Chapter 286 - Zagans Thoughts III (1/2)

”Then this personage shall lay before you the events of the Fourth Darkening, one in which he was yet herald of Greed,” said Zagan. ”First, there was Ijiras of En Vexelann, or that which you know as the never-ending storm of the Northwastes.”

”Demons live even in the Northwastes?” said Li.

”Three centers do we demons inhabit. En Arkennan, the center of chaos – that is where the seven swarms originate. En Vexelann – the center of the eternal storm. And En Okeas – center of the watery depths that has now been warped into the sealed Abyss.”

”I see.”

Seeing that Li had no further questions, Zagan continued. ”Ijiras was mighty indeed, rising to the top of the storm, feasting upon the strongest of demons of frost and wind and lightning until finally, she found herself bored of the challenge of En Vexelann. She left her home and came to En Arkennan, challenging all leaders of the seven swarms and finding herself triumphant.

With that, Ijiras invoked the Rite of the Swarm, and none other than she was better for it. She embodied the principle of the Rite and of demonkind perfectly. Strength, she sought above all else, devouring and destroying all in pursuit of ultimate power.

Ijiras named her seven heralds, with this personage and Pride continuing our duties as heralds as we had since the Third Darkening.”

”You were not challenged for the title?” asked Li.

”Of course, we were.

But among the swarm of Greed, this personage is one unnaturally suited to battle. The demons of Greed are those that which deal in trickery and pacts. In magic and thought do we indulge ourselves in, but this personage, ever since he was but a mere hellhound, has always been close to the primal savagery of battle, of bloodletting by flame and tooth and claw, and as such, has remained undefeated.

Pride, my old friend, is one similar, though his might comes from a dedication to swordsmanship paralleled by none. As is fitting for one who was once human.”

”Human?” asked Li, a little surprised. Though he did remember that the herald of L.u.s.t in the Fourth Darkening was also originally human as Zagan once said.

”An Easterner just as your human vessel shows,” said Zagan. ”He had pursued a 'dao' or 'way' as he called it, of swordsmanship his whole life, and he had become a man of legend in his home. A sword saint, as was called.

But he grew tired of his home and left, marking his way through the continent of Eldenia, challenging all that it had to offer, and then to the Hinterlands, then to En Arkennan where he willingly became a demon to freely traverse the cursed lands fatal to mortals.

All in the pursuit of his way.”

”He must have been extraordinarily powerful,” said Li, knowing from his interaction with Lady Zhen that the eastern continent was significantly stronger than the average in Eldenia. If Pride was a man who had risen to the top of that continent and become even stronger as a demon, inheriting the special powers of a demon sin, he very well may have been equal to a level 100 character.

”A wonder he did not become the Burning One himself,” noted Li.

”His duel with Ijiras ended when he conceded, satisfied with her strength even when he could have fought to a much bloodier end. For he rejected all titles of authority. In sheer might, he may have grasped the title of Burning One, but it was his path to take.

Even as a herald, he did not exercise any control over the swarm of Pride, allowing their traditions of knighthood and warrior spirit continue on without any interference, though this personage imagined that those values resonated with him well.”

”The way you speak of him – you seem to hold great respect for him,” said Li.

”This personage respects those that adhere to principle, even if it they be not his own. Hence, tolerating the aged mortal of yours. Pride was much the same.”

”And you are telling me with all this firepower, a Burning One, a herald nearly equal to her in power, and seven swarms of demons, that they could not take out the Eldenian continent?”

”A weakness of adhering to principle,” said Zagan.  ”Ijiras did not command. She simply went forth, leading a charge wherein she sought out strong opponents to destroy, to freeze their souls to add to her collection. She cared not of what forces she lost nor what they did, and that was true for all other swarms.

Wrath charged forwards with his packs with nothing resembling strategy. Envy and his ilk only ever cared of stealing and taking. Gluttony lived only to feast and feast.

L.u.s.t sought a subtler method of conquest, one more suited to what she had learned in her time as a human seductress. She and her swarm charmed those that practiced magic, gaining their secrets and devising a Rot capable of suppressing the forest Guardians and spirits who would have challenged us thoroughly.

This personage too committed himself and his swarm to something more than the brute fight, for the demons of Greed have never been ones to revel truly in the thick of battle. We went north, seeking to sway the hearts of the mortals there and steal away the Purgatorio that felled the Burning One of the Third Darkening.

Alas, we found no victory.”

”Did the elves repel your forces?”

Zagan shook his head. ”Little did they oppose us. We moved from west to east through continent, and the elves reside in the farthest eastern part of northern Eldenia. But between the elves and our forces were the beastmen and the club tribes.”

”No dragons?”