Vellus Tarelius

Vellus Tarelius is a Chthonian demon, often referred to as an abyssal demon. He was the unintelligent spawn of a greater Chthonian, but managed to gain sentience after devouring a man who attempted to kill him at Viggora's Folly as part of a slayer task. After his eyes were finally "opened", in a way, he left to discover his purpose, more about himself, and to find out what it means to be a Chthonian. This character is played by Raltin Avarr.

Becoming Aware
Vellus was once one of the more unintelligent spawn of the abyss, entering Gielinor through the rift at Viggora's Folly, until one day that fate decided to smile upon him, but although it first appeared a cruel hand had been given, what turned out to happen changed his life forever, for good or for ill. A young man by the name of Arthur Kellings, who had become quite a decent monster slayer in his youth, and seemed destined to become a slayer master one day, took upon himself his first abyssal demon slaying task. Arthur traveled forth to Viggora's Folly in Morytania, and began his assault on the abyssal spawn. While the young man was busy dealing with a pair of demons from the front, Vellus rounded a corner and sighted the man harming his companions. Aggression kicked in, and so too did the instinct to devour.

Vellus charged the man from behind, grabbing his arms and legs with his tentacles as his companions were being heavily, and sadly, mortally wounded. Arthur was not prepared for this sudden attack from behind, and his staff dropped as one of Vellus's tentacles whipped his wrist. Having disarmed the man, and with him being at mercy within Vellus's grip, the demon's jaws began to expand and started consuming Arthur; pushing the man down his gullet inch by inch with the tentacles. After it the consumption of Arthur's mind, body, and soul, Vellus suddenly felt things he had never felt before. Knowledge had at last been unlocked within his mind, thus he began to experience true emotions, thoughts, and the memories of the man whom he had just devoured.

No longer a mindless beast as many of his kin, he could no longer abide by their company, and having a view on life from a new perspective, he left the tower he lived in to find meaning in the knowledge he had absorbed from Arthur the slayer. While Arthur had given him knowledge of the world, what Vellus set out to understand was something far grander: who he was, and what he was meant to do.

The Learning Game
Vellus left the Slayer Tower for the woods outside, and used the memories of Arthur to find his way to Canifis, and as he made his way through the woods he spotted two vampyres talking to one another. He observed them for a few minutes, listening in, while the male vampyre began to feel as if there were eyes watching them. Vellus thought of an idea, and wandered off to the haunted woods to find suitable meal. He found what he had been searching for; a vampyre Juvinate that had fell into savagery from blood starvation, and quickly consumed him. The resulting screeches coming from the woods left the two vampyres who had been talking nearby nervous as a result.

Vellus returned soon after, wearing the guise of a vampyre Juvinate named Rethis, and used the knowledge he had absorbed from him to initiate conversation. Though they were suspicious, Vellus played the part of the Juvinate perfectly, and they lost interest in him as Vellus talked of the duties he was preforming for a Vyrelord. It was soon that a Zarosian vampyre by the name of Ren Draculea made his appearance, and began talking to the two. Several words caught Vellus's attention and he questioned Ren, and the vampyre gave a few answers regarding Zaros, the vampyres, and a brief mention of demons. Vellus instantly beseeched Ren to teach him of this "Zaros", and Ren accepted, telling Vellus to head for Port Phasmatus.

A Grim Feast
Days passed and Ren never showed, and so Vellus was left around the area of Port Phasmatys without anyone to meet with. As he grew ever more impatient and hungrier, he turned to the poor unfortunate ghostly residents of the port. He began picking off many ghosts one at a time; devouring them and absorbing what they were. When he was finished, he had consumed roughly ten of the ghostly populace, and having been fed up with waiting for Ren, he left the area. Even though he was still interested, nay, obsessed with learning what Ren knew, he decided to keep on the lookout for the man, and was undecided what course of action he should take: attempt to consume the vampyre or instead try to forge a healthy relationship. Regardless, Vellus continued an eating spree across Morytania; finding and devouring what monsters and local wildlife that he could find. This included the bestial Chthonian creatures called bloodvelds, as well as ghasts, giant snakes from the swamps, and even talon beasts. Through his impatience and hunger; Vellus grew both in body mass and power during this point in time, as he ate a bloody swathe throughout the dangerous swamplands of Morytania.

