Godrick the Golden. Ruler of the lush Limgrave. Leader of Godrick's army and self-proclaimed Lord of all that is Golden. He is the closest to medieval royalty in demeanor. The blood of his great ancestor Godfrey is thin. He is the weakest and most cunning among his demigod kin. In the previous First Defense of Leyndell, he was the first to flee, escaping disguised as a woman among refugees. While dreaming of a triumphant return to his home, the Royal Capital Leyndell, with his subordinates, he shuts himself in Stormveil Castle and continues to graft corpses onto his body. ...Addition: Surprisingly caring toward his subordinates.

Pros:

• Extremely fertile and rich land
• Numerous defensive structures
• High defensive capability of his base, Stormveil Castle
• Large-scale army Cons:
• The monarch is the weakest demigod and unpopular
• Quality of troops is slightly inferior to others
• Low morale due to being in the hinterlands

General Radahn. The most valiant and martially gifted of the external demigods. Ruler of Caelid, the red-earthed land in the southeast of the Lands Between, and monarch of the Radahn army. He wields dual Greatswords and a Greatbow. He also has a talent for sorcery and mastered gravity magic so he could remain with his beloved, scrawny horse. He earned the title "Starscourge" for protecting his childhood home from falling stars. His army, led by a man of excellent character and prowess, consists of brave warriors who are his comrades-in-arms. As they say, there is no weakness in the Red Lions.

Pros:

• The monarch is the strongest and a man of integrity
• The elite Red Lion Knights
• All soldiers are veterans with high loyalty
• Boasts many famous swordsmen and guest generals
• Includes sorcerers from Sellia, Town of Sorcery
• High local popularity Cons:
• Barren, wasted land
• Located at the furthest edge of the Lands Between; long distance to the Capital (Caelid -> Limgrave -> Liurnia -> Altus Plateau -> Leyndell)

Morgott is the current monarch of the Royal Capital Leyndell and leader of the Capital army. The people of the establishment are enthusiastic about his role as the guardian of the Erdtree, faith, and the Capital. He is called the Veiled Monarch or the Omen King. Though he never shows himself, they believe him to be a magnificent king.

Morgott is an Omen. With hideous horns growing from his face, he is a cursed child who, according to the Erdtree faith, should have been culled at birth. Born to Queen Marika and the first Elden Lord, he was cast away into the dark, deep Subterranean Shunning-Grounds immediately after birth. However, though treated as non-existent, he survived along with his twin brother. Perhaps because demigod strength was needed during the First Defense of Leyndell, he was suddenly released from imprisonment and continues to protect the Capital and the Erdtree today as the Omen King. He did not love because he was loved. He simply loved.

Pros:

• The monarch is quite strong
• An army exceptionally skilled in defensive warfare
• Large-scale, high-level army
• Holds the Royal Capital
• High morale due to religious fervor as the center of the Erdtree faith Cons:
• Hostile to all factions except Messmer's army
• Morale and loyalty would plummet if the monarch's true identity were revealed
• Lacks expertise in offensive maneuvers
• Uses blind faith to justify stubborn, suicidal tactics

Mohg is the monarch of the Mohgwyn Dynasty, a blood dynasty spreading deep beneath the Lands Between. He is a cult leader, but his appearance and capacity are closer to that of a Demon King.

Mohg took a different path from his twin brother Morgott. He loved his cursed blood and horns as an Omen, which his brother loathed. The new dynasty he opened is welcoming to persecuted races like the Albinaurics.

Mohg continues to plot today. He has Sanguine Nobles proselytize and Bloody Fingers and Pureblood Knights hunt down obstacles.

The Mohgwyn Dynasty is a hidden one. It does not have vast territories or massive armies. It is still young. Even if Sir Gideon Ofnir laughs, the elegance of our wonderful Dynasty of Blood is proof of Mohg's royal talent.

Pros:

• High charisma and very strong combat ability of the monarch
• Base is hidden (accessible via a hidden portal in the Consecrated Snowfield, deep underground)
• Composed of high-level individual talents
• High popularity among persecuted peoples
• Very high loyalty among subordinates Cons:
• Low popularity among Erdtree faithful
• Small-scale city
• Lacks a large-scale army due to relying on guerrilla proselytizing by individuals
• No general infantry

Rykard is the ruler of the western half of the Altus Plateau and Mt. Gelmir, and the monarch of the Gelmir army.

He is a cold and ruthless Praetor. The law has always been so in every age. Therefore, it is equal. Perhaps that is why he was indignant. He may have raised an army and formed an alliance of lords to attack the Capital because he was prepared to blaspheme the unfair and unjust Golden Order.

