The Lore of Elden Ring's Bosses (that served the Golden Order)

Many of Elden Rings bosses serve Marika's Golden Order in some shape or form. Whether they're loyal to it or enslaved by it. So let's discuss all of these bosses, Starting at a time before order had even come to the Lands Between.

to the north are Mountaintops of the Giants, a name that makes it abundantly clear just who dominated this region of the world. However, it was not always this way. According to the Borealis's Mist incantation, the Ice dragons were once lords of the mountaintops long ago until they were defeated by the fire giants and chased from the peak.

And perched upon this peak stands an enormous forge. Interestingly, the chain rings of this forge depict dragons, which might be a reference to the dragons that once dwelled here. And while I don't think we can say for sure who built this forge the art of smithing is said to have originated among the giants, and the craft was even once considered divine.

So it seems likely that, at the very least, they made good use of this fire. Sparks from this forge would fall down and fertilize the smoldering flowers that bloomed upon the mountaintops, And it seems like it was a pretty crucial part of life in this region. The most ancient giants here were called fire giants.

And according to the Burn, O Flame! incantation, they have long held a solitary curse to serve as keepers of the flame for eternity. Now, traditionally in Fromsoftware games, curses are the domain of the gods.

And indeed the fire giants are cited to have borrowed power from one such god who is represented here by a single large red eye. This god is called a God of the Flame, and it's believed to be able to inhabit fire itself as well as the bodies of the fire giants who worshiped it. The Giants shared borders with the astrologers who, according to their legendary Sword of Night and flame, established themselves in the mountaintops and considered the fire giants their neighbors.

The relationship here is implied to be friendly, even collaborative, Maybe, as the sword does combine the power of both flame and the power of the primeval current that's glimpsed within the night sky. The sword would go on to become a treasure of the Carian royal family, and the Carian's themselves are likely descendants of the astrologers. Generations later, these Carian royals would call upon their old giant allies for aid.

But we'll get to that in a moment. The fire giants also had another neighbor, with whom relations were not so amicable. Further down the mountains, just past the forbidden lands roamed the Knights of Zamor.

According to their armor These long lived warriors, clad in biting, freezing winds, are said to have been the mortal enemies of the fire giants since time immemorial. According to their weaponry, These beings were devoted to winter itself and had weapons styled after icy winds and bodies that were cloaked in swirling ice storms. It makes good sense that such cold beings would be natural, mortal enemies of the fire giants, and they commonly did challenge their larger rivals.

But it seems like their true chance came when Queen Marika waged war against the fire giants, and the Knights of Zamor gladly joined her offensive. They earned great renown amongst the order of the Erdtree and many ancient heroes of Zamor became hailed as heroes, as the fire giants were largely wiped from the face of the earth after this war. Now, up until now, I've resisted calling the Giants evil.

But the reality is that in pretty much every item description, their god is described as a Fell God, and the Giants flame is a flame of ruin. And to be fair, their god doesn't seem like a super nice guy. I mean, it only really opens its eye when the fire giant boss sacrifices a leg, which is pretty metal.

But I'm sort of giving them the benefit of the doubt because I think it's pretty clear who's writing the history about this Fell God here. The many mentions of this god as evil clearly come about because fire itself was just this extremely taboo topic during Marika's age of the Erdtree. And it's not just giants flame items that mention this, fire in general was prohibited to those who served the Erdtree, which was a pretty smart defensive measure, especially considering that many rival outer gods also have a flame of their own.

The Formless Mother has blood flame. The Three Fingers have frenzied flame. The Outer God of Death has ghost flame.

But Giants Flame in particular was capable of burning the Erdtree. And that is a fact that clearly inspired the inevitable war with the Giants. So the Giants were deemed mortal enemies of the Erdtree and they allegedly desolated nature, triggered avalanches and whipped up storms of flame with their roars.

Clearly, those who served the Erdtree were afraid, and perhaps rightfully so. and so led by Lord Godfrey, the forces of the Erdtree went to war. The fire giants borrowed from the power of the Fell God to fight against the Erdtree, but were defeated nonetheless.

according to the Burn, O Flame! incantation. This released the fire giants from their curse to serve as keepers of the flame, all except one who the Fell God still hides within.

