God (4): The Great Sorcerer
Good. With this, the martial arts tournament to select the Great Warrior is all set. Now what's left is the Great Sorcerer. A Great Sorcerer needs a solid understanding of sorcery, so maybe I should do some research first before announcing... Nah, let's just lay it out now. I'll say I'm picking the Lizardman with the most outstanding talent in sorcery and appointing them as Great Sorcerer, then convey my words through that kid from here on out. The Great Tribal Chief, Great Warrior, and Great Sorcerer keeping each other in check while cooperating when needed—that's how we'll hold the Lizardmen together, right? The Great Tribal Chief passes down through bloodline, the Great Warrior changes every year, and the Great Sorcerer... sticks around unless someone even more talented shows up. Perfect. This'll work.
"And I've grown interested in the sorcery you possess, so henceforth, I'll bestow the title of Great Sorcerer upon the Lizardman with the greatest talent in sorcery, and convey my voice through that child."
「Pardon? Won't you be conveying it to me?」
"Aren't you the Great Tribal Chief? You already have so much... Do you covet even more?"
「No! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!」
I'm not even mad or anything. Hmm...
"You already have plenty, so be content with that much. I'll pass along the details once the kid slated to be Great Sorcerer is chosen."
「Understood. We'll prepare the festival meticulously. But... may I ask one question?」
A question? "What is it?"
「If... just hypothetically, really just if—one person ended up holding the Great Tribal Chief, Great Warrior, and Great Sorcerer positions... what would happen?」
"One person?"
Hmm... That'd be next to impossible, right? But if it did happen... wouldn't that be pretty fun? The bloodline of the Great Tribal Chief leading the Lizardmen, the greatest sorcery talent, and the strongest warrior's body—all concentrated in one. That'd truly deserve to be called the Lizardmen's hero.
"In that case, that one would become the Lizardmen's hero and my proxy."
Whether it's possible or not. Leaving behind something this intriguing feels right. Who knows—maybe such a... no, maybe a Lizardman like that really will show up someday.
「Understood. Then, as commanded, we'll hold the tournament at the festival to select the strongest Lizardman. Please watch over us.」
"I expect great things."
Alright, done! Now all that's left is researching sorcery while waiting for the Lizardmen festival!
Come on, let's take a peek at what Lizardmen sorcery feels like...
Shamanism is the collective term for techniques that borrow the power of spirits and bestow it upon the body. Originally, Lizardmen, being so close to nature, had the ability to commune with spirits, but they lacked the mana to command them as familiars.
To overcome this flaw, Lizardmen developed shamanism by bestowing spirits' power directly onto their own bodies. In its early days, they borrowed speed and agility from wind spirits or sturdiness and weight from earth spirits—a very simple method that even mana-poor Lizardmen could use without issue, though the effects were quite feeble, or so the records say.
The great turning point for these shamanic arts came with the emergence of the Great Sorcerer. Chosen by the Genesis Dragon God and granted the ability to hear its voice, the Great Sorcerers began evolving spirit-based shamanism in astonishing ways. Not merely borrowing power from spirits, but possessing the spirits themselves onto the body.
By trusting a spirit and offering up part of one's body, they could maximize the spirit's power with minimal mana. This is called Spirit Possession.
Spirit Possession marks a world of difference from prior shamanism, placing great emphasis on mental communion with spirits. Spirits instinctively crave physical bodies, and blindly offering one up risks the spirit seizing control entirely.
Thus, one must first build intimacy through exchange with the spirit—enough that it won't steal the body—before Spirit Possession becomes viable. In this way, Lizardmen shamanism centers on deep communion with spirits, treating them as friends—a far cry from the elves' spirit arts, where spirits are bound by contract—
"Hold on. That sounds like it's dissing elf spirit arts."
"But it's the truth, isn't it? Unlike elves, us Lizardmen welcome spirits as friends."
The female Lizardman, decked out in all sorts of ornaments, spoke up, and the elf frowned.
"Our elves' contracts with spirits are sacred rituals forged by mutual consent! Nothing vague like your slapdash friendships."
At that, the female Lizardman bristled and raised her voice.
"Slapdash friendship? It's the kind of intimacy where you can entrust your body without a hitch. Totally different from you heartless elves' cold contracts."
"A vague friendship without a clear contract? Where's the logic in that? Who even came up with it?"
"The Genesis Dragon God taught us Spirit Possession in the first place. That's an insult to the great Genesis Dragon God. O Genesis Dragon God, please forgive this one's ignorance."
Then the door creaked open, and a silver-haired girl with dragon horns peeked her head in.
"Huh? Did you call?"
"No, we didn't. That said, how's the honey cookie? It's made with the flower honey Lizardmen pride themselves on."
"Yeah. Tasty."
The silver-haired girl was munching away on the honey cookie with her little mouth.
"There's plenty, so relax in your room and enjoy. Oh, but don't fill up on snacks—we've got dinner later. Got it?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
The silver-haired girl withdrew her head and shut the door. Watching the exchange between the Lizardman and the girl, the elf spoke in a tone of utter exasperation.
"You know, you're blatantly playing favorites with that kid, right?"
The Lizardman replied matter-of-factly.
"Huh? Of course— she's the saintess of the Life Church, and that adorable. What's not to like?"
"Sure, but your attitude's totally different with her. We're all in the same hero party!"
"Hmph. Obviously. The others are potential homewreckers who might seduce Uncle anytime! Especially that real woman!!! Those eyes are definitely plotting to snag Uncle!! The great Lizardmen Great Warrior Uncle— she'll wrap him around her finger, laugh ha ha ho ho all happily, pop out a ton of kids, and build a blissful family— that's the look in her eyes!!"
"Okay, she does have that sultry gaze, but saying that in front of her companion is a bit much. And if we're talking pure allure, the Dragon Priestess kid takes the cake... practically the most captivating in the world, no exaggeration."
The Lizardman eyed her suspiciously.
"Wait... do you like girls or something?"
"Wh-what?! What are you even saying?! It's just an objective fact! I don't like little girls or anything!!!"
"Hmm... Alright, whatever. Point is, as a priestess serving the Genesis Dragon God and Great Sorcerer, I've got zero reason to think ill of the Life Church's saintess! If anything, I think the world of her!"
The elf tilted her head quizzically.
"What's the connection between you Lizardmen's tribal god and the Life Church anyway? No real link, right?"
"Heh heh heh. This is why elves with no theological knowledge are such a pain. It's because I believe the Genesis Dragon God and the Life Goddess are one and the same."
"What?"
"It's a bit of a minority view even among Lizardmen, but I stand by it."
"That the Genesis Dragon God and Life Goddess are the same entity? Isn't that kinda out there?"
"But the more you compare their deeds, the more they line up—from creating this world and filling it with life, to calling the Life Church's saintess the Dragon Priestess."
"Huh? Called?"
The silver-haired girl peeked her head in again.
"Didn't call. We just mentioned you, that's all."
With that, she pulled her head back in.
— A Record of a Certain Hero Party's Adventures —