Lavven (lævːɛn)
Demon King
The first Ascended Demon King.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Lavven was born in a remote mountain village - one that was destroyed when he was young. It had gotten caught up in the conflict between two demon kings, and that early loss caused Lavven to hate war. This was a very unpopular opinion in the Demon Realm of the time, and made it difficult for him to find a new home while being unwilling to contribute to any military conflict.
Running while trying to survive on his own, Lavven slipped between the realms by mistake - ending up in the Human Realm. He was taken in by a priest who ran a small temple in a rural town, and Lavven was amazed by agriculture, animal husbandry, and other none war related advancements. None of these things existed in the Demon Realm - but they could, Lavven was sure that they could, if only their people could stop constantly warring with each other long enough to establish them.
After the priest passed away, Lavven began traveling, looking for a way back to the Demon Realm. He realized that, as much as he hated it, the only way he would be able to end the warring of his people quickly was to become the strongest of all of them. So he sought out honorable warriors known for helping the weak, wanting to learn only from those whose values matched his own - instead, he found a mercenary captain ready to knock some hard truths into him. Lavven learned not just combat and war tactics from the mercenary, but the reality that there was no such thing as an honorable war - no matter his intentions, or the results, war would always be war.
He and the mercenary captain also had a son, Feresti, who chose to take over the mercenary band after his human father's death of old age.
Lavven accepted these lessons with eventual grace, and chose to go to the Elven Realm before returning to his home. While most demons are incapable of magic, Lavven was determined to find some kind of advantage over his peers - and discovered he was able to wield magic. Though he would never match an elven mage, it was more than enough to give him an edge in combat.
Thus prepared, Lavven finally returned to the Demon Realm - and quickly found a small village to defend. He started to teach them the things he had learned in other realms - chiefly, agriculture. Using his magic and skill, Lavven captured several wild fruit and vegetable plants, and began his venture into breeding more docile versions through cross-hybridization with human plants. Meanwhile, he had the village begin to build up defenses while properly training their warriors for the eventual fights to come. At this time, he also sent word to his son, who joined Lavven in the Demon Realm along with the human mercenary band.
Over time, Lavven's town grew - either through others learning about his strange experiments with plants, or through conquered enemies joining under his banner. Soon, Lavven had successfully established his own kingdom - one influential enough to earn him an invitation to the Hundred Years Ball.
At this prestigious event, Lavven's wish to the gods was to gain the power to unite the Demon Realm - a wish that was controversial for its war-like intent at an event celebrating peace. However, Lavven had realized that even with his demonic lifespan, he would not be able to unite the entire Demon Realm in his lifetime - and feared there would be no successor with the drive to follow in his footsteps. And, as the wish did not technically violate the rules of the Ball, it was granted - and the Thousand Caves of Torment were created. If Lavven could survive them, his power would be increased ten fold, and he would have strength besides.
However, Lavven was not the only demon wishing to be much stronger - several kings entered the caves, and fought each other to the death while attempting to survive the Caves. Lavven was disgusted by the loss of life - recognizing in each opponent he faced talents and experience that could have been beneficial to the Demon Realm. He blamed himself for making a vague wish, and vowed to rectify the situation at the next Hundred Years Ball - which later gave rise to the less fatal Royal Trials.
After his Ascension, Lavven was able to make his dream of a United Demon Realm a reality in almost no time at all - a relatively short thousand years. In which time, he refined the process of Ascension to cause less death by including the Royal Trials - a series of fights that earned one the right to attempt Ascension. His experiments with agriculture bore quite literal fruit, and he soon turned his attention to animal husbandry - which met with less wide-scale success.
Lavven's reign, though short as the king of the United Realm, was marked by progress and stability. He was eventually succeeded by his granddaughter, Emerri, who carried on his dream of peace in the Demon Realm.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
To create a peaceful, more prosperous Demon Realm.
Social
Social Aptitude
Many current accounts of Lavven make him out to be a man of noble character, wise and steadfast in manner. He was the beacon lighting the way to a better Demon Realm, united in purpose.
In reality, he was a fairly surly individual dragging the Demon Realm into a peaceful era whether its denizens liked it or not. As much as he admired noble characters himself, he struggled to form a connection to any due to most of them finding Lavven difficult to get along with between his impatience for change and often rude behavior towards... well, everyone.
Speech
Lavven was a man of extremely colorful and creative insults and curses, and when he found himself in a situation where he could not express these, would be completely silent instead.
Current Status
a ghost waiting for a truly peaceful demon realm
Current Location
Species
Children
Pronouns
he/him/his
Gender
Trans Man
Eyes
four white with black sclera
Hair
long straight white hair
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
snow white skin with gray banded markings
Height
6'6"
Founded Settlements
I really like this! It's an interesting twist, the Demon who wants peace, but you still added a bit of, "realism," instead of just giving him the perfect happy ending. Great article.