APPLICATION
Player
Name: Freya
Age: 21
LJ: stimulant
Contact: i.have.heeros.socks[at]gmail[dot]com
Other Characters Played: Ichimaru Gin, Hisagi Shuuhei, & Neliel Tu Oderschvank
Character
Name: Melchiresa (Melki-resha)[1], but in Soul Society she will go by 藤原久美子 (Fujiwara Kumiko).
Age: Unknown, at least 400. In humanoid form, looks physically late teens, early twenties.
Alliance: Hell
Species: Demon
Rank: Assistant's Assistant to the Executive of the Sixth Circle of Hell
Personality: Melchiresa is your every day demon-but what does that mean? Despite popular belief that all demons are evil incarnate, Melchiresa is a far cry from that stereotype. Being a True Blood Demon, she comes from genetic stock that carries a variety of personality types. Mel (as her friends call her) is a career woman first and foremost, and since day one had her eyes set on bigger and brighter things. Or, as bright as things could get when you dwell in the realm of Hell. Her job is extremely important to her and she wants nothing more than to live up to the job her father did before he retired. Being the Executive of the Sixth Circle of Hell is her ultimate goal and she has worked hard to get where she has gotten.
Work ethic is very important to her. She is very fast and efficient and likes for things to be done, making her a good member to have on your team. However, her attention to detail can sometimes override the big picture, and she has been known to stressing out over the smallest mistakes. Fearing some sort of demon wrath (which is entirely possible), Melchiresa is a perfectionist when it comes to the office, something her superiors and co-workers find helpful and a headache at the same time. She has been known to bouts of extreme paranoia and assuming the world may come down on them if that page is not formatted correctly. Thankfully, others can be understanding despite their demonic nature.
Outside of work, she is a calmer individual. When concerning something she will not be graded on either in pay or performance, Melchiresa really does know how to have a good time. In fact, she tends to find typically dull things exciting, like watching other people play chess and organizing markers in a color wheel. She definitely has some quirks that even her parents have trouble figuring out. It does not make her the most terrifying demon, that's for sure.
Melchiresa is definitely more book-smart than street-smart when it comes down to it. She can handle her own if needed--all demons have gone through some sort of combat training--but a fight is usually the last thing she tries to get herself into. While she can pull random facts and dates out of know where and quote famous philosophers from Hell or the World of the Living, she has a bit of a gullible nature. Her own kind find it rather easy to make her the butt of many jokes, but Melchiresa either seems to not figure it out or laugh along anyway. In truth, she usually finds out it was her they were laughing at, but unless it was work-related, she is just glad she could make them laugh. If it was work related, she would probably need to be pried out from under her bed, lest she set foot in the office again.
She is not popular, nor unknown, if only for her famous father. Like most demons her age, she does spend her Friday nights out on the town, though she is often not the one going home with a stranger. No, Melchiresa is usually the girl sitting in a booth looking happy as can be even as all her friends filter out. If asked if she felt lonely, she would shake her head and say that she would rather sit there by herself and eat cheese-coated fried things than wake up the next morning hoping you did not find yourself in bed with some escaped damned soul and having to explain to your boss why you were fraternizing with the prisoners. (Some demons have the darnedest luck.)
Strengths: Melchiresa is a very loyal, very hard worker. She never misses a deadline and her aim to please can cause her to go to extreme lengths. Her sense of perfectionism when it comes to work has put her down as a desirable subordinate (as long as you don't have to interact with her on a daily basis). Despite the fact that she is, indeed, a demon and deals with the torture of souls, she has a rather pleasant outlook on life. Furthermore, she is a rather difficult personality to get down if it's not work-related and a good person to go too just for that pat of support. Melchiresa is always the designated driver and has a talent for random trivia--she can pull out names and dates, quotes and pieces of information like you would never believe. She is rather well-read on the other realms, at least with the information available in Hell. Finally, she can carry a tune rather well (her childhood dream was to be a singer), but it's usually kept to the shower and humming while she's working.
