Many characters in Elden Ring manage to stay hidden in the cloud of mysteries and questions, courtesy of Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of the game. One such character is Melina, one of the very first NPCs the player gets to meet when they begin the playthrough.
Melina is a character who grants our character the gift of Torrent and guides us through our journey of becoming the Elden Lord. She acts as our maiden, helping us throughout the game as we progress, but not much is known about her, except for a subtle hint towards her identity which is unlocked after a particular ending.
Even the origins of her character remain unsure for now, but there are many hints given in the game as well as item descriptions that heavily indicate her identity to being that of the Gloam-Eyed queen.
What Is Melina’s True Identity In Elden Ring
While it is not direct, any elements and dialogues of the game indicate that Melina is the daughter of none other than Queen Marika, the vessel of the greater will and the ruler of The Lands Between.
Melina was burned, and she was found in the footsteps of the Erdtree, where she was given her purpose in life by her mother. Her identity is further hinted to be that of the mysterious Gloam-Eyed queen, which is heavily hinted at after the player opts for the frenzied flame ending.
After the world of Elden Ring is thrown into chaos following the aforementioned ending, a short cutscene appears where Melina appears for one last time, threatening to deliver the destined death to the Lord of Frenzied Flame, no matter where he is.
The biggest takeaway from this short cutscene is how it shows Melina in a different avatar than before. Her left eye finally seemed to have opened, and its color matched the description of none other than the gloam-eyed queen.
What All Do We Know About The Gloam-Eyed Queen
It is almost certain that Melina is indeed the Gloam-Eyed queen, however, there is fortunately more information on this queen’s character hidden away in the item descriptions. One of them states how she was defeated by Meliketh, taking away her power of the Destined Death.
She was known to be the leader of the Godskin Apostles, and it was her Godslayer’s Greatsword from which the god-killing black flame originated via the black flames. With her rune of death taken away, her black flame at the same time lost the god-slaying abilities.
Fans on social media have also pointed out how Melina during the cutscene after the Frenzied-Flame has her right eye in a much darker dusk color rather than red as seen previously. This might hint towards the kindling of the black flame, once again proving her identity as the Gloam-Eyed queen of Elden Ring.
Elden Ring is available to purchase on Steam.
