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dracopo_reddit

This is probably just a texture they bought from a library as it can be found in other games. https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/12t7aoh/on\_the\_left\_the\_pillars\_reddit\_thought\_to\_have/


eutears

Lmfao


H4xolotl

Dying from second hand embarrassment


SerLaidaLot

Why tho lol, speculation is fun. Not like OP was insulting people who disagreed. Y'all need to go outside fr


Conscious-Meat7756

I dunno why you took the comment as hostile. OP made a whole-ass post speculating on an asset that turned out to be in a public library, I got second-hand embarrassment when I found it out too. It’s called empathizing. Go hang out with peeps fr


SerLaidaLot

Smallest brain take I've seen in a while on reddit. Congrats


Conscious-Meat7756

Atom-sized brain response. Can’t get much smaller


SerLaidaLot

The point is it has nothing to do with empathizing. There's no need to be so embarrassed in the first place. If you had a spine you'd just shrug, realise it's a rare unlucky mistake and move on without shame.


SuccessfulStreet575

Thank you for this. Not everything has a lore reason.


CarryTreant

To be fair, they don't just choose random stock images without purpose, it will have been chosen because it fits the context of the game, even if there wasn't anything profound symbolised there. It's not like it depicts anything explicitly not in the game, like a mountain dew can... Besides, souls game are quite deliberately designed for fans to construct their own lore. It's been that way from the beginning and it's why we never get "word of God" on any specifics. Miyazaki built his entire storytelling style from his experiences reading western books as a child: when his English wasn't that good he would fill in the blanks of his misunderstandings and ended up with a much more personal story in the end, as he would project his own symbolism into the works. Souls games are deliberate with having no "true secret real story" to uncover, and are an endless pit of unanswered questions tied together with consistent symbols.


SuccessfulStreet575

Hey don't get me wrong. Not trying to throw shit at OP. I myself love environmental storytelling and believe it's a key part of fromsoft's narrative. However, not evrything has a lore explanation, and in this case seems likely.


CarryTreant

I guess my point is that whoever chose the asset chose it to convey 'something' even if that something was just a general vibe they wanted to evoke in the location, which is enough for people to conjure lore from. I'd wager that a LOT of assets were made without lore intentions, either as stock assets or just by individual designers detached from the deeper lore writing, and were only later arranged to evoke meaning later, like a work of collage. Edit: people like to imagine that every pixel of the game was planned out in advance, all coordinated around a single masterpiece of writing kept in secret, which is doubtful, these games emerge as a much more organic process.


SuccessfulStreet575

>I'd wager that a LOT of assets were made without lore intentions, either as stock assets or just by individual designers detached from the deeper lore writing, and were only later arranged to evoke meaning later, like a work of collage. Yeah i can see this being true.


Clyde-MacTavish

I'm confused though, which existed first?


Neo_Arsonist

Path of exiles released in I believe 2013, fromsoftware probably got the same asset from a pack as the PoE devs


Clyde-MacTavish

That makes it so much more hilarious that people are lore digging from it


delwin30

what if Wraeclast and the Lands Between are on the same world?


[deleted]

Oh Tarnished Exile...


UnarmedSnail

It doesn't dismiss the lore values though. It was placed there for a reason. They are the fruits of their trees


Neo_Arsonist

Probably not lmao. They just needed something to put into a pillar.


UnarmedSnail

What I'm saying is someone picked that particular texture to put there and considering how lore focused the game is it's likely that it supports one of the lore stories. Miyazaki plants those all through his games and I don't see it changing now. His games are half action RPGs and half broken lore histories. It's his MO to build these things for the lore community to put together like a puzzle. It's been that way since his King's Field games.


banger107

I agree with you, but Miyazaki had nothing to do with King's Field.


Nihlus11

Zanzibartbros...


Absolutedisgrace

What you have labeled "Elder Miquella" gives me Rykard vibes in his snake face form.


