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Pure and Radiant, he wields love to shrive clean the hearts of men. There is nothing more terrifying. |
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Miquella the Kind,[3] also known as Miquella of the Haligtree,[8] is an Empyrean and son of Queen Marika the Eternal and King Consort Radagon. He is the elder twin brother of Malenia, and together they are known as the Twin Prodigies (天賦の双子, Tenpu no Futago). He is a Remembrance Boss in Shadow of the Erdtree.
Overview[]
Early Life[]
Miquella and his twin sister were born with incurable afflictions, with Miquella's curse being perpetual youth.[9] Miquella made a promise to Malenia and experimented tirelessly in an attempt to undo their curses. The twins were very close, and Malenia became Miquella's sworn blade and protector.[10] Miquella was loved by many people and had a remarkable ability to compel affection from others.[11] For this reason, many regarded him as the most fearsome Empyrean.[12][13]
Miquella was chosen by his Two Fingers to become an Empyrean, destined to succeed Queen Marika.[14] He was an adherent of Golden Order Fundamentalism, and developed new incantations as gifts to his father Radagon.[15][16] However, Miquella abandoned Fundamentalism when it failed to treat Malenia's rot. He then began creating Unalloyed Gold,[17] which he used it to craft needles that could ward away the meddling of outer gods and forestall Malenia's incurable rot.[18] These needles could even be used to subdue the power of the Frenzied Flame.[19] He also unsuccessfully sought a solution for his half-brother Godwyn's state of incomplete death.[20][21]
St. Trina[]
Just as his parents were two halves of the same person, Miquella also had another half—St. Trina—who was said to visit people in their dreams.[22]
The Haligtree[]
At some point, Miquella started watering a sapling with his own blood in the hope that it would become a new Erdtree.[23] The sapling was grown on top of the fortress of Elphael and became known as the Haligtree. Soldiers and Knights sworn to protect the Haligtree would use Unalloyed gold as a symbol of their loyalty and devotion to Miquella, wearing crowns made of the metal and creating shields embedded with it.[24][25][26][27] Miquella was also said to bless the low and meek.[24] The Haligtree would became a hidden haven,[28] and was intended to be the eventual salvation for many of the persecuted and the unwanted in the Lands Between, such as the Albinaurics.[29]
As Miquella ascended closer to godhood as an Empyrean, he would soon desire to take his half-brother General Radahn as a consort. He made a vow with Radahn, where Radahn would become his consort,[30][31] and in return, Miquella would have to uphold some unspecified part of the vow[31]. During the shattering, Malenia and Radahn fought, culminating in Malenia unleashing the Scarlet Aeonia. As the flower blossomed, Malenia whispered in Radahn's ear "Miquella awaits thee, O promised consort."[32] After Malenia's battle with General Radahn in Caelid, one of her knights carried her slumbering body back to the Haligtree. Radahn survived the battle, but his mind was destroyed, and he was fated to aimlessly wander the battlefield, devouring the corpses of friends and foes alike,[33] until a Tarnished champion eventually bested him in combat.
Miquella embedded himself into the Haligtree, but before he could finish this process, his tree was cut open and Miquella was kidnapped.[34] His captor was none other than his half-brother Mohg, Lord of Blood, who had gained power from an outer god known only as the Formless Mother.[35] Mohg took the slumbering Empyrean's infant form deep underground, where he worked to raise Miquella to full godhood, wishing to become his consort, create a new dynasty, and take the role of monarch.[36] He would have his followers render offerings of blood and drench Miquella's cocoon in order to facilitate his awakening.[37] Despite all of Mohg's efforts, no matter how much of his bloody bedchamber he tried to share, Miquella would remain completely unresponsive.[36] In truth, Miquella had placed an enchantment on Mohg, wishing to use the Omen to gain access to the Realm of Shadow and to use his body as a vessel for his king consort.[38] Sir Ansbach, a Pureblood Knight in service to Mohg, attempted to free his lord by challenging Miquella, only to succumb to an enchantment of his own.[39]
With Miquella's absence, his Haligtree became a misshapen husk, slowly succumbing to the Scarlet Rot.[27][40] The Haligtree's soldiers and Malenia, presumably unaware of Miquella's abduction, desperately awaited Miquella's return to the rotten tree.[41] [42]
The Realm of Shadow[]
Miquella and his promised consort, Radahn
