So, you’ve probably seen the guy in the gold and silver armor hanging out at the Roundtable Hold. He looks like a walking sculpture, right? That’s Darian—well, we just call him D. Most people think his story is just a small side-distraction that leads to a beast-man in a temple, but honestly, D's questline in Elden Ring is one of the most tragic, complicated, and lore-heavy threads in the entire game. If you've ever wondered why his brother is acting like a vegetable in an aqueduct or why Fia suddenly decides to murder your favorite armor merchant, you're in the right place.
It’s easy to mess this up. One wrong move and you’ve locked yourself out of a great sword or a specific ending. Let's break down how this actually works, step by step, without the fluff.
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Starting D's Questline: The Mariner and the Beast
You first run into D in Limgrave, usually near Summonwater Village. He’s standing over a corpse, looking pretty gloomy. He warns you about the village ahead. Basically, there’s a Tibia Mariner there—a ghostly boatman who summons skeletons.
Kill the Mariner. It's not a hard fight; just stay on Torrent and whack him. You get a Deathroot. Take that back to D. He’ll be impressed and offer to introduce you to "The Beast Clergyman," Gurranq. He marks a red portal on your map behind the Third Church of Marika.
Go through the portal. You’ll end up in the Bestial Sanctum in North Caelid. Talk to the giant, hungry wolf-man (Gurranq), give him the Deathroot, and head back to the Roundtable. Now, D is a merchant. He sells Golden Order incantations. At this point, most players think, "Cool, I'm done."
You aren't. Not even close.
The Weathered Dagger Incident
To really progress, you have to talk to Fia. She’s the lady in the bedroom who wants to hug you. After you’ve reached the Altus Plateau (either via the Grand Lift of Dectus or the Ruin-Strewn Precipice), Fia will give you a "Weathered Dagger" during one of your hugs. She asks you to return it to its "rightful owner."
Don't overthink it. Talk to D. Give him the dagger.
He’ll say he knows who it belongs to and that he’ll take care of it. Fast travel away and come back immediately. You’ll notice D isn't in his usual spot. Walk past the blacksmith, Hewg, and look for a newly opened door at the end of the hall.
Inside, D is dead. Fia is standing over his body. She confesses to being a Deathbed Companion and basically tells the Roundtable to "deal with it" before vanishing.
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Pick up D’s stuff. You get his Twinned Armor set and his Bell Bearing. This is where things get weird.
Finding the Other Brother (Devin)
Darian had a twin brother named Devin. They share one soul but have two bodies. Deep in the Siofra Aqueduct (which you access after beating Radahn and entering Nokron), you’ll find Devin sitting on a balcony right before the Valiant Gargoyle boss fight. He’s curled in a ball, totally catatonic.
You have a choice here.
- Give him the Twinned Armor. This snaps him out of his funk.
- Keep the armor. If you do this, his story ends there, and he stays a vegetable.
If you give him the armor, he becomes a summonable NPC for the Gargoyle fight. Trust me, you want the help. Those gargoyles are a nightmare.
The Brutal Finale in Deeproot Depths
To finish D's questline in Elden Ring, you need to follow Fia's path to the Deeproot Depths. You get there by lying in a stone coffin after the Gargoyle fight.
Find Fia at the end of the area. You’ll have to fight her champions first. After that, you give her the Cursemark of Death (which you get from Ranni's questline at the Divine Tower of Liurnia). Fight the secret boss, Lichdragon Fortissax, inside her dream.
Once you’ve beaten the dragon and gotten the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince, reload the area.
If you gave Devin the armor earlier, he’ll be standing over Fia’s lifeless body. He’s completely lost it. He’s screaming about the Golden Order and how he’s finally avenged his brother. It’s pretty dark, even for FromSoftware standards.
Talk to him until he’s finished his monologue. Then, rest at the nearby grace or reload the game. Devin will be gone. In his place, you’ll find the Inseparable Sword and the full Twinned Armor set again.
Why this matters for your playthrough
A lot of people skip giving the armor to the brother because they want to keep the set for themselves. But if you wait until the very end of Fia's quest, you get the armor back plus one of the best Faith-scaling swords in the game.
The Inseparable Sword is fantastic for "Those Who Live in Death" (the skeletons). It prevents them from reviving without you having to hit them twice.
Actionable Next Steps
If you're currently in the middle of this mess, here's what you should do right now:
- Check your map: If you haven't seen Gurranq yet, look for the red mark near the Third Church of Marika.
- Talk to Fia: If she hasn't given you the dagger, go rest at a grace in Altus Plateau and come back.
- Don't sell the armor: You need that specific Twinned Set to trigger the brother's dialogue in Nokron.
- Complete Ranni’s quest: You can't reach the "true" end of D's story without getting the Cursemark of Death from the top of the Liurnia Divine Tower.
Darian and Devin are tragic figures, but their gear is top-tier. Just remember: in the Lands Between, "returning a favor" usually ends in a bloodbath.