Summary
New revelations about Marika’s past inElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreecompletely alter the perception of two prominent bosses from the base game:Morgott, the Omen King, andMohg, Lord of Blood. Thewell-receivedShadow of the Erdtreeexpansionsends the Tarnished into the Land of Shadow in pursuit of Miquella. WhileShadow of the Erdtreechiefly revolves around the eternally youthful Empyrean, the very nature of the Shadow Realm ensuresthe DLC expands drastically on the history of the Lands Between and Queen Marika herself.
The Lord of Blood already holds a significant place in the expansion, asgetting to Mohgand defeating him is required to gain access to the Land of Shadow via Miquella’s cocoon, situated in Mohg’s boss arena. Even aside from Mohg’s direct involvement inShadow of the Erdtree’s main story, however, much that was previously known or inferred about him and his twin brother, Morgott, has been given new light by the history of the Land of Shadow, its culture, and the actions of Marika herself near the founding of the Golden Order.
Margit, the Fell Omen is the alter ego of Morgott, the Omen King, a mantle he assumes to confront those hoping to ascend Leyndell’s throne as Elden Lord.
Shadow Of The Erdtree’s Hornsent View Horns As A Sign Of Divinity
Morgott & Mohg’s Horns Are Seen As Accursed In The Lands Between
InShadow of the Erdtree, players meet an NPC calledHornsent, though that doesn’t appear to be his name, since there is an entire culture known as the Hornsent, the dying civilization that once flourished in Belurat, Tower Settlement.Many Hornsent are covered in horns similar to those seen on the Omen twins, but instead of those bearing these appendages being shunned, the Hornsent celebrate them as a sign of one having proximity to the Crucible, an amorphous, divine entity believed to predate the Erdtree, still revered as a symbol of power byCrucible Knightsin the Lands Between.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree - Hornsent Quest Walkthrough
While most of the characters in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree want to kill you off the bat, Horsent is one of the few who doesn’t!
It should be made clear that Morgott and Mohg are not Hornsent, and “Omen” is a classification bestowed upon them because of their horns. It’s unclear if the Hornsent comprise a separate race of people, or if the Hornsent is singularly a cultural affiliation. Morgott and Mohg are at least half-Numen, because their mother, Marika, is of the Numen race. Regardless,the Hornsent were at one time the dominant cultural force in the Land of Shadow, prior to Marika’s ascension to godhood.
The Hornsent Were Purged By Messmer On Marika’s Orders
Retribution For Destroying The Shaman Village
By the time the Tarnished enters the Land of Shadow and ascends Belurat to confront theDivine Beast Dancing Lion, the Hornsent and their society are derelict. This is because of a war waged against them byMessmer the Impaler, as seen in the story trailer forShadow of the Erdtree. Messmer is an obedient son to Marika, sequestered in the Land of Shadow likely because of the Abyssal Serpent which resides within him.The Hornsent appear to have been subjected to genocide in part because they did not inherit the light of Grace, but also as retribution for wrongdoings against Marika and her people.
Marika was born in a location referred to only as Shaman Village in the Land of Shadow, directly east of Shadow Keep in the Hinterland region. TheMinor Erdtree incantationfound in the Shaman Village is, according to its item description, the “secret incantation of Queen Marika.” It can be picked up sitting at the foot of a glowing, golden Minor Erdtree sapling, where “Marika bathed the village of her home in gold, knowing full well that there was no one to heal.“There was no one left because they had been taken by the Hornsentand subjected to grotesque (or holy, depending on perspective) experimentation.
Shadow of the Erdtreeexpands on Living Jar loreby providing more hints at how such creatures were made, and for what purpose. At least in the Land of Shadow, it would seem thatpeople were mutilated and emulsified with others in jars to attain a higher form of being, according to the Innard Meat item description: “Scraps of flesh for filling great jars […]. This is what becomes of the condemned, who get sliced up and stuffed into jars to become saints instead.”
Theories suggest this practice was undertaken by the Hornsent in an attempt to emulate the Crucible itself, which is often thought of as a sort of primordial amalgamation of all life – or at least that which manifests in the Land of Shadow and the Lands Between. By combining many people into one being via jar, as the Companion Jar talisman item description reads, “Perhaps they were made to be better than their innards.”
Marika’s people, the shamans (and presumably Numen), were targeted specifically for this purpose, because “the flesh of shamans was said to meld harmoniously with others,“according to the Tooth Whip item description. It would seem that Marika at some point avoided persecution by the Hornsent, and after amassing some form of power on her way to godhood, exacted revenge on the entire society, subsequently shifting the Shadow Realm into Messmer’s control, as it’s seen inShadow of the Erdtree.
Morgott & Mohg Are Shunned For Their Connection To The Crucible
Horns Become An Unholy Symbol Under Marika’s Golden Order
The reason Omen are then shunned under Marika’s rule in the Lands Between seems to be two-fold: they bear a divine connection to the Crucible, and their appearance was once revered by the Hornsent. The former is rather straightforward, though likely not enough to warrant the Omen twins' eternal imprisonment in the Subterranean Shunning Grounds alone. Worship of the Golden Order, and by extension the Greater Will, would have been the dominant belief system under Marika’s rule, butsimple association with the Crucible doesn’t appear to have warranted such condemnation.
Godfrey himself, first Elden Lord, consort to Queen Marika, and father of the Omen twins, commanded the Crucible Knights, and there’s nothing to suggest their reverence for the Crucible contributed to Marika stripping Godfrey and his armies of their Grace. In fact, Godfrey’s actions suggestit was likely this connection, in concert specifically with Marika’s predisposition towards the Hornsent, that caused Omen to be shunned. When Godfrey confronts the Tarnished outside the Erdtree near theend ofElden Ring, he’s seen mourning Morgott, who the Tarnished had previously killed.
While the Hornsent’s zealous butchering and torture of the shamans is horrifying, Marika’s violent response can be condemned just as easily. Morgott and Mohg’s horns appear to be naturally occurring manifestations of the Crucible. It’s a miracle Morgott defended the Golden Order so faithfully after the Shattering, and equally unsurprising that Mohg abandoned the power structures that had subjugated him in favor of the Formless Mother, a mysterious Outer God that would likely be considered heretical under the Golden Order.
Prior toShadow of the Erdtree, Omen horns were simply seen as a curse, taken at face value by the information that had survived – and been perpetuated by – the Golden Order. While their exact nature is still not entirely clear (just like that of the Crucible itself),Morgott and Mohg’s place in the narrative is given a tremendous amount of context by the Hornsent’s veneration for those with Omen hornsand their crimes against Marika’s people.Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtreeseemingly confirms that Marika’s attitude toward Morgott and Mohg is one of hatred, stemming from her prejudice against the Hornsent.
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is a popular game released by From Software, creators of games such as Armored Core, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne. Players assume the role of a Tarnished, a being once exiled to the Lands Between and has returned to repair the Elden Ring after the events of “The Shattering.” “The Shattering” occurred when the offspring of Queen Marika battled to claim the shards of the Elden Ring, known as Great Runes. Their war has brought lawlessness, destruction, and chaos to the land, and the player will challenge them with the assistance of a Maiden known as Melina as they travel towards the great Erd Tree to face their destiny and to become the one true Elden Lord. Players can tackle the game how they choose and can adventure across realms as they build their character how they want - be it a powerful magic caster or a brutal swordsman - they will have complete control over their build.
