Last time, I presented the parallels of the Night King and Godwyn the Prince of Death. I also presented the parallels of the Three Eyed Raven and the Weirwood Trees. These parallels are with the Three Fingers and the Frenzied Flame of Chaos. In the words of Roman Reigns during an interview before WrestleMania XL, he said, “There are layers to this.” That’s a fact.
Now I come before you with a three-fold parallel. This idea didn’t ring in my head until a week after watching Game Of Thrones. It makes more sense now upon my 2nd round of watching the show. This thought also came in the wake of having beat Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree twice. The concept is about how Marika bore similarities with Daenerys Stormborn. Her son Miquella did as well. We defeated the false Messiah in Shadow of the Erdtree. This occurred long after we’d slain the remnant of Marika, known as Radagon/Elden Beast.
For the sake of simple background, Daenerys Stormborn allegedly grew up in Braavos with her brother Visceris. In the book series of Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, she would have memories of her room. This room had a lemon tree, and her home had a red door. Her brother got the reputation as the Beggar King. This was due to him not having the financial backing. Despite his agenda to Make Westeros Targaryen Again, he lacked the military manpower to take back Westeros. His desperation was such that he sold whatever means of riches left to him and Daenerys. He did this to get some semblance of power to stake the claim.
Daenerys got married off to Drogo on the premise of giving her brother manpower to eventually retake the Iron Throne. This also meant she was barely an adult. She was initially objectified and suffered with Drogo until she one day learned to actually seduce him. This in turn led to her helping lead the Dothraki. Her brother, for as vile as he was, suddenly felt betrayed. Sounds familiar?
In the story trailer of Shadow of the Erdtree, Leda tells the viewer about how “Miquella spoke of the beginning. The seduction and the betrayal. An affair from which Gold arose and so too was Shadow born”. In what the DLC revealed to us, Marika was from the Shaman Village. Marika’s experience was akin to her fellow Numen that were Shaman. It is implied that Marika was tortured. She was likely subjected to the jar process that the Hornsent would use to eventually “make saints”. While the great majority of her kind suffered genocide, she arose. It is theorized that this is how Radagon became her other half. The jar process consisted of mashing and grafting various bodies into big jars. This subjugation that the Hornsent inflicted upon Marika would eventually come to haunt them later. She would leave one of her hair braids in the Shaman Village near a grandmother tree. It was almost as a memento or a symbolic vow. She hasn’t forgotten what the Hornsent have done and she would avenge them.
As per the item description and image of the Talisman of Lord’s Bestowal, Godfrey would become Marika’s first Elden Lord. He accepted such honor stoically. Marika would also bear a son named Messmer. While the Talisman and its location leads me to think he is Godfrey’s son. Messmer’s hair resembles Radagon. His boss music style also resembles Radagon. Messmer’s Kindling also indicates him having a younger sister. She bore visions of fire. By all accounts, that would be Melina. She would be our Tarnished character’s guide in the main game. Godfrey would be the one Marika would seduce. The Badlands are likely the Land of Shadow that the dlc has. The game says he and the Tarnished originally came from there. This includes particularly Enir-Ilim and Tower of Belurat. The Divine Gate consists of a pile of corpses. The story trailer showed Marika with golden strands plucked from a dead creature there. The pile consists mostly of Hornsent. It’s safe to infer that Godfrey, formerly known as Hoarax Loux, was seduced by Marika. He then betrayed the Hornsent. This was done to help Marika and Messmer charge in with fellow warriors and knights. They committed an entire crusade of genocide to ensure Marika’s rise to godhood without any dispute. This was followed by the Land of Shadow being sealed away.
What caught my attention further in my 2nd viewing of Game of Thrones was Daenerys being gifted 3 dragon eggs. They were found in the Asshai. In the lore of A Song of Ice & Fire, the Asshai contained the arcane. It also contained fire and blood magic. It was also a “land of shadow.” At night, white ghostly blades of grass and stone would be visible. This is akin to the Land of Shadow in Elden Ring. There, you find Fire Knights that practice Messmer’s Flame incantations. Bloodfiends abound and worship the Formless Mother. This consists of blood and fire incantations that scale with arcane. At night, there are white, ghostly blades of grass. Larval tears emerge among the Gravesite Plains of the Land of Shadow. It’s also in the Land of Shadow where we learn about Bale the Dread. This is an obvious reference to Balerion the Dread. We also learn about the rebellion he had against Dragonlord Placidusax. The massive dragon corpse you see near the Dragon Altar resembles the wound that Balerion the Dread received. It’s said his throat was gashed open, leaving a massive gaping hole. I have yet to read Fire & Blood. I believe this occurrence is why his skull to be near the Iron Throne.