And upon realizing that the Giants flame would never die. Marika left this last giant alive, knowing it was bound to protect the flame for all eternity, and thus leaving it cursed. Cursed to protect the flame from someone like us.

In addition to the Knights of Zamor, many lesser giants were also roped into the war against the fire giants. These lesser giants are called trolls and are confirmed to be a race that is descended from the Giants. This relationship is clearer at the mountaintops, where the trolls here still cast giants flame incantations.

Troll hammers where even once used as ancient ceremonial smithing tools. Thus, it seems evident that the trolls and the fire giants co-existed for a time and then fell further and further apart. Because while some trolls are assumedly still fire giants at heart, many now are not.

In fact, at the heart of most trolls is nothing. There's this suspicious hollow here almost as if something has been ripped out of their torso. And when you consider what's upon the torso of the last remaining fire giant, the truth becomes pretty clear, right?

Every single troll is now missing that giant eye of their outer god. And if you manage to look really closely here at a troll, we realize that in its place is this strange stone tablet that is held in place by what look like roots as pointed out by Quelaag, These rooted tablets are very reminiscent of the rooted shackles that were created to bind the Omen twins, Mohg and Morgott. Which might suggest that the trolls are also being shackled or suppressed by Marika in some way.

This is just speculation, of course, but Marika does have this suspicious set of stone tablets in her chambers, And I think it's a good theory for sure. A sword gravestone in the mountaintops elaborates further on the trolls role in the war of the Giants. Here Champions battled and allegedly the trolls betrayed.

But what was the nature of this betrayal? Did these lesser giants resent their larger kin? Or did Marika force this betrayal in some way with the stone shackles?

I think that's largely up to you guys. But whatever the case, nowadays, the trolls are said to have lost their minds and are inseparable from the weight of their rusty swords, which have long since lost any trace of gold. So whether they carry coffins or mine down at the bedrock of the earth, their sad state brings to mind enslavement, Now more than anything else.

That said, Some trolls do seem to have a little bit more dignity. And these are the ones that fought against the Erdtree later on. These were the enchanted troll knights deemed comrades of the young Rennala, and they were called into service when the Queen invoked an oath that they swore long ago.

As mentioned earlier, the trolls go way back to when the fire giants and the astrologers were still neighbors. And back then, it seems for whatever reason, they swore an oath to the astrologers. And later, when the Carians went to war against the Erdtree, I assume the trolls were finally called into that service to be treated as true Knights of Caria, wielding swords embedded with blue glintstone and summoning enormous glint blades, They fought arm in arm with their long lost human comrades.

Iji is another such example of that relationship, by the way. He became the Carian family's royal blacksmith, and unlike the stone digger trolls, he actually uses that weapon for its intended purpose as a blacksmith's hammer. And now he serves the lady Ranni, who he's known ever since her childhood.

Next, I want to talk about the Night's Cavalry. These recurring bosses wander the dim roads at night and were once led by the Fell Omen. Now, this description specifically references Margit's title as the Fell Omen, not Morgott's title as the Omen King.

And I think this is important because Margit represents this undercover extension of Morgott who scouts further out in the world, and takes out champions who approach all the way from Stormveil Castle. Morgott's big role in the story is that he's a stout defender of the Erdtree who wouldn't dare betray the Golden Order. He calls all the other demigods "willful traitors, all" simply for fighting over the Great Runes of the Elden ring.

Even Radahn, who has a lot of signs of being quite loyal to the Golden Order, is called a traitor simply because he fights, at one stage, another character who has a Great Rune. You can even see Morgott in one of these opening cut scene cinematics leaping onto what looks like Radahn and managing to even get an attack off on one of the mightiest of the demigods. Actually, a channel named Smoughtown has a really good little video discussing whether this is indeed Radahn, and I'd highly recommend you go and check that out.

Anyway, my point is the Night's Cavalry seem to fulfill a similar role to Margit. according to their armor They were deliverers of death for great warriors, knights and champions. Simple as that.

