What makes Empyreans different from other Dimigods?
Is it just a title for those chosen to take Marika’s place or do they have a special quality to them?
yes, empyreans do have a special quality to them that goes beyond just a title… they are distinct amongst the demigods because they’ve specifically been chosen as a candidate for godhood in a way that is embedded within their very being!
ranni’s dialogue tells us a LOT about empyreans:
“I was once an Empyrean. Of the demigods, only I, Miquella, and Malenia could claim that title. Each of us was chosen by our own Two Fingers, as a candidate to succeed Queen Marika, to become the new god of the coming age. […] But I would not acquiesce to the Two Fingers. I stole the Rune of Death, slew mine own Empyrean flesh, casting it away. I would not be controlled by that thing.”
empyreanhood is something bestowed specifically by the two fingers, the envoys of the greater will. ranni essentially tells us that being named an empyrean gives the fingers a level of control over her “empyrean flesh” that only separating her soul from her body can free her from. her conflict is that she desires to create her own world order independent from the two fingers’ influence by ascending to godhood on her OWN TERMS!
in marika’s case, her rule over the lands between had been as a representative of the two fingers and of the greater will, and we see how her shattering of the elden ring results in the two fingers crucifying her and sealing her away in the erdtree as punishment. enia quotes the two fingers as saying:
“Marika's trespass demanded a heavy sentence. But even in shackles, she remains a god, and the vision's vessel.”
this being a physical punishment forced upon marika, with ranni’s own fears about the two fingers in mind, makes me feel that control of her body had been wrested from her by the two fingers.
also worth noting, miquella also divests himself of his empyrean flesh on his own road to godhood — though he himself never specifically mentions the two fingers or the greater will, count ymir tells us he is trying to sever himself from his “rotten roots:”
“They were each of them defective. Unhinged, from the start. Marika herself. And the fingers that guided her. And this is what troubles me. No matter our efforts, if the roots are rotten, …then we have little recourse.”
“Ever-young Miquella saw things for what they were. He knew that his bloodline was tainted. His roots mired in madness.”
ymir implies ranni and miquella have had their destiny as empyreans thrust upon them by an entity long corrupted… so in order to make their destiny their own, they have to physically sever that tie to the old system!
malenia is kind of a unique case because she never intends to ascend to godhood herself due to her loyalty to her twin, but her empyreanhood is sort of “hijacked” by the scarlet rot… rather than rotting away, she becomes a vector for the scarlet rot’s proliferation, an avatar of the rot’s divine will (which she attempts to avoid). gowry tells us this:
“She was born an Empyrean, carrying the scarlet rot. An Empyrean... is no mere demigod. […] A new god to forge a new Order. Since Malenia fought Radahn, and the great scarlet flower blossomed in Aeonia, I have dedicated myself to her. And to the resplendence of the Order of Rot. The cycle of decay and rebirth.”
malenia’s “curse” of being physically afflicted with the scarlet rot is more like an opportunity for the scarlet rot to flourish within this empyrean’s new age, should she ascend to godhood. just as gowry says, an empyrean is no mere demigod with a title, they are divinely ordained with the destiny to become the god of a new age, which manifests itself within their physical flesh.
it should also be said that the most recent generation of empyreans — malenia, miquella, and ranni — are the ones given the title to succeed queen marika; however, the title of empyrean has been around longer than this generation! the gloam eyed queen is also called an empyrean… we know very little about the time she was active, but she could have been part of marika’s generation of empyreans and vied for dominance at the same time, with marika ultimately defeating her. I wonder if she would have ascended to godhood if she had won, despite her faction dedicated to skinning gods??
anyway!! it’s so interesting that the game continuously frames godhood as a prison, and depicts this new generation of empyreans as being confined by the destiny within their physical bodies, which they endeavor to escape!
