Major Events | Elden Ring Wiki

Major Events in Elden Ring

Major Events in Elden Ring are key moments or occurrences that helped shape the Lore and story of Elden Ring and what goes on in the Lands Between. This page contains a concise list of all the major events that took place during the game and prior to the game's narrative. Please note that the events listed here are not necessarily in chronological order as that is not the purpose of this page nor is there a definitive timeline laid out by FromSoftware or Bandai Namco. For a proposed timeline, see Timeline of Lands Between history page.

 

The Past

 

One Great Fractured

 In one exchange with Hyetta toward the end of her questline she speaks for the Three Fingers and says "all that there is came from the One Great. Then came fractures, and births, and souls. But the Greater Will made a mistake. Torment, despair, affliction... every sin, every curse. Every one, born of the mistake". This seems to be an insinuation for the creation of universe or at least the broader world beyond the Lands Between similar to the Big Bang. The Three Fingers seem to put the blame on the Greater Will for creating the world and splitting apart the One Great, though they are a bit of an unreliable narrator (see Shabriri). In the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC the Greater Will is given a bit more of a description, being a circular celestial body with a lightless abyss (see High Priest Hat). Count Ymir states that as a glintstone sorcerer "we study the stars, and examine the life therein. Are you familiar with our findings? Long ago, we began as stardust, born of a great rupture far across the skies. We, too, are children of the Greater Will. Is that not divine? Is that not sublime? ...and yet, none can fathom its implications, its utter brilliance!", which gives much credence to the earlier dialogue from Hyetta and her quest.

 

War against the Giants

 Long ago the forces of Queen Marika went to war against the Fire Giants at the birth of the Erdtree. According to her Spoken Echo she delivered a speech at the First Church of Marika. "Hark, brave warriors. Hark, my lord Godfrey. We commend your deeds. Guidance hath delivered ye through each ordeal, to the place ye stand. Put the Giants to the sword, and confine the flame atop the mount. Let a new epoch begin. An epoch glistening with life. Brandish the Elden Ring, for the Age of the Erdtree!". Godfrey, First Elden Lord led the war against the Giants, gaining the moniker of Lord of the Battlefield. Many champions took part in the war using Flame Protect Me alongside Trolls, lesser descendants of the Giants, who betrayed their kin and fought for the Erdtree. The knights of Zamor, who were said to have been the mortal enemies of the Fire Giants since time immemorial, were hailed as heroes in the war. The Fire Giants borrowed from the power of a fell god, who was believed to have been slain by Queen Marika (see One-Eyed Shield). The Fire Giants were defeated, leaving only one sole survivor. Upon realizing the flames of their forge would never die, Queen Marika marked him with a curse. "O trifling giant, mayest thou tend thy flame for eternity". Guardians were appointed to watch over this flame, and came to worship it. The flame guardians harbored a secret, that the fell god still lurks within the Fire Giants.

 

Long March of the Tarnished

 After countless victories such as the War against the Giants, defeating the Storm Lord, and the siege of Castle Morne, the last worthy enemy of Lord Godfrey fell. This foe was a revenger who was a lone surviving champion from a country now vanished and was so determined to continue fighting that he claimed the swords of an entire clan of warriors. And it was then, as the story is told, that the hue of Lord Godfrey's eyes faded as he lost the sight of Grace. According to spoken echoes of Queen Marika, she gives a speech at the Third Church of Marika and at the Church of Pilgrimage. "My Lord, and thy warriors. I divest each of thee of thy grace. With thine eyes dimmed, ye will be driven from the Lands Between. Ye will wage war in a land afar, where ye will live, and die". "Then, after thy death, I will give back what I once claimed. Return to the Lands Between, wage war, and brandish the Elden Ring. Grow strong in the face of death. Warriors of my lord. Lord Godfrey". Godfrey and his men became the first tarnished, and left the Lands Between by sea (see Rusted Anchor) to wage war. During this long march the Axe of Godfrey was broken in a battle. After the march came to an end, Godfrey divested himself of kingship, and become a ferocious warrior once more. Under the name Hoarah Loux, Godfrey became a badlands chieftain and encouraged his warriors to shed access adornment as he did.

