Duchess

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## The Duchess

The **Duchess** was a minor character in ***Ascent: Trials of Vore***. She was a "pig woman" of unknown origin who's history prior to her arrival on the 2nd Floor of the Tower was unknown, aside from her having gained a following of minions.

Her first and only appearance was in *Floor 2 - Mirror/Mirror*, of which she was a minor antagonist. Despite seeming to be an almost immovable force, she was defeated and consumed - along with the rest of her cohort - by Michelle L'Instar.

## Appearance

At the time of her being on the 2nd Floor, the Duchess was a hulk of a woman with a pig's snout and heeled trotters. Despite her bulkiness and notable hips, her exact size was unclear, though much of whatever size she did have seemed to be backed up by her strength.

For clothing, she dressed akin to a barbarian, seeming to wear nothing but a leather bra and loincloth. She also appeared to carry a giant cleaver - almost as big as she was - at all times.

## Personality

The Duchess was a brutal, malicious individual, seeming willing to tear anyone in her way to pieces, and only really paying attention to those she considered either a rival or a challenge, considering others to be irrelevant, such was her arrogance and overconfidence in her own abilities. She was also somewhat quick witted, coming out with a great many "jokes" in her general manner of speaking, but was quick to anger - especially when someone threw those same witticisms back in her face.

In spite of her imposing demeanor, she seemed to have a certain amount of leadership skill - though whether this was just through might and ruling by fear alone was unclear - holding enough genuine sway over her followers that they would laugh when she cracked a joke and fell into uncomfortable silence when something didn't go her way.

## History

### Background

The Duchess's actions prior to her arrival on the 2nd Floor are largely unknown, but by that time she had already accrued a "small army" of minions, and had some gained enough of a reputation that Queen Mirror noted her presence. ***(Floor 2 - Mirror/Mirror)***

### ***Ascent: Trials of Vore***

#### 2nd Floor

The Duchess would first appear to Ashley Gray and Syl on the 2nd Floor, on the evening of the full moon, having traveled to Chessboard Castle for the 2nd Floor's trial. She would already be in the throne room of the castle at the time of Ashley and Syl's last minute arrival - accompanied by her entourage of followers - alongside Alice Little, a tanuki, a little catgirl and Michelle L'Instar. Mirror and Mirror greeted the group, welcoming them to the trial and setting their task: To brave the Morning Wood and catch the Jabbercock – one of the kingdom’s most feared beasts – alive, the name garnering reactions from some present. Regardless, the first to capture the creature would be allowed passage to the next floor. There was no penalty for failure, but it wouldn't be without risk, as the forest sat beyond the city walls and wasn't covered by the predation ban - something the Duchess seemed almost maliciously happy about - though Mirror seemed hopeful - with questionable sincerity - that everyone would play fair.

Mirror would transport the group to the snowy outskirts of Morning Wood, the red dragon Mirror left in charge. The dragon Mirror opted to decide who would enter the forest first by testing everyone’s strength through attacking her, and assigning them numbers based on response. When it came to the Duchess' turn - seemingly acting on her entire group's behalf - she would arrogantly ask Mirror, who seemed to have heard of her, if she wanted to be struck somewhere less soft than her belly, her group laughing - the dragon shouting at her to just get on with it - before attacking with a powerful blow from her giant cleaver - earning a score of 9 that the Duchess nor her followers were entirely happy with. Once all had numbers, Mirror revealed that the lowest numbers – the weakest – were to enter the trial first, something the Duchess would be very vocally irritated by. She would be among the last to enter, some time after Ashley and Syl, but before Alice and Michelle.

The Duchess and her crew would next be seen deeper into Morning Wood, where the trees were more densely packed, having encountered Michelle and pursued her. The battle between them would find its way to Ashley and Syl, forcing the duo to hide in a bush to keep out of the way as the two arrived in their clearing, the Duchess ordering her minions to surround Michelle.

