Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, the highly anticipated expansion to the original blockbuster game, was finally released in June 2024. This expansion takes players on a journey through a dark world that no one knew existed.
Besides dropping players in a brand-new location, it also introduces several new bosses that are incredibly hard to defeat. Besides being a hurdle to players, these bosses are also crucial to the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree story.
A new location, new bosses and a very grim new story that would change your perspective on some of the most popular characters from the original game — this DLC uncovers how every evil in the main game is rooted here, and characters who have buried some horrific secrets in the Shadow Realm.
As with the main game, this DLC’s story is complex and multifaceted. To make it easier for most fans to understand, we have created this Elden Ring DLC story guide. It will help you understand the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree story better.
‘Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’ story explained
Shadow Realm and Messmer the Impaler
Just like the original game had the Lands Between, Shadow of the Erdtree has the Shadow Realm. It is a dark world destroyed by a massive war, which was started by someone who does not even reside in this world, Queen Marika.
She wanted someone to eradicate the Hornsent, people who do not bear the light of grace. That person turned out to be Messmer the Impaler, her eldest son. He was born with a dark serpent inside him, and it became a problem, as in the world of grace, serpents are seen as bad omen, since they have a habit of devouring everything they see. This serpent inside Messmer would have devoured Messmer too, but Marika stopped it by taking out one of her son’s eyes and replacing it with a seal that stopped it.
After he went through all this, she explained to him the fault in Hornsent and asked him to go to the Shadow Realm and purge them. He listened to her, took a massive army, and did as he was asked, only to be stranded by his mother in this dark land.
10 Video Games Like ‘Elden Ring’ You Must Try If You Are A Fan Of RPGs
Upcoming Video Games Scheduled For 2025: ‘GTA6’, ‘1943: Rise Of Hydra’, ‘Death Stranding 2’ And More
What is Scadutree in the ‘Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’ story?
Everyone prays to the Erdtree in the original Elden Ring; it’s a source of grace and guides people towards their goals. A great golden tree with its branches spread across the Lands Between.
People in the Shadow Realm do not get any guidance from the Erdtree; all they get is darkness and the Erdtree’s shadow, which they have named Scadutree. This dark tree looks over all of Shadow Realm and everyone in it.
Miquella and St. Trina
For those who did not dig into Elden Ring’s story too deeply, St. Trina and Miquella are two characters that get mentioned a lot but are never seen. St. Trina even has a flower named after them, Trina’s Lily.
Not much is known about Trina, but people in the original Elden Ring story were looking for them restlessly. This saint appears once and then disappears just as abruptly.
Miquella, on the other hand, is a god and another child of Marika who was born with a curse that prevented him from growing and remaining a child forever. He decided to grow his tree, which was named Haligtree, and then he attached himself to it, hoping it would somehow help him remove the curse. But that never happened, and at some point, his half-brother Mohg removed him from the tree and kidnapped him with the intention of ruling the Lands Between alongside him.
Ever since he was taken, Miquella never reacted and just backed himself into a cocoon, proving all Mohg’s attempts to make him better futile.
Miquella took a lot from his mother
Queen Marika married someone known as Radagon; he fought for her and guided her armies to victory, only to eventually marry her. In Elden Ring, at one point, players can complete an obscure side quest that reveals Marika and Radagon are the same person. It does not seem like they agree with each other’s ways of doing things, though. Marika shattered the Elden Ring, while Radagon was seen trying to mend it.
When players enter the Shadow Realm, they eventually uncover the truth that Miquella and St. Trina are the same person, too. Players can even find St. Trina’s form in Shadow of the Erdtree. It turns out Miquella left St. Trina behind to become something even bigger.
Miquella and General Radahn’s plan
Players killed General Radahn in Elden Ring. Years before that confrontation, Miquella’s blade and younger sister Malenia would battle Radahn too, inflicting him with scarlet rot and driving him mad. The reason for this fight between these two half-siblings has never been revealed.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s story explains one thing, though: that Miquella wanted General Radahn to be his consort. In return, he will fulfil some unspecified promise he made to Radahn. As part of his plan, Miquella enchanted Mohg into kidnapping him from his tree and taking him to his palace. This is why players can only access the Elden Ring DLC after defeating Mohg and interacting with Miquella’s cocoon.
There Miquella would shed his form and escape to the Shadow Lands; in there he also sheds St. Trina’s form and finally accepts General Radahn as his consort. He will then use the divine gateway in the Shadow Lands to ascend to godhood alongside Radahn. For those wondering how Radahn is still living, despite his form being destroyed to the core in Elden Ring, he is using Mohg’s body as a vessel. It looks like Miquella would rather forsake her half-brother’s soul to fulfil his plan of creating a world without hate.
Why do we have to kill Miquella and Radahn?
In Messmer’s case, he is stuck in Shadow Lands; all he has remaining is his pride as a lord. He thinks he has the guidance of grace, even though he is nowhere close to it. In a desperate attempt to hold onto his pride, he even shatters the eye seal his mother used to stop the serpent. The snake takes over his body, and yet Messmer dies, ending the purge that had been going on for hundreds of years.
Miquella uses his powers and charms people into doing what he wants. He built a plan so elaborate that he made Malenia destroy Radahn; she is even shown whispering something to him in the story trailer for the game. According to Windows Central, she says, “Miquella awaits thee, O promised consort.”
He has been making such elaborate plans for such a long time; the way he enchanted Mohg and the way he enchanted the players during the boss fight, it is pretty clear he does not care for free will. His becoming a true god will not be a good thing. This is the most obvious reason for our killing him and Radahn. Sadly, we are not given the option to side with them, as the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has only one ending.
If you ever needed the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s story explained, this should get the job done. Players only travel to that world to stop Miquella and find out the true origin of St. Trina. As is the case with every other FromSoftware game, there’s much we have yet to uncover; since it’s been only weeks since its launch. So let’s explore and see what else this DLC has in store for us.
‘Elden Ring’ Timeline: How To Play The Soulslike Games in Chronological Order
Is An ‘Elden Ring’ Smartphone Game In The Works? Here’s What We Know
(Hero and Featured Image Credits: FromSoftware)
