The Symbolism of the Haligtree
The Haligtree, home of the twin demigods Miquella and Malenia, is a tree with two trunks: one short but lush and beautiful, the other rotted and broken. The symbolism is clear: it physically represents the twin gods who built it, Miquella and Malenia, but the analogy goes deeper than that. The tree is broken into two sections: Haligtree Town and Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.
Miquella is noted as being a kind and caring god, which comes through in what we see on his trunk of the tree. Haligtree Town is a number of buildings built onto the branches of the healthy part of the tree, using unique architecture that is reminiscent of elves or greenhouses, not seen anywhere else in the game. It's inhabited by beast men and albinauric trumpeters, people who likely came to the tree in light of its purpose, as it was built as a haven for mistreated groups. We also find two Haima Mages, sorcerers who seek to quell conflict, fitting considering that is one of Miquella's goals also. There's also ants, naturally. At the end we find Loretta, an Albinauric (probably) knight who sought out the Haligtree as a promised land for the safety of her kind, and as such defends it. In her arena we find a statue of a young boy and slightly older girl being embraced by a woman, which I believe is the gods being embraced by the Haligtree.
Elphael is the militant side of the tree, home to and metaphor for the warrior demigod Malenia. It is a grand fortress protecting and supporting the Haligtree, even as it fails to grow. Its soldiers are more than willing to sacrifice themselves to protect it, in hope that their deaths will help guide the lost Miquella home. The whole place is a shining, noble fortress, but as we go deeper the rot becomes more obvious. Pests riddle the ground around the base, and the interior of the main trunk is entirely rotted away and infested.
At the heart of the Haligtree are roots twisted into the shape of a woman, holding her arms in a nest which is likely where Miquella's cocoon sat before being stolen. This is likely the woman shown in the statue in Loretta's arena.
As for the names, the name of the Haligtree means "Holy Tree", with many obvious meanings applicable here, from the fact that it's grown by a demigod to the fact it's a holy land for dispossessed peoples throughout the Lands Between.
The name of Elphael was a little tougher to figure out. It's an obvious reference to biblical names, specifically angels. It could be a misspelled Alpha-El, as slightly changing names from their base words isn't uncommon in angelic names, which would roughly mean "First of God", or "God's First." The main reason Miquella abandoned the Golden Order was because of Malenia, so in a sense she is his first priority. Alternatively, it could be a reference to Elpaal (again misspelled on purpose) a man in the bible whose father was missing and was known for having many warrior sons. This fits with Malenia being the Goddess of Rot, as Rot spawns the vicious Pests, amongst other things.
The next post will discuss the metaphors in other sections of the game, but Haligtree deserved its own because of how much detail can be found here.