Making use of Mohg, Miquella entered the Realm of Shadow, the location of the Gate of Divinity. As Miquella travelled through the Realm of Shadow, he abandoned parts of himself, including his flesh, his eye, his doubt and vacillation, his love, and his fears. Golden Miquella's Crosses resembling a Great Rune appeared at each location where he abandoned something, akin to Miquella's footprints.[43] Miquella's followers, who pursued him into the Realm of Shadow, used these crosses to trace his path through the realm.[44] Miquella also discarded his other half, St. Trina,[45] in the Stone Coffin Fissure. St. Trina, whose love for Miquella was boundless in spite of her abandonment,[1] recognized that godhood would be a prison for the Empyrean,[46] and desired for him to be killed out of mercy.[47]
Eventually, a Tarnished champion broke into Mohg's palace and slew the Lord of Blood for his great rune. Sir Gideon Ofnir suggested it might be safer to destroy the cocoon that Miquella remains asleep in.[48] Instead, the Tarnished met Needle Knight Leda, a loyal follower of Miquella, who urged them to travel to the Realm of Shadow by touching Miquella's withered arm within the cocoon.[49]
Within the Realm of Shadow, the Tarnished encounters several more of Miquella's followers, learns of his mission to ascend to godhood via the Gate of Divinity,[50] and of the powerful charm that he had placed upon his disciples, which is broken when he discards his Great Rune.[51] After gaining access to the tower of Enir-Ilim, the Tarnished is confronted by a resurrected Radahn, in a vessel made from the remains of Mohg.[38] During the ensuing battle, Miquella steps out of the Gate of Divinity and embraces Radahn as his consort.[52] The Tarnished triumphs over Radahn and Miquella, thus preventing Miquella's age of compassion.[53]
Dialogue[]
| English Dialogue |
| Intro cutscene |
|---|
| My loyal blade. And champion of the festival. |
| Both your deeds will ever be praised in song. |
| Now, the vow will be honoured, and my Lord brother's soul will return. |
| So that he may be my consort. |
| Phase 2 cutscene |
| Lord brother. |
| At long last, you are returned. |
| Tarnished one. |
| Aspiring Lord of the old order. |
| If you have known sin, if you grieve for this world, |
| then yield the path forward to us. |
| To I, Miquella, |
| and my promised consort, Radahn. |
| Grab attack (1st) |
| I promise you. |
| A thousand year voyage guided by compassion. |
| Grab attack (2nd) |
| Let your thoughts...be only of love. |
| Grab Attack (final) |
| Lord of the old order. |
| Let us go together. |
| Memory |
| Lord brother. |
| I'm going to be a god. |
| If we honour our part of the vow, |
| promise me you'll be my consort. |
| I'll make the world a gentler place. |
Notes[]
- Miquella's Lily is a delicate flower of Unalloyed gold, thought to be beloved by him in his youth. It signifies the faith in the Haligtree.
- The Albinaurics, beings artificially created by human hands, view Miquella's Haligtree area as the chosen land.[54]
- The Haligtree is also inhabited by many unwanted and persecuted races, such as the Albinaurics, the Misbegotten, the Crystalians and the Kindred of Rot.
- Even before Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree released, there are hints in-game about the connection between Miquella and St. Trina:
- They are associated with their respective lilies, Miquella's Lily and Trina's Lily. Either is a rare drop from the Cleanrot Knights, who serve Malenia, Miquella's sister.
- Similarly, the Albinauric Archers guarding the waygate to the Haligtree have lily motif armor and can drop St. Trina's Arrows.
- A cookbook which, dedicated to St. Trina, allows the player to create the Bewitching Branch, blessed by Unnalloyed Gold incantations.
- The duality of Marika and Radagon, Miquella's parents.
Gallery[]
.png "ER Miquella (sq).png (1.86 MB)")
Relevant Items[]
.png "ER Icon Armor Haligtree Knight Armor (Altered).png (1.18 MB)"){kind=icon}
Behind the scenes[]
- A game ending associated with Miquella was cut from the final version of Shadow of the Erdtree. Miquella would have spoken to the Tarnished, "If thou covetest the throne, Impress my vision upon thine heart. In the new world of thy making, all things will flourish, whether graceful, or malign."[55]
- In earlier versions of Elden Ring, Miquella was the shardbearer of the Rune of Abundance.
- In one version, Miquella was associated with the Abundance Twinblade, an item which was later released as Euporia in Shadow of the Erdtree.
- In another build of the game, Miquella's consciousness would have been within the world of his dream. In a cut quest, Miquella acted as St. Trina of the Cradlesong, the saint of slumber. He would have sung a lullaby to soothe the Red-Eyed Merchants of their Frenzied Flame affliction and helped them to retain their personhood and prevent them from becoming "one".[56]
References[]
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