The true identity of the Wormfaces:
The Woodfolk
This is the first of a duology of posts detailing two of the understandably overlooked pockets of Elden Ring's world. I'll be sure to link to its sister post here once that is done.
In this one we'll look at the Woodfolk, a tribe which resided in Altus Plateau. More specifically, they seemed to have inhabited the vast forest at the center of the region. We know this because their ruins are situated within it, mostly extending to the eastern part of it.
Sadly, we don't get anything else in text besides their name, but context clues can tell us what might have become of this seemingly extinct group of people, in the form of the enemy type found all throughout the forest and nesting in the Woodfolk Ruins. The entire forested area is characterized by the incoherent, ghastly mumbling and groaning of the resident Wormfaces, mysterious beings who can inflict Death Blight and who seemingly worship the Minor Erdtree.
These woods are one of two places where Wormfaces are encountered in the whole game, so could it be that they are what became of the Woodfolk? After all, inhabiting their forest and ruins while no human is in sight would seem to point to that possibility.
The Wormfaces are religious beings. As stated before, they worship the Minor Erdtree in the area. It might be the reason why these creatures have an innate resistance to the Holy element too, as can be seen from their internal stats [x]. They even drop Sacrificial Twigs, which are believed to be twigs of the Erdtree.
Their religious behavior seems relevant to the many items that can be found in the Woodfolk Ruins, most of them relating to the Erdtree.
One is the Icon Shield, which speaks of the Age of Plenty, the very beginning of Marika's rule when the Erdtree produced sacred sap.
Another one is the Golden Slam Ash of War, a technique of the Erdtree Avatars.
Next is the Incantation Wrath of Gold, which states it was discovered after the Shattering of the Elden Ring as a sign of the Erdtree's wrath.
Lastly is a Nomadic Cookbook, which contains the recipe for Warming Stones, objects that hold a healing power reminiscent to that of the Erdtree.
It would be easy to conclude that the Woodfolk are the same as the Wormfaces, and this I believe too. But were they warped by the effects of the spreding Deathroot caused by Godwyn's body? Personally, I think not, for several reasons.
Those who don't live in Death
For starters it's their lack of connection to TWLiD. Despite being capable of inflicting Death Blight they aren't actually undead creatures made to rise again by Godwyn's influence.
Upon being beaten, they have no chance to rise again like Those Who Live in Death, whose essences linger unless killed with Holy weapons and incantations. They simply perish as any other enemy does, and their natural resistence to Holy damage is fully oppposed to the main weakness of all other undead, TWLiD or no. Not to mention, there is no sign of Deathroot anwyhere in the forest, which is unlike any other location where enemies who live in Death reside.
They also appear to have functioning organs, since they can sometimes drop Gold-Tinged Excrement, something that the various skeletons or zombies who live in Death wouldn't normally be able to produce for... obvious reasons lol. And it's even dung of the golden variety, so allegedely full of blessing.
Their behavior differ heavily too. Most Undead are found dormant, activating only when they sense a disturbance approaching. When they aren't dormant they are usually just standing around, or shambling almost aimlessly. The only ones who seem to do more than that are the skeletons of the Grave Keepers, who appear to be reciting something, continuously and without end.
In contrast, the Wormfaces are seen doing many more things. They sit in prayer, they stroll through the woods, they walk in circles around trees, they worship the Minor Erdtree, they lament, they even seem to mourn. One of them can be found sitting before a gravestone, a Miquella's Lily placed before it.
They appear much less aimless, closer to creatures like the Misbegotten or Albinaurics.
That can be seen in the way they adorn themselves. The Wormfaces are draped in moderately decorated cloaks and wraps which are designed to fit their currently-warped form. The garments of the larger ones are even more detailed, making it seem like they are more than capable of sewing their own clothes, which might also explain why Soft Cotton can be found in the Woodfolk Ruins.
They also wield some neatly carved sticks, which they might have made by hand and mended with resin, just as they did their garments.
This all stands in stark contrast with Those Who Live in Death, who wear old rags or consumed armor and wield rusted weapons.
This means their origin doesn't have to be strictly related to the Night of Black Knives and Godwyn's death. However, if that's the case, how can they have developed their uncanny ability to inflict Death Blight? After all, their faces are full of earthworms, which themselves are tied to Death Blight, as they burst from the Tarnished (or Nightfarers) whenever they are inflicted with it.
The game also consistently and directly ties the power to the Prince of Death. This is true, but there is one notable exception!
Ancient roots of Death Blight and the Wormfaces
While Death Blight has become emblematic of Godwyn and his close followers, there are hints to it having existed even beforehand.
The Death Birds become relevant to the conversation. These beings are said to have come from a creature known as the Twinbird, and that in turn, it acts as an envoy to an unseen Outer God who most likely deals in Death.
These creatures, completely unrelated to Godwyn and predating him by several ages, are relevant because of their own ability to prock the deadly sickness by simply screaming!
