Welcome, Tarnished, to this deep dive into the dark and twisted world of Elden Ring. Today, we're going to explore the creepy details surrounding Godwyn's corruption, and I'll share some findings that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else. So, let's get started!
Godwyn's Curse: A Demigod's Descent into Darkness
Godwyn, the Golden, was once a demigod, the son of Marika and Godfrey. But after being victimized by the Black Knives' plot, he became a soulless, misshapen husk, paradoxically taking on a new life as the Prince of Death. But what you don't know is that Godwyn's curse is far worse than meets the eye.
The Corrupting Effect of Godwyn's Corpse
Godwyn's body is found in the Deeproot Depths beneath Leyndell, and it's here that we can see the massive pillar-like roots of the Erdtree permeating the landscape. But what's striking is that the roots that Godwyn's body is braced against have been absolutely rotted to their core.
Bloodied Roots and Tentacle-Like Growth
One of the most disturbing details is that the roots Godwyn is attached to are covered in what looks like red patches of blood. This is particularly apparent when viewing the main root pillar behind Godwyn, which is covered in huge globs of stuff and looks disturbingly sticky.
Death Blight Spires and Maggot-Like Growth
Another kind of distinct growth present here is what I'll refer to as "Death Blight Spires". These are visually identical to the ones that appear when a player character gets death blighted. But what's interesting is that these spires appear to be made up of countless maggot-like growths that have congealed together.
The Eyes of Godwyn
One of the most disturbing signs of Godwyn's corruption is the appearance of his eyes. If you've spent any time looking around this area, you may have already found these three giant eyes among the bloodied roots towards the left side of Godwyn's corpse. But I'm willing to bet that I found some more eyes that you probably weren't aware of.
The Connection Between Purple and Death
The area around Godwyn's corpse is flooded with this purple miasmic fluid, and we can actually see human remains sitting in these shallow pools. This reminds me of the depths of the fissure, where we find the abandoned St. Trina and her putrescent knight.
Recap and Theories
So, to recap, we can see four clear and recurrent visual motifs when talking about the spread of Godwyn's corruption:
- Fly and maggot-themed death blight spires
- Blackened and bloody tree roots
- Tentacle-like growths
- Numerous eyes
Two of these motifs are incorporated into the deathroot that we discover is spreading throughout the lands between following Godwyn's assassination. Both eyeballs and finned tentacles are clearly visible in their design, and serve as a way of signposting Godwyn's ability to spread like a cancer throughout the lands.
But we'd like to take the time here to again try to clear up a common misconception I keep seeing repeated in the comments of my videos, despite many people claiming that Stormveil Castle is also covered in death root and signs of Godwyn's corruption, the thorns we see at Stormveil are visually distinct.