Answers to a lot of questions in Elden Ring Runes lore are available scattered throughout The Lands Between, but lore regarding Melina remains uncertain.

Elden Ring is shaping as much as probably the most influential game releases of their entire generation, and also the hauntingly beautiful realm of The Lands Between reaches the core of their success. Featuring what's likely probably the most well-realized setting ever crafted by FromSoftware, Elden Ring has maintained its cultural status after more than a year of competition since its initial launch. Between the hours of facing an array of deadly foes and regions of treacherous terrain alike, a nuanced narrative acts because the glue holds all of the elements together. With Elden Ring’s lore being probably the most heavily analyzed within the genre to date, the touching yet ambiguous characters that form it are it is true lifeblood.

While many characters fill the cast of Elden Ring's The Lands Between, rarely does a tale ever add up to much more than the usual vignette when it comes to direct exposition. The “Soulsborne” genre is infamous for delivering its lore in subtle hints scattered through the levels of the game, and Elden Ring’s nearly post-apocalyptic landscape isn't any exception. As players journey to vanquish the demigods and be Elden Lord, a vivid picture of the power struggle around the Golden Order is painted. One major character, however, defies understanding and appears to be left as much as interpretation regardless of how much the ball player searches for details.

Melina’s Uncanny Connection to Ranni

One consistent trope across a lot of FromSoftware’s RPGs is a maiden who assists the ball player, and also the character Melina fills this role in Elden Ring. Seemingly an easy analog towards the Maiden in Black of Demon’s Souls, Doll of Bloodborne, or Emerald Herald of Dark Souls 2, Melina seems to simply be an NPC that allows the Tarnished to level up. As the storyline of Elden Ring progresses, however, just about any aspect of the world receives context and lore aside from her. Barely ever becoming directly associated with the story, Melina is much more than the self-sacrificing, selfless maiden that they present herself to become.

As one of the few forces acting from the Greater Will, Melina is visible as parallel to Ranni the Witch. If the ball player chooses to determine Ranni’s questline through, the path towards the Age of Stars ending sees opposition towards the Greater Will that's reminiscent of Melina’s decision to imbue a Tarnished using the power of Runes. Furthermore, Ranni is really a spectral being acquiring a doll's body and Melina is identical to the “true” spirit face that's seen transparently manifested alongside this doll. Melina similarly appears to be a non-physical apparition because of the fake Finger Maiden from the player, but this parallel isn't addressed throughout the entire game.

It may not be officially confirmed, however, it appears that Ranni and Melina are generally directly related as sisters or somehow two halves of the same being. The biggest hints concerning the origin of Melina come within the form of her vague dialogue pieces regarding her past, a history that may hold the secret to Elden Ring’s entire scenario. Melina directly tells the ball player that she was created inside the Erdtree and given purpose there by her mother, heavily implying that they are Empyreans born under Queen Marika. This revelation also comes using the statement by Melina that her spectral form is really a direct consequence of her body being burned away, the very same fate that Ranni met.

Is Melina the Alter Ego of the Gloam-Eyed Queen?

The Gloam-Eyed Queen, also known because the Dusk-eyed Queen, is really a character only mentioned in item descriptions despite her massive importance within the events leading as much as Elden Ring. She was believed to control Destined Death before Marika had Maliketh seize this control to produce the deathless world observed in Elden Ring. The Gloam-Eyed Queen was believed to have birthed the order from the Godskin, providing them with the power from the Black Flame that could kill even gods when death still existed.

With the Godskins delivering Destined Death to the demigod children of Marika and fashioning garments using their targets, it’s possible this conflict incited the present deathless Golden Order observed in Elden Ring. The Black Flame is believed to have had the ability to burn through anything once the Rune of Death is at the place, a trait that's shared through the Frenzied Flame of Elden Ring. An unexpected conflict with Melina will arise and offer probably the most valuable considering her true nature if the ball player goes down the dark path of achieving Elden Ring's Flame of Frenzy ending, as she seems to reveal herself because of the Gloam-Eyed Queen all along.

If the gods of The Lands Between enter into power by force, it makes sense that Marika and her beast partner might have attacked the ruling Gloam-Eyed Queen and taken within the ancient version from the Elden Ring observed in Crumbling Farum Azula. With the Rune of Death sealed away before the Night of Black Knives, the Gloam-Eyed Queen might have been killed together with her version from the Erdtree, left “burnt and bodiless”. The manifestation from the spirit for this body might be seen as a kind of “birth”, leading towards the creation of Melina.

While it might have seemed Ranni and Melina might be sisters of some type initially, the reality could be a lot more complicated. Ranni was the real mastermind behind the Night of Black Knives that caused the half-death of Godwyn, and her theft of the fragment from the Rune of Death facilitated this whole operation. The power of death was imbued into the Black Knives by Ranni, however for her to distribute this power she might have needed to first absorb it into her very own self.

The true body of Ranni is located burnt and scarred using the Cursemark of Death, and maybe her spirit continues to be similarly marked. Melina’s ghostly attachment to Ranni could just be a vestige of her presence within the Rune of Death that continues to be so closely tied to the witch through the time from the Tarnished. While the reality of Melina’s character continues to be left unknown by FromSoftware, players can get the upcoming Shadow from the Erdtree DLC to include even more depth towards the lore of cheap elden ring runes once the time comes.

Elden Ring has gone out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.