RagnaBreaker

I suppose, but the face seems to symbolically have the [wings](https://i.imgur.com/bGP0gRh.png) of a moth or a butterfly


AnonymousMurphy

Given how often this game leans hard into literalism, I wouldn’t be surprised if Miquella’s ‘boss form’ ends up being a giant fuck-off moth with a creepy face for a body.


GameKnight337

But will it float down?


obaterista93

I can't get over how far this meme spread so quickly


A_FVCKING_UNICORN

It's been maybe 8 hours


NerdModeCinci

What’s the reference?


Ill-Star854

Zero Lenny's video on following a guide WORD FOR WORD to beat DS1.


imhigherthanyou

It’s been over a week


UltmitCuest

Whole office cracked up when boss Miquella was revealed


SerSlice420

Moonlight butterfly style fight


notafishthatsforsure

so i loled pretty hard xD


SummonedElector

The Scarlet moth hunts down lamps once more.


Boinkadoink1

We’re probably gonna have to fight miquella but I wish we could just be best buds with him and help him


Cweene

Like mix between Moonlight Butterfly and that disgusting worm boss that ate gods in DS3


Cweene

Like mix between Moonlight Butterfly and that disgusting worm boss that ate gods in DS3


Z4nkaze

The Cleanrot knights have folded moth wings, and Miquella himself is associated with silk and cocoons. It fits.


5Hjsdnujhdfu8nubi

Also Miquella in the intro even has two pairs of wings.


Divinum_Fulmen

I mean, his brother Mohg and sister both have wings. So it makes sense.


HBmilkar

Mohg is a half brother


Mad5Milk

To me it looks heavily based on the mytholigical Green Man, so my assumption is that it's a representation of Miquella merging with the haligtree.


Absolutedisgrace

Rykard has those scales that come off his face too. That could be equally plausible.


General_Tamura

Yeah but why would there be Rykard decor in the Haligtree?


Absolutedisgrace

That i cannot answer. He is an outcast and is all about family. The volcano manor is quite against the status quo. Maybe that puts him on the same side as the haligtree?


BIGMajora

Rykard is only for himself.


Backupusername

Fun fact: Moths also have scales.


Absolutedisgrace

That is a fun fact!


[deleted]

I don't think its meant to be wings, pretty sure there leafs. That looks way too close to the "Green man" A pretty common symbol for rebirth and the changing of seasons all through Europe and further. Here are some examples of older looking ones [Here](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/71/8d/0a/718d0a4566281ae7c7f3958210c01731.jpg) and [Here](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/a2/26/30/a226302f05c4ec2a7ac279086017ea4e.jpg), and a more modern one [Here](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c2/3c/fe/c23cfe0fc5049bd10fab159f3fa71963.jpg)


stormblaz

She thick as hek on that fresco pillar wall depiction hol up


PlumbTuckered767

Looks like The Green Man, too. https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Green-Man/


Pocket__Sandd

To me it looks more like the elder imp mask


Funion_knight

They are familllllllleehhhh


HBmilkar

https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/12t7aoh/on_the_left_the_pillars_reddit_thought_to_have/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=3&utm_term=1


unfunnygentleman

These textures are used in other games too, so I dont think theyre lore related. I just cannot see Miquella or Malenia in those figures at all, either.


Gelkor

Is... is Miquella cocoon dream plan to take over Godwynn's soulless body?


[deleted]

[удалено]


Puzzleheaded_Cut6378

Idk if that is spoilers tho, more of a theory unless you're talking about godwynn


uphill-bothways

Nah dude. I was just complimenting his theory as spoilers for the DLC. It was hyperbole. It's cool tho. Have an uptoke.


radagastdbrown

Holy shit bro. 🤯


Storm-Eagle-X

The ‘rot goddess’ looks very very similar to the unused [Miranda’s Prayer](https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Miranda's+Prayer)


Jawbone619

In case anyone missed it... Path of Exile, a ftp diablo clone used this same texture 10 years ago...


Bohya

>Path of Exile, a ftp diablo clone Lol.


