. I feel like I missed some pretty basic lore here.
I go off of the intro stating that Radahn and Malenia were “Two of the mightiest to remain”, and think that means there were more demigods produced, probably from the Golden Lineage of Marika/Godfrey. But during the Shattering, they led wars with their own factions and were defeated, and then interred to prevent another Godwyn.
@@TheTwilightmaster6 there was definitivly more demigods since level up girl says that Marika said they are gonna be forgotten if they will lose, and also Godrick exist
Some times I get cynical, and start to believe that people don't have passion for what they are doing, whenever that happens I put on one of these videos to hear someone who clearly has passion about their work, you're the best content creator on this channel I swear to god.
Visiting this video after the DLC trailer, and hearing the links of the shadow realm and pseudo-grace the lamplight is kind of blew my mind, got me super excited hoping the dlc expands on death sorceries
Thanks for taking the time to make these great lore videos! They're exactly what I want when I think of learning about and enjoying elden ring lore. Thanks again for all the hard work I look forward to every one!
That’s amazing to hear 🙌hope you enjoy this one too
Glad you started to get sponsored! Definitely deserve it!
Thank you! Really appreciate that
Smoughtown back at it with another absolute banger. Best lore channel in the biz, baby.
Yet another interesting note for this topic, the exile soldiers and banished knights at castle sol appear visually like the mausoleum knights, and teleport the same way they do.
Really great video. One thing I have to mention that I haven't seen anyone talk about yet is that the instrument the Tibia Mariners wield is an alphorn. I wasn't able to find any connection between this instrument and funerary practices (at least in Swiss culture), but historically it was used for communication between cowherds residing on alps.
I feel like this ties in nicely with the themes of the mariners as psychopomps. Like Swiss farmers, they are using their horns for communication (summoning Those Who Live in Death) and filling the role of a shepherd for the dead.
Man I hope the utube algo-gods favor you. This is just fantastic. Thank you. This is fresh. HELLO!
"A psychopomp"
Thank you for dropping that word! I wish more people would use that word! 🤩
Back again!
Thanks Aiden!
BACK AGAIN BWAI! Smoughtowners
With a brand new invention
Thank you for another very interesting and insightful lore video. It's clear you put a lot of research into them. Watching them one learns not just the lore, but story-buildings blocks that are applicable outside of this particular context.
Thanks as always for your support Mio, it doesn't go unnoticed
great video! love these lengthy takes, never be afraid of making long videos, I find them to be your best work
Extraordinary video. Please keep more coming. Very much obliged to keep supporting you and witnessing the advancement of this channel.
I’m really pleased to hear that. Thank you so much 🙌
best content on youtube, period. love these videos.
The Twinbird is that Outer God’s Elden Beast.
Also the Phoenix And the Crow/Raven of the Twinbird matches the eyes of the gloam eyed queen/the ice witch to me. The eyes match the colors of the flames. Could be a different worship of the same thing. The thing about Melina/the ice witch/the gloam eyed queen and their opposite eyes being closed but also matching/corresponding with the colors of a lot of the lore is very interesting.
Just wanted to say I watch all your videos. Multiple times, sometimes. Very well made. Sick stuff. Thanks for the content, man.
Thanks so much dude 🙏you don’t know how much that means to me
So glad you unloaded again I was in the middle when it stopped working, great vid
Thanks stacie and sorry for the take down
My guy pushing out the lore videos like a maniac, past few nights you got me too sleep dude need to listen to them again then smash this one seeings as I don't have work tomorrow xx
Can we be sure Garris didn't kill his family in order to harvest their souls for use in his necromancy? Might be giving him too much credit to say he went down a forbidden path in order to resurrect them.
Very cool! I never really thought that the deathbirds were widely seen as representations of death. I thought they were only the vestiges of a long death pre-erdtree culture. But theyre basically like this world grim reapers. They even have theyre own scythe: their death pokers
The idea of the red half of the twinbird being associated with battle is interesting to me, because it’s reminiscent of the role the valkyries play in Norse mythology. It was believed that they flew over battlefields and brought souls that died valiantly to Valhalla. Obviously, valkyries come up in elden ring in the context of Millicent’s questline, and the so called Scarlet Valkyries. I’m not sure what connection there would be between Malenia and the scarlet rot and the twinbird, but it’s something!
look at celtic goddess Morrigan
Downloaded the first iteration of this video earlier before work and thought it was without sound at parts it entertained me through the day, now I’m downloading this one and look forward to listening to it again and again as I do all your videos for weeks to come, keep up the great long form content always looking forward to what you put out next!!!
