Maliketh, Queen Marika's loyal half-brother, bore a blade imbued with Destined Death, and there was not one demigod who did not fear him.
If Malekith is Marika's half-brother, who is the common link in their family?
I propose it is Serosh. Marika is strongly associated with lions, especially the goddesses she is based on (Inanna, Astarte, Artemis). It also places Marika in a royal bloodline prior to the creation of her own empire, an important element of any upstart autocrat. Leaders of such large states almost always come from the elite classes.
In this article I hope to convince that Serosh's current title and his relation to Marika is what positions him to become regent, and it explains what his role is.
King of the Beasts
Given his status as a lion and his literal crown, it would seem he is part of some royal bloodline. The stele in Stormveil is hidden behind a statue of godfrey, but it stands alone and we can get a look at the whole thing. If he's important enough to carve into the wall, he's important enough to be a king.
It's not the only wall he's carved into. We can also find him on the side of the Fortified Manor in downtown Leyndell.
We find lions carved into lots of objects in Belurat & Enir Elim. They clearly respect the power of the lion, although he has horns, which Serosh does not.
Marika and Horah Loux will rely on this legitimacy. We can find supporting influence for the respect and power of lions all over Belurat. Marika and Horah Loux will rely on this legitimacy.
Where was his Kingdom?
Smart money is Belurat / Enir Elim
- Most sculptures
- warriors also lions
- they also worship trees
Did Serosh rule out of Belurat? Why is there one statue in Stormveil in the throneroom of him but no more?
What’s in a Title?
So what? This is just all a restated summary of smarter minds than I. But I do think I have something to add. Something circumstantial but tantalizing nonetheless. The key – Beast Regent Serosh.
We are already leaning on the title of Queen and Lord for this framework, so why not pull Serosh’s into it. To the unfamiliar, regents are those who act as ruler of a monarchy when the rightful monarch cannot. Often this is because the rightful monarch is too young, old, or infirm. Those vested with absolute power are not known to give it up willingly, so regent is usually an interim title. Eventually a 'true' ruler will be chosen, elevated, or come of age. At that point, the regent steps down.
Everyone knows the lion is the king of the jungle. Serosh’s own crown proves it to me. But why is called a regent then?
Remember, regents act as rulers in a monarchy, vested with the absolute power of the monarch. So which monarch or kingdom does Serosh represent?
The Kingdom of Marika
Marika enlisted Serosh to civilize Horah Loux. We know Marika is a control freak, so the idea that she would hand over basically all of her power to this old weird beast who is stapled to her husband (who himself ranks below her) just doesn’t fit the profile to me.
Then the DLC came out.
It became obvious that Serosh was taking Marika's role. He ended up where Miquella ends up.
I propose that Marika was meant to be where Serosh was, but she figured out a loophole. Miquella is too naive to pull off a scheme as sophisticated as complete regime change. Marika knows you the power of bending the rules.
Who better than one of the kings you conquered and folded into your kingdom? It’s just like marrying your kids to another bloodline to help establish your legitimacy with the conquered peoples. And who exactly became the honored attendants of the dragons as part of this? The beasts! The same beasts we see in Gurranq’s church and in graves in Faram Azula. The beasts that were likely part of Serosh’s royal retinue. Marika wins by ingratiating herself to a conquered underclass (beasts) and gets someone with some diplomatic skill in to help managed Godfrey's tempers. It's win-win. And by that I mean Marika gets 2 wins.
The Age of Dragons & Death
Placidusax, the mightiest of the dragons, and theirs was the age of the Crucible. We know that the age of the Crucible was one of many kinds of life. Beasts, stormhawks, giants, dragons, humans and gods all roamed the land. What would all of this entail? Survival of the fittest as all these races and kingdoms compete for land & power. And survival of the fittest implies a lot of death for all those who didn’t make the cut. There’s strong evidence that dragons were winners of this competition. They are the mightiest of the bunch and would have ruled from Faram Azula with their beastly attendants. (Much like the Pthumerians in Bloodborne). Thus we can consider the Crucible an age of Dragons & Death.
But all eras comes to an end. To begin the next age, Marika, for whatever reason, joins with Godfrey, wages war against everyone and wins. She then remakes the Elden ring in her image, one which does not include the rune of death. Because power abhors a vacuum, it makes perfect sense that the Golden Order would be the start of Marika’s reign and it would come at the end of another God’s.