 

Messmer's Crusade

  At an indeterminate point in time, Messmer led a ruinous crusade against the hornsent of Belurat Tower at the behest of his mother Queen Marika. On his mother's wishes, Messmer made himself a symbol of fear, undertaking the cleansing crusade she desired. A malevolent snake writhed within Messmer, and so Marika plucked out his eye and put in its place a seal of grace. The warriors who followed Messmer to fight in the crusade set aside both honor and mercy to wantonly impale and scorch those deemed impure. Within his army were Black Knights, Furnace Golems, and a personal guard of Fire Knights who hailed from a renowned family of the Erdtree's upper echelons, but were shunned and chased from their homes after pledging their allegiance to Messmer. Leading his men was Messmer's close friend Commander Gaius, an Albinauric warrior who rode atop a wild boar. And within his ranks was Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, who became known as the Sword of Messmer. After the church in the Ancient Ruins of Rauh was burned to the ground from the crusade, Romina discovered a twisted divine element, which she weaved into the baleful scarlet rot. When the Impaler's army assailed the tower, Divine Beast Warriors who truly exceled at divine invocation utilized the lion dance toward martial ends—its divinity, its fury, its light-footed beauty. The majority of divine beasts were gored and hung upon Messmer's spears, then burned in his flame. Those who witnessed the deed likened it to a funeral pyre for the tower itself. The hornsent forever despise Marika and the forces of the Erdtree for this act, viewing it as a stark betrayal; "Take vengeance upon Messmer and his lot. They who betrayed us, aye, they who burned us... Let them face in thy wrath their just deserts" (see Watchful Spirit). When asked about the hornsent within the small group of Miquella's followers, Needle Knight Leda elaborates on the conflict; "True enough, in any other circumstance he’d be at our throats… Long ago, Queen Marika commanded Sir Messmer to purge the tower folk. A cleansing by fire. It’s no wonder the hornsent holds the Erdtree in contempt. That aside, man is by nature a creature of conquest. And in this regard, the tower folk are no different. They were never saints. They just happened to be on the losing side of a war. But it’s still a wretched shame."

 

War of the Ancient Dragons

 According to the Bolt of Gransax, a great ancient dragon, Gransax once rained calamity upon the Royal Capital - the only time in historical record that Leyndell's walls have fallen. This marked the dawn of the war against dragons. After the great ancient dragon Gransax attacked, the Tree Sentinels, defenders of the Erdtree, had an epiphany. The only way to truly protect the Erdtree was to become dragons themselves, and so some of them would dawn malformed armor and wield armaments enwreathed in lightning (see Draconic Tree Sentinel). During this war Fortissax gained renown for his twin red lightning stakes and was once called the mightiest boulderstone. Spoken of in legend, red lightning is the weapon wielded by the ancient dragons who had scales of Gravel Stone. As part of the Routing of the Ancient Dragons, Godwyn the Golden fought to the last, earning the friendship of dread Fortissax. After befriending his fallen foe, the event gave rise to the ancient dragon cult in Leyndell, Royal Capital. Within this cult knights would use a prayerbook to learn various lightning incantations, but only those loved by dragons can survive the ordeal of cladding their bodies in lightning. It was said that Lansseax, the sister of Fortissax, took the form of a human to commune with the knights as a priestess of the ancient dragon cult. Of all the knights, Vyke the Dragonspear was the one Lansseax loved the most (See Vyke's Dragonbolt). The worship of the ancient dragons does not conflict with belief in the Erdtree. After all, gravel stone and lightning itself are both imbued with gold.

 

Liurnian Wars

 The Liurnian Wars were two major conflicts that arose between the forces of the Erdtree, during which the red-haired Radagon joined their ranks (see Barrier of Gold), and the Raya Lucaria Academy which was led by the Carian Queen Rennala of the Full Moon. Serving under Rennala were a group of enchanted knights who wield sorcerous battle skills. Despite numbering fewer than twenty, this power made them a match for even the champions of gold in battle. A Sword Monument recalls that Radagon's glory burns red as his hair, but Radagon was said to have despised his own red locks. After the two conflicts concluded there was no victory for the golden, nor for the moon. There was no prize but atonement; and the birth of a vow. Miriel, Pastor of Vows at the Church of Vows gives detail of the events. "Lord Radagon was a great champion, possessed of flowing red locks. He came to these lands at the head of a great golden host, when he met Lady Rennala in battle. He soon repented his territorial aggressions though, and became husband to the Carian Queen". He elaborates further on this atonement; "Radagon once cleansed himself with celestial dew, repented his territorial aggressions, and swore his love to Rennala. The Order of the Erdtree and the fate of the moon were conjoined, and all the wounds of war forgiven. This miracle blesses the church to this day". Celestial Dew, also known as a Night Tear, is said to be a recollection of the times when the stars of the night sky once guided fate. By marrying Queen Rennala, Radagon received a Moon Greatsword from the Carian queen after their betrothal, and together they would have three demigod children, Rykard, Radahn, and Ranni. According to the Telescope, an astrology tool used members of the Carian royal family, during the age of the Erdtree Carian astrology withered on the vine. The fate once writ in the night skies had been fettered by the Golden Order.

