What is the prince of death in Elden Ring?

The "Prince of Death" refers to Godwyn the Golden, firstborn son of Queen Marika the Eternal. Godwyn was assassinated on the Night of the Black Knives and transformed into a corrupted mass spreading Deathroot and unleashing death and undeath across the Lands Between.

The Assassination of Godwyn the Golden

On a fateful night known as the Night of the Black Knives, Godwyn the Golden was murdered in his bed by a group of elite Numen assassins. These assassins wielded daggers marked with the stolen Rune of Death, granting them the power to kill even the immortal Golden Order demigods.

The assassination plot was orchestrated by none other than Godwyn‘s own mother, Queen Marika, alongside her daughter Ranni the Witch. They arranged Godwyn‘s death as part of a ritual to shed the Greater Will‘s influence and forge a new age no longer under the control of the gods.

To achieve this, they took advantage of a rare opportunity to steal the Rune of Death from Maliketh the Black Blade. How or why they managed to pry that forbidden rune from the beast‘s jaws remains a mystery. But with the Rune of Death in hand, they now had the power to truly kill an immortal being like Godwyn.

"It was the first recorded death of a demigod. From the Dusk-Eyed Queen and the Prince of Death was born the maddening flame of frenzy." – Remembrance of the Black Blade

The theft of Destined Death also set in motion the events known as the "Shattering", as Maliketh hunted the stolen Rune relentlessly, scourging the land for any and all signs of the cursed rune. But it was too late – the deed was already done.

On the fateful Night of the Black Knives, Godwyn perished in body, transforming into something altogether more horrific. Meanwhile his golden spirit died a true death, slain by the black knives. Godwyn became the first demigod in history to have his flesh and soul divided – and thus the Prince of Death was born into the world.

The Festering Corpse of the Prince

Godwyn‘s corpse did not decay after death but instead took on a new, corrupting form. This festering mass came to be a wellspring of corruption known as Deathroot, which seeped through underground channels and spread far and wide across the various Kingdoms of the Lands Between.

Wherever Deathroots take hold, death spreads – crops wither, animals perish, and people fall sick and die. Worse still the Deathroots also give rise to Those Who Live in Death – corporeal manifestations of Death itself, arising from the spreading rot. These tortured spirits and skeletal apparitions haunt areas saturated by Deathroot, attacking passersby.

Many adherents of the Golden Order see Those Who Live in Death as a blasphemy against fundamental cosmic principles, as they violate the cycle of life and soul recycling in the Erdtree. As such they are relentlessly hunted down by religious mobs known as "Order Cleansing Elite", who kill them on sight to stop Deathroot‘s spread.

But for all their efforts, the contagion continues to spread as even more Deathroot springs forth from Godwyn‘s corrupted and transfigured corpse. He has become the "Prince of Death", his new form disseminating it in rivers and tributaries branching under the earth.

"The Prince of Death‘s Pustule is one of the Talismans that can increase resistances when worn. It is said that this pustule came from the corrupted visage of one unable to die a true Death." – Elden Ring description

Deathroot seeping from the corrupted visage of Godwyn (Image credit: Bandai Namco)

From his disfigured and transmogrified face emerges the vile plants that spread death across the realms. Truly he has become a font of demise and corruption – the banefully mutated Prince of Death.

Exploring the Motivations of Queen Marika

But why did Marika the Eternal arrange this death-rebirth of her own beloved offspring? What motivated the Queen to enact this profane and potentially world-shaking plot?

It seems likely that over time, Marika grew to resent the Greater Will and the Golden Order it imposed upon the land through the Elden Ring. Perhaps she wished to be free from its shackles and forge a new path no longer under its strict governance.

By killing Godwyn, she may have intended to use his death to trigger the Shattering which tore away a piece of the Elden Ring – the Rune of Death itself. Disrupting the carefully maintained Order and giving Marika an opportunity to unseat the Greater Will‘s authority.

Allowing Ranni to steal Destined Death and unleash it resulted in the hunting down of Maliketh and the removal of the Rune of Death from the Ring – likely part of their grander scheme.

