Chapter Summaries

The Tarnished explored deeper into the tomb, defeated spirits of Banished Knights, and destroyed the chariot to uncover an Erdtree Greatbow. He fought the Ulcerated Tree Spirit in the Place of Return to the Erdtree, but the Storm Without Beginning began blowing through the tomb before he could finish it.

• The Tarnished found a hidden platform beneath the stone bridge, defeated a Banished Knight's spirit, and recovered a Stonesword Key.
• The Tarnished dropped a jar onto the chariot with his Hand Ballista, destroying it and revealing an Erdtree Greatbow among its wreckage.
• The Tarnished defeated another Banished Knight guarding a corpse, and a dragon-powered Incantation Seal fused with him.
• The Tarnished encountered the Ulcerated Tree Spirit in the Place of Return to the Erdtree and wounded it with his dragon claws.
• The Tarnished prepared to finish the weakened Ulcerated Tree Spirit as the Storm Without Beginning began to blow through the tomb.

The Tarnished defeated Oleg in a fierce battle inside the tomb, then spoke with Melina about her uncertainty and his ties to Godfrey and Marika. After resting and learning that Boc was heading to the Church of Elleh, he rode there and heard an elegant voice greet him.

• Oleg appeared after the Putrid Tree Spirit fell, and the Tarnished fought him until both landed fatal blows and Oleg dissolved into mist.
• The Tarnished collected a Golden Seed, retrieved the Erdtree Greatbow, and left the tomb with the Erdtree's Favor and the Crimson Dragoncrest.
• Melina offered to heal the Tarnished, and he reassured her that uncertainty could fade as she found a new goal.
• The Tarnished revealed that he and Godfrey and Marika were sworn kin, then explained that Tarnished needed rest too.
• Melina told the Tarnished that Boc was making his way to the Church of Elleh, so he rode there and heard an elegant voice greet him.

The Tarnished met Witch Renna, teased her, and accepted the Spirit Ashes and Bell she left behind before helping Boc settle at the Church of Elleh. In a dream, Trina explained her connection to Torrent and her hopes for ending discrimination; the Tarnished then woke refreshed and prepared to set out for Stormhill.

• Witch Renna confronted the Tarnished about summoning Torrent, but he denied it until she left him Spirit Ashes and a Bell and vanished.
• The Tarnished brought Boc to the Church of Elleh and told him he planned to travel to Leyndell and become the new lord.
• Trina met the Tarnished in a dream and revealed that she had arranged for Torrent to help him.
• The Tarnished and Trina discussed the Crucible, prejudice against different forms of life, and the Tarnished's past service alongside Godfrey.
• Trina explained that she was unable to leave the Haligtree, and the Tarnished promised to visit her there.
• The Tarnished woke from the dream refreshed and prepared to leave for Stormhill.

The Tarnished charged through Stormgate and entered an Evergaol, where he found his old ally Kale Basha imprisoned. After learning that Margit had defeated Kale Basha and that Enkuro had gone into Stormveil Castle, the Tarnished freed Kale Basha and gained the Crucible's power.

• The Tarnished and Torrent raced through Stormgate, fought past its soldiers, and escaped the pursuing wolves into Stormhill.
• The Tarnished entered an Evergaol and recognized the Crucible Knight Kale Basha inside.
• Kale Basha explained that Margit had defeated him near Stormgate Tunnel while Enkuro slipped into Stormveil Castle.
• Kale Basha passed the power of the Crucible to the Tarnished, who quickly mastered its Aspect.
• The Tarnished tore open the Evergaol barrier, freeing Kale Basha.

After learning that Margit had imprisoned a Crucible Knight, the Tarnished sought a way to counter the powerful Omen and went looking for Yura. At Agheel Lake, he helped Yura defeat Bloody Finger Nerijus, then killed Nerijus’s real body after the Mohgwyn Dynasty noble threatened him.

• Kale Basha warned the Tarnished that Margit was powerful and advised him to seek out more strength before facing him.
• The Tarnished told Melina that Margit had imprisoned a Crucible Knight and decided to look for tools that could exploit an Omen’s weaknesses.
• The Tarnished went to Agheel Lake to find Yura, but a blood-red spirit appeared and attacked him, forcing Torrent to vanish.
• Yura arrived to hunt Nerijus, and the Tarnished knocked the Bloody Finger down before Yura attacked him.
• Nerijus used a woman’s whereabouts to make Yura hesitate, then wounded him; the Tarnished healed Yura and crushed Nerijus’s spirit after the noble threatened him.

