There is a lot of untold history in Elden Ring, with only hints of it found in gear sets, enemies, and locations. Amongst the untold history is what the world was like before the Shattering and even before the Greater Will came to the Lands Between. Part of this history relates to the dragons.

Dragons actually once ruled the Lands Between, before the Erdtree and the Greater Will came. It is even hinted that these dragons were following the will of a different Outer God. Not only that, but these dragons had their own version of an Elden Lord and his name was Placidusax (who can be found in Crumbling Farum Azula).

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The Dragon War

Dragon fight in Elden Ring.

One piece of lore describes the ancient dragon Gransax having attacked the Royal Capital of Leyndell. This attack marked the beginning of a war against dragons. While the reasons for this attack are not told, fans have theorized this attack was due to the rise of Marika and the Greater Will. The dragons may have felt threatened or wanted the Elden Ring, or for the Greater Will to abandon the Erdtree.

Godwyn the Golden lead the charge in the dragon war and defeated the ancient dragon called Fortissax. After the defeat, the two actually befriended each other and that lead to the capital housing an ancient dragon cult. Despite this event, however, fans believe most dragons were wiped out in the war since few exist in the Lands Between during the events of the game. One other theory is not that the dragons were wiped out, but forced to hide. The item, Lansseax's Glaive revealed that dragons can take on human forms. Lansseax was a dragon that did this to become a priestess of the ancient dragon cult.

Placidusax

Placidusax.

Farum Azula was basically the Royal Captial for dragons, and Placidusax who acted as the Elden Lord for the dragon's Outer God lived there. Much is unknown about what the dragon's Outer God was like. The important piece of information, though, is that the Outer God eventually fled. This could have been due to the rise of Marika and the Greater Will.

Placidusax did not die or flee, despite Farum Azula falling apart. He can be found and is an optional boss. He has two heads that look towards the sky, which fans have compared to the Two Fingers. One interesting theory is that Placidusax could be trying to commune with his Outer God much as the Two Fingers do for the Greater Will. Fans also noticed the dragon used to have more than two heads. There are stumps on the dragon's body, hinting there could have been five heads once, but they likely were lost in a conflict such as the dragon war.

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Modern Dragons Versus Ancient Dragons

Dragon screaming at player.

Ancient dragons are said to have been far more powerful than the modern dragons of Elden Ring. This is both a part of their downfall and a consequence of it. The ancient dragons were said to level entire cities, have incredible magic, and be far larger than the modern dragons.

Some fans believe the dragons weakened due to time and bloodlines. One example of this is Godrick the Grafted, a demigod who is known to be the weakest in his family because he is far down the bloodline. All modern dragons can be an example of this. There are other theories as well, such as the fact that Farum Azula crumbled and is now home to modern dragons. Due to spending more time in the Lands Between than in the sky, they could have weakened. There is also the fact that the lack of an Outer God also withdrew blessings the ancients had. The Greater Will may have also stripped the dragons of some of their strength.

The existence of dragon communion brings up an odd but possible theory as well. Dragon communion is a way to gain the power of dragons but at the heavy cost of one's own humanity. The description of Magma Wyrm Makar brings up that some land-bound dragons were once humans that partook in dragon communion. So these weaker dragons could also be humans turned dragon due to the communion cost.

Dragons And Storms

Farum Azula.

Fans have noticed a connection to dragons and storms that could hint at something way more happening than just a war between the Greater Will and dragons. Farum Azula is plagued by storms, and fans have wondered if this puts the dragons in a connection with another power that fell to Marika's rule, the Storm Lord of Stormveil Castle. It's possible that the Storm Lord and dragons had an alliance or a war.

Very little is known about the Storm Lord. It is also worth remembering that Godrick has a dead dragon in Stormveil Castle, which could be another connection between the Storm Lord and dragons. It is very likely the two coexisted before the era of Marika.

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

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