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Digital Ink on the Side: Slane Theocracy
🕑 Added 2026-01-22 15:31:49 +0000 UTCHi everyone, allow me to introduce you to what i hope will become a new column that will come pop up from time to time!
Digital Ink on the Side is a spot where I would like to discuss with you various subjects going from Overlord-related stuff to writing in general. Instead of writing endless author notes, i would very much prefer have everyone interested participate in the discourse as other people's feedback and opinions are the core toward improvement or providing a different view on certain subjects. So please, no matter how small or different your opinion may be, i invite you to type it out.
For the first entry of this series I would like to dwell a bit on one of Overlord's most controversial countries, the Slane Theocracy!
PS: Both TWTS' next chatper and the secret project will be released by the end of the month for those interested.
I always wanted to have a deeper conversation about this most fascinating and polarizing nation. Though, unforutnately, I never found the right space as Overlord fans tend to be a bit too "radical" on certain topics.
As we all know the ST is the oldest country we are aware of and, as we know, is the only other threat to Nazarick other than PDL and his gang. (Tho, after vol.15-16, said threat has been minimized to say the least)
What I find more interesting though, is the fact most readers in the fandom seem to minimize their existence to "human supremacists", which i find far more fitting for the rest of the human countries influenced by the Four Gods religion (which took out the only non-human god known, Surshana, and the god of light, which i personally believe was not human either).
The racist sentiment in Re-Estize and Baharuth is far stronger than anything shown by the ST, the first branding any non-human as "to kill on sight" and the second using them as slaves if their are pleasing enough to the eye.
I actaully believe that the only times we hear about the Theocracy going out of its way to attack non humans is when defending the Draconic Kingdom from human-eating beastmen (which I think is a fair enough response), to make sure the undead from Katze do not grow too much in number (which is also fair considering how those are mindless undead which would attack anything alive), and the war against the elves (which honeslty is Decem's fault to begin with).
Wow this all sounds like i am some kind of ST apologist. But no, honestly I just think most of the fandom is looking at them without trying to understand what is going around them, and the fact they oppose Nazarick doesn't help with their general reputation among fans who just root for the main characters.
But even with Nazarick, can you really fault them for trying to undermine them? (which is an exaggerated term since they did nothing that wasn't for self-protection till now, at worst scheeming or thinking of a way to deal with the Sorcerous Kingdom). For all they know this is a nation popping out of nowhere whose first act was to kill a third of a million humans. And considering undead already have a bad rep against the living, i could not fault them for fearing what would come next after such an entrance. It didn't help when Nazarick decided to genocide the entire Re-Estize Kingdom because of an idiot...
Honestly, i think that if we had more volumes to look forward to, a coaltion between ST and verious countries like the Argland Council and the City-State Alliance, wouldn't be out of the question considering the threat Nazarick poses. Too bad we will never get to see the full power of such a teased country and the conflict that would ensue
Either way, I think it is really a shame Maruyama did not go more in depth with their culture, since they are the only player-founded nation, i really had high hopes for them, considering how they were powerful enough to make even the 8 Greed Kings back off, the Evil Deities too, but I think they were pretty small fries compared to the Kings.
But we all know how it goes when it comes to Overlord since the author decided to give up trying...
Okay, this stream of conciousness is going ways, i should come back to the main subject.
I think the ST had to play a far larger role in the second half of Ovelrord, with now realizing how broken Nazarick is with the revelation about Wild Magic in vol. 14 (another grave mistake in my opinion seeing how wild magic is something outside the tier system and should have been the main danger posed to players and NPCs, by having it countered in such an easy way you basically cheapen the whole stakes of the battle, but that might be a discourse for another entry).
Coming back to ST, they might be the most reasonable country among those we saw. Too bad we will never get to see a prolonged 4D chess game between them and Nazarick.
There is also a part of the fandom that reduce them to "religious wackjobs" which i think is a gross misunderstanding of how faith works in the NW. They are pretty devout, but who wouldn't be when your Gods walked among you and granted you power through Divine Magic? I think that a lot more people would be devout in RL if the god they preyed to answered them by granting power, or left magical artifacts of untold power in their hands. It could have been such a cool concept to explore more in depth, but alas, we are where we are.
