Who exactly is Miquella in Elden Ring?
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree sends players on a new journey to the Land of Shadow this summer, where they will learn about one of the game’s most mysterious demigods, Miquella of the Haligtree.
Game director says Hidetaka Miyazaki that players will follow Miquella on their journey through the Land of Shadow, “following his path and following in his footsteps, trying to see what he will do there,” similar to how players followed the Light of Grace in the base game. Players will also discover what compelled Queen Marika, who shattered the Elden Ring in the game’s story, to visit the Land of Shadow.
Elden Ring players who haven’t delved into the bits of lore scattered throughout the game’s dialogue and item descriptions may not know much about Miquella and his role in the game’s story. We’re here to tell you what you need to know so you don’t have to watch hours of video explaining everything.
Who is Miquella in Elden Ring?
Miquella of the Haligtree is a demigod in the world of Elden Ring and a being known as an Empyrean. That means he is a candidate to succeed Queen Marika as a vessel for the Elden Ring.
We don’t actually see Miquella in the game, but he is the older twin brother of Malenia, the terrifying, rot-stricken boss who lives at the foot of the Haligtree. Miquella, a descendant of the game’s penultimate boss, Radagon, and Marika (who are the same person), only appears in the form of a withered cocoon in the main game’s story. Like teased Shadow of the Erdtree‘s reveal trailer, Miquella’s cocoon will be the door to the Land of Shadow when the DLC launches.
Malenia and Miquella were both born with terrible conditions: Malenia with rot that would consume her limbs and eyesight, and Miquella with eternal childhood. Images of the brother-sister duo are scattered across the Haligtree, showing the adult Malenia embracing her twin brother, who is trapped in the body of a young boy. Other footage shows the twins being embraced at a younger age by their older sibling, Godwyn the Golden.
Malenia calls Miqeulla ‘the most fearsome Empyrean of them all’, with the wisdom and magnetism of a god. It is also said that Miquella is loved by many and can command the affection of others.
What is Miquella’s relationship with Malenia? And Mogh?
Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon
Malenia and Miquella were close. The former fought to protect her brother, earning her the name Malenia, Blade of Miquella. Miquella was similarly protective, working in vain to develop a cure for Malenia’s rot condition. One of Miquella’s inventions was a pure gold needle, which players can use to undo the Flame of Frenzy. (Miquella strove to “ward off the interference of outer gods,” according to the description of Miquella’s Needle; an outer god also appears to be responsible for the spread of rot.)
As part of his work to heal his sister and after leaving the faith known as the Golden Order, Miquella attempted to create a new Erdtree, nourishing a sapling with his own blood. This attempt would fail and spawn the Haligtree, which would become a refuge for the meek and needy. Miquella eventually settled in the Halig Tree to grow it while living in the cocoon, but he was kidnapped by Mohg, the Lord of the Blood, who wanted to become Miquella’s consort.
That’s why Mohg has Miquella’s cocoon in his chambers. Mohg essentially stole Miquella from his Haligtree womb, in which the Empyrean now appears to have aged compared to his previous boyish form.
If Miquella is trapped in that cocoon, how is he in the Land of Shadow?
Miquella is said to have ‘stripped himself of his flesh, his strength and his origins’, thus Shadow of the Erdtree‘s official description. Miquella may not be a purely physical being in the DLC, and the Land of Shadow may not be a purely physical space; FromSoftware has a history of sending players to alternate time periods and dreamlike spaces in its expansions for games like Dark souls And Bloodborne.
Additionally, there is well-founded speculation that Miquella is connected to a character named St. Trina, who is also invisible in Elden Ring. According to some in-game item descriptions, Trina is said to be a mysterious character with an ambiguous gender who has close associations with sleep and dreams. It is said that followers of St. Trina search for her while they sleep, and we know that Miquella has been slumbering for some time.
Both Trina and Miquella are also associated with nearly identical in-game items – Trina’s Lily and Miquella’s Lilly – which may connect them in still unclear ways. However, inside content that was discovered to have been removed Elden RingIt is implied that Miquella and St. Trina are basically the same person. That connection could be explained or confirmed in Shadow of the Erdtreeas far as things ever being “explained” in FromSoftware games.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree will be released on June 20. Until then, there are plenty of deeper dives into Miquella’s history to enjoy from creators like VaatiVidya, SmoughtownAnd Arlun Grim if you want to be fully prepared for it Elden Ring‘s DLC.