Chapter Summaries

Zhao Si fought off his urge to seek hypnosis by training against an imagined Blaidd, while Malenia secretly watched and sensed a strange illusion. At the same time, the real Blaidd trained near Ranni’s Rise, imagining a stronger Zhao Si and realizing he had underestimated his opponent.

• After dinner, Zhao Si fell asleep quickly, woke with a splitting headache, and recognized his craving for hypnosis as addiction.
• Zhao Si plunged his head into icy water and practiced swordsmanship against an increasingly lifelike imaginary Blaidd, eventually imagining him using a Glintstone Firearm.
• Malenia watched Zhao Si from the shadows and sensed a vague, pale-purple figure beside the well.
• Blaidd went to the Crystal Forest to vent his nighttime restlessness by training against an imagined Zhao Si.
• Blaidd realized his imagined opponent was too weak and began considering how to improve his own strength.

Blaidd left Ranni to seek the Zamor in the Mountaintops of the Giants and learn to wield ice and snow. After a Zamor Knight found him, Blaidd revealed his purpose but fell silent when asked whether Lord Miquella knew.

• Blaidd asked Ranni for permission to travel to the Mountaintops of the Giants, and she agreed while ordering him to stay in contact and return when summoned.
• Ranni worried that Blaidd was both her devoted ally and a Shadow Beast the Two Fingers could control, while Zhao Si had taken the Fingerslayer Blade she needed.
• Blaidd traveled through the snowy Mountaintops in search of the Zamor, hoping to master ice and snow and become more useful to Ranni.
• A Zamor Knight approached Blaidd unseen and questioned why he had come to the Mountaintops.
• Blaidd said he wanted to learn the Zamor's power over ice and snow, and fell silent when the knight asked whether Lord Miquella knew.

Blaidd visited the Zamor, claiming he came as an individual to exchange knowledge and refine his martial skills. The Zamor Knight led him to their austere town, where Blaidd met the elders and noticed an indistinct statue beneath Marika’s on their altar.

• Blaidd reflected on the Zamor’s history and their connection to ice and snow magic through Ranni’s Snow Witch mentor.
• Blaidd told the Zamor Knight that he was visiting personally and wanted to refine his martial skills, and the knight agreed to guide him.
• The Zamor Knight led Blaidd through the blizzard to the Zamor town, where Troll bones decorated the buildings.
• Blaidd entered the elders’ hall and saw an altar with a statue of Marika above an indistinct figure that resembled a blizzard.

Blaidd visited the Zamor to learn their power over ice and snow. The elder showed him how they could temporarily freeze the Fire Giants’ flames, and agreed to teach him the art.

• Blaidd asked a Zamor elder about the ice and snow they worshipped beneath their statue.
• The elder demonstrated how he sealed a candle’s flame inside solid ice without extinguishing it.
• The elder explained that the Zamor developed the technique to temporarily trap the Fire Giants’ flames during their long war.
• Blaidd suggested their power might come from the moon, but the elder insisted it came from the Mountaintops’ blizzards.
• Blaidd asked to learn how to freeze flames, and the elder agreed despite warning that the training would be grueling.

Blaidd underwent the Zamor’s seven-day ice-and-snow ritual to gain power, enduring the cold while focusing on snow and Ranni’s Dark Moon. The ritual left him buried in snow, determined to survive and grow stronger for Ranni.

• Blaidd removed his armor and cloak and prepared to lie in a pit on the frozen lake.
• The Zamor elder led the ritual, covering Blaidd in snow and placing a drop of supposed ancient Ice Dragon blood on his tongue.
• Blaidd endured the foul taste and focused on snow, where he imagined Ranni’s Dark Moon appearing amid the whiteness.
• Blaidd interpreted the Dark Moon as choosing him and drew his body heat inward to protect his core.
• Blaidd began the seven-day ordeal, relying on his devotion to Ranni to withstand the cold without moving or eating.

Imprisoned in his Leyndell mansion, Rykard coordinated with Alecto and the Black Knife Assassins as he pursued rebellion against Radagon and prepared to target Godwyn. He concluded that Radahn could become an ally and learned that Ranni's plans to assassinate Godwyn were nearing their next step.

• Rykard secretly copied Golden Order Fundamentalism in blood while Alecto visited him and reported that Ranni had not been exposed.
• Alecto told Rykard she had recovered the Silver Tear Asimi, which had copied the Elden Champion, and Rykard asked how it could grow stronger.
• Rykard learned that Malenia had taken Radahn's Greatsword and predicted the Haligtree would brand Radahn a rebel, so he ordered Alecto to tell Radahn who took it.
• Alecto reported that the sisters had located Godwyn and were awaiting Ranni's arrangements.
• Rykard anticipated Godwyn's death would plunge the Lands Between into chaos and bring revenge against Marika.

