Pre-register for King Arthur: Legends Rise now on Google Play or the App Store to earn exclusive rewards including a Legendary Hero at launch ntiny.link/KALR_hawkshaw @PlayKingArthur #KingArthurLegendsRise Let me know your thoughts on Ansbach, and what else you'd like to be covered!
@@lumbridgegoblin Malenia also gives praise considering the context "Miqulla, I have finally met my match". She literally has never lost (shut up, it was a draw. If Mr meteor won, he'd be elden Lord.) and is saying you surpassed her. I think she also mentions your strength but memory is fuzzy there.
Ansbach will go down as one of the most beloved Fromsoft Npc's, and the crazy part is he does it without being over the top like many of the other fan favorites.
I view Freya's opinion of Radhan as an incredible admiration for the warrior Radhan is. But Jerren had known him for all of his life. And Radhan and Jerren both had an oath of honorable death. We know that Radhan said yes to this oath and we aren't sure about Radhan and Miquella' oath
I've legit been saying this for so long. Freya's opinion on Radahn is heavily biased by her allegiance to Miquella, when she tells us this its her rationalizing why Miquella should be able to resurrect Radahn. Ansbach even says upon hearing Freyja's comments that "She must be feeling the need to reaffirm her allegiance before she heads to war". She also says that Radahn being brought back to fight for Miquella is "good for him", while Ansbach's reaction to this information is "This is horrifying we need to stop this now". There's also a lot of evidence that Radahn was more than a warrior . For example, his idol being Godfrey, Godfrey isn't just a warrior he's a king and a protector of realm. If he was really all about battle he'd be idolizing Hoarah Loux.
Jerren did not know Radahn his whole life. Jerren was a nomadic fighter who eventually became a guest for the Carian royals, and later a guest commander in Radahn’s army. Freyja was a gladiator who was recognized by Radahn during his youth for her valour. She would go on to become one of the most esteemed members of his personal guard upon its formation. If anything, Freyja knew Radahn both better and longer than Jerren. All this cope about how Freyja just doesn’t know Radahn well enough is really funny to me. People really are desperate to maintain this weird image of Radahn as some infallible superhero.
@@Idea_of_LustreYour last bit tipped your hand. And, that aside, the length of relationships don’t affect how someone can want something for another without having made a full assessment of character. Jerren highlights his friend’s heroism while Freyja doesn’t, and it’s the full, not partial, character of Radahn that’s being judged here. You stated nothing to prove the “better” part of your “Freyja knew Radahn longer and better than Jerren” claim. He is treated as the most heroic of, at least, his siblings-it isn’t fanboying to point out how that’s something made explicit in-game, and so not up for debate. Cope wouldn’t be using the full picture, in this context-it would be willfully omitting parts. Think carefully.
@@Zythryl I have no idea what that first sentence is supposed to mean. The length of a relationship is indeed not a conclusive determining factor for making a full assessment of character. This part of my comment was specifically in response to the idea that «Jerren had known him (Radahn) for all of his life» and the implication that he therefore knew Radahn better than Freyja. Jerren does not highlight Radahn’s heroism, he highlights his prowess in battle and the glory of giving him an honorable death. He does not actually make any claims about Radahn as a person, whereas Freyja does. I specifically stated that «If anything, Freyja knew Radahn both better and longer than Jerren.» Given the information we have, which I also presented in the two paragraphs before that sentence, this is the most logically sound assumption. Radahn and Freyja met during Radahn’s youth, and she was among the first and most esteemed members of his personal guard. Meaning she would’ve been in close proximity to him and known him. By contrast, Jerren was a guest of the Carian royals, and later a guest commander in Radahn’s army, the implication being that the army was already fully formed when his partnership with Radahn began. Radahn’s personal guard would logically have spent more time with, and been more familiar with him. This is admittedly not conclusive, but it is logically sound and supported by evidence. As opposed to the verifiably false assertion that «Jerren had known him (Radahn) for all of his life». The *fanbase* treats Radahn as the most heroic of the demigods. They read the cutesy story about his horse Leonard and decided that story made him a too-pure-for-this-world Superman figure. The characters in-game more so revere him for his power, physical and magical. (By the way, there is a potential implication that the Leonard story is the reason why Miquella looks up to Radahn so much, meaning he reveres Radahn for the same reason as the fanbase, which I just find hilarious.) «Cope (…) would be willfully omitting parts.» Which is exactly what is being done. People are inventing information and history that does not exist in the game. And this is done to push a narrative that favors certain interpretations, and dismisses others as biased with no evidence. Or just making stuff up.
Both Ansbach and Gideon have a Spirit Eye crown built into their helmets, both of which are a dull grey. They are clearly designed to be two sides of the statement "Knowledge begins with the recognition of one's ignorance. The realization that the search for knowledge is unending."
I think that Ansbach’s referral to the Charm when speaking on your killing Mohg, I think he was talking about the charm that Miquella had cast upon Mohg. From what we see of Ansbach, Mohg’s court used to be one that was honorable and rather noble, and had only recently became an insane murder cult through the bloody fingers. After all, for Miquella’s plan to work, he needed Mohg dead. Basically, Miquella may have charmed Mohg into an insane murderous lunatic in order to attract the attention of someone strong enough to put him down.
Moghs court had a chivalric type of honor there, but non the less, they were a cult of blood that believed in the formless mother, moghs main objective is clear, replace the golden order with his dynasty, the greater will with the Formless mother, the Elden Lord with the Lord of blood and Marika with a god of blood. Honorable they might be, but they spilled blood way before miquella was captured and started to make his own agenda, bc after all “The mother of truth craves for wounds”
I agree there is a possibility that Mohg's dynasty didn't go quite as hard prior to Miquella's enchantment potentially driving his focus (Mohg may have been into this stuff but Miquella may have made him fanatical about it). We look at Ansbach, commander of the Pureblood Knights, a force that apparently must have fought in battles since they have a reputation. But by our time, there are no Pureblood Knights. The Sanguine Nobles aren't knights they are missionary-assassins and Varre's whole thing seems to be trying to recruit new Knights. When we read the Pureblood Knight's Medal it is telling the knights to wait. It kinda feels like Miquella Radagon'd Mohg (Radagon seduces Renalla because the Golden Host can't be the Carian Knights and now the Carian Knights are largely disbanded) causing the disillusion of the Pureblood Knights.
That sounds way too convoluted if Miquella was planning on offing Mohg, he could’ve simply sent Malenia to eliminate him or dispose of him some other way instead of relying on some random nobody to do it.
@@Mario-SunshineGalaxy64 I actually think Miquella sent Leda to kill Mohg but we just happen to beat her there. It's also probably why she thought we were in league with Miquella.
“Oh, you are referring to the leader of the round table. I hadn’t the honor of making the acquaintance of such a learned fellow. From what I hear he has eyes and ears within all corners of the lands between. It would be no surprise if he had his all prying vices within these lands as well. Let us stay vigilant, righteous tarnished.” - Ansbach about Gideon probably.
