One Shadow Of The Erdtree Character Completely Changes Elden Ring’s Main Story

Summary Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree reveals Metyr, Mother of Fingers, as a new boss which changes the story of the base game.

Metyr's story uncovers new revelations about the Greater Will, changing the common understanding of the Lands Between.

Metyr's manipulation further emphasizes that the Golden Order is a flaws system of rule.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is a massive addition to the game, and that means that the Land of Shadow has a lot of information to unpack. This time, the journey to godhood takes center stage as the Tarnished follows Miquella's Crosses, which are points where he leaves behind a piece of himself on his path to ascension. However, this journey reveals more secrets about the Empyreans overall, changing key lore from the base game.

[Warning: Spoilers for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.]

There are a few core elements in the story of Elden Ring, and they include godhood, the Outer Gods, the Empyreans, and the Fingers. In the Lands Between, the Tarnished learns that the Empyreans are people who have the potential to ascend to godhood, and the Fingers commune with the Outer Gods, whose words are then translated by Finger Maidens. Overall, there seems to be an order to life in the Lands Between, at least when it comes to the relationship between the residents of the Lands Between and the various Outer Gods, who are seemingly interested in consolidating power there.

The Two Fingers are said to commune with the Greater Will, patron deity of the Golden Order, while the Three Fingers serve the Outer God of the Frenzied Flame.

Metyr, Mother Of Fingers, Changes The Narrative Of The Greater Will

It's Not That Interested In The Lands Between

Shadow of the Erdtree includes Metyr, Mother of Fingers, as a new boss, and she completely changes the story of the base game by revealing that the Greater Will hasn't been interested in the Lands Between in a long time, if ever. Instead, Metyr was the one creating the Two Fingers, who had then chosen Empyreans themselves. As a result of this revelation, the story of Elden Ring changes drastically, shifting to a much more chaotic landscape compared to the false idea of order that came with the presumption of the Greater Will's presence.

Related What Happens To Miquella In Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring explains many details about Miquella the Kind, some of which even predate the events of the base game.

Metyr is a child of the Greater Will, and the first of those children to fall and end up in the Lands Between. At this point in time, Metyr was still able to communicate with the Greater Will, but that didn't last forever. For an unstated reason, the Greater Will eventually stopped talking to Metyr, which made her go mad. As far as the Elden Ring timeline goes, it seems likely that the last communication between them was before anybody was chosen as an Empyrean or ascended to godhood. After losing contact, Metyr was considered broken, and she gave birth to the Two Fingers and Fingercreepers, who were also broken.

Given this sequence of events and the estimated time when they happened, it's likely that the Greater Will was never involved with the Golden Order, which was previously believed to be a way for it to hold control over the Lands Between. Instead, it seems like Metyr has been controlling the Empyreans and trying to turn them into gods who serve the Greater Will, and that likely stems from a belief that she'd be able to use these gods to communicate with the Greater Will once more. Similarly, the Two Fingers are choosing Empyreans and guiding them to godhood to find a cosmic mother, having been abandoned by Metyr.

The Golden Order Is Inherently Broken In Elden Ring

Due To Metyr's Actions

Given the often ambiguous and subtle way that lore is conveyed in Elden Ring, it's tough to put together exact events and a clear sequence in which they happened, but there's enough information available to create educated guesses. Metyr's orders from the Greater Will are incredibly outdated by the time the Tarnished is involved in events in the Lands Between, and probably even by the time the Marika became a god. So, she's working with old information and the Elden Ring, which came to the Lands Between from the Greater Will in the form of the Elden Beast.

To the Tarnished and many residents in the Lands Between, it's clear that the Golden Order is broken, and that it isn't what's best for their lives. Shadow of the Erdtree simply clears up why it's broken. Its goal is to communicate with the Greater Will, but this Outer God hasn't been interested in the Lands Between in a long time. Instead, the Greater Will is presented more as an embodiment of fate and reality than it is a being seeking power or control over a location. The Golden Order wasn't concerned with implementing order in the Lands Between.

Seeking Power Is A Cycle Of Failure In The Lands Between

Abandoning The Golden Order Is The Best Future

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Shadow of the Erdtree shows Miquella's path to godhood, and at the same time, reveals new information about Marika's own journey to ascension. In many ways, Miquella is mirroring his mother's journey, but with the belief that he will be a better ruler and usher in an Age of Compassion. However, as Ymir says in-game, Miquella is doomed to fail like his mother did. Miquella is divesting himself of important pieces, most notably his love. Yet, one would expect that love would be a crucial piece to have when creating an Age of Compassion, along with not having a consort who loves fighting.

Related Dialogue Cut From Elden Ring DLC Proves Miquella’s Plan Was Flawed All Along Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is massive and not everything made the cutting room floor, even if some of the dialogue adds to the lore.

It continues themes present throughout the game that seeking power doesn't end well in the Lands Between. Of all the endings, casting away the Golden Order via Ranni's Age of Stars seems like the best ending to free the people that she'd be ruling over. The other endings all start the cycle over, and it would result in a flawed illusion of order continuing to harm the Lands Between, especially with the issues that have appeared with Godwyn's body polluting the roots of the Erdtree. Marika suffered after becoming a god, and even ended up imprisoned when she dared to disobey. Then, Miquella was ready to repeat her history.

Elden Ring doesn't have a happy story, and almost no characters receive a positive outcome, but that's the normal state of events in most FromSoftware games. However, it's interesting to see how a single character being introduced in the DLC is able to frame the story in a new light, albeit one that makes the narrative more depressing as well as makes the Lands Between feel somehow more abandoned. Yet among these characters with tragic backgrounds and difficult lives are people who are working to make the Lands Between a better place in the ways that they know how, even if they're misguided in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.