Rykard recalled how he allied with Alecto and the Black Knife Assassins to overthrow the Golden Order, then sent a message to Radahn. At Redmane Castle, Radahn received the Black Knife Assassin and asked if Rykard had sent her.

• Rykard ordered Alecto to send a message to Radahn through the Black Knife Assassins' intelligence network.
• Alecto explained that the Black Knife Assassins considered Marika a traitor for abandoning their mission to bring night to the Lands Between, and offered to cooperate with Rykard and Ranni.
• Rykard and the Black Knife Assassins targeted Godwyn and Destined Death as part of their plan to weaken the Golden Dynasty and raise Caria.
• Radahn stood on the balcony at Redmane Castle when a Black Knife Assassin arrived, and he asked whether Rykard had sent her.

Radahn learned that Miquella and Malenia were plotting against him and decided to move troops secretly before the Demigod meeting. After swallowing Asimi, he revealed his ambition to control the Lands Between as chancellor and considered finding his sister a consort.

• A Black Knife Assassin delivered Asimi of the Silver Tears to Radahn on Rykard's behalf, and Radahn swallowed it without hesitation.
• Radahn and Jerren concluded that Miquella and Malenia were preparing to use a Godskin and accuse Radahn during the Demigod meeting.
• Radahn declared that he wanted to serve as chancellor with control over military and civil affairs rather than become Elden Lord himself.
• Radahn ordered Jerren to move troops secretly toward Leyndell to display his strength and warn his siblings without alerting Miquella or Radagon.
• Asimi merged with Radahn and recognized his kingly aspect, while Radahn said his sister might become a Goddess and he might need to find her a consort.

Ranni prepared to poison Maliketh and reforge Black Knives so her plan to steal Destined Death could survive the growing chaos around the Demigod Banquet. Meanwhile, Miquella encountered his other self, Trina, during meditation and asked her to find Godwyn.

• Iji reforged a Black Dagger for Ranni, who watched from her tower and hurried preparations because she sensed danger in Leyndell.
• Ranni prepared Albinauric blood as a means of weakening Maliketh and planned to add Amber Starlight and perform the Black Knife ritual in a secluded cave outside Leyndell.
• Miquella entered meditation to study souls but encountered Trina, his other self, who warned him about the dangers facing their shared body.
• Miquella questioned Trina about Zhao Si's long sleep, and Trina said he had fallen asleep after visiting the Church of Deep Sleep without ever seeing her.
• Miquella asked Trina to use her powers to find Godwyn, whom he called their hope.

Rykard received word that the Elden Lord had accepted his sincerity, while the demigods prepared to travel to Leyndell for the council. Ranni, Radahn, and the Haligtree siblings set out with their entourages as Miquella continued Zhao Si’s dream experiments and worried about the battle ahead.

• Rykard received the Elden Lord’s invitation to the council and banquet, then cleaned himself up while concealing his renewed ruthlessness.
• Blaidd returned to Ranni changed, and he led her grand procession toward Leyndell.
• Radahn departed Caelid with Ogha and his attendants, using gravity sorcery to fly toward the capital.
• Malenia and Miquella set out for Leyndell with Zhao Si, who slept in the carriage while searching for Godwyn and training in dreams.
• Miquella worried about the coming struggle, while Godrick remained troubled by bad news that had already disrupted their plan to stop an assassination.

At the Elden Throne Hall, Miquella proposed sharing responsibility for guarding the Forge of the Giants, then shocked the Demigods by asking Goddess Marika to withdraw everyone’s Grace. He said the change would prepare them for the civil war between the siblings.

• Radagon made Rykard confess to his crimes and deliver a public self-criticism, while Radahn applauded him.
• The Demigods reported on their territories, and Miquella described conditions in the Haligtree and Mountaintops of the Giants.
• Miquella proposed replacing the Fire Monks at the Forge of the Giants with people drawn from each Demigod’s territory; Radahn, Rykard, and Godrick agreed to contribute, and Radagon approved.
• Miquella asked Goddess Marika to withdraw the Grace of everyone in the Lands Between, including the Demigods.
• Miquella explained that the loss of Grace would prepare them for the civil war between the siblings.

