History of The Slayers
Ceiphied vs. Shabranigdo
Forever ago, the Lord of Nightmares created the Four Worlds. She placed each of these worlds on a staff that stuck out of the Sea of Chaos, where she resides. On each of these worlds, she put a god and a demon lord in opposition. In Slayers, it is Flare Dragon Ceiphied versus Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo. In Lost Universe, The Slayers' sister series, it is Volfied versus Dark Star. The other demon lords are Death Fog and Chaotic Blue. The other two gods are unknown.
For countless years, Ceiphied and Shabranigdo fought for control of the world. In the end, Shabranigdo was split into seven parts and sealed into humans, but he is only in hibernation. Ceiphied was exhausted from the battle and sunk into the Sea of Chaos but not before he created four parts of him to prevent Shabranigdo from being resurrected. They are the Water Dragon King (protects the North), Fire Dragon King (East), Earth Dragon King (South), and Air Dragon King (West).
Before Shabranigdo was destroyed, he created five Dark Lords to carry on his work: Hellmaster Phibrizzo, Chaos Dragon Gaav, Dynast Grauscherra, Deep Sea Dolphin, and Greater Beast Zelas Metallium.
Kouma Sensou
The Kouma Sensou, or the War of the Monster's Fall as Software Sculptors translate it, took place 1012 years before Slayers Next. During this war, orchestrated by Phibrizzo, the shard of Shabranigdo sealed inside Rei Magnus was awakened, and he declared himself the Demon King of the North. He then went to the Kataart Mountains where the Water Dragon King resided.
The Mazoku didn't attack immediately. Phibrizzo increased demon attacks around the Kataart Mountains to generate negative emotions, which would strengthen the Dark Lords. This battle included humans, elves, dragons, and the first appearance of beastmen. The Dark Lords then created a "god sealing field" around the Water Dragon King by placing Deep Sea Dolphin, Dynast Grauscherra, Beastmaster, and Phibrizzo around the Kataart Mountains. The Demon King of the North then used Gaav as a vessel to battle the Water Dragon King. Already weakened by the god sealing field, the addition of Gaav's power evened the difference between the Water Dragon King's (1/4 of Ceiphied) and the Demon King of the North (1/7 of Shabranigdo). In the end, the Water Dragon King was defeated, but he managed to freeze Shabranigdo and Rei Magnus, making it impossible for them to leave the Kataart Mountains, and he sealed Gaav into a human body, hoping to also seal Gaav's power. Then the Water Dragon King was destroyed, save for the Claire Bible (his memories) and Auntie Aqua (keeper of the Claire Bible and the Water Dragon King's last thoughts).
The god sealing field separated the Seyruun peninsula from the rest of the world and remained intact until Hellmaster Phibrizzo was destroyed. During Seyruun's separation, magical development was unusually concentrated in that area, and as a consequence, magic users from inside the field are much stronger.
The Mazoku Hierarchy
At the top, of course, is the Lord of Nightmares. Below her are the four Demon Lords, which are (clockwise from top) Chaotic Blue, Dark Star, Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo, and Dearth Fog. Below Shabranigdo (clockwise from upper left) are Deep Sea Dolphin, Dynast Grauscherra, Greater Beast Zelas Metallium, Chaos Dragon Gaav, and Hellmaster Phibrizzo (center).
The
Lord of Nightmares
Fact: The Lord of Nightmares created the Four Worlds out of loneliness. She is without form, having lost it untold millennia ago for unknown reasons. She is described as "a darkness beyond blackest pitch, deeper than the deepest night", who lives in the Sea of Chaos. She possessed Lina's body when she miscast Giga Slave. The spells Giga Slave and Ragna Blade call upon her power.
Fiction: The Lord of Nightmares is female. She has often been depicted as female, and I even refer to her as female, but there has been no proof that she even has a sex. Kinda hard to be male or female without a form, ne? ^_~
The Lord of Nightmares is evil. Just because she is the Dark Lord of Dark Lords does not make her evil. In fact, she is neutral to both sides, otherwise she wouldn't have created a god to defend against the demon lords. In the anime, she destroyed Phibrizzo, but that is the most active she's been. In the novels, she asserts herself more.
Generals: Hellmaster Phibrizzo (deceased), Chaos Dragon Gaav (deceased), Dynast Grauscherra, Deep Sea Dolphin, and Greater Beast Zelas Metallium
Fact: He and Ceiphied fought over control of the world until Ceiphied sealed him into seven human bodies and forced him into hibernation. His personality would battle with his host's and hopefully lose and weaken. His generals carry on his work and try to resurrect him. He is the direct source of Dragon Slave (Lina's trademark spell) and Ruby-Eye Blade.
Two
of the seven pieces were awakened in the anime and one in the novels. Rei Magnus
was the first shard to be awakened, and he became the Demon King of the North.