No motive is listed, except that they have a reputation for taking out the greatest warriors of the world. And that makes sense that that would be their aim. Because only the strongest can acquire two Great Runes and approach the Erdtree.

So it's almost as if strength itself must be stifled so that Morgott's failing order might be maintained. As for why Margit defends Stormveil, I like to think that he's fighting here because he recognizes that Godrick is the weakest of the demigods who yet remains. So he's bolstering his strength in that sense and trying to maintain this unsteady stalemate.

Having a strong defense is essentially the guiding principle of those who serve the Erdtree, especially as you get closer to the capital. There are numerous examples of this The soldiers of Leyndell fight their battles defensively. the Knights of Leyndell always put their shield before the sword.

And Leyndell itself, the city is built to withstand siege with layers and layers of defensive measures built in and the protective standard to which all defenders of the Erdtree aspire is that of the tree sentinels, whose order became the living rampart of the Erdtree, embellished with golden tree crested armor and shields that can retaliate with bolts of light. They turn defense into offense, and that's the idea in Leyndell Defense is the best offence. And the way this idea is presented is just such beautiful storytelling.

So many characters in other areas of the Lands Between long to return to the blessed land of the Erdtree. And even for you, it's this goal that looms over you the entire game. So the path is designed to repel everyone getting close.

You know, the highway through Liurnia has fallen apart. So you need to take this secret water- logged route up through the mountain. This is my favorite part of the game, by the way.

Finding this secret path through the mountains and infiltrating the Altus Plateau and then when you finally get there, there are countless Ballista and Golem archers, and they're all positioned facing outwards. And finally, you even find a side entrance to Leyndell and that is even guarded by a Tree Sentinel. And it's not just any Tree Sentinel.

This one is actually a Drconic Tree Sentinel, which is kind of different. This variant of sentinels arose after the ancient dragons attacked Leyndell in its history. And we talk more about this event in the video about the demigods.

But in the end, the ancient dragons were befriended and worship of the ancient dragons was deemed acceptable alongside belief in the Erdtree. Drgons were conjoined with the Golden Order, so to speak, and the Drgon Cultists took after them in a physical fashion. Also instrumental to the rise of the Erdtree were the Crucible Knights.

They were eventually scorned for their strength, for their appearance, and for their close resemblance to chaos, and how that inspired who they originally were. 16 of these knights served Godfrey the first Elden Lord, and all 16 of them yet remain across the Lands Between. One is imprisoned in an evergaol two appear to be dead, and are summoned to fight you as spirits.

A number of Crucible Knights still patrol Leyndell. Some protect great tree roots, though most just stand dejected in lost corners of the earth. And one of them has even found a new blasphemous master.

So the next time you fight these, think carefully about where they are and who they're fighting with. Because each knight is a distinct character with purpose or lack thereof. Even though they were all once united by a common purpose and a single lord.

Many of these knights fight with different aspects of the crucible. Some fight with wings, some with horns, fire and tail. But what they all have in common is their mastery of their Lord Godfrey's signature stomp attack, which breaks up the earth beneath their feet.

This is such a cool homage to Godfrey, you know, knowing the lore is great. It definitely makes dying to it feel a little bit better, right? Anyway, I think it's important to remember that Godfrey and his Crucible Knights existed in an age before the Erdtree's, an age with the great tree in its primordial form, back when there was this red tinted crucible of life.

And these were warriors who drew power from its chaos. Eventually, however, they were brought on board with order, which is best exemplified by Godfrey being tamed by the beast regent upon his back. There are two types of ornamentation that The Crucible Knights can have.

Theres axe ornamentation, which is worn by crucible knight Ordovis and his men. And I think the axe is a bit of a homage to Godfrey again. And then there are some knights that have great tree ornamentation, and these are displayed by the Knights, Siluria and her men, which is of course a reference to the great tree itself.

And I'd like to quickly talk about the great tree. In one of my first lore videos, I propose that there was a great tree that must have existed before the Erdtree, and that the Erdtree might have even replaced this great tree. This was based on the English root resin item description, which has the word great tree capitalized and is one word which certainly makes you think that it's a distinct tree.

