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Character Name: Mephistopheles, also known as Advocat.
Character Series: GrimGrimoire
Character Age: Never stated, but probably centuries years old. Physically, he looks mid-20's.
Background: GrimGrimoire @ Wikipedia | Fandom wiki.
Personality:
"What you call destruction, sin, or simply evil....is my very nature. Simply put, I am a devil."
This phrase pretty much sums up Advocat perfectly; a satanic creature custom made to murder, thieve, violate, destroy....and damn well proud of it. It goes without saying that in Advocat's case, what he is, and subsequently the way he's lived throughout the ages, defines who he is. He has spent his rather considerable lifespan acting on his own whims, going where he pleased and tempting mankind into making contracts with him that would be paid with their souls. Since he also possesses the only grimoire capable of controlling him, the Lemegeton, it's obvious why Advocat comes across as very much his own man in canon. A true neutral that cares only about his own hide, Advocat isn't interested in forming bonds or doing favors unless they suit him somehow. Even being a fellow devil doesn't get you a free ride into his good graces.
Advocat has acquired quite the ego over the years, and while it's a pride that's difficult to wound, the devil has been shown to have something of a temper when his buttons are pressed. Depending on how ignorant he percieves you to be, it's not all that hard to irritate or exasperate him. However, these particular slips in his classy, "gentleman" facade seem intentional; Advocat often slips right back into his usual smug pretense at courtesy moments after delivering snide remarks or barbed taunts (or even threats). This is because manners, like almost everything else to him, is a game. A source of fun, often for him alone, not to mention yet another circle to run around others. Advocat appears to delight in cooking up amusement for himself, whether that entails eavesdropping on conversations, hitting the emotional sore spots of other people, or seducing them out of their very souls. Entertainment is almost as valuable to Advocat as his own survival is....but he's careful not to confuse which is the most important of the two. Advocat is more than capable of exercising caution, secrecy and restraint. Rather than dive headlong into every dangerous situation, he prefers to hang back and observe for awhile to judge for himself whether he really wants to get involved.
Advocat, while no mindless beast of self-satisfaction, is no hero, either. Even if he sees innocents in mortal peril, he won't move to help them for no reason. Like any proper devil, Advocat lacks both charity and conscience; it's more his own pride and general disinclination for flashy destruction that keep him from going on rampages, although he certainly possesses a flair for the dramatic. Yet in his own way, Advocat shows shades of good qualities. He's often surprisingly honest and blunt, not really caring enough to outright lie or drastically temper his speech, and knows better than to break the laws of hell. He deeply dislikes losing control over his emotions and composure and so tries hard to make these laspes as rare as possible. He has his own standards that he cleaves to, such as not stalking a taken soul, and during crises that have everyone else flailing about in a panic, Advocat's selfish neutrality allows him to keep a cool head. While affable and charismatic when he feels like it, it should never be forgotten just what Advocat's true nature is; he stalks Amoretta due to her angelic core, does little to nothing to save his colleagues and students from death, and gladly takes whatever souls that jump into his hands.
Abilities: As a devil, Advocat has quite the extended lifespan! It's likely that he's pretty much immortal, and his hellish nature grants him a myriad of vague powers, only a few of which are defined or even hinted at in canon: He can make contracts to grant a wish in exchange for one's soul, should he agree to the terms. He can apparently induce the feeling of love in others. He can sense the "nature" of souls; in Amoretta's case, he could tell that her soul was that of a literal angel. He's capable of transforming into a rat, yet retaining his mental facilities. He's a master of Sorcery, a certain type of magic, the mechanics of which I'll explain here; Mages utilize spellbooks called grimoires to exploit the varied classes of magic that exist in their world. They use them to draw magical bases called "Runes" into existence, and then use those Runes to summon beings to obey them. There are four types of magic: Glamour, Necromancy, Alchemy, and Sorcery. Each type of magic has its own particular strength and weakness; Sorcery is strong against Alchemy, but weak against Necromancy, etc. There are three different grimoires for each type, which determines what kind of rune a magician can draw. The type of rune, in turn, determines what kind of creature (described as a "familiar") can be summoned.
For example, the Chaos Nest Grimoire falls under the Sorcery category. It can only draw the Chaos Nest Rune, which can only summon Grimalkins and Dragons - two specific kinds of Sorcery familiars. However, just having a grimoire and/or a functioning Rune isn't enough; you need an energy source to fuel the creation/upgrading of Runes and the summoning of familiars. This energy source is called "mana" and it must be mined from nearby Crystals and deposited in the Runes by low-level familiars. The cost of summoning and creating Runes depends, again, on the type of Rune and the type of familiar, as well as how many Runes/familiars are being created/summoned at one time. On that note, neither Rune nor familiar appear instantly. A Rune will be slow to finish being drawn, and if it is destroyed in the middle of the creation process, the magician will lose all the mana spent summoning it. This also holds true for if a completed Rune is destroyed; once it takes enough damage, it will dispel into nothing. Runes are incapable of being moved once they have been drawn and are vulnerable to enemies with both physical bodies and ghostly, spiritual forms.
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