Glad you enjoyed it! And apologies for the reupload
It's a good day when SmoughTown uploads
An intereresting note on the Grave Violets, they are shaped like Spider lillies/higanbana which have a symbolic connection to death in Japan. I was looking for anything specific that might be interesting for lore ideas and from an article thsy mentions their bulb being poisonus and planted to ward off burrowing pests "The flowers grow in graveyards for the same reason - to keep wild animals from feasting on the corpses. At least, that was their purpose in the olden times before cremation became the general rule." Ive also seen mentioned 2 superstitions about picking the flower, firstly that picking it will allow the dead to rise and secondly that picking one and bringing it home causes house fires.
Was here super early for the first upload, amazing video!
Legend! Appreciate you checking out this one as well!
Any discussion of the Twinbird obviously leads to discussion of the Deathbirds, but I wonder about a connection to the hawks of Stormveil as the “other side of the Twinbird”, considering the duality of “battle and death” that was mentioned.
Ancient Stormveil predates the golden order to an age with a more tribal, nature-oriented worldview as shown by Godfrey’s original tribal name. This strikes me as similar to the primitive, nature-oriented death rites of the deathbirds predating the golden order in the same way. I see this “battle and death” cycle of the Twinbird as one of these same “shepherding of the dead” systems from an earlier time.
Another thing I was thinking along the “shepherding of the dead” line is that you have to die to get to The Lands Between in the first place. Several of these afterlife systems are definitely trying to shepherd you at any given time, because you were dead before you even showed up.
And really, these systems, which are basically metaphorical systems of nature, could be working more synergistically than they know. Let’s say the black steeples (not capitalized, so not A singular specific steeple) of the Helphen are erdtrees (lampwoods). Tree colored, non-glowing, erdtrees. One afterlife tradition buries their dead among the roots, coalescing into a Great Erdtree. Another afterlife tradition burns the dead, producing/releasing ghostflame. Another afterlife tradition burns the Great Erdtree and all the dead coalesced in it. It’s a big spiritual ecosystem of unifying and purging.
From your character’s tiny perspective within one cycle of this ecosystem, it seems like a bunch of really important stuff gets messed up with it. But in the end, all the drama of the game world’s whole history is not even a significant change of direction in the spiritual cycle of a land that is essentially the afterlife.
To get metaphorical with my last bit of rambling, which admittedly is a departure from real “LORE” and into abstraction (my personal favorite place): I see Marika (the *mother*), sending the Tarnished off to other lands to wage war, die, then return, as people being birthed into life (“other lands”), living (“waging war”… life is a struggle), and ultimately returning to the afterlife of The Lands Between when that life ends, where they undergo the death rites/processes discussed in the video, in order to be born again. The Lands are Between lifetimes.
What a legend only one ad in the beginning . Your so damn underrated
Honestly, deathbirds remind me more of vultures rather than crows. Their long necks and bold heads especially
Their bodies are so freaking weird, not bird-like at all. They have wings, and 4 legs. So like a dragon?
i love when you talk about psychopomps, spirits who guide and shepherd the dead
This was great I can’t wait to get your long form take on the dragons their design is so awesome in this game
It's gonna be a banger
Between you and vaati I am able to enjoy this lore even though I never have the time to delve this deep into the game so thank you to both of you honestly
Thanks so much Mike, appreciate the kind words and glad it helps you enjoy the lore!
Great video as always! I had no idea there was evidence of more demi-gods, and the death of them. Makes things much more interesting for the past of the lands between. Maybe in a dlc they will expand on these demi gods? Also I have a theory. They might not have been mentioned in the story because they were mere lords, which may have only held power in wealth and human power unlike the other demi-gods which also had physical power.
This man cannot miss. Another week, another hour+ of insightful AF content and lore, wrapped up in a nice little bow of credited content creators and inspirations.
With every video, SmoughTown solidifies himself even further as the Elden Ring Lore GOAT.
Geoff is 🐐.
I really hope you keep this format in the future with other games. You put so much passion into your work that I'll watch your content even if it's about a game I don't like or care about, unlike Elden Ring of course XD
Thanks as always for your support! You are the GOAT!
On the idea of ghostflame being vengeful spirits, I think it is interesting to note that the souls of omens are considered tainted. We see multiple instances of omens using a kind of brown flame that also has skulls sometimes. I think this is their own version of ghostflame that burns yellowish instead of a pure white because it uses the vengeful spirits of other dead omens.
lets gooo, I just checked a couple houres ago if a new video is out and after watching a movie it is. man you are the best elden ring loretuber by far
Thanks Ernst. Your support means the world
Keeping the iconography of the Twinbird Kite Shield in mind, is it possible that the blue and red imagery on the shield could be representative of both the blue-colored guidance from Rosus, as well as the red-colored guidance from both the Tibia Mariners and the Helphen's Steeple? The idea brought up in this video mentioning how one half of the Twinbird could represent Death, and the other half could represent Battle intrigued me, because the depiction of a phoenix on the Twinbird Kite Shield makes me think that Those Who Live in Death might be constantly wrapped up in a cycle of warfare and death. Furthermore, since other outer gods within Elden Ring's story seem to house selfish desires, and use their followers as pawns or vessels, it doesn't seem far fetched to me that the outer god using the Twinbird as an envoy would also use Those Who Live in Death - and Those Lost in Death - as cannon fodder. For what means, no ideas immediately come to mind, but the idea of how this cycle might be utilized is fascinating to me.
