At the heart of Elden Ring lies the mysterious realm known as the Lands Between — a once-glorious kingdom ruled by Queen Marika the Eternal and sustained by the divine order of the Elden Ring. The Elden Ring is not a physical object but rather a metaphysical force called the Greater Will, an outer god whose power governs the natural laws of life, death, and order.
Marika, a divine vessel of the Greater Will, shattered the Elden Ring in a moment of rebellion after the death of her son, Godwyn the Golden, which violated the laws of death and sparked the cataclysm known as the Shattering. This act plunged the Lands Between into chaos. With the Elden Ring broken, the balance of the world unraveled, and Marika vanished. Her demigod children — including Radahn, Rykard, Morgott, and Malenia — vied for fragments of the Ring, called Great Runes, launching brutal wars to claim dominance.
Players take the role of the Tarnished, exiles called back to the Lands Between by a mysterious force known as Grace. Stripped of power and guided by visions, the Tarnished is tasked with gathering the Great Runes, defeating the demigods, and restoring the Elden Ring to become Elden Lord. But the journey is far from simple.
Throughout their quest, players uncover ancient truths, including the existence of other Outer Gods like the Frenzied Flame and the Scarlet Rot, which seek to twist the world into new, often terrifying forms. Marika herself is revealed to be Radagon, her own male half — a paradoxical fusion that symbolizes the duality and fragmentation of the world she helped create and destroy.
The ending players receive depends on their choices: they can restore order, embrace chaos, or challenge the very concept of fate. Each ending reflects a different interpretation of what it means to lead, to break cycles, and to decide the world's fate.
In essence, Elden Ring is a mythic saga about decay, ambition, and the search for meaning in a fractured world. Its story may be hidden in cryptic dialogue and item descriptions, but for those willing to piece it together, it becomes a grand tale of gods, mortals, and the legacy of power.
