Ellechim Epia
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Species
Demon
- Main article: Demon (Ellechim)
Demons such as Ellechim Epia are a sentient species which have populated the world of Hell. They have different attributes depending upon their caste, which is chosen for them, not genetically determined.
Homeworld
Hell
- Main article: Hell (Ellechim)
The world of Hell from which Ellechim Epia originates is a dimensional anomaly which is inhabited by several varying breeds of demons. It is not a planet, in the traditional sense, but it has solid ground and a form of atmosphere, making it capable of supporting life.
Possessions
Tari
- Main article: Tari (Sword)
Excerpt
Espah
- Main article: Espah (Sword)
Excerpt
Blackthorn Collar
Characteristics
Personality
Ellechim is as changeable as the wind with regards to her emotions. She has been known to snap from belligerent to sweet in the space of a second, and sometimes goes through dozens of these rocketing changes of mood in a single lesson. She probably has the demonic equivalent of bipolar disorder, but no one has gotten around to seriously suggesting this to her.
She enjoys living on the edge, and is a little bored with the mundaneness of life at the Schola. When threatened with having her heart torn out by Ralma Faustus, her response was that she 'missed having the itch between her shoulder blades'. She appears to have a death wish, although how serious this actually is, nobody knows. She has been forbidden to take her own life, and some suspect that her devil-may-care attitude is just a way of getting someone else to take it for her, thus not breaking her oath.
Ellechim harbours a certain amount of confusion regarding sex and violence. She is a fan of rough sex, and relishes play-fights with those she finds attractive. However, if faced with a fragile female, she will quickly put aside her playful nature and treat the object of her desire like a spun-glass structure. The one sure-fire way to halt Ellechim on a rampage is to present her with a small child or vulnerable teenage girl.
If there is one thing Ellechim despises above all else, it is being patronised. She would rather be beaten in a fair fight than win one where her opponent was holding back. This is one of the reasons she despises Procellifer, and also the key reason for her fondness of Skrai. Despite this need to be thought of as 'all grown up', she can be exceptionally childish, with sulks and temper tantrums that last for days. She has a fondness for simple games, and gets on better with children than she does with adults.
Lessons
Ellechim teaches Battle Magick and Gym to a small class. She is not a very good teacher, having picked her favourites in the first lesson and continued to favour them above everyone else. She is understandably upset when half of her students simultaneously blow up the Quintana, but instead of dealing with it and helping them work through their difficulties, she kicks off and starts yelling.
Powers
Aside from being superhumanly strong and fast, Ellechim has very few actual magical powers. She has the ability to use her two swords for more than just hacking and stabbing at people, but these are properties of the blades themselves, and require no skill on her part. The only real power she has is a banshee scream which can coalesce into an actual physical blow, as well as causing extreme pain in nearby listeners.
Story Line
Upbringing
Ellechim was born in the Seventh Circle, and has the dubious honour of being the last demon to be born before the reign of Queen Tarja. She was raised to be a Shadow under Tarja's orders, her parents being lowly Thieves who had done some important errands for the Queen's predecessor. Due to the status of her parents, Ellechim was extremely touchy at school, and it only took a chance remark to set her bristling with rage. It was while she was undergoing her colour change, at around the age of ten, that she came to the attention of Mikken, who saw that her personality disorder was getting in the way of her true potential. She scraped through her graduation on his sole recommendation.
Pre-War
After she had graduated as a true Shadow, Ellechim became romantically involved with two of her fellow students from the Circle. One of these was Tari, the other Espah. The two didn't seem to mind having to share her affections, and when they moved out of the student complex they bought a villa of their own, not far from the edge of the Circle.
During this period, Ellechim's personality issues diminished to the point of vanishing. She was no longer overly aggressive towards her fellow demons, and Mikken himself commented on the improvement. She would go on long excursions to other dimensions with one or both of her lovers, often leaving the villa empty for months at a time.
War
It was around this time, when Ellechim was forty years of age, that the Korine-Bi'il war broke out in a neighbouring dimension; one very closely tied to Hell by a number of portals. The magicians on both sides had learned to summon demons, and the barracks of Hell were emptied to the point where Shadows and Inquisitors were being called up to fight. Ellechim was called up for the Korine, on the same side as Tari, but Espah had been allocated to the opposition. They had made a pact beforehand to fight to the best of their abilities, no matter who they faced, but Ellechim couldn't bring herself to land a hit on Espah. Whilst she was busy slaying the foot soldiers to the left and right, carefully avoiding the spot where Espah sat atop her dragon mount, she allowed her attention to stray from Tari and her own side. A dragon ridden by another demon broke through the ranks, and with Ellechim otherwise occupied, it unleashed all its power on Tari. Demons, despite their apparent invincibility, can be killed by dragon fire, and Tari met her death on the battlefield.
Ellechim stopped dead, right in the middle of the battle, and threw down her weapons. Espah kept some of her wits, and left the saddle of her dragon to snap Ellechim out of her trance. None of her kind words had any impact, and the soldiers from her side were beginning to get suspicious, so she began to goad Ellechim, rousing her to fight. Making her angry was the surest way to divert her mind from the tragedy. It worked a little too well. Ellechim, dazed by what had just happened, was confused as to why she was being taunted, and took it with absolute sincerity. She fought Espah, until the pair of them were bleeding and beaten. Ellechim's summoner was killed at that point, and she found herself back home at her villa.