@@IrisDImtv nono i mean that the videos are a lot of work and deleting them just for a mistake is a waste of such good videos, to my knowledge he hasn't deleted any video
Ansbach is my favorite souls NPC. He reminds me of Solaire, in a way. They’re both jovial and friendly, hiding deep fears and regrets behind their heretical (and moral) beliefs.
I pretty much fell in love with Ansbach. He is so well written, especially against the backdrop of Mohg and his Dynasty and Miquella. Everyone else seemed content with Miquella taking control (Jesus take the wheel), but Ansbach notes the danger of such a power. Ansbach, more than anything, has the ego to cherish his mental (and physical) faculties. Absolute Chad
Great theory!! However, it’s started in a talisman you get from killing ansbach or hornsent that leda is the reason there are no more needle knights. Her killing them was out of her paranoia that they would at some point betray Miquella, a common theme with her 😂
I love how the effect of Miquella's charm on Leda is to make her _less_ of a mass-murdering zealot who instead stays focused on what Miquella actually wants.
@@dezopenguin9649 Exactly. It's almost like Miquella's charm only compels others to love and cooperation and doesn't actually mind-control them. Miquella casting off his Great Rune was to show us what these NPCs were like before they encountered him and remind us of what the world is without his compassion. Even his most devoted follower is at everyone's throat without Miquella's love.
when Ansbach says "i blame the enchantment", i interpreted that as him blaming the enchantment over Mohg. That maybe Mohg wouldnt have been hostile, or may not have even been where he was when we found him, if not for that enchantment. maybe thats why there is a copy of him in the sewers. maybe he deeply wanted to protect that area, instead, but was forced to watch over Miquella. So the deepest part of him left a copy to remain there, to carry out his previous duty.
Love how you pointed out how much swag the mohgwyn dynasty had. Drip? Impecable. Mission? Badass. I wish you would have directly pointed out the savagery and seduction of bloody fingers a la Eleonora along with the nobles, but that's just me being picky. Great video!
One of my favorite things to think about is what if Miquella never interfered in Mohgwyn and Mohg finds out how to get to the Land of Shadow ( the game states Miquella used Mohg to enter, so I assume he has the power to enter himself, he just hasn't figured out how yet), and how the locals would react. Mohg shows up, and instantly every Hornsent would view him as a savior, and the Bloodfiends would view him at least as a powerful ally, if not a full blown lord. Messmer would have a stroke trying to figure out whether to kill him, because he's both an Omen AND is of the Golden Lineage, and even then, there would probably be a whole second war in the Land of Shadow, with the still sizable Hornsent population and the Bloodfiends entering the ranks of the Mohgwyn dynasty to enact vengeance upon Messmer, whose army would probably instigate this war just by seeing Mohg. The Dynasty is no longer just a random mountain underground, its half the Land of Shadow just by Mohg walking in and saying hi to the locals. Just fun to think about.
The GOAT Ansbach was indeed my fav of the new NPC's as well, and even though I didn't summon him for any of the fights because I dont' use summons, I've seen from videos his line of dialogue in the final boss, and makes him more goated. "Righteous tarnished" yes boss, wassup?
Some more cool connections with Ansbach: Obsidian Lamina - Obsidian is a volcanic glass and relates to the Godskins, which is the only other mention of Obsidian. Lamina is a thin sheet or a scale, or a flat plates of bone of a vertebra, or one of the narrow thin parallel plates of soft vascular sensitive tissue that cover the flesh within the wall of a hoof. It "sows blossoms of red", which makes me think of the rot blossoms. The aow is called "dynastic SicklePlay" resembling a dance, and in two occasions the sickle relates to GEQ via the Gidskin Peeler, and the Dominula Dancer with the Celebrant's Sickle.
i like how ansbach is a reflection of the duelist furled finger, much like how varre is a reflection of the bloody finger the formless mother cares not fro. where the blood flows, so long as it flows.
33:06 the lord of blood's exultation does say "Render up you offerings of blood to your Lord. Drench my consort's chamber. Slake his cocoon's thirst. His awakening shall herald the dawn of our dynasty" which could be seen as either Miquella needing blood, or at least Mohg believing so, which would amplify his "dynasty". Though I highly doubt a world with Mohg as "Lord of Blood" would've been nice to live in no regardless of Miquella's charm. My problem is that using people is bad regardless, and that if Miquella had the capability to cure Mohg's omen curse (even if it was through resurrection) then surely it'd be more moral to cure one of your two brothers who have been mistreated and shunned all their lives for no fault of their own over Radahn, who was perfectly fine until you sent your twin to infect him
I’m of the mind the Ansbach is not a follower but he was Mohg’s royal nanny and tutor. His love for Mohg seems to reflect this. His seemingly noble domineer reflects this too.
At 16:31 I interpreted that as Ansbach referring to the charm placed upon Mohg not necessarily the tarnished. Like it diminished Mohg somehow. Anyway great video, this is one of my favorites.
I think there's a translation issue with the charm Ansbach refereed to when we talk about Mohg's defeat. In my game, he said he had no right to judge, for he forgot everything because of the charm.
Wow. Absolutely fantastic. I knew I liked Ansbach but not exactly why. This put words to it that I really appreciate. Thanks for the video! It was quite a watch!
I’m so glad you mentioned Mohg is still evil. Everyone looks at Miquella like he’s the bad guy without looking at everything, everyone’s done something wrong. I also like you elucidating on Miquellas interaction with the dynasty. I also believe Radahn wanted the accord, he gets all he wants in his life and in exchange is serving the new order. Amazing video.
If Miquella is only able to soften people's will as opposed to out right controlling them, how was he able to turn Ansbach so completely against his own interests? St Trina's bewitching branches can make enemies kill their own allies too. I think it's true that to one who is charmed, the experience is soft and calming, but it does seem like Miquella is able to alter people's will quite dramatically
another excellent video from the goat. thank you for doing what you do, one of the few actual good fromsoft lore youtubers left. most others either clickbait or straight up misinterpret the story horribly, with no nuance or humanity. thats why i love your channel. you approach the characters and story as a man, not a god. ansbach would surely be proud of you. may you become elden lord.
I didn't think of it that way but when you said it truly ansbach gives more of a wise and all-knowing vibe than gideon ever did from his way of speaking to his honorable cause he's the best npc in any fromsoft game for me except for melina of course
Your philosophical understanding of character traits, and the way you convey/explore motivations and perspectives of individuals (despite them being fictional), is honestly super impressive and coherent. Keep the great videos, I really enjoyed this one!
Between Freya and Jiren, I believe Jiren understood the true Radahn. Freya was younger and more reckless, more eager to engage in combat, and I think she projected her own desires onto her view of Radahn Radahn was likely more than willing to accept an honorable death in combat than to become an Elden Lord thru scheming, the way that Miquella does it. Theres also the blatant absence of Radahn ever declaring his agreement with Miquella, which is a major hint that Miquella had no intention of giving Radahn a choice, just as he did with all the other character that he charmed and manipulated.
fun that you mentioned the connection between Gideon and Ansbach! I love the theory that the cast we get in the LoS are meant to be (at least somewhat) jungian shadows to our own cast in the RTH. Like Leda being a "shadow" to Roderika
It's so frustrating that notifications haven't been working for the channel recently, gotta start checking it manually now haha. Great video as always :)
wait what? I'm subscribed, but the video didn't show up on my feed! found it at the recommendations page and I was so suprised~ I also love ansbach so can't wait to watch the video~
The depth of Fromsoft games' philosophical thoughts is quite amazing: The DS series focused on the question of different perspectives and stagnation vs change. Bloodborne seeks to question the conflict between sacrifices and gain. Then here comes Elden Ring and its DLC - the question of Freemind and its chaotic nature vs a unified ideology and its peace. All wonderful deep topics and all well presented in the final products. I guess that's why lore seekers can not get tired of analyzing. Because every lore piece we seek also helps us to understand or answer these philosophical questions.
