Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree Theory Puts A Convincing Twist On The Scadutree

seems to raise more questions regarding the game's overall lore than it answers. Many Tarnished went into the Land of Shadow believing that it would clear up some plotlines from the base game that had loose ends, but that wasn't the case. From the initial reveal of the image of a shrouded tree to Messmer and how he fits into the birth order of Queen Marika's children, makes already confusing lore even less clear.

takes place entirely in the Land of Shadow, which can be accessed after defeating Mohg and Radahn, then speaking with Needle Knight Leda near Miquella's Cocoon to teleport to the new area. The Land of Shadow was sealed off by Queen Marika, hiding the atrocities she committed there before and after her ascension to godhood. Quite a few distinct images greet the Tarnished here, such as the spectral gravestones filling the field they enter the area in, but the most noticeable feature has to be the Scadutree with its imposing figure and similarities to the Erdtree.

An interesting detail about the Scadutree in the Land of Shadow has been pointed out by u/echolog on Reddit.Itlooks like the Scadutree is tangled with another tree, and it's incredibly possible, given the lore of, that the second tree is the original Erdtree, and that the Scadutree is strangling it. One key element to this theory is that the Erdtree in the Lands Between is spectral, meanwhile the tree tangled with the Scadutree is bleeding gold sap, which matches the Blessed Dew Talisman's description of the old Erdtree's sap. The Minor Erdtree Incantation shows that Marika can create these illusory trees.

Marika is already a rather tragic figure in Elden Ring, especially as the vessel for the Elden Ring, but a new theory adds more tragedy to her story.

Of course, that's not the only piece of evidence that u/echolog provides to support this theory, although it's a fascinating one. They also point out the description of Root Resin, which says that the roots of the Greattree were once linked to