The Two Fingers in Elden Ring are one of the entities that guide the path of the Tarnished. You will hear the mention or even come across the physical representations of the Two Fingers numerous times during your traversal of Lands Between. Two fingers also have their own group of incantations(spells). You can use these spells if you have leveled up your faith enough to meet the requirements.
Two fingers are a sect, above all else. They worship Erdtree but they set themselves apart from the original followers of Erdtree. This is proven by Two Finger Incantations and Erdtree Incantations being different from each other.
If you have read the descriptions you find of the two fingers, they ask you to reject all other faiths. These other faiths are listed in the game as Monks, Sorcerers, Ancient Dragon Knights and Scions of Gold. These other faiths do not worship the Greater Will and have gods of their own.
It seems to me that the faith in Two Fingers could have been formed by exiles or newer generations. They still believed in Erdtree, but they could have rejected the original set of beliefs or maybe they had lost touch with them.
The older generation had Queen Marika herself who gave them the Greater Will’s guidance. As time passed and the Golden Order spread across the land, they might have needed something more than a central authority.
That spread could have led them to adapt the system of Two Fingers and the Finger Readers. This created decentralized middlemen across Lands Between.
The Two Finger system seems to have helped inhabitants of Lands Between communicate with the Greater Will without the need of Queen Marika. This sect also could have been formed once Queen Marika herself disappeared from Lands Between, when she was imprisoned by Greater Will inside the heart of Erdtree.
Two fingers are found across the Lands Between equal to the number of ruling Demigods. The 8 Demigod Children of Marika could have used it to fill the void left by the disappearance of Marika. These could have also been placed during the reign of Marika herself. That is up to assumption.
Where Can You Find the Two Fingers in Elden Ring?
The Two Fingers are located in or atop important Landmarks in the Game. Their locations are as follows:
- Roundtable Hold / Table of Lost Grace
- Isolated Divine Tower
- Cathedral of Manus Celes
- Divine Tower of Limgrave
- Divine Tower of Caelid
- Divine Tower of Liurnia
- Divine Tower of East Altus
- Divine Tower of West Altus
Relation of Tarnished and the Two Fingers
The only alive Two Fingers you can meet are located at the Roundtable Hold. All others you find are dead and down on the ground. Roundtable Hold is the main gathering hub of Tarnished. So it seems characters like the players are in peace or in accordance with the Two Fingers.
The relation between the Tarnished and the Two Fingers is not at all straight forward. Not all Tarnished follow the guidance of Two Fingers. It is clarified in the description of a Two Finger incantation Assassin’s Approach. This incantation was used by the Tarnished of Roundtable Hold to terminate other Tarnished who had strayed from the path.
The Lore of Two Fingers
Among others, there are two important primal entities in the Elden Ring. Order and Chaos. Order is controlled, guided and planned. It represents peace and harmony. Chaos represents the opposite. It is unpredictable, fickle and temperamental.
The world created by the entity of Order, called the Greater Will was for a time being prosperous and glorious. Everyone who followed the dictated path was blessed with a Golden Light. They were given mastery over unimaginable powers, such as regeneration and even immorality.
Some were even elevated to godlike levels by the Greater Will. These Gods, namely Queen Marika, Elden Lord Godfrey and Champion Radagon were the enforcers. They forged a Golden Order, an ultimate authority representing the Greater Will. The inhabitants of Lands Between either joined this Golden Order by will or were assimilated by force.
As you explore the domains once controlled by the Golden Order, you might discover monuments that look like a huge portion of palm. It looks like it’s been cut from a hairy giant’s hand with the ring and middle finger still attached. The rest of the appendages are missing. This representation is called Two Fingers by the inhabitants of Lands Between, at least a monumental version of the representation.
Just like how we have erected monuments to communicate with our gods. Giant two fingers were placed in pivotal places housed within important landmarks. They acted like an antenna to receive the guidance sent by Greater Will.
Also similar to how we have Oracles and Priests in our religious monuments. Finger Readers were appointed to translate the messages sent by Greater Will. We will meet several finger readers during our journey. These are haggardly old women who talk like they have lost touch with reality. It is told by various sources that the Two Fingers lost their connection with the Greater Will after the Great Shattering of the Elden Ring.
Are the Two Fingers Evil?
This is up to much debate. Nothing is truly good or evil in the Elden Ring. What I can tell you is that the Two Fingers definitely have a self-serving purpose. This purpose, if derived from first hand in-game description, asks the Tarnished to “seek the Erdtree, stand before Queen Marika and become the Elden Lord.“
This means the Two Fingers want you to defeat the Demigods, take their Great Runes for your own and unify them. This purpose given by the Two Fingers can be good as well as bad, it is up to your own interpretation.
