Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has officially been revealed, and with its release, lore lovers have gone on a frenzy to find any clues that could help expand and clarify the story of Elden Ring. While the DLC certainly answered many lingering questions, there is one character that remains a bit of a mystery.
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That character is the mysterious Queen of the Dark Eye! She’s the one who created the Black Flame spell and is responsible for the various Godskin bosses that can be found throughout The Lands Between. She may also have connections to Windmill Village on the Altus Plateau. But in the base game, exactly who this character is and her ultimate fate remains unclear.
We found her sword at the base of the Kailid Zeta, which tells us she was defeated by Marik’s leader, Maliks, and it was this sword that allowed us to channel the Black Flame. Beyond the fact that defeat doesn’t necessarily mean death, we know very little about the Dark-Eyed Queen. Some players believe she’s Melina, while others believe she’s a completely different character. We just don’t know!
Enter the Shadow of Erdtree DLC and spoilers, but as far as we know, she’s not here. The area in the southern part of the map – bordering the location of the tower before Marika shadowed it – lacks any other clues about her identity. It seems that, in the absence of other information, she may actually be dead. Some background tidbits enrich the overall worldbuilding of Elden Ring.
A significant portion of the community has bought into this theory. The reason for this comes from the Sacred Relic Sword – a special weapon you can craft with Marika’s soul after defeating the final boss. The sword has a spiral blade, and since the Dark Eye Queen’s sword has a similar blade pattern (with the end spiraling outwards instead of curving into a point), perhaps her soul is inside the sword. This would help explain why the current Black Flame spell originated from it.
However, while the Queen doesn’t appear in the flesh, there may be some background hints at her identity. Major spoilers ahead for Shadowlands of Eidolon. The game’s new area is filled with spiraling architecture, artwork, and even enemy-specific spells. Most of these can be found in and around the Einil’ilim, a massive ancient structure that spirals upwards to the heavens. It was here that Marika ascended to godhood, subsequently sending Mesmer to burn all Shadowlands natives who hadn’t been touched by the Favor. This includes the Hornsent, the land’s primary inhabitants, and the Einil’ilim.
You see, one of the more curious questions surrounding the Queen of the Dark Eye is why she enjoys killing and flaying nobles, and why she wants to kill the gods in the first place. Sure, the fight for godlike power is reason enough to fight to the death, but the actions of her god-skinned apostles vividly portray hatred for those who ally with Marika. If we position the Queen of the Dark Eye as a denizen of the Shadowlands, her motivations become more understandable.
We know from item descriptions in Shadow of the Erdtree that all death eventually washes up there – and we’ve seen ghost tombstones throughout the cemetery. The Black Flame’s power is derived from death, which is why when our Tainted began running around, its power was weakened because Marika sealed the death rune. It’s not impossible that someone from this land of giant coffin ships and flocks of gravebirds could channel such power. Also of note is that the Ghost Flame Flower – a flower found only in the southern Charro Hidden Tomb area of the DLC – “burns without a sound”.
Finally, take this with a grain of salt, but data miners have discovered that a DLC boss called “The Knight of Decay” was referred to as “The Knight of the Dark-Eyed Queen.” Now, this has been changed in the full game to make this boss more consistent with Santarina, but there’s a real connection here nonetheless.
Ultimately, to the dismay of those eager to learn about the legend, we this Closer to concrete connections. An item, a discovery, can put the pieces together like a beautiful puzzle. But without that connection, everything is left to guesswork. That’s not necessarily a bad thing—this kind of imagination often adds to the mystery of the game—but the audience wants answers.
Until the best and brightest in the community put all the facts together, we won’t know for sure. Let us know what you think in the comments below!