Such beauty... It touches me. Love, hatred, pain, pleasure, life, death. All are there... This is to be human. This is to be evil.
– An elated Slan remarking on Femto's rape of Casca[4]
Slan is a member of the God Hand, and in particular the only female member of the group.
Personality
Slan is a sadomasochist who thrives on cruelty and the effect it has on others, having influenced the foundation of pagan cults who know her as the "Goddess of Flame" and revere her through cannibalistic blood orgies and drugs that open a person's mind to visions of the future.[1] She personifies lust and the evils associated with it, describing Femto's rape of Casca as a thing of beauty.[4] Her perspective is perverted to the point that even being run through the abdomen with the Dragon Slayer while in one of her manifested forms merely sexually arouses her.[5]
Slan also appears to have a lustful fascination with Guts since first meeting him during Griffith's Eclipse, referring to him as "darling" and expressing interest in his resilience and fortitude, while finding his inner darkness to be most appealing. She notably brings up Guts' intent of killing Griffith, suggesting that he should use the beherit in his possession to do so.[2]
Background
Much like her fellow senior God Hand members, Slan's past life as a human is unknown. However, unlike her fellow members, Slan has actively influenced humanity through the cult of the Goddess of Flame, who hold cannibalistic pagan blood orgies in her honor.[1]
Story
Golden Age Arc
Such beautiful friendship... I am sure you will make for an excellent sacrifice... Yes. A precious sacrifice, so that he may become a demon.
– Slan to Guts[6]
Slan manifests within the Eclipse.
Slan and the other members of the God Hand first make themselves known to Griffith during his imprisonment in the Tower of Rebirth, greeting him as their kinsman and foretelling his forthcoming audience with them.[7] Once the guest of honor and his sacrifices appear before them during the Eclipse, Slan is the first of the God Hand to materialize. Using an area of land in the Interstice as a temporary vessel, she manifests a gigantic form of herself.[6] After Griffith reaffirms his ambition and sacrifices the Band of the Falcon, Slan expresses an interest in Guts' vain attempt to save Griffith, and later sheds a tear while watching her newly reborn kinsman Femto sexually violate Casca, describing it and Guts' violent reaction as a thing of beauty.[4] When the Skull Knight intervenes and spirits Guts and Casca back to Physical World, Slan is left surprised and admits that the God Hand cannot foresee every possibility. Despite the turn of events, she and her kinsman are left unfazed and welcome the coming of the Age of Darkness following the birth of the fifth.[8]
Black Swordsman Arc
He can stand and with all those injuries... Fascinating. Such impressive will power and fighting spirit [...] The fact that he could swing his sword amidst all that pain... I'm sure he's hardly even aware. If that boy could became one of ours... I'd love it!
– Slan fascinated with Guts[9]
The God Hand are summoned.
Two years after the Eclipse, Slan and the rest of the God Hand are summoned by the Count, who having been fatally wounded by Guts, requests new life. While standing by, she watches in awe as Guts fights through his multiple injuries towards Femto, expressing her excitement at the idea of him joining her ranks.[9] When the Count offers the swordsman as a sacrifice, Slan explains to him that only something precious to him will suffice.[9]
Conviction Arc
Slan appears in her followers' stupor.
As part of preparations for the Incarnation Ceremony at Albion, Slan sends one of her cults to the city among the refugees. Her followers worship her as the "Goddess of Flame" and act in her name when holding blood orgies outside the city, during which they make converts out of the disillusioned.[1] She later makes her presence known to Guts during the Incarnation Ceremony, when she and the rest of the senior God Hand members manifest rudimentary forms from the restless spirits running amok throughout Albion.[10]
Millennium Falcon Arc
Slan overpowers Guts.
In the domain of Qliphoth, Slan manifests through the intestines of slain trolls to personally reunite with the Black Swordsman.[5] During their confrontation, she restrains Guts and slashes open a gash across his chest, both physically and ethereally wounding the swordsman. She then proceeds to tempt him into activating the beherit in his possession and becoming an apostle. The Skull Knight intervenes, and as a result, Guts is able to free himself from her hold with his cannon arm and pierce the angel with his malice-tempered Dragon Slayer. Slan responds by kissing Guts – an act of joy and self-contentment – before dematerializing.[2]
Abilities
Like the other God Hand members, Slan can see the design of causality, but only to an extent that borders omniscience.[8]
She and the rest of the senior God Hand manifest rudimentary bodies from the surrounding environment; she manifests from the ground during Griffith's Eclipse,[6] and uses restless spirits to materialize in Albion.[10] She is last seen displaying this ability when confronting Guts in Qliphoth, where she uses troll intestines to create a rudimentary vessel to act through.[5] Even in this incomplete form, she is significantly stronger than humans and apostles alike, able to shred Guts' armor off of his body with one swipe while overpowering him physically. Slan and the rest of the God Hand manifest fully during the Great Roar of the Astral World, gaining a full-time physical presence,[11] and thus do not have need of environmental corporealization henceforth.
Notes
- Her name is possibly a reference to A. E. van Vogt's Slan.[citation needed]
- In the PlayStation 2 game Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Holy Demon War, Slan's nudity is slightly censored. In Berserk Musou, she is heavily censored: Slan is not shown ripping off Guts' breastplate and her body is entirely covered in tentacles.
- Aside from Femto, Slan is the only God Hand member to come into contact with Guts following the events of the Conviction Arc.
References
- ^ a b c d Berserk :: Volume 18, "Bowels of the Holy Ground"
- ^ a b c Berserk :: Volume 26, "Whore Princess of the Uterine Sea"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 12, "Promised Time"
- ^ a b c Berserk :: Volume 13, "Afterglow of the Right Eye"
- ^ a b c Berserk :: Volume 26, "Vicinity of Hell"
- ^ a b c Berserk :: Volume 12, "Advent"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 10, "Infiltration of Wyndham (1)"
- ^ a b Berserk :: Volume 13, "Escape"
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Qref at line 19: attempt to index local 'episode' (a nil value). Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "e0G" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "e0G" defined multiple times with different content - ^ a b Berserk :: Volume 20, "Shadow of Idea (2)"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 34, "Fantasia"
Template:Supernatural Beings