Right? The line is the roots of the Greattree once linked to those of the Erdtree, which is a line that seems to clearly set up that these are two separate trees. Except the Japanese translation doesn't say that.

The Japanese translation says these roots are said to have once been connected to the Golden Tree. It does mention the great tree earlier, but it seems to just be referencing the Erdtree as that great tree, because it is a really big tree. Some people have taken this to mean that there was no great tree before the Erdtree.

And while that is certainly possible, I do think it's still fair to argue that a great tree existed before the Erdtree. For one, many of the crucible knight items reference a primordial form of the Erdtree and they have ornamentation and history that is based on this primordial holiness that is not the holiness of the Erdtree. So calling it a great tree might just be referencing that tree.

And secondly, Siluria defends a giant tree in the Deeproot Depths. It's one that has this hollowed out entrance that is reminiscent of the entrance at the Erdtree as well. So maybe there's something here.

I just kind of wanted to set that straight for now. But the reality is that we don't really know for sure, and hopefully DLC will shed a light on some of these past ages of the world, which seems to be a common trend with Fromsoftware DLC. And there just really are so many remnants of previous ages in this game, and I'd love to see a little bit more about what their cultures really were like.

It kind of makes you resent just how all encompassing the Erdtree became. So many of these cultures have been lost, and I guess that's how a lot of characters in game feel as well. They feel upset by that and knowing this fact helps you understand why so many of these characters are okay with burning down the Erdtree.

They're totally fine with that. And this brings us to our next boss, because in the act of burning down the Erdtree, you release a slew of Ulcerated Tree spirits from it. These spirits lie suffering beneath the ash until you come along.

But of course, you fight many of these tree spirits across the Lands Between even before the end game. There's an ulcerated tree spirit at the husk of this minor Erdtree. There's a bunch in catacomb dungeons by great tree roots.

There's even one at the husk of the Haligtree. There's a lot of these. Some might even say there's too many of these bosses.

I think they're the worst boss in Elden Ring. But anyway, understanding their lore might make it a bit more palatable. So while these creatures fight near the trees, I don't think they're defending them.

Rather, I kind of think that this corrupted byproduct of dead or dying trees, we know that one of the new purposes of the Erdtree is to accept spirits and allow them to live on. And it's almost like these ulcerated spirits are this horrific failure of that process. One of Miyazaki's favorite themes in these games is the idea that life is not supposed to be eternal.

And I think these spirits are a physical manifestation of stagnation and decay. They're this product of an age of another tree that really should have ended a long time ago. Most tree spirits drop golden seeds, which are also found at the base of smaller, illusory trees.

And they read When the Elden Ring was shattered, these seeds flew from the Erdtree, scattering across the various lands as if life itself knew that its end had come. The talisman also goes on to say the Erdtree was once perfect and eternal, and thus it was believed that Erdtree seeds could not exist. This was back when there was an age of plenty when blessings literally dripped from the bowels of the Erdtree like sap.

And the Erdtrees warm light healed those who bathed in its rays. The Erdtree flourished with abundance, Yet it was only for a fleeting moment. such as the course of all life.

Then the leaves begin to fall. And as you know from the introduction and the endings, the fallen leaves tell a story. The story is that the Erdtree was withering, scattered across the lands between are minor Erdtrees, where you go to collect crystal tears.

Basins were placed at the feet of minor Erdtrees in order to collect these tears, though in some cases these tears are dropped by Erdtree avatars instead. When the Elden ring was shattered the avatars emerged, wielding ceremonial staves that depict the Erdtree in its historic radiance. These creatures are the will of the dying Erdtree made manifest, I think.

they are literally part tree, after all, and they fight desperately to protect the minor Erdtrees, which are the offspring of the withering Erdtree itself. Some avatars placed in Caelid and Miquella's Haligtree are rotten avatars, and they even have this uniquely designed staff that festers with rot just as they do. Remember, the Haligtree is also an emulation of the Erdtree, so it makes sense that it has its own avatars as well.

And they fight on because to many of these creatures, any Erdtree, whether it's minor, or a copy ,or doomed, is something worth protecting. So if you've made it all the way to the end of this video, then chances are you love this kind of long form content. So an audible subscription might also be just right for you.

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