At some point in the near future, Elden Ring will receive its major DLC expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. To many fans, this is cause for excitement, as much of FromSoftware's past DLC efforts became highlights of their respective games. All manner of adventures and lore should be added to Elden Ring through this expansion, and Tarnished at or near the end of their previous quest should be ready to jump right into it.

The Souls community will need to wait a bit longer for Shadow of the Erdtree to launch, as FromSoftware likely intends to release Armored Core 6 first. Even so, a proper trailer could premiere during the summer trade show season. In the meantime, speculation on the contents of Elden Ring's DLC expansion is running wild, though much of it is focused around the seemingly teased Miquella and the strange, dark Erdtree seen in a teaser image. This DLC could be many things, but a number of narrative-minded fans are especially excited to hear more about one major character.

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Melina Remains Elden Ring's Most Mysterious Figure

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For most of Elden Ring, Melina plays the role of the Tarnished's maiden. She enables leveling up, gives the player their steed Torrent, and later permits access to the Roundtable Hold hub. Melina takes even more direct roles in gameplay and story later on, and can actually provide the player with a lot of lore if they explore during specific windows of the game. Despite all of this involvement, potentially spanning the opening to one of Elden Ring's best endings, the game does not care to divulge much about Melina.

An exposition source though she may be, Melina is not keen to speak about herself at length. Supposedly, she was born at the foot of the Erdtree, something may have happened to her body, and she's currently wandering without a fully-understood purpose, but many details make speculation difficult. There is no throne for her present in Morgott's boss arena, her summon for said fight shares most of its moveset with the Black Knife bosses, and she is able to hear echoes of Marika's speech in certain places. Furthermore, she reveals an unusual eye, which could be described as gloam, in the Lord of the Frenzied Flame ending. Melina is a total enigma, and fans would be pleased if Shadow of the Erdtree could explain more about her.

Shadow of the Erdtree Should Tie Melina More Into Elden Ring's Background

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Whatever Melina's deal is, the player could hear more of it in the DLC, especially if an implication in the teaser poster holds true. Among Elden Ring's demigods, Miquella is commonly speculated to be skilled with handling spirits, and if the horseback figure in the poster is him, he may have been Torrent's original master. Explaining how the spirit horse ended up with Melina could be a good jumping-off point to reveal more about her origins, and her mysterious purpose that is occasionally referenced but never elaborated on.

Any hints on Melina's normally-closed eye and apparent connection to Destined Death would be most appreciated. Even assembling the details and concluding that Melina is a secret daughter of Marika trained to ensure a new Elden Lord takes the throne still doesn't explain this facet. Her eye also brings to mind the Gloam-Eyed Queen from Elden Ring's backstory, who herself has a deep connection with the Rune of Death. Whatever place Melina occupies in Elden Ring's lore may be deeper than players know, but it's up to FromSoftware if any more light is shed on the matter.

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

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