Radahn, son of the mighty Rennala, decided to learn gravity magic to keep riding his horse, Leonard. He is the only demigod to use gravity magic and learned it directly from an Alabaster Lord. Other extraterrestrial beings, such as Elden, also know gravity magic.
Radahn learned of a meteor that would destroy Sellia, so he used his gravitational magic to fight it. He traveled to Selia and learned gravity magic in his quest to control the stars and gravity. Before becoming the monstrous being he is when players meet him, Radahn proactively learned gravity magic to help his best friend, his frail horse.
Under the tutelage of the Alabaster Lords, a race of humanoid, extraterrestrial beings, Radahn dedicated his life to learning gravity magic to keep riding his skinny little horse. Mastering gravity magic allowed Radahn to manipulate the forces of gravity and challenge the very stars themselves.
In the description of Radahn’s Great Rune, there is actual lore that he learned gravity magic because he grew too big for his horse and didn’t want to abandon him. He decided to show everyone what he was made of by learning gravity magic to keep riding his scrawny horse. The power of gravity keeps his horse alive, and Radahn’s journey through the universe is a testament to the power of gravity and the importance of learning it for one’s own well-being.
📹 Radahn Is The Main Character
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Is Ranni or Radahn older?
Ranni, an Empyrean with two older brothers, was selected by the Two Fingers as a prospective successor to Queen Marika, the divine ruler of the Lands Between. In recognition of his potential, he was granted a Shadow named Blaidd.
Who is the true villain in Elden Ring?
Miquella deploys his power to annihilate a family, indoctrinating Mohg, killing him, and transferring Radahn’s soul into his body to facilitate a marriage of convenience. He forsakes his devoted twin sister, Malenia, and perpetrates the deaths of innumerable individuals in his relentless pursuit of godhood. Prior to the release of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Mohg was identified as a key figure in the narrative. However, with the revelation of Miquella as the true antagonist, this portrayal has been challenged.
Who did Radahn marry?
During the Liurnian Wars, Radagon, a great champion with flowing red locks, joined the heroes’ ranks and met Queen Rennala in battle. Despite two wars, no victor emerged. Radagon repented his territorial aggressions by cleansing himself with Celestial Dew and swore his love to Rennala. He married Rennala at the Church of Vows and was bequeathed a greatsword by her spouse. After marrying Rennala, he ordered the Carian magic preceptors to wear masks of confidence to keep their matters private.
Radagon and Rennala had three children: Radahn, Rykard, and Ranni. He studied glintstone sorcery at the Academy of Raya Lucaria. After Godfrey, the First Elden Lord, was stripped of grace and hounded from the Lands Between, Radagon returned to the capital and married Queen Marika. Before leaving, he gifted her an amber egg. Rennala was heartbroken and eventually deposed by the academy and imprisoned in the Grand Library. His three children from the previous marriage were raised to demigod status as stepchildren of Queen Marika.
Why did Radahn lose his mind?
General Radahn, a cursed wanderer, is a major antagonist in the 2022 video game Elden Ring and its 2024 expansion Shadow of the Erdtree. Eaten by Malenia’s scarlet rot, his Wits are gone, and he gathers the corpses of former friends and foes alike, gorging on them like a dog. Radahn is the son of Radagon and Rennala and is the commander of his army of Redmane knights. They participated in the events of the Shattering and helped Radagon obtain the Great Runes of other Demigods.
Radahn and his army were unstoppable until their encounter with the Cleanrot army. Radahn then gets into conflict with his half-sister, Malenia, and faces off against her in a final battle in Aeonia. This article contains major spoilers, and readers should only read if they are 18 years or older or comfortable with graphic material.
Was Radahn more powerful than Malenia?
Radahn was confirmed to be more powerful than Malenia, and she was unable to defeat him due to her insufficiently robust abilities. The sole survivor of the confrontation was Finley, who bore Malenia’s unconscious form across a continent. Miquella desired his position as her consort.
Why did Radahn become evil?
Starscourge Radahn is a Legend Boss in Elden Ring, known for his battles with Malenia the Severed and the Scarlet Rot. He is located in Caelid and can be accessed from Redmane Castle after activating the Radahn Festival. Radahn is an optional boss, but two of the five shardbearers must be defeated before entering Leyndell, Royal Capital, and Nokron, Eternal City. He also needs to be defeated to access Nokron, Eternal City, achieve a certain ending, and unlock the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. The Red Lion General, who learned gravitational powers in Sellia, never had to abandon his beloved steed.
Who is Radahn the child of?
