Realm of Shadow

The Realm of Shadow (影の地, Kage no Chi), also known as the Shadow Realm and the Land of Shadow, is the setting of the DLC expansion for Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree.

Overview[]

All manner of death washes ashore in the Realm of Shadow, a veiled region blessed by the twisted Scadutree—the shadow of the golden Erdtree.^[1] These somber lands are—or once were—the very heart of the Lands Between and the origin of the Crucible.^[2]^[3]^[4] They were the domain of the hornsent, a people who worship the Crucible for the tangled horns it had blessed them with.^[5] It is also where the Empyrean Marika ascended to godhood and later buried her secrets.^{[citation needed]}

Long ago, before the Shattering and the reign of Elden Lord Radagon,^[6] the Realm of Shadow was engulfed in flames during a brutal Crusade led by Messmer the Impaler and his army, acting on the orders of Queen Marika.^[7] The purge aimed to eradicate the hornsent,^[8]^[9]^[10] who lacked the light of Erdtree's grace.^[11]^[12] Eventually, Marika severed all ties with Messmer, shrouding the Land of Shadow beneath the Scadutree to conceal all evidence of her sins.^[13]

The Land of Shadow is the place to which Miquella the Kind departed, divesting himself of his flesh, his strength, his lineage, and all things golden.^{[citation needed]} To access this hidden realm, one must defeat both Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood, then touch Miquella’s withered arm at the Cocoon of the Empyrean atop the Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum in the subterranean Siofra River.

Locations[]

Subregions[]

Legacy Dungeons[]

Landmarks[]

Gravesite Plain[]

Castle Ensis[]

Cerulean Coast[]

Charo's Hidden Grave[]

Stone Coffin Fissure[]

Foot of the Jagged Peak[]

Jagged Peak[]

Factions[]

Notes[]

The realm of shadow was once part of the Lands Between, but now exists on another plane.^[14]^[15]
The realm of shadow was once beset by the Fell God of fire.^[16]
There are no fallen ruins from Crumbling Farum Azula in the realm of shadow.

Gallery[]

Subregions

References[]

↑ Remembrance of the Shadow Sunflower
↑ Suppressing Pillar: "The very center of the Lands Between. All manners of Death wash up here, only to be suppressed."
↑ Aspects of the Crucible: Bloom
↑ Crucible Hammer-Helm
↑ Mottled Necklace +2
↑ Rellana's Helm
↑ Messmer's Armor
↑ Stranded Soul: "Ev'ryone...burned to cinders...burned away. Put to the torch...by Messmer...and his lot. What did we do to deserve such a fate? We merely lived our lives... We lived in peace..."
↑ Hornsent Grandam: "Take vengeance upon Messmer and his lot. They who betrayed us, aye, they who burned us... Let them face in thy wrath their just deserts. My song will I sing...in service to thee."
↑ Poisoned Hand
↑ Rain of Fire
↑ Messmer the Impaler: "Those stripped of the Grace of Gold shall all meet death. In the embrace of Messmer's flame."
↑ Bandai Namco: Shadow of the Erdtree Events
↑ Saltzman, Mitchell (2024-03-20). EXCLUSIVE: Elden Ring Director Answers All of Our Shadow of the Erdtree DLC Questions. IGN. Retrieved on 2025-12-20. “First of all, the setting of Shadow of the Erdtree is a brand new land. It's a brand new map separate from the Lands Between. It is a land that is overshadowed by the particular Shadow of the Erdtree as opposed to the Erdtree in the Lands Between. And it takes place, again, on an entirely separate, physically separate map. So it will involve a warp of sorts to get there.
In terms of setting and themes, it technically occupies the same space as the Lands Between, the same universe. But due to something story related that we won't reveal today, this has become physically disconnected, and you'll travel to the Shadow of the Erdtree land as a separate place.”
↑ Team Future Press (2024). Elden Ring – Books of Knowledge, Volume III: Shadow of the Erdtree. (Future Press), p. 4. ISBN 978-3869931296.
↑ Furnace Visage

[1] Remembrance of the Shadow Sunflower

[2] Suppressing Pillar: "The very center of the Lands Between. All manners of Death wash up here, only to be suppressed."

[3] Aspects of the Crucible: Bloom

[4] Crucible Hammer-Helm

[5] Mottled Necklace +2

[6] Rellana's Helm

[7] Messmer's Armor

[8] Stranded Soul: "Ev'ryone...burned to cinders...burned away. Put to the torch...by Messmer...and his lot. What did we do to deserve such a fate? We merely lived our lives... We lived in peace..."

[9] Hornsent Grandam: "Take vengeance upon Messmer and his lot. They who betrayed us, aye, they who burned us... Let them face in thy wrath their just deserts. My song will I sing...in service to thee."

[10] Poisoned Hand

[11] Rain of Fire

[12] Messmer the Impaler: "Those stripped of the Grace of Gold shall all meet death. In the embrace of Messmer's flame."

[13] Bandai Namco: Shadow of the Erdtree Events

[14] Saltzman, Mitchell (2024-03-20). EXCLUSIVE: Elden Ring Director Answers All of Our Shadow of the Erdtree DLC Questions. IGN. Retrieved on 2025-12-20. “First of all, the setting of Shadow of the Erdtree is a brand new land. It's a brand new map separate from the Lands Between. It is a land that is overshadowed by the particular Shadow of the Erdtree as opposed to the Erdtree in the Lands Between. And it takes place, again, on an entirely separate, physically separate map. So it will involve a warp of sorts to get there.
In terms of setting and themes, it technically occupies the same space as the Lands Between, the same universe. But due to something story related that we won't reveal today, this has become physically disconnected, and you'll travel to the Shadow of the Erdtree land as a separate place.”

[15] Team Future Press (2024). Elden Ring – Books of Knowledge, Volume III: Shadow of the Erdtree. (Future Press), p. 4. ISBN 978-3869931296.

[16] Furnace Visage

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