Elden Ring has been released to resounding critical acclaim, and on top of the enriching open-world design and gameplay, FromSoftware's vintage brand of subtle dark-fantasy storytelling surrounding its characters has been loved by longtime fans.
The game's many bosses are a great source of such lore, and the famous Malenia, Blade of Miquella, expectedly has some of the most engrossing and fascinating backstories. From her legendary duel with Starscourge Radahn to the tragic origins of her and her brother, Malenia's lore has an important place in the history of the Lands Between.
Both Of Malenia's Parents Are Technically Queen Marika
Like with the Dark Souls trilogy's Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, much of the story of Elden Ring starts with Queen Marika. There are, of course, even larger cosmic entities at play, but her influence has radically shaped the Lands Between. Malenia is the daughter of Queen Marika and her second husband and second Elden Lord, Radagon.
However, in what's the biggest revelation of Elden Ring, Marika and Radagon are technically the same people. It's alluded in Miriel's dialogue in the Church of Vows that Radagon was hiding a dark secret, and it's that Queen Marika created him as her male half.
One Of Her Knights Saved Her In Radahn's Aftermath
One of the most important pieces of Malenia's lore was her fabled battle with her half-brother Starscourge Radahn in the wilds of Caelid. During the Shattering War where Marika's various demigod children fought for supremacy of the Elden Ring's Great Runes, the last two left standing were Malenia and Radahn.
The fight ended in a stalemate, with both combatants greatly wounded. However, part of the reason she survived can be discovered in one of Elden Ring's many Spirit Ash summons. Malenia amassed a devoted army for her and Miquella's cause, and her Cleanrot Knight named Finlay carried her across the Lands Between and back to the Haligtree to heal.
Both Malenia & Miquella Were Cursed From Her Parents' Union
Given the dark secret behind Queen Marika and Elden Lord Radagon, the origins behind Malenia and her brother Miquella become all the more tragic. From birth, Malenia was plagued with the Scarlet Rot while her twin brother was doomed to a lifetime of being in a childlike form.
It's part of the reason that Malenia was so fiercely protective as his Blade and loyal to her beloved brother. And with that secret behind their parents revealed, it becomes clear that these twins' grueling afflictions were born of a curse from their parents' union.
Caelid Is Ravaged In Part Due To Malenia
Elden Ring has many difficult areas, with perhaps the most notorious being the aforementioned Caelid. This area is a desolate, punishing wasteland that has gone full-on scorched earth and is filled with high-level beasts.
Coincidentally, this was also the site of Malenia and Radahn's grandiose battle, and he and the land itself had been plagued by Malenia's Scarlet Rot ever since. In a last-ditch effort to gain the upper hand on her combatively masterful half-brother, she lets her Scarlet Rot bloom and, in the process, ravages both him and all of Caelid.
Malenia Was The Strongest Of Her Fellow Empyreans
Queen Marika had several demigod children, but only a select number of them were classified as Empyreans. These special entities are tasked with being vassals of an Outer God known, in this case, as the Greater Will that created the Elden Ring and the Golden Order that governs the land.
The known Empyreans are Queen Marika, Malenia the Severed, Miquella, Lunar Princess Ranni, and the Gloam-Eyed Queen -- though, the latter's lineage is unknown. And given her place in Elden Ring's boss power rankings, it's unsurprising to know that Malenia is the strongest of them all. Even Ranni believed that only she, Malenia, and Miquella were worthy of the Empyrean title.
She Was Trained By A Mysterious Blind Swordsman
Malenia's elite combat prowess is unquestionable, but all of that skill had to come from intense and dedicated training. To become her brother Miquella's sworn Blade, Malenia, at some point, encountered a blind swordsman who had sealed away a mysterious Outer God.
He took Malenia under his tutelage, where she eventually become a swordmaster unparalleled. After this, she put her swordsmanship to practice to protect Miquella and the new order he sought to usher in.
Miquella Found A Way To Keep His Sister's Rot At Bay
Despite their tragic origins, Miquella and Malenia fought hard to protect each other. Her brother was dedicated to finding a cure for Malenia's Scarlet Rot, and even denounced his Empyrean title and obligations when he learned that the Golden Order had no remedy to offer his sister.
However, he did find an alternative treatment, if imperfect. Miquella crafted an unalloyed gold needle that could treat the Scarlet Rot and keep it at bay. An unalloyed gold needle is also what's given to the Tarnished by the elderly sage Gowry to, in turn, give to Millicent in Caelid to treat her Rot.
A Religious Following Formed Around Malenia
Caelid was thoroughly decimated after Malenia and Radahn's fight during the Shattering War, and especially after the former let her Scarlet Rot blossom. Though, this smaller-scale cataclysmic event did inspire a devout religious following around her.
For one, her Cleanrot Knights were unshakably loyal to her, especially since this required them to contract the Rot themselves after spending so much time around her. Likewise, she indirectly inspired those who would become known as the Kindred of Rot, believing Malenia to be a goddess that would usher in a new age of Rot.
The Scarlet Rot Is The Influence Of Another Outer God
Elden Ring is a rich medieval dark-fantasy world, but FromSoftware borrowed some elements from its other acclaimed PlayStation RPG, Bloodborne. Specifically, it uses cosmic aspects in its worldbuilding, namely from the world's Outer Gods.
The aforementioned Greater Will represents the Erdtree and Golden Order, and Malenia's Scarlet Rot is evidence of the Outer God of Rot. It's the same Outer God that Malenia's blind swordmaster sealed away, with the Goddess and her curse attempting to use the Blade of Miquella as a vessel in the Lands Between.
The Haligtree She Fights For Is A Counter To The Erdtree
Malenia undoubtedly serves her twin brother with passion, but, by extension, she also fights for the cause and order he represents. Like in FromSoftware's other dark-fantasy epics, no single faction is clear-cut in terms of morals. That's why it's expected that the Greater Will's Golden Order doesn't have the interest of the Lands Between's residents at heart, as it rejects whomever it deems unworthy of the Erdtree's grace.
It rejected the likes of the Albinaurics, Omens, and the Misbegottens as impure, but Miquella's Haligtree aims to serve as a counter to the Erdtree by accepting anyone who looks for refuge. Granted, Miquella's powers as an Empyrean are fearsome in their own right, namely for making anyone love him. He's admirably fought for his sister's health, but it's unclear how pure his benevolence truly is.