Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Ensis Castle was an easier slog than I expected, especially with my friend’s company. However, the northern gate of Ensis’ Lunar Observatory Courtyard opened the way to a reality I had no desire to face: the Shadow Fortress.
I knew that Messmer, The Impaler was waiting for me in his fortress, and I didn’t feel strong enough (much less willing) to face that fate… or any that involved a powerful boss. You’ll see later that it’s impossible to escape from the fights in Elden Ring, no matter how hard you try.
Staying killing again and again Rellana, Knight of the Twin Moon Along with other players, this was one of the worst decisions I made during my playthrough. Remember that I had already spent hours replaying the Knight of Solitude and the Divine Beast Dancing Lion for an average of 2 to 5 hours each. I made the decision to stop doing it before I got completely burned out on the DLC.
A walk through the Shadowlands: infinite poetry and beauty
I cheated my fate once again. I headed south, leaving the Shadow Fortress behind me, until I reach the famous Column of Containment. There are the famous words that have turned the community of Fire Ring“The heart of the Lands Between. All forms of Death converge here, only to be suppressed.”
I wanted to see the mysterious place with my own eyes. It’s not unusual for FromSoftware to hide such a key piece of its world in such a remote and seemingly unimportant place. In any case, it didn’t take me long to leave the location behind and continue my exploration of the Shadowlands.
The bad thing is that I don’t know what I did next. I’ve tried really hard to remember it, but even my screenshots and videos haven’t been able to refresh my memory. I have a huge exploration gap. I have no idea how I ended up in one of the most beautiful areas of the DLC: the Cerulean CoastSorry I can’t describe the journey. All I remember is a huge descent.
It is hard to describe in words how beautiful this area of the Shadowlands is. It is a land bathed in vegetation with luminescence that colors the landscape in blue, white and some purple tones. Huge tombs dot the horizon and the sound of the coast can be heard.
I ignored the valley dragon (too many dragons, Miyazaki) and headed east, where there was a distant island with a mausoleum on the highest point. I looked for a cave that could serve as a tunnel to it and found it. I was not surprised in the least to see that the boss hiding behind the fog of the mausoleum: the Bailarina de ranah. There is no better boss in the entire DLC that reflects the infinite beauty of these blue lands. I defeated her easily, so much so that I felt sorry for her.
I continued my journey south, towards the furthest point of the Shadowlands. I found a Cross of Miquella overlooking the corpse of a huge dragon. Miquella’s message was: “I leave here my doubts and hesitations.” The Empyrean was not only leaving his body, but also parts of his being. “What will remain in the end?” I remember asking myself in a metaphysical rush. It was raining.
I got to At the Fissurethe southernmost point of those lands, I descended through the enormous hole and found just what I expected: a magic seal that prevented access to the cave. “See you later,” I thought. After this, the most sensible thing would have been to go to the Shadow Fortress, but I again avoided my destination.
I went northeast until I reached the Rhia Finger Ruinsbut I didn’t move forward. I felt like it wasn’t the time. I went back north without looking at the map too much. I ran into a Magma Dragon and the Ancient Dragon Man in a dungeon. They didn’t give me too much trouble. The latter’s katana was very interesting. Again, I don’t know how I got to the Dragon Pit Boundarybut the feeling that I shouldn’t be there was enormous.
And I certainly wasn’t supposed to be there. I ended up in front of the corpse of a huge dragon and a new mission: climb a huge mountain and kill a traitor dragon. Great Altar of the Dragontine Communion It was a dark and scary place, but I could see beauty in the decay. I know it sounds weird.
My desire to avoid Messmer, The Impaler led me to embark on the most dangerous quest in the entire DLC: ascending a mountain filled with dragons in search of a traitor. Remember I mentioned I wanted to avoid bosses? I slew two massive dragons, the Steeppeak Dragon and the Ancient Dragon Senessax, before reaching my final objective: Bayle the Dread. In the process, I ran into a lord I originally met near the Containment Pillar. He kept screaming and begging for vengeance.
I really enjoyed the climb up the mountain because the setting is so epic and dangerous due to the dragons, but my brave knight spirit ran out when I reached Bayle the Fearsome. It shattered me more than a dozen times. It took me a while to understand that I was not even remotely prepared for that challenge. It was a bitter end to a beautiful day of exploration.
I had no choice but to abandon my exploration of those areas and return to the point of origin: the lands near the Shadow Fortress. I was determined to continue to deceive my destiny and headed towards the Moorth Ruinswhich would take me down a long and hard road… although I’ll leave that story for the next post.
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