It’s a perfectly random Tuesday* which makes it the ideal day for FromSoftware and Bandai Namco to drop a surprise Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree trailer. The highly-anticipated expansion to 2022’s Game Of The Year comes out on June 21st. I’ll unwrap my Collector’s Edition the day after my birthday. Praise the sun!
In any case, here’s the brand new story trailer that’s all about Miquella and the new villain, Messmer. It’s incredible and indecipherable and has already made my day:
The trailer opens to darkness and a woman’s voice.
“Miquella the Kind spoke of the beginning.”
A hand, bangled at the wrist, pulls ooze out of . . . something. Another body? Ooze and blood.
“The seduction,” the woman’s voice intones. “And the betrayal.”
Piano, lilting and beautiful and just a little bit ominous, plays in the background. Someone is walking barefoot over what appears to be ground made of flesh. There are teeth in it.
“An affair from which Gold arose.”
I believe this is the Empyrean Miquella, Malenia’s brother:
“And so too was Shadow born. And so too was a war unseen.”
Orchestral music descends. Drums, organ, voices. We see armies, flame, giants and gods.
“One that could never be put to song. A purge without Grace or honor.”
“The tyranny of Messmer’s flame.”
This is Messmer, with his snakes and his bright red hair. The only other prominent characters with this fiery hair are Radahn and his daughter, Malenia. Could Messmer be related? Is Messmer another Empyrean, lost in Shadow?
We see fire beneath a shadowy castle as the camera pans up to a massive tree, a golden vein coursing through one of its gargantuan boughs. The music fades and urgent strings begin. A vast open plain the Lands Between with this symbol hovering above the grass:
“And so kindly Miquella would abandon everything,” the narrator tells us. We see another of these symbols. Perhaps new Sites of Grace specific to this DLC?
“His golden flesh, his blinding strength. Even his fate.”
We see Mequilla, in a white gown, sinking beneath some dark depths. This could be a clue that Miquella and St. Trina are one and the same.
A gauntleted hand strokes golden light over grass. “But we are not deterred,” the narrator says as the music intensifies. Once again, the cross-and-moon symbol of light, the Tarnished kneeling before it:
“We choose to follow.”
An image of many Tarnished, all kneeling or bowing before the symbol. I want whatever that knight on the far left is wearing:
“Will you walk with us?”
Yes. Yes, please. I will walk and I will ride and I will fight and I will die. Again and again. I’m not eager to turn a year older on June 20th, but I’ll just ignore that and get excited for Shadow of the Erdtree instead, on June 21st. Umbasa!
P.S. You may as well head over to Vaati’s YouTube channel in the next couple of days. He’s sure to tease out every bit of relevant lore from this trailer. I’ve long ago made peace with the fact that I will never quite understand all this stuff. I just let Souls lore wash over me.
* I just realized that it’s not a perfectly random Tuesday, after all. It’s one month, to the day, before this comes out.