Starscourge Radahn was the son of Radagon, a red-haired champion of the Golden Order faction, and Rennala, queen of the Carians. His marriage to Rennala established an alliance between the Golden Order and Carian nobles. Radahn admired Godfrey, Marika’s First Elden Lord, and made a vow to become his Elden Lord once Miquella ascended to godhood.
Despite Radagon’s resentment of his red hair, Radahn saw it as a positive sign of heroic qualities. He studied gravitational magic under the tutelage of the Alabaster Lords, allowing him to lower his weight and continue riding Leonard. Over his life, Radahn is known as the mightiest demigod, an honorable warrior, intelligent tactician, and powerful sorcerer, gaining respect and fear from many for his greatness.
Radahn used his gravity magic to “challenge the stars”, halting their movement and winning numerous battles. However, he lost control of Leyndell to Morgott and retreated to Caelid. Miquella’s twin sister, Malenia, attempted to kill Radahn and send his soul to Miquella, but they fought to a draw. Malenia unleashed her curse of Scarlet Rot, poisoning Radahn so deeply that he lost his mind, and Caelid became a wasteland.
To honor Radahn’s death, his army holds the annual “Radahn Festival”, inviting strong warriors to slay him and put him out of misery.
Who is stronger Radahn or Malenia lore?
General Radahn, a legendary demigod in the Shattering, is considered one of the strongest characters in the Elden Ring due to his martial prowess, leadership, and magical abilities. During the Shattering, Radahn was considered one of the greatest threats in the Lands Between, tied with his half-sister Malenia. Malenia unleashed the Scarlet Rot, causing a perfect stalemate between the two. Despite losing his senses and devoting significant power to holding back the stars, Radahn remains a formidable threat, prompting The Tarnished to summon a small army to defeat him.
Malenia, the Blade of Miquella, is known as Elden Ring’s hardest boss and is considered one of the finest warriors in the Lands Between. In Elden Ring lore, Malenia is also a demigod and one of the Twin Prodigies, along with Miquella of the Haligtree.
Why did Radahn go crazy?
In the text, the characters of Radahn, the Red Lion and scourge of the stars, are described as ferocious warriors who were once hailed as the mightiest demigod of all. Radahn’s Great Rune, Remembrance of the Starscourge, and various symbols are mentioned, including the Gravity Well, Remembrance of the Wild Boar Rider, Collapsing Stars, Sword Monument, Redmane Surcoat, Redmane Knight Ogha, Radahn Soldier Ashes, Eccentric’s Hood, Eccentric’s Armor, and Remembrance of a God and a Lord.
Miquella of the Haligtree, a demigod, vows to marry Radahn if they honor their part of the vow. The Shattering, triggered by Marika’s offspring’s newfound strength, led to a war that no lord arose. The Battle of Aeonia saw Radahn and Malenia locked in stalemate, and the scarlet rot bloomed. The Redmane Knight Armor is mentioned, and Gideon Ofnir reports that survivors of Radahn’s army are still in the wilds, staving off the rot with fire.
The festival of war is called to honor General Radahn, and Castellan Jerren urges the champions to defeat him and claim glory. War Counselor Iji warns that if Radahn were defeated, the stars would resume their movement, altering the fate of the Carian royal family and Lady Ranni’s destiny.
Miquella wishes to revive Radahn’s soul, and Ansbach plans to use his corpse as the vessel of his king consort. Miquella of the Haligtree agrees to yield the path forward to them, and Radahn is named the Favorite Boss.
Does Malenia love Miquella?
Malenia and Miquella were close friends, with Malenia becoming her brother’s sworn blade and protector. Miquella worked tirelessly to undo the curses they were born into, designing a needle of unalloyed gold to keep the Scarlet Rot from ravaging Malenia’s body. After the Shattering, Malenia and Miquella claimed shards of the broken Elden Ring. Malenia led an army south from the Haligtree, winning many battles, even defeating fellow demigod Godrick the Grafted.
Malenia and her half-brother Radahn were the last two demigods standing in the conflict. In the Caelid Wilds, Malenia unleashed the Scarlet Rot, causing it to bloom, leaving Caelid a rotting wasteland. Radahn degenerate, losing his wits, and wandering the battlefield as a mindless beast, feasting on the bodies of friends and foe.
What did Malenia whisper to Radahn?
In the final battle, Malenia, a Consort, unleashes her Scarlet Aeonia, infecting Radahn and the entire Caelid with the Rot’s corruption. Radahn is consumed by the Rot in mind and spirit, but his Rune keeps him alive by burning the Rot inside. The Redmane soldiers, without a leader, use fire as their main weapon to fight the Rot infestation. However, Caelid falls to the Rot, with its General wandering the battlefield as a husk of his former self. The Redmane soldiers’ efforts were unsuccessful, leaving the Rot as a husk of its former self.
