Melina is one of the first friendly characters players meet in Elden Ring, but who is this mysterious Finger Maiden, and how will she factor into the DLC? Spoilers lurk below!
In Elden Ring, Melina serves as a guide and confidant to the Tarnished player for the duration of the story. Her role in the game is similar to that of the Maiden in Black, the Fire Keepers, and the Living Doll from Demon’s/Dark Souls and Bloodborne. The key difference is that Melina isn’t used to level up. Her goal is to travel with the player to the Erdtree and bring an end to the Shattering War that has engulfed the Lands Between.
Melina also proposes making you the new Elden Lord if you can lead her to the Erdtree, so the alliance is established very early in the story. However, both the player and Melina hit some stumbling blocks along their journey, and should the player make certain choices, their partnership can fall apart completely.
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Melina’s role in Elden Ring
Melina will first approach the player as they rest at a Site of Grace before the battle with Margit. As the Tarnished is “Maidenless” she will offer to fill that role for them. This involves guiding the player down the Path of Grace as laid out for them by the Goddess Marika. She also gives the player their mount, Torrent.
Throughout the game, Melina will periodically visit the Tarnished and offer insight into the world and characters. Once the player reaches the throneroom at the foot of the Erdtree, they’ll be able to summon Melina (and possibly Dung Eater) to aid them in the battle against King Morgott.
Once the battle ends and Morgott is defeated, Melina realizes that Marika has blocked access to the Erdtree with unbreakable vines. This forces her and the Tarnished to travel to the Mountaintops of the Giants to use the ancient and forbidden Flame that once governed the world before the coming of Marika.
After the Tarnished defeats the mighty Fire Giant guardian, Melina then takes the Flame into herself and uses its power to burn away the vines, allowing the player to enter the Erdtree. Melina dies doing this and thanks the Tarnished for their alliance. The death is never confirmed, but it’s strongly implied that Melina gave her life to ensure the future of the Lands Between by aiding the next Elden Lord.
However, should the Tarnished follow a different path and choose to become the Lord of Frenzied Flame, burning away the world into nothing, then Melina will abandon the Tarnished and declare their alliance is at an end. She also warns the player that if they continue down this path, she’ll hunt them down and kill them. In this ending, the player has no need for Melina after slaying the Fire Giant and uses the Frenzied Flame to burn away the vines, consuming the Giant’s Flame in the process.
Once the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending plays out, Melina can be seen picking up the ring that Torrent resides in and states she’s coming after the Tarnished for revenge.
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Who is Melina in Elden Ring?
Melina’s true identity and why she’s helping the Tarnished is never fully revealed in Elden Ring, however, the dialogue gives us plenty of hints as to who she really is. Melina claims she was “born at the foot of the Erdtree” and is on a quest “given to her by her mother”. This heavily implies that Melina is one of Marika’s demigod children and like her siblings, is trying to end the Shattering.
However, while most of her siblings hold a shard of the Elden Ring and war with each other for the others, Melina is attempting to end the stalemate by installing a new Elden Lord. This also means killing her siblings and taking their shards, including the current King Mortgott. This would also imply that Marika did not want any of her children to succeed her, which is why the guidance of grace was returned to the Tarnished warriors who left the Lands Between with her first husband, Godfrey.
Marika and her second husband, Radagon, gave all their children a name that started with the letter M, such as Malenia, Miquella, and Messmer. A daughter with the name Melina would also fit that description, as would her red hair, which many of Radagon’s children inherited. Of course, Melina’s identity as a child of Marika could just be a red herring too, but as of right now, this is the most likely scenario.
Will Melina be in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC?
The Shadow of the Erdtee DLC will pit the Tarnished against Messmer the Impaler who is likely to be Melina’s brother. Miquella will also feature heavily in the story of the expansion, should he escape the clutches of his villainous half-brother, Mohg, the Lord of Blood.
As the expansion is set to take place during the events of Elden Ring and not after it, Melina is likely still alive and guiding the Tarnished during the events of Shadow of the Erdtree. However, if the player has already started the path towards the Frenzied Flame ending, she may not appear.
If the player has already seen the ending of the game and sacrificed Melina to the Flame, then the character could already be dead and therefore not able to make an appearance. So, it all my depend on each player and their choices.
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