Despite visceral threats of slow, brutal consumption from the Duchess, Michelle would remain composed, even managing several impatient jabs of her own that would serve to enrage the Duchess into ordering her followers into a full-frontal attack, at which point Michelle blurred into motion, dodging all attacks launched at her and binding each attacker with the strong, golden thread of butchers’ twine, which she would quickly use to also cut the Duchess’ cleaver cleanly in two. The Duchess, fearing for her life, would drop her broken weapon and flee – utterly outmatched – but was rapidly entwined, as her mooks were. Michelle encroached on her, not letting her escape. She would then unleash a burning aura, suffusing all with a red glow and unnatural heat. Michelle’s suit would turn into a chef’s outfit with a burst of flame, and the cook welcomed her soon-to-be prey to her Hell’s Kitchen. She lifted the trapped Duchess from the floor, and with a few flicks of her kitchen knife, the Duchess' limited clothes would be torn to shreds.

One by one, as the demon woman used her abilities to restrain the Duchess and force her mouth open, the pig-woman’s minions would be lifted and stuffed down their leader’s throat despite her pleading cries and moans. And her rear, once Michelle decided she wasn't working fast enough, flipping the pig over for ease of access. The group would dwindle as they vanished inside, struggling inside and being absorbed one after the other by their unwilling boss - belly growing and shrinking with each meal. Soon, the Duchess would be alone, entire crew subsumed within.

Exhausted, she would beg Michelle for her life, but the chef would quiet her, summoning golden spit rods to pierce her orifices, a fire to turn her over, and a floating orb of brown, bubbling liquid to baste her in. For several minutes, she would cook the still live and terrified porcine – smell both delicious and horrifying – but eventually brought things to an end. The rods would be replaced by a gold platter beneath the cooked woman’s form, surrounding her with vegetables and forcing an apple into her mouth. Further knife flicks would relieve her of her limbs, popping off without a drop of blood spilled – only darkness visible at the cuts. And then the Duchess would be no more, as Michelle feasted on her with loud, hungry slurps. After all was done, there would be no trace of her left, not even the platter. ***(Floor 2 - Mirror/Mirror)***

## Abilities

* **Strength:** Though not especially unique, the Duchess possessed significant body strength that was enough to allow her to carry a giant butcher's cleaver that was almost as large as her, as well as rank her highly in the dragon Mirror's test, giving her a score of 9.

## Equipment

### Former Equipment

* **Cleaver:** A giant butcher's cleaver almost as large as the Duchess herself was. Not much else is known of its capabilities, but it was powerful enough - combined with the Duchess' own strength - to a land a powerful yet ultimately harmless blow against the red dragon Mirror.

### Detailed Record

* *Duchess' Followers* (at least 10 individuals) - 2F [Oral & Anal - No apparent gains.] ***(Floor 2 - Mirror/Mirror)***

## Relationships

### Affiliations

* **Duchess' Followers‏‎:** This was the group of at least 10 followers that the Duchess lorded over, an apparently brutal gang - much like their leader - who followed her commands without question, though it is unclear whether it was out of fear or genuine loyalty. Regardless, she seemed to have held genuine sway over them, as they would laugh when she cracked a joke, cheer in support of her, and fell into uncomfortable silence when something didn't go her way. Regardless of her leadership abilities, though, the Duchess' leadership doomed all of them, as they were all trapped by Michelle L'Instar and stuffed inside their leader to be absorbed as "stuffing" for the demon's latest meal.

### Enemies

* **Michelle L'Instar:** The Duchess may have seen Michelle as an upstart punk - nothing more than annoyance - who might momentarily sate her appetite. Obviously, this was an incorrect assumption, and following through on it to attack the woman cost both the Duchess and her followers dearly. While the Duchess' view of Michelle was almost dismissive, Michelle's opinion of the pig woman seemed to be no more positive, viewing her as obnoxious at best, and not even particularly tasty without special care for preparation.

### Others

* **Queen Mirror:** Most or all of the Duchess' interactions with Mirror were with her red half - exclusively in her dragon form, to whom she acted with a blase arrogance. When it was the Duchess' turn to test her strength for the 2nd Floor trial, she would ask Mirror, who had heard of her, if she wanted to be struck somewhere harder than her belly, unafraid of the overseer despite the power gap, probably the result of overconfidence. Mirror, for her part, was unamused, and the Duchess' blow ultimately did not harm her. The Duchess would later also show irritation at the dragon's decision to allow the weakest entrants to go first.