Weaknesses: First and foremost, she is gullible. While she has a tendency to be more wary of other beings and the souls of humans, Melchiresa is horribly easy to trick and tends to fall for pranks all the time. Some call this a naive optimism, she calls it making life a surprise. It has been a while since she was out physically dealing with souls for a while, so her combatant capabilities--which were never impressive to begin with--are lacking. Her extreme need to impress and prove herself to her superiors makes her extremely neurotic when it comes to her job and she is known for having nervous breakdowns here and there, sometimes over the slightest thing. This can make her difficult to work with if you do not have the patience to wait for the wave to subside. She also has a fear of Hell Butterflies. (Though she does not kill them! Someone needs to get a cup and take it out of the room for her.) She is also an atrocious cook and prefers to go out to eat.
Appearance: In her humanoid form, Melchiresa is about 5'5", on the slightly shorter side for demons of her background. She has pale skin that is contrasted with very deep red hair, looking black in most lights. She keeps her hair cut short, not even touching her shoulders with bangs in the front. Her eyes are also of a red color, but much brighter. Like many “True Blood” demons, she has no pupil. Her facial marking is subtle like her father’s, taking the form of a single red dot beneath her left eye. She very rarely wears any form of make-up, not one to be too concerned of her appearance. (Professional, of course, but nothing to be too flashy. She wants to make a good impression, not a skanky one).
She has a somewhat more filled out build, with curves that are defined but not mountainous, usually covered up by a plain dress shirt and whatever appropriate skirt or pants for the office is. She does tend to dress rather drab, something her closer friends try to change with periodic shopping trips. Melchiresa prefers to be more comfortable and practical than fashionable. She is more often seen in shades of red than any other color, though black is often also found in her wardrobe.
In her demon form, she has a completely different appearance. Though her build here is small for a Primus-a mere seven feet-she has a much less drab appearance. Large, branch-like limbs come out from deformed shoulders, holding out by two joints. Bone spikes jut out from the tends, tendons appearant all along. Her humanoid arms grow out from her abdomen, nails turning black and claw-like. Her face has lost any humanity, skull sunken in to her large, bulky shoulders. Eyes have become small, beady golden dots that can see farther than they appear. Her mouth disappears almost completely, instead being a series of vocal chords that vibrate to create words-somehow-when she speaks. Her entire body appears to lack skin, instead showing some sort of decaying muscle matter. Claws adorn her feet, and a back full of porcupine-like spikes keep her insulated and well defended.
History: Melchiresa is the second child of Adramelech[3] and Celaeno[4] out of five, four still around. Her eldest brother, Vual[5], died in battle 150 years before she was born. Her father, Adramelech, was the Executive of the Sixth Circle of Hell at the time and spent most of his time at the office. She was raised in a large house by her mother, a retired guard for the Second Circle of Hell (she left her post not long after the death of her first child). Her two younger sisters were born a mere 32 years after her, and her youngest brother about 200 years later.
She spent most of her early childhood outside playing with the other demons her age. One day she and one of her friends were throwing rocks at a nest of Hell Butterflies and were consequently ambushed by the insects. Though Hell Butterflies are not poisonous, they are very determined and followed the two for the next week and a half, relentlessly until they finally died from lack of food and exhaustion. Ever since then, Melchiresa has been terrified of the things, often shouting out for help. Her mother usually just shook her head and went to the kitchen to get a glass.
When she was of age, Melchiresa was sent off, as all demons of a middle to upper class were, to boarding school for the next 20 to 25 years later. There she learned how to maintain a humanoid form-the form most demons take when out and about in the cities and towns of Limbo. She made a few friends at the school, but was mainly quiet and kept to herself. She developed a fascination with the history of demons and humans alike, constantly found borrowing books from the library and reading them again and again. That was her favorite part of school, but the further on she got, the more focused on combatant abilities became.
Most lower-class demons were destined for grunt work and guard duty throughout the different levels of Hell. Her class and higher gained positions like her father. It seems that his workaholic tendencies were passed on, for even despite her dislike for fighting, Melchiresa put all her efforts into her studies. She was able to become adequate enough with her fire capabilities, but it was apparent that she was not meant for the job.
