Praetor Rykard / Lord of Blasphemy / The God-Devouring Serpent

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Portrait of Praetor Rykard

^{The God-Devouring Serpent}

^{The Lord of Blasphemy (Click here to see Rykard in current events)}

Voiced by: Simon Gregor

"No one will hold me captive. A serpent never dies."

Formerly known as Praetor Rykard. Like Ranni and Radahn, he's a child of Radagon and Rennala who became Queen Marika's stepson when the former became the second Elden Lord. The Praetor was in charge of the Empire's religious State Sec, the Inquisition, before committing blasphemy against the Erdtree and becoming consumed by sin.

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0% Approval Rating: Let's just say that he's not very well liked. Even as Praetor, he was reviled for his "serpentine behavior," and his act of turning against the Erdtree and the Greater Will during the Shattering elevated him to becoming everyone's common enemy. Then he fed himself to the God-Devouring Serpent, becoming an omnigluttonous Animalistic Abomination which lead to his abandonment by his very own knights (with the added implication that even his underlings in the Inquisition turned tail). Even now, with nobody but the Volcano Manor on his side, the recusants either only work for him out of fear or because their goals aligned, with Bernahl declaring him as weak should he be slain by the Tarnished. That said, it's clear that his immediate family members — Radahn, Ranni, Tanith and his (adopted) daughter Zorayas — harbor a deal of respect for him, with the latter two especially loving him as husband and father, respectively.
- Tellingly, during the Shattering Rykard's Gelmir dominion was the only place Morgott, who tried to hold the fort in Leyndell and mantained a defensive stance during most of the war, actually attempted to invade. From Gideon's own words, Rykard was an enemy never to be forgiven, and this was double so for someone like Morgott.
Achilles' Heel: As powerful as merging with the God Devouring Serpent made him, it also made Rykard vulnerable to the Serpent-Hunter, a spear whose true power is unleashed when facing giant serpents.
Ambiguous Situation: Ranni rewarded him with a blasphemous claw on "the night of the dire plot" when she stole the Rune of Death in case Malekith went after Rykard. Does that mean Rykard had a part in it? He has an agenda of his own that doesn't line with Ranni but Ranni has made stranger temporary allies than her brother and it's not like she has any greater love for the Golden Order or the Greater Will than Rykard and his Recusants.
Ambiguously Related: There's a Godskin Noble and a Blackflame Monk seemingly guarding the path to his audience chamber in the Volcano Manor. Whether or not Rykard has some sort of alliance with the god-hunting cult is never clarified, but they do share similar goals so it's not a wild assumption to make.
Ambition Is Evil: Zigzagged, actually. Rykard is said to be have been full of ambition since day one, but he was admired by many of his peers. His decision to commit blasphemy — that is, waging war against the Erdtree and the Greater Will — was even seen by his knights and the recusants of the Volcano Manor as a heroic act. Eventually, however, Rykard's ambitions deteriorated into simple greed, which ended up turning him into a mockery of what he once stood for and his own army abandoning him.
And I Must Scream:
- Essentially his Fighting Fingerprint both as a Praetor and as the Lord of Blasphemy: Earmark a group of people, systematically lure or abduct them, and then dispose of them in a way that disallows the possibility of death, such as what he accomplished with the Albinaurics who've been tortured for centuries in and about his manor. The souls of the champions Rykard has lured and eaten are stated to be still fully conscious and writhing in eternal agony.
- He himself may or may not be in this state after the fight with the Tarnished. Even should his claim of being immortal and unkillable turns out to be true, all that remains of him is a giant, unresponsive severed head that is no longer a threat to anyone. Should you kill Tanith while she tries to eat his corpse in a mad attempt to bring him back, there'd be no one left in the Lands' Between willing to resurrect him, ending him for good.
Animal Motifs: Snakes, which stands for deceit and betrayal, but also rebirth and immortality. Rykard was formerly a stern praetor who headed the empire's Inquisition, but in the wake of the Shattering, vice and ambition had wormed his way into his heart, and he betrayed his family. By the time the player finds him, he has transformed into a grotesque, snake-like abomination whose only thought and goal is devouring the gods. His monstrous form also resembles a giant centipede due to all the writhing limbs along its length, which is fitting as centipedes represent spiritual impurity in Japanese mythology.
