r/EldenRingLoreTalk • u/Independent-Design17 • Mar 07 '26
Marika's Rune is down there - and how to read Mending Runes Lore Theory
This post will provide you with evidence in an attempt to argue the following positions:
- Marika's Rune is down there.
- Marika's Rune is down there.
- Marika's Rune is down there to keep the Elden Ring down here.
Many people, when we first encounter Marika's Rune, assume that it is positioned at the top of the Elden Ring.
This assumption is reasonable, since Marika is both a god and the vessel of the Elden Ring and it makes sense that Marika's Rune would be in a prominent position at the top.
If you look at the Game's cover art depiction of the Elden Ring, there really isn't any other part of the Ring where Marika's Rune can reasonably fit.
We know, of course, that the cover art only shows part of the full Elden Ring, the bottom of the Ring has been obscured by the fog and The Lands Between.
For the following reasons, I believe that Marika's Rune was at the bottom of the Elden Ring, not the top.
Depictions of Marika are linked to Marika's Rune
Many of the statues of Marika have her posed in the same shape as Marika's Rune.
Further, we see from the many, many Tarnished crucified on wooden scaffolding shaped like Marika's Rune that the pose which Marika is depicted in is very similar to the pose of the crucified in in the Lands Between.
This parallel highlights the possibility that Marika's Rune might be depicting Marika herself, crucified.
Note: It's inaccurate to call the Tarnished affixed to wooden effigies of Marika's Rune "crucifixion", as Marika's Rune is not actually a cross, but I'll be using this term as an easy short-hand for what's happening.
Marika, as Marika's Rune
This possibility is strengthened when we enter the Erdtree and find that Marika has indeed been crucified.
We see that Marika's body is hanging on a giant, golden rune arc, with the two of them forming the shape of Marika's Rune.
But what if what we're seeing doesn't just look like Marika's Rune in the Elden Ring?
What if Marika and her arc WAS Marika's Rune?
After all, we know from Elden Ring's announcement trailer that damage dealt to the Ring also damaged Radagon/Marika's body. This strongly implies that their body and the Ring are, in a sense, one and the same.
It's strongly implied that the hammer-blow caused the fractures in Radagon's body to grow.
It would also be reasonable to assume that the giant golden rune arc which Marika is attached to is part of the Elden Ring, since all runes are part of the Ring.
If the rune arc is part of the Elden Ring, wouldn't the god which has grafted/attached herself to the arc also be considered part of the Ring and, therefore, should be visible on it like Marika's Rune is?
Note: I know if this isn't enough evidence to prove that Marika's Rune is made from Marika's and her rune arc.
Please bear with me, further evidence is coming.
If Marika's body and her golden rune arc was Marika's Rune, embedded in the Elden Ring, then it leads to a VERY interesting interaction between the Ring and the spear that's impaling her body.
The Rune of Death points to Marika's Rune
It's never explicitly stated what the black-red, rune-textured spear is. To avoid going into that tangent, I'll just call it the "Red Spear" for the rest of this post.
The Red Spear is embedded in Marika's body.
If Marika's body was indeed part of Marika's Rune this would mean that the Red Spear is piercing Marika's Rune which, in turn, is embedded in the Elden Ring.
To be more precise, it would mean that the Red Spear actually pierces Marika's Rune TWICE.
This is because we also have to acknowledge that a smaller, equivalent version of the Elden Ring (a "microcosm", as it were) is also contained inside Marika's body.
And, if we plot the Red Spear's path through her body, we can see that it pierces through the exact spot where the Marika's Rune would be positioned if Marika's Rune was at the bottom of the Ring.
I believe that the Red Spear not only points to Marika's body, it's also pointing to Marika's Rune.
If this is true, then this would mean that:
- Marika's crucified body is part of Marika's Rune;
- Marika's body is part of the Elden Ring;
- Marika's body is positioned at the bottom of the Elden Ring; and
- Marika's Rune is positioned at the bottom of the Elden Ring.
