Before the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is released, Elden Ring players are attempting to solve another map mystery. This time, the source of the picture on the Haligdrake Talisman is the focus of controversy. Although Elden Ring ideas frequently provoke debates in the community, this one appears to have sparked a particularly heated conversation among fans, with players making multiple convincing arguments on both ends of the spectrum.

Fans of Elden Ring have gone completely crazy with their theories as the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC release nears. As some are devising fresh strategies to take down enemies such as Elden Ring's Mimic Tear, others are searching for any dropped clues from previous playthroughs. In the midst of all of that, the Elden Ring group appears to be most excited about a new map theory.

The user chrysamere points out that one of the game's talismans might be connected to the map in a recent post on the Elden Ring subreddit. The user asserts that the Haligdrake Talisman shows a map that existed before the Erdtree was created, and they provide evidence for this assertion by highlighting a number of significant characteristics. The dragon's head is connected to the Volcano, while Elden Ring's Castle Morne is connected to its tail. Similarly, there is a tiny projection between the dragon's torso and wings that the player interprets as Leyndell's island form. Many people consider that the veil obscures the central portion, which is also said to be the location of the Land of Shadow.

Similar to many Elden Ring hypotheses, some fans have called it an example of apophenia, a term used to mock not only Elden Ring players but the entire Soulsborne community on occasion. A lot of people think that the figure is just a dragon, which fits the description rather well—especially since it has Elden Ring's famous Ancient Dragons.

In fact, member Armillian stated in another post in the Elden Ring subreddit that if VaatiVidya—a developer well-known for demystifying the Soulsborne lore—had said that it was a map, how many people in the community would have believed it to be one? According to Armillian, it's also plausible that FromSoftware created the figure with the intention of using it as both a dragon and a depiction of the map. This could not be too far-fetched, given that FromSoftware had previously hinted that one Elden Ring mystery remains unsolved.