Animalistic Abomination: The God-Devouring Serpent, a primeval lifeform worshipped as a deity by ancient humans of Gelmir with Human Sacrifice, was already one by itself. But after consuming Rykard and his Great Rune, it went full Body Horror as the Lord of Blasphemy, growing a coating of writhing shadowy limbs (which belongs to the souls it's devoured), two bloated human arms, and Rykard's now gigantic face fused to the back of its skull. In addition to the ability to spew Hellfire and summon the souls of the dead in fiery storms. It's also implied it can go even further; if Rykard was allowed to continue consuming souls, and eventually the gods themselves, his power would grow to the point he could devour the very earth itself, as a towering cosmic snake writhing through space and time.
The Anti-God: Presently attempting to turn himself into this as a way of taking Rage Against the Heavens to its logical extreme. He's chosen to merge himself with a god-devouring predator in order to become a god of blasphemy, a being that exists to gorge itself endlessly on all of creation and take its power for itself.
Appropriated Appellation: Rykard is a hardcore blasphemer and he's damn proud of it, with even his own consort calling him such with no malice.
Arch-Enemy: Morgott appears to consider him this. His invasion of Mount Gelmir is the only offensive action he's known to have undertaken during the Shattering, and judging by the number of forces committed and the unbelievable ferocity of the fighting, Morgott really, really wanted Rykard dead. Gideon labels the climactic battle of the campaign, the Siege of Volcano Manor, as the most harrowing event of the entire Shattering, which is really saying something. Also, while he lists the other demigods' names in a disappointed but still largely respectful tone, Morgott practically spits Rykard's name out during his monologue before his boss fight, indicating a special enmity between them. This likely stems from Rykard's gleeful embrace of blasphemy and omnicidal ambitions against the Erdtree.
The Archmage: Although he's nowhere near as strong as his siblings, Ranni and Radahn, Rykard is a powerful sorcerer in his own right, having singlehandedly revived an entire lost family of primeval, magma-based sorceries.
Assimilation Plot: Rykard letting himself be eaten by the God-Devouring Serpent, along with the whole of Volcano Manor, is an elaborate case of this. Everyone he consumes merges with him as "family" and gives him their strength, letting him grow larger and larger. The Volcano Manor exists to recruit powerful Tarnished and grow them in strength so that they can be eaten by Rykard to enhance his power until he is large enough to consume the entire world.
Atop a Mountain of Corpses: Rykard's fight takes place in an arena with so many corpses that the entire floor is made of blackened cadavers of unknown depth and there are mountains of bodies and bones strewn about that he knocks over while trying to kill you. While it's by far at its worst in his personal chamber, this trope pretty much extends to the entirety of Mount Gelmir and its surroundings. There are corpse piles everywhere and seemingly no living people left in his fiefdom aside from his snake spawn, the ten or so Recusants, and a handful of zombified commoners and undying Albinaurics stuck to torture machines inside the mountain.
Beard of Evil: In his current form, he's got a beard made out of encrusted scales, but he fell to depravity long before his transformation, and as a human he sported a full-chin beard, as seen in the Taker's Cameo talisman and in the portrait behind Tanith.
BFS: Rykard wields the Blasphemous Blade, a gargantuan sword covered in the still-moving remains of his victims.
Big Bad Wannabe: After you defeat Rykard most of his followers shrug it off as proof he wasn't strong enough yet to accomplish his task of devouring the world. The Great Serpent itself is a terrifying beast, but it doesn't seem to be a truly divine entity like Malenia, Placidusax, or the Elden Beast, and a spear was made to hunt it down in case it becomes a problem.
Body Horror: Jesus. His transformation has left him a giant snake with long, peeling gashes along the scales, out of which writhe masses of tiny, blackened crimson arms and snake tongues (stated to be the souls of his many victims forever trapped in eternal agony as part of his 'family'). His real face is on the underside of the snake's neck: it's huge and flat, with no ears, bloodshot yellow eyes, and stretched out, ashen skin, with encrusted scales forming his crown, jowls, and beard. He's got two 'main' arms and legs (with too many fingers and toes) sticking out of some of the peeled slices on his scales, jostling for space as they crowd out the miniature arms.
Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: He's a vile, depraved being, but despite all he had done, he sincerely loved his wife Tanith and his adoptive daughter Rya. In the case of the latter, he brewed the Tonic of Forgetfulness so his daughter could live a normal life unburdened by the truth of her origins. Compare that to his birth father, Radagon, who forever alienated him and his two siblings by essentially abandoning their birth mother for another woman, his birth mother Rennala who seems to have been a good parent until she went mad from grief, and his stepmother Marika, who's... Well, she's Marika.
