Elden Ring may be the most ambitious FromSoftware title yet, and some of its most popular bosses and imagery are already becoming icons in the gaming industry. However, FromSoftware’s Soulsborne library is already packed full of legends, and some fans are hard at work blending these dark fantasy classics together. Now, one Elden Ring fan is making an incredible painting based on the game - and filling it with references to previous Soulsborne titles.
One of the most popular bosses in Elden Ring is Starscourge Radahn, son of Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, and Radagon, the Second Elden Lord. During the shattering, Radahn and his army clashed with his half-sister Melania in a disastrous battle that left Caelid a blasted wasteland and Radahn infected with the Scarlet Rot. He’s placed so that gamers will encounter him about halfway through the game, and he’s gained infamy as one of Elden Ring’s hardest bosses.
Redditor AHonterMustHont recently shared a look at their in-progress painting, which they have dubbed “The festival.” It appears to focus on the boss battle with Radahn in the blighted land of Caelid, with Radahn himself being one of the painting’s focal points. Thus far, they have created an angry red wasteland under a red and black sky. The monotony is broken up by swords planted deep into the ground and a number of silhouettes seemingly approaching the vast form of Radahn with violent intent.
Three visible silhouettes are shown moving toward the shadowy figure of Radahn charging forward on his horse. Interestingly, each of these silhouettes appears to be modeled after an iconic character from a previous FromSoftware title. The list includes Eileen the Crow from Bloodborne, Wolf from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Solaire from Dark Souls. Eileen is in the central foreground with her cloak fluttering in the wind, Solare is on the left about halfway to Radahn, and Wolf is on the right perched on top of a greatsword embedded in the ground.
According to AHonterMustHont, a number of other elements will be added to the piece in the future. They intend to enhance the shadows around Wolf to make it clearer that he’s standing on the sword rather than overlapping with it. Reportedly, they’re also in the process of figuring out how to add Patches to the image. This recurring traitor would be shown running away from Radahn, but AHonterMustHont is concerned that his cowardice would make the painting funnier than intended.
Elden Ring is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
