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| “ | Godwyn the Golden fought to the last, Earning the friendship of dread Fortissax. | „ |
| ~ A sword monument describing Godwyn's triumph and befriending of Fortissax |
| “ | Someone stole a fragment of the Rune of Death from Maliketh, the Black Blade. And on a bitter night, murdered Godwyn the Golden. That was the first recorded Death of a demigod in all history. | „ |
| ~ Sorcerer Rogier on Godwyn's assassination |
Godwyn the Golden, later known as the Prince of Death is a major character in the 2022 dark fantasy RPG game Elden Ring. He is the son of Marika the Eternal and her first husband, Lord Godfrey, as well as the older brother of Morgott and Mohg.
During an event called the Night of Black Knives, Godwyn was murdered by the enigmatic Black Knife Assassins. Although he is recorded to be the first demigod to ever die, in truth both he and his stepsister, Lunar Princess Ranni, actually died at the same time. But while she perished in the flesh and her soul lived on while tied to a doll, Godwyn's soul was killed while his surviving body endured in a perpetual state of deathly decay. Thus, he became a monstrosity known as the Prince of Death; spreading Deathblight and giving rise to Those Who Live in Death.
After the fall of Godwyn, the Elden Ring was shattered by the hand of Queen Marika, presumably in response to her son's death, which became the catalyst for the Shattering, where most of the other demigods fought in cataclysmic battles amongst themselves to claim their great runes and become Elden Lord.
Appearance[]
In the time before his assassination, Godwyn appears as a tall demigod with long flowing golden hair and also wears a long dark-blue skirt. Although much of his face is unseen, what little can be glimpsed in his pre-Shattering appearances is that he is fair-skinned, his face is clean-shaven and his general facial features appear to be angular.
When he became the Prince of Death, his appearance has been altered, making him a gigantic, aquatic-like but unrecognizable being with a malformed face and a fish tail. His body appears to have lost a lot of flesh with Deathroot sprouting from it. He wears oversized golden bracelets on his now-skinny wrists and his hands have slightly long fingernails and webbed fins between his fingers.
Biography[]
Godwyn was born as the son of Queen Marika the Eternal and Godfrey the First Elden Lord. During his lifetime, he was admired and revered as a hero and champion of the Erdtree. Because he is nicknamed 'The Golden', he is a scion of the Golden Lineage, the royal bloodline that originated from Marika and Godfrey's union.
Befriending Fortissax[]
During the Age of the Erdtree, the royal capital of Leyndell was attacked by Ancient Dragon Gransax, which marked the first time Leyndell's walls had fallen. Because of this attack, this soon led to the war against the Ancient Dragons. During the great battle, Godwyn, being a mighty and formidable warrior like his father, fought against the powerful Ancient Dragon Fortissax. Fighting to the end, Godwyn ultimately prevailed against his foe, earning himself the dragon's respect and friendship in the process.
This newly-formed friendship brought an official end to the war as well as the rise of the capital's Ancient Dragon Cult, whose members worship the Ancient Dragons and learned how to master lightning incantations. Though it was permitted by the Golden Order and that the lightning is imbued with gold, however, red-hued lightning incantations were also taught, but in secrecy.
Death[]
Godwyn meeting his end.
At an unknown point, Godwyn's half-sister Lunar Princess Ranni was chosen to be a potential Empyrean candidate to one day succeed her step-mother Queen Marika as the next divine ruler of the Lands Between. However, Ranni did not want to become a pawn to the Greater Will and its agents, the Two Fingers, and sought to escape the future that would be prepared for her. Stealing a fragment of the rune of Death from Marika's shadowbound beast and half-brother Mailketh, Ranni forged the godslaying knives of the Black Knife assassins through a fearsome rite.
As she seeks to preserve her spirit, Ranni knew that someone else has to die as well, as she plotted for the assassins to murder said person, in which he/she will die only in soul while Ranni will kill herself in the flesh, allowing her to be freed of her fate. The Black Knife Assassins chose their target in Godwyn the Golden, though their reason behind their decision is unknown. Slipping into the royal capital of Leyndell one night, they assassinated Godwyn and carved half of the Cursemark of Death into his back while Ranni etched the other half into her own body. Ultimately, while Ranni died in the flesh, Godwyn's soul perished while his body survived.
The Cursemark of Death was supposed to form a complete circle, but as both Ranni and Godwyn had unexpectedly died at the same time, it was split into two half wheels.
Burial[]
Soon after his death, Godwyn was given the honor of Erdtree burial, and he was buried deep below Leyndell at Deeproot Depths at the bottom of the Erdtree's roots. Due to lacking a soul, his still-living body was unable to die a true death and is forever cursed to live in death. The Rune of Death's influence began to spread from Godwyn's body and onto the Erdtree's roots, sprouting Deathroot throughout the Lands Between, leading to the rise of Those Who Live in Death.
Seeking to free his friend from the death within him, Fortissax entered Godwyn's death dream and tried to combat the death within Godwyn, but in vain, as he was ultimately corrupted by the blight, becoming a lichdragon in the process. As Deathroot continued to spread widely, the Erdtree roots were disconnected from those below. Because of the current condition Godwyn is in, several people tried to look for a way to make him to die a true and complete death, but none were successful; Godwyn's half-brother Miquella and the knights of Castle Sol worked hard to achieve an eclipse under the belief that it would restore Godwyn's soul.
Becoming the Prince of Death[]
Godwyn as the Prince of Death.
Due to no longer having a soul and being forced to live in death, Godwyn's body would eventually transform into a malformed and unrecognizable abberation known as the Prince of Death and would multiply and manifest itself as cadaver surrogates across the Lands Between and in the Realm of Shadow. Former members of the Ancient Dragon Cult alongside members of Godwyn's personal guard would come to embrace their master's death by becoming Death Knights, an order of knights sworn to the Prince of Death.
External Links[]
- Godwyn the Golden on the Elden Ring Wiki.
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