Penn Almasy
Demonic Lunatic
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THE MYSTERY OF
M E P H I S T E
M E P H I S T E
An approximate look of what "Mr. Jackdaw"/Mephiste could have looked like in his "debut" within Ravenwood Manor.
A mysterious entity and antagonist of several Evolving Items. Seeking power, immortality, love, all of it, or none of it, no one is entirely sure who or what he is. He, she, they have appeared in countless forms (on both sides of the gender spectrum) and always follows a pattern: abducting a young girl, either a princess or someone of near equal importance, and possessing their body.
Seemingly able to even hop through dimensions as a spirit, he torments young women and teaches them dark arts and methods to their ends.
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He has (definitely) appeared in and plagued these stories(/items):
The "thing" that killed Mathilde's parents and stalked Mathilde.
May also be Mephiste's true/"ethereal" form.
May also be Mephiste's true/"ethereal" form.
Ravenwood Manor: Posing as Mr. Jackdaw, a friend of Mathilde's family, Mephiste lures the poor young woman to her fate as his...mistress(?!). He was also the one that killed Mathilde's parents and thus had her sent to the orphanage in the first place, either grooming her for a role she was never aware of or for other, equally insidious reasons. The most mysterious of the Mephiste incarnations, he takes Mathilde, but not as a vessel for himself. Yet.
The Rose Timeline, my nickname for this series, is a set of items following the chronicles of two women in love: Sainte Ciel and Princess Rosamund. To keep this simple, there are three "branches" in this timeline:
Agape is the Canon End to Ciel and Rosamund; Ciel falls in battle, but Rosamund vows to defeat Mephiste for her crimes. This leads directly into Rosamund's Revenge and much later into Rose Saga. In this timeline, Ciel is a Paladin.
Eros is the Bad End to this timeline. Consumed, and enslaved, by lust for the Princess, Ciel becomes a puppet to Mephiste, now most likely having completely possessed the Princess rather than merely duplicating her. In this timeline, Ciel is a Warrior.
Storge is the Good (but Not Canon) End. Ciel slays Mephiste, marries Rosamund, and they lived happily ever after. *yaaaawn* Thanatos fits basically the same way into Storge, so it won't be officially mentioned. In this timeline, Ciel is a Valkyrie.
The last moments of Mephiste circa Rosamund's Revenge.
Note the rose over the eye where Jackdaw's eyepatch would be (but reversed)...
Note the rose over the eye where Jackdaw's eyepatch would be (but reversed)...
Rosamund's Revenge starts some time after Sainte Ciel: Agape. Rosamund seeks out Mephiste to slay the demon herself, both in honor of and for Ciel. She does indeed "kill" her through a special sword/dagger, Aculeus, and Mephiste is engulfed in a sea of thorned vines and roses. Rosamund would live for the rest of her days, accomplished but alone, and her castle most likely becomes the school grounds that Rose Saga takes place in. This story, through its News Report banners, shows that Rosamund canonically has pointed ears, later mentioned in Rose Saga.
Briar-Mephiste, as she appears in "Rose Saga". Note the scar over the "rose eye".
She's waited a long time to be free since Rosamund dealt with her...
She's waited a long time to be free since Rosamund dealt with her...
Rose Saga is (currently) the last story in The Rose Timeline, branching down from Sainte Ciel: Storge. Rosamund and Ciel are reborn as Rosa and Celeste respectively. They both are attending a fancy boarding school built within an old castle, most likely the castle of Rosamund's kingdom. Rosa learns of the story of Sainte Ciel and pines for Celeste, but she is taken by a pale girl known as Briar. Later on, the two destined learn of their ancestors' fates and become the warriors from their story, hunting down Briar who they now know is Mephiste reincarnated (guess the roses didn't hold for too long...). They find Briar, crying her eyes out because she was lonely and only wanted to love and be loved (...wait what). She, too, tells a story...
Dark Heart tells the story of two sisters, Annise and Desmona, from a land seemingly far and away from the world of Ciel and Rosamund. The latter is consumed by hatred and ire (and power lust, that too) for the former and decides to try and kill her. She summons Mephiste and he directs her to take Annise's heart. This fails, so Mephiste takes Desmona's heart instead. Mephiste may have been in his ethereal form during this time or otherwise not sealed.