This video is important because of the way it describes how miquella charm works. Too many people think it’s literal brainwashing and strips you of all your personality and free will
Yeah, it'd be way more obvious otherwise but it isn't, you can kind of tell the NPCs are a bit too friendly and stand around doing seemingly nothing tho It also draws even more parallels to how his other self works, sleep is literally just a fog, but funnily enough you have more control during a dream than if you were charmed by Miquella The sleep only became terrible after the separation
I think the Moghwyn Dynasty only became terrible after Mogh was enchanted, the reason Mogh even ordered the slaughtering of the tarnished was to wake up Miquella after he became obsessed with
Yeah. My interpretation is that he was no worse than any other demigod. Yes, he was devoted to the Formless Mother, but his twin was devoted to the tyrannical Golden Order and its equally flawed god. Mohg was imperfect, but I wouldn’t call him a monster.
Something I noticed with Leda's dialogue on Ansbach's fight with Miquella, is the use of the phrase "cleaved open": we never see a wound like this on Miquella, but it seems to perfectly reflect the state of his cocoon in the Moghwyn Palace. The game's intro cinematic depicts the act of Mohg kidnapping Miquella, where we see him not in a cocoon, but ripped out of it, as if mid-metamorphosis. If we understand Leda's comments to refer to the state of Miquella's cocoon, rather than the Empyrean himself, this would suggest a chronology of their interactions - this wouldn't change anything presented in the video, but provides a little bit more context. I could be completely wrong on this, but I felt like it'd be good to mention in case anyone else finds the detail interesting. 😼
@@arditlika9388 I was going to mention that, but I wouldn't really use "cleave open" for that, more like "chop off" or "dismember" or some other really gruesome word. His model inside of the cocoon is also not missing the arm, but that could just be because it's reused from Morgott (but missing hair). Unless it's me misinterpreting it, I honestly don't know why he doesn't have it.
@@fynd1149 i don't believe they knew what they were going to do with Miquella for the DLC, so the cocoon not missing an arm doesn't mean much to me. And I agree that cleave open does sound weird, I just can't see why then Miquella would be missing an arm.
@@arditlika9388 Yea I agree, it think generally those details are fairly trivial in comparison to everything in the video, but both the wording and missing arm are a bit confusing. Good discussion though! Thanks :)
I was leery of Ansbach at first, due to his association with Mohg and the charm of Miquella, but I warmed up to him, even though I never fully understood him.
Im currently doing my second playthought since the dlc (took a lil break after finishing it the first time). Today I got to explore the Shadow keep more carefully and gave him the scroll, gosh his dialogues are incredible and made me think "damn, this character it's so so well done that may be my fav" Idk, he makes you feel so much that can simply overshadows the others npc pretty easily imo.
One thing to consider about the “I blame the charm” line. Perhaps he’s saying “I do not blame you for killing Mogh, because Mogh was charmed and thus strayed from his original path.” That too would be in line with Ansbsch’s beliefs.
Great video Hawkshaw. I am interested if you could explore the idea that Mohg/Morgott were not Godfrey's legitimate children. It think it tracks (especially now with the DLC) that anytime Marika has her weird self-produced children they turn out to be cursed twins. It makes sense to me within the lore that after having perfect golden child Godwyn she would go off and have kids on her own that ended up being the cursed omen they have to hide away. I know there is an item description that explicitly says they are Godfrey's kids, but I feel the explicit nature of that almost calls question to its own legitimacy
24:30 Another absolute banger! One correction I have to make tho. When we get the HEART STOLEN message and revert to the site of grace, we are not dying. Not only does it say something other than the iconic YOU DIED, but the text is also gold like every victory message in the game. Instead of dying we are being sent back in time to before the fight because Marika won't allow for a world in which we are no longer serving her ends. I know time travel might sound a little wacky but there's lots of proof, especially when it comes to bosses. For example, many remembrance bosses have phase transitions that involve their bodies changing in irreversible ways (Godrick, Fire Giant, Messmer, and Midra to name a few), yet if we lose those changes revert anyways. This is something that isn't seen in any other Miyazaki led From game. EVER!! Which is enough for me to conclude that these transitions are meant to signal to us that there are time shenanigans. That Marika is manipulating the timeline to ensure a favorable result. One last thing that feels resonant with this (basically confirmed) theory of mine: the description of the Repair spell in DS3 says "light is time." Marika is god of the shining Erdtree and controller of grace, both made of golden light. The same color used for the light of the Repair spell. EDIT: The thing I emphatically said has never happened has happened a few times lol. I think many of those occurrences have in-game explanations, but more importantly the phase transitions have never been this dramatic and there's plenty of other irrefutable evidence of time shenanigans within ER. Also, the message being gold is a detail I first heard pointed out by Scum Mage Infa, who is very worth checking out.
> This is something that isn't seen in any other Miyazaki led From game. Bloodborne does this repeatedly. Gascoigne devolves into beasthood. The snake parasites awaken within and erupt from the Shadows of Yharnam (to say nothing of how you can kill one or two of them, but all three are back up to begin the fight). Ludwig regains his sense of humanity and stands up as a knight. The Orphan of Kos physically transforms into a winged-cape self. Laurence's legs dissolve into a magma-spewing wound. Dark Souls 1 does it as well, when you defeat one of Ornstein and Smough, the survivor absorbs the energy of the fallen, but when you return to the fight it's the two of them in their small forms. DS3 has the Nameless King, whose dragon is his first form, but pops back to life, and Sister Friede (where Father Ariandel, slain in Phase 2, comes back if Friede beats you in Phase 3. In Sekiro, Genichiro gives up his body to resurrect Isshin Ashina, but he's alive and well as Phase 1of that fight. Ultimately, this is just a point where lore has to yield to the fact that at the end of the day, these are video games and the most important part is, at the end of the day, the gameplay experience.
Ehhh, I mean you say there's lots of proof, and yeah there are some time shenanigans in ER, but I just don't get where all this confidence that Marika is manipulating time on behalf of the tarnished comes from
For the part were Ansbach talk about "blaming the enchantment" I think he mean by that that Mogh wasn't himself and committed to something that he didn't believed in, under the spell of Kind Miquella. Of course it's up to interpretation :D
Ansbach's fog could be described as euphoria. Kinda like how the Muses would enchant men with their singing, this feeling of bliss clouds your judgement.