Being cold-blooded does not mean he is heartless. His ambition is close to the heroic images of ancient conquerors. In every age, people see a hegemon in the eerie fire of such ambition.

And now, the Serpent of Blasphemy watches and prepares for another invasion with predatory patience. His gaze is fixed on the Royal Capital Leyndell.

Pros:

• Calculating monarch
• The most disciplined faction
• Well-balanced army
• High defensive capability of the base, Mt. Gelmir
• Includes the Recusants of Volcano Manor as elite individual units
• Deploys many autonomous slaughter machines, the Abductor Virgins Cons:
• The monarch is somewhat weak personally
• Being well-balanced means they lack a specific overwhelming advantage or unique strategy
• Somewhat low popularity

Miquella is a bratty androgynous boy. He is the ruler of the Haligtree to the north, across the sea from the Mountaintops of the Giants, and monarch of the Haligtree army.

Miquella, along with his sister Malenia, possessed talent described as the Gifted Twins and the qualities to be a candidate for the next godhood. However, Miquella is afflicted with the curse of eternal childhood, never able to grow up.

Miquella was young. He remains a boy with an immature spirit. He cannot overcome the purity and extremism characteristic of children. He "truly believes everyone can get along" and thinks he can solve all problems with a single method. In other words, he is innocent to a fault.

Because of this, Miquella grew his own new tree, the "Haligtree," to replace the Erdtree and intended to host a new Order. His ambition for Unalloyed Gold, which began as a way to save his diseased sister, now aims to save all people and races.

Currently, many persecuted peoples and races without a future gather at the Haligtree to pray to Miquella. Whether this new faith seeking salvation from Miquella is truly right...

Miquella has the power of enchantment. A powerful brainwashing ability that forces others to love him, like a succubus. A demigod who does not hesitate to scheme and tramples on dignity with purity and kindness.

Thus, his sister Malenia said: "My brother will keep his promise. With the wisdom of a god and the allure of a god, Miquella is the most fearsome Empyrean of all."

Pros:

• Charisma of the monarch
• Very high morale and loyalty due to Haligtree faith
• High popularity among persecuted peoples
• Diverse races
• Geographical defensibility of the Haligtree Cons:
• The army itself is quite weak
• Few elite individual combatants
• Difficulty in coordinated action due to the varied racial composition
• Limited land, leading to resource shortages for the ever-increasing refugees

Malenia is Miquella's twin sister. Known as the "Blade of Miquella," she is the strongest swordswoman in the Lands Between—a noble woman with prosthetic limbs fighting against disease and Miquella's obstacles.

The red warrior who is Miquella's blade was born as one of the Gifted Twins but was afflicted from birth with the Scarlet Rot. There was no way to cure this affliction from an outer god; her legs and right arm rotted away, and the progression only stopped when her brother Miquella developed and inserted a needle of Unalloyed Gold.

However, she is not fully cured. She is constantly tormented by pain and spends her days resisting the inner voice urging her to release the power of the Rot. Should she release it and become the Goddess of Rot, the Lands Between would be covered in decay and all living things would rot. That must not happen. It is incompatible with her brother's ideals.

She uses a flowing swordsmanship that has the power to resist and purify the Rot. Having studied under a blind wandering swordsman and donning Unalloyed Gold prosthetics with folding blades, she is now the greatest duelist in the Lands Between, a demigod of the highest tier alongside Radahn.

Leading the Cleanrot Knights, who remain by her side in loyalty despite being infected by the Rot, she swings her sword today for her brother's ideal world, for a world where everyone is saved, and for a world where she can overcome her own decay.

She is based in the Shaded Castle in the north of the Altus Plateau, whose castellan is a Malenia fanatic. Cooperating with the Haligtree army, she fights to protect the Haligtree and ensure Miquella becomes Elden Lord.

Pros:

• The monarch is the strongest
• Subordinates are high-level, well-balanced, and highly loyal Cons:
• Strictly a small, elite force
• The monarch has no personal ambition
• Limited base and territory

A witch who transferred her soul into a multi-armed blue-skinned doll. Ranni is the most mysterious witch, acting in secret to establish the Age of Stars under the Order of the Dark Moon.

Ranni's mother is Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. She was a heroine who became the head of the Raya Lucaria Academy and founded the Carian Royal House in the marshy region of Liurnia. Her father was Radagon, a hero of the Erdtree forces. The general of the Erdtree forces, who had been fighting the Carian Royal House and the Academy, fell in love at first sight on the battlefield, leading to marriage and peace with Rennala.