He was the cause of the War of the Monster's Fall and was eventually frozen in
the Kataart Mountains.
The second shard was sealed in Rezo the Red Priest's eyes. It was awakened by use of the Philosopher's Stone by Rezo in exchange for his eyesight. Unfortunately, Rezo did not know the shard was sealed in his eyes at the time, and he became Shabranigdo. He was defeated by Lina with the Giga Slave and Hikari no Ken (the Sword of Light). His picture in that carnation is to the right.
The third shard, Luke, was awakened in the novels. I haven't been able to find much information on him, but he was apparently part of Lina and Gourry's party and friends with them for a while before he became Shabranigdo. Luke allowed the shard of Shabranigdo to be killed because Luke didn't want to live either.
Realm: the East in the Desert of Destruction and the dead
General: unknown (deceased)
Priest: unknown (deceased)
Fact: Phibrizzo is very dead. I'd also say he's not the brightest crayon in the box considering how he was killed. When Phibrizzo was alive, he was the leader of Shabranigdo's generals and the most powerful. He has the ability to control the souls of the dead, hence "Hellmaster", and he can kill mortals by breaking a golden orb that represents that human's soul. His natural Mazoku form resembles an ink blot, and the deceitful human form he takes is that of a twelve-year-old boy, which he used to fool Lina-tachi in Next. Laguna Blast and Hell Blast called upon his power; these spells can no longer be used because he is dead.
His priest and general were killed in the War of the Monster's Fall, so he "borrowed" Xelloss from Zelas Metallium in Next to do his bidding. His plan was to have Lina cast the Giga Slave, which calls upon the Lord of Nightmares, and destroy her body so that the chaotic energy would run wild and destroy the world. His plan didn't go as he hoped; Lina did miscast the Giga Slave, but as a result she was possessed by the Lord of Nightmares. Just ever so slightly upset that his great plan was ruined by his "mother", Phibrizzo attacked the Lord of Nightmares and promptly declared that he wanted to be destroyed. Naturally, she obliged and annihilated Hellmaster and his resurrected city of Sairaag. The god sealing field around the Seyruun peninsula fell when he was destroyed.
Fiction: Hellmaster Phibrizzo isn't dead; he'll be resurrected in 1000 years. I don't know where this rumor came from, but if you were killed by the Lord of Nightmares, I'd say you're dead.
Realm: none
General: Rashaat (deceased)
Priest: Raltark (deceased)
Fact: You almost have to feel sorry for Gaav: he fell from being Shabranigdo's most trusted general and the second most powerful to being killed by Phibrizzo because of his human soul. Gaav's natural form is a multi-headed red dragon. His human form, which he was stuck in, is slightly ugly. He is a huge, red-haired man who wears a trench coat and always carries a sword. He prefers brute force to spells. Gaav Flare called upon his power, but it is no longer castable.
His general was killed by Lina Inverse in the novels and Xelloss killed his priest in the novels.
When the Demon King of the North was resurrected during the War of the Monster's
Fall, he used Gaav as a channel for his power in his battle with the Water
Dragon King. Following the battle, the Water Dragon King sealed Gaav into a
human body and soul, hoping to strip him of his powers (see Kouma Sensou
for more detail). For the next 1012 years, Gaav wandered the land trapped in a
human body and he started to merge with the human soul. As a combination of being part human and anger at his situation, he
decided that he wanted to turn against Shabranigdo and become the new Dark Lord.
Gaav and his followers (including Seigram, a former servant of Beastmaster) were
the main focus of Next. They tried to get footholds in important cities,
such as Seyruun and Atlas City, and generally try to mess of Phibrizzo's plans
by trying to kill Lina Inverse. Gaav meets his end when Phibrizzo destroys him
at Dragon's Peak.
Gaav is a pretty interesting character, and it's a shame he died so soon. There is a fan fic called Shards of Chaos that does a pretty good job at staying believable if you want more Gaav.
Fiction: Gaav was killed by the Water Dragon King during the War of the Monster's Fall. He was sealed by the Water Dragon King. Big difference. He was not killed and then put into a human body; that would be pointless if he's already dead. He was reborn in a human body, so I can see where the confusion may come from.
Dynast
Grauscherra
Realm: the North Pole
General: Scherra (deceased)
Priests: Grau and Grou
Fact: Of the three remaining generals, he is said to be the most powerful. He's rumored to be the smartest and the most ruthless, too. His only appearance is in the novels and only briefly. Mostly, he was talked about, and he is described as cold and dignified. His human form is described as a young, black-haired man looking no older than Zelgadis. His Mazoku form is said to be a large shadowy blob. Spells that call upon his power are Dynast Brass and Dynast Breath.
