A new video takes a closer look atElden Ring’s Cleanrot Knight enemies, prompting the question of whether they’re mind-controlled by the Scarlet Rot.Elden Ringfans love to consider the lore of Malenia, a demigod born with the Scarlet Rot, but fail to take a closer look at the knights that worship her. If they did, they may have noticed evidence that there’s more to the Cleanrot Knights than first expected. Evidence that could mean another layer of Scarlet Rot manipulation beyond expectations.
The Cleanrot Knights are soldiers that fought alongside Malenia during the Shattering. In doing so, they were infected with Malenia’s Scarlet Rot yet remained loyal nonetheless. The Scarlet Rot is an insidious plague that manifests as a fungal infection, presenting in people as rotting flesh like with Malenia or with growths of fungus for others. The Scarlet Rot is the product of anOuter Godnamed the Sealed God of the Scarlet Rot, who is trapped in the earth but whose poison spreads upwards endlessly.
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In a new video from Zullie the Witch, she takes a closer look a the Cleanrot Knights' armor and uncovers a secret. The first discovery is that theCleanrot Knightshave insectile wings, hidden among their clothing and armor. This is especially strange, but could convey they’re much further transformed under their armor than their humanoid shape might imply.
The second, and larger discovery that Zullie makes is a network of vine-like branches running through the Cleanrot Knights' armor and bodies. In some ways, they mirror the thorns ofGodwyn, Prince of Death, or even the Giants that the Golden Order impaled with tree saplings. Investigating further, Zullie finds that the files for these vines are named “Cordyceps.” This is a fungus often associated with zombie bugs, infecting and taking over bugs' bodies.
While Zullie provides further detail regarding the nature of Cordyceps, she doesn’t delve into what it could mean withinElden Ring’s lore. One obvious theory is that the Cleanrot Knights are being controlled by the Scarlet Rot and not by their own decision-making. The question then is whether the Cleanrot Knights have an ulterior motive for supporting Malenia, whether the Sealed God is driving the spread of Scarlet Rot personally even from his jail.
As with so many ofElden Ring’s secrets, players will never fully know the truth. In many ways, FromSoftware may not know what the truth is due to development cycles leading to rewrites, canceled storylines, or just fun ideas that came together purely by accident. The Scarlet Rot is yet another topic FromSoftware could easily makeElden RingDLCfor, but which may be better left mysterious.
Elden Ringis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