I feel like Ansbach was blaming the enchantment on MOHG, not the Tarnished, for his defeat. As in "yeah, Lord Mohg wasn't in the best shape when you fought him, it's not your fault he charged in all crazy and got killed"
Ansbach is the sickest. Imagine singlehandedly redeeming your entire faction's reputation purely through your own words and strength of character. The commander of the Pureblood Knights was well picked indeed. Like, what must un-enchanted Mohg have been like if he got a dude as solid as Ansbach to back him as loyally as he does? Dude literally tried to assassinate a demigod, and not just that, a widely beloved demigod, just to break him free. The contrast between Varre and Ansbach is so wild my headcanon is that it's Miquella's charm's fault and you can divide the cult into two versions, pre-Mohglesting, and post-Mohglesting.
Pretty much, wether Varre joined before or later doesn't change much, both Varre and Ansbach love blood for similar reasons, they witnessed war, violence and somehow ended up enjoying it, but Ansbach know it's flawed, you can kill for good reason, but it is a guilty pleasure and my theory is that he joined Mohg because he can control this bloothirst But after the enchantment Varre enjoyed the change, killing (tarnished) without consequences and without any restraints Miquella turned Mohg from hospitylizing sadists and taking care of them to turning them into an order of bloodlusty assassins
This video includes the first mention of Branden Sanderson I've heard in Elden Ring Lore analysis. I think his work, especially Mistborn, might have some small influence that hasn't been widely acknowledged. Inversely, Sanderson is a big fan of From Software games and has played Elden Ring on his own RUclips channel
Sir Ansbach is possibly the most "Japanese" character I've seen Fromsoft ever do, on par or even over Sekiro. And that's because he follows what I can only describe as a philosophy and code that better matches romanticized "bushido" than western chivalry, and that contrasts in this game making it stand out even more. A mix that doesn't match the classic paladin well: introspection, transparency, humble honor, and respect for other's convictions and vows. How Freyja treats Ansbach's weapons is also telling, as it reminds me of the "ritualistic" use of a family sword heirloom in Japanese fiction, as facing such in duel is always portrayed as a great honour. The story of the Company of Miquella is probably one of the most neatly crafted and immersive I've played in a souls game. I feel the need to point out that the original transcript for Ranni's dialogue in the Age of Stars ending is so very different to what we got in English as to be basically the opposite. There are videos about it out there with the original text in Japanese, but in general it feels a lot less cold and more accepting of free will (and the suffering and happiness it entails). PS. Miquella's charm death screen should be "YOU ARE NOT IMMUNE TO PROPAGANDA".
Keep up the good work i love you man. Just saw the recap thing that youtube does and I’m literally in the top 0.1% of ur viewers. Youve helped me alot thanks again. ❤❤
Thankyou ffs some of the other souls creators done went stupid with the idea that Godwyn should have been in the DLC when his soul was destroyed completely during the night of the black knives. Good to know there are still actually intelligent lore creators still out there doing it. Good stuff
@@Dragoon-yg7fi Hawkshaw is one of the best by a fkn mile along side Tarnished Archeologist but he only has 164k subs but he's been better than Vaati for a long time. Deserves more
I like to imagine that when they made miquella, the team was just like "ok give him a perfect roll in charisma stat... but make him a bug, What? no, literally a bug. make him a bug."
Something ive never heard anyone mention yet is that miquela's enchantment could have included him impersonating or just making up the formless mother, even while mhog did see the bloodstar
I would love a fromsoft game in a universe like Elden Ring's one where we don't just kill everything on sight and don't have to kill the main bosses to procede. Ansbach's comments about how we killed his lord make me wish for a game where we played more of a courier character
Something I’ve always wondered is if Miquella’s entire plan was to use Mohg to gain access to the realm of shadow then why would he seal himself in the Haligtree? Well my little theory is that he needed to “soften” himself to be able to abscond his own flesh, due to his nature as an Empyrean I believe that using the cocoon and Mohg’s cursed blood he broke not only his connection to his two fingers but also allowed his body to be stripped away while keeping his soul alive. There’s a lot of parallels to Ranni’s because both their plans were fundamentally the same, they just both went at it in different ways.
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Let me know your thoughts on Ansbach, and what else you'd like to be covered!
Gideon: "A man cannot kill a god."
Ansbach: "Righteous Tarnished. Become our new lord. A lord not for gods, but for men."
houra loux and ansbach telling the tarnished they will become great lords is exactly what i expected from the 2 most based characters in the game
@@lumbridgegoblin Malenia also gives praise considering the context "Miqulla, I have finally met my match". She literally has never lost (shut up, it was a draw. If Mr meteor won, he'd be elden Lord.) and is saying you surpassed her. I think she also mentions your strength but memory is fuzzy there.
I knew Ansbach was going to have a good episode given to him, but man. He really is a lynchpin to understanding the whole dlc, isn't he?
Bro is the better Gideon. He is a true bro.
RIP
I wasn't expecting this to be a Gideon diss track, but I'm here for it.
Good analysis
If no one got me, I know Ansbach got me, can I get a "Righteous Tarnished"?
Righteous Tarnished, may your strength be found honed, your dexterity swift, your intelligence sound, your faith bolstered, and your arcane true.
Righteous Tarnished, may you have a good day. May you find the strength to defeat Tender Miquella, and may you smoke the greatest of bu-
"A balm upon my soul it is,that we do not meet today as enemies. Now, my blade. Watch closely."
Literal chills up my spine.
Ansbach will go down as one of the most beloved Fromsoft Npc's, and the crazy part is he does it without being over the top like many of the other fan favorites.
*distant shouts are heard, but the most is heard is **_CURSE YOU, BAYLE!_*
Yeah, I can see that.
Igon too, for the opposite reasons
I view Freya's opinion of Radhan as an incredible admiration for the warrior Radhan is.
But Jerren had known him for all of his life. And Radhan and Jerren both had an oath of honorable death.
We know that Radhan said yes to this oath and we aren't sure about Radhan and Miquella' oath
I've legit been saying this for so long. Freya's opinion on Radahn is heavily biased by her allegiance to Miquella, when she tells us this its her rationalizing why Miquella should be able to resurrect Radahn. Ansbach even says upon hearing Freyja's comments that "She must be feeling the need to reaffirm her allegiance before she heads to war". She also says that Radahn being brought back to fight for Miquella is "good for him", while Ansbach's reaction to this information is "This is horrifying we need to stop this now". There's also a lot of evidence that Radahn was more than a warrior . For example, his idol being Godfrey, Godfrey isn't just a warrior he's a king and a protector of realm. If he was really all about battle he'd be idolizing Hoarah Loux.
@@puncherofbreadfacts were stated
Jerren did not know Radahn his whole life. Jerren was a nomadic fighter who eventually became a guest for the Carian royals, and later a guest commander in Radahn’s army.
Freyja was a gladiator who was recognized by Radahn during his youth for her valour. She would go on to become one of the most esteemed members of his personal guard upon its formation.
If anything, Freyja knew Radahn both better and longer than Jerren.
All this cope about how Freyja just doesn’t know Radahn well enough is really funny to me. People really are desperate to maintain this weird image of Radahn as some infallible superhero.
@@Idea_of_LustreYour last bit tipped your hand.
And, that aside, the length of relationships don’t affect how someone can want something for another without having made a full assessment of character.
