Ranni the Witch - The rebellion of a demigod and her cosmic destiny
Welcome, lore-lovers, to another deep dive into the mysteries of the Lands Between. I'm Liandrug, and today we follow the path of one of Elden Ring's most enigmatic figures, Ranni the Witch. From royal lineage and celestial rebellion, to deathless schemes and a journey among the stars, this is the full tale of the Lunar Princess. So gather close, for this story begins in shadow and frost...
The Chronicle
In the shadowed lands of the Lands Between, where ancient power flows through lineage and divine design, a singular figure stirred the threads of fate, Ranni the Witch. Born as Lunar Princess Ranni, she was the daughter of Radagon, champion of the Golden Order, and Queen Rennala, sovereign of the Carian Royal Family and head of the Academy of Raya Lucaria. She shared her bloodline with two elder brothers: Radahn, wielder of gravity itself, and Rykard, the future Lord of Blasphemy.
Guided by her mother in her youth, Ranni encountered the Dark Moon, an otherworldly presence, cold, veiled in mystery, and distant from the radiance of the Erdtree. It was not golden light that beckoned her, but the chill of something far older, a presence that would shape her path.
Chosen by the Two Fingers as an Empyrean, Ranni was one of the few who could ascend to divinity and one day succeed Queen Marika as the god of the Lands Between. With that status came her own Shadow, a beast bound by fate to protect her. That beast was Blaidd, the Half-Wolf. Though made her vassal by divine command, he was raised with warmth under Rennala's roof, becoming a brother and a loyal companion. Alongside them was War Counselor Iji, a trusted blacksmith and guardian of the Carian lineage.
But harmony would not last. Radagon forsook Rennala and wed Marika, taking up the mantle of second Elden Lord. Ranni and her siblings were elevated to the status of Demigods, yet Ranni harbored no love for her new stepmother's divine calling. Deep within the woods, she found another path, one shaped not by grace, but by the frost. There she met a mysterious crone, the Snow Witch, a secret mentor steeped in cold sorcery and knowledge of the Moon. It was from her that Ranni inherited not just spells, but a new ideology: the cold, distant Dark Moon would become her sigil and her truth.
Ranni, though chosen by the Greater Will, rejected her fate. She despised the thought of being a puppet to unseen forces. In secret, she enacted a plan to sever herself from the will of the Two Fingers. Stealing a shard of the Rune of Death from Maliketh the Black Blade, she distributed its power, one part to her brother Rykard, should he need to strike Maliketh himself, and the rest to Numen assassins. With these weapons, she orchestrated a killing not just of flesh, but of soul.
Thus came the Night of Black Knives. The assassins struck down Godwyn the Golden, killing him in spirit. At the same moment, Ranni used the stolen Death to slay her own flesh, casting off her body and anchoring her soul in a doll fashioned in the likeness of her Snow Witch mentor. In doing so, she freed herself from the control of the Two Fingers and vanished into legend, her true role in the event hidden from most.
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After the shattering of the Elden Ring by Queen Marika, the Lands Between fell into chaos. Ranni had acquired a Great Rune, but discarded it, choosing not to fight for power in the wars of the Shattering. Her soul bound to her doll form, she retreated into hibernation within the Carian Manor, allowing her agents to act on her behalf. Her purpose was not conquest, but a plan to unravel the grip of the Greater Will and to forge her own destiny.
In the age of fading grace, a Tarnished arose, mounted upon a spectral steed named Torrent. Ranni, sensing the significance of their arrival, approached them at the Church of Elleh, disguised as Renna. She gifted them the Spirit Calling Bell and Lone Wolf Ashes, tools left behind by Torrent's former companion, Melina. These items were a test, and a bond. When next they met, it was at Ranni's Rise, nestled in the Three Sisters.
There, she extended an offer, to serve her in secret. Those who joined her service would aid in uncovering the path to Nokron, the Eternal City, where the Fingerslayer Blade lay hidden, a blade with the power to sever the influence of the Two Fingers. This path, however, remained sealed, locked beneath the weight of the stars themselves. For Radahn, her brother, had frozen the heavens in place with his gravity magic, halting fate and the progression of her plan.
Only with Radahn's death would the skies move again. The Tarnished, guided by Ranni's allies, Blaidd and Seluvis, joined the Festival of Combat and brought down the mighty Starscourge. With Radahn's fall, the stars resumed their course, and the gateway to Nokron opened.
Within Nokron, the Tarnished retrieved the Fingerslayer Blade. Ranni descended to the Ainsel River, taking refuge in its underground depths, and directed her champion to eliminate the Baleful Shadows, agents of the Two Fingers sent to destroy her. Upon their defeat, she offered a reward: a key to a locked chest within the Grand Library of Raya Lucaria. Within it lay the Dark Moon Ring, the final piece of her plan.
With her affairs in order, Ranni vanished once more. Her path led to the Moonlight Altar and the Cathedral of Manus Celes. There, beneath the gaze of the cold moon, she destroyed a manifestation of the Two Fingers and shed her doll form, entering a higher state of being.
Should the Tarnished retrieve the Dark Moon Ring and place it upon her finger, Ranni accepts them as her consort. She bestows the Dark Moon Greatsword and reveals her final purpose: to become a new god, not of the Greater Will, but of the cosmos. Her Age of the Stars would be one of separation, breaking the ties between the Lands Between and the outer gods, and granting true freedom.
If the Tarnished chooses to follow her, Ranni appears in the aftermath of the Elden Beast's defeat. Together, they usher in the Age of the Stars. Beneath the silver moon, they leave the Lands Between behind, casting off the shadows of gods and destiny, and journey forth into the cold eternity between the stars.
Closing Words
And so ends the tale of Ranni the Witch, a path of betrayal, freedom, and cosmic destiny. If you enjoyed this journey, don't forget to like, share, and subscribe. And if you hunger for more lore and discussion, come join us in the Liandrug Discord, where cozy fires are always lit, and lore-lovers gather to unravel the world's greatest stories, together.
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