Aix Rose

''
"Please, please.. don't let her win, don't let him in. I wanna be normal, I have to be.. can't you see? Save me from my beast.. save me from myself, I can't control it.."
"I'll always be here for you, no matter what." - To several Pathfinders.
==Background==
Aix is a Hellhound, a construct of smoke and fire made from pure rage and hatred, for the express purpose of harvesting souls. The Caretaker, a Succubus ordered by the higher beings of Hell, tends to the creation of all Hellhounds in mass batches each indistinguishable from one another. What wills they do possess are scant and what emotions they have are base and primal. Hellhounds exist only as beings of destruction and carnage to be sicked on mortals, each carbon copies of the other and each worth less than dust. Ultimately, they are disposable playthings at the whim of Hell's superiors.
The Caretaker, bored with her monotonous work, decided to experiment one day with a clutch of Hellhounds she was creating. In her experimentation, however, she unintentionally bestowed a piece of herself in the creation process. This culminated in an event which shocked her to her core. Whereas every other Hellhound was bent down with eyes of malice, among the crowd was one that towered above his brethren, standing upright and tall. The Caretaker, angered at this supposed display of superiority, demanded to know what Hellhound would dare go against the set order imposed upon them. And, to her utter surprise, the Hellhound responded in a broken simulacrum of her voice: "Aix…Rose…"
Aix, imbued with the essence of a succubus, was gifted a mind apart from the collective.  From the beginning Aix was staunchly opposed to what a Hellhound should be, repulsed by the revelry of bloodlust his kind enjoys. Rather than seeking to harm other people himself, Aix enlisted the abilities of his succubus nature to call forth illusions in an effort to abstain his paws from harm. Aix attempted to cultivate a voice of his own by mimicry and, much to her disgust, often mimicked the voice of The Caretaker. In many cases she would find him gazing at his own reflection for moments on end as if transfixed by something. Every moment of Aix attempting to assert his individuality lit an unquenchable fire in The Caretaker, who aimed to break his spirits to conform or else make him regret he was ever made. She tortured him mentally, berating his worthless existence and affirming how he'll only be a hideous creature made for killing, and his only means of sustaining his existence was to eat the flesh of a human. She tortured him physically, severely chastising imperfection with blows from other Hellhounds, and striking Aix down herself at the lightest of imagined faults.
When it came to light that there was nothing that could alter Aix's condition, The Caretaker constrained him to a torture room, strapped him in holy chains, and suspended him above bottomless lava. From that moment on Aix was less than nothing, a plaything to be used to relieve the boredom of her stale occupation. The holy chains lit up and cauterized themselves into Aix's flesh, magically binding them to him to perpetually burn him. Runes of pain and torment were carved into his body. She was fit to do with the Hellhound as she pleased.
One day, in The Caretaker's absence, when Aix's spirit was brought down to its lowest point, it was at that point he attempted to break free from his bounds. With a mighty rage Aix summoned any ounce of vigor that still burned within him and broke the holy chains, plummeting into the lava below. As Aix's body sunk further and further, he traveled deeper into the depths of hell.
Eventually, resonating with the succubus essence within him, he was drawn into the Contract Room, one that only devils have access to in order to form contracts with those of the material plane. In it Aix saw a contract blazing red and, desperate to find a way out, accepted the pact. Immediately Aix's body was thrown into that of a little girl on a pyre surrounded by an angry mob, the very one who formed the contract. As Aix was desperate for freedom, she was desperate for power, and she would gain it at any cost. Instantly Aix was overwrought with an urge that went against his very nature, an urge to kill. He blacked out, and when he came to, found himself in a pool of blood and a missing arm, with mangled bodies strewn all around him. Aix howled in despair, unable to handle the weight of what he had done. The girl's body broke and shifted into that of a monstrous half beast, an Adlet, reflecting that of his guilt and broken psyche, still wrought with chains eternally bound to him.
From that day on, Aix wandered the material plane, away from the eyes of scornful people and living an existence of loneliness and separation, not too dissimilar from his time spent in Hell. In time through observation he picked up some semblance of human culture, fashioning his own voice and donning attire that resembled a samurai. His lost arm eventually grew into one of a demonic one, afflicting him an additional pain on top of the traumas he had endured.
==Personality==
Aix's personality is something cultivated from his trauma experienced in Hell. He is generally aloof, preferring to draw others to him rather than initiating the first move. Upon further inspection, however, Aix harbors deep issues of self-loathing, perceiving himself as ugly when his only desire is to be beautiful. Aix is really naïve about the world, unable to give clear answers to even his own inner workings.
