Stolas

Siblings: The Angels

**Stolas** is the 36th Spirit of the Ars Goetia and a Great Prince of Hell, commanding twenty-six legions of demons (twenty-five according to other authors).

## Overview

Stolas is given the title of a Great Prince of Hell, or sometimes simply Prince. Like all the other demons of the Goetia, Stolas commands a particular number of demonic legions, specifically 26. His duties and skills are described consistently across the Goetia, Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, and the Dictionnaire Infernal, and describe Stolas as bearing superlative knowledge of astronomy, the value of precious stones, and the effectiveness of herbs or poisonous plants. He will impart that knowledge to those who summon him.

## Appearance

He is depicted as either being a crowned owl with long legs, a raven, or a man. His black raven is his demon form while his "angelic" form is that of a winged man with dark curly hair and blue eyes.

## Personality

Stolas is one of the few rare demons that is pacifistic. He is not fond of fighting, finding the notion of wars and battles to be fruitless and pointless. His only real involvements in terms of 'conflict' was during the War in Heaven and aiding Lucifer's forces by guiding them to the appropriate destinations via the stars and to determine the exact location of an object via examining the mineral that surrounds it.

Stolas finds comfort in his line work for according to him there is always something new to discover unlike war which is consistent and stays the same. He is fond of learning new developments and wants to expand his knowledge of what is out there in the universe instead of fighting in battles that will contribute to nothing except more battles to come. His pacifistic nature is noted by even Dante who does not consider him a threat and leaves him be despite the fact that Stolas is a very dangerous demon, regardless.

## Powers and Abilities

**Dark Power:** Stolas wields an extraordinary dark power; a primeval and essence of cosmic balance from which they derive a myriad of abilities rooted to the source of darkness. In all its power, this fundamental element is a wellspring of shadow, encompassing realms both mundane and esoteric natures, which inherently opposes all things light. Through their mastery of darkness, Stolas commands extraordinary capabilities associated with the obscurity of the unknown, channeling and harnessing these dark forces to their advantage.

**Demonic Source:** Stolas has demonic powers, which can be obtained a number of different ways. Stolas may be a demonic being or have demonic ancestry, transform into a demon, channel or act as a vessel for a demon, have the power or soul of a demon, or mimic/steal powers from a demon.

**Demonic Divinity:** Stolas has the "Demonic" form of Divinity, and divine powers granting them an immense amount of raw power beyond the mundane, making Stolas a divine demonic being by nature and a dark divine being, a status which can be obtained by several different ways. Stolas can gain this type of divinity by having an dark divine ancestry (being born a demon-deity), being transformed into an divine demon either by another more powerful divine demon, a deity, higher being such as a transcendent demon, ascended transcendent demon, etc, Stolas has dominion and godhood in the divine and demonic aspects which makes them formidable in both worlds capable of overcoming all manner of demonic entities by sheer will alone. However, at times Stolas with the demonic divinity is more powerful or even weaker than other deities depending on the type of divine being they are in question, some may even equal original dark divinities due to both being connected to darker forces.

**Magical Divinity:** Stolas has the magical form of divinity and divine powers granting them an immense amount of raw power beyond the mundane, making Stolas a divine being by nature, which is a status that can be obtained several ways.

**Esoteric Power:** Stolas possesses an internal and personal force of esoteric and supernatural nature that lies dormant within them as it ultimately acts as the core of their otherworldly powers that by its unique and esoteric nature, can endow supernatural abilities with only their skill, personal power-level, imagination/knowledge, and/or morality to define the borders.

**Magic Lordship:** Stolas possesses absolute control over magic, granting them boundless and unrestrained authority over all facets connected to magic. This control extends to manipulating all elements associated with magic, including potions, spells, mystical artifacts, and magical entities. Stolas transcends the limitations of magical rules, possessing comprehensive knowledge of magic, the occult, the supernatural, and all related domains.

**Magic Power:** Stolas possesses an extraordinary magic power; a living/metaphysical element energy/force of of known existence that derives all its abilities from the source of all magic. In all its power, magical power, by its concept, can produce endless levels of energy that can come from mundane and/or esoteric/supernatural natures, granting Stolas a wide variety of powers over time or all at once, family heritage, mutation or given to a magic user. By harnessing the power of the magic, Stolas can be capable of extraordinary feats that relate to the forces of the magic, all of which can be utilized to Stolas' benefit.

**Mythical Power:** Stolas possesses an extraordinary mythological power; a living/metaphysical element energy/force of known existence that embodies any aspects of a mythological/magical beings. In all its power, mythical power, by its concept, can produce endless levels of energy that comes from mythical essence, a multipurpose power force that can be used to create and manipulate a lot of things like the life-force, elements and energies of attributed mythological/magical beings, etc., granting Stolas a wide variety of supernatural powers. By harnessing the power of the mythological/magical beings, Stolas can be capable of extraordinary feats that relate to the forces of all mythological/magical beings, all of which can be utilized to Stolas' benefit.

**Rule Transcendence:** Stolas possesses the unprecedented ability to transcend and surpass all laws and rules governing reality. Rather than merely breaking these rules, they effortlessly exist beyond them. For instance, if there exists a strict law limiting the attainment of a particular level of divinity, Stolas with this power can transcend those limitations and ascend to the status of an almighty being.

**Magician:** As an archetype, Stolas is a user of magic and or a powerful sorcerer or sorceress, necromancer, witch, warlock, wizard etc. and are humanoid-type beings that represents the art and study of magic. Some of these being are naturally born with magic while others gained magic through just the study of it to become magicians. This type of archetype however does not *just* extend humanoid-type beings alone, other types of supernatural species can also be magicians if they are practitioners of magic or possess magic naturally.

**Multipotent Power Wielder:** Stolas has two or more unrelated superpowers or power-sets. Such combined power sets may be the result of unusual, synergistic hybrid genetics. More commonly, these power combinations arise as the result of two (or more) distinctly separate inducement events, or from a combination of genetic inheritance and separate inducement events. Stolas is more commonly a character with an inherently superpowered physiology (angels, demons, werebeasts, vampires, etc.) who have subsequently taken-on one or more additional powersets. That being said, there is no shortage of normal folk who somehow found themselves elevated to multipowered beings.

## Myths and Legends

The 1583 edition of Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum gives the following description to Stolas:

*Stolas is a great prince, appearing in the forme of a nightraven, before the exorcist, he taketh the image and shape of a man, and teacheth astronomie, absolutelie understanding the vertues of herbes and pretious stones; there are under him twentie six legions.*

The 1904 translation of the Goetia by S. L. MacGregor Mathers describes Stolas similarly to the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, showing the latter's influence:

*The Thirty-sixth Spirit is Stolas, or Stolos. He is a Great and Powerful Prince, appearing in the Shape of a Mighty Raven at first before the Exorcist; but after he taketh the image of a Man. He teacheth the Art of Astronomy, and the Virtues of Herbs and Precious Stones. He governeth 26 Legions of Spirits; and his Seal is this, which is, etc.*

## Quotes

*"I may be an astronomer, but I do remain a demon. Do not for a moment ever take me lightly simply due to my profession." - Stolas.*