The War Against the Giants refers to the conflict between the Fire Giants and the champions of the Erdtree, long before the events of Elden Ring.
Prelude[]
A Fire Giant, with the visage of the fell god on his torso.
Long ago, the red-haired Fire Giants took up residence in the northern Mountaintops, chasing away the ice dragons who were the former lords of the region.[1] The Fire Giants were considered neighbors by the astrologers who had also established themselves on the mountaintops.[2]
The Giants borrowed a destructive, fiery power from a fell god, whose one-eyed visage[3] manifested upon their chests, however the cost for this was eternal servitude as keepers of the flame of ruin[4], which resided within the forge of the Giants.
Meanwhile, Queen Marika the Eternal, an Empyrean vessel of the Elden Ring, had begun to establish her reign over the Lands Between. The flame of ruin posed a threat to the burgeoning Erdtree, being capable of burning it[5], and thus needed to be neutralized. And so, Queen Marika and her consort Godfrey, First Elden Lord, marched upon the Mountaintops of the Giants
The War Against the Giants[]
The First Church of Marika, where Queen Marika ordered Godfrey to put the Fire Giants to the sword.
The war against the Giants, fought at the birth of the Erdtree[6], was led by Godfrey.[7] They marched through the western Mountaintops, carving winding paths to the summit.[8] Upon arriving in the Mountaintops, Queen Marika issued a proclamation to Godfrey and his warriors, commanding them to put the Giants to the sword and confine their flame, so that the Age of the Erdtree could begin.[9]
The heroes of the Erdtree were accompanied by the Fire Monks, who devised an incantation which could protect them from the Giants' flame.[10] They were also joined by the Knights of Zamor, who had been mortal enemies of the Fire Giants since time immemorial[11], having challenged them many times in the past.[12]
The Trolls, who were descendants of the Giants[13], betrayed their ancestors[14] and fought on behalf of the Erdtree. They were furnished with gilded swords[15] to commemorate their fealty.
The Giants retaliated, using their bellowing roars to trigger avalanches and whip up storms of flame.[16] Facing a Fire Giant was seen as a horror, thanks in part to their dreadful visages and the flames they wielded.[17] Enormous, crushing weapons were deployed to counter their onslaught[18], and the heroes of the Erdtree strengthened their arms using semi-vitrified smithing stones found in the cold, northern regions.[6]
Queen Marika herself did battle with the one-eyed fell god, and it is believed to have been slain by her.[3] In truth, the fell god continued to lurk within the Fire Giants themselves.[19] Despite the odds, the champions of the Erdtree prevailed over the Fire Giants[4], leaving the battlefield littered with their corpses.
Aftermath[]
The corpses of the Fire Giants, impaled by thorny stakes.
Although the Giants had been defeated, it became apparent that the flame of ruin would never die. Seeing this, Queen Marika marked a lone surviving Fire Giant with a curse, compelling him to tend to the flame for eternity.[20] With the flame sealed away, the Fire Monks and Flame Guardians were appointed to watch over it.[21][22] They would later succumb to the allure of the flame[23], emblazoning their chestplates with depictions of the fell god.[24]
The Giant-Conquering Hero's Grave contains Fire Monks, Trolls, and an Ancient Hero of Zamor.
The Knights of Zamor earned great renown[25] for their actions during the war, and were hailed as heroes. They can be found in Hero's Graves, seemingly serving as guardians. The Trolls, despite their own efforts in the war, did not receive such recognition, and can often be found performing menial labour, working in mines or dragging carriages.
The end of the war marked the dawn of the era of the Erdtree[14], presided over by Queen Marika and Godfrey. The Erdtree itself would go on to become the embodiment of Order[26], its blessed sap dripping from its boughs. The age of plenty which ensued ended swiftly, however, and the Erdtree became more an object of faith.[27]
Although the flame of ruin was sealed, the burning of the Erdtree was considered to be the first cardinal sin[28]. Prophets would occasionally glimpse the flame of ruin in their faith, envisioning the ruin that it would bring.[29] Prophets who had such visions would be banished[30], forced to wear shackles around their necks to warn passersby against listening to them.[31]
Some time after The Shattering, a Tarnished would arrive in the Lands Between and meet Melina, a mysterious woman who would guide them along the path to become Elden Lord. Finding that the entrance to the Erdtree was obstructed by thorns, Melina advises the Tarnished that the only way to gain entry was to set the Erdtree aflame.[32] The pair journey to the giant's forge, where the Tarnished fights and defeats the Fire Giant whom Marika had left to tend the Flame. Melina offers herself as kindling, and sets fire to the Erdtree using the fire that had long been sealed away.
References[]
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