Is Sonia Griffith's most valuable ally/asset?

Hello, long time lurker here, first post on the forum. Searched for the topic but couldn't find about this specific idea so here it goes.

On episode 183 (volume 22) Griffith finally reveals himself to the world, he does that scene recruiting Locus and Grunbeld, slaughtering the Kushans and saving the civilians, like a painting, a legend. It seems pretty clear to me that the intention of that whole theater is solely to imprint himself on Sonia, like he did with Casca but a 100x times more effective.

I guess only if a person read the Berserk manga to her she would change allegiances, even if a mage telepathically showed her the whole occultation ritual including the rape, i think she would still be loyal to Griffith, that kind of loyalty can only be lost if she sympathizes with the Guts and Casca. Griffith really did a number on her with the whole "serving aside with lord Griffith, is to dwell in legend" shtick (episode 357), also he showed her the extent of her powers, the girl loved the concept of magic and being a witch, she is a large contribution to that legend and she knows it, she knows shes way more important than the queen. Poor thing should be living in Skellig becoming a savant guru

Probably that was his only chance to get a person with magical abilities, no mage was gonna be on his side. Sonia was a freakishly gifted kid, raised under the tyranny of the holy see, without any previous knowledge of magic of any kind. Were talking about genes here, even the Idea Of Evil cant control that, how many matings did it pre-arrange in the web of causality just to try to score that specific DNA, in that specific time and place.

Making a Griffith is easy, context its what makes 80% of him, physical abilities and appearance is easy to genetically manipulate in couple of hundred years. Now making a Sonia is in a whole another level, the Idea Of Evil was probably stalling its grand scheme until Sonia was born, people like that are super rare, anyone can become a mage, but magic is all about visualizing and sensing Od and her natural ability is off the charts, she can do stuff too advanced compared to a normal mage like Schierke can do, even while living in the west under the holy see which is supposed to nip that ability in the bud

Sonia is the most important ally Griffith has, without her, his farse of the Hawk Of Light would have been severely shaken, specifically as soon as the demon army was finally unleashed in the battle against Shiva, that was the critical moment where he would have been questioned as a figure of light and benevolence, Sonia was able to immediately communicate with everyone who was watching that grotesque scene and dispel any doubts they had, Griffith's supernatural charisma can only go so far, without that single message people would start talking.

Don't know if the translation or the version i read was right but they were thinking if the Hawk himself was a creature that hid his real dark nature behind a facade. His supply lines and war economy are maintained because greedy merchants and politicians aid him out of pure belief in his holy image.

The illusion is maintained because they believe he is 100% human, but Holy. He only flies with Zodd (even though he specifically asked for wings when reincarnating lol), only displays power by using his fortune to avoid damage and cutting straight into enemy lines to directly hit their leader, cutting all enemy morale, does practically nothing but gains all the glory.

All the magical stuff he does which are perceived as miracles are very carefully selected, like the ritual of returning the souls of those departed in battle to say goodbye to their families, only done to increase his image of holiness, like Griffith actually cares for a common soldier, they'll probably go straight to the vortex of souls afterwards. Racing through the tree branches its just something that was there and he used it because he can sense it, like Sonia

He rules by illusion not by force, he has all the force he wants. Sonia is the reason he wins battles so easily, he can pummel Giants and Dragons as Femto, but he needs to appear as just a very good leader who does surgical strikes and then cleans up after enemy morale is reduced to zero, the soldiers conviction and spirits and they need the camaraderie with the apostles instead of fear and doubt . All that is done by Sonia, she can sense the enemies will, can show a live feed of the battle from any person to everyone, also is the only one besides Griffith with the ability to sense Od (dont know it the apostles can do that too, but i doubt they can navigate the tree branches)

The Band Of The Hawk can only face threats from the Astral world in this form because Sonia is almost omnipresent, she warned Mule about incoming boulders (episode 356) but how many times does she do that with everyone in the field of battle? how many apostles and soldiers lives she saved with her precognition, that demon army is finite, losing too much of them means one day the astral world will throw something their way which will require Femto to use his powers and reveal himself, but that wont happen because Sonia can predict incoming attacks at critical moments, which will keep the key players of man and demon army alive.

Imagine If Irvine, Locus, Zodd, Grunbeld and so many other useful apostles died, without that manpower Griffith will need to use more and more demonic power. How will a weakened Band Of The Hawk fare against a being on par with Sea God? of which i'm sure there are lots out there, and Griffith plans to conquer them all. Only with a strong army, well feed, well supplied and alive.