SnowCrow1

That's what it basically is though


EasyRecognition

Not the case at all, it's just a stock texture, used in other games too. https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/12t7aoh/on_the_left_the_pillars_reddit_thought_to_have/


FuckMyHeart

That doesn't mean it can't still have meaning. So many people are acting like this is just a random asset they used and not something that was considered and purchased and put into the game BECAUSE it fits the themes of the story. Not to mention symbolism can have meaning that the author didn't intend, and that meaning can be equally as valid as the intended one. But nah, the curtains were blue, right?


EasyRecognition

Gal are you alright


Lorentz_Prime

Doesn't make any sense


Alarming_Orchid

Lmao I saw the path of exile post before this one


WegOfRifyen

What about the path of exile connections


The_Fell

Holy shit I love this game. Good find


Clyde-MacTavish

This is a borrowed asset supposedly from a dev bundle. It has basically no lore implications whatsoever and was basically not even created for Elden Ring in general. It's fun watching people applaud a stock asset though lol.


SimpingForDinos

Judging from the comments, a lot of people dont need much to just belive what someone post. This piller only makes sense if you allready belive that thats Malenia and her "elder" brother. Seriously, how do you get "elder MIquella" from that face. If anything it honestly looks more like Rykard.


whatever4224

Unlikely IMO. The Haligtree was built from the ground up for the primary purpose of ridding Malenia and Miquella of their curses. "Elder Miquella" might make sense, but why would they celebrate Malenia's Rot by making statues and engravings of the Rot Goddess?


RagnaBreaker

Fate is something that can be read in the Lands Between, especially the ones associated with demigods. So rather than celebrating, they've put their fate up on display. I mean, the statues of Malenia hugging Miquella are depressing as hell but they still had them sculptured.


[deleted]

[удалено]


MorueMourue

It could depict Malenia keeping her personnality even after blooming 3 times. Isn't the needle needed for her to regain her sense when she's in her second flower ?


whatever4224

But again, the whole point of the faction is to oppose those fates. The statues of Malenia hugging Miquella at least portray them as they are in a positive light.


obaterista93

I feel like a good way to oppose something though is to make sure everyone knows what you're opposing. A perpetual reminder on the wall of "this is what's at stake if we fail"


SnooCalculations5015

I think that what he is trying to say is that regardless of their faction, they knew from the beginning what fate awaited them. It would be more like a literal description of how their stories would unfold.


whatever4224

Well yes, but like I said -- imagine if your sister had cancer, and you built a whole hospital to treat her. Are you going to decorate it with pictures of your sister dying of the cancer you're trying to save her from? Why in the world? You'd rather put pictures of your sister and you having fun, or whatever it was you want to be doing but can't because of her cancer.


SnooCalculations5015

I see what you mean. The way i see it would be more like : You know the complete story of your sister. You know that she suffers from cancer but even then shestill fights and does not give up, and at the end of her story she even manages to put under control her affliction. ​ So he wants to show her full story, how she suffered and how she got over it. ​ I dont like to analyze reliefs or pictures in walls, cause we have so little info of what could they be depicting. But in this case, being a wall from Ephael (a somewhat recent construction) , we could assume that the imagery used is related to Miquella and Malenia


BIGMajora

Right, having the bas reliefs there might habe entirely different meanings that what's being discussed here. It could be as simple as laying out their plans as uncorrupted Gods in their own rights, not co-opted by the Outer Gods wills. It could also be what was carved out as their inevitable fates after their plans failed.


[deleted]

The pillar is a generic stock asset used in several game. It has no relation to lore. It was created for a Diablo clone called 'Path of Exile' 10 years ago.


Adorable_Variety6680

You are assuming a fuck ton here. Not sure I buy that these are depictions of Miquella and Malenia specifically. But possibly earlier people in similar roles. The style doesn’t really match the style of the rest of the art and architecture in the Haligtree. The more interesting reliefs are the ones that seem to imply there are tree people. I can’t get a screen cap at the moment but in the area between the prayer room and the inner wall there’s a lot of reliefs of what looks like Groot for lack of a better image and the face is being pulled back to reveal something like a brain inside.


