Sarkaz

Biodata

Society and Identity

Sarkaz endure severe discrimination across Terra. In Kazdel's perpetual warfare, many have few practical paths to survival beyond mercenary work, scavenging, theft, or deception. W's early life as an unnamed battlefield scavenger reflects these conditions. 142 144

Names are often treated as disposable among Sarkaz mercenaries; codenames commonly become their only identity. When W found the knife of a dead mercenary bearing the letter “W,” Sarkaz custom recognized her as that mercenary's successor, and she adopted the codename herself. 150 176

• Mercenary culture — Mercenary groups operate on both sides of Kazdel's conflicts, often splitting according to profit, survival, and political loyalties. 146 149
• Weapons and spoils — Equipment taken from the dead can carry practical and cultural value; a fallen Sarkaz's knife may signify succession. 145 150
• Civil-war divisions — Sarkaz factions were divided between Theresa's supporters and Regent Theresis's forces. The Confessors initially stood with Theresis, though Kuisaxinna defected after rejecting further bloodshed. 167 185
• Historical self-image — Ducale claims the Sarkaz descended from the Teekaz, once Terra's sole ruling race; this belief informs his supremacist vision for Sarkaz rule. 200

Swarm Interaction

Swarm Virus

A wild Hive beneath Kazdel infected Sarkaz mercenaries with a Swarm-derived virus. The infection altered their bodies with swollen tissue, tentacles, distorted limbs, and pale eyes. 145 146

The virus can assimilate both flesh and thought into the Swarm. However, the infected Sarkaz encountered in the abandoned facility had not been connected to the Swarm network in time; their self-awareness had already been erased, leaving them capable only of simple commands. 148

• Mutated Sarkaz obeyed Zerg as though acknowledging a superior and could be ordered to surround or attack targets. 148
• In combat, they displayed powerful tentacle strikes and an unusual ability to evade attacks, though their evasive ability required a delay before triggering again. 149
• Their bodies could be reduced into Biomass to support Hive development. 148
• Infection did not affect every Sarkaz identically: W retained her mind and later became immune to further Originium infection through Zerg's modification. 163

Swarm Membership

Zerg offered Sarkaz the chance to join the Swarm through genetic study and modification. Kuisaxinna accepted this process after surrendering, becoming connected to the Swarm and gaining protection against hostile consciousness-based influence. 169 262

Following Theresa's resurrection and transformation, the Swarm became central to Kazdel's future. Theresa's Demon King authority compelled Sarkaz from every faction—including Theresis—to lay down their weapons, ending the immediate civil conflict. 235

• Theresa proposed that the Sarkaz join the Swarm to rebuild Kazdel. 239
• Theresis ultimately accepted the decision, identifying the Sarkaz as Terra's first race to join the Swarm. 245
• The Swarm's presence gave Kazdel military power that Theresis believed no Terran nation could resist. 245

Warfare and Supernatural Practices

Sarkaz warfare combines conventional mercenary tactics, Originium Arts, specialized bloodlines, and ancient Sarkaz Witchcraft.

• Originium Arts — Sarkaz casters can deploy illusions, explosive spells, bodily reinforcement, and other combat arts. 150 182
• Sarkaz Witchcraft — Theresis's forces used Witchcraft researched by the Confessors specifically to target Theresa, the Demon King. 227
• Confessors — A feared Sarkaz bloodline and order associated with skull masks, exceptional swordsmen, and consciousness-related inheritance rituals. 165 169 259
• Blood Demon Court — Ducale's Originium Arts produced Reborn Creations from fallen Sarkaz bodies; these constructs possessed extreme vitality and required total destruction to stop. 197
• Mercenary armament — In W's experience, a Sarkaz possessing a gun was already dangerous, as acquiring one generally meant killing a Sankta. 148

Notable Sarkaz

• W — A white-haired, red-eyed battlefield scavenger who inherited the codename “W,” became connected to Zerg's forces, and established a mercenary group under Babel's support. 150 176 191
• Kuisaxinna — A white-horned Confessor swordswoman who abandoned Theresis's side, joined Zerg's Swarm, and became devoted to Zerg as the being she credits with saving her. 167 179
• Theresa — The Sarkaz Demon King whose alliance with the Swarm enabled her to command all Sarkaz and reunite Kazdel. 235 239
• Theresis — Regent and Sarkaz war hero who led the opposing side of the civil war before accepting Theresa's new rule and Kazdel's union with the Swarm. 227 245
• Hoederer — A mercenary leader who trusted Ines's warning about the Hive and withdrew his contingent rather than risk annihilation. 149 151
• Ines — A Sarkaz scout whose danger sense correctly identified the threat posed by Zerg's creatures; she later became a target of Zerg's interest in her shadow-based Originium Arts. 149 176
• Ursula — A Sarkaz mercenary cured of Oripathy by Zerg, after which she developed immediate loyalty to him. 179