Something I don't think enough people talk about in Elden Ring lore is the usurpation of Marika by Radagon.
It's subtle, but the signs are all there. The most obvious are in their statues and portraits.
Marika is bowing her head and in shadow. Radagon is looking towards the Erdtree with his head held high. The choice to have his hand sticking out towards the viewer is a really odd one. He wants to emphasize that pose. The power difference between these two pictures is staggering.
Then there are the statues at the churches:
Marika is again bowing her head and her arms are up in the same crucifixion pose she's in at the end of the game, while Radagon is in a cruciform pose. Superimpose the two, and he's the cross she's hung on. Plus, behind him is the lattice that seals off the Erdtree. Her feet aren't on the ground, while his feet are and are surrounded by roots (a common symbol in statues throughout the Lands Between). And if these two statues were made by the same sculptor at the same time, then all the statues across the lands between were replaced at around the same time, replacing any possible depictions of Godfrey as well as older depictions of Marika.
And we know what those older depictions looked like! Look at the Stake of Marika (when it isn't broken, that is):
This is more likely an older depiction. Her arms are wide for an embrace, not suspended above her. She's looking down in benevolence, not defeat.
We see the same pose in the intro, her statue looking down on the dead Tarnished being sent home. Since this takes place outside the Lands Between, this must be the depiction that the Tarnished carried with them:
And then there's the Church of Pilgrimage in the Weeping Peninsula. This is where the Tarnished left from and were supposed to one day return. There's a statue of Radagon there, but Melina doesn't mention him. She just mentions Godfrey.
Then, after thy death, I will give back what I once claimed.
Return to the Lands Between, wage war, and brandish the Elden Ring.
Grow strong in the face of death. Warriors of my lord. Lord Godfrey.
Think about this. Really think about it. Why would she want them to come back? Why would she want them to wage war against her?
She refers to Radagon as "leal hound of the Golden Order" while dressing him down. To me, this implies that she is currently at odds with the Golden Order. And if you think about it, none of the Golden Order spells refer to her. Some of the Erdtree incantations do. But there's very little even mentioning her once Radagon is her husband.
It just seems really obvious to me that Radagon was the one calling the shots in the last days before the Shattering.
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