As soon as Femto is revealed the illusion is broken, literally the hawk of darkness, that prophecy is probably not well known amongst the populace,but hes clearly demonic in that form and jet black, its over. No longer holy, just another monster, who lied to everyone. Griffith is a narcissist who dreamed since he was a child of having his own kingdom, I think he does not want to rule as a tyrant, because he craves admiration, recognition and love. I Think his fantasy is not actually about power but endless adulation. Ganishka is the one who coveted power above all else and didn't hesitate to show his demonic nature and cruelty. Griffith can feed his cravings with the illusion in which Sonia had a huge part in creating and is still maintaining, He is powerful and can manipulate gravity and maybe by extension all barytes but that kind of telepathic power, only Sonia has, or why does he needs her and is she written into the story?

Take her out of the equation and what good is the queen? the pontiff? the demon army, the threats of the astral world are looming outside Falconia and as Guts stated, having a kingdom, its just a small step in his personal campaign. So just ruling Falconia would bore him out of his mind and be worthless, he wants to expand and conquer the whole world under his banner but for that he needs supply lines, steady income, soldiers, being a legitimate king who is holy, who has the divine right of kings etc. That is only worthy if he can maintain the illusion of being the hawk of light, nobody can know that he is a demon and he can only do those incredible feats in combat because he has an omnipresent seer that turns the tide of battle easily for him, without having to lose powerful apostles or having to reveal his true form

Sorry for any mistakes in grammar, im not a native English speaker. And for talking so much about Griffith in a topic intended for Sonia, this aint nothing new for people here, but just to reinforce how important she is in the grand scheme of things, thats why i think she is Griffith's most important ally
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Sonia is the most important ally Griffith has

I don't think you can make that argument. The loyalty of the Pontiff and Charlotte was also extremely important in overcoming the initial skepticism of Griffith's rule over the remaining humans. It's true that Sonia's role is important on and off the battlefield, and that makes her special. But those other roles are no less important in the grand scheme, where everything interlocks in Griffith's favor.

the intention of that whole theater is solely to imprint himself on Sonia

The purpose of the Shet invasion was a stage for MANY apostles to devote themselves to Griffith. Sonia happened to be a human who was also in the cards for Griffith, but there's no reason to conclude it was all for her.

even if a mage telepathically showed her the whole occultation ritual including the rape, i think she would still be loyal to Griffith. that kind of loyalty can only be lost if she sympathizes with the Guts and Casca.

There's something wrong with your reasoning here. Are you saying that if Sonia was "telepathically shown" the rape of Casca, she wouldn't have sympathy for her? That bears explanation. I also really think you're selling Sonia short here. She is a character who for the past 10 volumes or so has been set up as a sympathetic character. Miura's not going nowhere with that. He's clearly going somewhere, and it likely isn't as a continued hardliner for Griffith.

Were talking about genes here, even the Idea Of Evil cant control that

It is actually exactly what the IoE professes to control: "By influencing the lower levels of human consciousness, and merging blood with blood, I created the lineage that would give birth to the man you are."

even while living in the west under the holy see which is supposed to nip that ability in the bud

That is an exaggeration of the Holy See's influence. They stamp out occult concepts and belief systems. They've never been shown to "nip abilities in the bud." Sure they'll burn anyone they think is a witch, but Sonia's powers didn't manifest until after Griffith's appearance.

his farse of the Hawk Of Light would have been severely shaken

Not sure if you are aware or not, but it's not a farce. Griffith really is the embodiment of their religious idol. And that scenario fits him like a glove likely because the God Hand set up that belief system in the first place, as a way to pave his path forward.

The illusion is maintained because they believe he is 100% human

Actually, Sonia sidesteps that argument when she mass-communicates in the scene you're referencing. What she articulates is that it doesn't matter whether he is or not human, or what the apostles are. What matters is that they are allies together, shedding blood for humans.

Sonia is almost omnipresent

Omniscient? She's not though—not even close. She has hilariously huge blind spots because of her blind devotion.

Griffith is a narcissist who dreamed since he was a child of having his own kingdom, I think he does not want to rule as a tyrant, because he craves admiration, recognition and love. I Think his fantasy is not actually about power but endless adulation.

Griffith wants to rule. It's what made him a God Hand member. From the beginning, what he wanted was to KNOW if he was destined for something greater than kings. He recognized that there were people who set the world in motion, and wanted to know if he was meant for such a role (he was). This is in his flashback sequence in vol 3 with Guts.

he can only do those incredible feats in combat because he has an omnipresent seer that turns the tide of battle easily for him, without having to lose powerful apostles or having to reveal his true form

Sonia helps. But let's not make too many conclusions about the limits of the God Hand's powers.
 
I don't think you can make that argument. The loyalty of the Pontiff and Charlotte was also extremely important in overcoming the initial skepticism of Griffith's rule over the remaining humans.

