Elden Ring is a massive game and is full of strange creatures and NPCs. From massive violent hands to giant spiders and speaking turtles. Yes, you read it right. Located in an abandoned church is a silver gentle giant-turtle NPC, known as Miriel, Pastor of the Vows aka Pope Turtle.
Miriel is a pastor who overlooked the holy union between Radagon and Queen Rennala and is bound to the Church of Vows forever. As a pastor, Miriel has deep knowledge of sorceries and incantations and teaches them to players upon presenting him with runes and specific scrolls/prayerbooks. This changes Pope Turtle’s status to a merchant in official Elden Ring lore.
Where you can find Pope Turtle (Miriel, Paster of Vows) in Elden Ring?
Because of the important nature of sorceries and incantations players can learn from Pope Turtle, it is of crucial importance to seek him out as soon as possible. Miriel, Pastor of Vows is hidden under the plain sight in Elden Ring. He is bound to the Church of Vows and aims to spend the rest of his life in its ruins.
Church of Vows is a unique location in Elden Ring that can be found in the Liurnia of the Lakes. The exact location of the church is marked on the map, and is to the East of the Raya Lucaria Academy, past the lakes.
The nearest Sites of Grace include Eastern Tableland (to the Southeast) and Ruined Labyrinth (to the Northeast). Follow the paths marked on the map to reach the Church of Vows. Miriel can be found near the Northwest corner of the church and greets the players when interacted.
What does Pope Turtle do in Elden Ring?
Miriel, Pastor of Vows is a non-aggressive NPC that offers players a lot of knowledge and backstory of The Lands Between in addition to offering them various incantations and sorceries.
Players can talk to Pope Turtle and inquire about the relationship between Rennala and Lord Radagon. He also sheds light on the current situation and why Caria is in a state of battle with the Royal family. This can only be learned by interacting with Miriel and specifically inquiring about him and the events.
Miriel also allows the players to absolve themselves of their sins by offering celestial dew. This allows the players to revive certain NPCs they have killed and even calm down the aggressive ones (the ones players manage to aggravate by attacking).
However, the best part about Pope Turtle is the number of sorceries and incantations he offers. He offers some of the best magic Elden Ring has to offer, making him invaluable for the players rocking sorcerer builds. Initially, Pope Turtle only offers two sorceries and one incantation in exchange for runes. To unlock more, players need to find scrolls and prayerbooks and offer it to Miriel to learn the corresponding spells.
- Magic Glintblade (sorcery)
- Carian Greatsword (sorcery)
- Blessing’s Boon (incantation)
- Swift Glintstone Shard (sorcery, 1 academy scroll)
- Great Glintstone Shard (sorcery, 1 academy scroll)
- Glintstone Comet Shard (sorcery, 1 conspectus scroll)
- Star shower (sorcery, 1 conspectus scroll)
- Glintblade Phalanx (sorcery, 1 royal house scroll)
- Carian Slicer (sorcery, 1 royal house scroll)
- Lord’s Heal (incantation, 1 two finger’s prayerbook)
- Lord’s Aid (incantation, 1 two finger’s prayerbook)
- O, Flame! (incantation, 1 fire monk’s prayerbook)
- Surge, O Flame! (incantation, 1fire monk’s prayerbook)
- Ancient Dragons’ Lightning spear (incantation, 1 ancient dragon prayerbook)
- Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike (incantation, 1 ancient dragon prayerbook)
- Black flame (incantation, 1 godskin prayerbook)
- Black Flame Blade (incantation, 1 godskin prayerbook)
- Assassin’s Approach (incantation, 1 assassin’s prayerbook)
- Darkness (incantation, 1 assassin’s prayerbook)
- Giantflame Take Thee (incantation, 1 giant’s prayerbook)
- Flame, Fall Upon Them (incantation, 1 giant’s prayerbook)
Pope Turtle can be killed upon hitting him repeatedly. But he never gets violent even when he is on the verge of death and still offers words of advice and comfort to the rampaging players. Miriel drops his bell bearing upon death which can be offered to twin maiden husk at the Roundtable Hold and turtleneck meat (was that worth it you monster).
Magic, lore, absolution from sins, and a friendly demeanor to boot make Miriel, pastor of Vows one of the best NPCs Elden Ring has to offer.
