#haligren's oc beleth

[sitraachranovel]

Just a King and her Secretkeeper. :>

A crop of a larger sketch with some very quick and messy shading.

[sitraachranovel]

Third King of the Third Circle, Beleth. Aka The Reclusive King, The Hidden King, Oracle of Tuonela, Mother Muse of the Eventide, The Scarred Sovereign Sphinx, The Unbreakable Tempest, Fleshripper, Demoneater, Truthspeaker, wielder of the great halberd Antiphon. She has never been defeated.

[sitraachranovel]

An excerpt from the book; A History of the World After & Its Denizens by Noctua Quill

"(Pages from an untitled codex of illustrations recovered from the late Zagan Era, circa 4795, Epoch 341934.) The illuminated lettering around the edges of the pages reads as follows starting from left to right:

[left most vertical] The Patron Devil of Thieves

[top horizontal] Master of Ephemeral Arts

[right vertical] The Many-Tailed Thief

Opposing page

[right most verticle] "Materials For Summoning:

A Few Gold Coins

Three Bottles of Fine Wine

One Book of Stories

Nine Drops of [the Summoner's] Blood

[bottom left] BEWARE. IMPORTANT UNIQUE GLYPHS.

(These are unique glyphs used in the summoning of Lord Valefar. Each Goetic has their own set that must be included in the Summoning Circle otherwise they either may not appear or will appear but be not contained to the circle, which, in many cases, would be undesirable, let alone fatal, to the summoner. The meaning of some of these symbols have been long forgotten, being used only in these instances, but Valefar's, loosely translated, reads: "No Tricks, No Trade". Thereby binding the Patron Devil of Thieves and preventing him from conjuring any illusions or making attempts at résistance. Not mentioned here for unknown reasons, is that all Summoning Circles must be drawn in a radius of 2 or more meters. It should provide sufficient space for the Demon to remain comfortably seated.)

[right bottom] (Valefar's Summoning Circle. These must include the aforementioned glyphs as well as the Demon's Sigil. The blue markings invite the summoner to "place offering here". Thus, the objects mentioned in the above list of summoning materials will be placed in the designated spots. The tilt to the circle is important as mathematics have as much significance to the Goetia as words. These coordinates designate that Demon's unique position in the universe - essentially a tele-wire number. Misplacing the Circle can result in the absence of the Demon's manifestation.)

The small text is Ingris-Lorician and reads as follows:

"Duke Valefar retained his title of Third among Twenty-Three Dukes for as long as anyone can remember. Secretkeeper to Her Royal Highness, King Beleth of the Third Circle, he acted as a trusted advisor and loyal consort for many hundreds of years.

Before his death, Lord Valefar was renowned for his mastery of illusion and thievery, and was unmatched in his ability to shapeshift. His unique talents among the Goetia had him simultaneously respected and cautiously regarded despite his gregarious nature. He was otherwise a known trickster and miscreant, who relished in sowing chaos among the Court.

This Reputation extended to those outside of the Goetia, and well into the World Before, where those who wished to summon him would have done so expecting a blessing of charisma or good fortune in whatever devious exploits they intended. Otherwise, Lord Valefar was often called upon in matters of thievery, charlantry, or reconnaissance, and was, perhaps somewhat paradoxically, respected for his penchant for fairness in all dealings. However, it was the convalescence of these qualities that in turn ultimately led to his downfall.

Regarded as the catalyst for the event now know as the "Akashic Purge", Duke Valefar accomplished this by besting Fifth King Purson in a bet that he could steal his Horn within three days. Having done so, the pompous Duke decided to announce his success by blowing the instrument, which has the power to herald the End of Days. While he was stopped before the call could be completed, the damage had been done, and for his crime he was to be drawn and quartered. His Nine Tails, source of his power, were excised from him and distributed among the Eight remaining Kings by King Beleth Herself as a sign of solidarity against the events that were to come.

The whereabouts of Lord Valefar's Tails, and whether their Power was used at any point, remains unknown. For his disgrace, his name was to be stricken from the Infernal Court, his seat left vacant, albeit conditions resulting from the Purge have instead, made him something of a folkloric figure in the four hundred years following."

(Notice that the amount of time used to calculate Valefar's absence is expressed via the human calendar. While the author of the text is unknown, this gives an inherent clue as to their identity.)

What this text does not describe is King Beleth's enabling of Lord Valefar's antics, and it is of this Scholar's firm belief, that in doing so, she may have inadvertently coaxed these events into place. Not to speak ill of Her Diligence, but the King's soft spot for her Secretkeeper was plain for all to see, and was something she had been repeatedly cautioned against, as she had become somewhat over-reliant on his more distinct talents in order to compete with the egos of the other Kings. Her Majesty was as much the "Truthteller" as she was the "Truthkeeper". Her inability to lie coincided with her ability to detect lies in all things said and all gestures performed. Valefar's powers were futile to her discerning eye, but less so to others. She was wise for keeping him close, but in the opinion of this Scholar, foolish for being so lenient on him and allowing him to enjoy immunity for his crimes against others up until his own hubris cost her everything. In truth, it was remarkable that she was not subject to the same fate by the other Kings even with her gesture of sacrificing her consort's body in the hopes that they may aid in the mitigation of the coming disasters. One can only hope that the King's gift of foresight extended to anticipating the nature of her subject, and that her willful ignorance bore consequences she was willing to accept in order to indulge in his affection. Alas. Duke Valefar would have most likely become amused at the overall futility of his sacrifice. Irony being a favorite form of comedy. And his undying love for his King would doubtless hinder any compulsions of vengeance or violence, the Duke being as helpless to forgive those he loves as Her Majesty.

What might be seen as a source of vexation for many, Lord Valefar almost always interpreted as a challenge to enjoy, much to the dismay of those around him. However, even should his Soul find its way back from the World Before, he would surely find the reunification of his lost parts a daunting task. This assuming that there will even be a world to which he may return as the Purge continues onward, a fact which the mortal population seems to remain blissfully ignorant or, altogether, uncaring.