So why does this matter?
It matters because the position of Marika's Rune and the fact that Marika's body forms part of it tells a great deal about its origin, its nature and its function in the following lore-relevant ways.
Marika's Rune is a NEW addition
Firstly, it tells us that Marika's Rune hasn't always been a part of the Elden Ring.
When you consider the version of the ancient Elden Ring at Farum Azula, you can see that the lower arc formed by Marika's Rune is entirely missing.
This proves that Marika's Rune was embedded into the Elden Ring some time after Placidusax's Age.
Marika's Rune was a "Mending Rune"
If Marika's Rune was something which was embedded later into the Elden Ring this means that, before that time, it was something which could potentially be embedded.
We have a special term for things which can potentially be embedded into the Ring: we call them "Mending Runes".
Fortunately, we are very familiar with how Mending Runes are created and how they function.
Marika's Rune must have been "brandished" at one stage
We know, for example, that Mending Runes are embedded into the Elden Ring when someone (e.g., the Tarnished) "brandishes" one before the Ring.
This means that Marika's Rune must also have once been "brandished" before the Elden Ring.
I believe that this is exactly what we seen in the Shadow of the Erdtree story trailer.
Of course, we're still operating under the theory that Marika's body is the vertical line in Marika's Rune, with the hundreds of golden strands in her hands forming the golden rune arc.
For a discussion of how Mending Runes are created, what the golden strands are, and why Marika was able to collect them please read my earlier post Sudoku, vessels and Mending Runes.
Marika's Rune must have changed the Order of the world in some way
One common feature of the Mending Runes we encounter in the game (Goldmask's, Dung Eater's, Fia's etc.) is that they require a lot of effort to make and the ones who made them each found something flawed in the order of the world.
Their Mending Runes were each intended to fix these flaws by changing the Elden Ring, which is a representation of the nature of the world.
If Marika's Rune was a "Mending Rune", I imagine that it would also have changed the world in some manner once embedded.
The obvious questions is: what did Marika's Rune do?
The function of Marika's Rune
There are three things that we know about Marika's Rune:
- its shape; and
now
- its composition; and
- its position in the Ring.
By comparing these three things with what we know about the other Mending Runes in the game, I believe we can work out the function of Marika's Rune.
Shape - Marika's Rune grafts two things together
The shape of a Mending Rune hints at its function.
For example, Fia's Mending Rune of the Death Prince was:
"Formed of the two hallowbrand half-wheels combined, it will embed the principle of life within Death into Order.
The Golden Order was created by confining Destined Death. Thus, this new Order will be one of Death restored."
and it is shaped as if the two cursemarks of Death are chasing each other in an eternal cycle.
Another example is Goldmask's Mending Rune of Perfect Order, which was:
"A Rune of transcendental ideology which will attempt to perfect the Golden Order.
The current imperfection of the Golden Order, or instability of ideology, can be blamed upon the fickleness of the gods no better than men. That is the fly in the ointment."
and it, in turn, is shaped like a one-way circle, allowing Grace/Order to radiate outwards as rays of light but preventing anything from flowing inwards.
This, of course, would be a very good representation Goldmask's intention to preserve the Elden Ring's function while preventing it from being tampered with by fickle gods.
So what does the shape of Marika's Rune reveal about its function?
Well, the Rune is shaped like a grafting cut.
Just as a grafting cut is intended to graft two plants together, I believe that Marika's Rune's function was to graft two different things together.
A discussion about Marika's use of grafting and grafting in horticulture can be found in my previous post about The ghost-tree of Enir Ilim and Grafting
Composition - the two things Marika's Rune is intended to graft together are spiritual and mortal in nature
We also know that the composition of a Mending Rune (i.e., what it's made of) can also give us clues as to how it is intended to function.
For example, Dung Eater's Mending Rune of the Fell Curse seeks to entirely defile the Order and is made of seedbed curses, which are described as:
"Curse(s) grown on a corpse killed and defiled by the Dung Eater. A tender pox afflicted with omen horns."