"Queen Marika has high hopes for us. That we continue to struggle, unto eternity." – Enia, Finger Reader

Like all archaic powers, the Greater Will desires control and dominance. Removing the Rune of Death reduced its influence, for nothing can control death, not even the most exalted deities.

In unleashing the Prince of Death upon the world, Marika sowed chaos and instability in opposition to the Greater Will, hoping perhaps for a new Age to eventually emerge. One where she or her offspring rule by right, not the dictates of fickle outer gods.

Ranni the Witch and Her Dark Plot

While Queen Marika set this grand upheaval in motion, her daughter Ranni played the hand that directly enacted Godwyn‘s assassination. But what drove Ranni the Witch to take part in this sacrilege and unleash death‘s contagion upon the realm?

As an Empyrean chosen by the Two Fingers, Ranni was set up as the vessel for Radagon and Marika‘s will, to one day succeed her mother as goddess. But Ranni utterly rejected this, desiring instead to follow her own ambitions, not be a puppet ruler for the Greater Will and Two Fingers.

And so she secretly plotted the Night of the Black Knives, intending to use Godwyn‘s soul death to crack the Elden Ring and bring down the Golden Order. This ritual sacrifice allowed her to abandon and discard her Empyrean flesh, placing her spirit in an inhuman puppet body instead – unbound by mortal shackles.

"I stole a fragment of the Rune of Death, slew mine own Empyrean flesh, casting it away." – Ranni

Following Godwyn‘s death, Ranni disappeared from the world stage, devoting herself to studying sorceries and forging her iconic Dark Moon blade. She bided her time, waiting for her champion – the Tarnished player character – to grow mighty enough to defeat her Two Fingers and kill Radagon/Marika.

Only then could she take Marika‘s place as goddess through the Tarnished, creating a new Age under her lunar rule and free from all outer god influence – the Age of Stars. An age guided by her Dark Moon and untrammeled ambition.

Spreading the Seeds – Death Sorceries and Arcane Items

With the Prince of Death unleashed and the spread of Deathroot across the realm, certain sorcerers tapped into these new necromantic powers. Death sorceries utilize aspects of Death itself channeled through grafted relics.

The Prince of Death‘s acidic tears became the ingredient for crafting Graven Mass sorceries for example. While the Prince of Death‘s Staff allows one to cast these ominous magics to greater effect.

Being struck with these curses causes rapid deathroot-like growths to bloom inside one‘s flesh. So in a sense the victim comes to briefly share the agonies of Godwyn‘s aberrant transformation before death takes them.

"It is said that this pustule came from the corrupted visage of one unable to die a true Death." – Talisman

Deathroot itself continues to offer strange mutations to those who wish to harvest its aspect. Death rituals allow one to gradually adopt Deathroot traits for unique alterations. So one can take on some of the monstrous changes undergone by the Prince of Death himself if they dare.

As the Erdtree‘s cyclical nature has also been disrupted, many souls no longer return to the roots after death, left to wander aimlessly as Lost Souls. Some sorcerers tap into these displaced souls to unleash destructive Soul magic. So in many ways, the Prince of Death just keeps on giving!

Implications and Impact on the World

The Prince of Death lore has huge implications for the game world and its characters. Before Godwyn, no other Demigod had experienced a "true" death. Marika intentionally plotted the scheming sororicide of her own beloved son – marking her out as utterly ruthless and potentially unsympathetic.

Ranni meanwhile proves willing to kill her step-brother to achieve the Age she desires. And her ending, while hailed as the best outcome by many, still involves usurping the Greater Will in a sense against its wishes. So even the "good" ending is achieved through lies, regicide and releasing Deathroot to advance political ambitions.

On the other hand, Queen Marika and Ranni seem motivated chiefly by a desire for free will and wresting control away from domineering Outer Gods. Perhaps their morally questionable methods serve to liberate The Lands Between from the machinations of cosmic entities beyond mortal comprehension?

Ultimately, FromSoftware leaves it up to the player to ponder if any being, god or mortal has the right to dictate the path of the world toward their own vision. Do Queen Marika and Ranni deserve praise for unshackling reality from stagnant Order? Or condemnation for unleashing chaos and death while playing god? There may be no right answers, only the struggle unto eternity.