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The DLC forElden Ring, called Shadow of the Erdtree, is all about Miquella the Kind and his quest throughout the Realm of Shadow. But he isn’t the one guiding the player, since instead, the one interacting with players the most is Needle Knight Leda.
She’s the only character from the DLC that we can meet outside of it (albeit in Mohg’s arena only), making her the only connection between the base game and the Shadow of the Erdtree. In fact, the main questline in the DLC is all about Needle Knight Leda, her allies, and her search for Miquella in the Realm of Shadow.
Spoilers For Shadow Of The Erdtree!
Who Is Needle Knight Leda?
Needle Knight Leda is a sworn knight in the service of Miquella the Kind.The ‘Needle’ part of her name is in reference toMiquella’s greatest creation, the Needle of Unalloyed Gold, allowing people (players included) to ward off the meddling of the Outer Gods.
While her armor might look striking,the only part unique to her is the chest, since the rest is part of theOathseeker Knight Setset. This could be a hint of her past since she was likelya knight without a masteruntil she stumbled upon Miquella on her travels.
The Oathseeker Knight set can be found in the Church of Benediction.
She’s from the Lands Between, although she’s very knowledgeable about the Realm of Shadow. She knows about the Hornsent and about how to destroy the shadowy branches with Messmer’s flame, and she likely knows all this thanks to Miquella.
Is Needle Knight Leda Charmed?
Just like all other NPCs in her questline,Leda is under the influence of a Charmplaced by Miquella. The only exception to this seems to be Dryleaf Dane, but the silent monk might have needed no enchantment to begin with to follow Miquella’s wishes.
When Miquella breaks his Great Rune,all his powerful Charms are broken, including the one on Leda. But while the others were Charmed into blindly following Miquella,Leda was Charmed to subdue her main flaw:how quickly she judges people.
This is a flaw becauseshe’s often wrong in her judgment, like whenshe thinksThiollier is no threatwhen, in reality, he is one of the few NPCs that can turn on her. She does the opposite to the Hornsent,wanting to kill him immediatelyeven though he, in the end, is a potential ally to her.
Even when Charmed,she comes to hastened conclusions with us, assuming that we are also fighting for Miquella’s cause. It is only at the end of the DLC that she realizes that we, as Tarnished, are trying to become Elden Lord; therefore,we are the real threat to Miquella.
What Happened To The Other Needle Knights?
Leda seems to be part of a Knightly order, just like Freyja is part of the Redmanes. But while we can encounter plenty of other Redmanes (in the base game at least), there don’t seem to be any other Needle Knights, so what happened to them?
We could just assume that they are elsewhere, but if they are the sworn Knights of Miquella, the only place they should be is by their Lord. Leda’s Sword might give us some insight towards their whereabouts since it reads,“…this blade still reeks with the stench of crusted blood that lingers from the cull of her knightly comrades.”
It seems that, just like when the Charm is removed during Shadow of the Erdtree,Leda started being suspicious of her comrades, deeming them unworthy of standing at Miquella’s side.She then started to kill all the other Knightsone by one until she was the only one left.
This would make Miquella’s Charm not only be aimed at numbing her one flaw but also her bloodlust, since she might have inevitably ended up killing everyone under Miquella’s rule. This puts into questionif Miquella sent her on a questto begin with, or if she was just a fan trying to catch up to her idol’s footsteps.
Can We Side With Leda?
Just like there isn’t an ending where we bring about Miquella’s Age of Compassion,we can’t side with Ledasince we ourselves are trying to become Elden Lord. It seems thatour goal was always to slay Miquella, thereforewe are only using Ledafor our own goals.
It isn’t clear ifMiquella needed Leda for anything in particular, however, since all Leda does is follow the Empyrean around.Miquella might have neededsomeone to kill Messmerand gain his flame, but whether Miquella needed the shadowy branches burned to access the Divine Gateway is not known.
All Possible NPCs For Leda’s Fight
Just beforethe final boss fight,Leda challenges the playerto a final duel to the death. This fight can be fairly easy or extremely difficult, depending on your actions leading up to this moment, and once you make it here,there is no turning back.
