Summary
FromSoftware isn’t exactly known for making happy stories, andElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreefollows this trend by making sure every character is sucked into a whirlwind of tragedy. Even in the base game, almost every NPC will have a terrible ending in store for them, usually resulting in death, no matter what the Tarnished chooses to do to help them. At this point, it’s a FromSoftware staple to have beloved characters randomly lying dead on the floor after their quest is completed.
Nepheli Loux is perhaps one of the few NPCs with a good ending, provided that the player makes the right choices. She could end up as Stormveil Castle’s new ruler, technically putting her in charge of Limgrave, too.
Although not as overt, NPCs aren’t the only FromSoftware characters that have tragic stories. Many bosses are having just as bad a time, but they tend to say far less and are too busy trying to send the Tarnished to the grave. Obvious examples include the many demi-gods scattered about, likeStarscourge Radahnbeing a cannibalistic zombie orMorgott being a herofor people who hate him,but the Carian Royal Family has just as much to do with the lore ofElden Ringand has suffered equal tragedy, yet members of this family tend to be overlooked in comparison.
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Rellana Has An Unsung, Tragic Backstory In Shadow Of The Erdtree
The Forgotten Sister Of The Carian Queen
The Carian Royal Family’s fall from grace is one of the many tragic stories dotted about the world ofElden Ring. Once a powerful family that fought Marika’s Golden Order to a standstill, their downfall began long before the Shattering. Until the expansion,Rennala, Queen of the Full Moonand her children were the only known members of the family, butShadow of the ErdtreeintroducedRellana,Twin Moon Knight,the younger sister of Rennalaand a former princess of the Carian family.
The Carian Royal Family have always been associated with Liurnia’s western coast, where their estate, Caria Manor, is located.
As a princess of the Carian Royal family, Rellana likely held a similar title to Lunar PrincessRanni the Witch. Although not as important to the ruling of the family, Rellana and her sister bore witness to the Twin Moon, andwhen she entered the Lands of Shadow in self-exile to assist Messmer, she brought the light of the moon with her. Some Carian forces joined her in her exile and all pledged their swords to Messmer in his war against the Hornset, although it earned neither grace nor glory.
By leaving for theLand of Shadow,Rellana gave up her title as a princess and left her family behind. Although there isn’t a concrete time frame for this, Rellana must have left after Messmer’s birth, and he is acknowledged and acts as Radahn’s elder brother. This means that Rellana likely participated in Liurnia’s war against the Golden Order and was around for her sister’s marriage to Radagon, sinceMessmer the Impalerallegedly had some interaction with Radahn, and still chose to leave her family behind when it was just beginning to expand.
Rellana Sacrificed Everything For Her Exile In The Land Of Shadow
She Doesn’t Even Get A Cutscene
Despite the difficult task of allocating solid time-frames to Messmer and Rellana, due to Marika attempting to wipe her son’s existence from history,what is known is that she wouldn’t have been around to watch her sister’s descent into madness.She couldn’t have fought for her in Liurnia’s civil war shortly after the Shattering began either. This means that she couldn’t protect Rennala from the Raya Lucaria separatists because of her self-exile and may not even know about the state that Radogan left her in.
Were Rellana present, she probablycould have held Raya Lucaria for the Carian Royal Family and led her forcessince she is a skilled and powerful knight. It isn’t known how close the sisters were, but Rennala did gift Rellana her lock of black hair, so it could mean that they did care for each other somewhat. Rellana could have been able to stave off her sister’s madness and prevented the civil war altogether, but as it stands, shefights for Messmerwithout glory and meets her end at the hands of the Tarnished, who could be a naked man with a club.
Marika isn’t known as the best mother around, having imprisoned Morgott and Mohg for being Omens and banishing Messmer for fighting a war in her name.
Worse still is that Rellana wasn’t there for the continued degradation of her family and may have been able to do something about it. Again, it isn’t known how close she was to her family, especially since she chose self-exile over staying with them,but the Sword of Messmer is clearly a loyal knight and could have done something to change the events of the Shattering. Instead, one of her nephews gets turned into a zombie, another gets eaten by a snake, her niece burns her body to put her soul into a doll, and her sister gets locked in a library.
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Rellana’s Forgotten Legacy As A Footnote To Messmer
At Least She’s Tough To Beat
Despite other members of the Carian Royal Family getting a lot of attention, whether it is the center of a questline (like Ranni) orholders of Great Runes,Rellanais treated as a footnote. She is viewed as merely another of Messmer’s followers, and he isn’t evenShadow of the Erdtree’s final boss.The worst part is that she doesn’t get a cutscene before her boss fight, despite being one of the best in the expansion and a member ofElden Ring’s second most important family.
On one hand,it is likely better that Rellana wasn’t around to witness the immense downfall of her family after the Shattering began. On the other hand, her exile was self-imposed to aid Messmer, and had she chosen not to join him in the Land of Shadow, she could have remained to alleviate at least some of the tragedy that awaited them. Instead, she spends her days fighting a war without glory and grace for a man who has been forcefully scrubbed from the annals of history.
Ultimately, it is a little strange forElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreeto add another member of the Carian Royal Family while giving her very little. Rellana has become somewhat of a fan favorite because of her status as the sister of the Carian Queen and how cool her fight is. Some in the community believe that Rellana had a one-sided love for Messmer too, because of her helmet’s item description saying she"renounced her lineage to chase after Messmer,“and sacrificed everything for this, which just further adds to the tragedy of her story.