Card-Carrying Villain: If the way he looks doesn't make it obvious, then his title; the Lord of Blasphemy (which he picked out himself) will probably do the trick.
Chocolate Baby: Never explicitly adressed, but Rykard has◊ blonde hair^note while his parents are a redhead and a brunette respectively, and both his siblings inherited their father's red hair. It's implied that his haircolour is inherited from his father's other half, queen Marika, who famously has long blonde hair.
Clipped-Wing Angel: Feeding himself to the God-Devouring Serpent made him much tougher, but it also made him weak to the Serpent Hunter, and disgusted his followers enough that they sought out the Serpent Hunter and left it right next to him for the specific purpose of allowing somebody to more easily kill him.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Ludwig the Accursed. Both were once respected members of a religious order now transformed into hideous abominations, and both start their fight thrashing around like an animal before regaining intelligence and pulling out a sword for the second phase. However, while Ludwig's regaining of his senses is a heroic moment that restores him to the honourable swordsman he once was despite his current state, duelling you skillfully using the majestic Moonlight Greatsword, the return of Rykard's humanity only makes his serpent form look even more monstrous and unsettling, and he wildly swings at you with the disgusting Blasphemous Blade.
Dark Is Evil: The God-Devouring Serpent has mostly black skin and its true identity, Rykard is one of the more malicious and terrifying of the demigods the Tarnished faces off against.
The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: Tanith claims Rykard is trying to kill the gods so nobody has to live under their heel anymore. Speaking with the ghost of a Gelmir Knight in the manor indicates this was Rykard's original plan, but merging with the God-Devouring Serpent has afflicted him with its bottomless hunger, leading him to abandon what few morals he had left.
Defiant to the End: Declares no one will hold him captive after his boss fight — as the Serpent of Immortality, he would rise again.
Didn't Think This Through: His gloating that he will never die kind of backfires as he is basically a decapitated head until Tanith manages to eat him whole, which is gonna take a while. He doesn't appear to have strength to talk back when you see him again.
Dreaming of Things to Come: His last moment as he was eaten and merged with the God-Devouring Serpent was a vision of seeming clairvoyance — a vision of himself as the Lord of Blasphemy eating the entire earth.
Drunk with Power: Merging himself with the God-Devouring Serpent granted him Immortality, massively enhanced his fire magic and gave him the ability to derive power and vitality from whatever he consumes. This much power, however, also succeeded in twisting his original ambitions into depraved, serpentine greed.
Eaten Alive: Dying to the God-Devouring Serpent's grab attack triggers a special death animation where it proceeds to swallow you whole.
Elite Man–Courtesan Romance: He's a Carian royal and one of the demigods of the realm, and yet the Consort Set's description says his paramour Tanith used to be a lowly dancer from a foreign land when they first met. They apparently fell in love soon after, and he soon made her his consort.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: For all of his monstrous depravity, all evidence with his wife Tanith and adoptive daughter Rya indicate he sincerely loves them both and wants only the best for them.
Evil Is Burning Hot: It's not a coincidence that one of the nastiest Demigods is also the father of Magma Sorcery and lives in a volcano lair. All of the magic he used in his battle involve fire or magma to some degree.
Even Evil Can Be Loved: While Ranni is more enigmatic than benevolent, she does care about Rykard's well-being, even gifting him a fragment of Destined Death, which he could use to counter against Maliketh in the event he confronts Rykard at some point in the future.
Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Rykard is an insane cannibal, but several hints are given that he dearly wants Rya to live the life of a normal girl rather than following in his footsteps. She's implied to be kept ignorant of the Volcano Manor's more nefarious goals, and his wife Tanith believes he brewed the Tonic of Forgetfulness so Zorayas wouldn't have to live with the knowledge of her unsettling true origins.
Evil Sounds Raspy: Rykard's transformation seems to have mangled his vocal cords, he constantly struggles to get words out and constantly sounds like he's choking on something. Fittingly, he's also the most abhorrent of Radagon's children.
Evil Virtues: Love. While Rykard has incredibly dark ambitions and is defined by such, his affection for Tanith and Rya is completely sincere and he simply wants the best for both of them. On that note, Loyalty and Camaraderie for those who genuinely side with Rykard as they have some respect for the Lord of Blasphemy and Rykard personally doesn't seem to mind that, even in his demented state.
Evil Weapon: His signature Blasphemous Blade: a grotesque sword covered with viscera powered by the trapped souls of people Rykard devoured. If you look at it closely enough, you'll see writing fleshy hands along its surface reflecting the still-aware souls within struggling in vain to escape their horrible fate.