📹 The REAL reason Radahn Stopped the Stars – Elden Ring Lore Theory & Speculation
In an interview with Famitsu, Dark Souls and Elden Ring Director Hidetaka Miyazaki confirmed that Radahn must be defeated in …
2:35 About Radahn’s size. He might be giant! His father, Radagon, has red hair which he hated since he has a giant’s blood. It’s the giants’ “curse” to have red hair all around their bodies. This says that Radeon may be a descendant from the giants, and this also means that Radahn might be a giant since he also has red hair which explains his size.
Tbh most of the npc’s have a deep back story they created and gave to the developers to make a character out of and a lot of them are matched pretty well. Hearing radahns story made me a little sad that even though he is infected with illness he still holds up his one true goal. Protecting Leonard by stopping the stars
I think the one thing that makes Radahn my favorite demigod is that his interests are complex: he’s a scholar in gravity magic, he’s a warrior and a general, an animal lover, going by the care he had for his horse and his cat (I’m including the cut cat, I think it’s so insignificant to the main story that it wouldn’t matter if it were canon or not, but the fact that it existed shows how they thought of Radahn). He’s just such a complex character that I want to see him in his prime, before he goes mad from the rot, because out of all the demigods, besides Miquella, he seems to have phases in his life, and he even seems to have other interests besides his involvement in the story, like being an academic or an animal lover, like how Miquella was a machinist.
Have you considered the Finger Slayer Blade? It can kill the greater will and its vassals and cannot be wielded by those with out a fate. When Radahn halted the stars, he made the demi gods (who were fated to die until Marika removed the rune of death) essentially immortal. Perhaps after the death of Godwyn, out of fear, he halted the stars?
In vers 1.00 Radahn is called the God of War, which makes me think he was literally warring against an invasion of stars (Astels and Fallingstar Beasts) or using them as weapons/guard dogs. There are Fallingstar Beasts near Leyndell and near Volcano Manor, the latter blocking a ladder route to the Manor (with Leyndell forces in disarray below, unable to proceed to the manor). Radahn probably called the Fallingstar Beasts down to protect Volcano Manor and to attack Leyndell in the original story. That might also be why there is an Onyx Lord in the Sealed Tunnel near Leyndell, protecting the path to Rykard’s rune. There are other Malformed Stars, Alabaster/Onyx Lords and Astel along the path we must take to reach Manus Celes, almost like they were placed there to guard the secret Dark Moon, which can only be seen from Manus Celes. Ranni does not fear Astel, but the assassin sent by the Two Fingers. After we defeat the latter, Ranni continues up to Manus Celes, not fearing Astel or the like. She even has her dragon at the cathedral. Thus, I think that Radahn summoned the Astels as weapons in Vers 1.00, as well as to challenge them in combat.
There is a piece of lore that I keep seeing unmentioned. Ranni’s finale is THE SAME as what the Nox also desperately seeked. The Albinaurics are genetically created beings, the same as the silver tears, and they also have many references to “tears” (the shield etc). moreover, the symbol on the soldiers fighting for Messmer in the DLC trailer is the same as the one on the armor of the Albinaurics. So, this is what I believe. All the great people involved in Elden Ring’s plot (except for Godrick maybe) are Numens. The Numens came from “the stars”, and they revered an Outer God (at this point, maybe it wasnt “outer” when they were in their homeland) that since it’s in the “great void above” they call Lord of Night (you cant see the stars during the day, can you). They win an invasion war against the indigenous population, creatures of the crucible, no idea if Placidusax and the dragons were still around. The nobles, or gods, of the Numens can be tall, even huge, the lords and ladies of their people can fit huge thrones in their cities, which at this point use the “throne” as their flag, and above all they are naturally immortal, or, said in another word, “eternal” . They spread around, and conquer the crucible cities, Uhl, Uld, etc, and found their own, Nokron, Nokstella, the Unnamed City, Sellia, Ordina, the Stargazer town, Zamor, and Leyndell. But Marika betrays the Lord of Night’s cult, and becomes the Greater Will’s avatar/spokewoman/goddess. A civil war ensues, the other Numens craft a weapon that can hurt the Greater Will’s emissaries out of a god’s body, but Marika and her Golden Order forces win and punish Nokron and Nokstella below ground, and the Unnamed city is specifically hit by a “malformed star” sent by Marika and becomes the place where the Erdtree sucks away life with its root (we know what kind of juice the Erdtree loves the most).
