The world of Elden Ring does not hand you its story neatly. Instead it scatters fragments across item descriptions, NPC dialogue, ruined temples, and the occasional suspiciously glowing corpse. Piecing together the history of the Lands Between feels less like reading a chronicle and more like rummaging through an ancient archive after someone kicked over the shelves.
Yet once those fragments are arranged in order, a surprisingly coherent history appears. Empires rise. Gods intervene. Dynasties collapse in spectacular fashion.
What follows is the full timeline of Elden Ring, starting with the arrival of the Greater Will and ending with the age of shattered demigods and wandering Tarnished.
The Age Before the Erdtree
Long before the Erdtree dominated the skyline, the Lands Between existed under older and stranger powers.
Dragons ruled vast territories during this primordial age. These were not mere beasts but ancient beings tied to storms and lightning. Their civilisation centred on Farum Azula, a floating city that still drifts through the sky like a relic of a forgotten era.
Key elements of this earliest age include:
- The rule of ancient dragons such as Dragonlord Placidusax
- Storm based power structures tied to draconic rule
- Beastmen serving the dragons as retainers
- A world not yet shaped by the Golden Order
Placidusax himself is described as an Elden Lord of an earlier age, which suggests the Elden Ring existed even before the rise of Marika.
Eventually this dragon civilisation declined. Whether it fell through divine intervention or slow decay remains uncertain, though the arrival of a new cosmic power appears to have changed everything.
The Arrival of the Greater Will
At some point an outer god known as the Greater Will intervened in the world.
This entity sent the Elden Beast to the Lands Between. The Elden Beast carried the Elden Ring, a metaphysical structure that governs reality itself. Whoever controls the Elden Ring effectively defines the laws of the world.
The Greater Will then chose a vessel.
That vessel was Queen Marika the Eternal.
Through Marika the Golden Order began to take shape. The Erdtree grew into the central symbol of divine authority, towering over the Lands Between and distributing blessings known as grace.
This marked the beginning of a new era dominated by divine monarchy.
The Rise of Queen Marika
Marika became the central ruler of the Lands Between and established the Golden Order as the dominant belief system.
She did not rule alone. Marika took Godfrey as her first consort and made him the first Elden Lord.
Godfrey and his warriors conquered much of the world during this period.
Major events from this era include:
- The unification wars led by Godfrey
- The defeat of rival powers across the Lands Between
- The establishment of Leyndell as the capital
- The formalisation of the Golden Order
Godfrey’s warriors eventually lost the blessing of grace. Marika stripped them of their status and exiled them from the Lands Between.
These exiles became known as the Tarnished.
Which is awkward, because that decision will later come back to haunt everyone.
The Age of the Golden Order
After Godfrey’s exile, Marika took a second consort.
This was Radagon, a mysterious champion who had previously fought against the Golden Order before becoming one of its most devoted figures. Radagon eventually became the second Elden Lord.
During this period the Golden Order reached its peak.
Key developments included:
- The dominance of Erdtree worship
- The rise of powerful demigods, children of Marika
- The spread of Golden Order theology across the Lands Between
- The creation of powerful magical traditions tied to the Erdtree
Marika and Radagon produced several demigod children, including:
- Malenia
- Miquella
Meanwhile earlier children from Marika’s first union included:
- Godwyn the Golden
- Morgott
- Mohg
These demigods would eventually become the central figures in the catastrophe that followed.
The Night of the Black Knives
One of the most important turning points in Elden Ring history is the Night of the Black Knives.
During this event a group of assassins stole fragments of the Rune of Death. Using blades infused with this forbidden power they assassinated Godwyn the Golden.
Godwyn’s death had strange consequences.
Instead of dying normally, his soul perished while his body remained alive in a twisted, undead state. This event corrupted the roots of the Erdtree and introduced the phenomenon known as Deathroot.
The assassins responsible were known as the Black Knife assassins, who were connected to the mysterious Lunar Princess Ranni.
Ranni herself used the same ritual to destroy her own physical body while preserving her spirit.
Why this happened remains one of the game’s most intriguing mysteries.
But it triggered the collapse of the Golden Order.
The Shattering of the Elden Ring
Following Godwyn’s death, Queen Marika shattered the Elden Ring.
Why she did this remains unclear. Some theories suggest grief. Others hint at rebellion against the Greater Will.
Radagon attempted to repair the Elden Ring but failed.
The result was a fragmented world where the Elden Ring existed only as scattered pieces known as Great Runes.
Each rune was claimed by one of the demigods.
This act shattered both the physical structure of the world and its political order.
The Golden Age ended overnight.
The War of the Shattering
Once the Elden Ring broke apart, the demigods fought to claim supremacy.
This conflict became known as the Shattering War.
Major clashes during this period included:
- Malenia vs Radahn, one of the most destructive battles in the game’s lore
- The rise of Mohg and his blood cult
- Morgott defending Leyndell from rival claimants
- Rykard turning against the Erdtree and embracing the serpent god
The war devastated the Lands Between.
Armies were destroyed. Entire regions collapsed into ruin. Scarlet rot spread across Caelid after Malenia unleashed her power during the battle with Radahn.
Despite all this destruction, none of the demigods managed to become the new Elden Lord.
The war ended in stalemate.
The Lands Between entered a long period of decay.
The Return of the Tarnished
With the demigods locked in endless conflict, the Greater Will turned to a surprising solution.
The exiled Tarnished were summoned back to the Lands Between.
Guided by faint traces of grace, these warriors returned from distant lands with one goal.
Claim the fragments of the Elden Ring and become Elden Lord.
This is where the player enters the story.
The Tarnished travels across the Lands Between defeating demigods, claiming Great Runes, and uncovering the deeper secrets of the Golden Order.
What happens next depends entirely on the path chosen.
Several endings are possible, each representing a different future for the world.
The Possible New Ages
The conclusion of Elden Ring does not settle on a single canonical ending. Instead it presents multiple possible futures.
These include:
- The restoration of the Golden Order
- The Age of Stars led by Ranni
- The Age of Duskborn tied to Those Who Live in Death
- The Age of Order which attempts to perfect the Golden Order
- The chaotic Lord of Frenzied Flame ending
Each ending reshapes the laws governing the Lands Between.
In other words the Tarnished does not simply become ruler.
They redefine reality.
No pressure.
How Shadow of the Erdtree Changes the Timeline
The expansion introduced new context for Miquella and the hidden lands connected to the Erdtree.
While the broader timeline remains intact, several new details complicate earlier assumptions about the Golden Order and Marika’s motives.
Key revelations include:
- Greater emphasis on Miquella’s ambitions and influence
- Deeper insight into divine lineage and competing powers
- Additional hints about the relationship between outer gods and the Lands Between
The expansion does not rewrite the timeline but adds more depth to its darker corners.
As usual with FromSoftware lore, every answer opens two new questions.
Seven Swords Takeaway
The history of Elden Ring reads like a mythological epic told through ruins.
A cosmic god intervenes. A divine queen rises to power. Her children inherit unimaginable strength and promptly destroy everything in a succession war.
Somewhere in the aftermath a Tarnished wanderer arrives, picks up the pieces, and decides what the next age will look like.
For a world filled with dragons, immortal demigods, and cosmic entities, the real story still feels strangely human.
Ambition, betrayal, grief, and power.
Turns out even gods struggle with family drama.
And judging by the state of the Lands Between, their arguments tend to escalate quickly.
Watch: Elden Ring’s Lore Explained
