Most Tragic Elden Ring Characters: Part 3

I’m back again with the third entry to my “Most Tragic Elden Ring Characters” list. This time, I’m going with someone who actually never appears in the game. Well, living, that is.

Godwyn the Golden, firstborn son of Queen Marika and Elden Lord Godfrey, first descendant of the Golden Line, the first demi-god, and (presumed) heir to Leyndell. Yes, Queen Marika’s beloved son is the third entry to my list.

It is true that we may never see this character in his prime, but that doesn’t make his story any less tragic. As I said, Godwyn the Golden was the firstborn son of Queen Marika, the ruler of the Lands Between. Now, his birth status would have meant he would inherit his mother’s throne upon her death if this was in the Middle Ages. However, this is Elden Ring, so nothing is that simple.

Due to the fact that Godwyn was not born an Empyrean (a being born from only one god), Godwyn was not going to inherit the role of “King of the Lands Between”. Yet, I’m pretty sure he still could have been in line to inherit the lordship of Leyndell, the capital of the Lands Between (though that is only a guess).

Nonetheless, what makes Godwyn so tragic is his compassion and humility that only General Radahn (my second entry on this list) could boast of. Early on in his mother’s rein, Godwyn the Golden led the forces of Leydnell against the dragons as they tried to regain their rule over Lands Between. After many hard-fought, devastating battles against the dragons (his mother’s arch-enemy), Godwyn came face to face with the most feared dragon of all: Fortissax.

The battle between the two of them was legendary as the story was passed down from generation to generation. Nevertheless, Godwyn was victorious against Fortissax, dooming the dragons’ fate in the Lands Between. Unlike the vast majority of Elden Ring demi-gods/heroes, Godwyn did the unthinkable. He passed on the glory of slaying the mighty dragon as he, instead, choose to save and befriend his enemy.

That takes a next level of humility and honor to forsake glory for compassion. Especially in the world of Elden Ring, where practically every single being is looking to either kill, eat, dominate, mutilate, or corrupt one another. Thus, Godwyn the Golden was honored as a merciful hero by his mother and earned the eternal respect and friendship of the great dragon thereafter.

He actually seems like an upstanding guy (rather, demi-god), doesn’t he? There is no way something bad can happen to this respected hero, right?

Well, no. Actually, this is where he becomes such a tragic figure.

As I mentioned, due to the fact that Godwyn was not born as an Empyrean, he was not able to inherit the Elden Throne. Thus, the Greater Will (the gods of the Elden Ring universe) decided that someone else had to be chosen to succeed his mother as Queen/King of the Lands Between. That demi-god ended up being Lunar Princess Ranni.

However, Ranni was none too pleased to learn that she was to become the vessel/representative of the Greater Will (which Queen Marika is), so she devised a plan. She stole the Rune of Death from Maliketh, the guardian of the Rune of Death, and used said rune to imbue daggers that would also possess the power of death.

After that, she planned to kill herself and another demi-god, at the same time, so that only her body would die. To put this simpler, the Rune of Death daggers would only kill Ranni’s body and leave her soul free to inhabit another host. Unfortunately for the other demi-god, the Rune of Death would kill their soul but leave their body alone. Essentially, they would become soulless husks.

If you haven’t guessed by now, the other demi-god ended up being Godwyn.

So, to recap, one of, if not the most, honorable character in all of Elden Ring’s lore was murdered and reduced to a soulless husk for no apparent reason. I scoured all of the sources on the Elden Ring Fandom Wiki and looked at related in-game items, yet I could not find any link between Ranni or Godwyn. It seems to me that Ranni the Witch just straight up murdered Godwyn indiscriminately.

Anyway, Godwyn the Golden’s death not only impacted him, but also his family and friends. His friend, the dragon Fortissax, tried to revive Godwyn by fighting off the corruptive influences of the Rune of Death to no avail as the dragon was eventually consumed by Rune too. Meanwhile, Godwyn’s death drove his mother, Queen Marika, so mad with grief that she shattered the Elden Ring and started the Shattering War (and the events of Elden Ring).

Thus, that ends the tragic tale of Godwyn the Golden. The Tarnished can actually see Godwyn’s bloated, grotesque remains underneath the Erdtree while doing Fia’s questline. They can even bring the Prince to life if they mend the Elden Ring with the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince (though you don’t actually see him alive; it is just implied). Well, I’m on to the next tragic Elden Ring character now…

By the way, if you wish to read more about Godwyn the Golden, Queen Marika, Lichdragon Fortissax, Lunar Princess Ranni, the Erdtree, the Golden Order, or the Rune of Death, I highly recommend you check out the Elden Ring Fandom Wiki page. It helped me find all the information about Godwyn that I could not find in-game. It truly is a great source!

Images Source: Featured Image: (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) (Elden Ring)

In Text Image 1: (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) (ELDEN RING – Gameplay Preview – YouTube) 

In Text Image 2: (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) (ELDEN RING – Story Trailer – YouTube-Bandai Namco)

In Text Image 3: (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) (ELDEN RING – Overview Trailer – YouTube-Bandai Namco)

Other Sources: (Elden Ring Fandom Wiki) (Godwyn the Golden | Elden Ring Wiki | Fandom)