Yes surely, Charlotte and the Pontiff are the other central pieces in masquerading his legitimacy and humanity, but i value Sonia over them because they have one purpose, Pontiff is to confer him status as the Hawk Of Light and Charlotte the crown. I presume that after he is made king and Griffith had to choose to compromise or sacrifice one of them Sonia would have the most value as a tactical asset and a tool he can use to manipulate people, does he even care for charlotte? just wild speculation for the sake of the discussion

The purpose of the Shet invasion was a stage for MANY apostles to devote themselves to Griffith. Sonia happened to be a human who was also in the cards for Griffith, but there's no reason to conclude it was all for her.
Yes but Griffith is so cunning and manipulative, why choose that place right when Sonia was rambling about the Hawk arrival, he knows the effects he has on people. Why not reveal himself at a place where lots of nobles, politicians and nobles are being held hostage so he can start with more leverage in the Kushan war. If its all tied to causality i guess that would be the moment to imprint yourself on the one available and indoctrinated seer on the continent, seeing how useful she is in combat and in mind reading and bending, she was more important than actual manpower, its my guess anyway. Unless that place was the most convenient to meet all those apostles in due time, which i find unlikely.

Its way easier to brainwash the girl into servitude by saving her after shes seen people being burned alive, executed. Then making these deadly warriors of legend who come forth, breaking the castle walls with hulking armor and making mincemeat of the Kushans, bow down to him just to cement his point further at the same time desensitizing her to the horrors of wars and striping her innocence all with the illusion of his demonic charisma. As Sonia says in episode 184:
"A choking stench. Minds gone numb with the stench of blood hanging in the air. Dyed red...everything red, red in the setting sun shining upon the blood, this scene should be only gruesome, however...instead..it as like...an inimitable painting. we were surely in the mist of some extraordinary tale"

I think this was just a show to impress Sonia and imprint his charisma way way deep in her conscientiousness, exactly to make her loyal, since she is a real valuable asset, even if she happens to know Femto's real form and nature, as you questioned below:


There's something wrong with your reasoning here. Are you saying that if Sonia was "telepathically shown" the rape of Casca, she wouldn't have sympathy for her? That bears explanation.
Let me explain, in a situation for example where Shiercke was trying to show Sonia who Griffith really is, what has he done. I think Sonia would have find it disturbing, but she doesn't know Casca, to her it would be just a random woman, she is infatuated with Griffith and i dont think she has that much regard for human life or morality as a whole. Its not that i dont think highly of her, she is a kid and who doesnt know much better, had a shi**** life and Griffith probably manipulated her feelings of loyalty very hard, like 1000x more than he did when just Lord Mule.

Curious, Mule is a character in Isaac Asimov "Foundation" books whos powers is doing exactly that, turning peoples feeling like arrows in a clock, turning the dials of their minds to any state he desires, forcing them to be loyal, just an observation . So furthering the explanation, To Sonia change her mind about Griffith, just showing that hes not the hawk of light but a instead a rapist murderer demon would not be enough i think, going off topic but i guess that she would rather be persuaded by visions of a life under tutor-age in Skellig, playing with elves in the forest and learning magic than being in a warzone filled by death and demons. Shes a curious soul who likes to understand the world better, she thinks Griffith is the only path to that. And she is a bit selfish and narcissistic like she thinks too higly of herself and thinks the shes the only one equal to Griffith (my opinion). She would have pity for Casca if she saw that horrid scene but that wouldn't make her abandon him

It is actually exactly what the IoE professes to control: "By influencing the lower levels of human consciousness, and merging blood with blood, I created the lineage that would give birth to the man you are."
Oh yes that is the exact quote i was mentioning, merging blood with blood is breeding, but having direct control on what genes will actually express is up to pure chance, as i said, the IoE probably mated thousand of couples until he could achieve just her lineage, then continue to breed more of them until achieving the kind of natural born genius that she is, then prepare all the circumstances so she could be birthed in the right place and time, meanwhile while also manipulating causality to stop these same kind of people to breed so he could stamp out the amount of magic user available in the world, to stop any possible random outcome of nature where a Sonia could be born out of his webs and machinations. its a hard job. The IoE can breed good bone structure, muscle fiber composition, champions of strength, dexterity, intelligence since those are more easily expressed. But i think that the capacity to naturally feel od, read minds and be a telepath must be something of a more rare or recessive gene, just speculation but magic people are indeed super rare

