Elden Ring family tree explained: Lore, characters & their relations

Elden Ring’s large list of characters and their unique style of storytelling might confuse new players about who is related to eachother. Here’s everything you need to know about Elden Ring’s family tree.

Millions of players are ready to traverse The Lands Between in Elden Ring yet again, as the devs have announced the official release date of the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. With the DLC already up for pre-order, many are looking forward to returning to the game.

Elden Ring has a large list of important characters that massively impact the storyline, however, FromSoftware’s subtle storytelling that involves gathering intel from various dialogues and item descriptions has prevented many from discovering what exactly is going on in the game during their playthroughs.

Here’s what the exact family tree of Elden Ring looks like and how the characters are related to each other.

Elden Ring’s family tree explained

Elden Ring can be considered as a massive family feud where each member is a powerful demigod trying to fix their issues. However, the entire story begins with Queen Marika, the most prominent figure in the game, even though she does not appear on screen at all.

Here’s the exact breakdown of the events according to Elden Ring’s lore.

Queen Marika and the First Elden Lord

Queen Marika the Eternal was Erdtree’s chosen and the most significant figure in The Lands Between. Her first marriage was with none other than Godfrey, who rose up to become the First Elden Lord, and the couple had three children together— Godwyn the Golden, Morgott, and Mogh.

Despite Godfrey being a pivotal figure in the war with the Giants, he was cast out after he lost his usefulness in the Queen’s eyes. He lost the Erdtree’s Grace and became a Tarnished, set to be banished to a distant land.

Their firstborn, Godwyn the Golden was Marika’s favorite child, but was tragically assassinated in the Night of the Black Knives. His brothers Morgott and Mogh were unfortunately born with Omen blood, a curse in the Age of the Erdtree, and were kept hidden in the Leydenll Sewers.

The union of Marika and Radagon

After Godfrey was removed, Queen Marika chose Radagon, a young Golden Order soldier, as her consort, and he became the next Elden Lord, receiving the Erdtree’s Grace. However, it was later revealed that Radagon and Marika were the same person, and it is still unclear how this phenomenon was possible in Elden Ring.

Even though they were the same person, they had two children— the cursed twins, Miquella and Malenia. While the former was cursed with eternal youth, Malenia was plagued with the Scarlett Rot running through her veins since birth.

Miquella and Malenia have always been close since birth and have tried desperately to fix their curses, with Miqeulla abandoning the Golden Order and making the Haligtree in an effort to step into adulthood and cure Malenia’s Scarlett Rot. However, Mogh managed to sneak away with Miquella, thwarting the process.

The rise of Radagon and Rennala

After attaining the status of Elden Lord and having offspring with Marika in Elden Ring, Radagon married the Carian Queen Rennala and had three children with her— Rykard, Radahn, and Ranni the Witch. However, all three of them suffered ill fates, as Ranni’s body was burned beyond recognition.

On the other hand, Rykard achieved a serpent form, becoming the Lord of Blasphemy, and Radahn lost his senses and suffered the after-effects of Malenia’s Scarlett Rot during their fight.

Queen Rennala still lives in the Academy of Raya Lucaria, trying to find a way for Ranni to be reborn in her flesh, instead of the doll she lives in currently.

When players start their journey in Elden Ring, they do not encounter Godwyn and Miquella during their playthrough. However, many expect that the DLC will revolve around Miquella as one of the biggest plot points.

This was everything you had to know about Elden Ring’s family tree. For more on the game, check out our other guides:

Where to find Castle Sol in Elden Ring: Location, items, more | How to get Bloodflame Blade in Elden Ring & best builds | Where to find Somber Smithing Stone 7 in Elden Ring | All Elden Ring achievements & trophies: Hidden, Platinum, more | Elden Ring progression: Best route & recommended levels | Who is Vyke in Elden Ring? Lore explained | How to get Zweihander in Elden Ring & best builds | Is Elden Ring harder than other soulsborne games?