What to expect about Daimons

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
In episode 360, Gedflynn offered to teach Schierke how to summon Daimons, a kind of spirit we hadn't heard about before. What he tells her is as follows:

"Are you interested in communicating with "Daimons" [guiding spirits], those who dwell in deeper territories than indigenous nature spirits?
Not every Daimon is an astral being. During their life, some were humans… Heroes…
...And some were even magicians.
Our old friend, the one who helped you in your dream is also one of them."

Daimon (ダイモン) is a Greek word and a concept from Greek mythology. There were different uses for the word over the centuries, but the way it's presented in Berserk is similar to how Hesiod describes it in Works and Days. He asserted that Daimons were humans of the Golden Age who had become spirits acting as guardians to mortal men. That fits with what Gedflynn says about how some human heroes attained that status.

That said, not all of them are former humans, so what about those who are astral beings? At this point it's hard to say for sure what form they'll take, but they're presented by Gedflynn as different from the nature spirits we've seen Schierke summon so far. They're not tied to a specific location in the corporeal world, which to me implies they may have a more universal quality while still being personifications of some forces of nature. It might be more abstract concepts or related to wider ranging phenomena (like, say, "storms"), instead of being tied to a river for example. Maybe the closest thing we've seen so far is the Wheel of Flames.

One of the big unknowns is how Schierke will be able to use these entities. Our best clue is what we've seen Flora do, since she's the only Daimon we know of at the moment. She's associated with fire and was able to use her power to stop Grunbeld from pursuing the group as well, as burn away the "apostle shades" in Casca's nightmare. At first glance that doesn't seem too different from what Schierke does when she summons "regular" spiritual beings, but I imagine there will actually be more to it than that. I'm especially curious to see what would occur if she called forth ancient heroes that weren't magic users. Would they manifest physically and fight?

There's also the question of where these Daimons dwell exactly. We're only told it's deeper than for the spirits we've seen so far. Are they all together in one place, or do they have their own separate domains? One possibility is that they all reside in the fields of Elysion (エーリュシオン), a verdant island that would border the great ocean of souls. There, they would have retained their individuality instead of "becoming one". This is again borrowed from Greek mythology, in which the Elysian Fields (Ēlýsion pedíon) were the resting place of heroes and righteous people in the afterlife.

It would be a bit of a mish-mash of references, but I find the idea alluring and Miura is pretty liberal with how he uses mythological or folkloric elements. As an island, I even wonder if it could symbolically be perceived as an opposite of sorts to the Vortex of Souls and the Abyss.

Side note: If you're wondering whether the Golden Age arc in Berserk was named after the Golden Age from Greek mythology, then yes it most likely was. Miura uses the same word. However there are no actual parallels to be drawn between the two, beyond the fact that "it was a better time".
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
He asserted that Daimons were humans of the Golden Age

Boscogne rides again! :troll:

It might be more abstract concepts or related to wider ranging phenomena (like, say, "storms"), instead of being tied to a river for example. Maybe the closest thing we've seen so far is the Wheel of Flames.

This honestly excites me a bit more than ancient heroes. I loved the Wheel of Flames, and what its existence says about the makeup of the astral world.

There's also the question of where these Daimons dwell exactly. We're only told it's deeper than for the spirits we've seen so far. Are they all together in one place, or do they have their own separate domains? One possibility is that they all reside in the fields of Elysion (エーリュシオン), a verdant island that would border the great ocean of souls. There, they would have retained their individuality instead of "becoming one". This is again borrowed from Greek mythology, in which the Elysian Fields (Ēlýsion pedíon) were the resting place of heroes and righteous people in the afterlife.

Of all your collective ideas here, this one piqued my interest the most. Would be cool if Schierke, guided by Gedflyn, could visit where they dwell. Would love to see Miura's take on Elysion.

I also wondered about how Ged describes the Daimons, both humans and astral creatures. And if it's a place where the souls of heroes can transmigrate, then maybe we just low-key learned a little something about how the souls of astral creatures work—no different from human.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
This honestly excites me a bit more than ancient heroes. I loved the Wheel of Flames, and what its existence says about the makeup of the astral world.

I'm pretty excited by both, personally. Seeing Schierke summon a new spirit is always a treat, and I'm sure those who have the status of Daimon will be amazing to behold. But the idea of calling forth legendary fighters from Gaiseric's time (or even earlier than that) is very cool in its own right. Of course how that will work remains to be seen, but I would enjoy seeing Locus get his ass handed to him by one such hero for example.

Would be cool if Schierke, guided by Gedflyn, could visit where they dwell. Would love to see Miura's take on Elysion.

Yeah, if that comes to pass I'm sure we would get to see the place. I'm curious to see what Flora's up to down there.

And if it's a place where the souls of heroes can transmigrate, then maybe we just low-key learned a little something about how the souls of astral creatures work—no different from human.

I don't think the mechanism would be the same for former humans and for astral beings. The human heroes once had corporeal bodies, but the others were presumably always spirits and might not be mortal, so I don't think the concept of soul would apply. However that does raise the issue of whether the human Daimons and the astral Daimons cohabit or not. Maybe the humans are gathered in one place while the astral beings dwell in their own territories.
 

Matteo Metallo

Veritas Non Verba Magistri
I'm especially curious to see what would occur if she called forth ancient heroes that weren't magic users. Would they manifest physically and fight?
This is gearing up to be one magnificent epic battle. I've got goosebumps thinking about it. Appreciate your insight into this exciting new concept in the Berserk universe.
 
I don't think the mechanism would be the same for former humans and for astral beings. The human heroes once had corporeal bodies, but the others were presumably always spirits and might not be mortal, so I don't think the concept of soul would apply. However that does raise the issue of whether the human Daimons and the astral Daimons cohabit or not. Maybe the humans are gathered in one place while the astral beings dwell in their own territories.
Maybe this is like a reinterpretation of Valhalla or Fólkvangr.
 
Given that the name is from Greek mythology I think it would make more sense for it to be based on Greek mythology.
So maybe like the Fortunate Isles or Isles of the Blessed of Greek mythology. Wikipedia says they "were semi-legendary islands in the Atlantic Ocean, variously treated as a simple geographical location and as a winterless earthly paradise inhabited by the demigods and heroes of Greek mythology."

Another website says "ELYSION (Elysium) was the final resting place of the souls of heroes and virtuous men. The ancients often distinguished two Elysian realms--the islands of the Blessed and the Lethean fields of Haides. The first of these--also known as the White Island or the Islands of the Blessed--was an afterlife realm reserved for the heroes of myth."

Maybe we'll get a brief mention of it. Like Elysium would be sorta like Qliphoth.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
So maybe like the Fortunate Isles or Isles of the Blessed of Greek mythology. Wikipedia says they "were semi-legendary islands in the Atlantic Ocean, variously treated as a simple geographical location and as a winterless earthly paradise inhabited by the demigods and heroes of Greek mythology."

Another website says "ELYSION (Elysium) was the final resting place of the souls of heroes and virtuous men. The ancients often distinguished two Elysian realms--the islands of the Blessed and the Lethean fields of Haides. The first of these--also known as the White Island or the Islands of the Blessed--was an afterlife realm reserved for the heroes of myth."

Maybe we'll get a brief mention of it. Like Elysium would be sorta like Qliphoth.

Well yeah, I mentioned that in the top post...
 
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