These videos have been amazing. Not a single one fails to be glorious.
Mad respect the the VA of the narrator, as he is not only the first voice we heard from the game but he’s also the voice of the very first mandatory boss we fight Margit/Morgott. First he spurs our ambitious flame only to then rebuke us for having such a flame. The beautiful irony.
Finally, my most anticipated topic yet!
Hope you enjoyed!
I like how you went from "sorry this video is too long already" to "I have three more ideas about this in a hour something video" it's a delight to see new content from you.
Hahah yeh, and as I say that my next video is looking to be around 1hr 20 mins
@@SmoughTown excellent, looking forward to it!
I've always been a vaati kina guy. But the amount of consistent lore and the BEAUTIFUL voice over has sold me! This is amazing! Keep up the great work! Much love and appreciation!
One thing I was curious about is the interaction between using holy enchanted attacks against those who live in death. When they are defeated by such an attack, their attempt to resurrect themselves using the ghostflame is prevented outright. Is it that there's an interaction between the Erdtree and the Deathbirds' "spheres" where using holy attacks on those who live in death is akin to forcing an Erdtree Burial upon them, thus taking them out of the sphere of the death birds and Ghost flame?
Always love these videos and deep dives, they have made me get back into Elden Ring to explore more
Having your videos on the second screen while gaming is the equivalent of falling asleep at church and waking up during a sermon and not knowing what the fuck is going on.
hahaha
Smough I fucking love you dude. BEST lore videos made for sure. It's helped me enjoy and immerse myself into the game so much more. Thanks man! 🤙
Thanks so much dude, honestly really appreciate the kind words
May I suggest that the more “sophisticated” version of calling upon spirits (with the bell) was pioneered by deathbed companions such as Fia? When she summons Lionel and Rogier it’s quite similar, but her summons are the same colour as the ghostflame…
Blows my mind the effort you put into these
Thanks Laurence 🙏
Youre welcome man. very rarely do I even consier watching an hour long YT video so you must be doing something very right.
Is there any way to support you other than liking/subscribing?
Now I can enjoy my weekend, thank you very much for yet another gem! Happy Saturday!
Enjoy Cyrus!
Thanks for dropping all of these awesome lore vids they are so extensive and thought provoking. Keep being awesome
Thank you Cameron! I will do
You should be proud of that ad transition. Well done.
Thanks William!
I love that you give shoutouts man. That earns a like from me everytime, although the content is more than enough as well.
Thanks so much Ryan, so many incredible creators out there
Huge fan of the content. Videos are always great quality
Yessss, I was waiting for you to drop this 10/10 as always, thank you Mr Town of Smough ♥️
Thank you Benis! It's my pleasure
@@SmoughTown I had a thought after watching the video, wouldn't it be cool and possible that all the skulls that you hit on the Big Rock Masouleums legs are the skulls of the beheaded soldiers that that demigod commanded? Hence why it keeps moving, its some sort of eternal curse that binds them togheter? Thanks again for your service to the lorepart of this community ♥️
So, if I'm following along, burning the dead releases vengeful spirits and completes the dead's transition to the spirit world. It that's the case, what does that imply about our burning of the Erdtree, which contained within it the souls of numberless dead awaiting rebirth? Was the burning of the tree in actuality the old death ritual-long thwarted- finally being brought to completion, and if so does that imply Melina may have a connection to the old death rituals, and does THAT somehow tie into the idea that she could be the Gloam Eyed Queen?
“Had we players known what to do, if we hadn’t had grace.” Your point is valid but like the main point is to get it the erdtree and that thing is pretty much visible anyplace on the map lol. Either way amazing video
What if i said that spore floating into the Tarnished's hand in 4:52 is cordyceps, using the body of the tarnished to nourish the Erdtree. Just as insects infected with Cordyceps are guided by light to reach heights to spread their fungus, we tarnished are guided by the light of the guidance of grace. This would explain why we can resurrect as many times as possible.
Sincerest thanks for covering Family Heads, I have a strike build wielding that and Bastard's Stars, another stellar video Sir Smough!
Thanks as always for your support dude!