One other thing about Daenerys and Marika that caught my eye were crucial events they both had in their lives. These events led to massive changes in the world they dwelled in. Daenerys lost many Dothraki and Unsullied warriors. She also lost one of her dragons in The Long Night battle against the Night King and his Others. Near the end of her march to reclaim the Iron Throne, she lost 2 of her most trusted confidants. She had known them throughout her journey. She also lost one more dragon at the hands of Euron Greyjoy’s fleet. This led to Daenerys’ state of emotional rage breaking loose. It caused a severe rift between herself, Tyrion, and Jon Snow/Aegon VI. In Elden Ring, Marika learned of the soul slaying of her beloved son Godwyn the golden. She came emotionally undone and set in motion The Shattering. It’s an event that would plunge all of The Lands Between into a brutal war. It’s a war where no lord or god arose. Thus, her Divine Grace is from the Erdtree itself. She beckons to have our Tarnished character rise from our grave (Altered Beast style). They must make the journey to become Elden Lord. Both characters suffered severe losses that fractured their sanity to take drastic actions with grievous consequences.
Lastly, let’s discuss Miquella the Kind, who would’ve been the next Empyrean qualified to be a god. Miquella was one of the few children of Marika qualified to be Empyrean. He was next in line to be god. He saw that the Golden Order, led by his father Radagon, was found wanting in their incantations. They couldn’t heal his twin sister Malenia of her Scarlet Rot affliction. So, he made plans. He created the Haligtree. It would be a place of refuge for those whom were unwanted throughout The Lands Between. This consisted of Misbegotten, Albinaurics, his sister, some sorcerers once loyal to Raya Lucaria and Carian Manor. He sought to grant Godwyn’s soulless body a true death. This is similar to how Daenerys wished to grant Drogo a true death. Drogo was in a soulless vegetative state. A living body where the soul is not active isn’t truly being alive at all. Daenerys, throughout her journey, prided herself not only as the Mother of Dragons. She was also pursuant of the Iron Throne and the Breaker of Chains. Being an abolitionist is something she prided herself in because she saw the horrors of subjugation and slavery. She disclosed her agenda to Jon Snow towards the end of Game of Thrones. She aimed to free every last living slave in all the lands. She wanted to be on the Iron Throne as the only master. After seeing everything she has and enduring what she has, she knows what’s good.
Miquella failed freeing Malenia of her Scarlet Rot. He was unable to grant Godwyn a true death. To reach his height of power, he plotted his way to the Land of Shadow to reach the Divine Gate. He aimed to ascend to godhood. This would ensure him the ability, alongside his Lord Consort brother Radahn, to rule an Age of Compassion. There were just two problems with Miquella. The first issue was his way to gain followers. He had so many followers because he used his ability to enchant and bewitch them. His means of securing Radahn to be his consort meant we, the Tarnished, had to vanquish him. We had to send his soul to the Land of Shadows. Then the Tarnished would vanquish Miquella’s omen demigod brother Mohg. He also enchanted Mohg. The Tarnished would use a Secret Rite that would implant Radahn’s soul into Mohg’s body. Those cursed to be Omen or of similar lineage lose their souls forever. Ask yourself, how can you rule all the lands of your mother with true compassion? How can you rule when everyone in obeisance to you is bewitched and charmed instead of free will? The second problem Miquella has is that he abandoned St. Trina. He abandoned her to make the successful trip to the Divine Gate. He called St. Trina “my love”. Trina, his female half, was the embodiment of love. She was left behind in your plot. How can you rule with compassion without any fragment of love along with you? Daenerys, by the end of Game of Thrones, reaches the throne with very little love left in her heart. The final episodes show her completely possessed by a heart full of hurt, vengeance, and rage. Her words of ambition as Queen are one thing. Her actions since the end of Season 6 showed constant betrayal, loss, and frustration leading down a spiral of frenzy. Would all the free in Westeros and Essos truly acknowledge her as rightful Queen? Would they do so, even with Jon/Aegon VI as her King Consort as suggested by Tyrion? In the words of Ymir from Cathedral of Manus Metyr when discussing Metyr and Marika, “Is there no hope for redemption? The answer, sadly, is clear…Unhinged from the start..and the fingers that guided her…if the roots are rotten, then we have little recourse”.
Daenerys, Marika and Miquella were each characters with unfortunate backgrounds, great power but beholden to character flaws that proved fatal. Daenerys concluded Game of Thrones with the classic fate of every would-be messianic character. This is evidenced when looking at the whole of it in classic stories and epics. I do believe that Martin may not have a totally different conclusion for A Song of Ice and Fire compared to Game of Thrones. This is apparent when he last responded to such a question with, “Yes and no. No and yes. Yes and no and no and yes.” If we even go further back, someone whispered to Daenerys the premise. They suggested that her being alive and returning to Westeros would result in them just giving her the Iron Throne. All of us who followed the story would know this to be an utter lie. This is why, when meeting Jon Snow, there’s such a different tone when he doesn’t kneel. This is especially true after the events in Mereen put her in a very defensive state. This gave me a deja vu. It reminded me of how Miquella thought we would just yield to him and Radahn’s Age of Compassion. This happened knowing what we eventually discovered.
This entry was definitely one that had my gears turning for maybe a week. Those of you whom waited, thank you for your patience. I do have one more for this mini-series. Oddly enough, it has to do with Jon Snow, a bit of Arya Stark, and the Tarnished. It won’t be as extensive as this entry but will still be worth a read.
