Elden Ring's lore explains the origins of hundreds of mystical places like the Eternal Cities of Nokron and Nokstella. Elden Ring is a massive game with diverse landscapes like mountains, lakes, swamps, forests, and urban areas like the capital city of Leyndell. Besides Leyndell, Nokron and Nokstella are two other cities featured in Elden Ring, and their backstory sheds light on some crucial events in the history of The Lands Between.
As players venture into The Lands Between, they'll find clues that reveal the history of the Eternal Cities of Elden Ring. Some Elden Ring characters, like Master Iji, call them twin cities, indicating they share a common heritage and culture. The areas become accessible after defeating Radahn, creating the Starfall Crater in Limgrave to reveal the hidden pathway to Nokron. More hints related to the Nokron and Nokstella can be found in descriptions of items like Fingerslayer Blade.
Who Are The Nox People?
The Eternal Cities of Elden Ring are home to a community called the Nox. Nox is a Latin word that means night, and the Nox people are also associated with night and everything that comes with it, like stars. These people have a distinct culture and heritage from other races in The Lands Between, but their origins are unclear. Some experts believe the Nox are descendants of Numens in Elden Ring, an ancient race from another world.
The theory that Nox could be somehow related to Numens is well-founded, as there is clear evidence of their connections with the Black Knife Assassins. Black Knife Assassins are a mysterious group in Elden Ring, also believed to be of Numen origins. A dialogue with Rogier confirms the relation between Black Knife Assassins and the Nox when he talks about the Night of The Black Knives, a crucial event where Godwyn The Golden was slain. Rogier says the assassins who murdered Godwyn were "scions of the Eternal City."
More evidence to support the aforementioned hypothesis can be found by studying the behavior of ants in Deeproot Depths and Ainsel River. These ants reside in a dumping ground for corpses and devour the dead. If Elden Ring players kill the pregnant queen ant, they get a Numen's Rune, a highly valuable item. Getting a Numen's Rune in the proximity of the Eternal Cities further solidifies the idea that the Nox and Numens could be related.
Rise of the Nox and Their Banishment
At some point, the Nox was an influential society in The Lands Between, and descriptions of a few Elden Ring items suggest their civilization was once above ground. Specifically, the item descriptions of Nox Monk Armor, Night Maiden Twin Crown, and Nox SwordStress Armor shed more light on what happened to the Nox community and the Eternal Cities of Nokron and Nokstella.
The descriptions say that long ago, the Nox angered The Greater Will, who banished them underground, forcing them to live under a false night sky. They also say that they wait for a "Lord of Light" who will usher in the age of stars. This means that the Eternal Cities were once on the surface, like other places in Elden Ring, and something happened that led to their banishment.
However, Elden Ring's lore doesn't clarify the exact nature of the event that caused the Nox's banishment. But most experts agree it had something to do with the Fingerslayer Blade, an item required to progress Ranni's questline. The blade is found in Nokron, and its description deepens the mystery surrounding the Eternal Cities. The official source says that the blood-drenched blade is evidence of "high treason committed by the Eternal City," and symbolizes their downfall and banishment.
Notably, some intuitive Elden Ring fans have spotted similarities between the Fingerslayer Blade, the Black Knife, and Sacred Relic Sword. The Sacred Relic Sword and the Fingerslayer Blade share a common feature, i.e., both are double helix blades fashioned from a corpse. The description of the Sacred Relic Sword says it's a weapon used to bring about a new age. The fan theory suggests that the Fingerslayer Blade is a poor imitation of the Sacred Relic Sword and the Nox wanted to use it to bring a new era. These fans believe that Nox's plan to usher in a new age of stars was the act of treason mentioned in the description of the Fingerslayer Blade.
Exploring Nox Society
The Nox society is one of the most intriguing in Elden Ring, with each type of enemy having a rank in the social hierarchy. Nox monk, Night Maiden, and Nox Swordstress are the enemy types Elden Ring gamers find in the Eternal Cities. The Night Maidens belong to the highest clerical order of these three, and the Nox Swordstress act as their personal bodyguards. Meanwhile, the Nox Monks are males who wield the Nox Flowing Hammer and are regarded among the most brutal enemies of Elden Ring.
Furthermore, a closer inspection of Elden Ring's lore and The Eternal Cities suggests that Nox is a highly advanced society. The breathtaking urban architecture of the twin cities, Nox's superior weapons made from liquid metal, and their unique social structure are clear indications of their highly forward civilization.
Some Elden Ring fans believe the Nox culture might've also engaged in alchemy and invested in puppetry and similar technologies to create additional living beings. Evidence in the game's lore suggests that Nox created the Dragonkin Soldiers to replicate ancient dragons and their might. While some gamers also believe that the Nox people also had a hand in creating Albinaurics.
A Secret Third City
Besides the two Eternal Cities of Nokron and Nokstella, Elden Ring's lore also mentions a third city that is unnamed and utterly destroyed. Gamers can see this unknown city by visiting the Deeproot Depths area in Elden Ring, which can be accessed by resting in a coffin or via a hidden passage in the Subterranean Shunning Grounds. Fans will see a destroyed city with architecture similar to Nokron and Nokstella.
Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, is believed to have destroyed this unnamed city, and many believe it was once a part of Leyndell. Some Elden Ring gamers have noticed how perfectly the two cities align, indicating a shared history. Many architectural similarities between the Eternal Cities and Ordina, Liturgical Town, and Sellia, Town of Sorcery, can also be found.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.