There is nothing that i hate more than wasted potential when it comes to stories like Overlord.
And one last thing before i close this.
The only thing i will never forgive is Zesshi's characterization, I know that we haven't been given much by the previous volumes, and i could smell the potential such a long-lived, traumatized, overly-strong (by NW standards), and twisted character did have . And then vol. 15-16 came... completely reducing all her possible layers and complexity to "basic zealot starter pack" which i will never forgive Maru for. Hence why i am doing my own thing with her in TWTS.
Well, i think that was all i had to say, let me know your thoughts, freely diagree! After all confrontation is the mother of development!
Zero out!
Comments
Zero Sin
Allow me to offer some counter points. We do not know the context of the clash between Blue Rose and the Sunlight Scripture, seeing how they are often sent as an extermination unit for troublesome groups (Katze Plains undead, beastmen invasors) i don't think they were sent to randmly target a group of demi-humans, said group probably did something crappy to some humans for the SS to be sent, after killing the perpetrators SS probably wanted to eradicate the problem to its root, that was probably when Lakyus (who is genuinely a good person) drew the line. Of course, this remains speculation as much as yours since ther eis no official context for this event. As for xenophoby, i agree that, as you said, there is a basic level of xenophoby everywhere and taking in account the crappy things demi-humans did and still do to humans, it is not unjustified. But for all i saw, Slane is acting only when provoked while other nations act just due to national interests. I think you are underestimating a bit the extermination quests given to adventurers, it is true they are paid to do it, but the deed is not only socially acceptable but also praised. Let me give you an example, if a pharmacists needs herbs it is perfectly acceptable to invade the territory of another, stole their resources, and even killing them if they try to defend their territory and resources, and that is socially acceptable. As for Gazef, yeah it was scummy, but i don't think it was something personal against him, no, if the ST could make him change his mind and join them they probably would have liked someone like him on their side. Unfortuantely he was too loyal to a corrupt and decadent regime the ST wanted to eradicate. I am not saying they had the moral highground or something, but in the grand scheme of things, having Re-Estize taken over by Baharuth would have been the better outcome for humanity seeing how Jircniv was doing very well for himself. Gazef was just an unfortunate obstacle. Now that i think about it, most of the questionable stuff done by ST was really Nigun's doing, so maybe he was the problem and not the rest of the country. But yeah, i appreciated you taking your time to explain your points, discussions can only bring to a deeper understanding as more point of views and interpretations are presented.
Chagatai
Man, I'm late. Hope you see it anyway. I disagree on Re-Estize (RE) and Baharuth (BE) being more xenophobic than ST. First, Blue Rose stood against Sunlights during one of their demi-human extermination raids. RE overall seems to prefer to leave demis alone and destroy them when they are getting too close to human settlements. Besides, the extermination is mostly delegated to adventurers who wouldn't consider a job without financial reward, I assume to them extermination quest is a business without ideological rationale. BE is mostly the same, though they actively employ legions and have a bit of a higher tolerance towards 'civilized' non-humans. Go Gin, Bunny maid, that Adamantium Ape Beastman live in Baharuth, not Slane. Imo, the main reason ST has the reputaion it has is Erya Uzruth; Slane's xenophobia and Human supremacy ideals are reflected in the Worker's attitude. He is contemptuous towards elven slaves, a half-elf and anything non-Human and geniunely believes that Humans are superior. By these examples it would seem that Slane Theocracy ARE Human supremacists. But is it a totally bad quality in the historical context they are in? I don't believe so. I think the Six were not total jerks and wouldn't want other races to be eradicated for Humans' sake so they established the Theocracy and charged it with the mission from their 'Gods': to ensure survival of Humans and their rightful place among other races as people, not food or toys but people who are treated with dignity. But as centuries went on, calamities occured, they'd gradually radicalized and switched to more violent methods. Despite that, ST persevered and worked hardest to enable Humans another decade or century of development. I don't think RE and BE realize how much work ST put into