Hot take – Radahn doesn’t consume the corpses on the battlefield out of madness, the cleanrot knights potentially have some superficial scarlet rot resistance, perhaps in the form of unalloyed gold, in their armor? and that by consuming their corpses, radahn also ingests the gold, but we know that this only halts the rot and that it is still incredibly painful, combining this and his love to fight, the dude is probably having the time of his life fighting everyone who gets close.
What if theres a bigger plan at play here? If we can assume his magic power was based on his intelligence, what if Miquella had Malenia fight Radahn with EVERY intention of infecting him with scarlet rot in order to remove his intellect in a bid to move the stars again, hence why the Eclipse to revive Godwyn mever came, infecting him wasnt enough but they couldnt know that.
The Meteoric Ore Blade reads: Katana forged from meteoric ore to dispatch lifeforms born of falling stars. Deals magic damage. The blade is weighty, known to deliver slashes of such ferocity that the impact is said to resemble the crash of a falling meteor. This sword is found close to Sellia in the ruins. And Radahn covers his swords in meteoric rock during phase 1.2. So it’s likely he learned this technique in order to efficiently “dispatch” lifeforms from falling stars. And when Radahn slams his swords down they cause a huge impact almost like a meteor crash. The Alabaster Lords probably taught him this is how to take care of the star monsters.
So I do think this theory rings pretty true, that Radahn became the Starscourge by calling the stars and challenging them (especially since Zullie has a article showing how his meteor attack was likely originally supposed to be falling Astels, not himself being the meteor), but the thing that is never broached here is how exactly that translates to halting the stars. Without that link, these just seem like two separate events, a separate theory which may inform the theories about his halting of the stars (by removing the wrinkle of him having to do so when he was young, for example), but doesn’t strictly compete with them. So, he challenged the stars to protect Sellia when he was young, becoming the Starscourge, and then later on he halted the stars at the behest of the Golden Order, for whatever reason. After all, it is very explicitly stated that the fate of the stars was “fettered by the Golden Order” so I don’t think we can simply ignore that
You’re definitely on the right track. As soon as you mentioned his title in JP I paused with an epiphany to confirm that all of the ashes of war and sorceries associated with Radahn are attraction not repulsion, which coincides with his teacher being an alabaster lord as opposed to an onyx lord. There’s nothing to indicate that Radahn mastered gravity magic as a whole, only evidence that he sought mastery of PULL gravity magic. And sure enough you go right into that immediately after. You can find Alabaster lords by the Limgrave Seaside Ruins beach, in the Lake of Rot, near the Raya Lucarian Academy lift, and in the Yelough Anix Tunnel. The Alabaster lord’s sword is forged from a blue-white meteoric ore. You can Onyx lords in the Royal Grave evergaol behind Caria Manor and at the end of the Sealed Tunnel in Altus. The Onyx lord’s greatsword is forged from golden-hued meteoric ore. Also, there’s a possibility for an alternate translation related to the lords. The game refers to them as “a race of ancients with skin of stone”, translated from 「古種族石の肌を持つ」. 種族 can mean race; tribe; ethnic group; species; genus; family. But it also has a usage in astronomy, meaning a stellar population (pop I, II, III). Stellar population is a means of classifying stars by composition, relating indirectly to age of the universe. Population III is a theoretical class of star, the oldest of the three, the all of which would by now be observed as remnants (WHITE dwarfs, neutron stars, BLACK holes). So the alternative translation would be that Alabaster/Onyx lords possess skin of ancient star stone.
In very early drafts of the game, the second phase of Radahn’s fight involved an Astel, descending in the meteor Radahn now uses to fall from the sky. That’s why I think he’s stopping the stars from moving, to prevent a legion of Astels to ravage the Lands Between. Elden Ring has a lot of extraterrestrial elements and concepts, and maybe Radahn was the only one concerned with a potentiel alien invasion. Maybe the guy was simply tinfoil hat-minded!
Thank you for this fresh theory and the wonderfully edited article! However, one point – a particularly important one – is missing here. We know from Sellen, among others, that: “The stars alter the fate of the Carian royal family. And the fate of your mistress, Ranni. But long ago, General Radahn challenged the swirling constellations, and in a crushing victory, arrested their cycles. Now, he is the force that repulses the stars. If General Radahn were to die, the stars would resume their movement.” So if Radahn’s motivation is to draw the stars to himself in order to challenge and triumph over them, why doesn’t he just do it? After all, he is keeping them in stasis, as evidenced by the cutscene after his boss fight, after which the stars immediately resume their movement.
