Caelid

Now, Caelid. This region is the anomaly of the formula thus far. Other than perhaps Limgrave with Godrick’s grafting activity, this is actually the site of the most recent large-scale events - that of Radahn and Malenia’s battle in the Shattering. The Battle of Aeonia.And when we arrive we are struck by the scene of a region that has been completely engulfed with Scarlet Rot. Praise Marika that these chest high walls were already established near the border to Limgrave, else, who knows how much it may have spread. The Scarlet Rot, however, instead of simply erasing the history of the land, seems to have given an amazing insight into ancient history. To us, it seems as though the entire region has been dissolved, and many layers of the land have been cleared away. The roots of the trees that once stood here, that were assumedly underground before, are now towering high above us.

And we are now met with the terrifying view of some huge, ancient skeletons. They are so colossal that few of us would even realize what they were if not for seeing them from a distance. They seem humanoid in structure, though it’s difficult to make out much detail below the chest. If we assume they are related to the Giants in some manner, the Visage Shield having an “instructional function” further reinforces that their unveiling in Caelid is recent. Either way, their depth in the earth is surely a testament to how long ago they must have died. Just like in the real world, where you can cut down into the earth and see the different ages in the stacked layers, so too might this shine a light on what may have existed prehistorically. The only other location we see such skeletons is in the Mountaintops of the Giants. The most well preserved region from the past, which we will look at later. There is a theme throughout Elden Ring surrounding the size of life and how it has changed over time. Be them these hidden behemoths that are now no longer seen, the Giants becoming trolls, or the dragons being compared to their ancient counterparts, there is always a decrease of size. This is not just a correlation, but something the lore actively draws attention to. The present-day dragons are mocked, and the state of the trolls is described with melancholy. Even humans are derided by the Giant-Crusher description: “Man has grown feeble in comparison to his forebears”. The Vulgar Militia Ashes say that “In the Lands Between, the small were scorned, and so they formed their vulgar militia as a means to make a living”. Given the tale the land is weaving in front of us, this makes a lot of sense.

If we move to the cliffside and Radahn’s beach arena, we see for the third time this archaic, giant, arched pillar architecture. Its stone finish seems just as in-tact as in previous locations, which shows a resilience to Scarlet Rot that may help to date it. To add to the mix, we have the Golem enemies, and the Divine Towers, which both seem to feature very similar designs, as well the same slightly softened stone that feels as though it has stood the test of time and natural erosion. However, going into such lore will have to wait for another episode so stay tuned for that. In the center of Caelid is the Swamp of Aeonia, a very important location that will require its own deep dive. For now though, note that it appears to be a rot-water source that continually bubbles up. Something that we will come back to in a bit.

In the far east of Caelid we have the Bestial Sanctum, which also links to Farum Azula. Not only is it accessed by the Farum Greatbridge, but it too has highly similar architecture and unlike the ruins in Limgrave or Liurnia, beasts are featured within the stone itself. What is worth noting about the Bridge, and the structure below the Bestial Sanctum, is that these are built specifically for these locations. They fit the coastline geography. So, was Farum always a flying city, or was it grounded at some point? Or, is ‘Farum’ in fact the name of the culture, and thus every location might simply have the Farum prefix. After all, there is another Greatbridge in the Crumbling city. If this was the naming culture, it may mean there were multiple such Farum cities that in descriptions get grouped in a similar way to the Eternal Cities. Thus would the civilisation have exerted a wide control over both land and sky, and perhaps is how they reached Limgrave and Liurnia. Either way, is it a fearsome power to be sure.