Renato's understanding of the Abyss was neither particularly systematic nor profound, but he was very familiar with the legends and stories surrounding the Demon Lord Orcus.
The reason was simple. This powerful and ancient Demon Lord was one of the deities worshipped by the Northmen of the Great Glacier. Over thousands of years, he had "blessed" countless Northmen Chosen Ones. Those fearless Norse Warbands wielded weapons dripping with putrid pus, inflicting devastating casualties and endless trouble on the Empire's northern frontier.
For the people of the Empire, studying this great enemy's faith was one of the most crucial steps toward unraveling the source of those northern barbarians' berserk strength.
According to the records and texts his original self had happened to read, as well as the assessments of the Empire's Academy mages, although Orcus had claimed a place within the domain of the dead from the moment of his birth, he had not possessed his current array of authorities or his almost godlike power.
Just as no one knew of the existence of deities who had truly "died," humanity had no way of knowing how beings that existed independently of the material realm rose to power or perished.
The mages of the Empire's Academy speculated that the devotion of the early Northmen might have granted this ancient Demon Lord a portion of divine authority. Or perhaps his chaotic demonic nature had driven him to devour countless other Demon Lords and weakened deities, accumulating his present might through the endless struggles of the Abyss...
In short, Orcus's power in the world of Ereel was growing ever stronger, extending far beyond the domain of death. He had also seized authority over plague, decay, fear, and many other domains of the living, infiltrating and influencing the mortal world in all manner of ways.