Exact Words: His offer of We Can Rule Together is a sincere one, he just means it literally in that he plans to eat you and make you a part of himself. Can't get more "together" than that.
Blasphemous Blade description: Remains of the countless heroes he has devoured writhe upon the surface of this blade. Now they share the same blood, bound together as family.
Expy Coexistence: Rykard is a Satanic Archetype for the Lands Between. So is his stepbrother Mohg.
Fantasy Counterpart Myth: Of Jörmungandr from Norse Mythology, being a nightmarish Animalistic Abomination snake, who at least dreams of devouring the entire world.
Fallen Hero: Heavily Downplayed. Rykard was originally a stern praetor in charge of the continent's Inquisition, and although he was very much disliked by everyone else, his knights and the recusants very much saw him as a heroic figure, continuing to swear total fealty even after his decision to commit blasphemy. Unfortunately, his ambitions gave way to never-ending gluttony and depravity, turning him to a complete and utter monster of a man. His transformation lead to him being abandoned by his own knights.
Gelmir Knight Apparition: "Praetor Rykard's ambitions, though blasphemous, marked him a worthy sovereign. But they were reduced to gluttonous depravity, once he gave himself to the serpent. Whatever that thing is, it is no longer Praetor Rykard. Someone must kill him. To spare him, and his ambitions, from further dishonour."
Faux Affably Evil: Rykard talks big about how you'll join his "family" and devour the gods "together", but it's pretty obvious he's a power-hungry bastard only in it for himself.
Flaming Skulls: One of Rykard's most theatrical attacks involves him summoning a large number of flaming skulls to fall onto the battlefield. They're slow enough to dodge with ease, but there's a lot of them, meaning the player needs to pay attention to avoid getting hit.
Flaming Sword: While Rykard usually just swings and repeatedly stabs at the Tarnished with the Blasphemous Blade, one of his more noticeable attacks is when, if he hasn't been interrupted out of his Flaming Skulls attack, he'll channel the remaining fire in the sky into his raised sword and bring it crashing down with both hands in an explosion.
Fusion Dance: When Rykard fed himself to the Serpent, his mind and body merged with its own, creating a monstrous creature of immense power and cruelty. While Rykard appears to be the dominant personality of the fusion, it's implied that the all-consuming gluttony that now drives him are the remnants of the Serpent's will.
The Great Serpent: The God-Devouring Serpent is a massive coiled snake, the size of a large building. It was worshipped by ancient habitants of Mt. Gelmir, by offering up living sacrifices for it to devour. When Rykard re-discovered the Serpent, he sacrificed himself to it, thus gaining some measure of control over the Serpent's body.
Heavy Sleeper: The way the battle transitions between phases heavily implies Rykard was sleeping the entire time the God-Devouring Serpent was attacking and trying to eat the Tarnished while in turn being struck back, and while twisting its upper body every which way in attacking and reeling from blows. Despite this, Rykard reacts to the serpent's head going down like he just woke up, complete with tired grunts and slowly opening his eyes as he looks over the Tarnished in his room with curiosity before drawing his sword.
The Heretic: It's one thing for a Tarnished to harbor doubts about the Greater Will. It's another thing for a demigod, stepchild but in actuality the direct lineage of Queen Marika and head of the Church Militant State Sec – whose job was to punish heretics – to openly declare their blasphemous intentions and willingly feed themselves to The Great Serpent of Immortality in order to gain the power to act on their ambitions. In the words of Sir Gideon Ofnir, Rykard has "marked himself as an enemy, never to be forgiven."
Hidden Depths: Despite his current insane desire to devour the very gods, it's implied Rykard at the very least was once on good relations with his siblings, as the Volcano Manor keeps a portrait of Radahn, and Ranni gave Rykard the Blasphemous Claw, rocks engraved with traces of the Rune of Death, so he may stand a chance against Maliketh should he ever challenge him.
Hijacking Cthulhu: Rykard willingly fed himself to the God-Devouring Serpent to fuel his blasphemous ambitions. In doing so, Rykard gained some measure of control over the Serpent's body. It's not clear how he can do this, but it may be related to his Great Rune, which was devoured with him, and it's possible that, since he only starts talking after the God-Devouring Serpent is defeated, Rykard only gains full control after the Tarnished subdues the Serpent first.