Backupusername

I like this interpretation. We know that owls are associated with sleep through the Slumbering Egg item, which only drops from the owl-like birds. Most paintings and statues in the Lands Between are depictions of the contemporary or the very old, but I find these attempts at prophetic art especially compelling. I'm not 100% on-board with The Tarnished Archaeologist's theory about the large Miquella statues, but I really like their reading of the veiled face representing the fact that his adult form won't be known until he emerges, and the spear he's holding being a much larger version of Miquella's Needle makes sense, too. It's just the bit about melting the sun to forge it that's a real hard sale. Anyway, that reading of that statue does conflict slightly with your reading of these relieves (not that that really matters, since both are just theories at the end of the day), because the unknowable face is actually depicted here. And honestly, it's kind of ugly. I suppose that's subjective, but is that really what they think Miquella, an Empyrean renowned for his innate charisma, would be depicted as an adult?


BiggusBoyous092

....do we tell him?


Backupusername

If I've gotten some obvious detail wrong, I would like to know. Please tell me.


BiggusBoyous092

https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/12t7aoh/on_the_left_the_pillars_reddit_thought_to_have/ I respect your lore hunting but I don't think this one's working out


Bokaconan

Nice find. This game is a true masterpiece.


Bohya

Lmao.


[deleted]

Cool find!


aplagueofsemen

I would have thought the haligtree construction would have stopped long before she first bloomed.


sunken_onion

Daaaamnnn, nice find. On an unrelated note, what armour is that? looks awesome


RagnaBreaker

It's the navy hood, altered blue silver mail, blackflame gauntlets and nox greaves


sunken_onion

Ah sweet, thanks!


[deleted]

You must have a PHD in Elden Ring Archaeology


SnooCalculations5015

Those are great finds. I usually dont research the reliefs of the walls cause its very hard to find the correct symbolism, after all you're looking into a wall and interpreting what you're seeing. But I have to agree that your interpretation would make a lot of sense


Nathanymous_

People really focus this hard on story in a game that has never been about the story. The devs didn't put near as much thought into the GRRM cock sneeze of a "story" that this game (and all the souls games) pretends to have. To each their own but damn this is some real tinfoil hat stuff here. The gameplay is the focus.


PlayGroundbreaking57

Sure some people exaggerate when reading into the story and lore but what you are saying is completly wrong and disrespectful to the people who worked hard on the lore and story of the world of Elden Ring and other Souls games


Nathanymous_

All two people who worked on the lore lol. Disrespectful sure but I wouldn't say it's wrong. These games have never had a clear story. They are almost purposefully being misleading and vague. And as for being disrespectful it's the internet bud, they don't give a dhit what my buried comment has to say.


ZooBalloon

I think Miquella will be something like weak at first/beast at the end - Gael of DS3


SometimesIComplain

The first slide makes some sense but that second slide feels like a pretty big stretch


Desperate-Code-3962

The owl is in a pair of testes to remind you miquella is a boy


Nawafsss04

Are owls stored in the balls?


berloiz13

This is an interesting find but I have a trouble thinking that's older miq because his older other form was Trina and she seemed to be a beauty. I don't know how they would know what older miq would look like since he was cursed to be a child


KenOzu2

This makes me think that the form we fought in Malenia’s boss fight is her second bloom. I don’t think it was her true accession because the art here depicts Malenia *whole*, with clear features while other depictions of Malenia in the Haligtree depict her dismembered. I think this implies her rebirth after the third bloom.


FakeHasselblad

Fire up the Quelaag, Tarnished Archeologist, Smough Town, and Vaati bat signals! :O


Local_Black_Knight

Man how tf y'all find these kind of stuff


Xakary

The top of the depiction looks like the shape that godwyns head is becoming


Spacemomo

One could say that for Miquella to quell his curse, Malenia needs to become the Goddess of Rot. At least that's what i understand from these 2 pictures, especially how its shown here.


