Elden Ring’s DLC is finally happening, and we can glean information about the expansion thanks to a central character that’s been teased.
Shadow of the Erdtree looks to be focused on a character named Miquella, who was a background character within the events of the original base game, but will now take center stage in the expansion. For those invested in the lore, Miquella is a very exciting character, but his presence is easily missed in a casual playthrough.
Here’s everything we know so far about Miquella in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
Elden Ring: Miquella, explained
Miquella will be a central character in Elden Ring‘s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. He is the demigod son of Queen Marika and Radagon of the Golden Order, brother of Malenia, and an Empyrean. They were heavily foreshadowed throughout the events of Elden Ring’s base game.
In Elden Ring lore, Empyreans are special people who can become gods by being a vessel of the Elden Ring. Empyreans in the Lands Between include Queen Marika, Ranni the Witch, Malenia, and of course, Miquella.
Miquella was born cursed to be young forever, so he created the Haligtree to grow at its base in an effort to cure his sister and bodyguard Malenia, who is the source of the Scarlet Rot that destroyed the Caelid region when she battled Starscourge Radahn.
While Malenia was off fighting Radahn, Miquella was kidnapped by Mohg, Lord of Blood, another boss fight from Elden Ring’s base game. The image above depicts Mohg kidnapping Miquella, from the very beginning of Elden Ring in its opening cinematic. Mohg planned to use Miquella to ascend himself to godhood, but his plans were foiled when the player defeated him in a boss fight.
“Miquella is mine and mine alone,” Mohg says in the cutscene before his boss fight.
When defeating Mohg, players are rewarded with the “Remembrance of the Blood Lord” consumable item. The description of the item reveals further, disturbing information about Mohg’s plans.
“Wishing to raise Miquella to full godhood, Mohg wished to become his consort, taking the role of monarch,” the description says. “But no matter how much of his bloody bedchamber he tried to share, he received no response from the young Empyrean.”
A short clip of Miquella during the Mohg boss fight was also shown at the very beginning of Shadow of the Erdtree’s gameplay trailer. Miquella’s arm can be seen falling out of his cocoon, suggesting that he is still alive, but in deep slumber. It appears he will somehow awaken during the events of Shadow of the Erdtree.
“In the Land of Shadow, Miquella awaits the return of his promised Lord,” Elden Ring’s official X account (formerly Twitter) teased alongside the trailer, confirming Miquella will play a large part in the DLC, either as an NPC or a boss fight of some kind. It’s speculated that some of the DLC will take place in Miquella’s dream, a world where he resides while slumbering.
For an in-depth look into Miquella, I highly suggest checking out FromSoftware lore expert VaatiVidya’s video, The Lore of Elden Ring’s Slumbering Demigod, for an excellent and detailed description of the lore.
