FromSoftware games are known for their comprehensive background lore, and Elden Ring is no exception. The game offers many clues pointing to what led up to The Shattering, and how The Lands Between fell into chaos and ruin. However, as with all of FromSoftware's Soulslike games, there is a great deal that players have to figure out on their own - like key beats for important characters such as Malenia.Elden Ring's many mysteries include depate around Marika's demigod children, the cursed twins Malenia and Miquella. While players encounter the former as one of Elden Ring's most difficult optional boss fight, Miquella never emerges from his unalloyed gold cocoon. Among the mysteries surrounding the pair is whether either has a Shadow, one of the vulpine guardians serving other demigods. Fans may find the answer to that question in Elden Ring's upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.RELATED: Helpful Elden Ring Glitch Makes Mohg Fight Significantly Easier

The Mystery of Malenia's and Miquella's Shadows

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FromSoftware announced the DLC on February 28, sharing a teaser image on Elden Rings's official Twitter account. The image's most notable element is the Erdtree itself, looking charred, twisted, and melting as it towers in the distance. This detail led some to conclude that Shadow of the Erdtree takes place after the main game. Meanwhile, there is also a horseback figure riding through an odd graveyard who fans quickly identified as the Spirit Steed Torrent and the demigod Miquella.

YouTuber, mod maker, and self-described Dark Souls hacker Zullie the Witch made one particularly big connection in a series of tweets the day of the announcement. As Zullie explained, the word Shadow already has significance in Elden Ring, referring to the Shadowbound Beasts like the boss Maliketh and the NPC quest-giver Blaidd the Half-Wolf.

These lupine warriors serve as sworn guardians to the Empyreans, the mortals and demigods who have the potential to become gods. The Empyreans were selected by supernatural beings called the Two Fingers, who granted each a Shadowbound Beast to serve as their protector. This was the case with Maliketh and Blaidd, who served the god-queen Marika and her stepdaughter Ranni the Witch. However, those are the only two Shadows that players encounter or even hear of in the game, despite the fact that other Empyreans exist and presumably had Shadows of their own.

This likely includes the siblings Malenia and Miquella, but it's not as if Elden Ring explains precisely how the Shadows work. It's possible that the twin demigods don't have any. After all, Miquella already had Malenia as his sworn protector, and it seems unlikely that The Lands Between's greatest warrior would require a guardian.

However, the use of the term Shadow in this DLC seems too significant just to be a coincidence, with the inclusion of Miquella in the announcement pointing to his appearance in Shadow of the Erdtree. It's too early to do anything other than speculate, and it's not entirely clear what it would mean for the Erdtree to have a Shadow - or if that's even what the title refers to. However, the expansion may provide new insights into how Shadows work, whether Malenia and Miquella have or had Shadowbound Beasts of their own, and what became of them if they did.

RELATED: Elden Ring Player Beats Malenia With Unupgraded Weapon At Level 1

What Elden Ring's DLC Could Say About Malenia and Miquella's Shadows

Rlden: Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Miquella riding Torrent

If one wants to speculate on the nature of Miquella's Shadow, Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree's announcement might contain additional clues. The character many believe to be Miquella appears to be riding Torrent, a magical horse that serves as the Tarnished's mount throughout Elden Ring. However, this suggests Torrent could be Miquella's Shadowbound Beast. Torrent is not a wolf, but given how little fans know about the way Shadows work, that might not be a dealbreaker.

Elden Ring heavily implies that Torrent is intelligent and has a mind of his own, with both Melina and Ranni referring to Torrent as having chosen the Tarnished rather than being bequeathed by Melina or compelled by the Tarnished's whistle. However, Elden Ring never explains why Torrent singles out the player character as worthy of his service. It could simply be that the Spirit Steed recognizes that the Tarnished is the most likely to become the new Elden Lord, but that raises the question of why the horse would care in the first place.

One possibility might be that Torrent is acting on behalf of a different master. Ranni the Witch mentions knowing the Spirit Steed's previous master, and Ranni's half-brother Miquella would presumably fall into that category. Alternatively, Torrent could also be Malenia's Shadow. Though the demigoddess is likely more powerful than anything the Two Fingers could provide, Malenia might find a mount useful when riding into battle, especially one intelligent enough to make decisions in combat. It might also explain why Miquella is riding him in the teaser image, since Malenia would want her Shadow to keep an eye on her beloved twin brother.

Of course, there is one big hole in both theories. Torrent's assistance to the Tarnished could indirectly lead to Malenia's death, should the protagonist succeed in finding and defeating her. Given how close the two were before the Shattering, it's unlikely that Miquella would approve of his Shadow aiding and abetting his sister's death. Still, as with everything in Elden Ring, there's quite a lot that fans don't know, and that they won't know until Shadow of the Erdtree releases.

Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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