keeping non-humans in check so that 'savages' wouldn't roam free and 'civilized' ones wouldn't invade them for resources or sport. If not for Ainz, I'm sure they'd send Sunlight Scripture to aid Draconic Kingdom eventually. To enable ST centuries of supporting at least 4 Human nations they need vast resources and constant mobilization of people's potential, hence strict religious lifestyle and xenophobic ideology. BTW, that's the case where 'xenophobia' is literal: they are taught to fear what demi-humans would do to Humans should they fail their mission, but the message is hidden behind the supremacy propaganda. I also have come to believe that 'Rufus' watches over the Council and ensures they stay true to their Lord's mission and don't grow lenient or corrupt. Looks like I praise ST, doesn't it? Yes, i'm impressed by their 500+ year loyalty to the cause, the noble goal to ensure Humans' prosperity and thriving. I'm certain ST tries their best to do the right thing for the greater good of Humans, even if their methods are cruel. Though, in retrospect, the whole operation of Gazef Stronoff's assassination was unneccesary. Cardinals could've deployed the 12th Seat any time straight into the capital, Gazef wouldn't detect someone whom even Tia/Tina can't detect until it was too late. Another point I disagree with is about the Eight. No way they'd leave ST alone if they repelled one of the Players. It's more like Surshana hidden the most valuable treasures and convinced ST to bend the knee after his death, after that STs swore an oath, the Eight lost interest and went elsewhere and/or to the center of the continent to conquer more, leaving ST alone until their downfall.
Dutchman75
An Arc with Satoru spending time in the theocracy while trying (and failing) to avoid Zesshi would be a funny read, especially considering she’d be after that rematch
Dutchman75
Honestly I just wish we could have seen more on the ST in canon in general, we got Ainz spending time as an adventurer in Re-Estize which showed quite a bit about daily life for them. Something similar for the theocracy would have been fun to read ,especially since having been founded by players there’s likely some culture overlap with their original world
Zero Sin
Explained it in the PS, both chapter and secret project are to be released before the end of the month
Gagantheja Gadde
It's almost been two weeks zero when's the next release?
Mike
Always wondered where the F the stick was. Easily could've turned the Kingdom into a vassle state. But it's easy for us to say these things. We don't have to placate NPCs that were programmed to be a certain way. Though I'm positive we ALL have a backbone, unlike Ainz(the irony of being nothing but bones and missing the most important part).
Devon
It's funny, thinking back to when I read Overlord there were times I would just forget about the Slane Theocracy beyond their various scriptures. I think something a lot of people struggle with is creating interesting faiths and then exploring their tenants and how said tenants would sculpt its practitioners and their respective cultures. Its easy to stamp someone as hyper religious and then just make them a bog-standard crusader. My biggest beef with Overlord in general, however, was the whole Re-Estize genocide ark. It felt like too big a leap especially when Nazarick is supposed to be helmed by geniuses, since I can't think of any nation that wouldn't be up in arms if a complete and utter genocide happened so blatantly right next to them and they knew that they could be next because of a minor diplomatic incident. Carrot and stick is one thing, carrot and a nuke is another.
Ivan Chechnya
The ST being so one dimensional is something that most upsets me about the canon story, I wish they were and remained a threat to Nazzarick throughout the story at least in some way. I stopped reading the LNs after the end of the Roble Holy Kingdom war arc, and moved on to atheistbasementdragon’s work which I take for a much better continuation from that point than that of Marus. However I’ve come to love your work and characterization equally as much! I would really like to see someone attempt a story focused on the founding of the ST and provide characterization and depth to them as a nation. I think it would be a very compelling and interesting story since prior to their founding humanity was equivalent to cattle, or at best 2nd class citizens. It reminds me somewhat of the Witcher lore when it comes to Elves and Humans. I’ve never been a big fan of villains/antagonists with unredeeming qualities, sure one or two is fine in a story but to have a whole nation be ‘evil’ is insane to me. I hope you consider one day writing a story exploring their founding or consider writing an original work on a similar concept of the first human nation in a similar fantasy or Sci-Fi setting!