Jerren highlights his friend’s heroism while Freyja doesn’t, and it’s the full, not partial, character of Radahn that’s being judged here. You stated nothing to prove the “better” part of your “Freyja knew Radahn longer and better than Jerren” claim.
He is treated as the most heroic of, at least, his siblings-it isn’t fanboying to point out how that’s something made explicit in-game, and so not up for debate.
Cope wouldn’t be using the full picture, in this context-it would be willfully omitting parts. Think carefully.
@@Zythryl I have no idea what that first sentence is supposed to mean.
The length of a relationship is indeed not a conclusive determining factor for making a full assessment of character. This part of my comment was specifically in response to the idea that «Jerren had known him (Radahn) for all of his life» and the implication that he therefore knew Radahn better than Freyja.
Jerren does not highlight Radahn’s heroism, he highlights his prowess in battle and the glory of giving him an honorable death. He does not actually make any claims about Radahn as a person, whereas Freyja does.
I specifically stated that «If anything, Freyja knew Radahn both better and longer than Jerren.» Given the information we have, which I also presented in the two paragraphs before that sentence, this is the most logically sound assumption. Radahn and Freyja met during Radahn’s youth, and she was among the first and most esteemed members of his personal guard. Meaning she would’ve been in close proximity to him and known him.
By contrast, Jerren was a guest of the Carian royals, and later a guest commander in Radahn’s army, the implication being that the army was already fully formed when his partnership with Radahn began. Radahn’s personal guard would logically have spent more time with, and been more familiar with him.
This is admittedly not conclusive, but it is logically sound and supported by evidence. As opposed to the verifiably false assertion that «Jerren had known him (Radahn) for all of his life».
The *fanbase* treats Radahn as the most heroic of the demigods. They read the cutesy story about his horse Leonard and decided that story made him a too-pure-for-this-world Superman figure. The characters in-game more so revere him for his power, physical and magical.
(By the way, there is a potential implication that the Leonard story is the reason why Miquella looks up to Radahn so much, meaning he reveres Radahn for the same reason as the fanbase, which I just find hilarious.)
«Cope (…) would be willfully omitting parts.» Which is exactly what is being done. People are inventing information and history that does not exist in the game. And this is done to push a narrative that favors certain interpretations, and dismisses others as biased with no evidence. Or just making stuff up.
Both Ansbach and Gideon have a Spirit Eye crown built into their helmets, both of which are a dull grey. They are clearly designed to be two sides of the statement "Knowledge begins with the recognition of one's ignorance. The realization that the search for knowledge is unending."
To me while Gideon is the “All-Knowing” Sir Ansbach is the “All-Learning”
I think that Ansbach’s referral to the Charm when speaking on your killing Mohg, I think he was talking about the charm that Miquella had cast upon Mohg.
From what we see of Ansbach, Mohg’s court used to be one that was honorable and rather noble, and had only recently became an insane murder cult through the bloody fingers. After all, for Miquella’s plan to work, he needed Mohg dead.
Basically, Miquella may have charmed Mohg into an insane murderous lunatic in order to attract the attention of someone strong enough to put him down.
Good point! I guess the same thoughts apply then, where Mohg surely wouldn't have completely lost his autonomy and Ansbach would likely know that
Moghs court had a chivalric type of honor there, but non the less, they were a cult of blood that believed in the formless mother, moghs main objective is clear, replace the golden order with his dynasty, the greater will with the Formless mother, the Elden Lord with the Lord of blood and Marika with a god of blood. Honorable they might be, but they spilled blood way before miquella was captured and started to make his own agenda, bc after all “The mother of truth craves for wounds”
I agree there is a possibility that Mohg's dynasty didn't go quite as hard prior to Miquella's enchantment potentially driving his focus (Mohg may have been into this stuff but Miquella may have made him fanatical about it). We look at Ansbach, commander of the Pureblood Knights, a force that apparently must have fought in battles since they have a reputation. But by our time, there are no Pureblood Knights. The Sanguine Nobles aren't knights they are missionary-assassins and Varre's whole thing seems to be trying to recruit new Knights. When we read the Pureblood Knight's Medal it is telling the knights to wait. It kinda feels like Miquella Radagon'd Mohg (Radagon seduces Renalla because the Golden Host can't be the Carian Knights and now the Carian Knights are largely disbanded) causing the disillusion of the Pureblood Knights.
That sounds way too convoluted if Miquella was planning on offing Mohg, he could’ve simply sent Malenia to eliminate him or dispose of him some other way instead of relying on some random nobody to do it.
@@Mario-SunshineGalaxy64 I actually think Miquella sent Leda to kill Mohg but we just happen to beat her there. It's also probably why she thought we were in league with Miquella.
Sir Ansbach is the all-learning to Gideon’s “all-knowing” i bet if we could ask Ansbach what he thinks of Gideon he wouldn’t have nice words to say
“Oh, you are referring to the leader of the round table. I hadn’t the honor of making the acquaintance of such a learned fellow. From what I hear he has eyes and ears within all corners of the lands between. It would be no surprise if he had his all prying vices within these lands as well. Let us stay vigilant, righteous tarnished.” - Ansbach about Gideon probably.
@@Amferam i applaud your take on this interaction
@@Grimsly3736 thank you
DONT YOU DARE DELETE ONE MORE OF YOUR VIDEOS!!! Whether one thing is off or the whole thing. They are too good, and I'll rewatch them for years. ❤❤❤
Yeah the videos are a lot of work and taking down the video for just one mistake poor guy😭
Goofy
@@ness8626 wait, what? What video was removed?? D:
@@IrisDImtv nono i mean that the videos are a lot of work and deleting them just for a mistake is a waste of such good videos, to my knowledge he hasn't deleted any video
Ansbach is my favorite souls NPC. He reminds me of Solaire, in a way. They’re both jovial and friendly, hiding deep fears and regrets behind their heretical (and moral) beliefs.
What a beautiful look at Ansbach's character. Great job as always, Hawkshaw.
the hawktwah shaw
Gideon and ansbach remind me of the old saying "knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit but wisdom is knowing not to put tomatoes in a fruit salad."
The only NPC to call us righteous tarnished
I pretty much fell in love with Ansbach. He is so well written, especially against the backdrop of Mohg and his Dynasty and Miquella. Everyone else seemed content with Miquella taking control (Jesus take the wheel), but Ansbach notes the danger of such a power. Ansbach, more than anything, has the ego to cherish his mental (and physical) faculties. Absolute Chad
Great theory!! However, it’s started in a talisman you get from killing ansbach or hornsent that leda is the reason there are no more needle knights. Her killing them was out of her paranoia that they would at some point betray Miquella, a common theme with her 😂
I love how the effect of Miquella's charm on Leda is to make her _less_ of a mass-murdering zealot who instead stays focused on what Miquella actually wants.
Absolutely! It seems Miquella wasn't able to keep control over Leda long enough to stop her paranoia from taking them all out
@@dezopenguin9649 Exactly. It's almost like Miquella's charm only compels others to love and cooperation and doesn't actually mind-control them.
