Adrastos

Adrastos as a Demon Lord

Adrastos is a curious Demon, known for his rapid ascension to Demon Lord, not once, but twice. He is also the only known Demon to form a long-term relationship with a mortal.

## Background

### From Minion to Master

Adrastos begun his existence as an Aeshma, formed from the corrupted soul of a Kinnara by Avariel, Lady of Excess. He spent his first half-century being a minion of little note beyond having good taste in the virgins he acquired for his mistress to defile and torture.

In 876/2, Adrastos was caught enjoying one of Avariel's finest 'trophies' and sent to the edge of her domain, to instead be the overseer of a 'Soul Quarry'. Given that Aeshma have no ability to see or manipulate the spirit world, was effectively a job to make hims immortal existence extremely boring.

There he met and befriended Despoina, an actually contributing member of the quarry. In 880/2 she would rouse him from his slumber to have him inspect a find that would change Ardrastos' fate forever. Burried beneath the earth was the wreckage of an Angral, an ancient Invader weapon.

Despoina suggested they use it as a trophy to win back Avariel's favor, but not being a particularly wise creature, Adrastos had another idea: he was going to eat it.

The majestic being that emerged from the pit was quite unlike the bull-like fiend that entered. Once a meer Aeshma, he could now be compared to a Dragon, but standing on two legs with a chiseled, Human-like face. His horns elegantly curved. Doubling in height, his charcoal hide was now covered by many growths of obsidian laced with amethysts that resembled spines or scales. His most notable feature his great, upside down bat wings.

Leaving Despoina at the quarry, he returned to the Thornspire, where he pretended to be a new Demon offering his services to Avariel. Quite taken by his new form, she let her guard down, which he swiftly took advantage of, striking her down and consuming her power.

And so was born Adrastos, the Huntsman.

He turned the great vines that gave his citadel its name into a great hunting ground where he hunted Avariel's 'trophies', as well those of a brief slave revolt who though this was this opportunity. Despoina was elevated to his lieutenant.

### Lord of the Thornspire

The other lords were greatly disturbed by such a sudden ascendance to power by this wildcard. Garyon, the closest Bael Archas has to a keeper of order, declared war against Adrastos, with Nina joining him. Mammon, however, sided with the upstart.

Adrastos had gained a surprising amount of wisdom alongside his power, and realized would not triumph over Garyon. Sensing a great nexus of Invader energy to the west, far beyond what he had obtained. He tasked Despoina with tracking it down, coming across the young Thrakul Kulakas and his companions. However, desperate to claim the power for himself, he would eventually do battle with Thrakul's companions himself, handedly routing them before being bested by Eve. Wracked by the creature's power, Adrastos would uncharacteristically retreat back to the Thornspire. While he wished to pursue Eve and secure her power for his own, he became too caught up in the war with Garyon.

Unable to fight Garyon in the open fields, Adrastos would instead expand the gardens of the Thornspire to make any assault by ground an impassible quagmire. His forces largely land-bound, Garyon was forced to hack his way through the dense growth for years, only to discover the Golden Legion, hired by Mammon, assaulting his rear. Garyon would be forced back, and eventually begrudgingly accept Adrastos as a lord of Bael Archas, though they were not without their skirmishes.

Centuries later, Adrastos' dominion would be challenged by the Jhanin flank of Ahmed Thrakul's forces. The army of Kyn, Giants, Dwarves, and Men was led by none other than his ancient nemesis, Thrakul Kulakas, himself. While he found Thrakul strong than he once was, Adrastos was still the surperior combatent. What he didn't expect was for Thrakul to use the First of Angral to draw out the powers he had gained along ago. Reduced to an Aeshma once more, he was wounded by the now rampaging Thrakul. Despoina would attempt to pull him from the battlefield, only to be wounded herself.

### The Journeys of Aella

Somehow, beaten, drained, and wounded, Adrastos managed to escape that battlefield. Having lost his glory, he fell in with a pack of his own kind, only to be drawn in and bound by Aella. While he resented his position at first, it would teach him that were other things to life than absolute power.

After defeating a band of female bandits, the pair headed north east to Archas-Thyr, where they bought Nevine out of slavery. From there, they traveled to Raal, becoming champions of the Arena, before heading south to the Free Cities of Vrye. The trio had Formed a relationship, and in Vrye they were married.

Shortly afterwards, Aella was captured by a mysterious wizard and his own Demon familiar. While Adrastos managed to storm the wizard's lair and save her, they continued to be pursued by the Demon, who eventually revealed herself to be none other than Adrastos' old lieutenant, Despoina.

Despoina originally hated Aella, thinking that she'd chained her former master and made him week, but was eventually swayed into being a useful ally.

The group then headed north east along the mountains, eventually encountering an ancient vault full of old Invader machinery. After fending off the shades guarding it, they escaped. Adrastos considered drawing upon the dark power of the vault to regain his powers, but somehow found himself preferring the simpler life.

In 405/3, they were attacked by a Dragon, who kidnapped Aella. To save her, Adrastos returned to the vault and absorbed the dark blood of the Cathar used by the Invaders, to regain his status as Demon Lord. His powers restored, he easily slew the Dragon, and curiously won over the respect of the nearby city of Avarine they had coincidentally saved, such that they resubmitted to his rule willingly.

There they stayed for two years, fending off forces of the Achaemenid Empire as well as its rebel groups, who thought they had
seized the town by force. However, having a love for the open road, the party eventually ventured off into the world once more.

## Personality

While possessing his own quirks, Adrastos is a typical example of a Demon, slaved to lusting after the most basic elements of mortal existence. He has no concept of decency or social expectations, and is known to consume humanoids, preferably Elves. While initially not very smart, he gained a degree of cunning after absorbing the black blood of the Cathar.

What makes Adrastos stand out is his eventual love for Aella. The pair both pretended they did not like each other, yet he liked to tease with how much she really cared for him. This seems to have had a strange transformative effect on his psyche, as not only did he willingly save her twice, even after regaining his powers, he discovered he prefer to wander with her than to try and reclaim his old life.

## Abilities and Notable Equipment

As an Aeshma, Adrastos merely possessed the immense strength and resilience of a demon. However, in his Demon Lord form he is a truly deadly force to be reckoned with. Imbued with the powers of a Demon Lord, Adrastos is able to convert spirits into Demons, as well as mentally control weak-willed ones.

Furthermore, having consumed the black blood of a Cathar, he possesses the conceptual warping powers of the Invaders. While not quite grasping his whole repertoire, he uses it to defy gravity, increase his speed, and add tremendous force to his blows. His favorite however, is bending the curvature of reality to cause his fleeing enemies to run back into him.

His favored weapon is a colossal spear he forms out of the very earth beneath him.

## Trivia

* Adrastos was the first Demon encountered in the city, and the first Demon player character.
* He was originally meant to be just a pet character to help fill out Aella's part, but ended up being Aella's main love interest.
* Adrastos is a Greek name meaning "One who does not flee".
* For some reason, the short form of his name is 'Ardy' despite the 'r' being after the 'd' in the full form.
* Ardy's status as a former demon lord was created during Aella's story, though was greatly expanded on during Gen2.