Still, once she hit 100, she took on the mandatory service required of all demons of that age. Selling your soul, literally, for one century to serve in the Army of Hell. While not at war, each squad and sub-division was sent to different circles of Hell to provide support for the different areas of punishment. Melchiresa spent that century mainly in the Third Circle of Hell, which was not a pleasant place to be-a constant stench of vomit and rotting food does make eternity there rather unappealing. When times of war did come around for Hell, she did serve on the front lines once or twice, but was better used as a messenger later on.
Once her term came to an end, Melchiresa vowed to never again set foot in the Third Circle. Her father invited her to work at the Sixth Circle, where he was still in charge. She started in the mailroom-yes, the mailroom, sorting letters and packages out to the proper mailboxes and floors. Finally getting a promotion to bringing coffee to the secretaries was like a breath of fresh air. Ever so slowly, Melchiresa worked her way up through the company, though usually through menial labor. Her first real break was when she was sent to the records department and got to do one of her favorite things-reading. Going through old pieces, writing up new abstracts for easier search, filing in the new and more orderly filing system-those were good days.
She spent a majority of her time at work, still living at her parent’s house at the time. Saving up money was a long and hard process, but she finally achieved her goal of moving in to the main city, closest to the exit to the Sixth Circle. With a shorter commute, she could spend even more time at work. Melchiresa was notorious for putting in overtime, and was eventually forced to take a mandatory vacation for a month to the Living World in order to compensate for how much they were paying her at that point.
The demon took a trip throughout Europe during WWII, quickly finding the violence to be too much. Hopping a plane-an amazing and terrifying invention-she ended up spending the rest of her trip in South America. There she found many fascinating animals, and to her terror, the largest butterflies she had ever seen.
About 75 years prior, there was a large restructuring of the infrastructure. She spent some time in the Eighth Circle of Hell to see if there was anything they could implement, records-wise, at the Sixth. It was there that during one lunch break, she unknowingly met the current Executive at the cafeteria buffet. A “charming” man is what she would describe him as, though he was known to be ruthless to anyone who did not uphold his standards. Belial, she later learned, was that man that she met and spent over an hour discussing different types of bagels. He humored her at the time, but it was about four days before she would come out of her room again from the embarrassment of looking like such an idiot.
Forty-three years prior to the current timeline, Adramelech retired form his position and, to everyone’s surprise, promoting the head of the torture department as the new Executive. During the change in administration, Melchiresa was moved from the records department up to the Assistant to the Assistant of the Executive. Despite the lack of books to read around her, she realized this was a golden opportunity. Her father had made quite a name for himself as the head of the Sixth Circle and she wanted nothing more than to uphold that image. Surely, if she worked hard enough!
Her dedication to work re-doubled and overtime was once again a problem. Though she has someone to make sure she does not make herself go crazy with work, one of her favorite things to do is to listen to Foras-the new Executive-and his stories as head of the torture department. Despite its name, he was a rather kind and articulate man, always illustrating each story with colorful speech that made for quite the conversation around the water cooler. Though she still does hope that some day she will become as “neat” to hold that sort of position, she is more than happy to work under Foras.
That does not quell her desire to impress her superiors, though. No, Employee of the Month has been an honor she has yet to taste. So when she was approached with some reconnaissance in the Living World-considering herself an expert due to her trip and countless hours reading up on it-Melchiresa would have been silly to refuse.
Powers/Abilities: Like all Primus, she has a specific type of magick that is affiliated with her true form. If her humanoid form gives any hint by its coloring, Melchiresa has been given powers relating to the element of Fire. The hair-like spines on her back can shoot off on command, lodging into something as hard as rock. They can cause a light burning sensation to exploding in a small park--not enough to do a whole ton of damage on its own, but when you have over 100 stuck in your face, it does not bode well. The slits of skin and tendon that make up her mouth can smoke when she gets very nervous, and she does have the ability to spray fire out if given a few minutes to build it up in her gut.
Her greater power lies in the ability to manipulate Fire rather than create it--that ability tends to be strong with higher demons. She can screech--or "sing"--and call nearby fires to shoot out at a target. The larger the fire, the easier it is for her to find. However, she can only increase its potency by calling more fire to it. She has tried to add her own to it, but so far that has proved too difficult for her current abilities. She has been known to give fire shapes of people or animals, or other demons, though her favorite thing to do is shape it into a large ball of fire, fling it forward, and have it explode on impact.
