Arend

Arend is a demon earl in Upa Bullenon's faction who is ordered to kill Maxium. Upa gives him control of the moon magician later identified as Gustarte, allowing Arend to bypass Maxium's warnings and nearly destroy his army. Maxium later reverses the pursuit, separates Gustarte, and crushes Arend's mouth so he cannot issue further commands; Arend remains alive at his latest cited appearance while Randalph prepares an attack on his dungeon. (Chapters 193–199)

Biography

Hunter turned into bait

Arend is tasked with killing Maxium, but repeated escapes make the assignment personally frustrating. With Gustarte concealing a sea-and-land ambush, he finally reaches Maxium's rear and uses Earth Explosion to burn through skeleton troops, forcing the undead commander to sacrifice most of his army for an escape. Randalph Brigsiel answers by having Maxium raid Arend's forces dozens of times a day. After a week, Arend's impatience makes him pursue with only his fastest creatures and Gustarte; the prepared counterforce reverses the numbers and draws the moon magician away. Maxium cannot finish Arend before reinforcements arrive, but crushes his mouth to stop further orders, after which Randalph leaves the still-living earl to a planned dungeon offensive. (Chapters 193–199)

Appearance and personality

Arend is shown smiling while baring his teeth and later becomes red-faced during the prolonged pursuit. The corpus gives no further reliable description of his build, clothing, horns, or weapons. He is mocking and confident when an ambush works, loyal enough to treat Upa's gift as an opportunity he must exploit, and easily provoked by Maxium's repeated escapes. That frustration drives the rash pursuit that separates him from his greatest asset. (Chapters 193 and 195)

Abilities and powers

Earth Explosion

Earth Explosion is Arend's only named personal skill in the cited evidence. Raising one hand triggers eruptions of earth and fire across the battlefield; the flames melt skeleton soldiers and help turn his concealed approach into a devastating opening attack. The corpus does not state the skill's grade, maximum area, preparation, cost, cooldown, or effectiveness against high-class opponents. (Chapter 193)

Command and borrowed concealment

Arend commands thousands of creatures and can give Gustarte a simple target order, but Gustarte's night, regeneration, starlight, and concealment are the controlled magician's powers rather than Arend's. Once Gustarte follows the bone dragon away and Maxium destroys Arend's mouth, his ability to direct the asset and troops is disrupted. The cited evidence establishes spoken command as a practical dependency, not a separate mind-control mechanic belonging to Arend. (Chapters 193–199)

Relationships

• Upa Bullenon: Arend's grand duke, who orders Maxium's death and gives Gustarte to Arend for the mission.
• Maxium: Arend's target and recurring adversary. Maxium turns Arend's frustration into a trap and crushes his mouth.
• Gustarte: The moon magician assigned to obey Arend. His concealment makes the first ambush possible, but his literal command-following also allows Maxium to separate him.
• Randalph Brigsiel: The strategist behind Maxium's counteroperation and the planned assault on Arend's dungeon.

Items

Arend has no canonically named personal item in the supplied corpus. Gustarte is a controlled divine being assigned by Upa, not an item or innate part of Arend's power.