When giving lectures on we call the Archdemon "species," I am often asked why it is that their forms vary so widely. In truth, they do not. While it is true that there are variances in form, these are mostly minor variations. What are the differences between a Zag'durin and a KargachArchdemon, for example? It is a matter of tiny things, like horns or no horns, wings or no wings, or the color of their skin, hair and eyes. All of that being said, there is a single glaring exception, which raises the question:

How do we explain the Kodesters?

— Oriana Tansea, "The History and Biology of the Archdemon"

Overview

In the frozen southern reaches of Incaendium, where the mountains reach beyond the clouds, there is a cluster of black towers inhabited by the remnants of a once plentiful Demon Race Subline, the Drereccas. Relatively weak in their basal form, the survivors have made it thus far for one reason: They live in the shadow of Maelis Kodester, the Black Beast of Ryul.

Though his moniker - and the credit given to him for saving the Drereccas - may seem inappropriate at first glance.

General Information

Notes

I've never met Maelis, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. It does kind of sound like it's for the best.. demon lord that devours everything in sight and all of that. But at the same time, Cain and Grigorius tell me he looks like a wicked kitten, and it's really tough not to want to see that for myself. The biggest issue is, even if he's evil... wouldn't I want to pet him?

It's a problem! I know!

Gabriel

History

Maelis was born the third son of a third wave of colony births in Ryul. Maelis' mother, Rarassa, was considered the leader of Ryul at that time, being just within the lower limits of strength necessary to be considered an archdemon. The family, and their territory, were sworn vassals of the Imperator, the Lord of Siku. Being perhaps the most talented of her offspring, Maelis quickly became Rarassa's favored heir.

As her favorite, Maelis was among those Rarassa took with her when Lord Zozoket called the House of Kodester - and the Drereccas as a whole - to serve in the The Three Cycle War, which had recently been declared. At the time, the decision was controversial as the Drereccas were not known for their extraordinary power; Imperator Bellos Nykythan swore that they would be permitted to serve as support - with the exception of the Kodesters, who were considered among the most powerful lines in Incaendium.

It became quickly evident that this promise was a lie.

Alteration of the Cycle

Over the course of the Three Cycle War, Rarassa and her chosen children fought at the frontlines on Lord Nykythan's side, tearing through the enemies of his rule. However, it wasn't long before they began to see their kin used as pawns and cannonfodder - thousands of Drereccas being overrun by the stronger forces behind Abrazus Zozket's grasp for power. This caused a fissure between Rarassa and Maelis with Rarassa choosing to maintain her loyalty to Bellos, while Maelis defected to the challengers, joining Baehar, Amaya, Kinat and Elhare (see Dead Nations).

At the conclusion of war, after the fall of the Nykythans (see: Dead Houses), once Suku had been absorbed into Baehar and a new Imperator - Abrazas Zozoket - had come to power, Maelis returned to Ryul... without Rarassa. According to Maelis, Rarassa had been killed in battle, which may be true. However, there are numerous rumors that the battle in question was with Maelis himself. Whether or not that is the case, Maelis had seemingly grown significantly stronger, by then.

 

The Beast and Shield

Taking the position of Head of The Kodesters , Maelis established not just Ryul, but his home (Miurmar Castle) as a safe haven for the surviving Drereccas, thus earning his reputation among them as the Black Shield of the Kinling. Living among his own, he never chose a true mate, but did manage to sire a number of offspring as well.

Outside Ryul, his reputation is not nearly so kind, as Maelis proved a ruthless - and merciless - enemy, devouring any who dared challenge him, earning him the less affectionate moniker, The Black Beast of Ryul

Centuries later, when Gorgo Asther had fallen and his son Samael Asther became the aggressor in another long war of conquest, The Three Thousand Year War, Maelis' old ally, Abrazus, demanded that he provide assistance to resist the onslaught of the Wisemen. Maelis responded by devouring every envoy the (then) Imperator sent.

Eventually, Abrazus himself came to demand support. Maelis agreed, and then prompty contacted Samael for a treaty of non-aggression, permitting the Crimson Legion to back Baehar's forces into a trap. The ensuing battle destroyed most of Baehar's forces, and permitted Samael to drain the Lumen from Abrazus, resulting in the fall of the old Imperator and the rise of the new.

The Present Ryul

To this day, Maelis remains allied with Amaya. To maintain their diplomatic ties, he ventures there at minimum every decade or so for the Luto's Gambit celebration. By doing so he has established additional diplomatic ties, including a particularly strong alliance with Hollow's Thaciona Sengiver. They have sworn to one another that they will stand together should Amaya seek to consume their people or their lands, believing such an alliance to be the only possible way to resist the sheer power of Amaya and its lord.

