Elden Ring and the other FromSoftware games are known for how masterfully crafted they are in all their facets. Their difficult gameplay is one of the most popular aspects, but the environments, map design, and story are up there.
FromSoftware’s storytelling relies on environmental cues, NPC dialogue, notes, and item descriptions rather than telling players upfront, allowing them to uncover the narrative themselves. And one content creator has found a compelling story hidden in Elden Ring’s Rivers of Blood katana.
Elden Ring’s Rivers of Blood Tells the Formidable Tale of Okina
The Rivers of Blood Katana drops from Bloody Finger Okina. He’s an invading NPC phantom that hails from the Land of Reeds—and keep the name in mind, as we’ll be coming back to this later.
The Katana’s description reads:
Weapon of Okina, swordsman from the Land of Reeds.
A cursed weapon that has felled countless men.
When Mohg, the Lord of Blood, first felt Okina’s sword, and madness,
upon his flesh, he had a proposal, to offer Okina the life of a demon, whose thirst would never go unsated.
FromSoftware loremaster VaatiVidya gave us an interesting interpretation of this lore, including other information the game gives us.
Okina was the Land of Reeds’ greatest warrior, nicknamed ‘Demon of a Swordsman.’ During his time there, he attracted a cult of followers, the ‘White Reeds,’ (or the Inaba).
The demon swordsman eventually abandoned his followers, ascending to an existence where there was only himself, his katana, and his mastery. Eventually, Okina went head-to-head against Mohg, where he landed a single strike.
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Impressed, Mohg proposed that the swordsman could live a life where his bloodshed would never go unsated. And now, we see Okina endlessly invade players’ Elden Ring worlds, while the Inaba chases him to face an honorable death by his sword.
His description reads:
The more he sharpened his mind, the more the absurdities of the world came into stark relief. And so Okina renounced it all, and rose to a higher plane. There was only himself. His katana. And its mastery. Before long, Okina became a demon of a swordsman.
If you’ve played Sekiro, you might find this description a bit familiar, and there’s a reason why.
The Connection Between Elden Ring and Sekiro
Now, back to the Land of Reeds. We know that it’s home to Samurai, and is heavily modeled after feudal Japan. Okina’s bloodthirst is on a level that surpasses regular humans, and Sekiro fans might know where I’m going with this.
The swordsman heavily parallels Sekiro’s Shuras, who are people-turned-mindless-demons that have gone too far beyond and developed a never-ending bloodthirst.
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Another interesting connection is how the kanji for Reeds is also used in the Japanese word for Ashina, where Sekiro takes place.
Have you found any connections that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below!
