Fia is an NPC in Elden Ring who serves as the Deathbed Companion of the Roundtable Hold and will voluntarily embrace Tarnished if they desire her comfort. Hugging her grants the protagonist a Baldachin's Blessing, which reduces their Vigor by -1 as long as it remains in their inventory. However, suppose the player activates the blessing. In that case, the Elden Ring stat will be restored and provide Tarnished with a short window of boosted Poise, granting a 35% physical damage negation lasting 15 seconds.
While most Tarnished will see Fia and her Baldachin's Blessing as a piece of esoteric yet charming side content in Elden Ring, many might not know of the deeper role she has ingrained in the main story and the Lands Between's lore. Nevertheless, those who follow her on her journey will be rewarded with multiple new armor sets, unique boss battles, and an alternate ending for the game.
The progression of Fia's questline is in tandem with Ranni the Witch's questline. As a result, Tarnished must advance Ranni's story if they want to complete Fia's. In particular, the player must complete the Snow Witch's request regarding the hidden treasure of Nokron, referring to the Fingerslayer Blade. To get this quest item, the protagonist will first need to have defeated General Radahn of Caelid to open the subterranean entrance to the Eternal City above the Siofra River. Afterward, they must go to the Night's Sacred Ground. Here, the Fingerslayer Blade can be found within a small shrine beneath a giant skeletal statue of a Finger Maiden.
Returning Nokron's hidden treasure to Ranni will reward Tarnished with the Carian Inverted Statue. This statue must be taken to the Carian Study Hall, a notable landmark located on West Liurnia near the end of the Liurnia Highway. The item will activate a hidden mechanism within the tower, causing the interior to be flipped upside down. Next, Tarnished must venture through the structure to get to the Liurna Tower Bridge, which leads to the Divine Tower of Liurna. After getting past the Godskin Noble on the bridge and reaching the spire of the Divine Tower, players will discover the Cursemark of Death in Elden Ring. This quest item is required to proceed with Fia's story.
After acquiring the Cursemark of Death and reaching a Site of Grace in the Atlus Plateau, return to Fia in the Roundtable Hold. Embrace her to unlock a new dialogue option regarding a favor to find the owner of a "Weathered Dagger." Take this dagger to D, an NPC located in the central room sitting near the round table. Afterward, reload the area and head to the hall where Master Hewg is working. The door at the end of the passage should now be open. Enter the room to find Fia knelt down beside D's body. Tarnished can loot the corpse to receive D's 4-piece Twinned Armor Set and his Bell Bearing.
Upon reloading the Roundtable Hold, Fia will relocate to a new spot within Deeproot Depths, an underground region beneath Leyndell. To reach this region, Tarnished must return to Nokron, Eternal City, specifically the Ancestral Woods Site of Grace. Next, head to the cliffside in the northeast to find a semi-hidden passageway leading to Siofra Aqueduct. After making it past several zombified humanoids and Crucible Knights, players will encounter D's Brother sitting on the balcony leading to the sub-zone's boss chamber. While it's not necessary for progressing Fia's questline, Tarnished can give him the Twinned Set to receive the Inner Order gesture and advance the D's story.
Next, Tarnished must defeat the Valiant Gargoyle, a Duo Boss guarding the Great Waterfall Basin. These bosses are quite challenging, so adventurers should reach at least Levels 80 to 90 before facing them. Once they've been defeated, Tarnished can continue onward to the bottom of the cascade ahead. Here, an open coffin will be lying on the ground, and players can rest inside it to be transported up to the Great Waterfall Crest in Deeproot Depths.
Fia is located in a wetland clearing on the northern side of Deeproot Depths. Tarnished must go westward by crossing the giant branches connecting the ridges to reach this location. After arriving at the opposite side, players will encounter Finger Reader near the Site of Grace called Deeproot Depths. From here, head north into the ruins of the Nameless Eternal City to find the region's Map Fragment beneath a pavilion in the central area. Next, ride westward and use the sunken buildings to climb the roots above to reach the Site of Grace Across the Roots. Tarnished adventurers can then make their way into the large basin below to find Fia guarded by three blue phantoms known as Fia's Guardians. One of the hostile spirits will be Lionel the Lionhearted, whom players might recognize from the Radahn Festival in Caelid. Once they've been defeated, the protagonist can approach Fia and give her the Cursemark of Death they obtained from the Divine Tower of Liurna.
Fia will ask if the protagonist wishes to oppose her ideals, during which Tarnished must make sure they choose "No, I want to be held." While embracing the player, Fia will give players the Radiant Baldachin's Blessing, an upgraded version of the Baldachin's Blessing, which doesn't reduce Vigor and can only be used once. Next, Elden Ring fans must reload the area at the Site of Grace and interact with Fia again to enter her Deathbed Dream realm. Here, the player will battle against Elden Ring's Lichdragon Fortissax, a legendary black dragon that haunts Fia's dreams. Once defeated, Tarnished will be sent back to the realm of the living to find Fia's corpse with the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince. This Rune is the key to unlocking the "Age of the Duskborn" ending in Elden Ring. Afterward, players can reload the area for a final time to pick up Fia's Set. To unlock the alternative ending, be sure to choose the option "Mending Rune of the Death-Prince" at the anvil after defeating Elden Ring's final boss.
Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.