What Makes Morgott One Of Elden Ring's Most Tragic Heroes (2023)

FromSoftware RPGs these daysare full ofNPCs and boss enemies with tragic backstories, and Elden Ringis no exception, especially when it comes to Morgott the Omen King (better known to new players as Margit the Fell Omen). Even before the fantasy realm called the Lands Between descended into war and madness,countless peoples and lineages suffered in the shadows of the Golden Order's prosperity – particularly the rejected and despised beings known as Omen, among which rose a lord by the name of Morgott. Of all the boss characters in Elden Ring, Morgott is one of the most persistentand proactive bosses players will encounter, but also a strangely lamentable hero whospent his life protecting the Erdtree anda social order that never accepted him for who he was.

It's hard to say who would win a round of "misery poker" in theopen world of Elden Ring, if only because this dark fantasy action RPG is full ofdestructive conflicts, persecuted cultures, and past glories. The Lands Between, the setting of Elden Ring, was once united under the auspices of the Golden Order, an empire or faith whose prosperity was forged through magic, conquest, deceit, and no small amount of colonialism.

Related:Elden Ring: Ranni's Great Rune Location Has Been Hiding In Plain Sight

The "golden age" of the Golden Order came to an end during the Knight of the Black Knives, where a cabal of assassins with Death-imbued daggers slaughtered Godwyn the Golden and a number of other Demigods. This fateful event led to thedisappearance of Elden Ring'sQueen Marika, the sundering of the Elden Ring itself, and a massive civil war between Demigod warlords bearing shards of the aforementioned ring. Bythe start of an Elden Ring play-through, the Lands Between has been devastated by conflict, by pillaging bands of soldiers, by ambitious schemers, and by Tarnished who seek to become the new Elden Lordat any cost. This state of affairsis likely whyMorgott, the Lord of Leyndell Capital, has a burning hatred for the Shardbearers, the Tarnished, and other "pillagers emboldened by the flame of ambition."

Elden Ring's MorgottProtects The Erdtree From Flame & Ambition

Players of FromSoftware'sElden RingRPG first encounter Morgott just outside of Stormveil Castle, the Legacy Dungeon of the Limgrave starting area. Materializing in a circle of golden light, agiant in rags, face covered withhorns and toothy growths, leaps forth to challenge the Tarnished, introducing themselves as "Margit The Fell." After being defeated and dissolving into light, Margit's voicetells players to "cower in fear of the night" and further warns that the "hands of the Fell Omen will brook thee no quarter." The meaning of this warning becomes more clear when players acquire the armor set of the Night's Cavalry, "black knight" enemies found in certain parts of Elden Ring's open world during nighttime. Each piece of this set bears the same revealing descriptive detail:

"The Night's Cavalry, who now wander the dim roads at night, were once led by the Fell Omen and were deliverers of death for great warriors, knights, and champions."

(Video) Morgott, the Grace Given - Elden Ring Boss Lore Explained

From this fragment of lore, players learn that "Margit" is unusually proactive for an Elden Ring boss, sending out an elite force of knights to kill Tarnished while alsosending out his spirit to possess menial enemies in orderto strike down player characters – not just at Stormveil, but on the outskirts of Leyndell, the Royal Capital. At the very peak of Leyndell, just outside the entrance to the sky-spanning Erdtree where the Elden Ring lies, Margit appears one last time, wielding a sword forged from his coagulated, cursed blood, condemning his fellow Demigods as "willful traitors" and revealing his true title: "Morgott, Last Of All Kings."

Related:How Elden Ring's Grace Is Different From Dark Souls' Undead Curse

After slaying Morgott for good, players will gain his Great Rune and Remembrance. The Great Rune's item description confirms that Morgott was indeed a Demigod child of Queen Marika, while the Remembrance reveals this poignant secret:

Though born one of the graceless Omen, Morgott took it upon himself to become the Erdtree's protector.

He loved not in return, for he was never loved, but nevertheless, love it he did.

