Elden Ring: Lore Of The Dragons, Explained

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• Where Do They Come From?

• Why Do They Seem Weak(-ish)?

• Why Are There So Few Dragons Now?

• Why Are The Dragons So Varied Now?

• Dragons In Death

• Other Notable Dragons

The Lands Between and Realm Of Shadows of Elden Ring are full of monsters of all shapes and sizes. While most of them would like nothing more to destroy another tarnished, some are better at doing so than others.

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One faction of creature is that of the dragons. A once proud group, they don't seem as healthy as they should when you meet them in Elden Ring. While it doesn't mean they can't put up a good fight, it does raise some questions about their lore. So, how do the dragons fit into the lore of Elden Ring?

Where Do They Come From?

"Greyoll was the mother of all dragons, dwarfing all who stood before her like a looming mountain." -Greyoll's Roar Description

All the dragons that you meet in the game, and every dragon you hear lore about otherwise, are descendants of Greyoll. You can meet Greyoll in the main game, in Greyoll's Barrow in the northeastern part of Caelid.

The eldest of the dragons, and one of the largest by far. When you meet her, she is old, far past her prime, and incapable of movement, let alone fighting back. She is surrounded by various smaller dragons who try to protect her instead.

Why Do They Seem Weak(-ish)?

Like the mother of the dragons, the rest of Greyoll's ilk have all been laid low. But, that wasn't always the case.

Placidusax, one of the most powerful dragons, if not the most powerful for a time, was the first Elden Lord. The rest of the dragons shared a sort of symbiotic relationship between themselves, Placidusax, and the unnamed draconic deity that oversees them all.

The title of First Elden Lord is up for some debate. Chronologically, it is Placidusax, but Godfrey maintains the title, something that probably comes from him being the first Elden Lord of the Erdtree.

During the reign of Placidusax, the dragons ruled The Lands Between, benefiting from immortality, scales made of impenetrable stone, and the power over red draconic lightning.

You can now find these scales, now called Gravel Stone, which are an important crafting material.

It was during this time, that for a reason unknown, the dragons' deity left, causing them to lose their immortal qualities. In turn, people challenged the dragons. A few of the dragons that existed during this time are still around during the time of your tarnished's rise to power, often called Ancient Dragons.

Why Are There So Few Dragons Now?

Once they lost their immortality, many sought to challenge the dragons that ruled The Lands Between. This gave way to the Erdtree gaining power under the Great Rune and the machinations of Marika and Radagon, which led to Placidusax losing his throne and Godfrey gaining it.

It was also found that the hearts of these dragons held innate power for those who consumed them. This led to people hunting them down to gain the powers that the dragons once held dear. Thus, those who followed the Church of Dragon Communion were born, raising holy places across the lands.

Those who consume the heart of the dragons take on some of their physical attributes, such as slitted eyes and even scales (i.e., Ancient Dragon Man).

A Cruel Betrayal

"The ancient dragons who betrayed their lord to side with a tyrant were known for wielding branched red lightning." -Red Lightning Pot Description

On top of all of that, there was a schism in the midst of the dragons, led by Bayle The Tyrant, and also including Senessax and a few other dragons, against Placidusax after they found him weakened. A battle that led to both parties being viciously wounded.

It seems since that fight, Bayle has also found eating the hearts of his kindred as a way to gain power in a world where dragons don't have their inherent abilities anymore.

Why Are The Dragons So Varied Now?

After Placidusax was defeated, he went to Farum Azula with many of the rest of his kind (and some Beastmen that venerated them) to await their god's return, a land now lost to time due to the storm that rages around it.

Sometime between his fall as Elden Lord and his slumber, was when Placidusax was challenged by Bale The Dread, in which they were both maimed severely.

The other dragons were left godless and leaderless. The remaining dragons sought to survive the best they could. Many of the Ancient Dragons sought places away from the battles that raged across The Lands Between, such as Lansseax who has taken residence on the Altus Plateau.

A great ancient dragon, Gransax once rained calamity upon the Royal Capital - the only time in historical record that Leyndell's walls have fallen. This marked the dawn of the war against dragons. -Bolt Of Gransax Description

Others sought revenge,such as Gransax, who attacked the Royal Capital, Leyndell. He was somewhat successful, breaking through many of the defenses before being killed in the Capital proper by Godfrey, who in turn started a crusade against the rest of the dragons.

A New Breed Of Dragons

Dragons were still being born, though. The new ones are marked by only having back legs, their wings instead taking the place of front legs. They also don't have the ability to control the draconic lightning that made many of the ancient ones so deadly.