 

Starscourge Conflict

 General Radahn, the Young Lion, gained much renown after challenging the stars and arresting their movement. This event is depicted on the Starscourge Heirloom, which states that the mightiest hero of the demigods confronted the falling stars alone—and thus did he crush them, his conquest sealing the very fate of the stars. Radahn inherited the furious, flaming red hair of his father Radagon, and is fond of its heroic implications. "I was born a champion's cub. Now I am the Lord of the Battlefield's lion". He modeled his armor after his heroes, the golden lion is said to symbolize Godfrey, the Elden Lord, and his beast regent, Serosh. From his youngest years, Radahn was naturally captivated by the Lord of the Battlefield. He took to calling his bannermen Redmanes and had a red lion as his sigil, choosing to reside in Redmane Castle in southern Caelid. In his youth, he learned gravitational magic from an Alabaster Lord alongside Commander Gaius. "I thank you for your tutelage, for now I can challenge the stars". His remembrance tells of another motivation to wield gravity magic, that the Red Lion General wielded gravitational powers which he learned in Sellia during his younger days. All so he would never have to abandon his beloved but scrawny steed. After becoming known as the Starcourge, Radahn engraved the gravity crest upon his blades.

 

Night of the Black Knives

 In an effort to free herself from the control of her Two Fingers, the Carian princess Ranni hatched a scheme to discard her Empyrean flesh. During Rogier's questline she confesses: "Indeed, I am the witch Ranni. I stole a fragment of the Rune of Death, and used it to forge the godslaying black knives through fearsome rite". Long ago she stole this fragment from Maliketh, the Black Blade, and infused the ritualistic Black Knives with Destined Death. A group of assassins who made no sound then wielded these weapons on a fateful night and slew Godwyn the Golden. The Black Knife Assassins were said to be those which gave the demigods their first taste of death. The assassins that carried out the deeds were all women, and rumored to be Numen who had close ties with Queen Marika herself. The Numen are said to have come from outside the Lands Between, and are in fact of the same stock as Queen Marika herself (see Numen's Rune). One of the Black Knife members, Tiche, died protecting her mother Ringleader Alecto during their flight from the royal capital. Alecto was then imprisoned in an evergaol in the Moonlight Altar. Also on the night of the dire plot, Ranni rewarded her brother Praetor Rykard with the Blasphemous Claw. Should the coming trespass one day transpire, it would serve as a last-resort foil, allowing Rykard to challenge Maliketh, the black beast of Destined Death. On Ranni's body was left the Cursemark of Death. This cursemark was carved at the moment of Death of the first demigod, and should have taken the shape of a circle. However, two demigods perished at the same time, breaking the cursemark into two half-wheels. Ranni was the first of the demigods whose flesh perished that night, while the Prince of Death perished in soul alone. After the night of the plot, Deathroot appeared in the Lands Between, and Those Who Live in Death soon followed.

 

The Shattering

 In the game's prologue we are told of this conflict: in the Lands Between ruled by Queen Marika the Eternal, the Elden Ring, the source of the Erdtree, has been shattered. Marika's offspring, demigods all, claimed the shards of the Elden Ring known as the Great Runes, and the mad taint of their newfound strength triggered a war: The Shattering. A war that meant abandonment by the Greater Will. The story trailer elaborates: the rune of death was stolen and the demigods began to fall, starting with Godwyn the Golden. Queen Marika was driven to the brink. Marika's wishes can be extrapolated by the spoken echo at the Outer Wall Battlefield site of grace; "hear me, Demigods. My children beloved. Make of thyselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord. Be it a God. But should ye fail to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken. Amounting only to sacrifices". Finger Reader Enia recounts Marika's fate after the event; Queen Marika is the vessel of the Elden Ring, carrier of its vision. A god, in truth. But after the Elden Ring's shattering, she was imprisoned in the Erdtree. A grim punishment for shattering the Order, despite her godhood". Enia further describes the Shattering as "the tragic corruption of the Order has taken its toll. Across the realm, life lies in ruin. Fallen to pieces. Foul curses and misery spread, unabating". Those that held onto Great Runes became known as the shardbearers, and include Godrick, Rennala, Radahn, Morgott, Rykard, Mohg, Miquella, and Malenia. Ranni also obtained a Great Rune, but discarded it according to Gideon Ofnir. According to Enia, "her children warred, but none could become Elden Lord", and so grace was extended to the tarnished so that they may be guided to the Elden Ring.

