On its surface, Elden Ring is the story of the player character, a random person who returns from exile to The Lands Between with the goal of becoming Elden Lord. However, as you play the game and learn more about the state of the world, one central character emerges: Lunar Princess Ranni. She is Elden Ring‘s greatest hero and most vile villain. Nearly every bit of pain and suffering you witness is a direct consequence of her actions. Elden Ring is her story—and while your character is important to the conclusion of her tale, in the grand scheme of things, you’re little more than just a random person who shows up at the eleventh hour and indiscriminately murders everyone you come across.
*This article is nothing but spoilers for Elden Ring.
“Queen Marika is the vessel of the Elden Ring, carrier of its vision. A god, in truth.” – Finger Reader Enia
To understand why this is Ranni’s story, you must first understand the state of the world when Ranni was born into it. The Outer God known as “The Greater Will” chose a woman from a faraway land named Marika to be the God-Queen of The Lands Between. To do this she was merged with the conduit of their power, a magical rune capable of rewriting the rules of reality called the Elden Ring. But as she merged with it, she removed the part of the rune that governed death—making both herself and all her future children immortal in both body and spirit. During her reign, Queen Marika the Eternal bore at least eight children. One of these was Ranni.
“I was once an Empyrean. Of the demigods, only I, Miquella, and Malenia could claim that title. Each of us was chosen by our own Two Fingers, as a candidate to succeed Queen Marika, to become the new god of the coming age.” – Lunar Princess Ranni
Even among Marika’s other demigod children, Ranni was special. She was an Empyrean—a person chosen by the greater will that had the potential to replace Marika as God-Queen of The Lands Between. Only the twins Malenia and Miquella shared this potential—and they were born with curses which made them uninterested in taking their mother’s throne. However, as she learned more about what it meant to be an Empyrean—and what it truly meant to be the God-Queen under the Greater Will—Ranni became determined to be free of her fate. You see, Empyreans lack true free will. Their bodies are constantly monitored by The Greater Will through their associated Two Fingers and their seemingly loyal beastman companions. Should an Empyrean seek to directly oppose The Greater Will, their beast man companion would be forced into a rage of madness and kill them.
“But I would not acquiesce to the Two Fingers. I stole the Rune of Death, slew mine own Empyrean flesh, casting it away. I would not be controlled by that thing.” – Lunar Princess Ranni
To free herself of The Greater Will’s oversight, Ranni determined she needed to do away with her Empyrean body—after all, without it, she wouldn’t be capable of merging with the Elden Ring. There were just two problems to overcome. The first was the fact that, thanks to Marika removing the Rune of Death from the Elden Ring, there was no way for Ranni to kill her demi-god body. The second was that even if she did kill her body, she would need to figure out a way for her soul to survive.
“The person who orchestrated the Night of the Black Knives. Lunar Princess Ranni.” – Sorcerer Rogier
To overcome the first problem, Ranni was able to convince her divine mother’s old companions, the Black Knife Assassins, to steal the Rune of Death from its guardian. To solve the second, she chose to sacrifice her oldest brother: Godwyn the Golden. You see, the Rune of Death kills a person completely—in both body and soul. This rule cannot be changed. However, Ranni was able to divine a way to kill her body but her brother’s soul instead of her own—leaving her in a spectral form and Godwyn as a soulless, undead husk.
“But after the Elden Ring’s shattering, she was imprisoned in the Erdtree. A grim punishment for shattering the Order, despite her godhood.” – Finger Reader Enia
Ranni’s murder of Godwyn triggered a whole slew of world-altering unintended consequences. Marika, deep in grief for the death of her son, shattered the Elden Ring—hoping that in doing so the natural order would be overturned and he could be brought back to life. In response, The Greater Will imprisoned her within the Erdtree—and prevented the ascension of a new Elden Lord in the process. With their mother removed from the playing field, her children warred over the broken fragments of the Elden Ring. The world was thrown into chaos—quickly becoming a shadow of what it had been before Ranni set about her machinations to free herself from The Greater Will.
“I am the witch Ranni. I stole Death long ago, and search now for the dark path. That I might one day upend the whole of it, and rid the world of all that came before.” – Lunar Princess Ranni
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as intended for Ranni either. While she gained a puppet body through the mage Seluvis—based on her old magic teacher’s form—she still wasn’t free. Her beastman companion, Blaidd, remained by her side—unwittingly watching for her betrayal, even as her Two Fingers were hidden away on a remote, dragon-filled plateau. To be truly free, Ranni would need to kill her Two Fingers. However, it was clear she couldn’t achieve this alone. Even with its power diminished by the shattering of the Elden Ring, The Greater Will still held her in check.
