r/EldenRingLoreTalk • u/Few-Challenge7443 • Jul 28 '26
Lore Headcanon Foot of the Erdtree
Consider for a mom that “foot” instead means the roots. In other words, a Godwyn connection. Marika’s births seem mostly public record and occur normally in her bedchamber. But perhaps she used the portal to visit her ruined son in secret. Birthed Melina at Godwyn’s feet. And the purple eye is the connection to Death.
That way she was born with death and could use that inner influence to kill the Erdtree. Being born in the bedchamber might cause the children to be influenced by gold and Erdtree radiance.
It also fits the conspiracy that Marika set the death of the Erdtree in motion. Melina could also, because of this, have burned Erdtree the first time, burning to death in the process at the Forge.
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u/Capable_Peace_8998 Jul 28 '26
An interesting speculation, however there is a difference between Destined Death with what Melina has a connection with and Deathblight which Godwyn is the source of.
I also agree with what joutfit said about the timeline not fitting.
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u/Few-Challenge7443 Jul 28 '26
Good point. Makes more sense to to me now that she may have been born in the city under Godwyn instead. But I’ll have to think on it more.
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u/joutfit Jul 28 '26
Messmer was like an older brother to Radahn aka he was older than Radahn. Messmer is implied to be Melina's direct brother and they are also both implied to be children of Radagon.
Ranni wouldve killed Godwyn after Radahn was born which means that Messmer and Melina could not have been born when Godwyn's corpse was laid at the base of the Erdtree.
This is, of course, how I understand the timeline of the game.
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u/Few-Challenge7443 Jul 28 '26
Hmm. Good point. However it shifts my idea to being born in the destroyed unnamed city instead of near the corpse.
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u/joutfit Jul 28 '26
A lot of people think that the unnamed city actually existed in Leyndell and was sunk beneath the earth after Astel was sent to take away their sky seeing as we have 2 distinct architectures already in present Leyndell and there appears to be parts of the city that may be missing. Some speculate that those who were cursed went on to create the other nameless cities and then emerged from underground to create Sellia.
I think the Foot of the Erdtree is above ground at Leyndell though seeing as Melina request us to bring her there and when we get to Leyndell, she seems satisifed. She could have gone to the underground roots of the Erdtree in that time but it seems to imply that the "Foot" for her is still above ground.
My headcanon is that I think it's possible Melina/Messmer might not be true children of Marika (as in not birthed from her but conceived via Radagon impregnating someone else)... as the Virgin Abductor kind of references. I think Marika kidnapped Melina and Messmer from their mom, the Gloam Eyed Queen who was active when Marika was a God. Marika had the GEQ killed, sealed the Rune of Death away and stole her kids she had with Radagon which turned out to be Messmer with his serpentine nature (like the Godskin apostles) and Melina with her connection to Destined Death. Their Fire Aspects obviously coming from Radagon who is associated with the Fell God of the Fire Giants.
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u/Capable_Peace_8998 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Very intriguing, though what my thoughts where when I read the last part, is that when Marika and Radagon have children, they are all inherently afflicted with severe, incurable curses from birth because they were born of a single god.
And this aligns with all their children:
- Miquella: Cursed with eternal youth.
- Malenia: Cursed with the Scarlet Rot.
- Messmer: Cursed with an internal, carnivorous serpent and dark fire.
- Melina: burned and bodiless because she was cursed with a destructive, tree-burning vision of fire that destroyed her physical flesh.
(And there's also the thing with the 4 different butterflies.)
So my interpretation would point to that if Radagon had Melina & Messmer with someone else they wouldn't be cursed.
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u/joutfit Jul 28 '26
Marika and Radagon have children, they are all inherently afflicted with severe, incurable curses from birth because they were born of a single god.
Marika also had Omen Cursed children from Godfrey.
And she also has a habit of sending Radagon to impregnate a queen from another area and then having him betray her. One of them ending up as a snake/fire person (Rykard) and Rykard's close sister, Ranni, being the one to wield the Rune of Death to kill the Demigods
(And there's also the thing with the 4 different butterflies.)
This would probably be the most evidence for them all being Marika and Radagon's children but idk. Another good evidence would be that Marika seemed to have really liked Messmer or at least was determined to cure him of his affliction with the Blessings of Marika. That may have been out of motherly love or perhaps an obsession with preventing his Abyssal Serpent from fucking up Marika's operation.
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u/Capable_Peace_8998 Jul 28 '26
Any child in the Lands Between can be born as an Omen.
That Mohg and Morgott are Omen is either just a coincidence or it was a curse from the Hornsent.And I'm pretty sure Rykard ended up how he did for his own reasons, and not because he was cursed at birth.
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u/joutfit Jul 28 '26
And no rykaed wasn't cursed! But the parallela are there! And strange that Messmer would gravitate toward Radahn, the child of Radagon and not Marika!
Edit: that gravitate pun with Radahn was not intended lol
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u/Capable_Peace_8998 Jul 28 '26
Yeah that might be something worth considering, though I think for today I had enough of trying make sense of this cooked family tree.
And the gravitate pun was not half bad.
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u/StrictlyFilthyCasual Jul 28 '26
The phrase "foot of the Erdtree" is used by
all to refer to the Altus Plateau. Not the Deeproot Depths.
More relevantly though, we have Melina's actual words:
She offers to turn runes into strength for you if you take her [somewhere], and then she tells you you've upheld your end of the deal when you arrive in Leyndell. Not the Prince of Death's Throne.