Elden Ring has plenty of mysteries to keep players invested from beginning to end. Once a newly-christened Tarnished embarks into the Lands Between, they can expect to be met with plenty of opposition, but also some mysteries to unravel. The Night of Black Knives, the various powers governing the Lands Between, the nature of the Erdtree and the Elden Ring themselves, and more await within FromSoftware's open world RPG. There's enough to do and think about in Elden Ring that many fans are still pouring over the details even after their first playthrough is complete.
Even the player's frequent companions aren't immune to suspicion, with plenty of developments happening to the cast across Elden Ring's hours of runtime. Some things, like the true nature of the Tarnished's companion Melina, remain a mystery from the start to finish, though there are some clues that point in a couple directions. However, one of the least explained individuals in Elden Ring is actually playable alongside the main character, that being Torrent the Spectral Steed. Although Torrent may seem like a straightforward helper at first, the mysteries of its existence deepen the farther players look.
Torrent Is Connected To Elden Ring's Most Mysterious People
Initially, Torrent serves as Melina's traveling companion, and the duo appear together in the cutscene after the player's first death. Later dialogue indicates that Torrent found and became interested in the player character, even when Melina had her doubts. After the player sits at a Site of Grace that triggers Melina's appearance, they will receive the Spectral Steed Whistle to summon Torrent outdoors at any time. That seems to be the extent of Torrent's existence, and for most players, Torrent will fade into the background as little more than a gameplay mechanic.
A hint of something more appears if players warp back to the early Church of Elleh, however. Ranni the Witch, temporarily using Renna as an alias, asks if the player has been entrusted with the spectral steed. Upon confirmation, she hands over the Spirit Calling Bell, and the Lone Wolf Ashes to go with it. Ranni claims to have been entrusted with it by Torrent's former master, which evidently wasn't Melina, or she would have provided the bell herself. Further interactions with Ranni indicate she is very secretive, and probably wouldn't leave the safety of her tower unless she had very important business. It's at this point that players may start to wonder why their horse is known by so many important people, and Elden Ring remains tight-lipped.
Elden Ring's DLC May Be The First Time Players Truly Understand Torrent
For how much lore Elden Ring stuffs into its world and menus, it doesn't spare a word for Torrent. The Spectral Steed Whistle is only described as a "delicate goldwork ring," and there are no further item descriptions that ever touch on the steed itself. Online, players speculated that something was unique about Torrent, but there was zero information indicating how, until FromSoftware released some teaser art for Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. It displayed an unknown rider atop a horned, shaggy horse, and players have only seen one steed like that.
With many making the logical assumption that the young-looking rider is actually the unfought demigod Miquella, a couple pieces have fallen into place. As Miquella is associated with unalloyed gold and known to be supernaturally charming, it stands to reason that he had something to do with preparing Torrent for summoning. What this means is anyone's guess, but it does point to some of the outstanding questions about Elden Ring and its characters being answered in Shadow of the Erdtree, which plenty of fans will be pleased about.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