There’s a piece of removed content that featured Astel crashing down from the sky instead of Radahn in the phase 2 transition. I think it reinforces the idea that Radahn is the one yanking these guys out of the sky as he pleases. Would’ve also been cool to see it used in the animation you did of their fight. Great article, btw. Loved the way you presented this theory. The animated battle was a nice touch that tied it all together
Annnnnnddddd….he was bewitched by Miquella all along. He literally sent Melania to kill him so he could infuse his soul into Mogh’s body to become his consort. And Ranni was the only one who could throw a wrench in Miquella’s plan. So in the end, Ranni is the only demi-god that isnt an evil self serving maniac. The DLC only solidified her ending even more as the good ending. Ranni just pushes the reset button on this messed up world and takes us into a new era. In the end, Radahn was just a puppet and Miquella his puppetmaster.
Ranni and Melina are both linked and working for Miquella, he sent Melina to bring the chosen tarnished Torrent along with the mission to burn the tree. When meeting Ranni for the first time, she has blanketed the church of ellah with sleep, speaking of Torrent’s former owner wanting the chosen tarnished to have the spirit bell. But wait there’s more, correlations with Tanith and her Consorts helm depicts a Queen of a foreign land, a Queen who has been shown in the first DLC trailer, the helms description talks of Tanith’s life as a dancer, combative dancer also shown in the trailer, along with all the story hints of an accursed flame of blasphemy not referencing Rykard directly but the blasphemous flame Rykard would later control and utilize, a flame and power from a foreign land. St. Trina may be a character hunting Miquella not actually Miquella or aligned with him and his ideal, as stated by Miyazaki, we will know the story of the two, making St. Trina may have a possible blood relation to Malenia, Miquella, and even Millicent. My question is, Is Godwyn alive in the land of shadow?
Considering the DLC now implies that Radahn was indeed impeding the goal of Miquella, hence why he fought so hard even after being poisoned by Scarlet Rot, I’d love to think that his main goal was always to beat up more of Astel’s kind, and stalling Miquella for as long as possible was just an additional bonus he unexpectedly landed on. The festival was always meant to keep Radahn moving and in perpetual state of conquest, as he would have died faster if he wasn’t doing something to ignore the pain, something he loved. Also would love to wonder how the Golden Order and the inhabitants of Sellia would have reacted to when Radahn began this hunt, probably using the beach as his battlefield. Marika looking over the horizon from Leyndal, seeing comet after comet of eldritch beings worthy to rival the Elden Beast in status being pulled into Caelid: “Dammit not again…”
Spoilers for DLC If Radahn really was sincere maybe he stopped the stars for Miquella. Halting Ranni from her path of godhood and helping his. That’s a whole debate in itself now if Radahn wanted to be with miquella now but it’s a possibility now as well. Maybe he chose Miquella since he was picked to be his lord over his sister and her path to godhood.
I think it’s interesting (though I’m not sure how it would tie into the story) that in cut content there used to be a falling animation and perhaps an appearance for astel within radahns arena. Again idk how that would tie into the current storyline but I definitely think the third theory you presented is the most plausible! Great article btw!!
I know this is an old article from before the Dlc, but since it’s on the same subject, I’ll put my theory here. After finishing the DLC as thoroughly as possible, reading the description of every item I picked up, doing all but Thiollier’s quest (which admittedly puts a massive hole in my knowledge surrounding St Trina), exploring every location, and defeating every boss. I believe that Radahn halted the stars for the same reason the game claims he learned gravity magic: sentimentality. It is his emotional attachment to Ranni, specifically his desire to avoid fighting her. We already know from the base game that both Ranni and Radahn are sentimental. Both go out of their way to keep people around they have an emotional connection to, despite how those people hinder them. Blaidd, and Igi for Ranni (Igi is frankly incompetent at his job and Blaidd is actually her jailer), and Leonard the horse that is too small to carry his master. All this on top of the likely relationships between the siblings that you pointed out here. Radahn knew Ranni was an Emperyan. When Miquella asked Radahn to be his consort, he knew this would make Ranni a competitor. There can be only one God and one Elden Lord. All the other contenders have to die or step aside. He knew Ranni would refuse to step aside so he stopped the whole game to avoid that final confrontation. But diving even further, I feel there is something to your conclusion here, though I would change one small thing. It was not his motive to fight the strongest possible foe he could, but the goal.
Small side note: I think the Alabastor and Onyx lords, said to have arisen when a meteor struck, are actually the meteor themselves (kind of obvious but I’m going somewhere with this). They fell to the lands between, and when people went to the impact craters they found onyx/alabasters. It would fit in with the Astel creatures, who are malformed stars that also fell from the void. They both have strangely humanoid features for void-born creatures, but the Astels are much weirder and more distorted. This would potentially tell us that Space-fairing creatures are in fact quite humanoid, as the onyx/alabaster lords are not deformed and resemble humans a lot. With this we are much closer to being able to imagine what a real star may be like. Following this, maybe the Outer Gods too are much more humanoid than we originally imagined?