Standard emotions and feelings such as joy, love, happiness, and comfort are foreign to him. He is rather quick to anger and annoy when confronted with things he doesn't understand or can't control, needing a strong hand of guidance and patience in order to teach him things about how things operate. Ultimately Aix wants to feel comfortable with himself and a sense of belonging from someone able to understand him. Aix is supernaturally drawn to cats and adores them to such a degree that he will immediately stop what he's doing in order to cater to his feline friend. Like a cat, Aix has bouts of slothfulness and would want to do nothing more than to laze about and sleep.
==Abilities==
*Heightened Senses: Aix's condition as a hellhound affords him the heightened physical senses afforded to most canines, such as smell, sight, and hearing. His capabilities in his physical form are similarly enhanced as well, from his speed, strength, and stamina to his naturally elongated fangs and claws.
*Illusion Charm: The piece of the Caretaker that resides in Aix granted him access to a sliver of her abilities. One of these is the power to reflect small illusions into the hearts and minds of people, by three minutes of prolonged physical contact and conversation. A strong enough will or distraction dispels the charm, and physically interacting with illusions dissipates it instantly.
*Shapeshifting: The succubus' ability to mold their form into the wants and desires of their prey granted Aix the ability to shift into other canine-based beings, from small dogs to stalwart wolves. His true form is that of hell's original design, a towering being of smoke and fire incarnate, and able to use said form to curl around tangible things, fade from sight, and travel the air unabated. As well as being able to suffocate if enveloped around a certain victim.
==Weaknesses==
*Holy Instruments: Any and all things holy inflict Aix with massive pain on his physical form, while also being the material that Aix's true form is weakest to. Holy silver inflicts twice the pain and nearly debilitates him with any sort of wound made by it.
*No You: Aix cannot bear to hear any compliments, as he feels he is not worthy to receive them due to his ugly nature. He is quick to lash out or flee when someone gives him a good word or talks well about him.
*The Ties That Bind Us: Aix's Holy Silver chains are magically bound to him, activating on intense outbursts of emotion that causes him pain that deteriorates his psyche back to the moment of torture by the Caretaker.
*Pupsicle: As a creature of fire, cold temperatures weaken his physical abilities and movement. If Aix's emotions are plummeted into a deep state of sadness and depression, his core temperature drops as well, causing him illness and further weakening him.
*Hell Is Other People: The mental torture caused by the Caretaker left ever present scars in Aix's psyche, leaving Aix purposely misinformed about himself, people, and relationships. He flounders on the simplest of social graces, unable to emote or express himself in ways normal to other people.
*The Lone Wolf Dies, But The Pack...Also Dies: Aix's physical form, while durable, is still susceptible to conventional attacks. If his physical form sustains enough damage or its needs are neglected for a prolonged period of time, bits of his true form leak out until he's transformed completely into a ravaging beast, or dies and his soul fades from existence.
*Sucks To Be You: Whilst in his true form, strong forces of suction are able to attract and contain him, rendering him much more vulnerable and unable to affect the things around him as much as he could previously. Transformation back into his physical form is delayed until he consumes sufficient enough smoke to replace the mass he lost.
*Meowvelously Mesmerized: Cats carry some unknown power of magnetism over Aix. At the mere sight of one Aix will instantly drop what he's doing and momentarily get lost in the whims of his new feline master.
*Woofsbane: The herb feared by werewolves carries just as much of a worry for Aix. The plant utterly repulses him if worn as a fragrance or ointment on someone and causes a severe reaction if he comes into physical contact with it. If ingested, Aix will grow gravely ill and death might occur depending on the dosage or concentration.
*Dog Surfing: Water magic is the antithesis of Aix's very nature. He is susceptible to it in his physical form, and it is fatal to him in his true form. If submerged in a large enough body of magic water, after a long enough time he will eventually fizzle out and disappear.
==Trivia==
*Aix does not possess physical eyes, rather his eyes are small flames that flicker in the otherwise empty eye sockets. (He sees by ones mana and soul.)
* Aix's physical appearance is determined by the constitution of his human vessel.
* Aix's manifestation depends highly on his emotional state. Aix's Hellhound form is brought out by a strong anger or rage, whilst his Smoke form is brought out by intense fear or sadness.
* While one of Aix's big weaknesses is magical water, normal water is perfectly fine. However it elicits just as much as an aversive reaction from him as if it were magical. He just hates water.
* Aix's horns turn red when he blushes.
* Aix's internal organs consist of cracked obsidian emitting a fiery glow from their fissures.
* Aix's tongue is very hot to the touch, akin to a seat-belt left in the heat of the sun.
*Despite lacking any shred of it on his wardrobe, Aix's favorite color is green.
*Aix loves the aesthetics of the samurai.
*His clothing is actually a form of his fur, he can shape it over certain body parts he doesn't want shown.
*When Aix cries, he emits little streams of blue flames that rise off his cheek that soon disappear.
*Each rune represents a different part of Aix. They are engraved into his skin.
==Gallery==
Category:Characters
Category:Demons
Category:Yurily's Characters