What Happens In Elden Ring? The Game’s Story, Part 1: Limgrave

The story of Elden Ring is expansive and often confusing. There’s a lot of history and backstory to uncover as you journey through the Lands Between, and just getting a sense of the local politics and religion is an important aspect of figuring out what the hell you’re trying to do. It’s also easy to miss what’s going on around you, especially because so much of the game is optional. If you’re not inspecting every corner, reading every item description, or talking to every character you meet several times and on several occasions, parts of the story might blow right past you.

If you know where to look, though, you can learn a lot about what’s going on in Elden Ring, and how you’re affecting the game world as you move through it. Sure, you’re killing a bunch of demigods–but understanding who they are and why you’re killing them illuminates a lot about the game itself. So we’re endeavoring to explain the broad strokes of what actually happens in Elden Ring, not just the history that sets up the story. This is the story of you, the Tarnished who would be Elden Lord, cutting a bloody swath through the Lands Between to stand before the Elden Ring.

Of course, this article will contain spoilers. If you’re not up on the broad lore and history of the Lands Between, you should read our History and Lore explainer that talks about everything that happens before you wake up in the Church of Ambition. We’re also going to avoid going into the quest stories of various characters, as those can make your journey in Elden Ring into a more specific story. And while we’ll talk about the ending of the game, we’re only going to talk about the main, simple ending, and not any of the ones that require completing NPC quests to unlock. For explainers on those, check out our other Elden Ring story articles.

The Maidenless

As the opening cinematic makes clear, you’re one of the Tarnished–a person who died outside the Lands Between but has somehow been beckoned back by “grace,” which seems to be the power of the “outer god” known as the Greater Will. In practical terms, some higher power wants you in the Lands Between to enact its will. In fact, there have been lots of Tarnished called to the Lands Between for this job, and all before you have failed. What exactly you’re meant to do, however, isn’t clear, and you’ll hear a whole lot of different interpretations from other characters along the way.

After being immediately accosted and likely killed by a boss (a Grafted Scion–more on that thing later), as is the way of Soulsborne games, you awaken in the Lands Between proper, seemingly helped along by a strange horse and a shrouded woman. Leaving the tomb, you meet a strange man named Varre, who gives you a quick rundown of your deal: guided by grace, trying to become Elden Lord. But unfortunately, he explains, you’re “maidenless,” unlike other Tarnished, and that probably means you’re doomed to die. Still, he explains, you can at least see the “guidance of grace,” a strange golden light that points you toward whatever your next goal is. Grace is a manifestation of the Golden Order, the Greater Will’s…will, or the wisdom of the Two Fingers–it’s not particularly clear which. As things go on, you’ll see why that lack of distinction becomes a bit of a problem for Tarnished trying to make their way in the Lands Between.

Tarnished can see the guidance of grace, giving them some divine wisdom as to where they should be going. Finger Maidens are young women who are similarly touched by the servants of the Greater Will, following their own guidance of grace to assist the Tarnished in their missions. Finger Maidens’ closeness to some divine power allows them to channel runes–pieces of the Elden Ring–into power for their Tarnished buds. Effectively, Finger Maidens are the means by which you level up in Elden Ring, so the fact that you don’t have one is a serious problem. (Why you don’t have a Finger Maiden is a speculative story for another time, but you pass the body of a maiden on your way out of the tomb at the start of the game, and it seems likely she might have been yours and Varre may have potentially played a part in her death.)

Elden Ring is famously open and free–in Limgrave alone, there’s a huge amount of stuff you can do that has nothing to do with following the guidance of grace. Eventually, though, you’ll once again meet up with the woman you saw briefly in the tomb at the start of the game. Introducing herself as Melina, she offers to serve as your Finger Maiden if you agree to help her reach the Erdtree. She also gives you a whistle that allows you to call Torrent, the goat-horse bud you met briefly before, to help you get around.