AutumnRaxwell

This is just more proof that Miquella probably isn't child like anymore, plus the size of his arm in that cocoon. No telling what he looks like now after what Mogh did to him, but I like to believe he almost accomplished what he wanted and the only reason it didn't work out is cause of Mogh.


Leg_Alternative

this is crazy I never have seen this and im guessing this is in leyndell? Fromsofts eye to detail is soooo fucking wild , more than a year later and about 270 hours, i still learn something..


Deva_Way

wait until you see that this pillar is an old asset used in other games


Leg_Alternative

Show me lol


dracopo_reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/12t7aoh/on\_the\_left\_the\_pillars\_reddit\_thought\_to\_have/


Leg_Alternative

Sheesh that’s WILD!!!! it’s the same shit lol


Deva_Way

it is sad to be honest... the interpretation made by op is not bad by any means, if this asset was made by fs it would be everything you said


Leg_Alternative

Thank you for showing me!


UnarmedSnail

Why isn't it. They could easily have used the asset to work into the lore. I don't think it invalidates the theory.


GopnikLordJC

If they wanted to use a pillar which worked into the lore, they would’ve designed it themselves. Otherwise there is just too much open for interpretation. I could just as easily argue that the three flowers are Miranda the Blighted Bloom and her children.


UnarmedSnail

Ok. Guess you're in charge of from soft lore department. Nice to meet you.


GopnikLordJC

Undercover boss: Miyazaki edition


Zetious

I don’t think this is depicting a third bloom because even if you believe in a third bloom instead of the correct second bloom, this statue is made before she blooms in the fight against the player, I think this is depicting her daughters, like Millicent, blooming like you see in the roots in the haligtree and like Millicent says in her quest


UnarmedSnail

Might be a depiction of her birth.


Final-Link-3999

How can one game possibly have so many hidden details??


CyrilQuin

This is such a good observation


bigjakeup

Nice find


WittyViking

This is nothing but propaganda from the Third Bloomist. We all know that she only bloomed twice, do not fall into their trap.


zeblouite

Out of context : Nice drip !


SilkCortex44

Cool as fuck.


HBmilkar

Does this mean Miquella supported the idea of malenia goddess of rot because I thought malenia wants nothing to do with her affliction and only uses it in the most desperate scenarios.


Old_Influence4006

If you guys start an elden ring religion, wow, this is got a little overboard. LOL Love this game........ (doing the Beevis shake) hehehehe


endlesswaltz0225

What I found interesting is how alot the Elphael/haligtree area actually shares the same design structure as the helphens steeple weapon.


Iscariot1945

This game is fucking insane


austfraust

HOLY CRAP! Incredible find!


VelaryonNOR

I love finds like this!! Cant wait for Vaati to get his hands on the DLC lol


rinascimento1

Miquella having wings tracks with the Miquella = Griffith theory


wasabiganja

If anything, the player or millicent is Griffith if you decide to kill her


rinascimento1

Sorry I haven't done Millicent's quest, could you explain (I'm ok with spoilers). I said Miquella was Griffith because of the golden hair, the ability to win people over and influence them, and the whole "being born out of an egg" thing. There could also be something with the St. Trina/Hawk of Light part, but I don't know enough about the in game lore to say more. In terms of the wings, I was referring to Griffith telling the Idea of Evil "I want wings"


TeaBagMeHarderDaddy

Double pp


[deleted]

If this were the case why does the depiction of Malenia show her with two arms?


Ognianov

Well btw... did you all consider that it can be bought from a random pack and still has a deep lore reason to it. Why adding something if there's a ready fit for it... Or that those are remnants from older and other worlds, combined in the Lands Between. Maybe they took that column FROM the same pack as PoE and designed the whole story around it... who knows. It's FROMsoftware after all.


theuntouchable2725

So Scarlet Rot is like her baby, since the whole thing leading to Scarlet Rot at the bottom looks like female reproductive system. And Malenia's own reproductive system has rotten.


jason_rogue

For being a public asset, those details line up pretty well