War Maidens

The female warriors were all true battle masters.^[3]

They were an ancient order of warrior priestesses who had once served a previous avatar of War God in a bygone era. Although that avatar was long gone, the covenant between War God and the War Maidens remained intact. They were formidable defenders, capable of halting even the unstoppable conquest of Azarax's armies. One particular War Maiden was responsible for protecting a city, and her actions ultimately led to the ruin of Azarax's great horde and empire. After defeating her, she was cast into Hell for breaking the divine covenant.^[4]

• The legacy of their foremothers was the Glass Knife, entrusted by the Shadow Lord a long time ago. To retrieve it, one has to prove themself before the Chalice, that is to kill the three Ascended Priestesses.^[5]
• It was also mentioned that Effie had received training from this ancient order, indicating that their legacy and techniques continued to influence later generations.^[4]
• In Fourth Nightmare, the War Maidens were misunderstood by Azarax. In his view, they were priestesses who had promised themselves to War God and could therefore be considered his brides. He believed that the main covenant of their sect forbade them from surrendering in battle, causing them to always fight to the death, so that unless they could retreat undefeated, most War Maidens only ever lost once: their first defeat was their death. He regarded this covenant as a promise made to War God and believed that subjugating a War Maiden would be a slap in the face of a god, something he desired because he considered himself an equal or even superior to the gods. In truth, however, the War Maidens did not promise themselves to War God as brides; they strove to forge themselves in the image of the original human female avatar of War. Their vow was to embody that ideal, which was why they were forbidden from surrendering alive, rather than because surrender would constitute unfaithfulness to their divine patron. Effie had known this since her time in the Second Nightmare, but Azarax neither knew nor cared about the truth, remaining fixated on conquering the arrogant War Maiden.^[6]