In my last published post, I talked about the Shadow of the Erdtree trailer and my baseless theories about what the DLC will contain. And who everyone is. I want to repeat that it’s all sheer speculation, but let’s be honest–most of the theories are. Some of the professional lore people have bases, yes, but other people, even enthusiastic fans are just spitballing. I’ve seen it in the past, and it’s great fun, don’t get me wrong. But we’re all still guessing in the end.
Funnily enough, one thing that I have been stalwart about and has proven to be true is that there will not be a Bloodborne sequel. Everyone loved that game and were panting for a sequel. For whatever reason, I felt as if it was a self-contained game. Every time a game conference rolled around, people swore that an announcement for a sequel would happen. I was adamant there wouldn’t be one.
When the tease for Sekiro was rleleased, it was a still of the prosthetic arm. People swore it was a wolfman’s arm from Bloodborne. It clearly was not, but people were looking with their hearts and not their eyes. I will note that I have been right thus far and that there has been no sequel. My totally unfounded assumption was that any time FromSoft worked with a publisher who wasn’t Bandai Namco Bandai (they change their name from Bandai Namco to Namco Bandai sometimes, which is funny to me), they were loaded with restrictions that made them reluctant to work more with them.
I feel that’s more likely with Activision who published Sekiro. The reason I feel that way is because of a few things. One, they didn’t do any DLC for that game. Well, no real DLC, anyway. They implemented a boss gauntlet, but that’s not real DLC. In addition, they had a map, but it was hidden in options. You had to press two buttons, I think, to get there–and it’s just a boring map of the overworld. Like, “Ashina, Hirata,” etc. It gave “We were made to do this” energy, and I am convinced Activision made them include a map. This was From’s, “You want a map? FINE!” moment.
In addition, there were some accessibility concessions that From has not put in other games and a bit of a more explicit tutorial. I feel that was Activision as well. Activision sucks for a lot of reasons, and I feel that they were probably heavy-handed during the process. In other words, From did not want to work again with them. That’s pure speculation. The best ending in the game was set up for a great sequel, which makes me think they had intended to do Sekiro 2, but then bailed.
I have to say, it’s been interesting to watch FromSoft go from a plucky almost indie (not indie, but indie in spirit) niche developer to one of the most respected AAA devs out there. And still. I get the feeling that they will work with anyone who will have them–and allow them to do what they want. I think that’s another reason they did not work with Activision again–they were probably more controlling than made FromSoft comfortable.
Anyway. Back to the Shadow of the Erdtree trailer. It’s a masterpiece. The end. No. I want to talk about my wildest theory that I’m becoming more enamored with. Obviously, *spoilers*, kinda. The DLC is not out, but just general spoilers. In order to talk about it, we have to chat about our Finger Maiden Melina. She’s not our finger maiden, exactly, but she works in that capacity.
Here’s what we know about her. She’s the daughter of Queen Marika and has an ‘M’ name like the rest of Queen Marika’s children. She’s the one who takes you to the Roundtable Hold for the first time. Even further back, she’s the one who finds you after you die to the tutorial boss. She’s with Torrent and talks about your potential. She’s also the one who gives you Torrent. And the one who levels you up for the first time.
She meets you at different bonfires, er sites of grace, and gives you more lore. She hints as to her own destiny and story. She wants you to reach the Erdtree and then, if I remember, she sets herself on fire because that’s what Finger Maidens do.
That’s a very truncated version of all the dialogue you can have with her. At one point, she talks about her mother’s destiny for her and her own destiny. It’s the latter that interests me. Yes, she goes up in flame, but that doesn’t mean she’s dead. There is a shot in the beginning of the video of a pair of legs in a dress. Just the feet, actually. A fancy pale blue dress. Most people seem to think it’s Melina. There’s nothing that says that, but if it is, then she’s at Mohg’s arena where you enter the DLC. Then, at the end of the trailer as they show the Tarnished fighting Mesmer, a woman’s voice comes on to tell you to touch the withered arm and that she’ll see you later.
Is it Melina? It doesn’t sound exactly like her, but it could be a different version of her. Some people think it’s Ranni, but it’s definitely not her. Anyway, I’m going to say it’s her and that she’s calling you into the DLC because that’s her destiny. Look. Why can’t the big baddie be a woman? Malenia is in the main game, after all, and she is the biggest baddie of all. And, let’s note that Melina’s name is not that far off Malenia. So why shouldn’t Melina who is presumably a sibling of Malenia’s (if you follow all the twists and turns of lore) be Mesmer?
Oh my god! Melina could be Miquella! No. I’m not going that far. Miquella is blond and eternally a child. That is not Melina. When I say that Melina is a daughter of Marika, that is heavily implied. But it’s never actually said. She does talk about her mother, and apparently it’s been datamined that her name in the files is Mericasdaughter or something like that. So, she’s probably Marika’s daughter, but if she’s not, maybe she’s Malenia’s. A truly wild theory I just came up with about an hour ago–she’s the daughter of Malenia and Radahn. Yes, they fought to an eternal standstill, but Radagon and Rennala were fighting eternally against each other until Radagon wooed and won over Rennala.
I don’t believe that at all. I’m mostly wedded to the theory that Melina is Mesmer. And the child of Marika and Radagon. The female voice at the end of the trailer ends by saying, “May we meet again.” So if it’s Melina and she’s Mesmer (who everyone presumes will be the last boss of the DLC), well, then it makes perfect sense. All of it. I brook no argument. The end.