The Book Of Fire/Demons
Kaoru, Demon of the 3rd Circle
History: Kaoru remembers little of his time in Malfeas, imprisoned with the Yozis and their spawn. As far as he is concerned, his true existence began when summoned into Creation by one of the greatest Twilight sorceresses of the 1st Age. Arella the Mindful, she was called, and if she was not as powerful or as beautiful as her Solar brethern, she more than made up for it with her sheer brilliance and the many wonders crafted by her. That first time, she needed a Behemoth captured, and it was his duty to do so for her. The next few times she summoned him she actually impressed him, as much as any creature of the hated world might, with not only her prodigitous mind, but also with the genuine respect she showed for him and his opinions and care for his comfort. In time, he came to look forward to her summons, and gazed around at the deafening, green-lit prison he was bound into with renewed antipathy.
So it was that on the last time Kaoru was summoned by Arella, she had a surprise for him: a rare Artifact that, if he chose to wear it, would cunningly extend his stay in Creation till she released him, even hiding him from both heaven and hell and protecting him from the vengence of his Yozi sire in the process. When asked why she should go so far for his sake, even tempting the vengence of the gods should they learn of it, she simply smiled her quirky smile with a finger to her lips and told him he'd figure it out someday. Since that time, Kaoru rarely left Arella's side, whether travelling Creation, listening to her never-ending lectures on the beauty of its complexity, and helping her with her experiments and their often explosive aftermath...
They may have continued this way, where it not that this was near the end of the Age. The Solars were growing corrupt, though Kaoru, being a demon, was hardly one to see anything wrong with Arella's increasing disregard for the welfare of her test subjects. Both of them were in her Western island laboratory manse when the Usurpation occurred, seeing an crucial experiment through its final stages when the Dragon-Blooded finally came for her. Bound not to harm Exalted, Kaoru could do little as he watched Arella cut down before him. She never even tried to fight her assailants, astonishing them as she dragged her dying form to her notes, still trying to finish her life's work. Dying in Kaoru's arms, she released him from much of his oath, though still pleading with him to rise above his infernal nature. He promised to try, [i]after[/i] making short work of her killers...
Since that time, Kaoru has walked Creation alone. He has hunted with Lunars, trysted with the Fae, and bedeviled the Dragon-Blooded, but ultimately has not yet found a higher purpose to dedicate himself to. He knows that he should return to Malfeas, but dreads doing so: his Yozi will not be pleased at the diminishing his extended absence cost it and every year away worsens the eventual torment Kaoru is due for still more. He has met and conversed with many of the eternal creatures of the world, including the Clay Man, Mokrelus, and Five Days Darkness, and has learned much, though he still has yet to master the secrets of the heart that Arella showed him that he had. He has heard the stirrings on the winds and knows that the Solars have returned, though he has yet to meet any personally. Something long dormant in him has begun to stir again and he sets forth in search of that quirky smile and those inquisitive eyes, hoping to finally find the answer to his puzzled heart...
Image: Though he can assume any form or shape, Kaoru prefers the form Arella summoned him in, that of a young, good-looking but poorly-dressed Western child of about 10 years, wearing an incongrous (though easily concealed) Orichalcum collar. He prefers to wander until he finds a group of people who are interesting enough to follow, hoping to learn something of interest from them. It is extremely rare for him to reveal his true nature or power, though he will absently drop remarks about times, and long-gone places and events that he should not know about.
Lock of the Earthbound (Artifact NThe_Book_Of_Fire/A): An extremely advanced Artifact created by the Twilight craftswoman Arella, arguably the greatest of all her many creations in that it continues to foil both heaven and hell to this day. Appearing to be a simple unornamented Orichalcum collar, its exact workings are mysterious, but involve recycling certain arcane flows of Essence in order to "fool" the oath binding the Yozis into "thinking" that it's being kept when it's really being circumvented. The true danger of this device is that if it were to fall into infernal hands, it could be the key to freeing the Yozis from their imprisonment. If any Sidereals or gods of the Celestial Bureaucracy were to learn of its existence, they would quite literally move heaven and earth to see it and its user destroyed, no matter the cost.
Eater of Names
The Second-Circle Demon known primarily as Yarzek, the Eater of Names, has a pedigree unique within Malfeas. He was not sentenced there, nor was created within by one of the Yozi. He started existence as one of the Fair Folk, and, through a long chain of events involving his angering a Lunar Celestial Sorcerer, found himself drawn back to Malfeas along with the summoned demon he was fighting. Being imprisoned in Malfeas was a...novel experience, even for the jaded, immortal creatures of the Wyld like the Fae.
No one is certain exactly what experiences he underwent then, whether he led the entire demonic populace on a merry chase for ages or what tortures he was subjected to for years. The only thing that is known for certain is that, at some point, he underwent a transformation, becoming both less and more than what he was, apparently somewhat like how Exalted Akuma do. He became one of the second-circle souls of the Yozi known as Fellsui, the Swallower of the Dawn.
Now, he too is at the beck of the Exalted, although he doesn't mind much, so long as he gets to wreck some havoc in Creation, especially against his former people. For that reason, the Eater of Names has become reknown in Sorcerer's circles as one to summon for aid against the Fair Folk, for his knowledge and insight into their mindset and ways is unparalleled.
