An interesting theory posits that two of Elden Ring's status effect icons are referencing cut content removed by From Software. The world of Elden Ring is huge and the amount of lore to be found within is difficult to quantify. Players are encouraged to theorize about aspects of Elden Ring's lore that aren't materially present within the game. It's further complicated by the amount of content FromSoftware removes from its games, including Elden Ring. But that's part of what makes theorizing so fun for the Elden Ring community.
Elden Ring players are likely already familiar with the true nature of the game's merchants. Zooming in on a merchant's face reveals that their eyes are aflame with Frenzy, a trait of the followers of the Frenzied Flame. This occurred due to a genocide of the merchants, buried alive due to their "heretical beliefs," and their subsequent summoning of the Three Fingers through a curse of despair. This is all confirmed via in-game descriptions and other content, but there's more to the merchants that was cut by From Software.
An Elden Ring player on Reddit drew a connection between the status effect icons for Madness and Sleep. Madness in Elden Ring is described as a contagious mental illness hailing from the Three Fingers and the Flame of Frenzy. Sleep is described as tranquilizing agents hailing from St. Trina and its lilies. The Redditor noticed that the eyes shown in Madness and Sleep's icons look like they're from the same person, and that very well may be.
One of Elden Ring's most well-recorded pieces of cut content revolves around the merchant Kalé, one of the first NPCs players meet in The Lands Between. In this quest, it's told that the merchants play their music to soothe their souls and to stave off the Flame of Frenzy's control. The song is said to have been taught to the merchants while they were still buried alive, after they'd summoned the three fingers and were lost to the frenzy. "Its melody allows us to sleep, despite the cursed flame," said Kalé (or one of his brothers).
The cut content all but confirms the Reddit user's theory that the Madness and Sleep status effect icons are from the same person, or at least reference the frenzy within the merchants and how they use music to sleep. Elden Ring players may casually notice the eyes looking similar, but their connection wouldn't be clear without knowledge of the cut content. FromSoftware decided to leave the icons in the game, despite cutting the lore behind them.
This Elden Ring theory is especially intriguing at the moment since FromSoftware recently announced the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for Elden Ring with a teaser image showing Miquella, an Empyrean Demigod. Miquella is believed to also have been known as St. Trina, and St. Trina is who taught the merchants their lullaby. Perhaps Shadow of the Erdtree will explore this lore more deeply.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