Enraged at being deprived of her victory, and still devastated over the loss of Tari, Ellechim went on a rampage through her own villa, smashing statues, pillars, flowers, anything which stood in her way. She killed three human slaves who didn't remove themselves fast enough, and many more innocent caged pets. It was at this point Espah arrived home, to find the palace she had shared with Ellechim and Tari in ruins. From the gate, she launched into a screaming match with Ellechim, which she lost when Ellechim threatened to finish what they'd started on the battlefield. Having nowhere else to go, Espah took up residence in one of the more intact wings of the villa, and locked her door behind her.
After her rage had subsided, Ellechim descended into remorse. She spent days at a time sitting outside Espah's door, talking through the keyhole. She never received a response, but didn't stop trying. About two months after Espah had disappeared into her rooms, she opened the door and allowed Ellechim in. Espah seemed unresponsive, even as Ellechim clung to her and wept. She told Ellechim that she was going to the Temple of Kesh, in the Sixth Circle, to say prayers for Tari's soul. Ellechim allowed her to go.
Hours later, Ellechim received a message from the Sixth Circle. Espah had taken her own life on the altar of the Temple of Kesh.
Post-War
After flying into a rage and smashing the few objects in her villa that had escaped her wrath the last time, Ellechim sank into a bleak melancholy. Mikken came to visit her regularly, but she had locked herself into her bedroom and refused to see anyone. Sensing what was on her mind, he expressly forbade her to kill herself, in terms that would bind her to the order no matter what her wishes.
When she finally did emerge, she left the Seventh Circle as soon as she could. She spent years roaming through worlds, losing herself in ale and battle and whores. She returned home infrequently, in order to get more money, and then would leave again on another jaunt. She would sign up to suicide missions, having found a loophole in Mikken's order. Just because she couldn't kill herself didn't mean she couldn't invite someone to do it for her, albeit indirectly. However, she survived all her trials and tribulations, but on her last return to the Circle she was practically at the point of death. Mikken, upon hearing she had returned and was too weak to leave, immediately set off to her villa. When he arrived, he found her lying on her bed, surrounded by young slaves. She had decided it was to be her death bed, and being weakened and broken-hearted as she was, she probably would have been right, if not for Mikken's visit.
Whilst she had been wandering, the Chief Ambassador had, at no small cost to himself, forged two blades to give as a gift to Ellechim. On his previous visits to her villa, he had taken a few small items that had belonged to Tari and Espah, and with those he had called the wandering spirits of the two demons, and bound them into the blades. Ellechim recognised the nature of the blades immediately, and she spent days just holding the swords, communing with the spirits inside of them. Mikken still has not been thanked for his sacrifice and generosity.
The half-reunion may have saved Ellechim's life, but it did not resolve her personality issues. She would spend half of the time having 'adventures', with the spirits of her lovers at her side, and half of the time lamenting that she could not have them back properly. She would behave inappropriately in front of diplomats and ambassadors, and even Mikken grew tired of her ruining negotiations at the Shadow Palace, so it was with great reluctance that he sent her to the Schola.
The Schola
Ellechim's start at the Schola seemed to be auspicious. At her first Battle Magick and Gym class, one student stood out, and though she personally considers the rest to be 'a bunch of duds', she values Ampersand's opinion probably more than she should.
Ellechim is curiously attracted to Phemus, partly because he is a priest and she a demon, but also partly because his mind works in similar ways to hers when it comes to sex. The two have engaged in a threesome with Procellifer, and this is common knowledge throughout the school thanks to Phemus' impromptu confession in Homework Club. It is due to this time of intimacy that Ellechim believes she should be accorded better treatment, but Procellifer does not agree.
She has sparred with the headmistress, but always forfeits the match by storming off in a sulk. She is aware that Procellifer is more powerful than her, but resents being patronised by her opponent holding back the worst of the onslaught. During her spar with Skrai, she was about to pull the same trick when he did unleash his full power on her. Despite being beaten and with several broken bones, the fight left her happier than any she'd had with Procellifer.
Having nearly got Lonski killed in her class, she was summoned before Procellifer and her two swords were confiscated. This cemented the hatred between the two demons, and is one of the deciding factors in Ellechim's choice to go over to Skrai's side after the invasion of the Valle.
Relevant Characters
Player Characters & Other Major Characters
None.
Non-Player Characters & Associated Characters
Tari
- Main article: Tari (Character)
Tari Duskdancer was a demon Shadow, and was once one of Ellechim Epia's lovers. She was called up to fight in the Korine-Bi'il War and was killed by a dragon on the opposing side. Her spirit now resides in the sword that bears her name.
Espah
- Main article: Espah (Character)
Espah Dawnsinger was a demon Shadow, and was once one of Ellechim Epia's lovers. After the death of Tari, she committed suicide on the altar of the Temple of Kesh rather than be forced to grieve forever. Her spirit now resides in the sword that bears her name.
Mikken
- Main article: Mikken
Mikken is the Chief Diplomat of the demonic Shadows, subordinate only to Queen Tarja. He is the best assassin in the realm, and has taken a personal interest in the tutelage of Ellechim Epia since she was a child. He is the only person, aside from Tarja, who can order Ellechim about with any visible results.
Queen Tarja
- Main article: Queen Tarja
Queen Tarja is the monarch of the Seventh Circle of Hell, and is recognised in the demonic religion as the Incarnation of the Head of Kesh. She is the head of the demonic Shadows and is the most powerful single demon in Hell.
Player Notes
Ellechim is from a story I started a long time ago, however she's been refined a lot since I brought her to the Schola. Her history has largely been worked out beforehand, but there are a few details that are brand new, such as the smashed-up villa.