Duriel
I don’t really keep up with the fandom, but I have found myself uninterested in the later volumes of overlord. I really like what you and various other people in the fandom have done with Zesshi in particular. I think you’re absolutely right that she has enormous potential as a character and it’s upsetting to see it just thrown away like that. Anyway, very interesting to hear your thoughts. I look forward to you doing this again!
Duelmest
I’m happy with what you’re doing with the Slane Theocracy. I’ve always found them to be the most interesting country, especially since we didn’t know much about them for a long time. They definitely have their problems, but based on what we’ve seen from other nations, they actually seem far more open to other races than most fans assume. That makes sense, considering that two of their Six Gods weren’t human, with Surshana being undead. I’m really excited to see how you flesh them out especially since it feels like Maruyama no longer wants to expand much on Overlord’s characters or world.
Zero Sin
Fair, i myself actually think Maru went back on his initial idea for them and tried to build something different in the few appearance they got since the Six Cardinals sounded nothing like Nigun when they talked among themselves. And yeah, to me the god of light might have been a demi-human from a race that might have lived a little longer than humans but not by much, so i don't believe he was an elf since we know Surshana was the only one remaining by the time the 8GG appeared.
Zero Sin
I always read the elven slaves situation more like a prison of war situation rahter than a slave market like in the Empire.
Zero Sin
That would still be more interesting than the "final battle". Honestly i would like to get a full volume of ST lore over the final (anticlimatic) battle. And believe me, it will be bad, either Ainz solos because he has all the advantages and counters in the world. Or Maru pulls something out of his ass to definitely eliminate Nazarick (wouldn't count it out since the guy seems salty af with his own fans to the point i would not rule out a final fuck you on his part)
Zero Sin
Well, i can understand that, i was really disappointed by vol 12-13, after a banger like vol 11 with ton of character development and cute interactions. THere is an abysmal difference between Ainz in vol 11 and Ainz in vol 12-13 to the point i initially thought it was PA when i first read it. Then we get 14 which is a total downfall of the writing, it is literally Maru telling us "okay, i am done, Ainz kills everyone, the end!". And i forced myself through 15-16, which is a shame since i love Aura and Mare, wouldn't reccomend reading them.
Mike
If I can be honest, I struggled to read volumes 13 and 14, and never bothered to go read 15/16. In my opinion after volume 12 the story stopped be unique and fun. Kind of felt like any other LN you can find for a "dime of dozen". That's mostly why I love your story man, characters that could've and should've been flushed out in Maru's story are done(in my opinion) right in yours. Though I'm still trying to forgive you for Climb's suffering, LOL.
Apollosynthesis
Yeah wished we'd see more of them. It really is too bad it likely wouldn't evolve past the initial impression of them. Not with the volume limit, there simply enough room to delve any deeper into the nuances. But who knows maybe maru would spend 50% of the last volume giving us all the flavor text of the theocracy and rush the final boss fight or something. Either way I much prefer what you did with zesshi here than in Canon. As interesting as the fight was I wish bro could have spent some of the elf village budget on fleshing out one of the main characters of the theocracy you know? Now shes just trapped in Neuonist's sex dungeon never to see the light of day again lol
Enderattack
If i remember correctly, the Slane Theocracy is mostly keeping elves as slaves because of the war with them, not many other demihumans. The Cardinals only use Xenophobic believes as a means to unify humans and increase their weight in the world but aren't believers themselfs.
İronForce 2033
I feel like the radical view in the Fandom concerning ST is somewhat understandable when we’re literally introduced to them in the first volume by them: killing countless civilians without remorse & being absolutely arrogant buffoons. Then they take a background role for like 80% of the Light Novel, so the initial impression sticks. I would personally love to have more stories put them in a better or at least Grey light. (Would kinda like a story where Surshana returns & is flabbergasted by the whole religious aspect, Big E style) Also, the “Light God” is such a mind wracking topic cause basically everything points towards the fact they were non-human(WB says they were an Elf) but that then creates the question “How did they die, then?”
