One of the core characters in the story of ELDEN RING is Goldmask.

The Goldmask is a very peculiar character who is stark naked and stiff while indulging in contemplation on the Golden Order.

The Goldmask and Corhyn also paly the role in the branching of the ending.

In this article, a native Japanese writer explained the lore of Goldmask, Corhyn, and the Age of Order Ending including Japanese backgrounds.

目次 (Contents)

Genius Scholar
Golden Order
Corhyn
Freeze
Last Moment
Why Did Corhyn Kill Goldmask
Age of Order Ending
Postscript

Genius Scholar

The true identity of the Goldmask is a genius scholar.

In addition, the features of the Goldmask are silence, nakedness, and rigidity which are for concentrating on the pursuit of the Golden Order.

For example, the reason why the Goldmask is naked is described in the text of Goldmask’s Rags.

Goldmask’s Rags
Lord Goldmask felt no draw to the vain excess of clothing; what use is finery to one who seeks greater brilliance?

In Japanese version, “greater brilliance” is translated into “探求 (exploring)”.

The madness of not even wearing clothes if it doesn’t help the search is a ideal model of a super researcher…

And, the Goldmask is quite thin, which would be because he has been exploring too much and not been eating.

By the way, the Goldmask is a Tarnished as mentioned in the opening movie.

Golden Order

Goldmask has been researching for the Golden Order.

Simply put, the Golden Order records souls and bodies in the Erdtree and give them eternal life.

In addition, the Golden Order is explained by two powers Law of Regression and the Law of Causality.

Law of Regression
The fundamentalists describe the Golden Order through the powers of regression and causality. Regression is the pull of meaning; that all things yearn eternally to converge.

Law of Causality
The fundamentalists describe the Golden Order through the powers of regression and causality. Causality is the pull between meanings; that which links all things in a chain of relation.

In short, the Golden Order gives the eternity to both individual and group.

So, the Golden Order looks perfect.

However, the Goldmask found an imperfection in the Golden Order.

I will explain later.

Corhyn

As mentioned earlier, the Goldmask is silent and conveys his thoughts with the movement of his fingers.

So, Corhyn has been reading and recording the thoughts of Goldmask.

Corhyn describes the Goldmask as follows:

Corhyn
Do you know of the noble Goldmask?
Though he was a Tarnished, living outside the Lands Between, he was a great scholar, who foresaw the coming guidance of grace.
And now, I hear he has come to the Lands between alone, to contemplate the Golden Order…
I wish nothing more than to seek his instruction, and perhaps even help him in his research.

The Goldmask must be a really great scholar, because he accurately foresaw that the Golden Order would bless people again.

Freeze

However, the Goldmask got to freeze because he cannot realize Marika is Radagon.

Corhyn
Now the master is facing quite the puzzle.
The Golden Order is founded on the principle that Marika is the one true god. However…
The name of Marika’s second husband, King Consort Radagon, also appeared…
Who exactly was Radagon?
The master is stumped.
His finger has remained still, ever since Radagon’s name was discovered.
Curse my mediocre mind.

If you tell the Goldmask that Marika is Radagon, he begins to think and move again.

Last Moment

The Goldmask must have been killed by Corhyn.

Corhyn was a Goldmask believer at first, but as the story progresses, he begins to question the way of Goldmask’s thinking.

At the end of the story, the Goldmask is found murdered, and Corhyn repents near his corpse.

Corhyn
The master was nothing more than a madman.
Enchanted by a vain and ruinous delusion, he rejected the perfection of the Golden Order,
seeking to supplant our glorious faith with his own!
Could there be a more pitiable comedy?
Look at it. The culmination of perfection, burning, before our very eyes!

The fact that Corhyn was looking at his own hands near the Goldmask’s corpse suggests he has killed the Goldmask.

In addition, the Mending Rune of Perfect Order was on the Goldmask’s corpse.

Mending Rune of Perfect Order
A rune of transcendental ideology which will attempt to perfect the Golden Order.
The current imperfection of the Golden Order, or instability of ideology, can be blamed upon the fickleness of the gods no better than men. That is the fly in the ointment.

Why Did Corhyn Kill Goldmask

From the text of the Mending Rune of Perfect Order, Goldmask concludes that the imperfection of the current Golden Order is the fluctuation of the viewpoint, which is clearer in Japanese version.

“the fickleness of the gods” must be the difference of thoughts between Marika and Radagon.

In Japanese version, Mending Rune of Perfect Order says, “人のごとき、心持つ神など不要(There is no need for a god with a heart like a human)”

A god with a heart like a human must refer to Marika who shattered the Elden Ring to save her children.

The reason why Marika shattered the Elden Ring is explained in this article.

Anyway, we can see that the Goldmask points out the imperfection of the current Golden Order, which must be the very reason why Corhyn killed the Goldmask.

Since Corhyn believes in the current Golden Order, so he began to hate the Goldmask, who denies the Golden Order.

This hate may have led Corhyn to kill Goldmask.

Age of Order Ending

Then, by repairing the Elden Ring with the Mending Rune of Perfect Order, you can see the Age of Order Ending.

In the Age of Order Ending, the Erdtree shines brilliantly.

In the world of the perfect Order, the fluctuation of the viewpoint, which is a drawback of the current Golden Order, would disappeare.

In other words, the absolute monarchy of the Golden Order will be established.

In this world, even questioning the Golden Order would not be allowed.

A world that is coherent but allows only one way of thinking, or a world that is not coherent but allows diversity… Which world is better is a difficult question even in the real world we live in…

Postscript

This article explained the lore of Goldmask, Corhyn, and the Age of Order Ending.