Elden Ring: Who Fia, Deathbed Companion, Really Is
Emma Horne Elden Ring's Deathbed Companion Fia reveals herself to be one of the most important characters in the Lands Between as the mother of the undead.
The first few meetings with Fia in Elden Ring are bewildering experiences, as she tells the Tarnished she is a Deathbed Companion, asks if she may hold them to attain their vigor, and then blesses them by slightly lowering their HP. Despite being confusing, this series of actions prepares players for the character's convoluted storyline, which has major lore implications within the game. The Deathbed Companion whose embrace may appear to be nothing but a brief respite in the Lands Between is actually one of the few forces that stands a chance against toppling the regime of Marika and Radagon in Elden Ring.
However, the extent of Fia's strengths and aims remains much of a mystery throughout the game. For the most part, it appears her ability as a Deathbed Companion is limited to granting champions the Baldachin's Blessing, which heightens physical damage negation and boosts poise at the cost of a tiny bit of HP. Her relationship with Sorcerer Rogier, studier of the Death Rune, makes it clear that there is more to Fia than meets the eye, though. When Fia asks the Tarnished to speak to the sorcerer about Black Knifeprints, she reveals she is not only interested in the death of Godwyn the Golden but she is also sleeping with other Tarnished and obtaining their vigor.
The revelation of Fia's interests catapults the Tarnished into a series of events that shows how Fia's plan in Elden Ring isn't to become the Deathbed Companion of just any Tarnished - she seeks to become the Companion of Godwyn, the Prince of Death, in turn making her the mother of Those Who Live In Death. She does so in complete defiance of the Golden Order and the Two Fingers, who, despite taking her into the Roundtable Hold, have long hunted Those Who Live In Death remorselessly. Though her title as a Deathbed Companion may make her association with the undead sound natural, the relationship is actually much more complex and has to do with who the Tarnished and Companions are, the corruption of the Erdtree, and the will to take a stand against evil.
Fia In Elden Ring - Who The Deathbed Companions Are
To understand who Fia is and why her motivations are so ambitious, one first has to understand who the Deathbed Companions are. This group of women are part of a Tarnished community that lies beyond Elden Ring's Lands Between. While the formation of the group and its original intent are not clear, by the time Elden Ring takes place, their mission is to gain vigor from champions like the Tarnished themselves to both prevent their souls from being taken by the Erdtree after death and to use this stored vigor to give the corpse of an exalted noble another chance at life.
To some, this mission may not make much sense because Queen Marika got rid of the Death Rune long before even the Shattering took place. Thus, there would be no souls to end up saving from the Golden Order by the time of Elden Ring. However, the way immortality actually functions in the Lands Between is by absorbing the "memory" of those who have passed into the Erdtree itself, in turn fueling its growth (hence why players obtain the memories of the demigods they defeat). Because the Deathbed Companions hope to lead champions in comfortable deaths while using their vigor to fuel the life of a dead noble, the Companions and the Golden Order are at complete odds with one another.
However, Fia holds an even deeper animosity for the Golder Order because she was touched by Grace. Her association with the Erdtree resulted in her getting kicked out of her home and ultimately placed in the Lands Between of Elden Ring, where the influence of the Golden Order still dominates. While there, Fia got to see more closely the mistreatment Those Who Live In Death face at the hands of the Golden Order and the suffering immortality has caused those who are forced to wait to be taken by the Erdtree. On top of this, Fia learns that the Golden Order baselessly chooses who becomes an undead from Rogier, meaning that the torture these people go through is without reason. And as a Deathbed Companion whose hope is to guide champions to peaceful deaths, this goes completely against Fia's moral code.
Godwyn, Fia, & The Mother Of Those Who Live In Death In Elden Ring
To act against the Golden Order and stop the poor treatment of Those Who Live In Death, Fia decides that she will become the Deathbed Companion of Godwyn, the Prince of Death. By being the first of the demigods to be slain in Elden Ring, Godwyn became the figurehead of Those Who Live In Death. Just as they are perpetually stuck in their decaying flesh because of the Erdtree's baseless resistance to them, Godwyn's flesh has become an empty husk after his soul was destroyed by the Black Knife Assassins in the event that caused the Shattering in Elden Ring. In turn, Fia will become the mother of Those Who Live In Death by being the Companion of the group's figurehead.
Fia's plan is to use her abilities as a Deathbed Companion to give Godwyn a second chance at life, a life he could use to reestablish death in the Lands Between after personally suffering from the consequences of immortality. To do so, Fia and Elden Ring's forsaken Tarnished have to collect the Hallowbrands left on his and Ranni's flesh during the Night of the Black Knives, as these Hollowbrands contain his soul. In combination with Fia's ability to resurrect nobles with the vigor of the Champions she assisted, it seems Fia's plan will assure a completely resurrected Godwyn.
However, once she lays with Godwyn, she does not birth the Prince of Death: She births the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince. As the item description explains, this rune is meant to be used by the Tarnished upon becoming Elden Lord to reestablish mortality in the Lands Between, thus freeing Those Who Walk In Death from their eternal torture. The rune specifically states. "The Golden Order was created by confining Destined Death. Thus, this new Order will be one of Death restored." This in turn unlocks one of Elden Ring’s secret endings.
Unlike most power-hungry characters in Elden Ring, Fia is one of the only to use the power she obtains not to become Elden Lord herself but rather the protector of people she loves. As she states upon defending her decision to become Godwyn's Companion, "I wished to be a mother to Those Who Live in Death. So it is, that any loathing, any hatred that overshadows them... I must bear, as a matter of duty, with my own flesh." Thus, if Fia is to be described as anything in Elden Ring, it should be as a character of great moral fortitude.
