Yo, Tarnished! Let's talk about the single most important figure in the entire Lands Between: Queen Marika the Eternal. She's the lynchpin of EVERYTHING, the final face you see before making your choice, and honestly, the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC in 2024 threw so much new lore at us that it's time for a deep dive. If you just rushed to beat Malenia and call it a day, you missed a ton. So, let's piece together the whole, wild story of the woman who shattered the world.

From Shaman Soup to Divine Being

The DLC, no cap, gave us the biggest lore bomb: Marika's humble (and horrifying) beginnings. She wasn't born a goddess. She started as a Shaman living in a village under the thumb of the Hornsent. These guys were... intense. They were obsessed with creating a "perfect being" through some seriously messed-up alchemy. Their method? Throwing Shamans into giant pots and mixing them with parts of other creatures. Basically, a Frankenstein's monster soup. Most people died, but the Shamans were built different. And Marika? She was the one successful experiment, the perfect blend that the Hornsent saw as divine. Talk about a rough start to life.

The Ultimate Betrayal & Ascension

Marika became a religious figure for the Hornsent, but trust was clearly not in the cards. The key was the Divine Gateway. At some point, she used it, ascended to godhood, and in doing so, she created the Realm of Shadow and banished her creators there forever. This was her first major power move. But here's the twist: she didn't stick with the Hornsent's "Primordial Crucible" vibe. She linked up with a new crew: the Two Fingers and the Greater Will. This is likely when she met her loyal, tragic shadowbound beast, Maliketh, her so-called "half-brother" and enforcer.

Conquest & Family Drama 101

With the Hornsent locked away, Marika and the Greater Will set out to conquer the Lands Between. She needed a champion and found the fiercest warrior around: Hoarah Loux. To civilize him, he became Godfrey, the First Elden Lord, with the lion Serosh on his back to curb his bloodlust. Together, they had three kids: the golden boy Godwyn, and the cursed twins Morgott and Mohg (whose horns linked them to the hated Hornsent, leading to their banishment).

But Godfrey wasn't the only one fighting wars. Marika's other half, Radagon, was busy in Liurnia. After a stalemate, he pulled a diplomatic 180 and married the Lunar Queen Rennala, uniting their houses. This union produced the legendary Carian demigods: Rykard, Radahn, and Ranni. And yes, the fact that Radagon IS Marika makes all these kids her demigod children too. Mind. Blown.

Securing Her Reign: Death, Fire, and Shadow

Marika's rise wasn't unchallenged. A major threat was the Gloam-Eyed Queen, an Empyrean who wielded the Rune of Destined Death. Maliketh defeated her, claiming the Rune and removing true death from the world. Many believe this queen was actually Melina, one of Marika's first daughters. Heavy stuff.

Godfrey also wiped out the Giants who served the Flame of Ruin, leaving only one alive as a guardian. And to ensure the Hornsent in the Shadow Realm never returned, Marika sent one of her own children, Messmer the Impaler (likely Radagon's son, given the red hair), on a flaming crusade to keep them trapped forever.

The Plot Thickens: Radagon, The Shattering, and The Tarnished

Once the conquest was complete, Marika did something wild. She stripped Godfrey and his warriors of Grace, making them the first Tarnished, and banished them. She then called Radagon back from Liurnia to become her new Elden Lord (keeping their shared identity a secret, of course). Together, they had the final two cursed demigods: Miquella (eternal youth) and Malenia (the Scarlet Rot).

But centuries of being the vessel for the Elden Ring and the Greater Will's power left Marika feeling trapped. She wanted out. This led to her attempt to shatter the Elden Ring. Whether she was stopped by Radagon, Maliketh, or the Fingers themselves, the result was The Shattering, a war where the demigods fought over the pieces.

What Was Her Endgame?

This is the million-rune question. Marika's plan seems to have been in motion for ages. When she banished Godfrey, she prophesied the Tarnished would one day return. That's where WE come in. The game begins with the Tarnished being summoned back to the Lands Between.

But what did she want us to do? Most endings have us repair her and the Ring, which doesn't seem like freedom. The key might lie in events before the Shattering: The Night of the Black Knives. Ranni stole a fragment of Destined Death from Maliketh to kill her own body, simultaneously killing Godwyn's soul. Maliketh later says Marika betrayed him. Coincidence? I think not.

Marika may have been complicit in Ranni's plot. Ranni's ending creates a world free of gods and the Greater Will's influence—true liberation. Was that Marika's goal all along? To use the Tarnished and events like the Black Knives to break the system that imprisoned her, even if it meant destroying everything?

So, there you have it. Marika's journey from a test subject in a pot to a goddess who shattered her own kingdom in a bid for freedom. She's not just a figure in a tree; she's the architect of the entire Age, and her desperate gamble for liberation is the true heart of Elden Ring's story. What a queen, fr.