The Lands Between in Elden Ring may seem abandoned by any gods, but the truth is that there are Outer Gods that influence what they can. The most well-known of these is the Greater Will, which basically took over the Lands Between long ago with Marika as a stand-in ruler. However, there are other lesser-known Outer Gods that exert minor influence.
Aside from the Greater Will, there is the Formless Mother, the God of Scarlet Rot, and the Frenzied Flame. Among them, the Frenzied Flame is special, because it is one Outer God that the Tarnished can ally with. It unlocks the "Lord of Frenzied Flame" ending. What is known and uncovered by fans about this Outer God is pretty fascinating, as it seems to be in direct opposition to the Greater Will.
The Origin Of The Frenzied Flame
The Frenzied Flame is far less present than the Greater Will, but it certainly does have an influence on the Lands Between. While the Greater Will establishes law and order, the Frenzied Flame is all about chaos and madness. While it is opposite to the Greater Will, though the two Outer Gods seem to be connected. The Greater Will uses the Two Fingers to spread its will, while the Frenzied Flame has the Three Fingers. Together, that makes a full hand of five fingers.
Due to this commonality, a widely believed theory is that the Greater Will and Frenzied Flame were once one Outer God that split into two. This would be long before either of these Outer Gods came to the Lands Between. Hyetta has a quote that hints that this theory could be true, as she says, "All that there is came from the One Great." In terms of when the Frenzied Flame came to the Lands Between, there is one item description that talks about this. The incantation, Howl of Shabriri, says that "the sickness of the flame of frenzy began with Shabriri, the most reviled man in all history."
Shabriri And The Frenzied Flame
It is believed that Shabriri could have been the first person to be influenced by the Frenzied Flame. The talisman called Shabriri's Woe mentions that Shabriri was a man whose eyes were gouged out, and the Frenzied Flame entered his eyes. Since then, Shabriri has been a spreader of the Frenzied Flame's influence. He does this even after death, as he can manifest in corpses such as Yura's.
While inhabiting Yura's body, Shabriri attempts to convince the Tarnished to embrace the Frenzied Flame, whose Three Fingers sits below the capital. Some fans believe the Three Fingers were imprisoned there by the Greater Will. It is also proven that the Tarnished was not the first person Shabriri has tried to convince either. There is another person named Vyke who was a Tarnished invader who took Shabriri's advice and is described to have been scorched by the Flame of Frenzy. He was close to becoming the Elden Lord, but instead ventured below the capital to be marked by the Three Fingers to save his Finger Maiden.
Vyke is actually found in an area of the Lands Between that is entirely dedicated to the Frenzied Flame. It is a small village in the north corner of Liurnia, and its inhabitants have all gone mad by succumbing to the Frenzied Flame. The village has a tower that can inflict madness upon any person that comes by as well. Some fans believe that Shabriri founded the village or had some hand in building the tower first and the inhabitants are all victims that passed by.
In Connection To The Merchants
Some content related to the Frenzied Flame has been cut. Hints of it still linger in Elden Ring; if the player listens to Shabriri and goes under the capital, they will find a ton of merchant corpses and a couple of survivors playing their string instruments. Another link to the Frenzied Flame and merchants is in the Nomadic Merchant's Finery description, which states that many merchants once lived as a Great Caravan but were all buried alive due to their heretical beliefs. Underground, they summoned the Flame of Frenzy.
The content that was cut that would have provided more explanation to the Frenzied Flame's connection with merchants was actually a quest that would have been given by merchant Kale. The content mentions the Great Caravan, and Kale wishes to know what happened to it. The player could have helped Kale find out what happened to them. It is unknown why this quest was cut from the game, though it would have caused some confusion as to the origin of the Frenzied Flame, whether it came from the curses of merchants or from Shabriri first.
The Frenzied Flame's End Goal
The Frenzied Flame wishes to destroy the Lands Between and spread chaos. It values returning the world to a primal state, and eliminating the Greater Will's influence. It also wishes to corrupt people to serve its desires. The Frenzied Flame ending lives up to these goals, destroying the Lands Between and corrupting the Tarnished as a sort of avatar of madness with their head being replaced by flame.
The Frenzied Flame ending is considered to be one of the bad endings in Elden Ring, as it ultimately seeks to destroy rather than save the Lands Between and its people. Melina herself seeks to kill the Tarnished if they choose this ending, despite it being the one ending she can survive in. Whatever happens next is either Melina killing the Tarnished or the Frenzied Flame succeeding in having chaos take over the world.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.