Elise Kythera Zaavan

"Beauty is power too, and can strike swifter than any sword."
— Elise Kythera Zaavan

Archdevil of Envi

Elise is a deadly predator who dwells in a shuttered, lightless palace, deep within the seven hell. She was once the mistress of a powerful noble house, until the bite of a vile spider-god transformed her into something utterly inhuman, yet still beautiful—an arachnoid creature, drawing unsuspecting prey into her web. Elise now feeds upon the naive and the faithless, and there are few who can resist her seductions.

Characteristics

Mental traits

Elise loves to play with her pray, to manipulate and to act indirectly, often called the parasite monarch, as she is known to force her prisoner to spy for her thanks to spiders, and other bugs parasitizing their mind. Thanks to this, Elise maintains an important web of spies all around the world and make sure that her influence continues to grow. Elise also loves to seduce, a token of her past, but legend tells of her, coming into TOriel into her human guise, to seduce and manipulate nobles of all kinds, affirming her seductive power.

History

The Lady Elise was born centuries ago to House Kythera, one of the oldest bloodlines of the Orrin civilization, and swiftly learned the power of beauty to influence the weak. When she came of age, she entertained the courtship of Berholdt, heir to House Zaavan. Their union was opposed by many, since it would strengthen Kythera at Zaavan’s expense—but Elise worked hard to beguile her intended husband, and manipulated her detractors to secure a betrothal. Berholdt Zaavan, remained the face of his house, but it was clear who was in charge. As time passed, his resentment grew. One evening, over a typically frosty dinner, Berholdt revealed he had poisoned her wine, and demanded Elise withdraw from society and allow him to take up the reins of power. Knowing he would have the antidote about his person, Elise played the role of a remorseful wife, weeping and begging her husband’s forgiveness. Just as it seemed he might be convinced, she snatched up a knife and plunged it into his heart. Even with the antidote, Elise was bedridden for weeks… With her husband death, Elise saw a path to greater power. She met often with the most prominent members, trading influence and thwarting her rivals in a complex web of tangled schemes. With the wealth of two houses, there were not many who could oppose her, and she became even more adept at persuading others to do her bidding. Eventually, she learned of an object that held great power, rumored to have been hidden long ago on a remote island. Elise found a desperate, debt-ridden captain willing to bear her and a handful of devotees to the said island. They came ashore on a beach of ashen sand, and were tormented by spiteful wraiths as they searched in vain for the lost vault. But Elise found something she had not anticipated. A creature of the long-forgotten past had made its home in the lightless depths beneath the city. This bloated, chitinous monster was the archdevil Vilemaw, also known as the parasite lord, and it erupted from the darkness to devour the intruders, before sinking its fangs into Elise’s shoulder. She fell, howling and convulsing as the venom wrought terrible changes upon her body. Her spine rippled with undulant motion, and arachnoid legs pushed out from her flesh. Finally, breathless with the agony of transformation, Elise turned to find her new master looming above her. An unspoken understanding passed between them in that moment, and she scuttled back to the beach, untroubled by the Isles’ spirits as she weaved in and out of the twisted treeline. Some weeks later, when her ship arrived back in the dead of night, Elise had regained her human form… though she was the only living thing left aboard. Elise once again took up residence in the neglected halls of House Zaavan, carefully cultivating a reputation as a seductive yet unreachable recluse. Few have ever guessed her true nature, yet fanciful rumors abound—wild tales of her ageless beauty, and a terrifying, voracious creature said to lair in the bowels of her dilapidated, dust-wreathed palace. Over the years, Elise brought many souls back to her master and grew her influence in the Orrin kingdom. On her path to an ever greater power, she started to be jealous of her master position, especially as humans were getting suspicious of her ageless body. Soon, she gathered many of her devotee and sent them to storm the island, home to a portal to her master palace. During the conflict, Vilemaw contacted Elise, knowing she was the traitor, but Elise used her charm and convinced him she was on his side, coming back to him, and fighting alongside him against her own devotee. The two of them easily got rid of the army Elise previously sent, the spider lady using this occasion to gain her master's trust. More than a servant and ally to the archdevil, she became his concubine. With Vilemaw trust earned, Elise finally betrayed him, sinking a dagger through his heart when his back was turned, becoming the new archdevil, the Spider-Queen.