Miquella argued before Radagon and the Demigods that their succession conflict would inevitably become war and that Grace’s power to revive the dead would make victory impossible without withdrawing it. Rykard proposed a rule-bound contest instead, but the meeting ended without agreement as Radagon demanded an end to the discussion and Miquella insisted the war must have a victor.

• Radagon’s anger rose when Miquella openly raised the prospect of war, and Miquella argued that Grace and resurrection would prevent either side from winning through ordinary warfare.
• Miquella proposed withdrawing Grace so the Demigods could fight to the death, while Rykard suggested rules and battlefield exercises to limit casualties.
• Radahn objected that war was not a children’s game, and Miquella warned that rule-bound contests would only hide the conflict and leave defeated Demigods seeking revenge.
• Godrick applauded Miquella’s bluntness, but Radagon ordered the meeting to end and forbade anyone from mentioning the matter again.
• Radahn, Godrick, and Malenia voiced support for withdrawing Grace or continuing the discussion, while Rykard sided with Radahn and Ranni stayed silent.
• Miquella asked the Goddess to withdraw Grace even if the Demigods were exiled, and Radagon’s anger eased as he wondered why Miquella was so insistent.

Miquella and the other Demigods confronted Radagon over the Succession War and urged him to withdraw Grace to prevent needless deaths. Radagon agreed to join the war himself, while Marika revealed that the losers would become Sacrifices and warned that she intended to withdraw Grace.

• Miquella argued that people might have to die in the war and that their bodies should be burned to prevent resurrection, while Radahn's army could supply fire-wielders.
• Radahn told Radagon that the Two Fingers' warning had already seeded suspicion among the Demigods, whose resentments had been growing for years.
• The Demigods demanded that Radagon grant their wish, and he agreed to let them fight, announcing that he would join the war as their opponent.
• The Demigods left the Elden Throne Hall, with Radahn leaving territorial reports for the three siblings of the Old House of Radagon.
• Radagon questioned Marika about why she had agreed, and she explained that the losers would become Sacrifices and urged him to let her withdraw all Grace.

Marika agreed to Miquella’s plan to withdraw Grace after the Elden Ring’s simulations showed that a Demigod war could endanger Godwyn and destabilize the Lands Between. The Demigods gathered for their family banquet, where Miquella prepared to present Marika with a grand gift.

• Marika reviewed simulations in which Godwyn could lose political struggles and concluded she could not safely prevent the Demigods’ war without angering the Greater Will.
• Marika and Radagon agreed that she would withdraw Grace across the Lands Between while Radagon entered the war and led the Golden Army against their children.
• The Demigods gathered beneath the Erdtree for a lavish banquet, with Radahn seated beside the oversized platform.
• Marika arrived with Maliketh, and the Demigods stood to praise her before sitting again at her invitation.
• Miquella quietly patted Malenia’s hand as he prepared to present Marika with his grand gift.

Miquella tried to disrupt the conspiracy against Godwyn by provoking Marika, but Ranni’s suspicious wine threatened to derail his plan. Rykard and Godrick drank the wine, and Miquella was left unable to stop Maliketh from accepting it.

• Miquella explained to Zhao Si that they could seize the initiative by forcing the conspirators to act before their plan was ready.
• Miquella called out to Marika, hoping to provoke her with a grand gift, but Marika asked him to wait while Ranni toasted Maliketh.
• Ranni offered Maliketh Nightdew Wine, and Rykard praised her efforts as Miquella grew suspicious.
• Miquella warned Maliketh not to drink, but Rykard dismissed the concern, drank Ranni’s cup, and challenged Miquella to object.
• Godrick drank a ladleful from Ranni’s wine jar and silently signaled Miquella that he could not prevent Maliketh from drinking it.

Miquella exposed Radahn’s possession of the Godslayer’s Greatsword, prompting accusations and Ranni to reveal that Marika and Radagon were the same person. Rykard poisoned Maliketh and the banquet erupted into a fight, leaving Radahn calling for everyone to stop holding back as the Erdtree blazed.

• Miquella revealed the Godslayer’s Greatsword and said it had been found in Radahn’s Divine Tower.
• Radahn accused Miquella and Malenia of stealing the sword, while Miquella countered by criticizing Radahn and the Full Moon Queen.
• Ranni revealed that Marika and Radagon were the same person, and Marika responded by threatening war.
• Rykard poisoned Maliketh and ordered him to fall, but Maliketh resisted and attacked Ranni with the Black Blade.
• Rykard blocked Maliketh’s strike as Marika smashed the banquet table, and Malenia escaped the collapsing platform with Miquella and the sword.
• Radahn used gravity to pin Maliketh and pull Ranni and Rykard to his side as the Erdtree flared and he ordered everyone to stop holding back.