Miquella casting off his Great Rune was to show us what these NPCs were like before they encountered him and remind us of what the world is without his compassion. Even his most devoted follower is at everyone's throat without Miquella's love.
when Ansbach says "i blame the enchantment", i interpreted that as him blaming the enchantment over Mohg. That maybe Mohg wouldnt have been hostile, or may not have even been where he was when we found him, if not for that enchantment.
maybe thats why there is a copy of him in the sewers. maybe he deeply wanted to protect that area, instead, but was forced to watch over Miquella. So the deepest part of him left a copy to remain there, to carry out his previous duty.
Love how you pointed out how much swag the mohgwyn dynasty had. Drip? Impecable. Mission? Badass. I wish you would have directly pointed out the savagery and seduction of bloody fingers a la Eleonora along with the nobles, but that's just me being picky. Great video!
One of my favorite things to think about is what if Miquella never interfered in Mohgwyn and Mohg finds out how to get to the Land of Shadow ( the game states Miquella used Mohg to enter, so I assume he has the power to enter himself, he just hasn't figured out how yet), and how the locals would react. Mohg shows up, and instantly every Hornsent would view him as a savior, and the Bloodfiends would view him at least as a powerful ally, if not a full blown lord. Messmer would have a stroke trying to figure out whether to kill him, because he's both an Omen AND is of the Golden Lineage, and even then, there would probably be a whole second war in the Land of Shadow, with the still sizable Hornsent population and the Bloodfiends entering the ranks of the Mohgwyn dynasty to enact vengeance upon Messmer, whose army would probably instigate this war just by seeing Mohg. The Dynasty is no longer just a random mountain underground, its half the Land of Shadow just by Mohg walking in and saying hi to the locals.
Just fun to think about.
Beautiful eulogy for Uncle Ansbach. Really like the juxtaposition with Gideon, too.
That Gideon line is so funny to me now seeing as I’ve killed two
Technicaly its 3 since I would count Metyr a being of the same origin and as old as the Elden Beast itself.
@@MrFallenoneMetyr dips after you beat her
@@D0verking69 I’ll count as a half point cause we could clearly kill her
Everyone in the DLC- "Mohg"
Hawkshaw- "Mawg"
Thanks for this. I always liked Sir Ansbach, but your analysis really makes him a compelling character.
The GOAT Ansbach was indeed my fav of the new NPC's as well, and even though I didn't summon him for any of the fights because I dont' use summons, I've seen from videos his line of dialogue in the final boss, and makes him more goated.
"Righteous tarnished" yes boss, wassup?
Do not mourn for Sir Ansbach's passing.
Mourn for those who never knew such a man.
Some more cool connections with Ansbach:
Obsidian Lamina - Obsidian is a volcanic glass and relates to the Godskins, which is the only other mention of Obsidian. Lamina is a thin sheet or a scale, or a flat plates of bone of a vertebra, or one of the narrow thin parallel plates of soft vascular sensitive tissue that cover the flesh within the wall of a hoof. It "sows blossoms of red", which makes me think of the rot blossoms. The aow is called "dynastic SicklePlay" resembling a dance, and in two occasions the sickle relates to GEQ via the Gidskin Peeler, and the Dominula Dancer with the Celebrant's Sickle.
Best lore breakdowns are back baby
i like how ansbach is a reflection of the duelist furled finger, much like how varre is a reflection of the bloody finger
the formless mother cares not fro. where the blood flows, so long as it flows.
When the soundtrack is combined from legendary tracks used before in legendary titles to describe a true legend ❤
33:06 the lord of blood's exultation does say "Render up you offerings of blood to your Lord. Drench my consort's chamber. Slake his cocoon's thirst. His awakening shall herald the dawn of our dynasty" which could be seen as either Miquella needing blood, or at least Mohg believing so, which would amplify his "dynasty". Though I highly doubt a world with Mohg as "Lord of Blood" would've been nice to live in no regardless of Miquella's charm.
My problem is that using people is bad regardless, and that if Miquella had the capability to cure Mohg's omen curse (even if it was through resurrection) then surely it'd be more moral to cure one of your two brothers who have been mistreated and shunned all their lives for no fault of their own over Radahn, who was perfectly fine until you sent your twin to infect him
I’m of the mind the Ansbach is not a follower but he was Mohg’s royal nanny and tutor. His love for Mohg seems to reflect this. His seemingly noble domineer reflects this too.
At 16:31 I interpreted that as Ansbach referring to the charm placed upon Mohg not necessarily the tarnished. Like it diminished Mohg somehow. Anyway great video, this is one of my favorites.
I think there's a translation issue with the charm Ansbach refereed to when we talk about Mohg's defeat.
In my game, he said he had no right to judge, for he forgot everything because of the charm.
Wow. Absolutely fantastic. I knew I liked Ansbach but not exactly why. This put words to it that I really appreciate. Thanks for the video! It was quite a watch!
I’m so glad you mentioned Mohg is still evil. Everyone looks at Miquella like he’s the bad guy without looking at everything, everyone’s done something wrong. I also like you elucidating on Miquellas interaction with the dynasty. I also believe Radahn wanted the accord, he gets all he wants in his life and in exchange is serving the new order.
Amazing video.
“He gets all he wants in life”
>blood thirsty warlord
>bro husband god wants age of compassion
If Miquella is only able to soften people's will as opposed to out right controlling them, how was he able to turn Ansbach so completely against his own interests? St Trina's bewitching branches can make enemies kill their own allies too. I think it's true that to one who is charmed, the experience is soft and calming, but it does seem like Miquella is able to alter people's will quite dramatically
another excellent video from the goat. thank you for doing what you do, one of the few actual good fromsoft lore youtubers left. most others either clickbait or straight up misinterpret the story horribly, with no nuance or humanity. thats why i love your channel. you approach the characters and story as a man, not a god. ansbach would surely be proud of you. may you become elden lord.
I didn't think of it that way but when you said it truly ansbach gives more of a wise and all-knowing vibe than gideon ever did from his way of speaking to his honorable cause he's the best npc in any fromsoft game for me except for melina of course
Ansbach is the perfect example of “fear and old man in a profession where men die young”
I was literally thinking about how I wanted a good Ansbach video yesterday. Ty Hawkshaw 😎👍
Your philosophical understanding of character traits, and the way you convey/explore motivations and perspectives of individuals (despite them being fictional), is honestly super impressive and coherent. Keep the great videos, I really enjoyed this one!
Between Freya and Jiren, I believe Jiren understood the true Radahn. Freya was younger and more reckless, more eager to engage in combat, and I think she projected her own desires onto her view of Radahn
Radahn was likely more than willing to accept an honorable death in combat than to become an Elden Lord thru scheming, the way that Miquella does it. Theres also the blatant absence of Radahn ever declaring his agreement with Miquella, which is a major hint that Miquella had no intention of giving Radahn a choice, just as he did with all the other character that he charmed and manipulated.
