Quick Links
The world ofElden Ringis full of characters both big and small, from the lowly land octopus all the way to the gods of the realm, your life as a tarnished will be marked by some interesting faces. Though not all of which will give up their secrets so easily.
One character that you sort of meet along your journey is Godwyn. A major player in the lore of The Lands Between, you may not get to meet him properly, but his actions have altered the world around you permanently. But, who is this mysterious figure?
Spoilers for Elden Ring’s main plot follow
Who Is Godwyn?
Godwyn, also often referred to as Godwyn The Golden, was the son of Godfrey and Marika.The child of two such important figures,Godwyn was a demigod himself and held quite a bit of power.
He was in many ways considered to be a key figure in The Golden Orderdue to his inherited power froman Elden Lord(Godfrey), and a physical embodiment of the Erdtree (Marika). Not a lot is known about his abilities, but the lore does say that heled the defense of Leyndell during the assault by Gransax the dragon,defeating it in battle and saving the capital of the Order.
Sadly, this title, and being nearly immortal to the mortal folk of The Lands Between, weren’t enough to save him.
What Happened To Godwyn?
“Ohh… Oh, Lord Godwyn… Such cruelty, such humiliation… My poor, sweet lordling should have died a true death. As the first of the demigods to die. As a martyr to Destined Death. But why must it yet bring such disgrace? A scion of the golden bough, sentenced to live in Death… How could such a thing come to be…” -Finger Reader Crone
At the beginning of Elden Ring,it is revealed that the world is in flux.This is due to an event referred to as theNight Of The Black Knives.During this, Godwyn was assassinated by a group of Black Knife Assassins.
Normally, even these powerful assassins wouldn’t have been able to bring Godwyn low, butthey had fragments of the rune of destined death(the samerune that Maliketh was givento guard by Marika).This was given to them by Ranni,who was not keen on being a part of the Golden Order and its machinations of the world.
Godwyn’s death, ushered by a piece of the rune of death, led to the great rune shattering.This results in the change of power that is seen at the beginning of the game that your tarnished capitalizes on.
Where Is Godwyn Now?
You can still see Godwyn in The Lands Between.Although, meeting him in the most literal sense isn’t possible anymore.
After his assassination, his body was taken to the roots of the Erdtree and buried there. But, his inherent powers didn’t take to the concept of death like other people’s would have.He is now locked in a sort of limbo between life and deathdue to Ranni ending her life in a ritual that led to Godwyn only experiencing a death of his soul while she experienced a death of the body only.
This is why Ranni’s soul is free to inhabit puppets as you see through her questline, as her soul is free to wander.
His body, now soulless, has conjoined with the roots of the Erdtree.Since his “death”,his body now continually expands underneath The Lands Between, and has also led to the creation of deathroot.You can see his body in its new state by entering the Erdtree Catacombs.
The biggest inclination of how far his body has expanded is how many places you can find deathroot and the usually fleshy masses that is grows near.
Why Is This Important?
“I see. Quite the sleuth, aren’t we. Indeed, I am the witch Ranni. I stole a fragment of the Rune of Death, and used it to forge the godslaying black knives through fearsome rite. I did it all.” -Ranni
Godwyn doesn’t play a huge part in the story of Elden Ring past his death being the inciting moment for your own story.His continuing growth, and his deathless state that is constantly undermining the world does make one wonder about what comes next for Godwyn.
Godwyn’s Followers
Godwyn, now referred to as the Prince Of Death, is still revered by some as a great leader.They include those who also revere death itself, or those who hope to avoid proper death in the way that Godwyn has. They range from the undead, knights who once followed Godwyn, and even ancient dragons.
Those Who Live In Death
“Those Who Live in Death fall outside the principles of the Golden Order. Their mere existence sullies the guidance of gold. Tainting its truth. And so it is the vermin must be exterminated… Down to the very last.” -D. Hunter Of The Dead
This is the umbrella term for most of the skeletons and other undead that you find along your journey. From the deadly Deathrite Bird, all the way down to the small skeletal snails that you come across,they all seem to come from the same powers that have brought the deathroot into the world.
The Golden Order aligns itself against Those Who Live In Death, seeing them as a mockery of the way of things. This is seen in various tarnished and other characters using the holy powers of the Order against the undead (of which they are weak to).Others don’t seem to mind the undead, sometimes being neutral to them as Rogier and others discuss.
Another idea of how powerful Godwyn is in the game is the powers that Those Who Live In Death possess, with Deathrite Birds and TIbia Mariners having some pretty impressive powers as minibosses.
Fortissax
“It is said that this golden lightning was wielded by Godwyn, who befriended Fortissax.” -Death Lightning Description
Fortissax aligned themselves with Godwyn after they saw him defeat their kindred Gransax in Leyndell.This led to some learning the magic of the dragons, and ultimately the dragon cult that revered them gaining purchase among mortals.
Fortissax tried to aid Godwyn after the death of his soul, but even the power of this ancient dragon was not enough to stave off the effects of death itself.This leads to Fortissax being touched by the power of the death rune, turning them into the first Lichdragon, also somewhere in limbo between life and death.
It is uncertain if this also lead to creatures as the Ghostflame Dragons also coming to be, or if that is a testament to the dragons' own powers.
Deathbed Companion Fia
“For I am the companion of Godwyn, Prince of Death. I wished to be a mother to Those Who Live in Death.” -Fia Dialogue
Fia is one of the Deathbed Companions from a far off land.It is their task in life to lay with nobles and champions close to death in order to give them comfort and perhaps even help them survive when nearing the end of their natural lives.
It is revealed through her quests that she actually is aligned with Godwyn and hopes to become a sort of paragon for those who are in-between deathlike Godwyn and Those Who Live In Death are.She is killed for her beliefs while trying to mend a rune of life and death, and for killing D. Hunter Of The Dead.
Death Knights
“The decayed golden wheel that adorns it represents their unbroken loyalty to Godwyn, he who became Prince of Death."-Death Knight Helm Description
The knights that were sworn to protect Godwyn have not ceased in their duties after the death of his soul. They can be found in various locations underground, often protecting their lord’s corpse.
They are powerful knights who have many of the same powers and weapons that the other knights of The Lands Between have, with the addition of some ancient dragon abilities thanks to Godwyn’s connection with Fortissax.
They stay underground, near the body of their master, waiting for the age of the Duskborn(an ending you can get in the gameby using the mended rune Fia gives you), where life and death blend together just as they have done for their lord.
