A while ago, I participated in an “A to Z” blog challenge. Write one thing for each letter and post it on the correct day. That challenge was my first attempt to write a lot of blogs about the “Diablo universe”. I failed to finish the challenge. I’ve decided that #Blaugust is my second chance to write the leftover “A to Z” blogs that I never got around to completing.
X is for Xazax. He is an obscure character in the “Diablo universe”, so you may not have heard about him. This character doesn’t appear in any of the Diablo video games.
The simplest way to describe Xazax is to say that he is a demon. He sort of looks like a mantis, but much bigger and way more terrifying. He is one of the characters in the book Legacy of Blood, which was written by Richard A. Knaak and published in 2001.
Here’s how Xazax is described in Legacy of Blood:
And looming over him, the demon Xazax surely represented a sight capable of instilling such horrific fear. More than seven feet in height, Xazax resembled most a preying mantis, but a mantis only as Hell could create. A mad mix of emerald and crimson colored a body upon which pulsated great golden veins. The head of the demon looked as if someone had peeled off the outer shell of the insect, seeking the equivalent of a skull beneath. Oversized, yellow, pupilless orbs stared down at the puny mortal and mandibles wider than a soldier’s head – with smaller yet equally savage ones nearer the actual mouth – opened and closed with terrible eagerness. A stench like decaying vegetation pervaded the area surrounding the monstrous creature and even began permeating the tent.
The middle appendages, skeletal arms with three-fingered claws, reached out with lightning speed, dragging the petrified officer near. Tolos finally tried to scream, but the demon spat first, covering his victim’s face with a soft, sticky substance.
Xazax’s main appendages rose high, two jagged scythes ending in needle-like points.
Xazax is also able to appear and disappear whenever he wants to. He is blood bound to a sorceress named Galeona. Together, they are attempting to locate, and control, Bartuc’s armor. I’ll leave you to read Legacy of Blood if you are interested in finding out the whole story.
Xazax refers to himself as “This one”. He doesn’t use pronouns, so it is a bit of a guess that Xazax is male. It’s possible that Xazax could be female, or could entirely lack gender. Either way, “This one” is a powerful demon, but is not strong enough to control part of the Burning Hells. Xazax is a loyal servant to Belial, Lord of Lies.