Marika reclaimed the grace of everyone in the Lands Between while Radahn and his allies fought the other Demigods in Leyndell to seize Destined Death. Ranni escaped the battle with a fragment of the Black Blade and Destined Death in an amber bottle, while Maliketh was close to breaking free.

• Marika announced that she would take back everyone's grace and make them Tarnished, and golden lights streamed from the people toward the Erdtree.
• Radahn received his Starscourge Greatswords and fought Maliketh as Marika retreated to the Erdtree, leaving Miquella to protect him.
• Malenia attacked Ranni, but Radahn and Rykard intercepted her while Miquella turned Rykard's magma against him.
• Radahn's assault drove Malenia back, allowing Ranni to cast Ranni's Dark Moon and use the chaos to draw a fragment of the Black Blade bearing Destined Death into her amber bottle.
• Godrick tried to shield Miquella from Radahn's strike, while Ranni countered Miquella's Triple Rings of Light with Caria Retaliation.
• Rykard threw Ranni toward Radahn, who used gravity to launch her out of the city with the amber bottle as Maliketh began to break free.

Ranni escaped with a small amount of Destined Death while Radahn and Rykard fought Miquella’s forces in Leyndell. Miquella drove the brothers from the city, but the conflict shifted toward Godwyn’s courtyard, where Zhao Si prepared to face the Black Knife Assassins.

• Blaidd rescued Ranni and brought her to the ritual site at Mt. Gelmir, where Iji said the Destined Death in her amber bottle could imbue only one knife.
• In Leyndell, Radahn’s strike buried Godrick and Miquella beneath rubble, while Maliketh remained incapacitated by the drug.
• Miquella healed himself and Godrick as fires in Leyndell were extinguished, then Radahn attacked again and Godrick intervened to protect Miquella.
• Malenia forced Radahn’s sword aside, but his gravity repelled her before she could strike him.
• Miquella cast [Elden Stars], allowing Rykard and Radahn to retreat from Leyndell after Radahn broke through the golden meteors.
• Miquella said another battle remained, while Zhao Si waited in Godwyn’s courtyard with his Iron Meteorite Blade, prepared for the Black Knife Assassins.

Miquella prepared to evacuate Leyndell with Godwyn while Ranni reluctantly empowered the Black Knife Assassins to carry out their attack. As the assassins set out and the siblings organized their forces for war, Rykard mistakenly assumed Godrick would be an easy opponent in Stormveil.

• Miquella ordered Godrick to carry Maliketh to the carriage and keep the road to the Mountaintops of the Giants clear, while Malenia stayed to support the escape plan.
• Rykard urged Ranni to imbue a Black Knife with destined death, and Radahn pressed her to put the larger plan first.
• Ranni completed the ritual, and Alecto accepted the enchanted Black Knife, which bore Ranni's name alongside its assassination list.
• The Black Knife Assassins vanished to begin their mission, while Rykard and Blaidd discussed coordinating Caria and Volcano Manor's forces for war.
• Rykard predicted Radahn would defeat Godrick and take Stormveil, unaware that Banished Knights guarded the castle.

Rykard and Radahn planned to use their Empyrean sister Ranni’s standing to rally their territories against the Golden Dynasty, while the Black Knife Assassins launched a major attack on Godwyn. Zhao Si, Morgott, Fortissax, and the knights turned the assassination attempt into a defensive battle, with Alecto’s forces struggling to break through.

• Rykard and Radahn discussed Miquella, resolved to rely on their own strength, and considered proclaiming themselves kings to recruit followers and form an alliance with Ranni.
• Rykard and Radahn realized that Godrick’s subordinates had spotted their disguised soldiers and that Godrick had passed the information to Miquella, who sent Haligtree soldiers to stop their attack on Leyndell.
• Blaidd prepared to help Ranni rally Caria, while sorcerers and Spellblades from the Academy of Magic chose whether to join her forces before the Academy sealed its gates.
• Zhao Si exposed the Black Knife Assassins attacking Godwyn’s courtyard with flour and Glintstone mines, and Fortissax and Morgott organized the defenders against Alecto’s assault.
• The knights held formation as Fortissax and Zhao Si countered the assassins, and Zhao Si used a Glintstone grenade to blast and coat another invisible attacker in lime.