No More Waiting
Eventually, Vellus grew too impatient to wait any longer, and wanted information regarding Zaros immediately. He then set out to find a werewolf compatriot of Ren's named Cain. He discovered Cain's home and left a written message for him, asking him to meet him in a ruin outside Burgh de Rott. Cain complied and found Vellus there, and the two exchanged words for a while. After Vellus revealed what he was to Cain, the werewolf agreed that he would gather some old Zarosian tomes of Ren's and give them to Vellus. A few days later, they met at Cain's home and Cain gave the books to Vellus, though he was unable to read them; as they were written in the ancient language of Zaros's empire, which was ironically the language of the Chthonians, of which Vellus had little knowledge of.

Knowing the demon could absorb knowledge from those he ate, he told Vellus of a desert settlement of hidden Zarosians, near Jaldraocht pyramid, where one of them had to know the language. Vellus thanked Cain most graciously, and repaid him with knowledge that he had absorbed after devouring the Juvinate vampire: knowledge of the blisterwood tree; and what he would need in order to have even the smallest hope of accessing it. Vellus stated from his thankfulness that some day he might help Cain make a go for the tree, but until then he would need to gather his strength. So then it was that Vellus thanked Cain for his help, and left for the desert.

Ancient Knowledge
So it was the Vellus journeyed to the Kharidian desert, and followed the coast to where Cain had told him of. The first sign of settlement he came across was that of a loose collection of tents near an oasis, and the residents of the camp seemed similar to what Cain described, but on further inspection he found them to not be the people he was searching for; as they did not live near a pyramid. Vellus, before leaving what he later discovered to be the Bedabin camp, devoured one of their camels, then went along his way further down the coast. It was not long before he discovered a small settlement of dangerous looking men, which looked similar to the Bedabin he had discovered. To learn more, he changed his shape into that of the camel he had devoured, and wandered into the village.

As a camel, Vellus was able to easily enter the village without suspicion, and he quickly began his work. It was not long before he determined who the village elders were, and who the most knowledgeable of them would be. He watched them closely, and discovered two men who were fluent in the language he required knowledge of. Vellus chose the younger one, who was the man in line to take the place of the elderly priest when he died, and the demon stowed away in the man's home. It was late at night when the man came to his home, and readied himself for bed. As he laid down upon the cushions and fabric, he found to his horror that long purple tendrils snapped out from under the mattress, and held him down. Before he could scream, another tendril wrapped around his head; cover his mouth, it was then that Vellus emerged from under the bed, and expanded his mouth to consume the man; his muffled screams making little sound from behind the tendril gag.

It was that night that Vellus learned of the ancient language he needed; the language of his people, and of the magical gift that laid within the seemingly benign Jaldraocht pyramid. After consuming the man, Vellus quickly left for the pyramid, and found the altar of Zaros within. He humbled himself before it, and was gifted with the knowledge of the ancient magics; the knowledge of smoke, shadow, blood, and ice. Using further knowledge he had absorbed, Vellus traveled further into the pyramid, then looted a sarcophagus; finding an ancient staff buried with the remains, tipped with a symbol of Zaros, which he eagerly took, now viewing it as his new birthright as a demon of Zaros. Vellus then left the Jaldroacht pyramid, heading for areas unknown while he began studying the books that Cain had given him.

