Even after a year,Elden Ringfans are still prying new lore from FromSoftware’s epic RPG. The latest discovery concernsGodrickand his penchant for “grafting,” the process of taking bits and pieces off his foes and then grafting them to his hideously misshapen body. Each piece gives Godrick the power of the body it originally came from, with a severed dragon’s head allowing Godrick to breathe fire in his second phase.
But throughout your fight against Godrick, he’s able to swing his axe to summon a protective (and damaging) whirlwind around himself. This attack will become a familiar one against two bosses later on, and it’s our first clue as to where one particular piece of Godrick came from.
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As spotted by Reddit userJackNewbie555, Godrick’s left leg looks “suspiciously like the missing right leg of a Commander that also summons storm winds for certain attacks.” The implication here is that it’s either Commander O’Neil in Caelid or Commander Niall at Castle Sol. Both wield large halberds and both can summon similar whirlwinds by twirling their weapons about their person. If you’ll note, both bosses are missing their right legs, which suggests one of them might have “donated” it to Godrick at some point in the past.
And thanks to another Reddit user, we might know which one made the donation and why. According toTheGuyfromRiften, “We know Godrick was beaten by Malenia and Malenia was fighting both Godrick and Radahn. Commander O’Neill is Radahn’s soldier and ‘the sole veteran who remembers that battle with pride.'” That’s taken from the Commander’s Standard item.
TheGuyfromRiften goes on to explain, “We also know that Godrick was beaten by Malenia and he begged for mercy. It’s possible that Malenia allowed him to live in exchange for trapping Radahn’s soldiers (Niall’s knights). Since Godrick is a slimy little shit, he betrays Radahn and hides in Stormveil after the fact.
“And from the Veteran’s Prosthesis, we know that he ‘offered this prosthesis in exchange for the lives of defeated knights held prisoner. He went on to lead these men as an army of no nation.’
“Maybe Niall gave his leg and offered the prosthesis to Godrick and in exchange, Godrick let him and his knights leave.”
So, both O’Neil and Niall were once commanders in Radahn’s army.One remained in Caelid(and probably lost his leg to rot), while Niall sacrificed his leg to free his soldiers from Godrick’s clutches. Then he went north to the Mountaintop of the Giants where he holed up at Castle Sol, suggesting he hadsomething to do with Miquella and his quest to restore Godwyn the Golden’s soul.
We may yet find out more of this tantalizing taste of lore in the upcomingShadow of the Erdtree DLC. Until then, Tarnished will keep scouring the Lands Between for yet more hints at what’s to come.
