Datamined Elden Ring cutscene gives more clues about DLC villain Miquella's original story

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Longtime FromSoftware dataminer Lance McDonald has unveiled his latest discovery from deep in the bowels of Elden Ring , a WIP base game cutscene featuring DLC antagonist Miquella the Kind, who remains one of the most enigmatic characters in any FromSoft game.

The cut scene (cut cutscene?) shows Miquella planting a sapling Haligtree⁠—the endgame dungeon where you fight Malenia⁠—then watering it with his own blood.

It takes place in a modified version of Malenia's boss room, further solidifying its connection with the origins of the Haligtree.

Miquella's character model appears to be the same as the one from his final scene in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion .

I can't tell if this is Miquella's same voice actor as in Shadow of the Erdtree, Naomi McDonald (no relation).

His voice sounds more childlike and feminine, but that could be a matter of delivery.

McDonald, for what it's worth, has an impressive range: You may remember her as Stone Trader Chloanne in Dark Souls 2 or Johnny the Godling from The Witcher 3.

While the exact order of the voice lines is not certain due to a missing intermediary file, McDonald played them in the order that they are listed in Elden Ring's files:
" Young seedling, young seedling, grow larger, stronger.

My dear twin, accept this gift, a gift of abundance.

My last drop of dew.

Let all things flourish, whether graceful or malign.

If thou coveteth the throne, impress my vision upon thine heart.

In the new world of thine making, all things will flourish, whether graceful or malign.

"
Yep, that's FromSoft dialogue alright.

According to McDonald, this cutscene would have played when you received part of the Dectus Medallion from Gideon Ofnir at Roundtable Hold, almost like a teaser for the Haligtree subplot.

Here are a few of my takeaways, as a freak for the lore:
Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer.

He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting.

When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch.

You can follow Ted on Bluesky .

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