Elden Ring is an amazing game. As someone who was already a fan of FromSoft's "Soulsborne" games, it was a remarkable evolution of the genre. I also appreciated that the game was a bit easier (not, like, by a huge amount, mind you) than earlier titles, though that lowered difficulty may have simply sprung from the open world's openness and the ability to set aside frustrating challenges to go find something else to do (also, if you play as a rabid completionist, you'll level up more than you would otherwise).
The main plot of Elden Ring - somewhat less obscure than other games, but still vague enough to be widely open to interpretation - is that the god of the realm, Queen Marika, shattered the Elden Ring - a sort of sacred constitution that embodied the physical laws of the world - an age ago, which caused her to be imprisoned for her transgression and left her various demigod children to fight for supremacy.
The demigods, then, are largely the major bosses of the game. Each has its own faction devoted to it, which you'll encounter in various places. Indeed, in true FromSoft fashion, finding a member of one faction somewhere unexpected in the world can be a tantalizing hint that there's some secret plot going on.
But there's one problem:
Too many of the factions use red as their main color.
I'll argue that the following factions - which are either led by a demigod or some other powerful entity - are the major ones you deal with over the course of the game:
Godrick's Army - led by Godrick the Grafted
Raya Lucaria - led by Rennala (though really Ranni, as Rennala is not in her right mind)
Volcano Manor - led by Rykard
Redmane Guard - "led" by General Radahn (though he's totally lost his mind)
Leyndell - led by Omen King Morgott
Mohgwyn Dynasty - led by Mohg
Ephael - led by Miquella, with Malenia by his side
There are other factions, of course, to consider (it also seems that the Knights of the Cuckoo out of Raya Lucaria made war on Caria Manor, which I don't really understand given that both are ruled by Rennala). I'd even be tempted to toss in the Fire Cult with their "leader" as the Fire Giant, if only to show another example of red (and the red hair of the fire giant ties into the offspring of Radagon).
Anyway, Of these factions, red is the main color of Volcano Manor, the Redmane Guard, and Mohgwyn Dynasty. And that's even setting aside that the Cleanrot Knights, who serve Malenia and are similarly afflicted with/spreading the Scarlet Rot are... you know, kind of red-themed.
Where it gets especially confusing is that Mohg is associated with "bloody fingers," who invade others' worlds and basically represent the PvP system. But Volcano Manor is also basically a society of assassins who... invade others worlds and kill them.
Indeed, Rykard and Mohg both take on somewhat Satanic archetypes - I suppose the main difference being that Mohg is associated more with blood while Rykard is more associated with lava.
Now, Radagon has red hair (likely a reference to Thor - the fact that he took over as Marika's consort from Godfrey, who is clearly based on Heracles/Hercules, sort of suggests a passive of ages from Greek to Norse myth) seems to imply that he's descended from the Fire Giants, likely a source of shame given their antagonistic relationship with Marika. We do notice, though, the Radagon's children - both those with Rennala (Rykard, Ranni, and Radahn) and with Marika (Miquella and Malenia... and I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest Melina as well,) of the ones we see who still have hair, all have that red hair (while the Ranni we interact with doesn't, she's possessing a big doll. Her actual corpse, atop the Divine Tower of Liurnia, does have red hair).
There is some evidence that suggests Mohg was a late addition to the game. I believe his model's file is labeled simply as something like "Omen Demon" or the like, meaning he might have been meant to be a generic enemy. But as it stands, Mohg actually winds up being one of the oldest of the demigods, along with Margott. And the fact that both were born as Omens could potentially have been why Marika sent Godfrey off and found/became Radagon. (I think Radagon and Marika must have begun as separate people, given that Marika is said to have been a Numen while Radagon, as discussed above, was descended from Fire Giants). Incidentally, the word Monster is derived from the latin "monstrum," which means Omen, which I think is why the horned-ogre-people in Elden Ring are called that - it's the sort of quintessential "monster."
I wonder if they intend to do an Elden Ring II, or to have the game sit as a one-off like Demon's Souls and Bloodborne (though fingers crossed for a sequel to the latter). I imagine there will be some major transformation to the world and all new figures and factions within it. But let's maybe get some different colors in there, shall we?
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