Fia’s questline runs on three embraces, not one. Skip the second one and the Weathered Dagger never shows up, no matter how far you’ve progressed the story elsewhere. Half the guides for this quest also send you chasing Sorcerer Rogier’s Black Knifeprint as if it’s a prerequisite — it isn’t, and Fia never asks for it. The one decision players actually stress about, whether giving D’s Twinned Armor to his twin brother ruins the Age of Duskborn ending, turns out to have almost no way to go wrong as long as you do it in the right order. This guide lays out every trigger in the sequence it actually has to happen in, the Lichdragon Fortissax fight it ends with, and the ending it unlocks. Verified against Patch 1.16.x — Fia’s own dialogue hasn’t changed since launch; only Spirit Ash and weapon balance have been touched on the base game since.
Quick Start: The 6 Beats That Actually Matter
Everything below is mandatory, in this order. Rogier’s Black Knifeprint and the timing of D’s armor handoff are the only genuinely optional pieces, and both are covered separately further down.
- Embrace Fia at Roundtable Hold (repeatable any time, not story-gated)
- Reach Altus Plateau and start the Radahn Festival, then embrace her again — this is the only way to get the Weathered Dagger
- Give the dagger to D, Hunter of the Dead, then rest at a grace and reload the area
- Progress Ranni’s questline far enough to claim the Cursemark of Death from the Divine Tower of Liurnia
- Reach Fia in Deeproot Depths, defeat the Champions of Fia, then hand over the Cursemark
- Rest at a nearby grace, interact with sleeping Fia, defeat Lichdragon Fortissax in the Deathbed Dream, and loot the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince
The Three Hugs That Matter
Fia offers an embrace almost every time you talk to her, but only three of those hugs are load-bearing — the rest just hand out a repeatable consumable. The reason the second hug feels like it appears out of nowhere is that it’s gated behind the same story flag that opens the Radahn Festival, not behind a fixed location or item count [2][10].
| Hug | Where / Prerequisite | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Roundtable Hold, first visit — no prerequisite | Baldachin’s Blessing (repeatable whenever your inventory doesn’t already have one) |
| 2nd | Roundtable Hold, after reaching Altus Plateau / starting the Radahn Festival — select “May I ask a favor?” | Weathered Dagger |
| 3rd | Deeproot Depths, after defeating the Champions of Fia | Radiant Baldachin’s Blessing + the Cursemark of Death prompt |
If you’re still early in the game, our Elden Ring beginner’s guide covers the Great Rune and story-pacing basics this questline assumes you already have in place.
Giving D the Dagger — and the Black Knifeprint You Don’t Need
You do not need Sorcerer Rogier’s Black Knifeprint for any part of this. It shows up next to the dagger step in enough walkthroughs that it reads like a requirement, but it’s Rogier and Ranni’s own side-thread — you can finish Fia’s entire questline and fight Fortissax without ever mentioning the Black Knives to anyone [8].
What is required: hand the Weathered Dagger to D at Roundtable Hold. He recognizes it immediately and takes it off your hands to return it himself. Rest at a Site of Grace and reload the area, and a previously sealed room near Smith Master Hewg opens up — D is dead inside it, with Fia nearby. Loot his Twinned armor set and Bell Bearing before you leave; that Bell Bearing is the only way to buy his holy incantations afterward [1][3][7]. Do this before Crumbling Farum Azula — Fextralife’s own maintainers note the step locks out once the story moves past that point [2].
Reaching Fia in Deeproot Depths
Fia relocates to Deeproot Depths once D is dead. The standard route runs through Nokron, Eternal City, which opens after Starscourge Radahn falls: from the Ancestral Woods area head to the Siofra Aqueduct grace, follow the corridor down to the Valiant Gargoyle boss arena, beat the twin gargoyles, then continue past the waterfall to a coffin. Interacting with it triggers the cutscene into Deeproot Depths. A second route exists through the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds, behind Mohg: from the Frenzied Flame Proscription grace, roll through a hidden wall to reach the Root-Facing Cliffs grace instead.
Fia sits at the back of the area, guarded by the Champions of Fia — a randomized pair of NPC-type summons rather than a fixed boss [7]. Clear them, then embrace her for the third time to open the Cursemark dialogue.
The Cursemark of Death: Why This Step Runs Through Ranni
The Cursemark of Death isn’t found near Fia at all — it’s locked behind Ranni’s own questline. You need the Carian Inverted Statue from Ranni’s progression to access the Divine Tower of Liurnia through the Carian Study Hall, and the Cursemark is what you find at the top [1][6]. If you’re juggling Ranni’s quest at the same time, check our Ranni questline points-of-no-return guide before you commit to an ending on that side — some of her branches lock each other out permanently. Hand the Cursemark to Fia in Deeproot Depths and she gives you the Radiant Baldachin’s Blessing, a stronger one-time version of the base item.