Instead, many of the new breed of dragons learned new ways of defending themselves. Borealis crafted around it a snowy fog and controls frost. Ekzykes, albeit not purposefully, became a draconic carrier of Scarlet Rot.

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While Smarag and Adula are dragons that seem to have learned Glintstone sorcery as a way of defense. Smarag through devouring sorcerers, and Adula through a pact with Ranni (as detailed in both of their learnable incantations).

The Question Of Wyrms

Further removed from the dragon's ancient lineage are the Magma Wyrms. They are actually not dragons at all:

Those who have performed the Dragon Communion will find their humanity slowly slipping away. Once they fully succumb to their fate, they are left no more than wyrms that crawl the earth. -Magma Breath Description

So, the various Magma Wyrms that you meet on your travels are the conclusion of the Ancient Dragon Cult that consumes their hearts. Something that seems to dissuade few of them considering how many churches, wyrms, and invaders with draconic powers show up throughout the game.

The Dragonkin Soldiers

Alas, the Dragonkin Soldiers never attained immortality, and perished as decrepit, pale imitations of their skyborn kin.-Dragon Halberd Description

Another peculiar offshoot of the original dragons, the Dragonkin Soldiers are large monsters usually found in underground caves and dungeons.

What is peculiar about them is that they are vaguely humanoid, even wearing armor, but with draconic abilities, heads, and claws. The description of the Dragon Halberd hints that they weren't always dragons (or dragon-like). Instead, they were human, or another similar group, that sought to become like them, and were morphed tragically, similar to that of the Great Wyrms.

Dragons In Death

"The very center of the Lands Between. All manners of Death wash up here, only to be suppressed."-Suppressing Pillar

It's not just The Lands Between where you can find remnants of this once great dynasty, there are quite a few dragons that are found in the Land Of Shadow as well.

This is for two main reasons. The first is, it seems that when Marika sectioned off the Land Of Shadow, it caught the dragon Bayle's home at Jagged Peak in the process. Which makes sense as he is growing in power as he eats more and more of his kin. Those who he fights, and his fellow traitors, were also caught with him.

There are a handful of reasons that Marika seems to have sectioned off the Land Of Shadow, but her path to godhood and fear of Messmer's powers seem to be the main ones.

The other is that dragons seem to have plenty of power still, despite their fall. As the Suppressing Pillar states, this is also the place where many creatures go after death.

The still (somewhat) living Ghostflame Dragons symbolize that either death no longer has the hold that it used to (which makes sense considering the use, and neglect of, the Great Rune Of Death), or that dragons still have enough power in their bodies that some can survive in post-death forms.

Other Notable Dragons

Greyll And Agheel

"The dead gazed at the skies over the lakes of Limgrave, praying that the dragons' flames would burn them to ash." -Agheel's Flame Description

Two of the normal Flying Dragons that you can fight throughout the game. Both seem mostly unchanged and uninjured, which, for Greyll is especially impressive considering its proximity to Caelid and the Scarlet Rot.

Both have taken up homes in The Lands Between, seemingly content to etch out their own small hunting grounds. Greyll seems content attacking those that try to cross the bridge to the Bestial Sanctum, while Agheel has taken refuge in a shallow lake (now named for himself) and nearby a village he has burned to the ground.

It seems they are some of the few non-ancient dragons that haven't been severely maimed or have had to learn new forms of defense in a world that wants them dead and gone.

Makar And Theodorix

"The name of the ancient troll warrior Theodorix lives on: as a hero of the War against the Giants." -Theodorix's Magma Description

Makar and Theodorix are both Magma Wyrms, cursed to be near a dragon, but not quite. Makar is classified as a normal Magma Wyrm, with his description stating that he was just a human who ate too many of the dragon's hearts and this is the punishment for the power he so dearly wanted.

Theodorix is a bit different. It seems he was once a troll who fought in their war against the giants, which explains his classification as Great Wyrm, but the transformation in total is not discussed. It can be assumed that to help against the fight against the powerful giants, he too consumed the hearts of dragons to get an edge in battle.

Fortissax

"After Godwyn the Golden became the Prince of Death, the ancient dragon fought long and hard against the Death within its companion. Alas, victory was never achieved and its only reward was corruption." -Remembrance Of The Lichdragon Description

Fortissax seems to be the only dragon to be named Lichdragon. This is due to his special relationship to the Great Rune Of Death.

Fortissax, during the fight between the dragons and The Golden Order, aligned himself with Godwyn. It is unsure if that is through necessity or both had something to gain from this alliance.

Either way, after the assassination of Godwyn it seems the powers imbued to him through the Great Rune Of Death had an effect on Fortissax too, bringing him to a state of limbo between death and life.

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