The anime adaptation of The Dawn of Wizards is scheduled to air in April 2022. While this work is a sequel to The Book of Zero, commonly known as The Book of Zero, the story is independent and can be enjoyed even without knowledge of the previous work. However, since the characters and settings from The Book of Zero are carried over, familiarity with the previous work will undoubtedly make the experience smoother. In this article, I would like to explain the beastmen known as Beast-Fallen, who appear in both The Book of Zero and The Dawn of Wizards.
What are Beast-Fallen? Why are they hated?
About Beast-Fallen
First of all, "beast-fallen" is a general term for half-human, half-beast creatures who possess the characteristics of beasts. Beasts don't have a set appearance, and they can take on a variety of forms, including wolves, lizards, tigers, and rats. While they're often thought of as beasts walking upright, some beast-fallen creatures have animal ears and tails in a human form. However, they have a low social status and are shunned by the people. On the other hand, the blood and heads of beast-fallen creatures are highly valued, making them sought after by witches, mercenaries, and others.
Why they're hated
Beast-fallen are treated as impure beings by the church, and people believe that they are born with the appearance of beasts due to the evil spirits that reside within them as a result of sins in their past lives. They are discriminated against, to the point that there is a superstition that if a person marries a fallen beast, their children will also be beast-fallen. Another reason for their hatred is that their low social status makes it difficult for them to find decent work, leading them to become mercenaries or thieves.
The Truth About Beastfallen
So, are beastfallen truly impure beings? Not at all. Beastfallen are born when witches perform beastfalling, a magic that subjugates the power of beasts into humans. Sin from a previous life has no bearing on this. When a human harboring beast powers dies, and the witch who performed the magic also dies, the beast's soul has nowhere to go, and it takes up residence in the entity closest to the witch, a phenomenon known as the curse return. A beastfallen is born when the soul of a beast is mixed with the soul of a newborn child. However, because witches are long-lived and this phenomenon occurs when their existence is forgotten even by their blood relatives, it is little known.
Which beast-transformed characters appear in the story?
The Beast Mercenary (Book of Zero)
In Book of Zero, he is a protagonist alongside Zero, a tiger-transformed beast. He is characterized by his height of over two meters, his muscular physique, and a large scar on his nose. His name is not revealed, and he is generally referred to as the mercenary. Originally, he was extremely witch-hating and kept his distance from Zero when they first met. However, his perspective gradually changed as he traveled with her, and their relationship eventually developed into a romantic one. In The Dawn of Wizardry, he works with Zero to build a village.
Hordem (Book of Zero)
He was originally a human, but was a wolf-turned-beast. The third son of a nobleman, he worked as a knight in a castle, but was chased out after making a move on a married woman. He later met a witch who helped him to subdue her beast, and he chose to give up his human life. In the early days of wizarding, she serves as an assistant to Albus, the principal of the magic school attended by Sebir, Holt, and Kudo.
Liri (Book of Zero)
A rat-beast girl. She has a kind-hearted personality, but possesses a special ability that causes illness in those she harms with hostility. Now that she's grown up, she's successfully controlled her powers, but when she couldn't, she blamed herself for being born a beast and suffered greatly. In The Dawn of Wizarding, she lives with the priest at the church in the village visited by Sevil and his friends, and has feelings for him.
Horuto (The Dawn of Wizarding)
Although she appears human at first glance, she is also a fallen beast. She shaved off the deer-like horns on her head and hid them with hair ties and ribbons. She also always wears a large hat to avoid others realizing she is a fallen beast. Because of this, she initially behaved harshly toward the bad-tempered fallen beast Kudo.
Kudo (The Dawn of Wizardry)
A beast-fell lizard, he is a student at the same magic school as Holt. He is violent and rough, but deep down he is earnest and kind-hearted. His emotions are easily revealed, and changes in the color of his scales reveal them. Therefore, even if he appears harsh on the surface, he often cannot hide his true feelings.
Summary
What did you think? These are the main beast-fell characters who appear in The Dawn of Wizardry. The fallen beasts also appear in the previous work, Book of Zero, and you can learn about their journey before arriving at the village. There are also fallen beast characters who only appear in Book of Zero, so if you're interested, be sure to pick it up. Also, Kudo and Holt, who appear in the Dawn of Wizards, are explained in detail in a separate article, so reading that as well may help you gain a deeper understanding of the characters. Thank you for reading this far!