The Deathbed Dream and Lichdragon Fortissax
Rest at the grace near Fia after delivering the Cursemark, then interact with her sleeping form. You’re pulled into the Deathbed Dream to fight Lichdragon Fortissax alone — no summons, no spirit ashes.
| Stat | Detail |
|---|---|
| HP | Roughly 12,900 per Fextralife’s stat block — treat as an estimate, since no second source publishes an independent figure [5] |
| Weak to | Pierce damage and physical attacks generally |
| Resistant to | Lightning and Holy (80 negation on both — don’t bring lightning incantations expecting a bonus) |
| Vulnerable spot | The head takes a 100% damage bonus — the fight is built around punishing head openings, not the tail or legs |
| Phase 2 | Adds a dual lightning spear combo and an aerial glaive divebomb |
Bring a pierce-focused weapon if you have one on hand, and skip the lightning or holy buffs you might default to for a dragon fight — both are actively resisted here [5]. Winning drops the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince from Fia’s now-lifeless body in the real world.
D’s Twin Brother: Does Giving Away the Armor Cost You the Ending?
No — not if you sequence it correctly. Devin, D’s twin (found at Nokron on the balcony outside the Valiant Gargoyle arena), will assist you against the Valiant Gargoyle if you hand him the unaltered Twinned armor set. He only shows up at Fia’s location and kills her after two conditions are both already true: you’ve received the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince from Fortissax, and you’ve given him the armor [4][9].
That ordering matters more than the fact itself. The Mending Rune — the only item this whole questline is actually building toward — is already in your inventory before Devin can act. Giving him the armor afterward just trades a fight-support NPC and a cosmetic set for the Inseparable Sword, with zero effect on your ending. If you’d rather not deal with any of it, don’t give him the armor at all; Fia stays alive with no downside either way.
The Age of Duskborn Ending
The Mending Rune doesn’t do anything until the very end. After defeating Radagon and the Elden Beast, approach Fractured Marika and choose to use the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince when prompted — that locks in the Age of Duskborn ending for this playthrough [1][10]. You only get to pick one ending item per credits roll; seeing a different ending on the same character means starting NG+ and reaching Fractured Marika again with a different rune in hand.
Priorities by Player Type
| Player Type | Priority |
|---|---|
| First-time / story players | Just run the 6-beat Quick Start list in order and ignore Rogier entirely — nothing about Black Knives affects Fia |
| Ending completionists | Decide which ending you want before Fractured Marika — you can hold multiple ending items in one run, but only use one |
| Item / weapon hunters | Loot D’s Twinned armor and Bell Bearing the moment he’s dead; hand the armor to Devin only after Fortissax to add the Inseparable Sword without any risk |
Managing more than one NPC morality questline this run? Our Dung Eater questline guide covers the other major ending-linked path and how it interacts with the rest of your save.
FAQ
Do I actually need the Black Knifeprint to finish Fia’s questline?
No. It’s Rogier and Ranni’s own thread — you can complete every Fia step, including the Fortissax fight, without ever bringing it up [8]. Guides that place it inline with the dagger step are describing two quests that happen to overlap in location, not one dependency.
Will giving D’s brother the armor lock me out of the Duskborn ending?
Not if you wait. Devin only kills Fia once you’ve already collected the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince and handed him the armor — so the item the ending actually needs is safely in your inventory before any of that happens [4][9]. The risk people worry about doesn’t exist if you sequence it this way.
Can I get the Duskborn ending and a different one on the same character?
Not in the same playthrough. Fractured Marika only lets you commit to one ending item per credits roll, even if you’re carrying more than one. Seeing a second ending requires NG+ or a fresh save [1].
I already gave Devin the armor before finishing Fia’s quest — did I mess it up?
No. Giving him the armor only sets up what happens later; it doesn’t retroactively touch Fia’s fate until you’ve also collected the Mending Rune. Finish the Deathbed Dream normally — the drop isn’t affected by when you gave the armor away [4].
Sources
- Fia — Elden Ring Wiki (Fextralife)
- Weathered Dagger — Elden Ring Wiki (Fextralife)
- D, Hunter of the Dead — Elden Ring Wiki (Fextralife)
- D’s Twin Brother — Elden Ring Wiki (Fextralife)
- Lichdragon Fortissax — Elden Ring Wiki (Fextralife)
- Elden Ring: Fia Full Quest Walkthrough — GameRant
- Elden Ring: How To Complete Fia’s Questline — TheGamer
- Do you need Black Knifeprint for FIA questline? — Orbis Patches
- Will Giving D’s Brother the Armor Lock Me Out of Fia’s Questline? — Game Revolution
- Elden Ring Fia Questline, Step By Step — eXputer
I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.