❋ DLC · CONCEPTThe Divine Beasts
Messengers of the heavens, gored on Messmer's spears

The Divine Beasts
Divine beasts are messengers of the heavens. The Enraged Divine Beast talisman carries the definition and the temperament together: 'A charm depicting the crazed, cavorting dance of the divine beast conducted at the tower festival. … Divine beasts are messengers of the heavens, and their rage mirrors the tumult of the skies, of which storms are the pinnacle.' That tower is the hornsent's own: the Gravesite Plain map places 'the spiral tower of the hornsent' to the northwest, the Storeroom Key names it 'Belurat, the tower settlement', and the horned warriors who hold it are called 'keepers of the tower'. The game does not say who raised it. Divinity was reached there through the body: helms of tangled horn allow 'the wearer to invoke divinity', and the Horned Warrior Helm sets the price, since divine invocation 'causes the blessing of the Erdtree to become nauseating'. Among the divine beast warriors, reads the Divine Beast Warrior Armor, 'only those who truly excel at divine invocation become sculpted keepers, and are granted the honor of the lion dance', performed in ritual headwear shaped as a divine beast's head.
What followed is set down without softening. The Divine Beast Tornado incantation preserves it: 'The majority of divine beasts were gored and hung upon Messmer's spears, then burned in his flame. Those who witnessed the deed likened it to a funeral pyre for the tower itself.' Messmer's Armor gives the crusade its warrant: 'On his mother's wishes, Messmer made himself a symbol of fear, undertaking the cleansing crusade she desired.' The Remembrance of the Dancing Lion records what the assault did to the rite itself: 'When the Impaler's army assailed the tower, the ritual of the lion dance was turned toward martial ends', its divinity, its fury and its light-footed beauty turned along with it. The Divine Beast Head holds the quieter aftermath, ritual headwear 'worn by the very finest of the sculpted keepers' that 'no longer responds to the old woman's earnest prayer'. The Tarnished inherits the gestures: Divine Beast Frost Stomp is a skill 'which imitates the wrath of the divine beast's dance', and Divine Beast Tornado is 'the tempest of the Dancing Lion, wielded as an incantation'.
Enraged Divine BeastA charm depicting the crazed, cavorting dance of the divine beast conducted at the tower festival. Divine beasts are messengers of the heavens, and their rage mirrors the tumult of the skies, of which storms are the pinnacle.
Divine Beast TornadoThe tempest of the Dancing Lion, wielded as an incantation. The majority of divine beasts were gored and hung upon Messmer's spears, then burned in his flame. Those who witnessed the deed likened it to a funeral pyre for the tower itself.
Divine Beast Warrior ArmorArmor of feted horned warriors chosen to become divine beast warriors, adorned with a lion's pelt. Among the divine beast warriors, only those who truly excel at divine invocation become sculpted keepers, and are granted the honor of the lion dance.