He is rumored to have at least two priests, Grau and Grou, and possibly another general or priest named Nordst, though I don't know why he would have so many underlings. His general, Scherra, met her end in the hands of Lina Inverse in the novels.
Deep
Sea Dolphin
Realm: the West and the Demon Sea
General: unknown
Priest: unknown
Fact: There is very little, if anything, known about her. She appears in the novels once with Zelas Metallium. Her human form is that of a young, blue-haired woman. Her Mazoku form is unknown, but most people assume it's a dolphin because of her name. She is not very active in comparison to the other generals. It's rumored that she hates Gaav, which makes sense since he was the most trusted general and then betrayed Shabranigdo. She also supposedly hates Zelas Metallium, but I'll explain that in a minute. Dolph Strash and Dolph Zork call directly upon her power.
Greater
Beast Zelas Metallium
Realm: the South on Wolf Pack Island
General and Priest: Xelloss
Fact: Zelas is the most active of the Dark Lords in Slayers; she has "appeared" in both Next and Try through her orders to Xelloss. She created only one being, Xelloss, who is a combination of general and priest. It is my opinion that since she is the youngest, she is also the weakest, and to combat this weakness, she created one underling who would be as strong as, or stronger, than the other Dark Lords' underlings. Zelas is often described as a beautiful, young, blonde woman; however, her hair is lavender, like Xelloss', in all the pictures I've seen of her. She is elegant and refined. She also has the ability to take form as a giant wolf or her Mazoku form, which has a wolf's head, an eagles wings, sharp claws and a robe and breastplate. Spells that call upon her power are Zelas Gort, Zelas Brid, and Ferrous Bleed.
Lord Beastmaster, as she is called by Xelloss, loaned her general-priest to Phibrizzo for the duration of Next for unknown reasons. In Try, she orders him to follow Lina-tachi and use Lina Inverse as bait to lure out and kill Valgaav, Gaav's one remaining follower. Eventually, she also orders Xelloss to stop Dark Star from being summoned, or, as Xelloss put it, "You could say that we [the Mazoku] are saving the world so that we can later destroy it ourselves!"
Fiction: Zelas Metallium is a chain smoker/heavy drinker. It's true that in the one time she appeared in human form, she was both smoking and drinking, but to assume that she's a chain smoker and a drunkard is like assuming that Zelgadis enjoys dressing up as a bunny because he did it in Next (and we all know he hated it). It's just a convenient characterization of the Dark Lord for people who have no idea how she should act. The same thing applies to the rumor that Deep Sea Dolphin is insane - it's bad writing.
Zelas Metallium hates Deep Sea Dolphin/She drove Deep Sea Dolphin insane. Click here. 'Nuff said.
Zelas Metallium is Luna Inverse's best friend. Hold it. Where in the Nine Hells did this come from? First of all, I don't think a Dark Lord would be friends with a human, let alone Luna Inverse, the only living Knight of Ceiphied. Somehow, I just don't think that Shabranigdo's general and a living shard of Ceiphied would mix.
Position: General of Dynast Grauscherra
Status: killed by Lina Inverse
Fact: Scherra is a character who only appears in The Slayers novels, and because of this, she is very obscure. She was the loyal general of Dynast Grauscherra and one of the more powerful Mazoku. This is due to her magical sword, Dulgofa. Dulgofa can deflect and produce magical attacks, but its main and greatest power is the ability to turn humans into Mazoku. It is possible that Dulgofa is, in fact, a lesser Mazoku formed into a sword. Scherra was said to have had a sword fighting ability equal to Gourry's.
Her human form, pictured right, is that of a young woman with braided blue hair; her true Mazoku form is unknown. She is said to be determined, proud, and serious, and she lacks of a sense of humor. She is a perfectionist. Scherra is also very loyal to and protective of her master, Dynast Grauscherra, and even died while protecting him.
Scherra posed as a human outside of the city of Bezerdo. She first ran into Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev when they "saved" her from some men. Then Scherra pulls a disappearing trick, only to show up later when Lina and Gourry are investigating a sword that can turn humans into Mazoku. (The sword, of course, is Scherra's Dulgofa.) Surprisingly, Scherra reveals herself to be Dynast Grauscherra's general. Lina killed Scherra later while she was protecting the King of Dils, who turned out to be Dynast Grauscherra, as he escaped. A shrine to Scherra is here, along with more information on her role in the novels.
Position: General and Priest of Greater Beast Zelas Metallium
Status: Still playing the Trickster Priest
Fact: I'm just a tad bit of a Xelloss fan. ::waves flag:: Xelloss is both the priest and general of Zelas Metallium, a unique combination. Of the remaining Mazoku, he is the fifth most powerful; this is after the Lord of Nightmares, Shabranigdo, Dynast Grauscherra, and of course, Greater Beast Zelas Metallium. He is the most powerful of the underlings since Beastmaster entrusted him with the most power that any Dark Lord dared to give to his or her underlings.
