The Frenzied Flame, and, well, all other Outer Gods in Elden Ring once again prove that Miyazaki and FromSoft understand “Eldritch” more than pretty much every other dedicated Lovecraft-inspired piece of media, despite their games not being touted and markete as being Lovecraft-inspired.
There’s plenty we could say about the Dark Moon, the Scarlet Rot, and the other Outer Gods in Elden Ring, but I want to talk about the Frenzied Flame specifically.
First of all, I want to say that I expected the Frenzied Flame ending to just be another entry into the Arbitrary Decisions ending of FromSoft games where things are just sort of ambiguous and the rest? Well, figure it out, shithead. No no, it’s pretty damn explicit what’s going on in Frenzied Flame: You burn and kill almost all life in the Lands Between, or, well, you start that process, since everything doesn’t die instantly, but it’s clear that’s the way it’s going.
That is straightforward in and of itself, but the reasons as to why this ending is as it is are far more fascinating:
The Frenzied Flame embodies what a lot of self-proclaimed Eldritch media doesn’t get: A set of values alien to humans. The Frenzied Flame truly believes this is the best way to proceed, what’s best and healthy for the Lands Between. Its intentions are legitimately good. Now, what is the Frenzied Flame trying to accomplish? Well, Hyetta, the communicator of the Flame’s will, explains to us that once upon a time, in the Lands Between, existed a being, the One Great, and that “life”, as we know it, is a mistake. The Great Will, another outer god, sent the Elden Beast and the Elden Ring to the Lands Between, which shattered the One Great into all the life we know in the Lands Between. If you recall, it is mentioned time and again that Marika and her faction had to wage plenty of wars with many creatures in the Lands Between, and that the Erdtree was initially opposed to all life in the Lands, leading credence to the idea that the Erdtree is an alien, unwelcome edifice in the first place that won its place through warfare and violence.
The Frenzied Flame believes that this life, all that “distinguishes and separates”, is a mistake, a mistake of the greatest caliber, and that the only way to undo this mistake, to bring health and stability and all that is good in the world, back to the world, is to burn it all down and melt it back into the One Great.
That’s why the Lord of Frenzied Flame, if crowned, is destined to burn everything, not just the interloping Erdtree, everything, back to its primordial foundations, so it may be melted and melded back into its rightful form: The One Great.
Yes, it is sheer lunacy, but it is internally consistent sheer lunacy, and a train of thoughts, ideas, and ideals that one can follow, even if one can’t relate to it. That’s Eldritch. At the same time, the Frenzied Flame makes perfect sense and it’s goal is sheer lunacy.
It’s incredibly fascinating. What a good piece of world-building.
izzy806
vaporwave
stormborns
theartofmadeline
germansingergirl
dailybridgerton
kaledo-art