They should have been happy. However, Radagon abandoned Rennala and went to Queen Marika—who had just abandoned her own husband—to become the second Elden Lord of the Erdtree forces.

The eldest son Rykard, the brother Radahn, and the youngest daughter Ranni. Because Radagon became the King Consort, the three were welcomed as external demigods despite not having the blood of Marika and Godfrey.

Ranni later harbored ambition and doubted the Golden Order. Marika's reign was equivalent to indirect rule by the Two Fingers. The nature of life itself. And now, to escape the control of the Two Fingers, Ranni plotted the Night of the Black Knives with Marika, Rykard, and others, succeeding in the assassination of many demigods and her own physical body.

Having become a complete enemy of the Two Fingers, she transferred her soul to a doll and is looking for a consort. She seeks a hero with the power to become Elden Lord, capable of defeating other demigods and acquiring Great Runes.

Meanwhile, her mother was broken. The shock of being abandoned by Radagon was too great. The Academy members turned their fangs against Rennala, imprisoned her, and are at war with the Carian Royal House. Ranni wishes she could return to the royal family, but she is holed up in a certain wizard's tower to hide from the assassins of the Two Fingers...

Pros:

• The monarch is just plain cute!
• The monarch is definitely a specific type!
• Lady Ranni 🙌 Cons:
• Has neither an army nor territory
• Few personnel
• Must operate in hiding

Messmer is a general on an endless crusade in the Land of Shadow, far from the Lands Between.

Messmer's true nature is that of a great serpent. Furthermore, he harbors the power of a kindling that can burn the Erdtree.

For this reason, he was exiled by his mother, Queen Marika. He was sent with his subordinates on an endless holy war to purge the Hornsent of the Land of Shadow—an act of ethnic cleansing.

Messmer seeks his mother's love and knows his own nature is the reason for his rejection. His troubles never end. While his vassals, the Fire Knights, and his wife Rellana stay by his side, permission to return to the Lands Between never comes. He is naturally of a kind disposition. He and his subordinates are all exhausted by the endless slaughter and war against the Hornsent.

In short, he is depressed.

He still does not know that the Shattering has broken out. If the day comes when he crosses the sea, leads his army, and treads the soil of the Lands Between again, the power balance may shift significantly.

Pros:

• The monarch is very strong
• Combat power of general soldiers is the highest
• Everyone is a veteran with extensive experience
• Leadership
• Deploys many autonomous fire-breathing weapons, the Furnace Golems
• Morale would soar upon returning to the Lands Between and Leyndell ⤴️ Cons:
• Few elite individual units
• General soldiers and officers would certainly rebel if the monarch's true nature were exposed
• War-weary mood and exhaustion
• Morale would drop if they do not join the Capital army due to strong Erdtree faith ⤵️

Melina is a traveling woman with amnesia. If you are a Tarnished aiming to become Elden Lord and are maidenless, she may offer a contract: she will act as your Finger Maiden if you take her to the foot of the Erdtree, where her memories of her purpose will return.

This mysterious woman, who can freely shift between spirit and physical form and offers the Spectral Steed Whistle for Torrent, is actually Messmer's sister and a demigod. The purpose given to Melina by Marika is to use the power of kindling to burn the Erdtree, along with herself.

Let us journey. A journey to become Elden Lord. Defeat demigods, seize Great Runes, and adventure. When you take her to the foot of the Erdtree in the Royal Capital Leyndell and help her remember her purpose, you will face a conflict.

The Erdtree is covered in thorns of rejection. No matter how many Great Runes one holds, no one can enter the Erdtree. No one could become Elden Lord. Burn the thorns. You must climb the Mountaintops of the Giants and sacrifice your Finger Maiden at the Forge of the Giants to burn the Erdtree, or no one can become Elden Lord. ...Unless... you lay hands on the forbidden Frenzied Flame of ultimate nihilistic suicide...

About the Tarnished:

• So-called adventurers.
• Process: Defeat demigods and collect their Great Runes -> Enter the Royal Capital -> Enter the interior of the Erdtree -> Offer them to the crumbling Queen Marika, revive her, and become her consort -> Become Elden Lord and ruler of the Lands Between and the laws of life.
• Finger Maiden: A woman who supports a Tarnished's adventure.
• Roundtable Hold: A community for Tarnished. Can be reached via warp by a Finger Maiden. Gather allies and cooperate.
• Two Fingers: Creatures that have indirectly ruled the Lands Between. The superiors of the Tarnished.