However, she has not been in combat or had to use such abilities in a long time, so she is noticeably rusty.
In her humanoid form, she has some small likeness to her demon form's fondness for fire. Her only "party" trick is that she can light a candle with her thumb, but that is as far as generating it goes. She can take other fire in her hands and form it into other things if she wished, but no where near the large quantities she can in her demon form. (More like a handful).
Like all demons, too, she comes with a Goetia[2]. Each demon has their own symbol, and that symbol is a binding contract to any other parties involved and is not to disappear until whatever contract is is complete. With being an Assisant to an Assistant, Melchiresa has not often used this, but she does have one. She seals the deal with a shake of her hand, the symbol appearing on her own hand like searing fire for a moment before disappearing. The holder of the contract acquires a similar mark that will appear when close to fire. When a contract is in place, she is bound uphold her end of the bargain completely as if compelled to do so. However, if the holder breaks their end of the agreement, she can terminate the deal. These have been used in the past by mages to call upon demons, but demons have also been known to use them to ensure they can collect a human soul. Melchiresa has never done that.
First Personal Sample: My first day here playing secret agent! I didn’t realize it was so…crazy here! It reminds me a bit of my vacation, except this time it’s Hollows trying to destroy one another instead of Humans. I wonder how many of them will turn up again?
I never realized they looked so…funny! I’ve only eaten Hollow twice in my life and it was very expensive! I guess I should be taking the opportunity to try some myself, but it just seems so barbaric to eat them alive. Mother did always say that was something a Mara would do. (And it seems like they are).
It…was surprising to see an Arrancar about. I’ve only read of them previously, I never imagined I would meet one for myself! Frankly, I’m lucky to get out alive. I remember hearing they were terrifying and worse than any normal Hollow you could find. I suppose he decided I wasn’t worth killing.
…
Does more dangerous mean they’re more tasty too?
[1] One of the Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q535, Manuscript B), which dates to the second century BCE, is written from Amram's point of view, and hence has been dubbed the Testament of Amram. The document is dated to the 2nd century BC and, in the form of a vision, briefly discusses dualism and mention three evil spirits: Belial, the Prince of Darkness and Melchiresa.
[2] Ars Goetia is the title of the first section of The Lesser Key of Solomon, containing descriptions of the seventy-two demons that King Solomon is said to have evoked and confined in a bronze vessel sealed by magic symbols, and that he obliged to work for him. The Ars Goetia assigns a rank and a title of nobility to each member of the infernal hierarchy, and gives the demons "signs they have to pay allegiance to", or seals. The lists of entities in the Ars Goetia correspond (to high but varying degree, often according to edition) with those in the Steganographia of Trithemius, circa 1500, and Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum an appendix appearing in later editions of his De Praestigiis Daemonum, of 1563.
[3] The name Adramelech (also Adrammalech) appears in the Old Testament only twice. The first time, he is mentioned as a son of the Assyrian King Sennacharib along with Sharezer, who murdered their father while he was worshiping in the temple of his idol, Nisrach (2 Kings 19:36-38 cf. Isaiah 37:37-39). According to Gustav Davidson, Adramelech, which means, "king of fire" is one of two throne angels along with Asmadai. In demonology he is 8th of the 10 archdemons and a great minister and chancelor of the Order of the Fly, founded by Beelzebub. He is said to appear in the form of a mule or peacock.
[4] Celaeno was a harpy whom Aeneas encountered at Strophades. She gave him prophecies of his coming journeys. She was one of three sisters, each of whom represented a different aspect of a great storm. Her name means "darkness" or "blackness". She was described as the lover of the west wind, Zephyrus, and with him bore the talking horses of Achilles, Balius and Xanthus. She was also sometimes known as Podarge ("fleet foot"). The harpy Celaeno also appears as a captive of a traveling witch's Midnight Carnival, in the Peter S. Beagle classic fantasy novel, The Last Unicorn.
[5] In demonology, Vual is a mighty Great Duke of Hell, commanding thirty-seven legions of demons. He gives the love of women, causes friendship between friends and foes, and tells things past, present and to come. Vual is depicted as a dromedary that after a while changes shape into a man, and speaks the Egyptian language, but not perfectly, with a deep voice.
