Chapter 844: The Golden Age

As the Nox, who believed in the stars, the most important thing for them was to find their way home. Within the Nox, the path of the Initial Astrologers emerged. They frequently peered into the cosmos, hoping to find their way home, and from the Crystalians at the Mountaintops of the Giants, they learned the Primeval Sorceries.

Furthermore, the research-loving Nox developed many Primeval Sorceries. During their research, many Nox sorcerers glimpsed deities originating from the depths of the cosmos.

They were ancient and powerful beings in the universe, beyond the imagination of mortal creatures, great existences towering above the laws of the cosmos.

Thus, after the astrologers among the Nox glimpsed these Unspeakable True Forms, they all instantly perished on the spot.

Yet, even so, this did not curb the Nox's curiosity; they possessed the demeanor of 'if a man hears the Tao in the morning, he may die in the evening without regret'.

More and more types of magic were researched by the Nox. And whether it was due to frequently gazing upon these mysterious and great existences, or if it triggered some taboo, a gigantic meteor hurled towards the Lands Between. The Dark Cosmos located in the Consecrated Snowfield, and the Dark Omen that caused the destruction of the Eternal City, were both Star Beasts located on this meteor.

Compared to the meteorites of the Erdtree and the Elden Beast, this Astel's Great Meteor, triggered by the Nox, was a catastrophe.

Because its consequence was that half of the entire Lands Between was sunken. The world-shattering power directly stole the night sky of the Nox, smashing the Nox race from above ground to underground. The Siofra River and Ainsel River were directly transformed into underground rivers during this cataclysm.

At the same time, the Erdtree, which was originally accumulating strength, preparing to develop and gather its six divine items to fight Destined Death, was also bewildered. Not only was its position shifted, but it was also greatly wounded, with its broken branches falling near Leyndell, the Royal Capital, to regrow.

And the Nox, who had narrowly escaped extinction in this wave, multiplied and thrived underground, becoming 'suffering companions' with neighboring Minotaurs and other races, and helped them establish the Uru Dynasty.

However, even after this Astel's Great Meteor catastrophe, the Nox still largely kept to themselves. Even when helping other races, they generally showed little concern, never meddling in beliefs or power, but continued to research their magic in isolation.

Even because of Astel's Great Meteor, the Nox, as if joking, conceived a new idea.

That was: why could they never find their homeland, never find the starry sky? Because they lacked a navigational marker. If that was the case, couldn't they just create one?

So the researchers among the Nox gathered and decided: 'Let's not believe in the unseen stars for now. We'll create a new landmark, and when we find the stars later, we'll go back to believing.'

Thus, the Nox developed new magic and a new direction: the full moon.

This is also why, later in the game, the Tarnished could find corresponding full moon lore through Nokstella's moon.

The Nox were still diligently searching for their way back home. If nothing unexpected happened, they would have continued this way.

But clearly, an unforeseen event occurred. Astel was not a singular creature, but a species parasitic on a meteor.

When the meteor fell to the earth, they plummeted to various directions of the Lands Between. This is why in the game, the Tarnished can see the Dark Cosmos in the Consecrated Snowfield and the Dark Omen underground.

These alien species were referred to by the creatures of the Lands Between as the Black and White Kings. To combat the Black and White Kings, the Nox, Minotaurs, Giants, and Dragonkin of the Lands Between all united. This battle should have determined a victor.

But then a new unwelcome guest arrived: the corrupted deity, the God of Rot. Just like the plague in the European Middle Ages, neither the slowly developing Erdtree nor the White King and other races had intentions of destroying the world before. The Astel species only appeared as a tool of the Greater Will to destroy the Eternal City.

But the Scarlet and myriads of insectoids intended to utterly devour the entire world, with the Giant Ants being prominent among them.

And the Lake of Rot in the game was the most intense battlefield center of that time. The corrupted Dragonkin Soldiers, human and Minotaur remains in piles of bones, the dead White King of the Astel species on the high platform in the lake, the Dark Omen downstream, and the corrupted Erdtree Avatars—from these remaining traces, one can still sense how fierce the war was back then.

It was also because of this war that the relationship between the White King and the creatures of the Lands Between somewhat eased. Some White Kings even became turncoats, abandoning their own kind to follow wealthier and more powerful 'Big Bros'.

For example, the Carian sorceries in the Town of Sellia, Caelid, and Starscourge Radahn's gravity magic were all learned from the meteor Star Beasts and the White King.

