Elden Ringis a game with a ton of lore, from its different races to its many demigod characters. The location itself, the Lands Between, also has an interesting history of bloodshed and betrayal that all occurred before the Tarnished even arrived after the Shattering. Through character dialogue, gear, and exploration, players have pieced together a timeline of what has happened inElden Ring, from the arrival of the Greater Will, to Marika shattering the Elden Ring.
Since the game leaves a lot unsaid, a lot of timelines have a mix of speculation. However, the speculation is often made with evidence in mind. Some fan-made timelines are incredibly complex, while others try to keep it simple. The truth is that the timeline can be hard to simplify because there is a lot that happened inElden Ring’s story.
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When The Greater Will Came
There was a time before theGreater Willin the Lands Between. This age was a time when dragons, giants, and beings that would later be oppressed by the Greater Will, ruled the land. How long this age was maintained before the Elden Beast arrived is unknown. What is known is that the Elden Beast came to establish the Greater Will’s presence in the Lands Between, and arrived via meteorite.
The Elden Beast then made a connection witha Numen woman, Marika, and made her a god on behalf of the Greater Will. The Two Fingers became established as representatives of the Greater Will, with Finger Reader Crones to translate their communication to others. At some point, the Elden Beast became the Elden Ring and Marika required a consort and found one in a warrior named Hoarah Loux, who would later be called Godfrey.
Godfrey and Marika had three children:Godwyn the Golden, Morgott the Omen King, and Mogh Lord of Blood. Two of the children, though, were Omens, so they were hidden and raised in oppressive conditions. Godwyn the Golden was the beginning of what would be known as the “Golden Lineage.”
Wars With Giants And Carians
Giants ruled the northern lands ofthe Lands Between, and the Greater Will saw them as a threat, especially since they had the Flame of Ruin that could destroy the Erdtree. Godfrey was sent to lead a war against them. Another participant in the war was Radagon, as he was cursed to have red hair due to his involvement. Godfrey won against the giants, but it turned out that the Flame of Ruin could never be extinguished. Because of this, one Fire Giant was left alive to guard the flame.
The next target for war was the Carians, who followed the influence of a different Outer God, the Dark Moon. The Greater Will wished to banish the influence of other Outer Gods, so Radagan lead an army to the Carians. However, this war was shortened when Radagan andRennala of the Carian Royal Familyfell in love. They married in the Church of Vows and ushered in an age of peace. Together, Rennala and Radagan had three children: Ranni, Radahn, and Rykard.
At some point either during these wars or even before,the Gloam-eyed Queenlost a battle against Marika’s shadow, Maliketh. It is unknown what happened to the Gloam-eyed Queen, but Maliketh took the Rune of Death from her so that the souls of others could never truly die. Those that followed the Gloam-eyed Queen with plans to kill the gods, the Godskins, were then left without a leader.
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Demigod Family Drama
Once these wars ended Godfrey, lost his passion and his Grace. He becomes the first Tarnished and is banished from the Lands Between. After he was banished, Marika asked Radagon to become her new consort. Radagon obeyed and left Rennala heartbroken. Together, Marika and Radagon had two children: Malenia and Miquella. Both children had special conditions, though, withMalenia cursed with Scarlet Rotand Miquella as a child who could not grow.
With Radagon asMarika’s consort, his and Rennala’s children were adopted to be part of the Greater Will’s plan. Ranni, in particular, was not happy with this circumstance. She was also bitter that her mother had been hurt by the gods. This planted a seed for what would lead to the Night of the Black Knives and the Shattering
The Night Of The Black Knives And The Shattering
Ranni orchestrates a plot to get rid of her body and put her soul in a doll, all to escape the influence of the Greater will. However, to do this, she needed the Rune of Death and to sacrifice the soul of a fellow demigod. With the help of Numen assassins, she stole pieces of the Rune of Death from Maliketh and the Numen assassins killed Godwyn. With the Rune of Death, his very soul was destroyed while Ranni’s body died. Godwyn’s body was buried at the roots of the Erdtree, but ultimately corrupted the roots. This created deathroot andThose Who Live in Death.
After Godwyn’s death, Marika decided to shatter the Elden Ring (though some believe this was her plan all along). Radagon tried to mend what she broke, but ultimately could not and both shared a punishment of imprisonment in the Erdtree by the Greater Will. With the Elden Ring in fragments and the Greater Will’s influence lessened, the demigods began to fight each other for the Elden Ring’s runes.
War Of The Shattering
A lot happened in the War of the Shattering, and much of it ended any hope of a replacement for Marika. Radahn stopped the movement of the stars themselves and fought Malenia.Malenia used her Scarlet Rot powersto drive Radahn insane and the rot spread throughout Caelid. This weakened her so much that she was taken to the Haligtree to recover. Meanwhile, Rykard sacrificed his body to become one with a god-eating serpent.
Miquella tried to create his own kind of Erdtree withthe Haligtree. He also hoped to cure his sister’s Scarlet Rot along with his curse to always be a child. He put himself in a cocoon to rest and possibly grow, but was kidnaped by Mogh who had his own plot to make Miquella Elden Lord with himself as his consort. Meanwhile, Ranni plotted to figure out a way to bring out a different age under the Dark Moon Outer God.
With the demigods having no success, the Greater Will decided to spread its Grace to the Tarnished again. Tarnished began to come back to the Lands Between, most of them dying at the hands ofGodrick the Graftedand Morgott in Limgrave. However, the player character manages to do what others could not.
Elden Ringis available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
