Elden Ring DLC speculation kicks off again after one player finds a big hint buried in a shield that everyone forgot, and it might be the RPG's best-kept secret

gamesradar.com:

Elden Ring DLC speculation is heating up once again now that a player has discovered an item that seemingly ties into the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.

As spotted by PC Gamer, FromSoftware CEO and Elden Ring creative director Hidetaka Miyazaki recently told IGN that there's "a small element that I feel has not yet been discovered" in the 2022 action RPG. Naturally, that prompted the game's dedicated community to feverishly scour the Lands Between in search of this secret, and it wasn't long before an eagle-eyed Tarnished found something that seems to fit the bill, although it's worth noting Miyazaki hasn't confirmed – and likely never will – exactly what he was referring to.

Regardless, Redditor Cudakid210 points to what appears to be a fairly standard wooden shield tucked away behind an illusory wall in the Sage's Cave in Atlus Plateau. Its description reads: "A tall, medium-sized wooden shield. Light for its size, and easy to handle."

Again, seems pretty unspectacular, right? But it's this second half of the description that has Elden Ring players making connections to Shadow of the Erdtree: "Thought to represent a surreptitious prophecy of cardinal sin, the lit candle-tree design was forbidden." 

See, the recent Elden Ring DLC trailer shows that the "lit candle-tree design" featured on the face of the newly resurfaced shield is actually the symbol representing Messmer's faction - Messmer being the malevolent boss of the Lands of Shadow, the completely new area being introduced in Shadow of the Erdtree. The footage in the trailer shows troops under Messmer's command bearing weapons and armor with the same candle-tree symbol.

Naturally, this opens up all sorts of burning questions. How long has FromSoftware been planning the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, and how does it connect to the world originally envisioned by A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin? The shield's seemingly been chilling out behind its illusory wall since launch; it's just