16:20 If you saw the fight, Sir Ansbach, you might not think it was so honorable...
fun that you mentioned the connection between Gideon and Ansbach! I love the theory that the cast we get in the LoS are meant to be (at least somewhat) jungian shadows to our own cast in the RTH. Like Leda being a "shadow" to Roderika
My favorite detail is how Gideon's and Ansbach's helmets both look very similar from behind
It's so frustrating that notifications haven't been working for the channel recently, gotta start checking it manually now haha. Great video as always :)
wait what? I'm subscribed, but the video didn't show up on my feed! found it at the recommendations page and I was so suprised~ I also love ansbach so can't wait to watch the video~
Ansbach was my favorite character in the DLC!! ❤
17:40 I always thought that Ansbach was referring to the charm placed on Mohg here, rather than one he thinks was placed on the tarnished
That closing quote from Ansbach is perfectly placed...
The depth of Fromsoft games' philosophical thoughts is quite amazing: The DS series focused on the question of different perspectives and stagnation vs change. Bloodborne seeks to question the conflict between sacrifices and gain. Then here comes Elden Ring and its DLC - the question of Freemind and its chaotic nature vs a unified ideology and its peace. All wonderful deep topics and all well presented in the final products. I guess that's why lore seekers can not get tired of analyzing. Because every lore piece we seek also helps us to understand or answer these philosophical questions.
Man I wasn't expecting to see Brando Sando in a Hawkshaw vid, but I'm here for it, I read almost all his books
Man I love your timing, right as I get into bed here in malaysia
This video is important because of the way it describes how miquella charm works. Too many people think it’s literal brainwashing and strips you of all your personality and free will
Yeah, it'd be way more obvious otherwise but it isn't, you can kind of tell the NPCs are a bit too friendly and stand around doing seemingly nothing tho
It also draws even more parallels to how his other self works, sleep is literally just a fog, but funnily enough you have more control during a dream than if you were charmed by Miquella
The sleep only became terrible after the separation
I think the Moghwyn Dynasty only became terrible after Mogh was enchanted, the reason Mogh even ordered the slaughtering of the tarnished was to wake up Miquella after he became obsessed with
Yeah. My interpretation is that he was no worse than any other demigod. Yes, he was devoted to the Formless Mother, but his twin was devoted to the tyrannical Golden Order and its equally flawed god. Mohg was imperfect, but I wouldn’t call him a monster.
16:40 I thought me meant that mohg was enchanted.
Something I noticed with Leda's dialogue on Ansbach's fight with Miquella, is the use of the phrase "cleaved open": we never see a wound like this on Miquella, but it seems to perfectly reflect the state of his cocoon in the Moghwyn Palace. The game's intro cinematic depicts the act of Mohg kidnapping Miquella, where we see him not in a cocoon, but ripped out of it, as if mid-metamorphosis. If we understand Leda's comments to refer to the state of Miquella's cocoon, rather than the Empyrean himself, this would suggest a chronology of their interactions - this wouldn't change anything presented in the video, but provides a little bit more context.
I could be completely wrong on this, but I felt like it'd be good to mention in case anyone else finds the detail interesting. 😼
I think he cut off Miquella's arm. Miquella is missing an arm.
@@arditlika9388 I was going to mention that, but I wouldn't really use "cleave open" for that, more like "chop off" or "dismember" or some other really gruesome word. His model inside of the cocoon is also not missing the arm, but that could just be because it's reused from Morgott (but missing hair). Unless it's me misinterpreting it, I honestly don't know why he doesn't have it.
@@fynd1149 i don't believe they knew what they were going to do with Miquella for the DLC, so the cocoon not missing an arm doesn't mean much to me.
And I agree that cleave open does sound weird, I just can't see why then Miquella would be missing an arm.
@@arditlika9388 Yea I agree, it think generally those details are fairly trivial in comparison to everything in the video, but both the wording and missing arm are a bit confusing. Good discussion though! Thanks :)
Mogh, it was indeed an honourable duel. A super fun and challenging boss fight.
I was leery of Ansbach at first, due to his association with Mohg and the charm of Miquella, but I warmed up to him, even though I never fully understood him.
Im currently doing my second playthought since the dlc (took a lil break after finishing it the first time).
Today I got to explore the Shadow keep more carefully and gave him the scroll, gosh his dialogues are incredible and made me think "damn, this character it's so so well done that may be my fav"
Idk, he makes you feel so much that can simply overshadows the others npc pretty easily imo.
The comparison to Mistborn is apt. I really like the idea of Miquella's power being similar to that of a Soother.
Glad I found this channel, quality content and well presented, here's a sub 😅
33:03 I don't consider War Crimes has charges. I mean, it's the Shattering War
One thing to consider about the “I blame the charm” line. Perhaps he’s saying “I do not blame you for killing Mogh, because Mogh was charmed and thus strayed from his original path.” That too would be in line with Ansbsch’s beliefs.
Great video Hawkshaw. I am interested if you could explore the idea that Mohg/Morgott were not Godfrey's legitimate children. It think it tracks (especially now with the DLC) that anytime Marika has her weird self-produced children they turn out to be cursed twins. It makes sense to me within the lore that after having perfect golden child Godwyn she would go off and have kids on her own that ended up being the cursed omen they have to hide away. I know there is an item description that explicitly says they are Godfrey's kids, but I feel the explicit nature of that almost calls question to its own legitimacy
Also obviously Godfrey claims Morgottt as his own but of course the noble and kind Godfrey would do as much
24:30 Another absolute banger! One correction I have to make tho. When we get the HEART STOLEN message and revert to the site of grace, we are not dying. Not only does it say something other than the iconic YOU DIED, but the text is also gold like every victory message in the game. Instead of dying we are being sent back in time to before the fight because Marika won't allow for a world in which we are no longer serving her ends. I know time travel might sound a little wacky but there's lots of proof, especially when it comes to bosses. For example, many remembrance bosses have phase transitions that involve their bodies changing in irreversible ways (Godrick, Fire Giant, Messmer, and Midra to name a few), yet if we lose those changes revert anyways. This is something that isn't seen in any other Miyazaki led From game. EVER!! Which is enough for me to conclude that these transitions are meant to signal to us that there are time shenanigans. That Marika is manipulating the timeline to ensure a favorable result.
One last thing that feels resonant with this (basically confirmed) theory of mine: the description of the Repair spell in DS3 says "light is time." Marika is god of the shining Erdtree and controller of grace, both made of golden light. The same color used for the light of the Repair spell.
EDIT: The thing I emphatically said has never happened has happened a few times lol. I think many of those occurrences have in-game explanations, but more importantly the phase transitions have never been this dramatic and there's plenty of other irrefutable evidence of time shenanigans within ER. Also, the message being gold is a detail I first heard pointed out by Scum Mage Infa, who is very worth checking out.
> This is something that isn't seen in any other Miyazaki led From game.
Bloodborne does this repeatedly. Gascoigne devolves into beasthood. The snake parasites awaken within and erupt from the Shadows of Yharnam (to say nothing of how you can kill one or two of them, but all three are back up to begin the fight). Ludwig regains his sense of humanity and stands up as a knight. The Orphan of Kos physically transforms into a winged-cape self. Laurence's legs dissolve into a magma-spewing wound.
