More elden ring lore!
Thoughts on Vyke, Shabriri, and finger-maidens
So! I've been playing elden ring and going for the frenzied flame ending. Since it is a soulsborne game, I've also been watching hours of lore vids. They've got me back in my basement with my tin-foil hat on, thinking about different interpretations.
So, Vyke! Imo he couldn't have become the lord of frenzied flame.
For us to become the LoFF, we still sacrifice a finger maiden, which is Hyetta. Vyke's maiden was probably already dead when he returned from the shunning grounds. There is also the chance that he wouldn't have sacrificed her anyway.
Since we don't know how he ends up in the evergaol, my theory is that Shabriri tricked him (again) and imprisoned him there. Since he can no longer become the LoFF. Also, he's tarnished and may come back if killed, so trapping him is the safer option.
NEXT, Shabriri. Who/what is he?
Well, I have another post explaining why I think that Shabriri might be a title granted to the "chosen champion" of the frenzied flame/three fingers. And the similarities to the abrahamic Satan. So check that out if you want.
But another theory I've seen getting kicked around that I want to add to is that he was a part of the great caravan.
The most accepted theory about who he is, is that he was a man who slandered the great caravan, which led to them being imprisoned under shunning ground. Which is fine, I guess, but it lacks the old razzle-dazzle for me.
What if the 'slander' bit was a lie. What we know in-game about Shabriri comes from the Golden order. So if it is just propaganda against those who were already judged to be heretics, that adds a little spice imo.
Circling back to the great caravan, I believe that while they originally didn't worship the three-fingers/frenzied flame, they did not worship the golden order. What if Shabriri was the leader of the caravan, and the golden order wanted to make an example of these 'heretics', lied that he slandered something and blinded him, he and the great caravan were then imprisoned. Through suffering and loss, he became mad and was blessed with the frenzied flame.
Now, I'm dabbling in cut content, but Kale was going to have a quest surrounding the great caravan. One of his lines is, "They think that we worshiped the three-fingers?! That we brought the maddening sickness upon them?! Well, if that's what they expect from us, then that's what they shall get from us!"
So what if Shabriri was falsely accused ,that he was originally never a liar/slander.
"What about Shabriri tricking and lying to Vyke and us?!" I hear you cry from the rafters! Well, he is a liar now. He became what the world expected him to be.
We know with relative certainty that he lied to Vyke about saving his finger-maiden. He most likely did the same to us. But I think he lied to us in a tricky way.
Finger-maidens.
So, Shabriri tells us that it's not fair and that shouldn't we save a maiden rather than to sacrifice her. When he talks to us, we assume he's talking about Melina. But, from my understanding, she is not a true finger-maiden. She is only acting the part. Our true maiden (in the FF ending) is Hyetta. So, while Shabriri does lie and trick us, we end up burning a maiden anyway.
I suppose that you don't have to finish Hyetta's quest to get the frenzied flame ending, but imo it makes more sense to do them together. It makes sense to me (in a lore perspective, not gameplay), that to become LoFF, you have to truly understand what loss is. What better way do to that than having the player kill their own maiden. (This is why I think Vyke couldn't have become LoFF. His maiden was killed by someone/something else. Not him.) The other endings, Melina sacrifices herself with the giants flame.
But Hyetta is killed by YOU and YOUR flame.
Note: All of this is for fun, and honestly, I don't think that Miyazaki or G.R.R.M knows what the lore is anymore. And I've learned that I have way to much time on my hands....
*me stuck in another soulsborne lore loop