That is an exaggeration of the Holy See's influence. They stamp out occult concepts and belief systems. They've never been shown to "nip abilities in the bud." Sure they'll burn anyone they think is a witch, but Sonia's powers didn't manifest until after Griffith's appearance.
I meant to say that they severely diminish the power of imagination, plant doubt and anxiety with anyone who would naturally have such gifts to think of them as heresy, commit to not even thinking about them as they're sinful, fear of the stake, a hell( is there a hell in the holy see, don't really know) but probably some bad implications for your soul and afterlife but its an oppressive religion with that has in one of its purposes, diminishing the perception of magic or anything other worldly. But i digress in one point, Sonia already had manifested that power in sensing the approach of Griffith, maybe she was already being manipulated or she just sensed it, but yeah its not stated anywhere if she had those powers or that reach before or not, she sure had them amplified by Griffith but who knows if she was already probably reading minds on a young age, talking with animals or stuff like that

Not sure if you are aware or not, but It's not a farce. He really is the embodiment of their religious figure. And that scenario fits him like a glove likely because the God Hand set up that belief system in the first place, as a way to pave his path forward.
Yes, since it is already a farce created by the God Hand, the Hawk cant stray too much from that, it only takes one look at Femto's demonic form to utterly reject him as the Hawk of Light. Also the prophecy of the Hawk of Darkness exist outside the See lore and even before the holy see itself since Shiercke knows about it too, maybe its taboo to the holy see. But Azan and Farnese knew about it, who else knows, what will it take to see that Griffith is actually the Hawk of Darkness?

Actually, what Sonia argues in the scene you're referencing is that it doesn't matter whether he is or not, or what the apostles are. What matters is that they are allies, shedding their blood for humans.
Yeah maybe the whole thing about being 100% is bollocks but Sonia put a lot of people at ease and erased a lot of doubt with her Prof. Xavier powers to communicate that to the entire crowd right at the moment of shock of seeing the demon army unleashed, as i said, Griffith charisma can only go so far when theyre facing a mass level extinction event followed by the same soldier they fought all along revealing themselves as grotesque demons, more hideous than the ones they're fighting. But i'm probably reaching here too

Omniscient? She's not though, not even close. If she was omniscient she wouldn't have sided with Griffith for this long. She has hilariously huge blind spots because of her blind devotion.

Sorry but i used the wrong word, she has extraordinary precognition abilities, can see across the battlefield even with limitied field of vision, detect incoming attacks, sense presences lurking in the shadows. Shes an essential Cog of the war machine which prevent important people and apostles from dying, and she can show images of the battle that amp up the morale. Again, nothing too great compared to the God Hand or Femto, but they cant absolutely not show up in these battles, Sonia is there to level the playing field without them having to rely on demonic power, What would Happen if all the Behemoth sized Apostles were all wiped out in a battle against an entity like the Sea God if Sonia wasnt there to directly tap into these soldiers mind and warn them of incoming danger, attacks and etc. What would happen next time they faced another creature like that with a weakened army

I really don't think that's the case. From the beginning, what he wanted was to KNOW if he was destined for something greater than kings. He recognized that there were people who pulled the strings on the world, and wanted to know if he was meant for such a role (he was). This is in his flashback sequence in vol 3 with Guts.
Yeah maybe im reaching into reading into his personality but we can know for sure that he doesn't want anyone to question his divine right of king and that hes a figure of light, benevolent, miracle doer. He doesn't just want to rule with his jet black iron fist(yet?)

Sonia helps. But let's not make too many conclusions about the limits of the God Hand's powers.
Yeah i think that too, is her ability that unique or is that child play to the God Hand? but still it makes them have leeway to do their own thing, makes the whole conquering the earth process a lot easy and without revealing too much about whos actually running the show. Even though Griffith had displayed some form of mental communication with that whole dream revelation, was that his power? Void's power? the god hand, IoE? but if Griffith has that kind of power he doesn't need her, he could communicate with his apostles by thoughts other than dreams, or is the dream ruse supposed to tap into the heart of the apostles and make them believe too? i doubt it since he is de factor the master of their ilk. Or using Sonia as his messenger and seeeress, just another facade? A passionate little girl who can persuade people also with her courage even though shes frail and tiny, whoe charges to the battle head on straight to a Shiva's pseudo apostle gaping maw

But anyway it does take the burden of Griffith being shown of too magical a natural instead of a Leader - Oh those feats in battle, Lord Griffith is amazing but most of it its all thanks to the Hawk's Seeress, hurray!!

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On a cringy side note, im kinda of a fan, Spent so much time on this forum reading all you discuss Berserk with such passion and understanding, listened so much of SK Podcasts, helped me fill the void between releases, and brought some joy and imagination to my life in times i needed it. Its an honor to be able to discuss Berserk with a master of lore like yourself!
 
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