The Tarnished met Yura, then found Patches in a cave and learned that someone had stolen his identity to establish the Roundtable Hold. After buying shackles that restrain Omen blood, he sent Patches to find the impostor and declared his intention to slaughter the Greater Will.

• The Tarnished asked Yura about something effective against Omens, and Yura directed him to a Tarnished merchant in a nearby cave.
• The Tarnished entered the cave, found Patches, and learned that Patches had awakened before the others and returned to his old trade.
• Patches told the Tarnished that someone had taken his belongings and assumed his identity as Blaidd, the White Wolf War-ghost, while founding the Roundtable Hold.
• The Tarnished bought Omen shackles from Patches and asked him to track down the impostor.
• The Tarnished told Patches he planned to slaughter the Greater Will, and Patches warned him not to die.

The Tarnished returned to Stormhill, learned Bernahl’s combat techniques, and demonstrated power that stunned him before encountering a mysterious Bell Bearing hunter. He rested in a ruined shack and began studying sorcery, planning to meet Sellen again after dealing with Godrick.

• The Tarnished met Bernahl, rejected the guidance of Grace, and agreed to learn his combat skills.
• Bernahl demonstrated his techniques, and the Tarnished copied them with overwhelming mastery, clearing the clouds from Stormhill with a single strike.
• Bernahl left to seek a new purpose, and the Tarnished explored the ruined houses before a thorn-armored Executioner appeared, searched for a Bell Bearing, and vanished.
• The Tarnished wondered whether the Executioner threatened Kale and then rested in a ruined shack.
• The Tarnished considered his lack of sorcery experience and his need to visit Sellen after defeating Godrick, then began studying beneath the cleared night sky.

The Tarnished met a traumatized girl who entrusted him with the Spirit Jellyfish Kukla, then continued toward Stormveil Castle. Melina revealed that Godrick was Godwyn’s descendant, intensifying the Tarnished’s resolve to confront him.

• The Tarnished found a frightened girl in a red hood who described how her companions had been grafted into a spider and calmed her with warm runes.
• The Tarnished told the girl he was going to Stormveil Castle to kill Godrick, and she asked him to care for Kukla, a shy Spirit Jellyfish.
• The Tarnished accepted Kukla as his companion and left the girl a message to pass on to her grafted friends.
• At a Site of Grace, Kukla greeted Melina, and the Tarnished noticed Melina seemed unusually awkward during their handshake.
• Melina told the Tarnished that Godrick was descended from Godwyn and explained that his weakness and pride had driven him to grafting.

The Tarnished confronted Morgott, who had appeared as Margit to guard Stormveil Castle, and urged him to question the Golden Order and let him enter the castle. Morgott remained loyal to his duty and challenged his uncle to battle, leaving the two ready to fight.

• The Tarnished entered Stormgate Tunnel and waited for Margit to appear before Stormveil Castle.
• Margit revealed himself as Morgott, and he and the Tarnished recognized each other as uncle and nephew.
• The Tarnished criticized Morgott for protecting Godrick and argued that the Greater Will and Golden Order oppressed other peoples, explaining why Marika shattered the Elden Ring.
• The Tarnished declared that he intended to destroy the age and warned Morgott not to stand in his way.
• Morgott thanked the Tarnished for caring for him but refused to abandon his duty to defend Stormveil and challenged him to battle.
• The Tarnished crushed Morgott's Shackles and accepted the challenge to fight fairly.

The Tarnished defeated Morgott’s duplicate at Stormveil Castle and learned that Mohg had formed the Mohgwyn Dynasty and was slaughtering innocents. After agreeing with Melina that he would travel to the Erdtree without becoming a lord or harming innocents, he prepared to visit Roundtable Hold.

• The Tarnished used Crucible and Dragon Communion abilities to knock Morgott down, and Morgott conceded defeat and warned that Godrick was on his own.
• The Tarnished told Morgott that Mohg had abandoned his post, founded the Mohgwyn Dynasty, and gathered bloodthirsty followers; Morgott vowed to seek him out.
• Morgott disappeared after urging the Tarnished not to forget his desire for freedom, while the Tarnished activated the Site of Grace and met Melina and Kukla.
• The Tarnished told Melina he intended to overthrow the age, and Melina agreed to continue their journey as long as he did not extinguish life or slaughter innocents.
• Melina explained Roundtable Hold’s rules and took the Tarnished by the hand to bring him there.

The Tarnished arrived at Roundtable Hold, learned from Gideon Ofnir that claiming a Demigod’s Great Rune would establish him as a proper member, and met Diallos, who was searching for Lanya. He found the imprisoned blacksmith Hewg and had him fuse Tree Sentinel armor with the Samar curved sword, then left with the newly forged weapon.

