Elden Ring is an incredibly well-made open-world game full of detailed lore. People have backstories; weapons have backstories; even locations have some kind of untold tales. Nothing in this game is without lore. If fans dig deep enough, they can uncover all sorts of stories. And gamers are doing that, and before they could uncover all of Elden Ring’s secrets, FromSoftware announced Shadow of the Erdtree.
This expansion for Elden Ring will launch later this year. And without a doubt, it looks like an expansion worthy of a game such as Elden Ring. It’s huge, full of varied biomes, and it has some menacing-looking enemies all ready to torment the players. But where is it set? A new fan theory claims to have an answer.
A new fan theory suggests Castle Sol is connected with Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
One thing that fans always ask when FromSoftware announces a DLC for their games is, “Where is it set?” The same question they had when Shadow of the Erdtree was announced. The answer, in a way, was pretty clear; it is set in the shadow of the erdtree.
But where does the Shadow of the Erdtree fall? The original Elden Ring game is set in a world called the Lands Between. Erdtree stands tall in this world and covers the whole world with its golden grace.
Everyone feels its warmth, and everyone can see it from miles and miles away. There’s hardly a place where you can see where the shadow of this massive tree falls. Hence, the question stands, where is this DLC set?
One theory from an ardent fan named foxhunt-eg seems to have an answer. They suggest that this might be somewhere around Castle Sol. This is the same place situated on the Mountaintop of the Giants where players find the left half of the Haligtree Secret Medallion.
“The Erdtree sits directly above the conspicuously empty area between Altus Plateau and Limgrave, which is also about the same size as Limgrave, which we have been told is about the size of the lands in SotE. Incidentally, there’s nothing on the underground map in this area either.
So what if the light of grace was so strong that it cast a part of the Lands Between into a ‘shadow realm’ – after all, where there is light, there is shadow. – OR, where the shadow would be cast from a sun originating at Castle Sol.”
The location being Castle Sol is an interesting idea. But does it hold any weight? It is an important location; after all, it is the place where an important relic was hidden. This relic allowed players to travel to a hidden world that no one could find very easily.
Maybe that’s why this place might end up working as a gateway to the shadowlands too. Shadowlands is the place where Erdtree actually casts its shadow. One can’t help but wonder what kind of horrors lurk in a place where Erdtree’s grace does not reach.
Why is Miquella in the Shadow Lands?
Miquella is a very important character in the lore of the Elden Ring. Yet he is hardly seen in the main game. He was first seen in his full-grown avatar in Shadow of the Erdtree’s artwork. He was stolen in his infant state by Mohg long ago.
One cannot help but wonder what purpose he is serving in Shadowlands. Some say he is looking for something; others say he is out there to execute a plan. But fans would only get the answer when they got their hands on the DLC later this year.