However, in this Scarlet War, the most remarkable figures were the Gloam-Eyed Queen and the Blind Maiden Swordswoman. The latter became the Valkyrie's teacher, imparting the Waterfowl Dance, while the Gloam-Eyed Queen simply, as the first deity of Destined Death, hunted the demigods of the Scarlet faction.

But after the war, her immense power attracted the Nox of the Eternal City. Thus, the Nox abandoned the full moon and instead pledged their faith to Destined Death, respectfully referring to her as the Dusk-Eyed Goddess. This is the underlying meaning of the later phrase 'Nokstella lost their moon,' and it's also why players in the game can find Spirit Ashes that summon Dusk-Eyed Swordsmen in the Eternal City.

However, precisely because the Dusk-Eyed Goddess received the faith of the Nox, as the representative of Destined Death, she became a god lacking only a king. Now, the contest for leadership in the Lands Between was still undecided.

The Mimic Tear and Fallingstar Beasts of the Eternal City were products left behind by her efforts to create a king.

At the same time, the Two Fingers of Civilization were not united, but engaged in internal strife, with each side placing their bets like ancient great noble families.

Among them, the most powerful was arguably the Erdtree Dynasty, and it was during this period that a truly remarkable figure emerged within the Erdtree Dynasty: Queen Marika the Eternal.

With Shadow Beast Maliketh, she defeated the Gloam-Eyed Queen and sealed Destined Death.

She forged the Golden Order and created the Elden Ring, and invited Godfrey, the strongest warrior of the Age of Dragons, to marry into the Golden Lineage, becoming the first Elden Lord. Their union gave birth to the kingly talent, Godwyn the Golden, whose talent, wisdom, and charisma were unbelievably powerful. He led his army on a victorious expedition to Crumbling Farum Azula, and not only was it a great victory, but his charisma also won over the Elder Dragon Fortissax. Even after Godwyn's death, though the Elder Dragon himself was afflicted by Destined Death and on the verge of losing his sanity, he never forgot his desire to revive the prince.

For a time, the Golden Lineage seemed poised to sweep across the Lands Between, establishing an eternal dynasty.

But despite seemingly on the verge of unifying the world, the Golden Lineage had significant hidden dangers. To forge the Elden Ring, Destined Death was sealed. Without Destined Death to hunt demigods, the Outer Gods attracted to the Lands Between, such as the stars from beyond and the Scarlet that had only recently been suppressed, began to cause trouble again.

The high-ranking officials of the Golden Lineage pondered, 'This won't do.'

After all the effort to establish the dynasty, who could endure constant disruption like this?

Just like building the Great Wall, the Golden Lineage's high command decided to find powerful combat forces to suppress the Scarlet and the Star Outer Gods.

How to find powerful combat forces?

By having children, of course.

Since the previous Golden Prince was so impressive, couldn't Queen Marika the Eternal just have two more?

So, for the future of the Golden Lineage, Queen Marika the Eternal became pregnant with her second generation.

But unexpectedly, a hidden problem emerged at this time. Perhaps having Godwyn had exhausted all her potential, as this second pregnancy resulted in two Omens, who would later become Morgott, the Omen King, and Mohg, Lord of Blood.

The Elden Ring, representing the Golden Order, was unstable internally, while Outer Gods stirred externally, and her second generation wasn't proving useful. What to do?

So Queen Marika the Eternal made an incredible move: wouldn't it be better to extract the Golden Order from the Elden Ring and use it as a separate entity?

If she couldn't give birth to powerful sons, then she would create another god to conceive. And as the incarnation of the Golden Order, this separate entity could also suppress the instability of the Elden Ring.

Thus, Radagon, the other half of Queen Marika the Eternal, appeared. Radagon's approach was largely similar to before: if the maternal body couldn't conceive new gods, couldn't someone else take her place? So Radagon sought out Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon.

Were they once sworn enemies? Did they have different beliefs?

No matter, a honey trap would suffice. Rennala was quickly captivated by Radagon, and just as Queen Marika the Eternal had hoped, Radagon and Rennala bore three demigods:

Ranni the Witch, Starscourge Radahn, and Praetor Rykard.

Among them, Starscourge Radahn was an explosion of combat power, suppressing all the stars with his might alone.

For a time, the Golden Lineage seemed to flourish, with the Golden Order governing the people internally and Starscourge Radahn suppressing the Outer Gods externally, a true balance of civil and military might.

But no one knew that Queen Marika the Eternal, the greatest contributor to the establishment of the Golden Lineage, was about to personally destroy this Golden Age she had created.

(End of Chapter) <>