Elden Ring features many NPCs and characters who help propagate the game’s story and explain the lore of the Lands Between both before and during the events of the Shattering. Most of Elden Ring’s major characters are seen and interacted with as either allies or bosses, and/or their stories are usually indirectly told through context and interactions with other characters. It is therefore up to the player to connect the characters and their stories in order to see the full picture and understand how each storyline connects.
Some of the most influential characters are the deities and their children all of whom are worshipped as gods. The player grows to know each of these characters by name as the story progresses, but there is one name often mentioned by major characters, but never fully introduced: Miquella the Unalloyed. Though little is known about Miquella and he is never actually seen, other major characters imply that he is one of the most powerful characters in all of Elden Ring.
Miquella’s Origin
In order to understand Miquella’s origin, players must first understand the somewhat complicated family tree that begins with Queen Marika. Marika was chosen to be queen of the Lands Between in service of the Greater Will, the Outer God who sent the Elden Ring to the land. Marika then chose her king, Hoarah Loux, who was thereafter known as Godfrey, the First Elden Lord. The two had three demi-god children, Margott, Mohg, and Godwyn.
After successfully ushering in the Age of Golden Order, Markia banished Godfrey and the Tarnished and took a new husband, Radagon. Marika and Radagon had two children together, twins Miquella and Malenia. However, the twins were both born with separate birth defects, for reasons that ultimately remain speculation. Malenia was forever cursed with Scarlet Rot while Miquella’s curse caused him to permanently have the body of a child.
Miquella was particularly seen as powerful and a worthy successor to Queen Marika. Even in his cursesd state, Miquella was one of the most powerful members of his family and was greatly respected by the other demi-gods within the Golden Order. However, Miquella grew to detest the order because of its effect on his family, so he abandoned the Golden Order in an attempt to cure himself and his sister.
The Creation of the Haligtree and Unalloyed Gold
After abandoning the Golden Order and setting out on his own, Miquella created unalloyed gold, which was a substance that was able to ward off the effects of Scarlet Rot, as well as the meddling of the Outer Gods. Miquella wanted to use this creation to cure his sister but also needed to find a way to cure himself which is why he planted a sapling and began watering it with his own blood. Hoping that his Empyrean blood may create a new Erdtree, Miquella continued to tend to the tree which sat atop the city of Elphael until the tree fully grew and became known as the Haligtree.
Miquella’s Haligtree became a place of worship for the demi-god, as many creatures and soldiers, fit with unalloyed gold armor, protected the tree and its roots. Though it is unclear whether these guardians chose to protect Miquella’s Haligtree on their own accord, as Miquella has to ability to compel affections from others. The item description of the Bewitching Branch states “The Empyrean Miquella is loved by many people. Indeed, he has learned very well how to compel such affection”, which implies that much of the adoration and loyalty to Miquella may be due to his own supernatural intervention.
Regardless of how he rose to such power, Miquella still needed to cure his curse, and he decided to do so by embedding himself in the Haligtree and growing with the tree itself. However, his time within the tree was cut short, as his half-brother, Mohg, abducted Miquella’s cocoon from the tree in an attempt to raise Miquella to full godhood, so Mohg could act as his consort and monarch. It is also during this time that Malenia was injured from her battle with Radahn and had to be carried back to the Haligtree by one of her soldiers. However, Malenia was too late to save her brother, so she sat and waited for Miquella’s return at the base of the Haligtree.
Miquella’s Influence on the World
Perhaps the most outstanding creation that Miquella brings to the world of Elden Ring is unalloyed gold. This powerful element is able to cure Scarlet Rot and becomes a very useful item in Millicent’s questline, which leads directly to Malenia. Players will likely first hear of unalloyed gold from Sage Gowry who states the player must find a holy needle made of unalloyed gold in order to cure Millicent of her Scarlet Rot. Once players finished Millicent’s quest, they are awarded the Unalloyed Gold Needle.
After defeating Malenia at the base of the Haligtree, players can use the Unalloyed Gold Needle on the giant Scarlet Aeonia which is left on the corpse of Malenia. Performing this action is essentially allowing the player to finally fulfill Miquella’s wish to cure his sister, but unfortunately only after she has already perished. However, if players choose to cure the Scarlet Aeonia, they are awarded Miquella’s Needle, a powerful and useful item that has the ability to change the ending of the game.
If players have found themselves consumed by the Frenzied Flame before the end of the game, there is only one way to undo this process and choose not to become the Lord of the Frenzied Flame. If players have Miquella’s Needle in the Dragonlord Placidusax boss arena, they can rid themselves of the flame and are no longer bound to that ending of the game. Elden Ring’s lore states that the needle is able to ward away the meddling of the Outer Gods, including the one who invokes the Frenzied Flame, but the needle is unfinished and therefore can only be used in the center of the storm in Farum Azula.
Cut Content Featuring Miquella
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Since Miquella was abducted from his Haligtree before he was able to grow, he remains dormant in his cocoon for the course of Elden Ring. His body can be found at the back end of Mohg’s boss arena, still dripping with blood and encased in his cocoon. Though players are unable to interact with Miquella in any fashion, it is unclear if his existence has any more significance in the world.
In the Roundtable Hold, Sir Gideon Ofnir claims that Miquella is still alive but trapped in a deep slumber, which is further explored in content cut from the final version of the game, which states that Miquella is St. Trina, God of Slumber. As told by a piece of cut dialogue, it seems that Miquella would have eventually ascended to full godhood and would become St. Trina but remains trapped in a sort of dream world.
Another piece of cut content shows that there was once a weapon in the game called the Abundance and Decay Twinblade which was meant to represent twins Miquella and Malenia. Curiously, the blade is said to have the power of the Rune of Decay, which is Malenia's Great Rune, and the Rune of Abundance, which is the name of Miquella’s cut Great Rune. Since players never fight Miquella, it makes sense why his Great Rune is never used, but it seems as though there was once a version of the game in which Miquella had a greater presence.
Elden Ring is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.