• Gideon Ofnir welcomed the Tarnished to Roundtable Hold and explained that killing a Demigod and claiming a Great Rune would prove his standing.
• Diallos asked the Tarnished if he had seen Lanya, and the Tarnished advised him to search Liurnia or Caelid.
• The Tarnished found the chained Misbegotten blacksmith and asked him to fuse Tree Sentinel armor with the Samar curved sword.
• Hewg used a forbidden forging technique to combine the armor’s golden power with the sword’s frost, and the Tarnished inspected the finished weapon.
• Hewg introduced himself by name, and the Tarnished left Roundtable Hold with his fused sword.

The Tarnished met Fia, a Deathbed Maiden who had been searching for him because her people revered him as the White Wolf who had given them freedom. Fia chose to follow him as a Wolf-Sleeping Maiden, and he set out to meet Lionel while pursuing his rebellion against the gods.

• The Tarnished tried to visit the maiden behind a closed door, and Fia opened it after a red glow appeared at her chest.
• Fia explained that her people had made the Tarnished their hero after his words inspired them to change Deathbed Maiden traditions, and she showed him the Bloody Finger made from his blood.
• Fia said she had been driven out for rejecting Grace and asked to become his Wolf-Sleeping Maiden; the Tarnished accepted, insisting she make her own choices.
• Fia told the Tarnished that Blaidd had been using his name and that her adoptive father, Lionel, had brought her to the Roundtable Hold.
• The Tarnished agreed to meet Lionel and warned Fia that he intended to rebel and kill a god; Fia promised to stay by his side even if it cost her life.

The Tarnished questioned Fia about Godwyn’s death and learned how it had disrupted the Erdtree’s cycle of life and death. After leaving Roundtable Hold, he set out with Melina toward Stormveil Castle and entered by a side path offered by Gostoc.

• Fia explained that Godwyn’s spirit had been erased while his body remained, and that the Erdtree’s failed effort to revive him had caused Those Who Live in Death to arise.
• The Tarnished spoke with Hewg, explored Roundtable Hold, bought supplies from the Twin Maiden Husks, and learned from Gideon that he needed to hunt a Demigod to become a full member.
• The Tarnished sensed that Roundtable Hold existed in a different space and time, then returned to Stormgate Tunnel with Melina.
• Gostoc warned the Tarnished against Stormveil’s main gate and pointed out a hole in the wall as a less-guarded route inside.
• The Tarnished and Melina took the side path into Stormveil, where he saw crumbling defenses and Stormhawks flying overhead.

The Tarnished fought through Stormveil Castle, killed Gostoc after he tried to betray him, and defeated a Banished Knight by turning the knight’s storm against him. At a Site of Grace, Melina revealed that Kukla missed her family, and the Tarnished resolved to end Godrick’s rule.

• The Tarnished froze and killed the Exile Soldiers at Stormveil’s entrance, then pulled Gostoc from the cliff before killing him for attempting to push him over it.
• The Tarnished fought through the castle, broke open a locked door, found arrows that seemed connected to Trina, and reached the lift guarded by a Banished Knight.
• The Tarnished absorbed the Banished Knight’s storm and hurled him over a cliff, drawing the attention of a Crucible Knight below.
• At a Site of Grace, Melina appeared with Kukla and said the child missed her family but had forgotten whom she sought.
• The Tarnished and Melina discussed Gostoc’s fate and Godrick’s corruption, and the Tarnished said Godrick could not be allowed to remain.

The Tarnished found Enkuro in Stormveil Castle and reunited him with Kale Basha, who took him away to search for their comrades. The Tarnished then met the sorcerer Rogier, who offered to teach him combat skills and explained how a weapon could be turned into a sorcery catalyst.

• The Tarnished jumped into the area below the lift shaft, crushed a Teardrop Scarab, and found Enkuro.
• The Tarnished and Enkuro argued about pursuing Godrick until Kale Basha arrived and took Enkuro away.
• The Tarnished returned to the castle and killed an Exile Soldier who had attacked the building where Rogier was hiding.
• The Tarnished introduced himself to Rogier, who said he had come to Stormveil Castle to find something important to him.
• Rogier offered to teach the Tarnished magic-related combat skills and described how glintstone crystals could help turn a weapon into a sorcery catalyst.

The Tarnished fought through Stormveil Castle and reached its gate, where Melina sensed a strange vortex inside him as she guided his runes. After the Tarnished and Nepheli Loux defeated the courtyard’s enemies together, Nepheli introduced herself as a Tarnished sent to Stormveil by her adoptive father.

