SPOILER WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS.Queen Marika is at the center of Elden Ring, being the one who caused the Shattering and having the role of goddess over the Lands Between on behalf of the Greater Will. Much is speculated about her, as Elden Ring is not a game that tends to just hand over its lore on a silver platter. So, fans have been piecing together Marika's story, and it is quite fascinating.

There is a lot to know and wonder about Marika, from her race and relationship with Radagon to how much agency she actually has and her motivations. Players never really get to interact with her in the game, even once they get inside the Erdtree and see her. The way to find out things about Marika is instead through listening carefully to other characters, reading gear descriptions, and exploring the Lands Between while connecting the dots given.

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Where Marika Came From

Marika shattering the Elden Ring.

The greatest to where Marika came from before she ascended to godhood is that she is of the Numen race. This is a race players can actually select for their character, and it is described as a race of people from another world who live long but are seldom born. Fans have been digging for information about this race, finding out that Numen also were the Black Knife Assassins that killed Godwyn the Golden. Also, Numen Runes are found underground in the Eternal Cities of Nostella and Nokron.

This has made fans theorize Marika and the Numen race were once settlers of the Eternal Cities. If true, this has big implications because the cities were destroyed by the Greater Will. Marika, the Numen, would become the goddess of the Greater Will and if the Numen indeed were oppressed by this Outer God, then it provides more questions than answers, like why she servers The Greater Will.

Marika's Consorts

Split image of Godfrey and Radagon.

Another part of understanding Marika is her two consorts, Godfrey and Radagon. Godfrey was the first and was also the first Elden Lord. Unlike Marika, he was no god, but he was a legendary hero who led the war against the giants and also fell the Storm Lord. His glory did not last though, as it is said his spirit sank and his eyes faded once he fell his last worthy opponent. This made him lose Grace and, in turn, led to Marika banishing him from the Lands Between. This also made him the first Tarnished.

With Godfrey gone, it was then Radagon who became the next consort of Marika. He was actually already married to Rennala, but left her for Marika when called. A twist of the game is actually that Marika and Radagon are the same person. There is a lot of speculation surrounding this fact, such as whether they were always the same person or not. Some fans even believe Radagon may have once been a fire giant due to his red hair, which is interesting since all but one giant was killed in a war against the Erdtree. How this would tie with her Numen roots is even more confusing, considering this.

Outside just being her consorts, Marika's relationship with these two men is shrouded in mystery. It's agreed by most that Radagon's heart truly loved Rennala, and he only returned to Marika's side because they were the same and had little agency against the Greater Will.

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Marika's Agency

Marika in Erdtree.

How much free will Marika had before shattering the Elden Ring is the greatest mystery of all. Through Ranni's questline, fans learn that Empyreans are bound to a certain destiny dictated by the Greater Will and there is no escape unless their own bodies are abandoned. This is why Ranni put herself in a doll, so she would not wind up like Marika who had the curse of being a Numen and an Empyrean. Knowing this, there is strong evidence that poor Marika never could make choices of her own.

There is only one choice that definitely was of Marika's own making, and that was shattering the Elden Ring. The evidence for this is that Marika was punished by the Greater Will for the Shattering. This means the Greater Will definitely did not make her do it. The Greater Will would never want the ring to shatter because that is its primary influence in the Lands Between. This decision even put her and Radagon at odds, as Radagon tried to mend the ring after she broke it but shared her punishment.

Marika's Motivations

Marika.

There are a couple of theories about Marika's motivations centered around the fact that she shattered the Elden Ring. Some fans believe that she planned to betray the Greater Will from the beginning, although this is not really made clear in-game. Creating the Tarnished and being Numen are big pieces of evidence in favor of that theory.

Others believe Marika did not plan to betray the Greater Will from the beginning. Instead, she slowly grew to doubt it. Rather than play a role in her son's death, she loved her son and his death was the final straw that made her lose faith in the Greater Will. So rather than carefully plotting against the Greater Will, Marika instead acted more upon emotion in the moment. This, as it stands, seems to make the most sense.

One key character that brings insight into Marika's motivations is the blacksmith bound to the Roundtable Hold, Hewg. In conversations with him and in overhearing his prayers, fans find out that it was Marika that wished for him to make a weapon to kill a god. He promised Marika to make a god-slaying weapon. That means Marika did want a god dead, and it is a requirement of the player to make one so that they can strike down the Elden Beast, which is a vassal of the Greater Will.

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

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