Elden Ring is surely a surprise, the quintessential of Souls-like games set in a gigantic open world. If previous Fromsoftware’s games were full of creepy enemies and cryptic lore to analyse, the huge world of Elden Ring has an incredible amount of secrets to discover. Between decadent families of demigods, different continents, mysterious characters, mystique diseases, and even forgotten Gods, the world is enriched in lore to uncover.
Between the dozens of places available on the map, Volcano Manor particularly struck my curiosity, as well as the ones of many other players. Standing on top of an active volcano, the manor is a festival of secrets, luxurious hallways, torture chambers, and of course a lot of incandescent magma. Volcano Manor is the house of Praetor Rykard, one of the Demigods in this land, in charge of a fragment of the Elden Ring, as well as of an army. In the past, Rykard was probably a tough and mean man, blind by his own convictions. Volcano Manor is full of torture chambers and instruments, which Rykard was quite keen to use, especially to extract the secrets from “nobles behind the curtain of Volcano Manor” (ref: Inquisitor Girandole). Feared and respected, Rykard ruled surrounded by fire and soldiers. However, his fierce character was not immune to female beauty, especially when he met Tanith, an exotic and beautiful dancer from a far land. The enchantment was mutual, and Tanith quickly became the queen of Volcano Manor (ref: Tanith’s Mask). Tanith became the closest person to Rykard, loving and almost worshipping him.
But at some point, something in Rykard snapped. The timeline is not clear, but it probably happened after the murder of Godwyn, the first of the Demigods, which caused a Shattering through the world. The mischievous event was orchestrated by Ranni, another Demigod, which stole the Death Rune, an artifact controlling death and able to kill even Gods, and used it to arm an elite of assassins known as the Black Knives. If it is clear from the in-game dialogues that Ranni is the mind behind the murder, we also know from the description of the Blasphemous Claw that Rykard also had a main role to play: “On the night of the dire plot, Ranni rewarded Praetor Rykard with these traces”. It is not clear what Rykard’s contribution was, maybe he directly stole the Death Rune or kidnapped Godwyn, but whatever his part, he was rewarded with an item to boost his resistance to the Death Rune itself.
At some point, Rykard starts to be acknowledged as Lord of Blasphemy for an unspoken and unforgettable sin that he committed. There are different theories supporting this story, and if the snake is one of them, the plot to kill Godrey could also be another. For the moment, let’s continue with the history, but now some missing pieces will be filled with more theories, because the story starts to ge convoluted.
Rykard discovered a secret hidden in the depth of Volcano Manor: the Immortal Snake. This old and forgotten God was slumbering in the caves beneath the Manor, a hungry and ferocious being. The Snake was not a recent discovery, since it was already worshipped by an ancient cult, of which only a few tools remain, formerly employed to perform sacrifices: “Curved sword fashioned in the image of an ancient serpent deity and tool of a forgotten religion practiced on Mt. Gelmir. Formerly used to offer up sacrifices”. (ref: Serpent God Sword). Instead of being worried about the Snake’s presence, Rykard got obsessed and fascinated by this creature, probably also due to the charming abilities of the Snake (as claimed in Tanith’s set). And, as in proper biblical story of temptation, Rykard fell into that huge temptation, literally allowing the Snake to devour him. And as you can see in one of the introductory images, it was not pleasant. And if you think that the one being devoured by the Snake is not Rykard, think it twice, because his appearance is very similar to the amulet Taker’s Cameo showing his image. And while the Snake was devouring him, Rykard was dreaming of a future in which he will devour everything, Gods and planet included (ref: Devourer’s Scepter).
What happens when an ancient and forgotten God devours and fuses itself with a Demigod? The results are powerful and disturbing as expected. Rykard’s body got twisted and merged with the interiors of the Snake, transforming into a unique and terrifying creature. He also started to get obsessed with a new and twisted form of lurking for power: devouring strong beings and growing in size. If the assassination of Godfrey was not the great Blasphemy that he is accused of, probably fusing with a forgotten God is the primary cause. If his soldier didn’t abandon him before, probably now is the reason why they left him. Or more probable, they left to don’t become Rykard’s next meal. Strangely, Tanith stayed by his side even in his new and hideous form, charmed by the powers of this newborn God (ref: Tanith’s Mask).
To feed his cannibal ambition, and to assemble a new army, Rykard probably started to build the mechanical Abducting Virgins. As specified by Patches in previous dialogues, in the beginning, the Abducting Virgins had a spell inside to teleport people to the Manor, probably to become the next meal of Rykard. But now, the Virgins are almost all broken, and judging from the many destroyed Virgins inside caves and the Manor itself, they were probably the first experiment to bring people to the Manor. Of course, there is a bit of speculation here, since maybe the Abducting Virgins were instruments that Rykard already employed before the Snake. However, the fact that inside the Abducting Virgins is lurking what looks like a mass of snakes, and that these machines are also fighting against the ex-soldier of Rykard’s army on the mountain, makes me believe that the Abducting Virgins came after the fusion with the Snake.
After the Abducting Virgins’ failure, Tanith probably had the idea of the actual Volcano Manor, a plan to willingly bring champions directly to the Rykard’s chamber. Volcano Manor became a guild recruiting people that crave to destroy the Erdtree. The recruits need to assassinate other people around the world, and, after completing at least three other contracts, they are ready to meet the master. And what happens when a champion meets with Rykard? You probably guessed right, it is devoured and absorbed, becoming part of Rykard’s new family and increasing the gigantic size of the Snake: “the lord granted them an audience, where upon they were welcomed by the maw of the great serpent- and within the serpent’s bowels, they became the lord’s kin” (ref: Rykard’s Rancor). This is also quite clear when Rykard wields the gigantic Blasphemous blade, covered in the tormented souls of the devoured people. Till the day that Rykard will grow strong enough to devour the Gods themselves.
In the depth of Volcano Manor, where the giant Snake is slumbering, also lives a tribe of Snakemen, or Man-Serpents. Loyal to Rykard, these creatures can shapeshift to a human appearance, as for Rya, member of Volcano Manor and, apparently, daughter of Tanith. If you could easily think that the Snakesmen were part of the cult worshipping the Snake, you are far from reality, because accordingly to the description of the Man-Serpent ashes, the Snakemen appeared after Rykard got devoured by the Snake: “It is said that long ago, the elder serpent that dwelled on Mt. Gelmir devoured a demigod, and the birth of the man-serpents followed” (ref: Man-Serpent Ashes. So, if before there were snakes, after the fusion with the Demigod, now there are Man-Serpents loyal to Rykard. Finally, Rykard obtained his new army. However, a disturbing and grotesque secret lies behind the genesis of those creatures. Because inside the Manor, the player can also find a sort of embryo of a Snakeman. But if Tanith is the mother of the Snakewoman Rya, and Rykard is the father of all the Snakes, how did the blasphemous birth and conception happen? The grotesque answer is not clear and open to interpretations, but it probably includes organic materials from the mother and a blasphemous ritual: “Amnion from the mother’s womb which cradled the poor unwanted offspring of a repellant birthing ritual” (ref: Serpent’s Amnion).
When the player is finally able to slay Rykard and the Snake, Volcano Manor will disband, missing the purpose of providing new champions to feed the Demigod. However, Tanith will try to continue the unholy purpose of her husband. In fact, you can catch Tanith in the act of devouring Rykard’s body, trying to give continuity to his quest. A grotesque conclusion for one of the most disturbing locations in Elden Ring.
However, it is still not completely sure if this is the true end of this questline. With the many secrets still hiding in Elden Ring, what if she will one day finish to devour Rykard’s body?
Surreal and Creepy 
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