Mage tower puzzles are a staple of Elden Ring. In the Mountaintops of the Giants, the Heretical Rise is a sealed mage’s tower. The imp statue’s book hints, “Falling snow marks something unseen.” This guide shows how to solve the Fallen Snow Marks Something Unseen puzzle and access Heretical Rise.
How to Cross the Invisible Bridge and Solve the Falling Snow Marks Puzzle in Elden Ring
To solve the puzzle, you need to cross an invisible bridge over a vast chasm, then enter the Heretical Rise via an open-air balcony. The only chasm nearby is north of the tower, and you’ll need to go all the way to the Freezing Lake Site of Grace near the lake’s northwest coast.
Travel west from the site of grace (toward Castle Sol), and you’ll eventually run into a broken bridge that points to the Heretical Rise. Here’s where the fallen snow comes into play. The remainder of the bridge and the stairway coming off of it you need to climb to the balcony are invisible. If you don’t have any prism stones, the only way to know where the remainder of the bridge is would be to watch where it catches the snow and where it doesn’t.
You’ll want to bring a handful of items to cross this bridge, such as rainbow stones, or other rocks. We also recommend you watch for the falling snow to notice the invisible bridge, but this might not be enough for every player, and that’s completely fine. That’s why having several rainbow stones or rocks in your inventory is always a good idea.
Where to Find the Invisible Bridge Near Heretical Rise
You’ll need to get over your fear of heights to cross this bridge, and while the whole experience can be terrifying, the bridge itself is much broader than you might think. Use the falling snow and rainbow stones to continuously check if the path ahead of you is safe. You can also use a bow and arrows to check, but it might be hard to see if your eyes are bad like mine. Here’s a tip: an interactive map can help you pinpoint locations such the invisible bridge.
Alternatively, if you have a weapon that uses an Ash of War with an effect that spreads across the ground, like the Icerind Hatchet’s Hoarfrost Stomp, you can use this to see the perimeter of the bridge by noting the area of effect. Just keep in mind that you likely won’t be able to infinitely spam your skill, so you should probably still bring some rainbow stones with you while you attempt to solve the “falling snow marks something unseen” puzzle.
If you’re playing online, you’re liable to see bloodstains and messages from other players helping guide your way. We don’t recommend you stop using stones and arrows, as those bloodstains are there for a reason, but they can give you an idea of where to stand.
The invisible bridge will end when you reach about 100 feet from the side of the Heretical Rise, with the balcony above you and to the left. Now, you need to take an invisible staircase to your destination. If you’re running low on stones, you can use the environment below you as a guide. In the valley below, you should see a pair of spirit trees near the cliffside; the stairway is directly across from them. Ration what stones you have left (We only needed four or five), and make your way carefully up the stairs.
As tempting as it might be to head directly for the broken balcony, don’t. When you reach a point on the stairs where your feet are roughly on the same level as the balcony, make a slight right and then go straight. You’ve completed the most dangerous part of your task as soon as you enter the tower and see the “Heretical Rise” message on your screen.
At this point, you’ve now completed the “falling snow marks something unseen” puzzle, and you can safely teleport to any Site of Grace and enter the tower from the front door but know that the place is guarded by Marionette Soldiers who will spin their arms at you and roll around on the floor with their swords out.
If you’ve taken it slow and carefully to this point, you should be fine. Your reward for solving the riddle is at the top of the Rise in a Chest: Founding Rain of Stars sorcery. You also get the fantastic prize of never crossing invisible bridges again, at least in this region. There are other locations with invisible bridges, waiting for you to discover them.
Founding Rain of Stars Stats
The Founding Rain of Stars sorcery you obtain after completing the “falling snow marks something unseen” puzzle is a decent sorcery with a short-range AoE effect that releases a downpour of star rain for a short period of time. The sorcery has the following stats:
- Spell Type: Primeval Sorcery
- Stamina Cost: 31
- FP Cost: 27
- Requirements: Intelligence 52
Founding Rain of Stars doesn’t stagger enemies, but it does do magic damage that ain’t half bad. You won’t find it very reliable in PvE thanks to its short distance and only being able to have one instance of it occurring at a time, but it’s quick to cast and its AoE is fairly wide, making it most useful against melee enemies.
This covers the Fallen Snow Marks Something Unseen puzzle, but there’s much more to do in the game. Have you found Smithing Master Iji or Rennala’s Full Moon Spell? Whatever you need in Elden Ring, we’ve got you covered.