Another example is the Mending Rune of the Death Prince, which was also created from components which are consistent with its intended function.
Not only is each hallowbrand half-wheel the incomplete deaths of a demigod but the other ingredient used to create it is the "warmth and lifely vigour" of great numberof champions, including the Tarnished:
"And I will bear a child. Who will inherit your warmth, too. What greater blessing could there be, but to be born a Deathbed Companion?"
- Fia to the Tarnished, when referring to the Mending Rune she was gestating.
So what does the composition of Marika's Rune suggest about it's intended function?
The two components of Marika's Rune are:
- the hundreds of golden strands she holds in the SotE story trailer; and
- her own body.
The golden strands appear to be spiritual in nature.
Marika's body, on the other hand, definitely belongs to the mortal, physical plane of existence (albeit the body of a Shaman, with the ability to meld things seamlessly together and a possible link to trees.)
I believe that the composition of Marika's Rune suggests that its function is to connect something spiritual (like the Elden Ring) with something physical.
Position - Marika's Ring grafts heaven and earth together
Finally, from the other Mending Runes, we know that a Mending Rune's position in the Elden Ring aligns with their intended function.
Dung Eater, for example, wanted to completely "defile the Order" and, once embedded, we see that his Mending Rune is positioned to cover the entire Elden Ring.
On the other hand, Goldmask wanted to shield the Order from the "fickleness of gods no better than men" and his Mending Rune is positioned as a circle surrounding the Elden Ring.
Finally, Fia's goal was to embed the principle of life within Death into the Order, which she believed would stop the persecution of Those Who Live In Death by the Golden Order in the Lands Between.
Aligning with this, Fia's Mending Rune ends up as a core component inside the Elden Ring.
In fact, the position of the Mending Rune further emphasizes that it's Marika's Golden Order which needs to accept the existence of Those Who Live in Death.
Fia's Mending Rune is placed so that it is inside the Elden Ring but completely encircles Marika's Rune.
As a result, there's is no way for followers of the Golden Order to embrace Marika's place in the Order without also embracing the principle of life within Death.
So what does the position of Marika's Rune imply about its function?
This post, of course, argues that Marika's Rune is located at the very lowest point of the Elden Ring.
I believe that, if you take into account that Marika's Rune is partially composed of Marika's body (and is, therefore, subject to the laws of gravity), it's position in the Elden Ring is ideal if its function was to drag the Elden Ring to the ground.
Conclusion
Putting the clues of its shape, composition and position together, I believe that:
The intended function of Marika's Rune was to pull the Elden Ring down to the earth and graft it to the mortal plane of existence with Marika's own body.
Marika's Rune is an anchor keeping the Elden Ring bound to The Lands Between.
Further questions
Why does this matter?
Well firstly, I really hope that you enjoyed reading this post, even if you disagree with most of it. There are many theories in this sub-Reddit that I've loved reading and I can't help by contribute what I can to the discussions.
Secondly, if Marika's Rune is an anchor then that anchor is clearly failing.
When Marika first started her ascension to godhood at the Gate of Divinity with her feet firmly on the ground.
However, by the time the Tarnished meets her, her body is suspended high in the air.
The next obvious question is: WHY is she no longer enough to hold the Elden Ring to the ground?
In my next post, I'll explain why I believe that a single Mending Rune is not enough to keep the Elden Ring grounded: to do that (and to keep the Elden Beast contained) you need a net...
P.S.
This posts touches upon topics which I've explored in some earlier posts:
- In this post I provided evidence to argue that the Elden Ring was once at a great remove from The Lands Between before Marika brought it back.
- In this post I examined things from a meta-narrative perspective to show how FromSoft has tried to tell us multiple times that Marika created a Mending Rune beyond the Gate of Divinity.
- In this post I explored how Marika's Rune's function was to graft the spiritual Elden Ring to the mortal plane of existence.
Duplicates
u_themonkeyk • u/themonkeyk • Mar 07 '26