Summary
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s map hides a shocking secret that reveals new details about its most central characters. TheElden RingDLC mapis unbelievably huge; though once advertised as comparable to the size of the starting region, Limgrave, players have speculated that it appears much bigger, almost as big as the base game’s map itself. That might be an exaggeration. The Land of Shadows isn’t nearly as big as the Lands Between, but it is dense. Its areas are stacked up on top of each other. The player may spend hours exploring one dungeon path, only to realize there’s another world beneath their feet.
[Warning: This article contains majorspoilers for Elden Ring, and some minor spoilers for Shadow of the Erdtree.]
And on a microcosmic level,Elden Ring’s DLC is full of secrets. It crams so much content into such a small space that it takes players twice as long to cover an equivalent amount of ground. Things like hidden dungeons, optional bosses, and mysterious artifacts abound. Behind each of these is extensive lore, dispensed piecemeal in cryptic dialogue and vague flavor text. It’s up to the player to put these explore, and put these disparate parts together to understand the whole. That’s exactly what’s happening with the Land of Shadows' map, but on a much larger scale, and its implications for the main case are incredibly revealing.
Elden Ring’s Base Game Connects To The DLC’s Map
How The Lands Between Match The Land Of Shadow
Reddit userGilliamYaegerpointed out thatElden Ring’s DLC map fits perfectly into the base game’s maplike a puzzle piece. The Land of Shadow can be slotted into the sea that separatesLimgravefromLeyndell, the two regions' geographic formations matching each other one-to-one. Their coasts connect in certain places, leaving small stretches of sea in others. Even their respective elevations match at certain points, but where they overlap, can easily be excused by one area’s being underground. It’s like seeing a map of Pangea for the first time, and realizing wide-eyed how much suddenly makes sense.
But this isn’t just a meaningless connection made for visual symmetry. For one thing, it suggests the Land of Shadow was right under the player’s nose the entire time, and they had no idea. Butthe wayElden Ring’s two maps line up supports a variety of popular fan theories, and explains countless story details otherwise left up to interpretation. In these ways,Shadow of the Erdtreeis more than just a DLC. It doesn’t just expand on the base game with an unrelated side story - it completely recontextualizes it.
Elden Ring’s DLC Map Affirms Theories That Marika Is Melina’s Mother
Marika’s Village In Shadow Of The Erdtree
First and foremost,the overlaid maps effectively confirm thatMelinais Marika’s daughter. This has long been a popularElden Ringfan theory for a variety of reasons. Melina’s stated purpose for traveling to the Erdtree in the base game is to find her mother, and Marika is known to be imprisoned inside. When she’s briefly summoned during the fight against Morgott, the Omen King, Melina uses healing, Erdtree-based incantations. These visibly resemble and function similarly toMinor Erdtree, described in the DLC as the “secret incantation of Queen Marika.”
Elden Ring: How To Learn Every Incantation (& What They Do)
Incantations are Elden Ring’s powerful Faith-based spells, and Tarnished players can learn over 100 of them on their quest to claim the Elden Ring.
More importantly, though, a throwaway line of dialogue, paired with the symmetry ofElden Ring’s two maps, reveals thatthe site of Melina’s birth lines up perfectly with Marika’s home village. The first time the player rests at a Site of Grace after arriving atAltus Plateau, finally approaching the Erdtree itself, Melina appears to them and says, “It takes me back. I was born at the foot of the Erdtree. Where mother gave me my purpose.” When the two maps are overlaid, the Shaman Village, which contains numerous pieces of evidence to link it to Marika, sits right at the foot of the Erdtree.
The Shaman Village contains two notable items that link it to Marika: the healingMinor Erdtreeincantation, and a lock of hair (the Golden Braid), said to belong to Marika. The Golden Braid can be equipped as aTalisman inElden Ringto reduce the player’s vulnerability to Holy damage.
Marika May Have Hidden Elden Ring’s Land Of Shadow To Escape Her Past
The Divine Towers & The Land Of Shadow’s Veil
The perfect alignment ofElden Ring’s maps - along with other details - suggestsMarika may have deliberately hid the Land of Shadow when she left for the Lands Between, perhaps in an attempt to bury her tragic past. Look at the Scadutree from certain angles inShadow of the Erdtree, and it appears to be covered with enormous bolts of cloth. This is most apparent from Belurat, but can be seen from various other locations - high elevation makes the illusion clearer.
It’s also well-established inElden Ring’s lore thatMarika has access to various magical fabrics that allow their wearers a measure of invisibility. First, there’s theMimic’s Veil, a tool found within Stormveil Castle. The item’s flavor text reveals that it once belonged to Godrick, and is also known as Marika’s Mischief, suggesting she was aware of its existence, if not responsible for its creation. There’s also theConcealing Veil, a Talisman found much later when the player defeats the Black Knife Assassin in Sage’s Cave. The flavor text explains that the veil was used on the Night of Black Knives, when several Numen women close to Marika assassinated Godwyn the Golden.
The Mimic’s Veil allows the player to transform their appearance into that of a nearby item. It’s excellent in PvP invasions, effectively turningElden Ringinto a game of Prop Hunt.
And when the Lands Between are overlaid with the Land of Shadow, there’s another convergence:the six Divine Towers surround its borders, creating a perfect hexagon. These locations could be pinning the curtain back, as it were, maintaining the illusion of the Land of Shadow’s disappearance. Each Divine Tower is also connected to a Demigod, and fractions of the power of their Great Runes are stored there; this could also help maintain the invisible veil. Considering the oppression Marika and the other Numen faced at the hands of the Hornsent in the Land of Shadow, it makes perfect sense that she’d go to great lengths to hide that past and start anew.
One Brutally Hard Elden Ring DLC Boss Is Inspired By Equally Violent History & Terrifying Mythology
Mesmer the Impaler, a boss in the Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, is inspired by a blend of real historical figures and mythological entities.
Ultimately, the overlaid DLC map is just a theory. But there’s enough evidence to support it based on lore in the base game alone, and it intersects so perfectly with various other, well-supported fan theories, that it’s hard not to accept it as canon out of hand. Only further player discoveries can confirm or debunk this fascinating theory aboutElden Ring’s DLC.
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is a popular game released by From Software, creators of games such as Armored Core, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne. Players assume the role of a Tarnished, a being once exiled to the Lands Between and has returned to repair the Elden Ring after the events of “The Shattering.” “The Shattering” occurred when the offspring of Queen Marika battled to claim the shards of the Elden Ring, known as Great Runes. Their war has brought lawlessness, destruction, and chaos to the land, and the player will challenge them with the assistance of a Maiden known as Melina as they travel towards the great Erd Tree to face their destiny and to become the one true Elden Lord. Players can tackle the game how they choose and can adventure across realms as they build their character how they want - be it a powerful magic caster or a brutal swordsman - they will have complete control over their build.