Hypocrite: Proudly so: He rose to prominence as praetor of the ''Inquisition'', upholding the Golden Order and dealing with its internal enemies real and imagined. Now it's hard to imagine a more knowingly blasphemous, heretical, or just plain evil character. The Blasphemous Claw implies he was a secret heretic even during his tenure as praetor — why else would Ranni trust the Golden Order’s lead inquisitor with not just knowledge of her plans, but also a blasphemous weapon for him to wield in her defense?
Irony: Rykard is perhaps the demigod that is most directly opposed to Marika's Golden Order. Despite this, he's one of three demigods who actually has a Strong Family Resemblance with her, having inherited her blonde hair.
Kaiju: The God-Devouring is, well, a gigantic snake whose titanic size nearly reaches the chandeliers of the room its fought in. By extension, Rykard counts as well, given how he's practically merged with the snake.
Kill the Gods: His primary goal, before and after fusing with the God-Devouring Servent, was to grow powerful enough to kill the gods. It's never specified what kind of gods he was aiming for, but his minion Bernahl's Roaring Rampage of Revenge against the Greater Will indicates he could have been targeting Outer Gods.
Legendary Weapon:
- While he doesn't use the weapon itself, the Devourer's Scepter is the primary symbol of the God-Devouring Serpent and, by extension, Rykard. The weapon itself has its very top of it crafted after the vision that Rykard envisioned before he was devoured by the serpent.
- The Blasphemous Blade is a Remembrance weapon and its description states the blade itself to be "sacred". Unlike most legendary weapons typical of this trope, this one has a rather infamous history behind it, namely that it is formed by the many beings that Rykard devoured, with whom he used their corpses and souls to be crafted into a hideous-looking blade.
Leitmotif: God-Devouring Serpent.
Life Drain: Unlike a certain other demigod, he can't do this himself during his boss fight, but pretty much every item associated with him and/or the God-Devouring Serpent can. His Great Rune, the Blasphemous Blade, the Serpent God's Curved Sword, and the Taker's Cameo talisman will each heal a small percentage of your health upon killing an enemy, while the weapon skills of the Blasphemous Blade and Devourer's Scepter provide healing on hit.
Living Weapon: His sword writhes with hundreds of tiny crimson arms, said to be the souls of the countless people he's consumed.
Magma Man: Rykard is the creator of an entire school of magma sorceries and is likely their most skilled practitioner. He displays numerous lava-based attacks during his boss fight, the most notable being a persistent pool of magma which follows him around. The player can even obtain his Blasphemous Blade from trading his Remembrance, which comes with high fire damage and a unique weapon art which launches a powerful shockwave of fire.
Merging Mistake: His fusion with the God-Devouring Serpent clearly isn't as stable as he and Tanith believe it to be.
Monster Progenitor: The Man-Serpent Ashes states that "the elder serpent that dwelled on Mt. Gelmir devoured a demigod, and the birth of the man-serpents followed", implying Rykard spawned all of the Man-Serpents currently manning his fortress.^note It's also implied that one of Rykard's severed hands became the spawner of the Fingercreepers.
Motive Decay: When Rykard originally rebelled against the Golden Order, his soldiers claim that he had "heroic" ambitions. After indulging in countless atrocities and feeding himself to the Great Serpent, any remnants of positive goals he once had were replaced with insane power lust and mindless gluttony. Now Rykard's only goal is to devour the bodies and souls of as many warriors as possible so that he may one day grow powerful enough to consume the world itself.
Mythical Motifs: A god-eating serpent prophesied to help end the world? Rykard clearly took a bit of cues from Jormungandr.

N-Z

Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Murdering Tarnished so the Golden Order can never be restored is already a debatable stance, but by the time Rykard fed himself to a giant Serpent in the name of power, it just became insanity.
Obviously Evil: Rykard is a gigantic and horribly deformed snake who lives in a volcano lair, fights by shooting flaming skulls at you, and wields a sword covered in the still living remains of people he has eaten. Even if you just rush straight to his boss fight and miss his backstory, it's pretty hard to mistake him for a good guy.
Omnicidal Maniac: Once he's "devoured the very gods" Rykard intends to extend his horrendous gluttony towards the world itself.
One-Woman Wail: The God-Devouring Serpent's leitmotif employs these vocals during the midst of battle to emphasize the harrowing and ominous tone of fighting against a gigantic snake that holds a reputation of eating gods.
Oxymoronic Being: A result of taking a quest to Rage Against the Heavens to its (il)logical extreme. He wants to become a god of blasphemy on a divine mission to consume and corrupt all that is holy. It's best expressed through his signature weapon, the Blasphemous Blade, a grotesque vampiric greatsword that scales with Faith and is one of the most sought-after armaments for a paladin build.
