Dominions
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But as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention—The Talking Heads
NAME: Abdosir [Abdiel: עֲבְדִּיאֵל].
CALLED: Σιδών; Ṣaydā-ba'al; Brahmarāk the Taker; Sidon Philopater; the Stranger.
ALIAS: Though he rarely bothers with false identities—he has enough names already—his legal documentation states his name as Dr. Stephen Leventis, PhD.
AGE: Indeterminate; antediluvian. Appears to be in his mid 30s.
SPECIES: Greater Demon.
SEX: Observably male.
OCCUPATION: Professor of theology; academic.
DEPICTIONS: Revered by the Canaanites and Phoenicians; described in Judeo-Christian sources as a demon in service to Lucifer.
PROVINCE: Pride.
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil.
NATURE: Conqueror.
DEMEANOUR: Hierophant.
ORIENTATION: It's doubtful that the idea of a sexual relationship has ever crossed his mind.
HEIGHT: Over six feet.
WEIGHT: 210 lbs.
EYES: The red-tinged brown of a desert sunset, sometimes flashing like a lambent flame.
HAIR: Dark brown, the colour of dust rising from a quarry; short with a slight curl.
SCENT: A honeyed spice, like that of figs and crocus blossoms, over an underlying twang of charcoal.
BUILD: Substantially masculine, broad in the shoulders, geometrically wholesome.
FEATURES: Smooth and unlined, with a square jaw and close-cropped facial hair. When compared to antiquarian busts, his countenance is reminiscent of Seleucus I Nicator.
VOICE: A deep, resounding baritone.
ACCENT: Vaguely foreign—perhaps Greek or Levantine in origin, tempered through formal schooling attended in the United Kingdom.
PERSONALITY: Imperious, ambitious, proud, nostalgic, inherently curious, cryptic, insatiable, slightly unhinged.
SUFFERING: Something not unlike separation anxiety from being away from the pit and, more specifically, his master; he is also in a transitional period, experiencing what he calls a "mid-immortality crisis". He cannot taste food or drink, and eats only to keep up appearances.
KNOWLEDGES: History, theology, alchemy, the occult, several dead languages. He is a polished and erudite speaker, with personable charm and infectious charisma.
LOVES: The acquisition of power, the subjugation of mortals, the subservience of other demons, chess, feeding pigeons, driving cars, playing the piano.
LOATHES: Being trapped on the mortal plane, any technology he can't understand (i.e. all of it), angels, Lucifer (most people hate their bosses).
The true form of the Stranger has been attested in numerous historical texts, the oldest of which are considered apocryphal. In the earliest Phoenician sources, in which he was revered as a minor deity associated with mariners, he was said to have the head of a bull. We have the oldest authenticated mention of him in Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1583), in which he is described as follows:
"ABDOSIR, a great lord of the plains of ash, by whose light the daemons navigate the wastes; he was tall to the height of two men, armed and helmed in the fashion of a diadoch, and from his head fell the tails of whips in place of hair. He was overall crowned with a pair of great, sweeping horns, and the light in his eyes was as forged bronze, as though coins had been set over them to pay the ferryman. The skin of the demon was like that of fired clay, rough and brittle—and when shattered by force, it was revealed that there was naught within him but air and darkness, which would blow out from his wounds like a furnace wind."
TIMELESS: There are different flavors of immortality, and in the Stranger's case, it is punitive; he was there at the beginning of things, and so he may be there at the end of them. Though he does not age, his form is susceptible to physical damage, enough of which would return his soul to the Pit. It is possible that a being of sufficient power could destroy him outright, or, in preventing his escape from the mortal plane, detain his essence in a vessel or phylactery.
ABILITIES: As a pride demon, his influence over mortals directly corresponds to their self-image. To convince a mortal that they have a greater destiny is to assuage their vanity; the Stranger's influence engenders frustration, ambition and betrayal. Though he has formidable physical capabilities commensurate with his age, he is relatively non-confrontational and prefers to wage emotional and spiritual battles. He presents himself as aloof, benign and ultimately harmless—however, those susceptible to his charms may find their souls in jeopardy.
OTHERS: As he was created to serve before the Fall, his devotion to LUCIFER, called SAMAEL, fills that void, representing his fear, failure, and dependence. The politics of the Pit are byzantine, and while he may make common cause with other demons, he is just as likely to be at odds with them. The Stranger fears the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph, whom he refers to as the ANCIENT OF DAYS; he fears no angel but MICHAEL, called the TAXIARCH. Mortals of particularly ardent faith may be able to resist him, and even theoretically exorcise him from the earthly plane. His views on other supernatural creatures are varied or undeveloped, but he has had dealings with CHANGELINGS and VAMPIRES in the past.
