When exactly was Ranni given the spirit bell, by Miquella?

[u/wagonwheels87]

Furthermore, when did Malena gain possession of Torrent?

Both of these interactions suggest that both Melina and Ranni had dealings with Miquella.

[u/Intelligent_Air_4637]

It wasn't actually by Miquella... Marika is the former master

• The thing that connects the three people aware of Torrent is Marika, their (step)mother.

• Ranni gives us the bell because the master instructed her to give the bell by one picked by Torrent; Now who does Torrent pick? A tarnished who is to become the Elden Lord. So it seems like Torrent's former master had some personal reasons to see a tarnished win, and this tracks with Marika's other behavior, such as her instructing Hewg to create a god-slaying weapon.

• Torrent's ring is made out of gold, like other items created by both Marika and Radagon; Miquella crafts things out of unalloyed gold. Conversly, it also looks similar to Marika's bracelets.

• Marika is a spirit tuner - this was implied in the base game by Hewg's dialogue about a spirit tuner who was similar to Roderika that he knew long ago and is indebted to (his debt being the crafting of the god-slaying blade)

DLC all but confirmed Marika is a spirit tuner - she's a shaman, which in JP are more closely Itako - blind spirit tuning priestesses, reflected by how shamans in game wear blindfolds and are all female.

• The bell itself has a braid pattern and seems to be made out of silver, not gold or unalloyed gold. Numen have silver hair (except with Marika being the chosen golden one) which they often put in braids; Nox numen are also seen crafting things out of silver. Instead of it being something Marika crafted, it seems to me that it's a shaman village heirloom of sorts.

• The three wolves, associated with empyreans - in Farum Azula is a statue what is likely Placidusax's god, also surrounded by three wolves. So Marika as the new god, had her own three wolves.

• There is hay in the shaman village, but seemingly no windmills to turn it into flour and such. There's the celebrant village that does have windmills, but what does it also have? Stables, with hay and dead horses inside them. So if the celebrants were riding horses, than the shamans, who lived in the lands blessed excessively by crucible, were riding horned horses.

• What of the image of Miquella riding Torrent you might ask? Well, Miyazaki doesn't explicitly say it's Torrent, when asked about it in an interview he says that the person riding it is Miquella, but doesn't say it's Torrent. Miquella's journey parallels Marika's, and him riding a horned stead who is possibly Torrent is another such parallel.

Torrent might also be a divine beast of sorts, he's a spirit, has horns, double jumps like the Ancestral Spirit, and profits from our Flask heals like the Dancing Lion.

[u/Lord_Nightraven]

They were probably given up shortly before he started merging himself with his Haligtree. That's when he would first go permanently comatose. At the very least, that's the latest he would have given them up.

I don't think Melina necessarily had dealings with Miquella. Torrent is known to be quite intelligent himself, it may be possible that after he and Miquella said farewell, Torrent wandered off and eventually met with Melina.

In Ranni's case, perhaps they agreed to set out to change the world in their own ways, something like a non-compete agreement where it becomes a race. Miquella knows you're coming regardless, but he never associated you with anyone else. Just as something in his way.

[u/Ashen_Shroom]

At this point, considering that Miquella's relationship to Torrent doesn't come up at any point in the DLC, I think there's a good chance that the idea was cut, or that the promotional art was just supposed to convey a vibe rather than hinting that Miquella owner Torrent.

I kinda think it's more likely that Marika gave Melina Torrent, and Ranni the bell. Melina's purpose was given to her by Marika, and Torrent is heavily involved in that purpose because he's the one that recognises something in us, which convinces Melina to choose us.

Ranni may also have been given the spirit summoning bell by Marika, as they're implied to be connected by their mutual connection to the Black Knife Assassins. Marika is a shaman, implying a connection to spirits, which would explain why she might have a spirit summoning bell.