Name: Freya
Age: 21
LJ: stimulant
Contact: i.have.heeros.socks[at]gmail[dot]com
Other Characters Played: Ichimaru Gin, Hisagi Shuuhei, & Neliel Tu Oderschvank
Character
Name: Melchiresa (Melki-resha)[1], but in Soul Society she will go by 藤原久美子 (Fujiwara Kumiko).
Age: Unknown, at least 400. In humanoid form, looks physically late teens, early twenties.
Alliance: Hell
Species: Demon
Rank: Assistant's Assistant to the Executive of the Sixth Circle of Hell
Personality: Melchiresa is your every day demon-but what does that mean? Despite popular belief that all demons are evil incarnate, Melchiresa is a far cry from that stereotype. Being a True Blood Demon, she comes from genetic stock that carries a variety of personality types. Mel (as her friends call her) is a career woman first and foremost, and since day one had her eyes set on bigger and brighter things. Or, as bright as things could get when you dwell in the realm of Hell. Her job is extremely important to her and she wants nothing more than to live up to the job her father did before he retired. Being the Executive of the Sixth Circle of Hell is her ultimate goal and she has worked hard to get where she has gotten.
Work ethic is very important to her. She is very fast and efficient and likes for things to be done, making her a good member to have on your team. However, her attention to detail can sometimes override the big picture, and she has been known to stressing out over the smallest mistakes. Fearing some sort of demon wrath (which is entirely possible), Melchiresa is a perfectionist when it comes to the office, something her superiors and co-workers find helpful and a headache at the same time. She has been known to bouts of extreme paranoia and assuming the world may come down on them if that page is not formatted correctly. Thankfully, others can be understanding despite their demonic nature.
Outside of work, she is a calmer individual. When concerning something she will not be graded on either in pay or performance, Melchiresa really does know how to have a good time. In fact, she tends to find typically dull things exciting, like watching other people play chess and organizing markers in a color wheel. She definitely has some quirks that even her parents have trouble figuring out. It does not make her the most terrifying demon, that's for sure.
Melchiresa is definitely more book-smart than street-smart when it comes down to it. She can handle her own if needed--all demons have gone through some sort of combat training--but a fight is usually the last thing she tries to get herself into. While she can pull random facts and dates out of know where and quote famous philosophers from Hell or the World of the Living, she has a bit of a gullible nature. Her own kind find it rather easy to make her the butt of many jokes, but Melchiresa either seems to not figure it out or laugh along anyway. In truth, she usually finds out it was her they were laughing at, but unless it was work-related, she is just glad she could make them laugh. If it was work related, she would probably need to be pried out from under her bed, lest she set foot in the office again.
She is not popular, nor unknown, if only for her famous father. Like most demons her age, she does spend her Friday nights out on the town, though she is often not the one going home with a stranger. No, Melchiresa is usually the girl sitting in a booth looking happy as can be even as all her friends filter out. If asked if she felt lonely, she would shake her head and say that she would rather sit there by herself and eat cheese-coated fried things than wake up the next morning hoping you did not find yourself in bed with some escaped damned soul and having to explain to your boss why you were fraternizing with the prisoners. (Some demons have the darnedest luck.)
Strengths: Melchiresa is a very loyal, very hard worker. She never misses a deadline and her aim to please can cause her to go to extreme lengths. Her sense of perfectionism when it comes to work has put her down as a desirable subordinate (as long as you don't have to interact with her on a daily basis). Despite the fact that she is, indeed, a demon and deals with the torture of souls, she has a rather pleasant outlook on life. Furthermore, she is a rather difficult personality to get down if it's not work-related and a good person to go too just for that pat of support. Melchiresa is always the designated driver and has a talent for random trivia--she can pull out names and dates, quotes and pieces of information like you would never believe. She is rather well-read on the other realms, at least with the information available in Hell. Finally, she can carry a tune rather well (her childhood dream was to be a singer), but it's usually kept to the shower and humming while she's working.
