You’re exploring the Waypoint Ruins in Limgrave, dodging those annoying giant poisonous flowers, and you stumble into a dark cellar. There she is. Sellen. She’s tall, wearing a stone mask that never blinks, and she’s remarkably calm for someone chained to a wall—wait, no, that’s her projection. Or is it? Honestly, the Elden Ring Sorceress Sellen quest is one of the first times FromSoftware really hooks you with the "scholar vs. establishment" trope, and it doesn't go where you think it will.
Most players just see her as a convenient shop for Glintstone Pebble. That’s a mistake. If you actually follow her trail of breadcrumbs across the Lands Between, you aren't just getting better spells. You’re participating in a bloody coup, a scientific heresy, and a personal tragedy that ends in one of the most grotesque visual transformations in the entire game.
Finding the Graven Witch
Getting started isn't hard, but it’s easy to stall out. You find her at the Waypoint Ruins after killing the Mad Pumpkin Head. She calls herself the "Graven Witch," a title that sounds edgy until you realize exactly what a "Graven Mass" actually is. Basically, she was kicked out of the Academy of Raya Lucaria for doing some really "unethical" research. In the world of Elden Ring, unethical usually involves sticking people together to see if they turn into stars.
The quest really kicks off once you find Master Azur in Mt. Gelmir. He’s basically a corpse made of green crystals sitting near a cliff. When you show Sellen the Comet Azur spell you got from him, her tone shifts. She isn't just a tutor anymore; she’s a revolutionary. She asks you to find another exiled master, Lusat, who is hidden away in the Sellia Hideaway in Caelid.
Finding Lusat is a pain. You have to hit an invisible wall behind a graveyard. It’s classic Miyazaki. But once you have both masters' locations, Sellen lets you in on the real plan. She wants to restore the "primeval current." To the Academy, this is heresy. To Sellen, it’s the ultimate truth of the universe. She wants to bring the stars back to the Academy, and she needs a new body to do it.
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The Body Swap and the Witch Hunter
This is where things get weirdly personal. Sellen reveals her "real" body is actually being held captive in the Witchbane Ruins on the Weeping Peninsula. If you go there, you see her—real, physical, and clearly tortured. She gives you her Primal Glintstone, which is essentially her soul in a rock.
"This is my essence. Treat it with care, apprentice."
You then have to take that soul-rock to a secret puppet room hidden behind another illusory floor near Ranni’s Rise. You stick the rock into a doll that looks exactly like her, and suddenly, she’s back. It’s a bit creepy, honestly. You’re essentially helping a necromancer inhabit a puppet body so she can go kill her old boss.
But there’s a wildcard: Jerren. You might remember him as the guy running the Radahn Festival. He’s the "Witch-Hunter." He’s been tracking Sellen for years because he knows what she’s capable of. At a certain point, you have to choose. Do you side with your teacher, or do you help the guy who just helped you kill a demi-god?
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The Grand Library Showdown
The climax happens at the Raya Lucaria Grand Library, right where you fought Rennala. Outside the door, you’ll see two summon signs.
- Gold Sign: Defend Sellen against Jerren.
- Red Sign: Help Jerren kill Sellen.
If you choose Jerren, you get a Rune Arc and some armor. It’s the "moral" choice if you think Sellen is a dangerous lunatic. But if you choose Sellen, you get the Shard Spiral spell (which is incredible against large bosses) and the Kris Dagger. More importantly, you get to see her triumph. She stands in the center of the library, Rennala is pushed into a corner, and Sellen declares a new age of sorcery. She’s proud of you. She calls you her "dear apprentice" and promises that when you become Elden Lord, the Academy will have your back.
It’s the warmest moment in a very cold game. And that’s why the ending hurts so much.
The Horror of the Primeval Current
After you finish the quest and rest at a site of grace, come back to the library. Sellen is no longer standing in the center. Rennala is back in her spot, seemingly unbothered.
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Sellen is now a Graven School—a massive, terrifying ball of stone faces. She can barely speak. She just moans in pain. By trying to touch the "primeval current" and merging the essences of Azur and Lusat, she became exactly what her enemies feared. She became a mass of souls. She didn't fail; she actually succeeded in her research, but the result was a loss of humanity so profound it’s hard to watch.
People often ask if Rennala did this to her. Probably not. This is likely the natural result of "primeval" sorcery. Sellen pushed the boundaries of science too far, and the universe pushed back. It’s a classic Icarus story, but with more glintstone and body horror.
Actionable Steps for Completing the Quest
To ensure you don't miss any of the unique rewards or accidentally break the questline, follow these specific checkpoints:
- Defeat the Mad Pumpkin Head in Waypoint Ruins (Limgrave) to meet Sellen and start her dialogue.
- Locate Master Azur in Mt. Gelmir. He is near the Hermit Village. Obtaining "Comet Azur" is the trigger for the next phase.
- Talk to Sellen and receive the Sellian Sealbreaker. Head to the Sellia Hideaway in Caelid (look for the illusory wall behind the headstone in the graveyard north of Sellia).
- Find Master Lusat inside the hideaway to get the "Stars of Ruin" spell.
- Talk to Sellen again after the Radahn Festival is over. She will tell you to find her physical body in the Witchbane Ruins.
- Retrieve the Primal Glintstone and take it to the hidden cellar between Ranni's Rise and Renna's Rise in Liurnia. Place it in the puppet body.
- Find Jerren at the Witchbane Ruins and then again at the entrance of the Raya Lucaria Grand Library to trigger the final choice.
- Equip the Graven-Mass Talisman if you intend to use the spells you've earned; it significantly boosts sorcery damage and fits the "lore" of Sellen's tragic end.
Don't forget to go back to Azur and Lusat’s original locations after the quest ends. Their armor sets will be sitting there waiting for you, but only if you sided with Sellen. If you're running a mage build, these are some of the best looking (and most functional) pieces of gear in the game. Just try not to think about what happened to your teacher while you're wearing them.