Pet the Dog: Reading the flavor text for the Tonic of Forgetfulness reveals it was a gift from Rykard to Tanith. Tanith herself had no use for it, but if you progress far enough into Rya's sidequest, Tanith will give you the tonic to help Rya forget the terrible circumstances behind her birth. Talking to Tanith afterward has her muse this was likely the purpose of the gift all along.
Physical God: The fusion between a demigod bearing a Great Rune, a divine immortal snake and countless mortal souls have clearly elevated Rykard beyond his fellow Shardbearers, indicated further by the fact that to even have a fair fight with him you have to use a weapon specifically built to kill said immortal snake. It's implied that had he feasted on more souls, he would have eventually become an unstoppable force of destruction that would eat the world itself. The description of the Serpent-God Curved Sword outright calls the God-Devouring Serpent a god, which is further indicated by the fact that it has its own temples and associated incantations.
Planet Eater: His ultimate goal after abandoning his ambitions for depraved gluttony isn't simply to kill and devour the gods, but to devour the planet itself. Very good thing that the Tarnished was around to put a stop to his ambitions, once and for all.
Devourer's Scepter: Scepter in the shape of a serpent devouring the world. This weapon will one day become the very symbol of the Lord of Blasphemy. A vision of the future briefly seen by Rykard in his final moments before being devoured by the great serpent..
Puzzle Boss: Downplayed, as some measure of skill is still needed to beat him. Rykard, by default, is the tankiest boss in not only Elden Ring, but the entire FromSoftware RPG library, clocking in at an astronomical 89000 HP across his two phases — for reference, that's about nearly six times the health of Slave Knight Gael. More than that, he is perpetually surrounded by a pool of lava, making approaching him troublesome. The Puzzle aspect comes from the Serpent-Hunter Spear that's right near the entrance, a special weapon that deals colossal damage to this specific boss and does so from a distance, resolving both issues. There's even a secret NPC whose sole purpose is to inform the player of this weakness.
Recurring Element:
- Rykard is the third iteration of FromSoftware's "Storm Ruler" boss, (i.e.the Storm King and Yhorm the Giant). You are given the Serpent-Hunter right before the fight, an unremarkable greatspear with no stat requirements which, for this battle only, unleashes massive blades of light which deal hundreds of damage to the boss per swing. There are two key differences separating Rykard from the Storm King and Yhorm, however. The first is the Serpent-Hunter is considerably more versatile than the Storm Ruler, as all of its attacks are capable of doing insane damage, unlike the Storm Ruler which only had one slow attack that could do the job. The other difference is Rykard is a legitimate challenge and not a Zero-Effort Boss who dies in a few hits after you pick up the weapon — you actually need to be good at the game to beat him.
- Like the Gaping Dragon, the Covetous Demon, and Aldrich before him, Rykard is associated with gluttony in terms of characterization. His motivation of "devouring the gods" is especially reminiscent of Aldrich, whose epithet was literally Devourer of Gods.
Religion of Evil: He decides to kickstart his own cult as his declaration of opposing Leyndell, Morgott, and the Golden Order. The cult itself is based on an archaic, yet malevolent religion centered on the God-Devouring Serpent that Rykard uncovered and chose to restore and follow it upon, up to allowing himself to be devoured by and subsequently merging with said serpent so that he could become the religion's central figure.
Samus Is a Girl: Not Rykard, but the God-Devouring Serpent itself. The Man-Serpent Ashes description says that the Man-Serpents were spawned from it, meaning it's either female or hermaphroditic.
Satanic Archetype: Not as much as Mohg, but it's there. Rykard is a corrupt demigod who rebelled against the ruling deity of the Lands Between in a fit of pride and ego, lied and manipulated to convince many decent people to come with him and eventually sacrificed them all for his own power. He presides over a lava-strewn underground lair that is pretty reminiscent of modern Christian depictions of Hell, and it's populated solely by either daemon spawn or damned souls stuck in eternal torture. He even summons other damned souls as ammunition during his boss fight. His magma-based powers and association with snakes (even when he was still an Inquisitor) strengthen the Satanic imagery, as does his eventual transformation into a multi-headed serpent that seeks only to devour.
Scaled Up: Rykard intentionally allowed himself to be devoured by the God-Devoruing Serpent in a bid to gain more power, enough to kill Tarnished warriors easily and take their bodies to further his own strength. The result is a mangled, absolutely hideous fusion where the serpent remains the dominant being in regard to physical appearance, and Rykard himself looks distorted upon revealing himself.