With all these item descriptions,Morgott The Omen King's motivations become clear.He saw himself as the last loyal child of Marika, the only Demigod who did not betray the Golden Order and selfishly seek power through war, and the last defender of the Erdtree against Tarnished who would destroy or desecrate it. And yet, as his Remembrance states, Morgott was never loved by the Erdtree or his fellow Demigods. Indeed, for much of Morgott's life he was imprisoned and shunned as something unnatural.

Elden Ring's Morgott Belongs to A Persecuted People Called The Omens

(Video) The Real Tragedy of Morgott, Omen King

Throughout theLands Between setting of Elden Ring, players will encounter a type of enemy called Omen – large, ogre-like creatures with curling horns sprouting from random parts of their body.Rather than being a non-human species like the Trolls or Demi-humans, these Omens seem to be the offspring ofhumans and Demigods in the Lands Between,babies born with strange mutations. Variousin-game items describe the Omens as "cursed" creatures who were persecuted by the society of the Golden Order – slain at birth, used as cannon fodder in wars, or simply locked away in catacombs for the rest of their verymiserablelives. The dreadful-looking Great OmenkillerCleaver, aweirdweapon in Elden Ringwith severed Omen horns fused to the edge, is the signaturetool of Perfumer-style enemies who hunt down and exterminate Omens, while the curse-spewing Omen Bairn tool item has this heartbreaking description:

Omen babies have all their horns excised, causing most to perish.

These fetishes are made to memorialize them.

"Please, don't hate me, or curse me. Please."

The Regal Omen Bairn Elden Ring players can unlock after defeating Morgott has this distinct description instead.:

Doll of a curseborn bairn from the Erdtree's royal line.

Omen babies born of royalty do not have their horns excised, but instead are kept underground, unbeknownst to anyone, imprisoned for eternity.

These memorial fetishes are fashioned in secret.

(Video) Like Father, Like Son (Godfrey & Morgott) ► Elden Ring Lore Hunting

Finally, the Margit's Shackle item,a toolitemElden Ringplayers can easily miss,whichtemporarily pins Margit or Morgott to the ground during their boss fights, has this description:

A fetish bathed in golden magic. Shackles were used to bind the accursed people called the Omen, and these ones were made to keep a particular Omen under strictest confinement.

From these descriptions, Elden Ringlore-seekers can glean hints of Morgott's childhood.Born to the golden lineage of Demigods, the mutated Morgott was not killed or mutilated, but was bound by magic and imprisoned beneath Leyndell, the Royal Capital,hidden away from the world in order to preserve the reputation of the Demigods. For one reason or another, Morgott, akaElden Ring's Margit the Fell Omen, was eventually freedfrom confinement and granted lordship over the Royal Capital, but was never loved by his subjects or the Erdtree,even after spending his whole life fighting for their sakes.

Related:Elden Ring: What's Under The Grafted Scion's Cloak Is Even Worse

The bitterest ironyof all is that Morgott's cursed blood and warped body – the reason for his persecution – may have been bestowed upon him by the Erdtree he loved so much. The Crucible Knight enemies players can encounter in certain Elden Ring dungeons have access to unique Incantation spells called Aspects of the Crucible, described as " ...manifestation[s] of theErdtree's primal vital energies - an aspect of the primordial crucible, where all life was once blended together."

The Aspect Of The Crucible: Horns Incantation lets players charge forward and conjure a horn from theirshoulder much like the horns on the flesh of Omens.The Aspect of the Crucible:Tail Incantation lets players summon and swing a tail from their backside – a tail nearly identical in shape to Morgott's own appendage. Finally, the Crucible Scale Talisman, which reduces damage from critical attacks when equipped, has an item description claiming that "devolved" bodies like Morgott's were once "... considered a signifier of the divine in ancienttimes, but [are] now increasingly disdained as an impurity as civilization has advanced."If Morgott had been born earlier inElden Ring's history and backstory, he could have been a lauded hero instead of a shunned outcast.

Next:Elden Ring: Why There Are Two Fingers At The Top Of Every Divine Tower