2 potential challenges to this theory when asking sellen about nokron, she explicitly says radahn ‘repulses’ the stars. she could be wrong but in her mind he’s clearly driving them away, not towards. it also doesn’t make sense to me for radahn to have been pulling the stars in as when he dies, literally immediately after the stars begin to fall, convenient timing if he was trying to bring them to himself the whole time
I love your theory BUT you still don’t explained why the stars have been stopped? You claim Radahn simply calling them to fight, why did the stars stopped moving? What is THE REAL REASON? You only claimed the reason Radahn challenged the stars but in the end of the article you didn’t explained why the stars stopped moving and this is the reason many still support of the theory on protecting Selia. Please explain why the star stopped because I love this theory.
I think that the Carian siblings were very close to each other (and probably with Renalla as well) and all of them were included somehow in the Night of the black knives. Rykard is obviously involved as we can read from that item description gifted by Ranni to him if she fails but I also think Radhan was a part of it as well. I think that Radhan stopped the stars (however that had to be done, most probably an offensive act) on Rannis request as it was necessary for the night of the black knives to happen and for Ranni to change bodies, for her two fingers not being able to influence her as well as Blaid to stay on her side and help her even though she discarded her fate as Empyreans. Later, after Ranni recovered her powers (she was weak after changing bodies, that is why she didn’t participated in the Shattering as well as didn’t keep/guard the Black knife which she need to kill her Two Fingers) and maybe even memory (why doesn’t she know that Radhan holds the stars? She never tells us), Radhan should have let the starts to move again and her fate to move forward but Malenia came to Radhan in order to let the stars to move again as it was necessary for the ritual at Castle Sol to be performed (they needed an eclipse which can’t happen without stars moving) i.e. to try to revive Godwyn, a wish of Miquella (that is also why you have to defeat Radhan for the DLC). Radhan couldn’t let the stars to move again yet as it still wasn’t a ripe time for Ranni. As Radhan went mad after confrontation and the stalemate with Malenia, he never let the stars move again, halting Ranni’s fate forever (or at least until we come and kill everything without questioning) although that was never the plan.
I think in-between. He is most definitely playing defense by the time we come around, considering his brain is being eaten by sipholytic rot, yet the stars were still actively being held back, and he still wasn’t crushing Leonard. I think with what little of himself remained, he was keeping the interstellar monsters away. However, in his glory days, he had to have earned his titles of both the star scourge and the strongest demigod from somewhere. While I don’t think he actively pulled threats to the lands between, I think it’s quite possible he pulled stars that were already falling to him, where he then smashed the falling stars and anything that may have come with them thus keeping the lands safe. Something of note that I feel isn’t really taken into account in your article is Radahn wasn’t just a mindless muscle head seeking glory. While he was certainly driven and motivated by the tales of the previous two elden lords, he was also fairly intelligent and kind. He learned one of the in universe hardest spell systems and mastered it at a young age, and his reason for learning it is as stated, so he wouldn’t have to abandon his friend and companion Leonard. I’m pretty sure it is also written that he was a serious animal/nature lover, which generally shows a great deal of kindness.
i like the idea that it wasn’t radahn who stopped the motion of the stars, but the stars themselves who stopped moving in response to radahns challenge. like maybe what radahn actually did was pull the stars towards him, and the stars, realizing there was no way to go but towards radahn, stopped their motion entirely. and with this state being achieved all fate now revolves around radahn, long as he lived, nobody else tied to the stars could see the end of theirs.
A theory I thought about was this, since he knew miquella from childhood, he probably knew how powerful he was. So instead of trying to halt the fate of Ranni, what if he was halting his own fate of being a Lord of an order he didn’t agree with? We all know radahn was all about strength. I highly doubt he would willingly agree with his fate to become the Lord of the order of compassion, so by halting the stars, he keeps his own fate stagnant, and adding the scarlet rot to his story adds another layer, because stagnation leads to decay. Killing him as requirement to enter the DLC also helps that theory because by killing him and setting the stars back in motion, we actually resume his fate of becoming miquellas consort. The dialogue between him and malenia supports this, because she was sent there to kill him to complete miquellas ascension and ultimately failed.
