various Roundtable Holds indicate that there are spatial similarities beyond Limveld's ing resemblance to Limgrave, but there has yet to be any concrete evidence of a shared timeline. There is, however, a minute detail in one of Nightreign's trailers that confirms some very important events from Elden Ring also took place in its continuity.

The co-op roguelite action game is not only a bold departure from Elden Ring; it's interesting new territory for FromSoftware's Souls catalog after the studio's famed formula has been honed for over a decade following its establishment by Demon's Souls. Nightreign is far outside of RPG territory, and it's even taking liberties with how FromSoftware is telling the story. But it does still have Elden Ring in the name, and the most iconic landmark in the Lands Between has seemingly been confirmed as having existed in Nightreign.

Elden Ring Nightreign Trailer Detail Suggests The Erdtree Existed In Limveld

Marika & The Golden Order Likely Ruled

Tucked between all the action in Bandai Namco's Executor Character Trailer (via YouTube), there's a curious shot focused on the newly revealed character kneeling in front of what appears to be a painting of the Erdtree. The massive golden tree towers over a landscape reminiscent of Limgrave – in fact, the painting is very similar to early promotional images of Elden Ring, where Stormveil Castle and its crumbling viaducts can be seen in the foreground below the Erdtree's branches.

While it's not explicitly confirmed, this painting suggests the Erdtree existed at one point in Limveld, or at least stood over the land that would become Limveld before the Nightlords usurped power. This, in turn, likely means that Queen Marika the Eternal, the single most influential character in Elden Ring's mythos, rose to power at some point prior to the events of Nightreign, meaning the Golden Order probably preceded the bleak reality that the Night now commands.

While tree iconography abounds in Elden Ring, the Erdtree is specifically associated with Marika, as she's the one who created it to become the vessel of the Elden Ring. After Marika ascended to godhood, she cultivated the Erdtree during her wars of conquest in the Lands Between, before ultimately being imprisoned inside of it for shattering the Elden Ring.

Could The Nightlords Have Taken Over After The Shattering?

A Popular Theory Is Given Credence

Elden Ring Nightreign's timeline placement remains elusive – if it can even be considered a connected branch of Elden Ring's timeline at all – but this seeming confirmation of the Erdtree's existence at least provides some significant background information to work with. A popular theory has been that Nightreign takes place after the Shattering, the war that followed Marika's destruction of the Elden Ring, with its outcome leading to the rise of the mysterious Nightlords.

The Erdtree's absence from Limveld at the time Nightreign takes place suggests this theory may be sound, or at the very least, an event similar to the Shattering transferred power away from Marika and the Golden Order to the Nightlords. As seen at the end of the Launch Trailer (also from Bandai Namco's YouTube channel), the Elden Ring still exists, and can apparently manifest in the swirling, miasma-like sky above Limveld.

This could also imply that Nightreign is some sort of alternate epilogue to Elden Ring, where someone claimed the title of Elden Lord and remade the world. However, it could also suggest that the events leading up to Elden Ring never transpired, and Marika was usurped before the Shattering, in which case the Golden Order would crumble and the Erdtree would likely disappear.

The Erdtree's Disappearance Explains Some Things, But Also Raises More Questions

Were The Nightfarers Once Tarnished?

The Erdtree once existing in Limveld connects a few dots, mainly justifying why Sites of Grace are found throughout Nightreign's shifting world, and similarly, why Nightreign's Roundtable Hold appears to have a Table of Lost Grace. This all points to Marika's Guiding Grace still being present in Limveld, but that only brings up more mysteries. Are the Nightfarers touched by Grace, and if so, does that mean they're akin to Tarnished?

It's also quite interesting that such imagery of Erdtree reverence would come from the Exectuor, who appears to have a strong connection to the Crucible. Their armor is similar to that of the Crucible Knights, and the description of their character trailer mentions their "Primordial might." Association with the Crucible doesn't necessarily discount allegiance to the Golden Order (the Crucible Knights served under Godfrey, the First Elden Lord and Marika's first king consort), but the Crucible is a notably separate entity from the Erdtree, having effectively been its precursor.

This also suggests that Nightreign shares a common past with Elden Ring, and that the Golden Order came to rule over both timelines. There still isn't a specific divergence point – if one exists – but it does imply that the mythology of Elden Ring remains largely intact in the history of Elden Ring Nightreign, and that the arrival of Night seems to be the single difference between the two.

Source: Bandai Namco/YouTube (1, 2)