Sequential Boss: The God-Devouring Serpent and Rykard share a body, but they're considered two distinct bosses with their own health bars and mostly different move sets. The Serpent mainly attacks with its mouth and poison, and killing it causes Rykard to assume control and fight with his sword and magma-based sorceries.
Serpent of Immortality: As per his dialogue after the boss fight.
"No one will hold me captive. A serpent never dies. Ha ha ha..."
Shout-Out: The monstrous form Rykard has taken as the Lord of Blasphemy (a gigantic, deformed animal which has human features in strange places and was born from a human sacrificing their humanity and followers for power) is the spitting image of an Apostle.
Signature Move: Taker's Flames, the massive flaming sword slam he always does to end his "rain of skulls" attack. It's the most outwardly impressive move in his arsenal, and is even the unique skill of his Remembrance Weapon, the Blasphemous Blade, allowing the player to use a greatly reduced version of it themselves.
Snakes Are Sinister: Quite possibly the most overt example ever created. Rykard's personal heraldry was a serpent, and he likened himself to "an ambitious" serpent, who was the cruelest member of his family. And then he found his great rune, merged himself with the God-Devouring Serpent by letting it devour him, bred a race of cruel, torturing Snake People, and became a towering Animalistic Abomination Snake whose spent decades consuming the souls of hundreds, with his final goal being to eat the very gods, followed by the planet itself.
Snake People: Downplayed; although Rykard and the God-Devouring serpent merge together after the former allows himself to be eaten by the latter, it's the serpent that takes up most of the appearance, with its main human features being that it possesses human limbs. Rykard's face is formed right underneath the serpent's neck and while it does remain humanoid, it's only in the most basic sense; disregarding his dark ambitions and insanity, he's more snake than he is a person.
Sssssnake Talk: When he talks to the Tarnished, his voice patterns have long, drawn out slurs and moans, much like a snake's hiss. It showcases just how physically and mentally deformed and mangled Rykard is for merging with the God-Devouring Serpent.
State Sec: Before the Shattering, Rykard was the head of the Inquisition whose job was to round out heretics and rebels before subjecting them to Cold-Blooded Torture. He was so good at this that his reputation as a demigod was second only to Mohg in how close it was to rock bottom. Curiously enough, the Inquisition seems to have all but disappeared in the wake of Rykard's transformation, leaving behind only one of their number and a few of their relics. It's possible that even they decided that enough was enough and turned tail on their former Praetor.
Super-Toughness: This is why you absolutely, genuinely need the Serpent-Hunter for the fight against him regardless of your build. He's a Physical God with sky-high health and resistances, and it's your only realistic means of bringing him down outside of the most ludicrously busted endgame gear (and to be honest, it's more efficient against him than most of that). There's a reason the big guy is still alive - if incapacitated - even after you defeat him.
Thicker Than Water: Despite his power-hungry nature, Rykard seems to be solidly allied with and protective of his full-blooded siblings and mother.
- He has a portrait of Radahn prominently framed in his manor, and his war machines (most notably Abductor Virgins) can be found in Radahn's fiefdom and castle, Caria Manor, where Ranni has secluded herself, and Raya Lucaria's base and courtyard, right in front of the grand library Rennala resides. These machines are coded to be non-hostile to the forces defending the respective areas. Likewise, the entrance to Volcano Manor is defended by several squads of Raya Lucaria's marionette soldiers.
- His subordinates and family, like Patches and Rya, also roam around Liurnia of the Lakes, potentially to deal with any Tarnished who might seek his mother or sister's Great Runes by tempting them to join the Volcano Manor or murdering them.
- He was also entrusted with the Blasphemous Claw from Ranni, a dangerous item meant only to defend himself should Maliketh try to slay him. This means they seemingly cared enough about each other to never use their access to the Rune of Death against the other, even when Rykard succumbed to ravenous God-hunger and Ranni enacted her schemes in full.
Token Evil Teammate: The only explicitly malevolent member of Radagon's lineage. Even before he became the monstrosity he is now, Rykard was implied to be the most merciless member of the family and used his position as Praetor of the Inquisition with cruel impunity – although this is Downplayed, as his subjects and immediate family seemingly held a high opinion of him even still.
Torture Technician: All those nightmarish instruments on display in the secret basements of the manor? All inventions of his. Rykard was said to be an utter master at this, and the end results speak for themselves.
