Beneath the fractured sky and the gnarled roots of the Erdtree, the Lands Between hide their most profound secrets in the deep dark. Beyond the well-trodden paths of Limgrave and the frozen peaks of the Giants, a subterranean realm of ancient grandeur and sorrow sleeps. Nokstella, the Eternal City, is one such hidden marvel, a spectral metropolis bathed in the cold light of false stars, its silent streets holding treasures and truths for those brave enough to seek them. While the surface world contends with demigods and ruin, this sunken dominion offers a different kind of pilgrimage, one that intertwines fate with a mysterious witch and leads to the very precipice of destiny.

The Witch's Summons: Embarking on Ranni's Quest

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The most storied path to the eternal gloom of Nokstella begins with a pact of service. In the misty, magic-saturated lands of Liurnia of the Lakes, beyond the spectral defenses of Caria Manor and its guardian, Royal Knight Loretta, lies the hill of the Three Sisters. There, in the western tower known as Ranni's Rise, the enigmatic Empyrean, Ranni the Witch, awaits. One need not challenge the formidable Glintstone Dragon Adula that patrols the grounds; the true trial is one of commitment. Ascend the spiraling stairs, pledge your service to the doll-like figure, and receive a quest of cosmic significance: to retrieve the Fingerslayer Blade from the buried city of Nokron.

This oath weaves a web of intrigue, bringing the Tarnished into the orbit of Ranni's enigmatic allies: the stalwart War Counselor Iji, the loyal half-wolf Blaidd, and the scheming Preceptor Seluvis. Consulting this cryptic council dispels the magical barrier that seals Ranni's tower, setting the stage for the descent.

The Path Through the Stars: From Radahn to the River

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The key to Nokron, and thus to Nokstella, lies in a celestial event. Only by defeating the fallen star conqueror, Starscourge Radahn, in the blighted wastes of Caelid, does a star fall to earth, carving a crater south of Mistwood that reveals the entrance to the Eternal City. Within Nokron's ghostly expanse, past challenges like the Mimic Tear and the treacherous platforms of the Ancestral Woods, the coveted Fingerslayer Blade is claimed from the Night's Sacred Ground.

Returning this artifact to Ranni is rewarded with the Carian Inverted Statue, a talisman of twisted space. Its power activates a sending gate at the peak of Renna's Rise, the neighboring tower. Stepping through this portal is a journey through the fabric of the world, depositing the traveler not on a hilltop, but in the damp, echoing caverns of the Ainsel River.

From this subterranean waterway, the path to the city unfolds:

  • Journey South: Traverse the solemn, ruined architecture of the Uhl Palace Ruins.

  • Venture West: Brave a tunnel teeming with Giant Ants, their chittering a constant chorus in the dark.

  • Emergence: Exit the cavern, and there it lies—Nokstella, Eternal City, its architecture a melancholic echo of a lost age, illuminated by a canopy of glowing blue crystals.

The Road Less Traveled: An Alternative Descent

For those who spurn pacts or seek a more arduous trial, a path of pure conquest exists. This route demands formidable strength and unwavering resolve, bypassing the witch's guidance entirely.

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After Radahn's defeat, one must delve into the deepest reaches of Nokron's Ancestral Woods, navigating eastward along precarious cliffsides adorned with spectral Jellyfish. A leap of faith from a cliff leads to the Siofra Aqueducts, a place of flowing underground waters and monumental stonework.

The true gatekeeper of this path, however, is not a key or a spell, but a trial of brutal combat. In a vast, open arena, the Tarnished must face the Valiant Gargoyle Duo. This is one of the realm's most punishing encounters: two towering, swift, and devastating stone sentinels that attack in relentless concert. Victory here is a testament of sheer martial prowess.

Vanquishing the gargoyles grants passage via a stone coffin to the Deeproot Depths, the verdant heart of the underworld. From there, seeking northward leads to another cryptic coffin, which ferries the worthy to the Ainsel River Main. This convergence point offers the same access to the silent, waiting grandeur of Nokstella and the dreaded, scarlet expanse of the Lake of Rot.

The Eternal City's Bounty and Mystery

Nokstella is more than a waypoint; it is a destination rich with lore and reward. Its silent halls and balconies over looking void are patrolled by the spectral Nox monks and swordstresses, guardians of a forbidden past. Here, one can find:

  • Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones, crucial for armament ascension.

  • The powerful sorcery, Stars of Ruin.

  • The Mimic Tear Ashes, allowing summoning of a duplicate of the Tarnished.

  • Key items that weave into the grand tapestry of Ranni's quest for a new Order.

The city serves as the antechamber to even deeper, more hostile realms, standing as a silent monument to ambition and downfall. Whether reached through loyal service to a lunar witch or carved open by sheer force of arms, Nokstella remains one of Elden Ring's most evocative and rewarding secret locales—a testament to the game's layered, poetic world-building where every shadow holds a story, and every descent reveals a new stratum of the mythos.