Summary
The strangest enemies inElden Ring’s DLC are hiding a terrible secret. The base game, likeFromSoft’s many other Soulsborne games, reveals the majority of its lore through obscure dialogue and cryptic flavor text on hard-to-find items. It’s not always easy to understand just where enemies come from just by looking at them; players are expected to trust that there’s a semi-logical, internally consistent, perfectly reasonable explanation for why each and every enemy type exists, and why they’re trying to kill the Tarnished. And there almost always is.
Shadow of the Erdtree’s weird new enemy typesbring a lot of character to the Land of Shadow. Besides being the direct cause of many players’struggles withElden Ring’s DLC, they’re a major part of the DLC’s lore, and even connect back to the base game in numerous ways. But some enemies, while not necessarily central to the main plot surrounding Messmer, Miquella, and Marika, have a lot of lore of their own. Discovering the terrible secrets behind their existence is a vital part of theElden Ringexperience, and makes the setting and its inhabitants twice as terrifying.
Elden Ring’s Man-Flies Used To Be Human
How The DLC’s Hornsent Turned Into Monsters
One of the most disgusting enemies introduced inElden Ring’s DLC,the man-flies who stalk the wastelands shadowed by the Scadutree, are actually transformed humans. If the player spends a little while lurking around them, crouching outside areas where they congregate without attacking, they may hear the Man-Flies crying out, even sobbing, in surprisingly human voices. They live in and around decrepit houses in locations like the Abandoned Ailing Village, in twisted imitations of the communities they once called home.
If the player looks carefully around the Village of Flies, located along the banks of the Recluses River, they may also find a set ofMan-Fly Ashes- a set ofElden Ring’s Spirit Ashesthat allow them to summon a swarm of three man-flies in battle. But the flavor text for this item reveals another awful detail about man-flies:they used to be Hornsent. These once-venerated figures were afflicted by a metamorphosing illness, which caused them to become human-insect hybrids.
Along with the transformation,the man-fly illness also appears to make the infected aggressive. They wail and attack the Tarnished on sight, occasionally glowing with the spectral red light that usually indicates the use of blood-related magic inElden Ring. The rest of the story writes itself: the illness spread throughout these once-peaceful villages, killing many. The survivors were transformed into man-flies, became aggressive, and attacked their neighbors. They were driven out, forced to settle elsewhere, while the man-flies took over the ruins of their homes. But without humans around to maintain them, the villages fell into disrepair, only for a lowly Tarnished to stumble upon them again.
Elden Ring’s First Major DLC Boss Hides An Embarrassing Secret
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s first major boss, the Divine Beast Dancing Lion, is actually protecting a secret that makes it way less scary.
Elden Ring’s Man-Fly Illness Sounds More Like A Curse
What The Ailment Talisman Reveals About Man-Flies
But another item’s flavor text reveals that the man-fly transformations didn’t spread like a normal illness; they sound a little more like a fairy tale curse. TheAilment Talisman, which can be found in the Abandoned Ailing Village north of the Ellac Greatbridge, reveals that only the strong were subject to metamorphosis into man-flies - the “weak” died immediately. Only the strong survived long enough to transform, which is why Hornsent make up so many of their numbers. (That also explains why they attack the Tarnished with such gusto and vigor.)
The Ailment Talisman gives the player resistance to the last status effect they suffered, so it can be useful against bosses who inflict them (likeElden Ring’s Divine Beast Dancing Lion) or when navigating poison swamps.
Moreover,those who scorned the first man-flies became subject to transformation as well. The Ailing Talisman further reveals that only those villagers who cared for the afflicted, and gave them proper burials when they died, developed an immunity to the man-fly illness. This suggests an almost karmic method of transmission: those who showed kindness and acceptance in the face of the devastating plague were allowed to survive unscathed, as long as they could evade the aggression of transformed man-flies. Those who feared the infected and discriminated against them became vulnerable to the illness themselves.
The man-flies and their misunderstood illness isn’t the main focus of the DLC, but it’s a fascinating detail that players only discover if they’re willing to go down an enemy-laden rabbit hole (or fly hole). It reveals a great deal about the world in whichShadow of the Erdtreetakes place, and slots right in with its virtual compendium of stomach-turning lore. As a result, the grossest new enemies inElden RIng’s DLC are recontextualized, not as murderous monsters, but as tragic figures.
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is a popular game released by From Software, creators of games such as Armored Core, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne. Players assume the role of a Tarnished, a being once exiled to the Lands Between and has returned to repair the Elden Ring after the events of “The Shattering.” “The Shattering” occurred when the offspring of Queen Marika battled to claim the shards of the Elden Ring, known as Great Runes. Their war has brought lawlessness, destruction, and chaos to the land, and the player will challenge them with the assistance of a Maiden known as Melina as they travel towards the great Erd Tree to face their destiny and to become the one true Elden Lord. Players can tackle the game how they choose and can adventure across realms as they build their character how they want - be it a powerful magic caster or a brutal swordsman - they will have complete control over their build.