“The moon was encountered by a young Ranni, led by the hand of her mother, Rennala. What she beheld was cold, dark and veiled in occult mystery.” – Ranni’s Dark Moon
Thus, she made a pact with a different Outer God, the God once worshipped by her human mother’s family: the god of the Dark Moon. Unlike the Greater Will seeking to impose its will on the world (or the Frenzied Flame seeking pure chaos), the Dark Moon had no interest in mankind in general and was more than happy to allow both them in general and Ranni in specific free will should it replace The Greater Will as the Outer God in control of the lands in between.
A falling star, right before our eyes! I can’t fathom how Radahn was holding back something of that scale. – Blaidd
The first step would be to set Ranni free by killing her Two Fingers. However, to do this she would need a special blade hidden deep within the buried city of Nokron—one she couldn’t access alone. Thus, the Dark Moon sent a meteor to smash into The Lands Between and grant Ranni access to the ancient city. But there was just one unforeseen problem—her older brother Radahn. Seeing a meteor falling towards his territory, he stopped it with his gravity magic. Soon after, he began his final battle against his sister, Malenia, and, while their fight ended in a stalemate, Radahn was left as little more than a mindless beast roaming the desert. The only way to let the meteor fall would be to kill Radahn—a bit of problem when, even driven insane through rot and pain, he was still the most powerful warrior the land had ever seen. For the next age, Ranni had little choice but to bide her time. She had Blaidd hunt for a different way into Nokron and had Seluvis prepare a puppet for the eventual battle against Radahn but could do little else.
“To Nokron, where Ranni’s fate will be decided. Let’s meet where the falling star bit the earth. We’ll take up our swords once more. For mistress Ranni.” – Blaidd
It is here that the player character enters the story. Knowing next to nothing about what is actually going on, you enter Ranni’s service. With you, Ranni finally has the weapon she needs to continue her quest to be free of The Greater Will. After proving your strength by attempting to find a second path into the sunken city, you, Blaidd, Seluvis’ puppet, and a score of the ages’ greatest warriors defeat Radahn and allow the meteor to fall. You then progress through the underground ruins and retrieve the weapon Ranni needs to kill her two fingers.
“I go now, to the night sky. It is there I shall find mine order. I bid thee travel the path of the Lord. And once all is done, we shall see each other, once more.” – Lunar Princess Ranni
With the blade in hand, it’s obvious to The Greater Will what she intends to do. She transfers her soul into a tiny doll better suited for stealth and begins her journey. Unfortunately, her Two Fingers send assassins after her. Luckily, it is here that the player character catches up with her, defeats the assassins, battles a dragon, and brings her to her two fingers—which she then promptly kills, freeing her from The Greater Will forever. You then propose to Ranni and she accepts—naming you her consort and asking you to call upon her when you stand on the cusp of becoming Elden Lord. She then communes with the Dark Moon, spending the rest of the game building the foundation of her new order.
Mine will be an order not of gold, but the stars and moon of the chill night. I would keep them far from the earth beneath our feet. As it is now, life, and souls, and order are bound tightly together, but I would have them at great remove. And have the certainties of sight, emotion, faith, and touch… All become impossibilities. Which is why I would abandon this soil, with mine order. Wouldst thou come to me, even now, my one and only lord? – Lunar Princess Ranni
Should you choose to summon her as promised upon defeating the final boss, Ranni ironically becomes exactly what she had fought against becoming her whole life: Marika’s replacement and the new god of The Lands Between. However, the world under her rule is quite different from The Greater Will’s Golden Order. Rather than have mankind guided by The Greater Will’s grace, with the two fingers translating their words and their god-avatar ruling over the people, Ranni wants to keep the gods and humans as separate as possible.
Luckily, the Dark Moon has no wish to impose its will upon the people. Likewise, Ranni, as their avatar, and the player character, as her immortal consort, will live removed from the rest of the world. It will be an age without divine guidance of any sort—one without fate. While this will leave mankind without all the security of The Golden Order, it will also leave mankind with the freedom Ranni herself longed for. It is the greatest gift she can give. But even then, unlike the other potential orders the player can choose to create, Ranni’s will only last 1000 years as opposed to all eternity. After that, mankind will once again have the freedom to choose—will they wish for their continued self-determination or will they long to once again be guided by the will of the Outer Gods? Perhaps we’ll find out in Elden Ring 2.
Top image copyright: ©Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. / ©2022 FromSoftware, Inc.
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