surny_: I think miyazaki just really really likes the idea of a ton of pillars/trees in the distance, similarly to how he enjoys poison swamps

jstar3382: It's interesting how all of the other trunks are perfected in comparison to the actual erdtree. The one we have is broken, crooked, and dropping leaves. That makes me think this isn't representing other player's worlds , but the influence of the Greater Will

maxderrat: Yup. By the way, congratulations on 700K subscribers, Zullie!!!

pande6968: beksinski my beloved

stressybrin7893: Tarnished, arise ye, zullie has come forth with a new blessing. Hear thee words of wisdom.

DetectiveSkimble: I think the idea of the Elden Beast having influence over otherworlds is super interesting, because that means... how big is the universe in Elden Ring itself? Which direction could the series go if they continue it? What strange places and odd worlds are hidden just beyond our sight? I think it's awesome because despite the story of Elden Ring feeling like such a grand huge adventure of glory, by the end we really do feel like just a small part of something waaaaay bigger that we don't understand yet.

In otherwords: "Our eyes are yet to open..."

31Moth13: I always interpreted it as the meteor that brought the Elden Beast/Elden Ring being just one of many across the universe, with the Greater Will trying to use Erdtrees to influence many different planets.

commandertoastcz6256: I like the idea that the Greater Will is not just in the Lands Between, but also has roots (both figuratively and literally) in other lands - which may be why Marika sent Godfrey and the Tarnished far away, not just for a honeymoon with Radagon, but also to spread the Greater Will's influence.

deviltheferal892: I hope you see this:

The lake that is in the underground beyond the remains of the ancestral spirit where you find a skull has a very interesting view... It's under the ocean, but the water is fully still, meaning the water does not go fully between the two layers (It'd be flowing if the ocean was draining into the underground) so why is that water there?

MilesRavis: i read somewhere that the main inspiration for this imagery in DS1 with Ash Lake and archtrees was Nausicaa by Hayao Miyazaki !

Eric-yt7fp: the distant giant tree motif is one of my favorite aspects of Miyazaki's games. Just really goes a long way to show how even though you feel like what you're doing in game is of massive importance, the world is so much bigger than we could ever possibly imagine.

SickandTide: I joked with buddies for years that all the games are connected through the trees . I'm glad you brought this up! Also thanks for years of great videos !

giantflamingrabbitmonster8124: This is the thing that first struck me when i got to the Elden Beast and saw all those other Erdtrees in the distance.

The Lands Between are not the only world the Greater Will has been to, and almost certainly not the first. Really hammers home how, despite everything we've been through and all history of the Elden Ring here, its all so miniscule compared to the GW and its endeavors. Cosmic horror indeed.

hertzdtox: Zullie the goat

dwarvenninja8104: This may be simply my impression, but when I first fought the Elden Beast I was under the impression that it was the spirit of the Erdtree. So when the scenery opened up and there appeared to be a seemingly limitless number of Erdtrees, I took it to mean that the Elden Beast was just one of endless legions that the Greater Will could send.

Just one, and we called it a god.

RookTheKnight: The recurring trees and pillars may also be drawing from the scenery in Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind.

The area beneath the Toxic Jungle has pillar-like trees that are very similar to the ones in Ash Lake, which is located beneath Blighttown's own poison swamp.

Additionally, Caelid seems like it may have been partially inspired by the Toxic Jungle itself!

IroquoisGaming: Cannot wait for Shadow of the Erdtree.

Nick_Whiskey: i just always assumed the tree trunks in the hunters workshop was an explanation of why you can see other player hunters and summon npc helpers. its all one big overlaid multiworld.

Ghost_gc: The recurring theme i see with these pillars across all souls games is the idea of such structures holding the known world up, or to keep a lower world away as some sort of dimensional frontier.

ToozdaysChild: The interpretation I took from seeing the multiple Erdtrees was that the Greater Will is a sort of cosmic parasite, and the Erdtrees are how it literally "takes root" in different worlds/universes.

rainbowkrampus: It's a take on the axis mundi or world tree concept common to many real world mythologies.

Some object, a tree, a spear, a mountain is conceptualized as a connection between the world of the mundane and the world of the divine.

Since these games are dealing in parallel worlds, they tend to have multiple axis mundi. I tend to think that they aren't representative of the many worlds of the players though. I think they're more about the many "worlds" that inspired the games in the first place. A symbolic connection being transformed into a figurative one. As though the world of Berserk and the TTRPGs Miyazaki used as inspiration are actually accessible in his games.

javiercampos5154: Has anyone ever talked about how you see the same imagery of the Elden Beast's arena in several other places, mainly boss battles?

- The Elden Beast in the "center" of the arena, sorounded by the trees or pillars going up into the sky/stars

-Ryakard's boss room with him and the snake in the middle and several pillars going up into the ceiling of the room

-Placidusax's arena also has him in the center sorrounded by stone pillars

-The moonlight altar in Ranni's quest, once you reach the place the first thing you see is some pillars/beams of light reaching from the ground up into the sky, the moon is sorounded by these pillars just like in the other examples

ciunas9729: I always interpreted the trunk in the elden beast boss fight as show the presence of the greater will on other planets since the outer gods are references to Lovecraft and many of his gods were actually alien on origin.

TheKrossRoads: I always assumed the arena was like the second Renala phase, an illusion to psyche you out. The moon there looms large as if to say "I have the power here", just like the many Erdtrees. It's meant to make you feel like you're at a disadvantage. Then you win the fight and it all disappears.

taywhit2593: I’d like to throw out that there are also many spiritual Sakura Trees seen in the background when you face the Enteral Dragon in Sekiro. Could be just similar fromsoft imagery, or it could be a link between the games.

casey8153: This off topic from Fromsoft games, but an interesting note for Tears of the Kingdom is that the normal aboveground is held up seemingly by large roots that span the Depths.

A cool theory I found was that after Hyrule was flooded (Windwaker timeline) the depths was the bottom of the Great Ocean, and the Great Deku tree with the koroks planted new forests across the isles. Which interconnected and formed the new hyrule.

Sorry was off topic but found it similar and neat!

nono9543: I like the idea of the FromSoftware Multiverse being represented by infinite pillars/trees. Has an almost fairy tale like aesthetic to it.

ZeroHero3d: One of my favorite aspects of FromSoft's storytelling is easily represented in these giant trees/pillars than exist across their games. From the Archtrees in DS1, to the mysterious pillars in BB and now the Erdtrees in ER, we see these impossibly enormous objects throughout these games and we have not even begun to understand them fully. To even think about the power behind what these things are and what they do in the worlds they belong in is far removed from what we can even comprehend, let alone properly study. It makes you feel that much smaller and inconsequential in these worlds that such universal forces exist to create these things or places at all. It's humbling and awe-inspiring at the same time and it's why I love these games and their worlds.

Lorand0O: The imagery of the spires or columns is also reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa and the crystalline caverns beneath the toxic jungle.

May 10 2024

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