Elden Ring is full of strange characters, each with a backstory that players will have to explore The Lands Between to uncover. Few characters have as rich a backstory as the demigod Godwyn, however, as he is a character deeply entwined with Elden Ring's story and lore despite his death long before the game's beginning. A new theory delves into the nature of Godwyn as he exists when Elden Ring players discover his corpse deep at the roots of the Erdtree. Expect spoilers revolving around Godwyn, naturally.
Godwyn the Golden was the son of Queen Marika the Eternal, Goddess of the Lands Between, and her consort Godfrey, the First Elden Lord. Prior to the events of Elden Ring, however, Godwyn was murdered in an event dubbed the Night of the Black Knives. The reasons for Godwyn's murder lay at the heart of Elden Ring's story, but what's important here is that Godwyn technically only died half-way. His soul was murdered, but his body lived on in a cursed state of undeath.
Explaining Godwyn's Appearance
If players delve deep enough into the lands below the Lands Between, they'll find Godwyn's "corpse" intertwined with the roots of the Erdree, a tumor injecting poison into the earth. Godwyn is no longer his handsome self, either, instead transformed into a monstrous shape. He has a fish's tail, hands with webbed fingers and claws, the face of a scallop's shell, and hair like dried seaweed.
The answer for why Godwyn has been transformed is a mystery, but YouTuber Zullie the Witch has an excellent theory regarding what's happened. Zullie theorizes that Godwyn's cursed death can be associated with the Ningyo, a mythological Japanese creature. The Ningyo is akin to a mermaid, often drawn with a fish's tail, clawed and webbed fingers, seaweed-like hair, and fishy features. Eating a Ningyo's flesh curses one with unnatural longevity, like Godwyn's undeath. Further, a beached or dead Ningyo was an omen of impending calamity.
Zullie further points out that the Ningyo mythology has a long history of references in From Software games. Sekiro's Divine Dragon is referred to as a Ningyo in the game's files, and Kos in Bloodborne has been similarly compared to a Ningyo and the cause of Yharnam's fall.
What Zullie is saying is that Godwyn's form in Elden Ring isn't necessarily supposed to make sense from an in-universe perspective. However, those familiar with the mythology of the Ningyo will recognize Godwyn's corpse for what it is. His murder brought on a curse across all the Lands Between. As such, Godwyn is more of a symbol than anything. He is, or was, an omen of the dark to come - the dark players find on their own while playing Elden Ring.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
