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It happened during the Golden Age of the Erdtree, long before the shattering of the Elden Ring. Someone stole a fragment of the Rune of Death from Maliketh, the Black Blade. And on a bitter night, murdered Godwyn the Golden. - Sorcerer Rogier
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The Night of Black Knives (黒き刃の陰謀の夜, Kuroki Yaiba no Inbō no Yoru) was an event that would serve as the catalyst of the conflict known as The Shattering.[1] It involves the assassination of Godwyn the Golden,[2] the son of Queen Marika the Eternal. Although the conspirators behind it remained unknown to the wider world,[3] it was in fact orchestrated by Lunar Princess Ranni[4] as she was looking for a way to free herself from the control of the Two Fingers.[5]
Prelude[]
Ranni, who sought to change her fate of being a pawn to the Two Fingers, stole a piece of the rune of death from Maliketh, who served as the guardian of the rune. With the stolen fragment, Ranni proceeded to imbue the weapons of Numen Assassins, all of them being women with ties to Marika,[6] with the powers of Destined Death.[7] Wishing to shed her Empyrean body but preserve her spirit, she knew that the spirit of someone else has to die as well. Whether or not Ranni knew that Godwyn the Golden would be targeted is unclear.
On the same night, Ranni awarded her brother, Praetor Rykard, with the Blasphemous Claw, a rock engraved with traces of the Rune of Death, in the hopes that Rykard would be able to challenge Maliketh as a last resort.[8]
Assassination[]
On the night of the plot, the assassins arrived in Leyndell, the Royal Capital, and slew Godwyn the Golden, carving the Cursemark of Death into his flesh. The Cursemark was supposed to form a circle; however, as Ranni perished in the same moment as Godwyn, the mark was split into two half-wheels.[9] Godwyn's soul alone perished, while Ranni became the first Demigod to die in the flesh.
Immediately following the assassination, the Black Knives fled the capital. Tiche, the daughter of the Black Knife Ringleader Alecto, died protecting her mother during the escape.[10]
Aftermath[]
Godwyn's body was interred in the Erdtree's roots, where he mutated and deformed into the being that would become known as the Prince of Death.[11] Later, the traces of the Rune of Death used to slay him spread through the network of roots that span the Lands Between, taking the form of Deathroot, the source of Those Who Live in Death.
Ranni, whose Empyrean body perished upon the carving of the Cursemark, transferred her soul into a doll modelled after her mentor.[12] She maintained a low profile following the Night of Black Knives, and it is unknown whether her death was widely known of.
Following the Night of Black Knives, the Elden Ring was shattered by Queen Marika. As a result, the Great War known as The Shattering ensued.[1]
in the aftermath of the Shattering, a Tarnished known as Fia, the Deathbed Companion, came into contact with the soulless body of Godwyn.[13] Fia sought the two half-wheels, wishing to reunite them and produce a Mending Rune which could introduce Those Who Live in Death to the Elden Ring.[14] During this time, another Tarnished named Rogier began to study the Night of Black Knives,[15] bringing him into contact with Fia.
References[]
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