 Numerous conflicts took place during the Shattering that forever impacted the land. One of which was the First Defense of Leyndell, in which a sovereign alliance rots from within, traces yet remain of bloody conspiracy. An honorable knight of Leyndell Kristoff earned the hero's honor of Erdtree Burial for the feat of capturing Godefroy the Grafted. It is likely in this same skirmish that Godrick and his men fled from the city and took refuge in Stormveil Castle. Less is known about the Second Defense of Leyndell, other than that Morgott, after he and his brother Mohg had been freed, defended Leyndell from Radahn in the opening cinematic. Under the name of Margit the Fell Omen, Morgott slaughtered countless champions during the Shattering. According to Thops who couldn't gain entry into Raya Lucaria; "after they declared they wouldn't interfere with the Shattering, the academy cast repelling seals on the east gate leading to the Capital and the south gate leading here". The Assault on Volcano Manor was home to the squalid, the sick, the blasphemous; a wretched, unending war with no glory. One spirit recounts that "Lord Rykard... If this putrid field of death is what your blasphemy would bring, then I can no longer abide. No one can". Sword Monuments tell of how Malenia and her cleanrot knights marched south, defeated Godrick, and made their way to Caelid. In the Battle of Aeonia, Malenia and Starscourge Radahn locked in a stalemate, then Malenia bloomed into a Scarlet Aeonia that devastated the battlefield.

 

The Great Caravan Burial

 Across the Lands Between are various merchants who are either hermits, nomads, or isolationists. Merchant Kalé describes his fellows; "there are other of my people who yet survive in these lands. If the mood takes you when you meet one, then offer them some trade, won't you? My people, wanderers all, have long been spurned by the grace of gold. Which is why we cannot settle, but instead are forced into this pitiful, unceasing journey. But thanks to that, things are not so different for us now, though the Elden Ring is shattered. I think this makes us kindred spirits of sorts Your people, the Tarnished, and mine". These merchants once thrived as the Great Caravan, but after being accused of heretical beliefs, their entire clan was rounded up and buried alive far underground, thus the reason for them being spurned by grace. Then, they chanted a curse of despair, and summoned the flame of frenzy. According to the Unendurable Frenzy spell, it is the maddening pain and unstoppable tears of those afflicted with the flame of frenzy brought into being.

 

The Present

 

The Radahn Festival

 As a result of the Battle of Aeonia, General Radahn was marred with scarlet rot and remains in the Wailing Dunes. Castellan Jerren explains his condition; "allow me to pain you the full picture. General Radahn is cursed ever to wander. Eaten from the inside, by Malenia's scarlet rot, his wits are long gone. Now he gathers the corpses of former friends and foes alike, gorging on them, like a dog. Howling at the sky". Jerren preferred a nomadic existence, but after spending time as a guest of the Carian royals, he became a guest commander for General Radahn. And for the first time, the restless tumbleweed would be bound by honorable oath. This was an oath of honorable death to one another. Even today, the survivors of Radahn's battalion employ fire to stave off the scarlet rot. When they were driven to defeat by Malenia's scarlet rot, the Redmane Knights burned the crest on the left breast of their armor to indicate their resolve. "Alas, dear home, I shan't see you again! For our duty is to remain here, a bulwark against the blight". Scarlet rot is kept at bay with flame at Redmane Castle, and as such, the beloved flamberge of Jerren's eventually became the symbol of the castle itself. In order to free the Starscourge from scarlet rot, Jerren decides to host a great tournament to gather worthy champions to slay Radahn in battle and put an end to his suffering. "Incidentally, do you like a good festival, from time to time? Well, it's true, this fortress houses only the vanquished. But when the stars align, we celebrate. A war festival honoring the last battle and death of General Radahn, the mightiest demigod of the Shattering, and bearer of a Great Rune". There are three methods to begin the festival. The first method is to simply enter Altus Plateau for the first time and rest at a site of grace there. The next two require having pledged service to Princess Ranni who wishes to find a way to Nokron, the Eternal City. The second method is to defeat the Crucible Knight and Misbegotten Warrior boss, speak to Jerren, then speak to War Counselor Iji. The third is to speak to Blaidd at the Siofra River, speak to Seluvis, then speak to Sorceress Sellen. It becomes evident that Radahn's holding back of the stars has halted Ranni's fate. Aside from the player tarnished, the participants in the Radahn Festival include Blaidd, Finger Maiden Therolina, Great Horned Tragoth, Iron Fist Alexander, Jerren, Lionel the Lionhearted, Okina, and Patches. The end of the festival concludes with a shooting star that lands in Limgrave.

