Shadow of the Erdtree – Elden ring’s new DLC

Elden Ring is an epic action role-playing game set in a vast and mysterious world with rich lore and history. Developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, the game is renowned for its intricate storytelling and captivating world-building. One of the most notable aspects of Elden Ring’s lore is the involvement of George R. R. Martin, the renowned author of “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, upon which the popular TV show “Game of Thrones” is based. Martin collaborated closely with FromSoftware to create the deep and immersive lore that underpins the game’s universe. His masterful touch is evident in the complex web of kingdoms, characters, and conflicts that players encounter as they journey through the land.

This particular DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, is thought to bring a lot of changes to the overall lore and shine a light on a lot of mysteries of the world.

Shadow of the Erdtree announcement

On the 23rd of February, the Elden Ring team announced the upcoming expansions on their Twitter account. Since then, there has really been little information from the developing team. However, that did not stop fans from speculating about the content of the expansion.

Who is the person riding Torrent in the picture?

At first glance, a lot of fans would say that the person in the picture is Queen Marika. The similarities are definitely there: golden braided hair and similarly placed armbands. However, another, but less popular, theory is that it is actually one of Markia’s children a demigod by the name of Miquella.

The hairstyle depicted in the announcement post is identical to Miquella’s and all the known statues show them to have exact same garments as well. What’s also interesting is that Marika is always shown as an adult, whilst this person looks childlike. An Elden Ring character that was cursed to an eternal childhood perhaps? Seem’s too good of a coincidence to miss out on. Another clue we have is the sentence of the post:

Rise, Tarnished, and let us walk a new path together.

Miquella is rumored to want a new world order established in the Lands Between. So, with my whole heart, I can confidently say that the person in the image is Miquella.

What does that say about our mount Torrent?

It would be foolish to consider Torrent just a simple mount that gets you from A to B when in reality he’s a full-on character. At the beginning of the game, he chooses you in the graveyard and while the whistle to call Torrent is given to you by Melina, she is simply acting on his will.

However, someone that knows more about the spectral steed is Ranni. You may remember her as the person who gives you the three lone spirit wolves also at the beginning of the game and says they’re from Torrent’s former master. There’s a relief in Farum Azula that depicts a small child-like figure surrounded by three wolves. But, we are not given any concrete evidence whether this is Torrent’s former master. Miquella was a notable craftsman that could have made the whistle ring, and also he is quite famous for their ability to install loyalty in others. This is just speculation, but it is highly possible that Torrent’s former master is indeed him.

What’s Shadow of the Erdtree?

The thing in the image that we can be the least sure of is the dark erdtree in the distance. It still acts as a light source like other erdtrees in the game but it is a lot weaker. It seems as if there are two erdtrees in the image. The straight one is weeping gold like other retirees and a darker one that’s smothering the other.

My favorite theory is that this occurrence is actually happening in some kind of spirit realm. There are no known plants that could have done something like this to an Erdtree and also the timeline with Miquella’s storyline wouldn’t exactly fit. The spirit graves surrounding Torrent and the landscape that is unlike anything in Lands Between support the fact that this might actually be a spirit realm. We must not forget about Miquella’s alternative existence in the spirit realm as St. Trina. But, what does this mean for the lore? Sadly, there’s little information about the spirit realms and we would have to wait for the DLC to drop.

Final thoughts and release date

We aren’t expecting the DLC anytime soon, not even this year considering the trailer hasn’t been yet announced. Needless to say, everyone in the gaming community is very excited and were quite disappointed when nothing was published earlier in June. Brace yourselves Tarnished because we got a long wait ahead of us.