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Making sense of Miquella’s promised consort in Elden Ring’s DLC

elden ring dlc miquella

The Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has a bit of an awkward ending battle with Miquella and their choice of “promised consorts” and his relationship with the character, both in the biological sense and the lore sense.

Warning, spoilers for the Elden Ring DLC’s ending ahead.

The final boss of the Elden Ring DLC is Starscourge Radahn, who isn’t weakened by Scarlet Rot. The kicker is that Radahn is labeled as the “Promised Consort” of Miquella, his half-brother. This fact is confusing and understandably so.

There are many different “consort” characters in Elden Ring. In each case, as well as the actual dictionary definition of the word, it indicates a marriage took place. Marika had two “king consorts” in Godfrey and Radagon. The player is referred to as Ranni’s “consort eternal” after effectively giving a marriage proposal during her questline. Finally, Lady Tanith, who literally wears the Consort Set of equipment, is essentially the wife of Rykard.

So does this mean that Miquella and Radahn are married, given all the “promised consort” talk? The answer, awkwardly, is “probably.”

Are Miquella and “Promised Consort” Radahn brothers?

Miquella and Radahn are half-brothers, more or less.

They are most certainly brothers as they share the same father; Radagon of the Golden Order. Whether they qualify as “half” brothers is where things get a bit murky. Shortly before players beat Elden Ring, it’s demonstrated that Marika and Radagon are the same person. It’s unclear how this works from a lore perspective, however.

Radagon Elden Ring
Radagon of the Golden Order

Marika isn’t actually human. She is a member of the Numen race and it’s uncertain what the dynamics are of her relationship with Radagon. The most likely explanation is that Marika and other numen are shapeshifters capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction. This isn’t known for certain, however.

Miquella was born from both Radagon and Marika, making him “unalloyed” in terms of his godhood. Radahn’s father is Radagon, but his mother is Rennala. Logically, this makes them half-brothers though it’s also a situation where they could be seen as “three-quarters brothers.” In either case, the notion of any kind of “consort” relationship between them is strange.

Is “Promised Consort” Radahn married to Miquella in the Elden Ring DLC?

It is strongly implied that Miquella intended to marry his half-brother, Radahn.

Technically, the word “consort” has multiple meanings that could fit the idea of Radahn being a guard or executor for Miquella. Dictionary.com definitions of the word include “a companion, associate, or partner” and “one vessel or ship accompanying another.”

Miquella And Radahn 1

While this might have left some room for interpretation, the Remembrance of a God and a Lord removes any doubt. The remembrance states the following:

“In their childhood, Miquella saw in Radahn a lord. His strength, and his kindness, that stood in stark contrast with their afflicted selves. And so Miquella made his heartfelt wish. That Radahn would one day be his king consort.”

While it’s no doubt strange, it’s also not unusual in mythological fantasy. Greek and Roman mythology are awash with similar stories. Many have also joked about this being a sign of George RR Martin’s involvement with Elden Ring’s story. Either way, many have been understandably taken aback by Miquella’s promised consort being Starscourge Radahn.

Written by Steven Rondina X Twitter Logo

Steven Rondina has been playing video games since he was a toddler and appreciates every genre out there. He has earned the platinum trophy in every Soulsborne game, is regularly Master Ball-ranked on the competitive Pokemon ladder, and has spent thousands of hours missing shots on Dust 2. His work has previously been featured by Bleacher Report and The Washington Post, and he was an Assistant Editor at WIN.gg. You can follow him on Twitter / X at @srondina.

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