Maelis's Final Form, the Black Beast.

Character

Persona

Despite his non-humanoid form, Maelis is every bit the cunning demon that one might expect from one of the most powerful beings in Incaendium. Indeed, his ruthlessness, destructive tendencies and unending appetite has earned him a reputation as a foe very few would wish to make. His role in the downfall of the previous Imperator only affirms this reputation: no one has forgotten that he was sworn to Abrazus's service, just as he had been to Bellos before him.

Maelis is aware of this, and prone to playing up his own treacherous image. He is also very aware that his stature - and his general appearance, not to mention his Drereccas lineage, will tend to make others underestimate him. This is suitable as far as he's concerned, and he enjoys playing into the prejudices and assumptions of others almost as much as he enjoys devouring them whole when he's reached the limits of his patience.

All of that said, Maelis does have a single loyalty to which he is wholly devoted: his loyalty to the Drereccas themselves. After having seen his people used as cannonfodder by more powerful Demons, he came to realize how little other species care about those who differ from them to the degree that the Drereccas do, and as such he has developed a distaste for most other subspecies, and distrust of all those outside his kind. Of all those outsiders he has dealt with in the past, he can only just begin to trust Samael Asther and Thaciona Sengiver... and in the former case, he maintains enough skepticism to have already formed a plan of resistance if Samael were to betray their non-aggression pact.

On a personal level, Maelis is extremely hungry... all the time. This applies in nearly every facet of his life: as a creature of gluttony, Maelis is constantly physically hungry and highly food-motivated... or "food" motivated as the case may be (see below). He is also hungry for attention, for power, for respect. ...particularly for attention. This sometimes fuels his behavior in ways that make him seem quite narcissistic, though in actuality he isn't... quite that.

Aside from being paranoid, calculating and highly skeptical of others' motives, Maelis is - to put it bluntly - dramatic. From the loud, high-pitched and freneticly paced speech patterns he exhibits in his base form to the ear-shattering roars of his final form, he enjoys making an impression. At times, he will delay his entrance into battle until he finds a suitably glorious moment in which to present himself.

Finally, Maelis keeps pets. Unfortunately, these are actually other sentient creatures with more humanoid forms.

Physical Appearance

Maelis in an interim-form during a visit to Amaya for Luto's Gambit.

In his base form, Maelis is an approximately 11 inch tall animal-like creature resembling some sort of cat-raccoon hybrid, perhaps with a bit of bear thrown in. In this base from, he has short, stubby limbs, a small body and a large head. He is covered in fur - mostly black with a white mask around his eyes and onto his muzzle and the sides of his face. His paws are slightly lighter in color than the rest of his fur, but not as light as his face. He also has a fluffy, raccoon-like ringed tail.

As Maelis consumes his "food," his body immediately converts it to both energy and mass. His grows in size and changes form, becoming increasingly leonine. The light fur is swallowed by the increasing black fur, and he sprouts a substantial mane while the fur of his tail appears shorter as it does not grow at the same pace as the remainder of him.

When he reaches his strongest form - his "final" form, one might say - he appears as a massive lion-like demon standing approximately 90 feet tall and 270 feet long (not counting the tail)

In all forms, Maelis has a mouth full of exceptionally sharp teeth not unlike those of a shark. He also has red eyes that glow as though aflame. His expression can be quite manic, as well.

 

Abilities

General Combat Style

Unsurprisingly, Maelis in combat is quite a vicious sight... though the impression left will vary greatly depending on his size, as will the specifics of his actions. In his smallest form, he will bite and slash out throats. In his Black Beast form, he will bite people in half or cut through them with his immense paws. He may crush them, throw them around with a swipe of his tail, etc.

 

Physical Abilities

Maelis is a creature born of and "representing" gluttony, and as such it is unsurprising that he is always "hungry..." though what hunger means to Maelis is not always coincident with what it means to others. While Maelis does enjoy a good meal, his way of feeding is both more "flexible" and more demanding than that of most beings. In short, he can devour anything - animals, energy, objects both organic and inorganic. The energy created from those things he has consumed is then converted into mass by his body.

Of course, Maelis' physical power increases as his size increases as well, with his final form being among the most physically powerful demons - or even archdemons - in Empirica Sin.

When at full strength, Maelis can take any previous form along the way to his infernal lion form. The smaller the form, the less energy it uses. When in a more powerful form, expended energy begins to cause his form to revert and he must consume more energy to maintain his larger frame.

In every form, Maelis has razor sharp teeth as strong as reinforced steel and jaw strength that permits him to bite through metal. He also has similarly dangerous claws on all four of his feet. Both teeth and claws grow in length, and thus lethality, as his body grows.

His tail is fully prehensile and can be used as an additional limb.