Why Did Mohg Kidnap Miquella, the Most Enigmatic Empyrean?

As an avid Elden Ring player and lore enthusiast, unraveling the mysteries around demigods and characters is part of what makes the game so rewarding. And few characters have sparked as much intrigue and speculation as Miquella and Mohg.

In this long-read article, I‘ll provide some deep analysis into why exactly the sinister Lord of Blood, Mohg, kidnapped Miquella – and what he aimed to achieve in doing so. Strap in fellow tarnished!

Understanding Miquella, the Tragically Cursed Empyrean

First, to analyze Mohg‘s motivations, we need to understand who Miquella was:

As the above table shows, despite only being a child, Miquella’s powers were phenomenal. He pioneered unalloyed gold and aimed to shed his curse by creating a cocoon. His sister Malenia wanted to make him a god.

This sets up why Mohg would target someone with such strong potential. But what specifically does Miquella offer? Let‘s analyze further.

The Allure of Miquella – Mohg‘s Twisted Motivation

So why did Mohg go to such extreme lengths to abduct this slumbering demigod?

Hijacking Miquella‘s Ascension

Well firstly, Mohg wanted the power to ascend to godhood himself. Dialogue with the Formless Mother implies Mohg‘s motivation was to raise Miquella as a god – with Mohg ruling by his side.

As an Empyrean, Miquella was mid-ascension within his cocoon. Mohg hijacked this process for his own insidious plans.

Exploiting Miquella‘s Unlimited Power

Additionally, from Mohg‘s perspective, Miquella represented almost unlimited power potential. This stemmed from:

• His skill with unalloyed gold
• His designs on godhood
• His demigod lineage

If you consider someone like Ranni who we help ascend to godhood in an ending, you start to grasp the scale of influence Miquella could have. For Mohg, exploiting this was key.

Making Miquella a Puppet Ruler

Lastly, Malenia‘s aims for Miquella to usher in an era as a god also played into Mohg‘s plan. She wished to crown him ruler of their dynasty. Mohg sought to make Miquella his puppet king instead.

In Mohg‘s eyes, Miquella was a chance to overthrow the Golden Order and implement his bloody vision. And what better figurehead than one with Miquella‘s status?

How Exactly Did Mohg Enact His Plans?

So what did Mohg actually do once he‘d snatched slumbering Miquella in cocoon form? Here are the sinister steps:

The Blood Ritual to Attain Godhood

The key element here was a profane blood ritual designed to exploit Miquella‘s pre-ascended state. Mohg draws on the Formless Mother‘s power to slowly corrupt Miquella via this ritual.

We even see echoes of this during the Mohg boss fight, where he draws on the Formless Mother to regenerate. The fight itself happens right at the climax of the ritual – which is unfortunately disrupted by our arrival!

Conclusion: A Tragically Twisted Scheme

In summary, Mohg‘s motivations centered on hijacking Miquella‘s impending godhood to achieve his own dark aims. By abducting Miquella mid-ascension and subjecting him to a corrupting blood ritual, Mohg believed he could attain god-like powers himself – with Miquella as his brainwashed puppet ruler.

It‘s a tragically twisted scheme that leveraged Mohg‘s profane beliefs, the allure of an Empyrean‘s power, and the vulnerability of Miquella‘s cursed blessing. And for the poor slumbering Miquella, it meant imprisonment and exploitation at the hands of Mohg‘s bloody machinations.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments fellow tarnished! Do you think Mohg could have succeeded if we hadn‘t intervened? And what do you think is the eventual fate of poor Miquella? As always, praise the discourse!