Shadow Of The Erdtree Turns Elden Ring’s Greatest Hero Into A Monster
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the story of Shadow of the Erdtree, so if you haven’t finished the expansion or at least made it to the final boss, you might want to do so before reading on.
When it comes to the story told in Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree is a bombshell. It focuses on one major character who wasn’t actually included in the base game–Miquella, one of the demigod children of the goddess Queen Marika–but whose presence cast a long shadow on events. Of all the demigods, Miquella seemed like the most virtuous, and the most tragic.
Your path through the game repeatedly brings you into close proximity to Miquella’s story and actions, even though he’s not present, and you learn about the ways he apparently tried to help the people of the Lands Between and bucked the control of the Golden Order. Miquella seemed like the one person who could really have helped a world in chaos, but by the time you show up, others have already sealed his fate.