Hello,Lazuli.
Can you answer some questions?
1) Who is Melina in your opinion, because in my opinion, this is one of the most mysterious characters of Elden Ring (has the power of the Erd Tree, fights like a Black Knife, calls herself the Maiden of Fingers, has a Gloomy Eye and is probably the daughter of Marika born of immaculate conception)?
2) Name of Elden Beast in JP? And why it attacks us, if we have Runes to repair it?
3) What is Great Will in your opinion? It describes like a Cosmic God in EN, but I think that it is something more.
And what means word Elden\ Eld\ Erd?
Melina is Melina. I have read many different theories about Melina's connection to GEQ, Ranni, Marika and there is a food for thought in many of them. But the point that I dispute and don’t understand is the reason why Melina needs to be someone else for her story to work. To me, she is a character with the most straightforward development in entire game. And her development ultimately results in separation from her mother's design and reclaim of a given purpose as her own. She wants to die as her own person and expects from Tarnished to understand her last wish. In my opinion, questions "why Melina is like this?" and "what is thematical meaning of her arc?" are far more compelling than endless attemps to glue her to another characters.
エルデの獣 - Beast of Elde. In Japanese there is no deeper meaning in エルデ, it's written in katakana. In Old English "elde" means age, span of years, era, epoch. We burned the Erdtree and destroyed the vessel of Elden Ring, it's no cosher with Elden Beast. I think it's fighting in a self-defence.
I like the term invented by JP lore-blogger Souls Seed - "Will of the Universe". I have a strong disdain against the Greater Wil l= Abrahamic God reading; massive "christianization" of the lore by Western audiences annoys me to no end. When I've been thinking about the Greater Will's nature, a certain quote from The Eternal Champion series came to my mind... and turns out this saga was an actual source of inspiration for Miyazaki. The sentiment may perceive and love the universe, but the universe cannot perceive and love the sentiment. The universe sees no distinction between the multitude of creatures and elements which comprise it. All are equal. None is favoured. The universe, equipped with nothing but the materials and the power of creation, continues to create: something of this, something of that. It cannot control what it creates and it cannot, it seems, be controlled by its creations (though a few might deceive themselves otherwise). Those who curse the workings of the universe curse that which is deaf. Those who strike out at those workings fight that which is inviolate. Those who shake their fists, shake their fists at blind stars
― Michael Moorcock, The Knight of the Sword