 

First Cardinal Sin

 The flame of ruin is anathema to the Erdtree. But prophets sometimes glimpse it within the faith all the same. Sadly when this occurs their sole reward is banishment. These prophets who foretold misfortune had shackles around the neck to warn passersby not to lend an ear to their sermons. An incantation originating from a deeply ominous prophecy, the Fire's Deadly Sin description reads the prophet despaired, looking up at the Erdtree, for soon the kindling would burst into flame, bringing ruin. "The burning of the Erdtree is the first cardinal sin. That is not the domain of mere men." The Giants' Flame is the flame of ruin, capable of burning the Erdtree. And so, following the War against the Giants, its ruinous blaze was sealed, and guardians were appointed to watch over it. According to the Candletree Wooden Shield, thought to represent a surreptitious prophecy of cardinal sin, the lit candle-tree design was forbidden. After it is discovered that the Erdtree is sealed, barring all entry, the first cardinal sin becomes the only viable recourse. Finger Reader Enia recounts that "special kindling is required to reignite the flame. For the flame to burn the Erdtree, a sacrifice is needed. Of one who envisions the flame. And can lead you to the Rune of Death". Knight Bernahl was on the set path of becoming Lord, until his maiden threw herself into the fire, likely for the sake of this prophesy. Perhaps as a way to avoid his finger maiden sharing the same fate, Roundtable Knight Vyke traveled far below the capital, and was scorched by the flame of frenzy. Or did some other force lure him with suggestion? The Blade of Calling weapon refers to the needed sacrifice as the kindling maiden, and the mantra 'the one who walks alongside flame, shall one day meet the road of Destined Death'. Melina is the one for this role, and she speaks in great detail about her fate; "My purpose serves to aid in that very act. So I'd like you to undertake a new journey, with me. To the flame of ruin, far above the clouds, upon the snowy mountaintops of the giants. Then I can set the Erdtree aflame. And guide you. Down the path to becoming Elden Lord".

 

Rune of Death Unbound

 Long ago the Gloam-Eyed Queen led the godskin apostles. It is said that she was an Empyrean chosen by the Fingers. The apostles, once said to serve Destined Death, are wielders of the god-slaying black flame. But after their defeat by Maliketh, the Black Blade, the source of their power was sealed away. The black flame could once slay gods, but when Maliketh sealed Destined Death, the true power of the black flame was lost. Maliketh was a shadowbound beast given to his Empyrean. Marika's sole need of her shadow was a vessel to lock away Destined Death. Even then, she betrayed him. Finger Reader Enia says that "the Rune of Death goes by two names; the other is Destined Death. The forbidden shadow, plucked from the Golden Order upon its creation". Maliketh, Queen Marika's loyal half-brother, bore a blade imbued with Destined Death, and there was not one demigod who did not fear him. After a fragment of Death was stolen on that fateful night by Ranni the Witch, Maliketh bound the blade within his own flesh, such that none might ever rob Death again. He resides in Crumbling Farum Azula, an ancient royal city that  has been slowly crumbling since time immemorial. After Malekith is defeated a cutscene plays out and Enia remarks "the Rune of Death is unbound, and the Lands Between are shrouded by Death's dark fate. But the flames will also burn the impenetrable thorns. Farewell it is, then. You'll be Elden Lord yet".

 

The Future

 

Epilogue

 See Endings page.

 

 

 

Major Events Notes & Trivia

• Many major conflicts are written on Sword Monuments that can be found all across the Lands Between.

 

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