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And one other. Whom grace would again bless. A Tarnished of no renown. Cross the fog, to the Lands Between, to stand before the Elden Ring. And become the Elden Lord. - Narrator — Elden Ring
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The Tarnished is the protagonist of Elden Ring.
Compelled by the "Flame of Ambition", the Tarnished endeavors to brandish the Elden Ring and become Elden Lord. In their journey throughout the Lands Between, they encounter various demigods, bearers of Great Runes, as well as their fellow Tarnished.
Overview[]
A Tarnished of no renown, called to cross the sea of fog to the Lands Between, having been blessed once more by the Grace once thought lost to their kind.[1] Their origins are unknown, as are their accomplishments prior to their arrival in the Lands Between.
The Tarnished begins their journey in the Chapel of Anticipation, off the western coast of Limgrave, where they find only the corpse of a Finger Maiden slumped against a wall. After a brief encounter with a Grafted Scion, the Tarnished falls from the precipice and washes up in the Stranded Graveyard. Although death seems inevitable[2], they are found by a mysterious woman riding a spectral steed. The woman grants the Tarnished two flasks: one of crimson tears and the other of cerulean tears. With these blessings, the Tarnished emerges from the damp cavern into the grasslands of Limgrave.
The Tarnished is reunited with the woman once more, and she introduces herself to them as Melina. Seeing that the Tarnished is maidenless, she offers to play the role of a Finger Maiden, allowing the Tarnished to convert the Runes they collect from their enemies into strength. In return, she requests that the Tarnished bring her with them to the foot of the Erdtree.[3] To aid them further, Melina grants the Tarnished a whistle which will allow them to call upon her spectral steed, who's name she reveals to be Torrent. Melina further explains to the Tarnished that she is searching for a purpose given to her by her mother inside the Erdtree long ago, and the reason she lives, despite her burnt and spectral state.[4] She advises the Tarnished to seek the Great Runes: shards of the shattered Elden Ring currently held by the Demigods.[5]
Early in their shared journey, Melina extends the Tarnished an invitation to Roundtable Hold, the gathering place of Tarnished champions.[6] Here, the Tarnished meets several of their fellow Tarnished, as well as Roundtable Hold's leader, Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing.
The Tarnished claims a Great Rune from one of the Shardbearers scattered throughout the Lands Between, and is permitted audience with the Two Fingers; envoys of the Greater Will, and Finger Reader Enia. Interpreting the words of the Fingers, Enia explains to the Tarnished that the shattering of the Elden Ring has left the land in ruins[7], and instructs the Tarnished to hunt down the Demigods, who have been renounced by the Greater Will.[8] Gideon offers the Tarnished further advice, imparting his knowledge of the five Shardbearers known to Roundtable Hold.[9]
On their journey, the Tarnished may encounter Ranni the Witch, a Demigod and the perpetrator of the Night of Black Knives.[10] The Tarnished may choose to enter her service, aiding her as she treads the dark path of the Empyrean and attempts to establish her Order upon the world.[11]
After claiming two Great Runes, the Tarnished makes their way to Leyndell, Royal Capital, the home of Morgott the Grace-Given. Melina regains the ability to govern her own movement and bids the Tarnished farewell, leaving them with Torrent and the ability to convert Runes into strength.[12] The Tarnished proceeds to the Elden Throne and defeats Morgott, claiming his Great Rune, but when they attempt to pass through the door in the Erdtree's trunk they find the way obscured by impenetrable thorns. Melina appears before the Tarnished once more, and reveals that it is her purpose to help the Tarnished become Elden Lord. In order to do so, however, the Erdtree must be burned to remove the thorns.[13] And so, the Tarnished begins a new journey with Melina, to the Mountaintops of the Giants, upon which rests the giant's forge, and a flame which may burn the Erdtree.
The Tarnished may encounter a being named Shabriri, who reveals to the Tarnished that Melina must offer herself as kindling so that the Erdtree can burn.[14] Shabriri offers an alternative: the tarnished may take Melina's place as kindling and singe their own flesh instead.[15] To this end, they must descend below the Royal Capital and meet with the Three Fingers, setting themselves upon the path to becoming the Lord of Chaos.[16] Should the Tarnished accept this offer, they will make an enemy of Melina, who vows to hunt them down and kill them if they rise as Lord of Chaos.[17]
Whether through Melina's sacrifice or the power of the Frenzied Flame, the Erdtree is set aflame, and the Tarnished is transported to Crumbling Farum Azula; an ancient temple in the sky said to have been crumbling since time immemorial.[18] In Farum Azula, the Tarnished encounters and kills Maliketh, the Black Blade, releasing the Rune of Death upon the Lands Between.[19]
The Tarnished returns to Leyndell to find it coated in ash, the Erdtree glowing red above. The Tarnished makes their way through the ruined city, but their path is blocked by Gideon, who attempts to stop them from becoming Elden Lord.[20] The Tarnished kills Gideon, who asserts with his dying breath his belief that a Tarnished cannot become a Lord, for a man cannot kill a god.[21]
The Tarnished once again finds themselves at the Elden Throne. This time they find Godfrey, the First Elden Lord and former leader of the Tarnished.[22] Godfrey reveals that he has come to once more be granted audience with Queen Marika, the goddess of the Lands Between[23] The two Tarnished duel, and Godfrey is forced to tear the beast Serosh from his back and assume the role of Hoarah Loux.[24] Nevertheless, the Tarnished defeats Godfrey and approaches the Erdtree.
Inside the Erdtree, the Tarnished find Marika hanging from a Rune, her body seemingly made of stone. Marika falls from the Rune and her body begins to warp as she assumes the form of Radagon of the Golden Order, the second Elden Lord. Radagon fights to protect the Golden Order from the Tarnished, but is bested. From his body emerges the Elden Beast, a vassal of the Greater Will and embodiment of Order[25] that became the Elden Ring long ago[26]. Despite its status as a god, the Tarnished fells the Elden Beast, and finally stands before the broken body of Queen Marika. Depending on the decisions they made on their journey, the Tarnished may now decide the fate of the Lands Between. They may repair the Elden Ring and rise as Elden Lord[27], go with Ranni on her thousand year voyage into the chill night[28], or become the Lord of Frenzied Flame and incinerate all that divides and distinguishes.[29]
References[]
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