I’ve been thinking this for a while; and eh maybe it has some credence.
I think Radahn helped Ranni steal a fragment of death. The Sellia invisibility spells are in that tower near Leyndell. Radahn was on good terms with the Nox n Sellia. And why wouldn’t he give his sister the spells? Radahn was a warmonger first and foremost. (This is headcanon territory now) I think he initially made the vow with Miquella under the impression that Miquella might be the one to kickstart a giant war. He probably gave Trina her sword with that impression.
He didn’t care for the inequalities plagued by those touched by the crucible, he cared that they could war and fight. I think he was a dude who only cared that if you could serve some wartime purpose, you deserved to be seen as equal. And he probably leaped at the chance to help Ranni out, ally himself with the Godskins, and throw himself at the charge against the other demigods.
If Ranni wanted to kill him, she’d need soldiers. If anyone wanted his great rune, they’d have to fight him. The shattering was a win-win situation as far as he was probably concerned. There would always be some war for him to pursue.
Well, up until Malenia fought him. I think his theme of stagnation kinda fits here. He likely always expected some sort of standstill.
anyways. love your art. And your Rykard. And your Elden Ring thoughts they’re genuinely awesome.
first of all thank you SO MUCH!!! ❤️
I LOVE!! the connection you make between sellian sorcery and the theft of destined death… they really are the perfect spells to pull off a heist, and it is true that Unseen Form and Unseen Blade are hidden in the Mirage Rise on the Altus plateau… why might there be a sellian assassins’ hideout there, of all places?
radahn is of course deeply tied to sellia, which is itself a nox settlement (their magic being called night sorceries, the nox architecture in the town, the nox clergy members as sellia’s boss fight), which are THEMSELVES tied to the carians as a whole, which is a WHOLE can of worms — there are so many connections, like the nox architecture in liurnia, the shared practices of celestial dew and puppetry, the matriarchal ruling classes, the fixation on the moon and stars, the carian/sellian/nox seals looking nearly identical… ok i’m veering off topic. all this to say, radahn seems to have been very friendly with a faction known for assassinations and stealth, that already had ties with his carian family, and that had a long-held grudge against the greater will and its vassals. that relationship aligns insanely well with his sister’s plans!
I totally agree that radahn would have leapt at the chance to prove himself in war, and anticipated that ranni’s actions would have led to open conflict. I’m really compelled by the idea that radahn may have contributed to ranni’s conspiracy with the promise that he’d get to go to war in the future, and not necessarily because he believed in supporting her future plans specifically… someone else removes the status quo, which they all mutually disliked, and then he gets to pursue his own glory in the ensuing conflict! this idea gives a pretty good explanation as to why 1) blaidd seems to consider radahn a traitor, but 2) the fact that radahn is the reason why ranni’s fate is halted is an afterthought to iji, suggesting they weren’t on bad terms — as if ranni and radahn collaborated in the past, but their interests simply diverged. you could say the same thing happened with ranni and rykard, who are directly stated to have worked together, but are now on wildly different paths!
ultimately when I think of radahn, I think of how he idolized godfrey above all else, and how godfrey essentially was incompatible with peacetime… the grace in his eyes faded after his last worthy enemy fell. to me radahn represents the stagnation of endless war, as opposed to ranni, who had a vision for a future age
