Gephis'vros

Gephis'vros, or Palaestrio Casca Sceledrus, is a lesser demon whose corporeal form is trapped in the Abyss. In the Sixth Age, Rosaline Haines raised, and thus allowed, a manifestation of him onto Gielinor so that he may serve her—and by extension—the Godless.

He is currently alive and roleplayed by Ptolemy Dean.

Gielinor
Mortal Encounters

Early Sixth Age, circa year 1

Gephis'vros was unlike his avernic brothers and sisters. Once a slave, he rose above and beyond his lowly status by making use of his liege's own legalities, twisting clauses and stipulations to suit his own purposes. Gephis'vros bound his master beneath the same writ other chthonians like him used on their slaves, and then slew him once the opportunity arose, thereby becoming Palaestrio Casca Sceledrus—a self-proclaimed title of his own creation—and made master of a thousand avernic slaves.

By the time Zaros won over twelve Dukes and their legions, Gephis'vros had cultivated his own slaves into a sizable force that was more than capable of holding their own against any of the other noble-bred demons. Over the centuries, both he and his forces made forays against his enemies in order to gain power and thralls, while selling his services to the highest bidder. Of Zaros' expanding empire, Gephis'vros cared little... until Zamorak materialized out of nowhere and laid the world to waste with his rebellion.

Everything changed following Zamorak's victory on Infernus. Despite his race, Gephis'vros received no love from his avernic kin; for every slave he owned, ten more rose up against him. By the turn of the second decade, Gephis'vros was without slaves or titles—a far cry from what he had once been—and very likely facing execution, or worse... so he fled.

Gephis'vros found refuge in the Abyss, away from the surviving chthonians, where he spent much of his idle existence trying to devise a method to break free of his newfound prison. Over time, and after many unsuccessful attempts, he discovered he could manifest copies of himself, over great distances even, but only by using significant portions of his power. As such, Gephis'vros poured every ounce of his time into creating a sort of power source to use in place of his own energy.

Over many agonizing years, Gephis'vros' research yielded only failures, but fortunately for him a sorcerous being materialized before him from out of nowhere. Ptolemos, he learned, sought an abyssal creature for his own nefarious purposes. In pursuit of his own equally nefarious goals, Gephis'vros made a proposal. Through much negotiating the two struck a deal: Ptolemos provided Gephis'vros with information and a few souls in his possession while the latter provided a creature of his own design: one part abyssal, and the rest of his own essence—he kept that detail to himself. Once the transaction was complete, Gephis'vros sought a return but still lacked the necessary fuel to travel the distance. Fortunately for him, though, he needn't worry longer.

Somewhere tucked away among the sand dunes of the Kharidian Desert, Rosaline Haines performed a demonic summoning ritual with a blood sacrifice. It wasn't the first demonic ritual she'd performed, but it was her most difficult to date; hellrats, imps, and implings were rudimentary creatures when compared to what she was hoping to raise next: Gephis'vros, a lesser demon whose name she had found scribbled as a footnote in a tome taken as insurance from the Forinthry Ossuary's library. Some would have called her reckless, dangerous even, to attempt such a feat without the proper training and supervision. Rosaline would have told them to mind their own damn business. It was her life, after all; and her choices, and nobody in this world or the next had any right to tell her what she could or couldn't do.

In all her haste, Rosaline never bothered to consider just what kind of consequences an act could have on her life.

Gephis'vros was brought onto Gielinor by Rosaline, his shrew eyes easily taking note of the errors within the bindings of the summons; simple mistakes that should have cost the woman her life. Fortunately for her, Gephis'vros had a different idea. He had always been fond of negotiating with others, and this time was no different. Just like he did with the sorcerer, Gephis'vros and Rosaline came to terms with an agreement: for the act of sparing her life and those of her unborn children, Gephis'vros would receive the soul of her firstborn following the conclusion of their pact.



Kharidian Days Early Sixth Age, circa year 1

Ever an obedient servant, Gephis'vros didn't argue when given his first objective: To ingratiate himself with the destitute and the infirm of Al Kharid by using whatever means possible. Thus, Palaestrio the Pyromancer was conceived, who immediately set up shop just outside the desert city's walls. Using his knowledge of magic and fire, Gephis'vros set out to astound, bedazzle, and otherwise stupefy the easily impressed and desperate.

Once word reached him of a crusade being led against the Menaphites, Gephis'vros extended an invitation toward the Saradominists in the city, offering to craft them demonsbreath—a fire bomb recipe of his own invention—in exchange for new facilities to practice his art, additional manpower to help with the cultivation of necessary ingredients, and gold enough to cover the cost of shipping his wares to and from his place of work.

When the Saradominists refused to meet his demands, and with the change of leadership in Al Kharid, Gephis'vros withdrew deeper into the desert to carry out and fulfill his remaining objectives. He regained contact with his master and cemented an alliance between her and the ruler of Misca, Kudret Tezri; a marriage of convenience, for both the Kharidian and Rosaline stood to gain much from the union and little to lose. The three began working in tandem to distribute demonsbreath and profit from illegal trafficking of the magical substance, each using what they gain for their own purposes.