I feel like, lately, I really haven’t delved into two things enough, those being THE INNER WORKINGS OF CREEDS and HOW SMART EDGAR IS AS BOTH A MAN AND AN ALPHA.
Edgar’s personal approach to people in general is that they are much more useful to him when they have a good opinion of him, and when they are alive. All a dead man is good for is a single meal-- and not even a full meal if you’re rationing between 30+ lyes-- so he would like to AVOID KILLING if he can help it. This isn’t out of the goodness of his heart, of course; it is because, while ever a person is still breathing, they have the potential to do his bidding. He doesn’t need people to LIKE him, for he isn’t affected by average peoples’ opinions of him, but he would prefer it that way for the sake of EASY ACCESS. It’s a simple fact that, when one likes somebody, they are much more likely to be compliant.
When it comes to enemies, Edgar does not have many. This is because he is much more of a NEGOTIATOR than he is a senseless brute. He would rather cut deals with other Alphas, set out clear ‘rules’ and ‘terms’ and both abide by them and have the other party abide by them too. Reaching mutual agreements is often a more lucrative form of staying out of trouble than making enemies out of other powerful lyes. Alphas are serious business after all; elected by a group for their prowess and skill. There isn’t such thing as a ‘weak’ Alpha. They can be stupid and/reckless, but never weak.
The enemies that Edgar has can honestly be counted on one hand, for the only creeds he really has bad blood with are THE ALLURAS ( which at this point in canon are dead and gone, considering he’s taken out Nyx ) and THE CAULTONS ( Arthur’s creed ). Edgar is well-known throughout the lye race as is for his fearsome nature and his weird hybrid powers, but he’s also known as somewhat of a ‘peacemaker’; he’s the one that strikes bargains, the one who settles disputes with words alone. It isn’t that he can’t defend what is his, it’s that he’s threatening enough to convince others to stay away from it altogether.
Occasionally, if there is something to gain from the eradication of a particular creed/Alpha ( turf, food, new members, etc ), Edgar will PURPOSEFULLY MAKE ENEMIES OUT OF THEM. Then, he will find another Alpha who is also at odds with them, form a truce and use their combined forces to get rid of them. He has done this several times throughout his run as an Alpha and will likely continue to do it, because it’s a very EFFECTIVE tactic in that it all but ensures a powerful enemy’s death AND earns him allies.
It should be noted that though enemie-ships between Alphas can be brutal ( Edgar and Arthur LOATHE one another, and nothing will repair that bridge, for example ), they will often choose to tolerate one another over siding with a non-lye. For that reason, there have been several instances of Edgar and Arthur COMING TOGETHER AS A UNIT despite their bitter hatred for one another, because they would much rather put their differences aside and help each other achieve a common goal than they would fight and allow a random outsider to gain the upper hand over them. For example, there was even a time where they were MID-BRAWL, got interrupted by hunters, and stopped fighting each other so that they could fight the gunmen instead.
Edgar is very SELECTIVE when it comes to his enemies. He doesn’t really hate anybody, so it’s difficult to damage your relationships with him permanently, but if he DOES consider you an enemy, you’re as good as dead.