Weaknesses: First and foremost, she is gullible. While she has a tendency to be more wary of other beings and the souls of humans, Melchiresa is horribly easy to trick and tends to fall for pranks all the time. Some call this a naive optimism, she calls it making life a surprise. It has been a while since she was out physically dealing with souls for a while, so her combatant capabilities--which were never impressive to begin with--are lacking. Her extreme need to impress and prove herself to her superiors makes her extremely neurotic when it comes to her job and she is known for having nervous breakdowns here and there, sometimes over the slightest thing. This can make her difficult to work with if you do not have the patience to wait for the wave to subside. She also has a fear of Hell Butterflies. (Though she does not kill them! Someone needs to get a cup and take it out of the room for her.) She is also an atrocious cook and prefers to go out to eat.
Appearance: In her humanoid form, Melchiresa is about 5'5", on the slightly shorter side for demons of her background. She has pale skin that is contrasted with very deep red hair, looking black in most lights. She keeps her hair cut short, not even touching her shoulders with bangs in the front. Her eyes are also of a red color, but much brighter. Like many “True Blood” demons, she has no pupil. Her facial marking is subtle like her father’s, taking the form of a single red dot beneath her left eye. She very rarely wears any form of make-up, not one to be too concerned of her appearance. (Professional, of course, but nothing to be too flashy. She wants to make a good impression, not a skanky one).
She has a somewhat more filled out build, with curves that are defined but not mountainous, usually covered up by a plain dress shirt and whatever appropriate skirt or pants for the office is. She does tend to dress rather drab, something her closer friends try to change with periodic shopping trips. Melchiresa prefers to be more comfortable and practical than fashionable. She is more often seen in shades of red than any other color, though black is often also found in her wardrobe.
In her demon form, she has a completely different appearance. Though her build here is small for a Primus-a mere seven feet-she has a much less drab appearance. Large, branch-like limbs come out from deformed shoulders, holding out by two joints. Bone spikes jut out from the tends, tendons appearant all along. Her humanoid arms grow out from her abdomen, nails turning black and claw-like. Her face has lost any humanity, skull sunken in to her large, bulky shoulders. Eyes have become small, beady golden dots that can see farther than they appear. Her mouth disappears almost completely, instead being a series of vocal chords that vibrate to create words-somehow-when she speaks. Her entire body appears to lack skin, instead showing some sort of decaying muscle matter. Claws adorn her feet, and a back full of porcupine-like spikes keep her insulated and well defended.
History: Melchiresa is the second child of Adramelech[3] and Celaeno[4] out of five, four still around. Her eldest brother, Vual[5], died in battle 150 years before she was born. Her father, Adramelech, was the Executive of the Sixth Circle of Hell at the time and spent most of his time at the office. She was raised in a large house by her mother, a retired guard for the Second Circle of Hell (she left her post not long after the death of her first child). Her two younger sisters were born a mere 32 years after her, and her youngest brother about 200 years later.
She spent most of her early childhood outside playing with the other demons her age. One day she and one of her friends were throwing rocks at a nest of Hell Butterflies and were consequently ambushed by the insects. Though Hell Butterflies are not poisonous, they are very determined and followed the two for the next week and a half, relentlessly until they finally died from lack of food and exhaustion. Ever since then, Melchiresa has been terrified of the things, often shouting out for help. Her mother usually just shook her head and went to the kitchen to get a glass.
When she was of age, Melchiresa was sent off, as all demons of a middle to upper class were, to boarding school for the next 20 to 25 years later. There she learned how to maintain a humanoid form-the form most demons take when out and about in the cities and towns of Limbo. She made a few friends at the school, but was mainly quiet and kept to herself. She developed a fascination with the history of demons and humans alike, constantly found borrowing books from the library and reading them again and again. That was her favorite part of school, but the further on she got, the more focused on combatant abilities became.
Most lower-class demons were destined for grunt work and guard duty throughout the different levels of Hell. Her class and higher gained positions like her father. It seems that his workaholic tendencies were passed on, for even despite her dislike for fighting, Melchiresa put all her efforts into her studies. She was able to become adequate enough with her fire capabilities, but it was apparent that she was not meant for the job.