• Rogier told the Tarnished about a Glintstone Dragon that could cast sorceries without a catalyst, and the Tarnished wondered whether his dragon blood could let him do the same.
• The Tarnished reached Stormveil’s main gate, defeated three Banished Knights, and entered the guardroom to find the gate mechanism and a Site of Grace.
• Melina guided the Tarnished’s runes and sensed a vortex inside him that drew the runes together, though neither of them understood what it was.
• A warrior named Nepheli Loux attacked Godrick’s soldiers with Golden Lightning, and the Tarnished helped her defeat a Troll and the remaining enemies.
• Nepheli thanked the Tarnished and introduced herself as a warrior and Tarnished who had come to Stormveil on her adoptive father’s orders.

The Tarnished explored Stormveil Castle, discovered Godrick’s grotesque treatment of his subjects, and recovered a bundle left by the red-hooded girl’s companions. Below the castle, Rogier found Godwyn’s remains and was struck by deathblight, but a powerful storm carried him away as it converged on Godrick.

• The Tarnished met Nepheli Loux, agreed to call on her if he needed help, and suspected she was connected to Hoarah Loux.
• The Tarnished found severed limbs and corpses in Stormveil, killed a grafted noble and two dogs, and recovered a red cloth bundle for the little red hood.
• Rogier searched beneath the castle for the Prince of Death’s Face, fought a swarm of Deathroot-infected rats, and defeated an Ulcerated Tree Spirit.
• Rogier reached Godwyn’s distorted remains and was afflicted by Deathblight Thorns after removing a piece of a pustule.
• A powerful storm swept Rogier away from Godwyn’s remains and converged on Godrick’s location, saving Rogier from deathblight.

The Tarnished and Nepheli confronted Godrick in Stormveil Castle, where the Tarnished overwhelmed him and Nepheli joined the fight. The Tarnished defeated Godrick with a storm-powered sword strike, and Godrick died lamenting his lost ambitions.

• The Tarnished returned to Stormveil Castle’s courtyard, cleared the remaining soldiers and Trolls, and met Nepheli outside Godrick’s domain.
• Godrick revealed his grafted arms and attacked, but the Tarnished caught and shattered his golden axe before beating him down.
• The Tarnished condemned Godrick for disgracing his ancestors, while Nepheli rebuked him for his cowardice and arrogance.
• Godrick grafted a dragon’s head onto his arm and unleashed dragonfire as Nepheli and the Tarnished gathered storm winds and lightning.
• The Tarnished’s Storm Blade Wave overcame the dragonfire and struck Godrick, leaving him withered and dying on the ground.

After defeating Godrick, the Tarnished followed his Great Rune to Godrick’s Divine Tower, defeated the Golems guarding it, and activated the rune. At the tower’s summit, he told Melina he intended to break the Greater Will’s order and lead people toward liberation, leaving the Divine Tower trembling as Melina questioned her own feelings.

• The Tarnished found the Great Rune glowing faintly within Godrick’s body, and it flew toward its Divine Tower after Godrick’s death.
• Nepheli told the Tarnished the Great Runes were kept in Divine Towers and gave him her blessing; he left her Golden Signs so she could contact him.
• The Tarnished followed the rune to Godrick’s Divine Tower, where he defeated three Golems and reached the tower’s summit.
• The Tarnished activated the Site of Grace, and Melina appeared to admire the view with him.
• The Tarnished explained to Melina that a lord should guide people and break the barriers that hold them back, then declared his intention to overthrow the Greater Will’s order.
• The Divine Tower trembled at the Tarnished’s declaration, while Melina wondered whether she too was dissatisfied with the Greater Will.

After absorbing Godrick’s Great Rune, the Tarnished returned to Roundtable Hold, where he spoke with D and reunited with the injured Rogier. Rogier explained how the Black Knives used the stolen Rune of Death to kill Godwyn, leaving the Tarnished wondering who had orchestrated the plot.

• The Tarnished absorbed Godrick’s Great Rune and learned that he needed an Arc to awaken its power.
• Nepheli reported Godrick’s defeat to Sir Gideon Ofnir, who became interested in bargaining with the Tarnished.
• At Roundtable Hold, the Tarnished met D, who warned him to avoid Those Who Live in Death.
• Rogier told the Tarnished that he had found Godwyn’s Pustule beneath Stormveil Castle and had been injured by a Putrid Tree Spirit and the Prince of Death’s curse.
• Rogier explained that the Black Knife Assassins had stolen the Rune of Death and used it to kill Godwyn, prompting the Tarnished to suspect someone had directed them.