Elden Ring: Who Queen Marika Is According To Lore

Queen Marika is one of the most fascinating characters in all of the confirmed Elden Ring lore. FromSoftware has given out information on many Elden Ring characters’ backstories on Twitter, among other avenues such as in-game cutscenes, but Queen Marika still isn’t fully fleshed out. Yet, despite the mysteries that surround her persona, she remains one of the most important people in the Lands Between.

The Elden Ring artifact is the focal point that brings the entirety of lore together in the Lands Between. Its connections to the Erdtree (the big light Green glowing tree that overshadows Elden Ring‘s map) help to keep the order intact and the chaos at bay, similar to Norse mythology’s Yggdrasil. However, by the time of events taking place in Elden Ring‘s storyline, the ring artifact is shattered, and the Erdtree’s life force is no longer the same as it once was, though still alive and connected to the Lands Between. Lords have fought other lords for control of the ring’s remnants, and Queen Marika no longer has the same effect over her land as she once did. Much of this lore in Elden Ring is rooted in George R.R. Martin’s writing, as he was involved in crafting the game’s story.

According to the Snow Witch’s tale in Elden Ring, Queen Marika is the queen and goddess that presides over the Lands Between. Before the ring shattered, she held the land together, peacefully united under one Elden Lord. After the event known as the Shattering, she could no longer hold peace between the power-hungry demi-gods searching for the pieces of the ring, and so she sent grace to a Tarnished hero (the protagonist) to help repair the Elden Ring artifact once again.

Queen Marika Is Elden Ring’s Primary Deity In The Lands Between

Queen Marika – or “The Eternal”, as she’s referred to – is the main deity in Elden Ring. Her queenship and claim to divine origin are unknown, and there’s no in-depth theological lore released by FromSoftware, as of yet, that details how exactly she became the goddess that she is. Nevertheless, it’s made clear that her rule over the Lands Between before the shattering of the Elden Ring artifact was one of divine right. There are even Stakes of Marika scattered around Elden Ring‘s legacy dungeons and the open-world environments. These stakes are essentially worship statues of Marika that work in a similar fashion to the Sites of Grace. However, players can only respond at these stakes, and can’t do anything else that the sites of grace provide, like upgrading and refreshing flasks.

Although Queen Marika’s backstory isn’t completely known, there’s enough information to piece together who she is and the kind of role she plays in Elden Ring. In addition to her godship over the Lands Between, she’s also the mother of the demi-god lords that fight to control remnants of the Elden Ring artifact, known as the Great Runes. There are multiple demi-gods throughout the Lands Between, and they act as some of Elden Ring‘s main characters that the Tarnished protagonist must defeat to reclaim the official title of Elden Lord. Once the remnants are pieced back together, the next Elden Lord can take the crown. A similar comparison to this is Elrond forging the king of Gondor’s Narsil blade in Lord of the Rings, so that the throne can be rightfully reclaimed.

Despite Queen Marika being the mother of the powerful demi-gods that fight for rule in the Lands Between, she knows they’ll bring nothing but further destruction upon the land, as there were no winners following the Shattering War. This is where the Tarnished character comes into the picture. It’s likely Queen Marika has sent her grace essence to one of Elden Ring‘s Tarnished. At the beginning of the story, it doesn’t describe where the grace has come from, only that it has happened to make its way to the Tarnished protagonist. It would be hard to believe that this isn’t Queen Marika’s doing.

Queen Marika Might Not Be The Demi-Gods’ Biological Mother

Currently, it’s unclear whether or not these demi-god lords were physically birthed from Marika or if she granted them a part of her godly blood, grafting them into her bloodline. There’s no overt indication that she had children with a normal human, which would’ve resulted in half-god and half-human offspring. This creates speculation that the demi-gods aren’t actually her biological children in Elden Ring, but instead mythical beings paying homage to her because of the powers she gave them. However, this argument doesn’t seem to hold up very well in the end because the Elden Ring story trailer confirmed that kin was fighting against kin in the Shattering War. This means that the demi-gods are in fact related by blood and birth. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting speculation and can’t be confirmed until further developments come out.

Another speculation about Queen Marika’s demi-god children is that some of the demi-gods are working with Marika while the others are completely against her. Those who are working for her wish to rebuild the Elden Ring and see her original powers resurface back before the Shattering, but the others only wish to use it for themselves to become the new Elden Lord. This speculation may seem somewhat reasonable but is most likely false because the Tarnished is meant to restore order in the Lands Between, just as Tarnished Godfrey was once Elden Lord. However, this option is still a possibility as well.

Elden Ring‘s lore can be confusing at times, especially Queen Marika, because so little information about her backstory has been given thus far. There’s still a lot of information left out about Queen Marika, but that could change in the future with the release of an Elden Ring lore book, which is desperately needed. Until then, players will have to rely on Elden Ring world details and NPCs to piece together possible ideas about Queen Marika and her part in the Lands Between.

About The Author

Preston Pearl
(52 Articles Published)

Preston Pearl is a contributing writer based out of the US. He publishes work for the Game Features sector of Screen Rant.

While being a Secondary English education major at Kentucky State University and educator in Frankfort, KY; he also spends time writing fictional short stories, gaming, weight lifting, and — most importantly — enjoying time with friends and family.

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