Does each Eclipse create the next generation of apostles?

I was recently reading another thread in which Aaz was answering an old lore question about where Beherits come from, and his answer made me look at something a bit differently.

"They are drops that rise from the Abyss when Griffith sheds his last tear."

We see this happen with Griffith and it's the last we see him before he becomes Femto, and it has a very dreamlike quality to it. The details are a bit vague about how this spray of Beherits then goes into the world of humanity. I imagine they are going out at the same time, even though they might not activate until passing through several 'owners'. We know some took hundreds of years to get to the 'destined' owner before activation.

This would imply two things:

1) The birth of a God Hand member involves the final tear, which creates the Beherits for a new generation of apostles. Meaning the apostles are generational to some degree. Something that gives older apostles like Zodd a bit more significance.

2) Something I think we've always suspected if not assumed: There are a finite number of Apostles possible in any given generation since their origin is tied to an eclipse ceremony. They are not easily replaced if say, a group of epic swordsman, assassin, and mages swoop into town.

A further (and reaching) speculation would be that the distinct appearances between our typical apostle and the more animal-like such as Zodd and the Snake Baron come from this generational divide. We see distinct differences even further back with the Proto-Apostles in SK's flashback, which are all shaggy-haired and almost sloth shaped. But that's pretty out there speculation.

However even if the above is true, we already know that Beherit's can be activated multiple times. I think we all assume it can have multiple owners, otherwise the Count's Beherit wouldn't be so foreboding. Good thing Skull Knight is on a strict diet of them.

Probably not a meaningful insight in the grand scope of the story. What do you think?
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
However even if the above is true, we already know that Beherit's can be activated multiple times. I think we all assume it can have multiple owners, otherwise the Count's Beherit wouldn't be so foreboding. Good thing Skull Knight is on a strict diet of them.

This is the key part of the post as far as I'm concerned. Apostles tend to hold onto their beherits, but just like they found them when they needed them, they can lose them when they're required elsewhere. We don't see that happen directly in the manga, but it's strongly suggested. And we do see it in the Dreamcast game, where Balzac uses the same beherit as Niko.

To me, this fact invalidates the idea of "apostle generations", where only a finite number of apostles could be created in-between each Occultation ceremony. However it does suggest that the rate at which apostles could be created has increased over the years. Maybe there were only six beherits in the world originally, then 18, then 36, etc. Not counting the crimson beherit of course, whose origins are most certainly unique and probably predate the others.

The other key element is apostle longevity. Are younger apostles weaker? Probably not. Grunbeld and Locus aren't centuries old, and neither is Rakshas. But more importantly: are there some really old ones out there, or is Zodd the elder amongst them? And if he is, what happened to the others? Did they die, and if so, how? These are all interesting questions. Obviously, the easy answer is that most were killed by the Skull Knight, with Zodd maybe slaying a few here and there when he's feeling particularly feisty.

Other options for thinning their ranks are the magic users of old, before they disappeared, and maybe a few heroic groups of humans throughout the ages who may have managed to kill one (no doubt at great cost if so).
 
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