Inquisitor's Girandole: Its numerous spikes pierce the flesh, then singe the wounds with flame. The smell of burnt blood induces despair in the victim. A candlestick conceived by a thorough mind.
Übermensch: How his followers originally saw him; a strong figure willing to break with traditional morality and find his own path despite it being blasphemous, for which the Volcano Manor Apparition called him a "worthy sovereign." Post- Great Serpent it's thoroughly averted, as Rykard has become a baser being focused purely on gluttony. Now his old knights just want him dead to stop him from embarrassing the person he once was any further.
Unholy Matrimony: Tanith is his consort. Evidence indicates that, despite them both being evil, they genuinely love each other. Tanith serves Rykard faithfully and is absolutely shattered upon his death, even consuming his head (which might or might not be still alive) in a desperate effort to bring him back. Rykard is a little more subtle about it, but he gave Tanith a gift with the specific purpose of protecting her adopted daughter from the truth of her birth, which is a surprisingly touching move on his part.
Uncertain Doom: If the player returns to his boss arena after his defeat, his head can be found, with it seemingly still alive to an extent. Tanith tries to devour it so as to enable him to return through her, but combined with his statement that a "serpent never dies," it's left ambiguous if he is truly dead or not. In any case, he's not doing anything for a good long while.
The Unintelligible: Downplayed. He's just barely understandable, but his voice is so slurred that the subtitles help a lot with understanding his full speech.
Unskilled, but Strong: Rykard was one of the few Demigods to occupy a non-combat position prior to the Shattering, showing in how clumsy and unfocused all his strikes with the Blasphemous Blade are. He compensates by leaning heavily on his magma sorcery, constantly surrounding himself with a pool of lava to keep the Tarnished at a distance while throwing out projectiles like flaming skulls or the serpent's venom to distract you from preparing for his other attacks.
Vestigial Empire: His fiefdom of Gelmir is effectively already gone by the time the game starts. While in his prime he had enough troops to go toe-to-toe with Morgott's Leyndell army in incredibly long and costly battles, by the time the Tarnished awakes he's basically just down to his manor and the immediate surroundings, with the rest of the Gelmir region occupied by the (severely stretched and malnourished) army of Morgott. Said remnant is also being held by an array of cultists and monsters because Rykard's actual army was either attrited to death in the preceding battles or tried to abandon Rykard's cause due to his questionable leadership. The few remnants presumably became the first members of Rykard's "family", judging by all the corpses in his arena.
Villainous Glutton: This became his defining character trait after merging with the God-Devouring Serpent. As he is now, Rykard exists only to eat, and it's basically the only conscious thought he has left. Such is his insatiable gluttony that he won't stop at simply consuming more and more Tarnished – he seeks to devour the very gods, and once he's run out of them, the world itself. It's not hard to see why he became reviled by his very own knights, who had originally went with their lord down the path of blasphemy out of their own free will.
Villainous Legacy: Should Zorayas's questline be concluded without giving her the Tonic of Forgetfulness or killing her, she will depart the Volcano Manor with the intent of starting it anew. Since Tanith's goals were entwined with Rykard's, she may be attempting to continue with his plans, though given she was ignorant of his goals and Tanith's role in them, Zorayas's exact intent is left ambiguous.
We Can Rule Together: Tells the player Tarnished to join him, so as to devour the gods together. Quickly subverted as it becomes apparent that "joining him" refers to letting him devour them so he can take their power for himself.
World's Strongest Man: Not exactly (he lags behind most other bosses in terms of damage and poise, and the actual title-holder is probably Malenia, pre-Rot Radahn, pre-Destined Death sealed Maliketh or Godfrey), but he's most certainly the World's Toughest Man/Entity/Abomination. Even his first phase has a little more HP than the next contender, the Fire Giant, and his second phase has even more. This toughness, along with his arena's lava pool, allows him to punch way above his weight class, and the only way the player Tarnished can make the fight even remotely fair is to use the Serpent-Hunter. This makes sense, since the reason he tried to take over the God-Devouring Serpent in the first place was to gain enough power to kill all the other demigods. If he'd enough time, and enough people to consume, his size would have increased enough to consume the entire planet and every other contender for the title with it. That is, had the Tarnished not gotten him.

Characters / Elden Ring: Rykard

Praetor Rykard / Lord of Blasphemy / The God-Devouring Serpent

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Characters / Elden Ring: Rykard

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Praetor Rykard / Lord of Blasphemy / The God-Devouring Serpent

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