A major theme about Elden Ring is exploration, and if you’re so inclined, piecing together cryptic fragments of information to learn more about the game’s lore, history, and how various characters relate to one another. As you probably already inferred, Shadow Of The Erdtree is no exception to this theme.
This does beg the question, though: when it comes to the DLC, who delivers the best quotes, and why? Of course, there’s always an element of subjectivity involved with situations like this; you don’t have to agree with some of these quotes, but hopefully you learned something from the lore-related significance behind them.
8 "Cruelty, Woe, And Those Who Plague The Tower. Cleanse Away The Strumpet's Vile Progeny."
Divine Beast Dancing Lion
This is the last line you hear before the Divine Beast Dancing Lion belts out a mighty roar, and throws you into a chaotic fight to the death, with no shortage of swift attacks, lightning bolt barrages, wind gusts, and chilling mists.
The intriguing part of this quote, however, is the talk of towers, strumpets, and progeny. Towers in Elden Ring are sacred, associated with gods or demigods. Presumably, this boss is defending Miquella, but a strumpet is defined as a promiscuous woman. Does this mean that Tarnished are the “vile” offspring of Queen Marika or the Erdtree itself?
7 "The Depths Of Your Foolishness!"
Midra, Lord Of Frenzied Flame
Aside from being a banal and annoying line that’s screamed at you before getting to the actual, challenging part of the boss fight, it’s also a fair warning, given how powerful Midra becomes after allowing himself to succumb to the Frenzied Flame.
Think about the gravity of the situation, too; Midra has been holding out, resisting the full, enveloping influence of the Three Fingers for who knows how long, but finally gives in by decapitating himself. In other words, he has ultimately and willingly offered his body as a vessel and avatar of Madness.
6 "Soon, Tarnished. Wilt Thou Be Taken In The Jaws… Of The Abyssal Serpent, Shorn Of Light."
Messmer The Impaler
Messmer is already a terrifying boss in phase one, but once you whittle his health down enough, you’ll activate a cutscene where he tears out a fake eye, crushes it, and delivers this intimidating line, staring at you from a hollow, writhing socket full of hatred and betrayal.
Just before this line, Messmer asks for his mother’s forgiveness, which is a real bombshell, because he is a son of Marika, which then implies that the fake eye that he crushed was some sort of magic seal, preventing the Abyssal Serpent within him from being fully unleashed.
5 "Since That Day, Bayle And His Bloodline — The Drakes — Have Served As Sacrifices For Dragon Communion."
Dragon Communion Princess
Have you ever wondered why you’re stealing the hearts of dragons and absorbing their power at these weird altars? Well, if you strike up a conversation with the mysterious, dragon-like woman near the Grand Altar of Dragon Communion, she’ll give you a brief history lesson explaining everything.
You see, Bayle committed a big no-no back in the day; he attacked the Dragonlord himself, Placidusax, wounding him greatly, but was ultimately unsuccessful; this is why Placidusax appears already wounded when you fight him. Consequently, Bayle, and all other drakes associated with him, were greenlit to be hunted and sacrificed for this transgression.
4 "It Was Never Kindly Miquella, Was It? The Erdtree Was Leading You All Along."
Needle Knight Leda
Fighting the people you’ve bonded with sucks; working together against fearsome bosses, looking for crosses that Miquella left behind, challenging one another to honorable duels, and even buying things from them on occasion. But alas, much like in the Bhagavad Gita, some situations leave you no choice.
Now, as for Leda’s claim about the Tarnished merely acting as a puppet for the Erdtree is debatable; it depends on how you ultimately become Elden lord. If you were to commit yourself to Ranni or the Three Fingers, for example, that’d be much different than getting a standard ending.
3 "Now, The Vow Will Be Honoured, And My Lord Brother's Soul Will Return. So That He May Be My Consort."
Miquella, The Kind
Of course there’s already visual confirmation, but this is the line that confirms, without a shadow of a doubt, what you’ll be up against: Promised Consort Radahn. While this is terrifying and challenging in of itself, there’s another part to this quote: Miquella’s mention of a vow, and Radahn’s soul.
This poses a few questions; what exactly are the terms of this vow, and if Radahn’s soul is being returned, that implies it went somewhere, or more likely, is inhabiting something to become flesh once more. To learn more, you’ll have to either beat this final boss once and for all, or have everything explained here.
2 "Make Miquella Stop… Don't Turn The Poor Thing Into A God… Godhood Would Be Miqeualla's Prison. A Caged Divinity… Is Beyond Saving. You Must Kill Miquella… Grant Him Forgiveness."
St. Trina
If you snooped around the Cerulean Coast, and delved deep underground, you’d eventually find a rather unwelcoming fellow called the Putrescent Knight. If defeated, you’d gain access to a vividly colored, flower-like NPC named St. Trina. At first, it seems like they have nothing to say.
If you’re willing to repeatedly drink their lethal nectar, however, they’ll eventually deliver this quote, calling into question Miquella’s authority, or more specifically, capacity for ultimate divinity. Rather than a demigod, St. Trina seems to view Miquella as a caged animal with a tragic history.
1 "Curse You, Bayle! I Hereby Vow! You Will Rue This Day! Behold, A True Drake Warrior! And I, Igon! Your Fear Made Flesh!"
Igon
Igon might be the most passionate, purpose-driven character in the game. Delivering this quote with a booming voice, amplified by an unquenchable thirst for glorious retribution, Igon is instantly recognizable. In many ways, you might feel more like a means to an end for accomplishing this character’s ultimate goal.
That’s okay though; you don’t have to be the main character 100 percent of the time. Whatever Bayle did to Igon must’ve been truly awful, so if anything, you’re being honorable and carrying out the final wishes of a man who has been terribly wronged. Take pride in delivering justice where it’s due.