This could mean that Death Blight itself is something that originates from whatever the Outer God of Death is, which has some interesting implications for what Godwyn has become. Perhaps he is now the chosen herald of the Outer God due to his peculiar condition, much like Malenia and Mohg are for the Rot and Blood Gods.
This also means that the Wormfaces don't have to be tied to Godwyn at all, and might simply be some of the earliest results of this Outer God's influence. Technically not the only ones either, as some of the large Slugs found around the Lands Between, particularly the ones in the Altus forest, are infested by similar worms, which replace their true antennas entirely.
There is more proof as to why they might predate Godwyn and why their Death Blight isn't necessarily tied to him, and it's because of the second group of Wormface we can find in Elden Ring: the ones in the Crumbling Farum Azula.
This prehistoric location predates Godwyn and even the Erdtree by countless generations, yet the Wormfaces are found even here. While Deathroot is found in several spots of Farum Azula, it's nowhere near the small group of these beings here. Instead, they seem located in a pretty tucked-away area with plenty of trees, the most in the whole crumbling city. These ones have different fashion, adorned in detailed wraps and metal accessories.
Since there is no way for these creatures to move from their humble forest to the flying city, it makes it much more likely that their species came from Farum Azula and ended up in the Altus woods.
This would make the Woodfolk prehistoric themselves, much like the Beastmen who served the Ancient Dragons. The reason why even the ones who remained in Farum Azula are similarly blessed could be because they worshiped a previous iteration of the sacred tree (the Greattree?). As for how they can hold Sacrificial Twigs too, the answer might be as simple as remnants of the Erdtree getting even as far as the floating city, as seen from the Golden Seeds that can be found there. Surely, a few branches could have gotten there too.
As for why the Outer God of Death would have any influence in Farum Azula of all places, there does seem to be some double-bird imagery found around the city, which could be a potential reference to the Twinbird, who serves it.
Additionally, the place is an entire floating mausoleum. There isn't a place that's more Death-adjacent than that lol. When it's not the Beastmen embedded in the rock, it's the Ancient Dragons themselves.
This place would be the perfect origin point for a being that controls Death, and the first place where its influence was felt.
Proposed origin of the Woodfolk
The question of how they got separated from Farum Azula remains though, but this one might be easier than it seems.
We know that the Ancient Dragon Capital was hit by a meteorite, shattering it and sending its many pieces plummeting to the ground. This managed to displace a few Beastmen already, as we find a few of them hidden in caves across the Lands Between.
So who is to say this didn't happen to the would-be Woodfolk as well? In fact, the Warming Stones, that we find the recipe for here, are made out of the Ruin Fragments of Farum Azula! Additionally, we can find Gravel Stone within the Woodfolk Ruins as well, which are the broken scales of Ancient Dragons too, yet another connection! Nightreign itself ties the Death Blight ruins that can sometimes appear in Limveld with shards of the crumbling city, and even impaled, dead Drakes, so it feels like we are onto something here!
Maybe the location they inhabit in Altus Plateau could have even been flattened by the impact of a meteorite.
It's not a completely unfounded theory either! There is a mine in the southern part of the forest, which connects to the Perfumer's Grotto, a cave at the other side of the hill they are both dug into. However, the place where they intersect is home to a Malformed Star, the pupa stage of the Fallingstar Beasts, on the verge of becoming a true Astel.
So, these creatures from Farum Azula adapted to their new environment, becoming a forest-dwelling tribe that existed in ancient times, localized entirely within central Altus Plateau.
Now far away from their original home, they probably expanded into the forest, an environment that was surprisingly fitting for them. They already seem to have favored being around trees, as seen from their spot in Farum Azula, but this new land was full of plants and dirt.
At some point, they seem to have disappeared from history, which I will explain shortly. If I had to guess, they retreated underground once the ancient tree they worshiped was felled, making way for the Age of the Crucible and eventually that of the Erdtree, when they would finally return thanks to its growing influence. The ones in Farum Azula likely didn't become dormant like them, since their home is locked beyond time. Perhaps they never even knew their object of worship had disappeared...
Wormface society and the Golden Order
I'll link Zullie's video on the Wormfaces as the source of the datamined internal names of the Wormfaces for my next points, since it's more widely accessible.
As stated in this video, the Wormfaces' internal name is "Déraciné", which means "uprooted/displaced" in French. They are also divided in the smaller males and the larger females. Both of the larger Wormfaces are seen deep in prayer, the one in the forest revering the Minor Erdtree and wearing a pristine white robe, while the one in Farum Azula bows her head constantly. This might mean that the Wormfaces have a matriarcal society, with their leaders taking on the role of religious chiefs as well.
The difference in height between male and female is also reminiscent of the sexual dimorphism found in animals, which feels pretty relevant to their apparent roots in ancient Farum Azula. This might mean the Wormfaces weren't exactly human even when they were yet to be twisted by their writhing guests.