His human form is of a purple-haired, bishounen priest. His eyes, which are lavender and cat-slitted, are often closed unless he is angry or serious. He is always seen with a smile on his face and acts very genki, much to the annoyance of many people. His true form is a large black cone, which can be seen toward the end of Next, and in his attacks on Valgaav in Try.
He serves his master faithfully and keeps her secrets and plans well hidden. In Next, he introduced himself as the "Trickster Priest", or "Mysterious Priest" as Software Sculptors insisted upon translating it. Zelas Metallium loaned him to Hellmaster Phibrizzo in Next for unknown reasons, and Xelloss followed his orders as faithfully as he would Beastmaster's. He was the first one to recognize Phibrizzo at Dragon's Peak. He told the remaining Slayers what happened to Lina after she lost control of the Giga Slave and introduced the Lord of Nightmares. He also returned the Sword of Light to Gourry and Lina at the end of Next.
In Try, Zelas Metallium sent Xelloss after Valgaav, Gaav's remaining
minion. His plan was to lure Valgaav, who was outside of the downed god sealing
field, out of hiding using Lina Inverse as bait. It worked, but Xelloss failed
to kill Valgaav. He continued to follow Lina-tachi, hoping to get Valgaav the
next time he showed up. Then Valgaav lost his mind and decided it was a good
idea to summon Dark Star to destroy the world. Xelloss helped Lina-tachi find
the remaining Dark Star weapons, stealing Galveria the bow, and worked to save
the world so that "we [the Mazoku] can destroy it ourselves!" He was
instrumental in defeating Dark Star as he was the "darkness beyond twilight"
described in the Fire Dragon King's prophecy; his power was required for Lina to
be able to cast the spell to banish Dark Star.
He is also one of the few original Slayers characters to continue to show up in the novel.
Fiction: His name is Xelloss Metallium. "Metallium" is part of Zelas' name, not Xelloss'; it'd be like calling Seigram, Beastmaster's former servant, "Seigram Metallium". Xelloss' name is merely "Xelloss".
Xelloss was human once. This is another rumor I don't get. Sure, he may look human, but so do the Dark Lords. Why would a Dark Lord waste her power on a mere human? Even Gaav, who was desperate for allies, selected an Ancient Dragon to become Mazoku. Besides, if you go by Valgaav's transformation, Xelloss' name should be a hybrid of Beastmaster's; his name is already too close to hers (romanji = Zeros, Zelos, Xelloss, etc. versus Xelas, Zelas, etc.).
Xelloss is secretly in love with [insert character here]/Xelloss and [insert character here] are a couple. First off, Xelloss is a pure Mazoku. Mazoku thrive on negative emotions. While Mazoku can feed on positive emotions (according to Joyrock in Slayers: The Motion Picture), it hurts them (as seen firsthand with Xelloss in Try). So, loving would be pretty bad for a Mazoku like Xelloss since hearing phrases like "Life is wonderful!" brings Xelloss to his knees. Secondly, the most popular pairs I've seen are with Lina, Filia, and Zelgadis; we'll skip the others because they're just too weird.
Lina
Inverse - Admittedly, this is the pairing I favor the most; however, it's
still not plausible. Lina is obviously in love with Gourry, as seen at the end
of Next, because she wouldn't do anything until Phibrizzo threatened to
make Gourry very dead; you don't just sacrifice yourself or your world like that
if you only think of the guy as a friend. Also, Xelloss hasn't made any kind of
a pass at her. True, he has kissed her, but if you've watched her reactions,
you'll notice it's mostly just to get her angry/embarrass her. I think the most
their relationship would be is friendship.
Filia Ul Copt - This has been said to be a love/hate relationship. Frankly, all I've seen is hate. True, at the end of Try, Xelloss said, "Now that's the dragon I love!" but that was only in the dub, which accounts for the confusion. Further problems include the obvious fact that she is a golden dragon and he is a Mazoku and single-handedly destroyed a number of her race.
Zelgadis Greywers - Yes, this is very weird, but a lot less weird than some of them I've read (Xelloss/Amelia or Xelloss/Valgaav). I don't understand where this one came from either. I've never seen any evidence that Zel feels anything but hate for Xelloss, and Xelloss probably enjoys the emotions he gets out of Zel. That's it.
Other Mazoku
Several other Mazoku have appeared throughout The Slayers, most notably during Next. Those Mazoku include Joyrock, Zorom, Tiiba, Kanzel, Mazenda, Zanzan, Seigram, and Valgaav.
Back
Hellmaster
Phibrizzo
Chaos
Dragon Gaav
Scherra