Still, once she hit 100, she took on the mandatory service required of all demons of that age. Selling your soul, literally, for one century to serve in the Army of Hell. While not at war, each squad and sub-division was sent to different circles of Hell to provide support for the different areas of punishment. Melchiresa spent that century mainly in the Third Circle of Hell, which was not a pleasant place to be-a constant stench of vomit and rotting food does make eternity there rather unappealing. When times of war did come around for Hell, she did serve on the front lines once or twice, but was better used as a messenger later on.
Once her term came to an end, Melchiresa vowed to never again set foot in the Third Circle. Her father invited her to work at the Sixth Circle, where he was still in charge. She started in the mailroom-yes, the mailroom, sorting letters and packages out to the proper mailboxes and floors. Finally getting a promotion to bringing coffee to the secretaries was like a breath of fresh air. Ever so slowly, Melchiresa worked her way up through the company, though usually through menial labor. Her first real break was when she was sent to the records department and got to do one of her favorite things-reading. Going through old pieces, writing up new abstracts for easier search, filing in the new and more orderly filing system-those were good days.
She spent a majority of her time at work, still living at her parent’s house at the time. Saving up money was a long and hard process, but she finally achieved her goal of moving in to the main city, closest to the exit to the Sixth Circle. With a shorter commute, she could spend even more time at work. Melchiresa was notorious for putting in overtime, and was eventually forced to take a mandatory vacation for a month to the Living World in order to compensate for how much they were paying her at that point.
The demon took a trip throughout Europe during WWII, quickly finding the violence to be too much. Hopping a plane-an amazing and terrifying invention-she ended up spending the rest of her trip in South America. There she found many fascinating animals, and to her terror, the largest butterflies she had ever seen.
About 75 years prior, there was a large restructuring of the infrastructure. She spent some time in the Eighth Circle of Hell to see if there was anything they could implement, records-wise, at the Sixth. It was there that during one lunch break, she unknowingly met the current Executive at the cafeteria buffet. A “charming” man is what she would describe him as, though he was known to be ruthless to anyone who did not uphold his standards. Belial, she later learned, was that man that she met and spent over an hour discussing different types of bagels. He humored her at the time, but it was about four days before she would come out of her room again from the embarrassment of looking like such an idiot.
Forty-three years prior to the current timeline, Adramelech retired form his position and, to everyone’s surprise, promoting the head of the torture department as the new Executive. During the change in administration, Melchiresa was moved from the records department up to the Assistant to the Assistant of the Executive. Despite the lack of books to read around her, she realized this was a golden opportunity. Her father had made quite a name for himself as the head of the Sixth Circle and she wanted nothing more than to uphold that image. Surely, if she worked hard enough!
Her dedication to work re-doubled and overtime was once again a problem. Though she has someone to make sure she does not make herself go crazy with work, one of her favorite things to do is to listen to Foras-the new Executive-and his stories as head of the torture department. Despite its name, he was a rather kind and articulate man, always illustrating each story with colorful speech that made for quite the conversation around the water cooler. Though she still does hope that some day she will become as “neat” to hold that sort of position, she is more than happy to work under Foras.
That does not quell her desire to impress her superiors, though. No, Employee of the Month has been an honor she has yet to taste. So when she was approached with some reconnaissance in the Living World-considering herself an expert due to her trip and countless hours reading up on it-Melchiresa would have been silly to refuse.
Powers/Abilities: Like all Primus, she has a specific type of magick that is affiliated with her true form. If her humanoid form gives any hint by its coloring, Melchiresa has been given powers relating to the element of Fire. The hair-like spines on her back can shoot off on command, lodging into something as hard as rock. They can cause a light burning sensation to exploding in a small park--not enough to do a whole ton of damage on its own, but when you have over 100 stuck in your face, it does not bode well. The slits of skin and tendon that make up her mouth can smoke when she gets very nervous, and she does have the ability to spray fire out if given a few minutes to build it up in her gut.
Her greater power lies in the ability to manipulate Fire rather than create it--that ability tends to be strong with higher demons. She can screech--or "sing"--and call nearby fires to shoot out at a target. The larger the fire, the easier it is for her to find. However, she can only increase its potency by calling more fire to it. She has tried to add her own to it, but so far that has proved too difficult for her current abilities. She has been known to give fire shapes of people or animals, or other demons, though her favorite thing to do is shape it into a large ball of fire, fling it forward, and have it explode on impact.
