Why Does Godwyn Have 2 Bodies?
Godwyn the Golden‘s original body was assassinated during the Night of the Black Knives, separating his soul and mutating his corpse in the process. He now exists in two forms – his revived soul as the Prince of Death, and his massive corrupted corpse spreading Deathroot under the Erdtree.
Godwyn‘s Soul Persists As The Prince of Death
Although Godwyn‘s flesh perished that fateful night, his soul lives on, bound to a fragment of the Rune of Death by Ranni the Witch‘s plot. This allowed the Deathbed Companion Fia to collect the rune piece and use it to lay with Godwyn‘s soulless husk, imparting him with a twisted new life as the undead Prince of Death.
From his position deep below the Erdtree roots, the Prince of Death spreads Deathroot through the vegetation like a cancer. By some accounts over 73% of Erdtree outgrowths are infested with this foul plant. With it he corrupts life itself in opposition to the Erdtree and Greater Will that once gave him divine grace.
"O Prince of Death, thee I beseech. Please free me from this dread persecution." – Prayer to the Prince of Death
In his soul form Godwyn represents the interests of Those Who Live in Death, even granting undead sentience to the Merchant of Death root residents across the Lands Between. Truly the first Tarnished spurned by grace has become a paragon of the undead.
Godwyn‘s Warped Corpse Corrupts the Erdtree
While his soul persists as the Prince of Death, Godwyn‘s earthly corpse rests deep below Leyndell, entwined with the Greattree roots. Without a soul to stabilize it, his flesh has mutated into a huge grotesque form covered in tumors, thorned protrusions, and misshapen limbs.
| Original Godwyn | Corpse |
|---|---|
| Handsome golden demigod | Deformed gigantic beast |
| Human proportions | Massive body size |
| Grace and nobility | Hideous, covered in tumors |
This metaphysical separation between soul and flesh seems to have caused Godwyn‘s corpse towarp without limit into an abomination. Fan speculation suggests a soul maintains somatic function or appearance even upon death, and its sundering unleashed unchecked mutation.
Others argue his undead rebirth itself corrupted Godwyn‘s corpse from within. As his soul spreads Deathroot, so too does the Erdtree assimilate his warped husk further into itself, amalgamating into one great mass of death-touched vegetation. Truly a fate most twisted.
Ranni‘s Plot Led to Godwyn‘s Bifurcation
But how did Godwyn come to exist in this dual state between soul and flesh? The answer lies in his assassination at the hands of Ranni the Witch and her Black Knife conspirators. On the fateful Night of the Black Knives, Ranni stole a fragment of the Rune of Death and masterminded an intricate plot to upend the Golden Order.
Using the Rune, Ranni and her assassins simultaneously slew Godwyn‘s soul while sparing his living body. By binding his soul to a Death rune piece, it persisted beyond the flesh to be later revived as the Prince of Death. Ranni shed her own flesh in this ritual as well, seeking to escape her Empyrean destiny to succeed Queen Marika one day.
The ensuing chaos and unleashing of destined death upon the Golden Order cannot be understated. To what end did Ranni orchestrate such upheaval? Does she truly follow her mentor‘s footsteps in pursuing freedom at any cost? Godwyn and his bifurcation seem to be unfortunate yet necessary casualties in the young witch‘s eyes.
Conclusion: A Tale of Two Godwyns
Godwyn‘s assassination creates one of Elden Ring‘s central enigmas – the separation of a demigod‘s body and soul. His revived soul form spreads Deathroot to usurp the Greater Will‘s influence, while his mutated corpse assimilates with the Erdtree, forever transforming its great vine network into an instrument of undeath from within.
This schism echoes the broader division between Erdtree and Death worshippers, Beings of Grace and Those Who Live in Death. Perhaps no single figure embodies the complex philosophies around destiny, will, and defiance that permeates the Lands Between more than Godwyn. Even in undeath, his tale will be intricately woven with World History for ages to come.
For now, many unanswered questions remain about the nature of his transformation and the future role of these two interconnected yet divided Godwyns – but further research and discoveries will surely continue to unveil their secrets.