Personality
Vellus is new to the world, and has much to learn. He is open to any source of knowledge he can obtain, whether it is from a book, or devouring someone. While he can be agreeable enough to be around, often if you don't know what he is, he still has an instinct to devour others, and struggles with this often. He may be nice to some degree, but he has an intense desire to gain power, both for the sake of protecting himself and the furthering of his own agendas. He is prone to forming attachments to those who help him, but his desire for power and ever present appetite forces him to keep a distance from those he likes, lest he give in to temptation. His biggest goal is to learn more about the Chthonian race, so that he may learn more about what he was meant to be.

Appearance
Vellus is as he appears at the top, but through his continued devouring of hapless victims he has grown in size, and has become much more adept at manipulating his own flesh. Currently he can outsize a full grown human man, and is quite capable of swallowing one whole if he widened his jaws enough. Besides his true appearance, he can take on the form of any one of his victims; allowing him to blend in and fool others.

Abilities
As a Chthonian, he is capable of absorbing the knowledge and power of others by devouring them. Sadly, this not only means the destruction of the bodies of those whom he eats, but the destruction of their souls as well. He uses what he learns from devouring others to aid in his disguises; as being a Chthonian means he can take on the forms of those who have met their end to his jaws, and further manipulate his own body tissues. Standard to the abyssal demon spawn; he is a natural at teleportation, and his body, while he is in his abyssal form, can only be damaged by experienced slayers. Having devoured one such slayer to gain his sentience, he is seeking ways to defend himself from such individuals. As he continues to devour more people, his power will only grow, but so too does he gain certain weaknesses. A detailed list of advantages and weaknesses he has obtained can be found in the devoured victims section.

Devoured Victims
Here are a list of his victims, and the benefits he gained from devouring them.
 * Arthur Kellings: experienced human slayer, eaten to gain sentience. Has learned much about Gielinor as a whole from eating the slayer, and has gained knowledge on how to damage dangerous monsters.
 * Juvinate Rethis: vampyre juvinate who fell to blood starvation, and joined the savage vampyres in the haunted woods. Eaten to gain an understanding of vampyres, and as such he is now aware of the blisterwood tree. He has gained resilience (not immunity) to most weapon types, but now silver affects him much more potently now.
 * Morytanian Ghosts: eaten due to boredom from waiting for Ren Draculea, and due to hunger. He ate all manner of specters native to Morytania; from Phasmatys villagers, to ghasts, and even Mort'ton shades. He is now capable of turning ethereal, phasing through walls, sinking into the ground, and from the ghasts he can turn partly invisible, but he is now subject to druid pouches; which cause him to turn visible if he attacks and makes him vulnerable.
 * Morytanian wildlife: eaten due to hunger, not any lust for power or knowledge. The amount of wildlife he has eaten has helped him grow physically larger, and has given him new forms to help him blend in with or fool others.
 * Velaf: a werewolf villager of Canifis; the useless town drunk and fool, who never amounted to anything and was a general nuisance to the populace. Devoured to gain an understanding of werewolves, of Zamorak, and to both get rid of a problem for Canifis and to gain a werewolf form. As a result a wolfbane dagger can now temporarily lock him in a certain form and prevent him from shifting his flesh.
 * Desert wildlife and Harib: Harib was a member of the desert bandits, being groomed to take the place of the Zarosian priest village leader when he passed away, eaten to gain an understanding of the ancient Zarosian language, and ancient magics. The desert wildlife was eaten to gain disguises and out of hunger; crocodiles, vultures, jackals, camels, lizards, golden warblers, and desert wolves were eaten.

Aliases
Vellus often takes on the names and identities of those whom he has devoured, allowing him to infiltrate places that he chooses; aided by the knowledge he has absorbed from others.
 * Arthur Kellings: the slayer mage that Vellus first devoured to gain sentience
 * Juvinate Rethis: the blood starved vampyre Vellus encountered in the woods

Other Information

 * Despite identifying as male, being a Chthonian (all true demons are technically genderless), he can be of any gender depending on the form he decides to take.
 * He likes to read good books, any and every subject one can think of.
 * He chose his own name from what little he knew of his kind.