My problem is just the lavk of proof with everything. If he did it to defent Sellia: weöl you kill him, stars come crashing down, but Sellia is fine so he didn’t need to protect it. If he did it to call down Astels and kill them, where are they? I mean, their corpses? I know enemies disappear when we kill them, but corpses that are there for a reason to show us somethkng usually are. But no, nowhere to we see a mangled, mysterious corpse that turns out to be an Astel that Radahn killed. As for defensive vs. Offensive, I don’t know if we’ve ever seen Radahn as being offensive in his strategies. He retreated from Leyndell during the shattering, and it was Malenia who marched on him, not the other way around. The only thing we know about Radahn’s achievements of might for certain, is that he fought Malenia to a standstill, and he stopped the stars from moving. And unfortunately for us who like his character, I reckon that’s it. I don’t think he stopped the stars for Sellia, or for the Astel. I think he just did it to prove that he could. That he was mightier than the cosmos itself. That’s all that he needed to be known as the mightiest semigod, and that’s all the reason his men needed to follow him so loyally.
I clicked the article and holy hell i did not expect this level of production. Amazing. Also your theory fits really really well for me. Imo Radahn is depicted really clearly as a one who makes shit happen and not just a passive guy who just reacts to things happening around him. What if those stars held in place are not just lifeless objects but almost like cocoons for creatures like Astel and the Fallingstar Beasts. When they are held in place in space, they mature and grow or they hit the ground and manifest a form of whatever they connect with. Naturalborns look a bit like stars or planets/whatever thr cosmic fuck and the name suggests that this is the “correct” form/ the way the are supposed to be born as.
I think Radahn’s halting the stars being a means to keep stars away from the Lands Between is too clear to ignore. While there’s some compelling hints pointed to here that Radahn sought to literally pull enemies’ aggro and smash them in the face rather than shove them off and play keep-away, there’s an undeniable message that Radahn’s halting of the stars kept things from space out of the Lands Between. Said message comes in the form of one of the game’s exceedingly few actual story related cutscenes, and a meteor which’ impact shatters the earth open. I have a long-winded theory inspired by Tarnished Archelogogist’s observation that the Nameless Eternal City is more than likely a part of Leyndell, sunken in divine retribution. It’s too hard to condense into a youtube comment, but in essence; If the Fallingstar Beasts and the Astels are sent by the Eternal Will to enact punishment (which in my longer analysis makes sense with their placement, even Stars of Darkness goes from random and out-of-nowhere to making sense), Sellia would make a likely target for punishment. ( ( at the theory’s wildest implications Marika needed Radahn to stop the stars in order to safely shatter the Elden Ring ) ) Radahn is too earnest to simply be out to prove himself, he wears his inspirations literally on his sleeve and is shown to care deeply about his surroundings such as his horse. I find it very likely for such a character to come to the defence of a city in which he had spent years studying. He is described directly as “holding Sellia secure” after all.
Just stumbled into the website and loved this article! You brought out great points which I have not seen discussed before. Additionally, I believe Malenia might have challenged Radahn since his stopping of the stars caused Miquella’s fate to also be stopped, indirectly. One more thing: what is the name of the song used between 9:28 and 12:12 ? Absolutely loved it.
Also, consider Zullie’s article theorizing that Radahn’s boss fight used to have an Astel enter the battlefield after you kill Radahn. Arresting their cycles is more intimidation than anything. They fear coming down since he is so fierce and after he dies, they build up courage to come down again attacking you.
I like it. I am personally leaning towards Greater Will being a conqueror of worlds, because it “sent a golden star”, bearing Elden Beast to Lands Between, and that also could affect Radahn’s actions. Because it appears most of Marika’s children wants something for themselves rather than work with Greater Will – shattering of Elden Ring is quite important, meaning Marika perhaps wanted to severe her ties with Greater Will, which as I see it, is an Outer God – and while they might act through something, like Formless Mother through blood or Chaos through madness (or whatever it is), they are more like powerful cosmic beings. And if Erdtree indeed is something more akin to a weapon or “machine” to harvest the world (such as souls, which Marika puts a stop to by removing the Death Rune), her children might’ve tried to do something about it on their own. Radahn might’ve understood that if he stops the stars he might stop the Greater Will. I personally don’t know 90% of lore, I sometimes watch these vids, but it fits in many places, including the Crucible being said to be basically shaped by Elden Beast/Elden Ring into Erdtree, which might be a loose description, and while I wasn’t sure about the dead giants and brambles, as well as spears with brambles – I remembered the Tree Spirits, and it actually made sense: they were the first weapons for the Elden Beast that needed blood for Erdtree (following Vaati’s idea that Crucible is simply, in simple terms: lots of lifeforce, aka gore).