They don't seem to be Beastmen either, especially due to their very humanoid (if disfigured) ears and lack of fur anywhere on their bodies. Instead, they are probably something closer to a different kind of hominid. The females being bigger than the males reminds me of the Demi-Humans, creatures who are undoubtedly primitive but have clear ties to humans.
As for the reason why they chose the word "Déraciné" to describe them, I feel like Zullie's conclusion aligns well with what we have already discussed earlier, with them being from Farum Azula, much more ancient than they first seemed to be. However, the "uprooted" meaning of the word could tell us a missing part of their history too.
As mentioned earlier, they seem to have not been around for some time, and there is proof of this. Most of the unique items in the Woodfolk Ruins all belonged to the Golden Order, while the Wormfaces who inhabit the forest seem to have been much older than it. Leyndell even managed to dig out the previously-discussed Altus Tunnel, found south of the ruins. So it looks like Golden Order settlers expanded into the woods, even planting one of the Minor Erdtrees and likely collecting its sap for its benefits. This implies that they were alone in there, and that they were not aware of the Wormfaces that lived here.
Something must have changed that, and I think it was the growth of the Minor Erdtree itself, its massive roots expanding and moving the very ground, unearthing the dormant beings. If they are just like earthworms, the shifting of the ground could have alerted them, or even just awakened them from some kind of slumber, allowing them to resume their worship of the great sacred trees.
It's clear that the Wormfaces absorbed some of that Holy essence, becoming blessed in spite of their seemingly cursed nature, one closer to Death than the life of the tree. Even so, themes of an opposite power standing besides and coveting the other are found in both Dark Souls, with humans wishing to hold flame and light despite their very dark nature, and Elden Ring itself, with Shadow accompanying Gold and being born at the exact same time... and as we know, the shadow of Gold is Death itself, as per Enia's dialogue.
In turn, the Golden Order was probably unhappy with their presence in the forest and their ties to Death, a power Marika has been trying to suppress for a long time. They probably attempted to get rid of them quite a few times, which explains why two of the artifacts in the ruins are from two different eras of the Order's history. Perhaps they never could quite get rid of them, due to their innate Holy affinity. It might even be part of the reason why they built the bridge that goes over the entire forest, though something like that would be strategically important to build regardless.
Another group that appears hostile to the Wormfaces are the Dominula Dancers in the northern section of the Altus Plateau. They have a little checkpoint at the edge of the woods, with ladies who do not dance, but rather stare into the forest, as if wanting to be ready should anything come through. One of then is even already inside.
In spite of these hostilities, the fondness that the Wormfaces had for the Erdtree is likely the reason why they treasured the Icon Shield and why they feared the Erdtree's wrath when the Shattering happened and shook the world. It might also be the reason why the Guardians of the Minor Erdtree do not seem to harm them, and instead coexist around the large tree. Their pact was only with the Erdtree, so maybe they care little for the nature of the Wormfaces, and only see their blatant devotion and blessed selves.
Alternatively, they simply gave up when the Erdtree Avatar was slain. Recall that there isn't one even though their technique is found here. Perhaps they saw no point in fighting, especially since their faith seems to align anyway. Maybe the Wormface chieftess replaced the Avatar in their eyes. They are part tree by now, so they are likely kind of "mindless", only caring if someone would harm the tree they were sworn to protect.
The fact they are seen together does seem to exclude the idea that Wormfaces are simply Guardians corrupted by Deathroot, which is a theory I heard posited long ago. Their only similarities seem to be their faith and maybe their tendency to rest underground.
A bit of baseless speculation now, but due to their vicinity to the forest, I wonder if the nameless derelict which became the Writheblood Ruins was once a settlement of the Woodfolk too, before their fall. After all, Magnus the Beast Claw, someone who is seemingly a follower of Gurranq due to his wild attire and his ownership of the Clawmark Seal and various Bestial Incantations, which the Beast Clergyman imparts to his Hunters of the Dead.
And he seems to take his job pretty seriously, as he was even taught Gurranq's Beast Claw, an Incantation you can obtain only after giving him eight Deathroots.
It's likely he is found around those parts exactly because it's his job to seek Death, and the creatures below have an inexplicable connection to the dreadful power he is up against. Unfortunately for him, there is no Deathroot to be found there, and also, he is the assassination target to make Varré happy if you don't want to invade others.
It's also likely that the small, nameless ruins in the eastern cliffside opposite to the Writheblood Ruins and overlooking the forest ruins were another part of Woodfolk territory, though now they only house a Mimic Tear that transforms into an Elder Lion. It might have also not been alone, and its companion simply ventured forth, going below and meeting the Wormfaces, before finding its way to Mt. Gelmir, where we can find it disguised as one of the creatures.
As the only Wormface here, it's unlikely they were ever in Gelmir. They wouldn't have much of a reason to come here anyway, as it's the opposite of their lush home environment.
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