Soulslike - Discussion, News, Memes

The Greater Will doesn't exist.

Many people in the Lands Between believe in it as a guiding force, like something way beyond gods as a conscious cosmos, a conscious reality. But then they attribute all their signs and wants of the Greater Will to the Two Fingers, whose Mother, whom I'm theorizing guides/controls them all, hasn't "received signs" from beyond her microcosm in forever.

All of the Greater Will just hinges on two entities: Metyr and the Elden Beast. But that they come from a cosmic super force is tenuous and probably just propaganda by Metyr. There is surprisingly little in the game beyond the one keyword "Greater Will" to actually connect the Elden Beast and Metyr. Metyr was supposedly first to the Lands Between (according to her Remembrance), but if and how Metyr was before Marika even involved with the Elden Ring is unclear. Was she even there when Placidusax was Elden Lord?

Now my theory: sure, Elden Beast and Metyr come from outer space or another dimension, but there is no reason for them to come from some cosmic super entity/living cosmos thing. They are just super fancy aliens. Metyr just wanted a religion, and if you're a truly immortal, eternal schemer, then, eh, why not have some religion backing so that you can implement your schemes? Sure, Metyr comes from somewhere, and she supposedly wants to make contact to there again (and maybe even returns if you defeat her?), but again, to repeat my theory, there is not "necessarily" a Greater Will there.

The Elden Beast. Something that can be wielded by a god to reshape an era of reality to their desired image is something ginormously powerful and still clearly has a will of it's own - I've been hit by that will quite a few times on the head. But the Elden Beast could just be a wandering entity in the cosmos and/or between realities. It never says where it's from. Most information about it just comes from the Two Fingers. Also, it seems kinda antagonistic towards the Two Fingers, maybe. Is it the Elden Beast or the Two Fingers that lock Marika away in her Erdtree? From my reading, it's the Elden Beast that punishes her for her transgression. The Two Fingers want to continue the scheming; hence… well the plot of the game, Tarnished -> Elden Lord.

Okay, that was really too much rambling, and I kinda lost my own plot there a bit. I will definitely replay Elden Ring again and view it under this lens. Always fun to view Fromsoft games from different angles.

No gaming for me this week; family is visiting. I heard you can have quite a fun time in something called "IRL".