However, she has not been in combat or had to use such abilities in a long time, so she is noticeably rusty.
In her humanoid form, she has some small likeness to her demon form's fondness for fire. Her only "party" trick is that she can light a candle with her thumb, but that is as far as generating it goes. She can take other fire in her hands and form it into other things if she wished, but no where near the large quantities she can in her demon form. (More like a handful).
Like all demons, too, she comes with a Goetia[2]. Each demon has their own symbol, and that symbol is a binding contract to any other parties involved and is not to disappear until whatever contract is is complete. With being an Assisant to an Assistant, Melchiresa has not often used this, but she does have one. She seals the deal with a shake of her hand, the symbol appearing on her own hand like searing fire for a moment before disappearing. The holder of the contract acquires a similar mark that will appear when close to fire. When a contract is in place, she is bound uphold her end of the bargain completely as if compelled to do so. However, if the holder breaks their end of the agreement, she can terminate the deal. These have been used in the past by mages to call upon demons, but demons have also been known to use them to ensure they can collect a human soul. Melchiresa has never done that.
First Personal Sample: My first day here playing secret agent! I didn’t realize it was so…crazy here! It reminds me a bit of my vacation, except this time it’s Hollows trying to destroy one another instead of Humans. I wonder how many of them will turn up again?
I never realized they looked so…funny! I’ve only eaten Hollow twice in my life and it was very expensive! I guess I should be taking the opportunity to try some myself, but it just seems so barbaric to eat them alive. Mother did always say that was something a Mara would do. (And it seems like they are).
It…was surprising to see an Arrancar about. I’ve only read of them previously, I never imagined I would meet one for myself! Frankly, I’m lucky to get out alive. I remember hearing they were terrifying and worse than any normal Hollow you could find. I suppose he decided I wasn’t worth killing.
…
Does more dangerous mean they’re more tasty too?
[1] One of the Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q535, Manuscript B), which dates to the second century BCE, is written from Amram's point of view, and hence has been dubbed the Testament of Amram. The document is dated to the 2nd century BC and, in the form of a vision, briefly discusses dualism and mention three evil spirits: Belial, the Prince of Darkness and Melchiresa.
[2] Ars Goetia is the title of the first section of The Lesser Key of Solomon, containing descriptions of the seventy-two demons that King Solomon is said to have evoked and confined in a bronze vessel sealed by magic symbols, and that he obliged to work for him. The Ars Goetia assigns a rank and a title of nobility to each member of the infernal hierarchy, and gives the demons "signs they have to pay allegiance to", or seals. The lists of entities in the Ars Goetia correspond (to high but varying degree, often according to edition) with those in the Steganographia of Trithemius, circa 1500, and Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum an appendix appearing in later editions of his De Praestigiis Daemonum, of 1563.
[3] The name Adramelech (also Adrammalech) appears in the Old Testament only twice. The first time, he is mentioned as a son of the Assyrian King Sennacharib along with Sharezer, who murdered their father while he was worshiping in the temple of his idol, Nisrach (2 Kings 19:36-38 cf. Isaiah 37:37-39). According to Gustav Davidson, Adramelech, which means, "king of fire" is one of two throne angels along with Asmadai. In demonology he is 8th of the 10 archdemons and a great minister and chancelor of the Order of the Fly, founded by Beelzebub. He is said to appear in the form of a mule or peacock.
[4] Celaeno was a harpy whom Aeneas encountered at Strophades. She gave him prophecies of his coming journeys. She was one of three sisters, each of whom represented a different aspect of a great storm. Her name means "darkness" or "blackness". She was described as the lover of the west wind, Zephyrus, and with him bore the talking horses of Achilles, Balius and Xanthus. She was also sometimes known as Podarge ("fleet foot"). The harpy Celaeno also appears as a captive of a traveling witch's Midnight Carnival, in the Peter S. Beagle classic fantasy novel, The Last Unicorn.
[5] In demonology, Vual is a mighty Great Duke of Hell, commanding thirty-seven legions of demons. He gives the love of women, causes friendship between friends and foes, and tells things past, present and to come. Vual is depicted as a dromedary that after a while changes shape into a man, and speaks the Egyptian language, but not perfectly, with a deep voice.