In Elden Ring lore, the Fire Giants were very powerful and fascinating beings. The Tarnished killed the last of the Fire Giant’s kind in a difficult boss fight in the late-game sections, and it’s a rather tragic fight. Let’s explore more about the Fire Giants and their powers.
The Fire Giant is a survivor of the War against the Giants. Upon realizing the flames of their forge would never die, Queen Marika marked him with a curse.
“O trifling giant, mayest thou tend thy flame for eternity
It wasn’t possible for any normal beings to live on the ice-cold northern mountaintop of the Lands Between. But the Fire Giants made an entire civilization there. There were a lot of Fire Giants. With the Flame of the Fell God in their possession, they weren’t affected by the otherwise unbearable cold. They were powerful warriors as well, who utilized Fire magic to bring down their foes. They didn’t harm anyone, they only wanted to live peacefully on the mountaintops they called home. There’s a high possibility that their community was prosperous. They even had a giant forge on top of the mountain, and that burnt extremely hot for eternity.
Despite the Giants’ peaceful existence, Queen Marika feared them. She thought that they were a threat to the Erdtree. Her twisted plans would all fall apart if they set the Erdtree Aflame, so she got her husband, Lord Godfrey to wage war against the Giants and kill them all.
The end of the Fire Giants
It’s possible that Marika married Godfrey because of this sole reason. She might’ve needed a competent warrior to destroy the Giants’ civilization… It could be that Hoarah Loux, Godfrey, was only being used by Marika…
It surely was a fierce and terrible battle. Godfrey was an inhuman warrior and he could overcome the giants. The Giants fought desperately, even using the Flame of the Fell God against Godfrey, but they ultimately failed.
This battle occurred only because of Queen Marika’s paranoia. There aren’t implications in Elden Ring lore that strictly says that the Giants wanted to burn the Erdtree. It could be that they only wanted their civilization to thrive… It was a tragic situation indeed…
The aftermath of this destructive battle was many deaths on Godfrey’s side, his banishment from the Lands Between because his purpose was now fulfilled in Marika’s eyes, and the entire race of the Fire Giants wiped out except for one.
The Tarnished, you, then arrive. The Last Fire Giant of its kind, who’s injured, is in his way to becoming the Elden Lord. He kills the last Fire Giants, ending its kind for good.
Paranoia and the power struggle in the Lands Between destroyed the Fire Giants.
Who were the Fire Giants based on?
There’s a high chance that the Fire Giants were inspired by the Norse jötunn. (a race of Giants in Norse mythology. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B6tunn) Specifically, the Fire Giant Surtr.
Surtr was an enemy of the gods (Aesir) of Norse mythology. And the Fire Giants in Elden Ring also opposed Marika and the Erdtree, so Lord Godfrey waged war against them. Read more about Godfrey here: https://gamefreaks365.com/elden-ring-lore-warriors-of-the-badlands/
Fire Giants’ Incantations
There’s a lot we can uncover by reading the descriptions of Fire Giants’ Incantations. A Fell God granted these powers to the Giants.
Giant’s Prayerbook
Prayerbook that contains the secrets of the Fire Giants. Kept hidden by the prelates who monitor the Giant’s Flame.
Read further to learn more about the Fire Prelates that are mentioned in the above quote.
- Burn O Flame!
The Fire Giants borrowed from the power of a fell god, and still they were defeated. Yet their failure released them from their solitary curse: to serve as keepers of the Flame for eternity.
The Fire Giants worshipped a Fell God. There isn’t much information about this God in the game. Likely, the Giants borrowed this power to fight off Lord Godfrey, but he still defeated them.
The Fire Giants were required to take care of the Fell God’s flame for eternity but when Queen Marika’s attack led by Godfrey caused their defeat, they were released from that curse.
- Flame of the Fell God
Arghanthy, the chief guardian of the Flame, had kept this incantation a well-kept secret until it was stolen by Adan. The fell god still lurks within the Fire Giants.
Arghanthy is a Fire Prelate. There will be an entry about them below. Let’s explore more info about Adan below.
Adan, Thief of Fire
Not much is currently known about Adan, Thief of Fire except for that he is the one to have stolen the Incantation, Flame of the Fell God from Arghanthy, the chief guardian of the Flame. Adan is imprisoned within the Malefactor’s Evergaol.
Elden Ring Fandom
Arghanthy and other Fire Monks were located in the Guardian’s Garrison on the Giants’ Mountaintop. Despite him stealing the incantation, when the Tarnished finds him, he’s imprisoned in an Evergaol, so he was obviously caught by someone, if not the Fire Monks themselves.
He indeed possessed the Flame of the Fell God because he drops it after you kill him.
Fire Prelates, Fire Monks, and The Chief Guardian Arghanthy
The weighty frames of the Prelates symbolized the onus of their grave vows as guardians of the flame.
“Etch this sight upon thine breast. Of my thunderous gravity.”
Description of the Fire Prelates
The Fire Prelates have a rather stout figure. The Thief Adan might’ve also been associated with them because he also possesses a stout figure and his outfit bears resemblances to the prelate’s armor set.
The Fire Monks are guardians of the flame of ruin, forbidden by the Erdtree and said to be kept high in the Mountaintops of the Giants.
The monks came to the land of Liurnia in pursuit of a fugitive who stole their fire.
Fire Monks’ description
The Fire Monks weren’t originally from the Lands Between, and they only came there because their chase of Adan led them.
When the Tarnished finds him, Adan is imprisoned in an Evergaol. It’s possible that the Monks imprisoned him themselves, but that’s just speculation.
Fire Monks keeps tabs on the Fell God’s flame. It is possible that this Fell God gave them the Flame and cursed them with the task of keeping it for eternity, just like he did to the Fire Giants. Be mindful that this too is speculation.