Personally I believe he halted the stars in order to stop his fate from unfolding, allowing him freedom from his own destiny. Perhaps to stop himself from becoming miquella’a consort, or something else. I don’t believe he did it to protect Sellia, especially since when we kill radahn and the stars begin to move once more nothing arrived at sellia. So either he was lying about his true intentions or perhaps he just isn’t very good at fortune telling.
Radahn was a general and a strategist perhaps he halted the stars so he could individually call the invaders down with gravity magic one by one after he froze them above but then Malenia showed up. Seems like Radahn was the most mature of them all and didn’t want to hunt his siblings and collect great runes to rule but instead aimed to prove himself following the footsteps of role models that defended their homes. Ooor maybe that Radahn could have used the falling stars as a weapon once he stopped them to selectively use them as orbital strikes at will on his foes and had to be stopped. I know it sounds a bit contradicting but well intended actions tend to lead to other outcomes and once he had control over the enemy he started using it. I often wonder how the Falling Star Beast landed outside of Volcano Manor and how old it is. The more ancient horrors deep underground slipped through as Radahn froze the sky long ago but he might have started using them to assault Rykard during the Minor Erdtree War.
Great article, but if I have to be really picky you forgot a couple of observations: -Stopping the stars and putting fate into stasis was part of Radahn’s fate. Because putting fate in stasis happens later, it is a question of logic -This war between Radahn and the stars occurs when Radahn is in his youth. We have visual proof that during the shattering war Radahn was quite small compared to Morgott. Probably the reason why Radahn fought the stars is not for who knows what reason, but because it simply happened and because he was the only one capable of stopping that cataclysm -Radahn was considered a champion of the shattering war, but there’s no record of him in the victory side. He lost against Morgott, he kinda lost even against Malenia. This point strenghtness what i said before, that the event of halting the stars happened during the shattering war -Still regarding point 2, I would like to add that the possibility that Radahn found himself fighting the stars only by chance and because the shattering of the Elden Ring occurred is part of the law of causality, i.e. cause and consequence. Nothing left to fate
It hit me fighting the Astels and seeing their teleportation magic. Nokron and Nokstella and the Nameless Eternal City were all clearly teleported underground. Along with many surrounding trees, wildlife and other foliage. The ancestral followers did not survive the process which is why they exist as spirits below ground. Some underground structures are even cut in half, with the top halves still above ground. This also happened to the Uhl Palace Ruins and The Grand Cloister. The Nameless City had their sky destroyed, essentially instead of a cave roof covered in glowing spores resembling stars it’s just a chasm all the way up to Leyndell. Radahn protected the town of Selia from suffering the same fate. The Dynasty Mausoleum however was taken. It seems Selia was the last stand.
I wonder if Radahn conquered the Caelid wilds first, making a name for himself through normal territorial expansion before turning his eyes on the cosmos as you describe and pulling in the stars to challenge them. His army was stationed there, after all, and perhaps that is how he discovered Sellia and learned his gravity sorcery and the history of the Eternal Cities. Either way, this is a great theory that really fits his character wonderfully, I think it definitely makes a lot of sense and avoids the uncertainty that comes with having to assume he was siding with the Golden Order, against Ranni, or anything like that. Well done!
u know, it might be a mix of him challenging the stars and also protecting Selia. When we defeat him a meteor falls on limgrave, but was it actually aiming at limgrave by the time he stopped it? it’s possible that this meteor was going to land on Selia, but when noticing this he went ahead and stopped the stars, but then when we defeat him the rotation of the planet is different and thus the meteor was no longer going to fall on Selia. he could also be selectively using this kind of redirecting to make any foe from the stars to land near him, so he could go and fight them.
I think it may be worth considering that both defending Sellia and shattering the stars as a show of force can both be true. He finds out that a meteor (or more likely an astel) is headed for Astellia. He says “bet”, goes to the penninsula, uses his gravity magic to redirect it, and then literally cuts the damn thing in half. And from there he’s holding the stars in place so he can continue to call more Astels to the Lands Between
Scourge is a perfect word for him since implies he’s a tool used to punish the stars. The same implication with Attila being called “Scourge of God” because he was viewed as a punishment. I view him as sort of an Alexander the Great kind of figure, where the stars are basically the Persian empire that used to rule the fates of so many before they were finally challenged and conquered.
This adds a lot more context to Radahns title of Star Scourge. Maybe the fish were too big out there when he was challenging the stars and had to find a way to both defeat and halt the stars. Lands of Shadow DLC is sick but i wish they were doing more than one DLC. A cosmic adventure challenging the outer gods and angering something entirely new…or finding out Marika had been there already and theyre all her kids lol