Dark Souls 1 does it as well, when you defeat one of Ornstein and Smough, the survivor absorbs the energy of the fallen, but when you return to the fight it's the two of them in their small forms. DS3 has the Nameless King, whose dragon is his first form, but pops back to life, and Sister Friede (where Father Ariandel, slain in Phase 2, comes back if Friede beats you in Phase 3. In Sekiro, Genichiro gives up his body to resurrect Isshin Ashina, but he's alive and well as Phase 1of that fight.
Ultimately, this is just a point where lore has to yield to the fact that at the end of the day, these are video games and the most important part is, at the end of the day, the gameplay experience.
Literally every body changing boss in souls game does that...
Ehhh, I mean you say there's lots of proof, and yeah there are some time shenanigans in ER, but I just don't get where all this confidence that Marika is manipulating time on behalf of the tarnished comes from
The voice actors in the DLC are the most impressive part about it
For the part were Ansbach talk about "blaming the enchantment" I think he mean by that that Mogh wasn't himself and committed to something that he didn't believed in, under the spell of Kind Miquella. Of course it's up to interpretation :D
Ansbach's fog could be described as euphoria. Kinda like how the Muses would enchant men with their singing, this feeling of bliss clouds your judgement.
I feel like Ansbach was blaming the enchantment on MOHG, not the Tarnished, for his defeat. As in "yeah, Lord Mohg wasn't in the best shape when you fought him, it's not your fault he charged in all crazy and got killed"
Good point! I guess the same thoughts still stand in that case and Mohg wouldn't be completely lacking autonomy
Well his BOSS fight is brutal, SO in his five senses he Will be epic
Folly is the name of K'vothe's sword in the kingkiller chronicle book series and it's name carries great weight in that story as well similar to ER
I think when he says "I blame the enchantment" he's referring to the path the enchantment set Mohg on that put us at a head.
Ansbach is the sickest. Imagine singlehandedly redeeming your entire faction's reputation purely through your own words and strength of character. The commander of the Pureblood Knights was well picked indeed. Like, what must un-enchanted Mohg have been like if he got a dude as solid as Ansbach to back him as loyally as he does? Dude literally tried to assassinate a demigod, and not just that, a widely beloved demigod, just to break him free.
The contrast between Varre and Ansbach is so wild my headcanon is that it's Miquella's charm's fault and you can divide the cult into two versions, pre-Mohglesting, and post-Mohglesting.
Pretty much, wether Varre joined before or later doesn't change much, both Varre and Ansbach love blood for similar reasons, they witnessed war, violence and somehow ended up enjoying it, but Ansbach know it's flawed, you can kill for good reason, but it is a guilty pleasure and my theory is that he joined Mohg because he can control this bloothirst
But after the enchantment Varre enjoyed the change, killing (tarnished) without consequences and without any restraints
Miquella turned Mohg from hospitylizing sadists and taking care of them to turning them into an order of bloodlusty assassins
This video includes the first mention of Branden Sanderson I've heard in Elden Ring Lore analysis. I think his work, especially Mistborn, might have some small influence that hasn't been widely acknowledged. Inversely, Sanderson is a big fan of From Software games and has played Elden Ring on his own RUclips channel
Sir Ansbach is possibly the most "Japanese" character I've seen Fromsoft ever do, on par or even over Sekiro. And that's because he follows what I can only describe as a philosophy and code that better matches romanticized "bushido" than western chivalry, and that contrasts in this game making it stand out even more. A mix that doesn't match the classic paladin well: introspection, transparency, humble honor, and respect for other's convictions and vows. How Freyja treats Ansbach's weapons is also telling, as it reminds me of the "ritualistic" use of a family sword heirloom in Japanese fiction, as facing such in duel is always portrayed as a great honour.
The story of the Company of Miquella is probably one of the most neatly crafted and immersive I've played in a souls game.
I feel the need to point out that the original transcript for Ranni's dialogue in the Age of Stars ending is so very different to what we got in English as to be basically the opposite. There are videos about it out there with the original text in Japanese, but in general it feels a lot less cold and more accepting of free will (and the suffering and happiness it entails).
PS. Miquella's charm death screen should be "YOU ARE NOT IMMUNE TO PROPAGANDA".
"His Eminence was felled in an honourable duel"
Me, who cheesed the fight with Comet Azur: *sweats*
Keep up the good work i love you man. Just saw the recap thing that youtube does and I’m literally in the top 0.1% of ur viewers. Youve helped me alot thanks again. ❤❤
Ansbach is quite agile, for an old man claiming his fighting years are behind him.
Loving the Witcher 3 music selections 👌
Thankyou ffs some of the other souls creators done went stupid with the idea that Godwyn should have been in the DLC when his soul was destroyed completely during the night of the black knives. Good to know there are still actually intelligent lore creators still out there doing it. Good stuff
Yea that shit is embarrassing that they didn't understand Godwyn's whole thing is already done in the main game. Just truly embarrassing.
@@Dragoon-yg7fi Hawkshaw is one of the best by a fkn mile along side Tarnished Archeologist but he only has 164k subs but he's been better than Vaati for a long time. Deserves more
Yeah Vaati is coasting TBH. He doesn't even have to try or put out a lot anymore. Hawk and Tarnished Arch are way way better these days.
A beautiful story told beautifully
I like to imagine that when they made miquella, the team was just like "ok give him a perfect roll in charisma stat... but make him a bug, What? no, literally a bug. make him a bug."
16:56 I took the callout of the enchantment here to be a reference to Mohg’s enchantment, which caused him to act in a way that brought about his end.
True, I should have clarified that the same logic applies to Mohg too, and that he wouldn't have lost autonomy either
Something ive never heard anyone mention yet is that miquela's enchantment could have included him impersonating or just making up the formless mother, even while mhog did see the bloodstar
Sir Ansbach reminds me of Davos Seaworth from Game of Thrones. Which was one of my favorite characters 🤝🏽
Ansbach: why are you helping me?
Me:Boogie woogie woogie you’re my dad!
Love me some lore made by you
Alll love to Sir Ansbach he’s my 🐐🙌🏽
Great video, ansbachs definitely the best npc
God of war background music 🔥
gentlemen, get the bonfire ready and grab some popcorn! Hawkeye Shaw has uploaded!!
(not sorry for the horrible pun)
Damn, the HOMM 5 music in the background hit me hard.
I would love a fromsoft game in a universe like Elden Ring's one where we don't just kill everything on sight and don't have to kill the main bosses to procede. Ansbach's comments about how we killed his lord make me wish for a game where we played more of a courier character
Something I’ve always wondered is if Miquella’s entire plan was to use Mohg to gain access to the realm of shadow then why would he seal himself in the Haligtree?
Well my little theory is that he needed to “soften” himself to be able to abscond his own flesh, due to his nature as an Empyrean I believe that using the cocoon and Mohg’s cursed blood he broke not only his connection to his two fingers but also allowed his body to be stripped away while keeping his soul alive.
There’s a lot of parallels to Ranni’s because both their plans were fundamentally the same, they just both went at it in different ways.
Now thats pretty gross
Finally a new audiobook to fall asleep to
I exclusively rep the obsidian lamina out of respect. My fav weapon now. What a fantastic character
Ansbach dying words must be the hardest lines in the game.
16:41 I believe Ansbach means Miquella's enchantment of Mohg to begin with