Like previous FromSoftware games, Elden Ring is filled with cryptic lore. Every NPC and boss in the game is shrouded in mystery, just waiting for fans to put the pieces together. Nothing is ever explained in a straightforward manner or with full context. This includes the player’s role in the story as well.
From the very beginning of the game, the player learns that they are a Tarnished. They also learn that multiple other NPCs in the game are Tarnished too. These characters and the player have all returned to the Lands Between. The game gives very little direct information about what being Tarnished means. However, by piecing together the lore, the term can examined and explicated upon. Here is a what a Tarnished is, based on in-game history and information.
The First of the Tarnished in Elden Ring
To understand the Tarnished, it’s important to understand their origin in the Lands Between. The first Elden Lord and husband to Queen Marika, Godfrey, was also the first Tarnished. Godfrey fought in Queen Marika’s wars against the Giants and the Storm Lord. After he had defeated these enemies, he had fulfilled his purpose for Marika. He was then banished from the Lands Between and became the first Tarnished.
When he left the Lands Between, Godfrey changed his name to Hoarah Loux and became chieftain of the Badland warriors. After the Elden Ring was shattered, Godfrey returned to the Lands Between. He planned to reclaim his title as Elden Lord and restore the Golden Order. This is when the player encounters him at the end of the game blocking the path to Queen Marika.
Who Are Elden Ring’s Tarnished?
Godfrey wasn’t the only person who was banished from the Lands Between. His army was also banished alongside him. The great warriors of the Lands Between were stripped of the Erdtree’s grace and driven out. While in exile, the Tarnished often fought and died in foreign lands, constantly struggling. It seems to have been Queen Marika’s desire to have the Tarnished face great hardship while exiled.
When the Elden Ring was shattered, all the slain Tarnished rose from the dead. During the opening cinematic of the game, the dead bodies of the important Tarnished NPCs are shown being revived by the Erdtree’s grace. Dung Eater, Fia, Gideon Ofnir, Godrey, and the Tarnished of no renown (the player) are all seen in this cutscene.
Upon being revived, the Tarnished are guided back to the Lands Between by the Erdtree’s grace. Once back, many Tarnished are abandoned by grace and left stranded. These Tarnished grow bitter and angry at their hopeless state. They join organizations like the Volcano Manor and Bloody Fingers that hunt down their fellow brethren.
Why Were the Tarnished Revived?
Queen Marika is both the person who banished the Tarnished and the one who beckoned their return to the Lands Between. There is no clear reason given for any of these actions. The only whisper of an answer lies in Queen Marika’s desire to grow stronger from the hardships and deaths they experienced while exiled. Gideon Ofnir says that Marika wants the Tarnished to struggle for eternity.
Fans can only speculate on Marika’s true motivation. It seems that at a certain point in her life, Marika became disillusioned with the Golden Order and the Elden Ring. Banishing the Tarnished, breaking the Elden Ring, and then summoning the Tarnished back were all part of her plan. Whatever the true purpose of Marika’s actions, the Tarnished was a key part of it in her plot against the Greater Will.
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