L'histoire de Mephiste: Finally, we get an item telling of Briar-Mephiste's story! The full story can be found here and reveals Rosamund's ancestor named Saffron, as well as a big piece of important Mephiste information: Mephiste was a sealed being!0-0-0
These are the stories in which Mephiste is IMPLIED to be in, but not explicitly confirmed:
Skyrim With Gay Dudes Hoarfrost Pass tells the tale of two men, an Imperial a Centurion named Cicero and a Nord Northman named Stieg. One searches for the kidnapped daughter of his emperor while the other is exiled from his village for his insatiable blood rage. The two meet, do battle at the Pass, and find the Princess locked away in a strange castle. Cicero brings the princess back and Stieg returns to his village, with the two meeting again, blah blah blah.The Princess was born, as the story notes by a servant, "...with a birthmark shaped like a cornflower, and a woman [the "Princess"] who returned from the Northlands who had no birthmark. She speaks of a darkness in the Princess' eyes that others do not notice." The real Princess is dead and buried in the snow while Mephiste lives comfortably as the Emperor's daughter. A flower theme reoccurs, as it did The Rose Timeline, and its connection to Mephiste (and royalty, in fact; see the Wiki page on the flower).
Pieces of You is the tale of a yandere-turned-yangire who tries to murder people, first as a human and then as a malevolent spirit/demon, her own form twisted by her actions. As I noted in another thread, Mara (the main character) learns how to possess people from the demons in Hell, and THEY learned it from someone who sounds an awful lot like Mephiste... Additionally, at the end she's taken to the head honcho of these demons who begins to tell his story... right as L'histoire de Mephiste begins. Still technically not confirmed, but definitely learning towards "he's in it".An interesting note for Pieces of You is that the name of the "protagonist", Mara, is most likely derived from an ancient (and infamous...) Buddhist demon of the same name, known to try and draw those on the path of enlightenment away through methods of temptation and equally devious means.
"The white rose turned black on her chest"?
That sounds pretty familiar...
That sounds pretty familiar...
The Prince's Rose is, at a glance, a dark (and sexy) retelling of The Beauty and the Beast, except the Beauty instead slays the Beast and becomes the leader of a ghostly army. Like with The Rose Timeline, roses feature prominently in the story: white roses in the beginning, red at the end. One of the biggest hints to The Rose Timeline and its correlation to this item is this: when the Maiden plucks a white rose from the broken sword in the forest, she places it on her bosom and the rose turns black as soon as it touches her skin. Additionally, the Prince's sword has a "gilded rose handle," and so far only one other sword has shown this feature: Aculeus, the sword of Princess Rosamund's bloodline. Hmm...0-0-0
Here is a mention of items that are tied to The Rose Timeline but aren't actually related to Mephiste himself:
Royal Rose Wedding is the resolusion of the Sainte Ciel: Storge story. Rosamund and Ciel wed, now happy together, can settle down and rule the kingdom together.2015's Black Friday sale reveals a number of new items bearing the Rosamund and Briar color motifs, belonging in fact to several figures from the kingdoms of Ossidia of the dark ylves and Aurelia of whatever the hell Rosamund and Saffron are (sun ylves?).
From left to right: Deity, Handmaiden, Regent, Consort, Sorcerer.
From left to right: Deity, Handmaiden, Regent, Consort, Knight.
Some interesting notes about these items: the Handmaidens of each kingdom bear the colors of their respective person in the Rose Timeline (Ossidian = Briar | Aurelian = Rosa/mund). And while Ossidian's Deity is clad in silver and navy offblack and silver(?!) colors, everyone else in Ossidian barring the Handmaiden bear colors of gold and warm off-white, very odd for a supposed kingdom of the moon. The Sorcerer of Ossidian may be the very Sorcerer that warned Briar to not mess with the emissary Saffron. Knight of Aurelian's description ("Grieve not for the fallen rose." wink may be referring to Ciel, one of two "roses" in the overarching story.
Spellsword of Truth is an item seemingly unrelated to either the Aurelian or the Ossidian items, but a look in the tags reveal its connection to Mephiste (and given the item's motif of Briar's colors, the PRISM-style roses, and being bound in chains...). Another form of Mephiste, maybe? His penchant of kidnapping princesses would fall in line with a draconic lineage, stereotypical as it is.
Scholar of the Roses is another lore-based item from the Black Friday sale. Though bearing no description (and thus not even a hint), the name and design implies a student, perhaps at the same school Rosa and Celeste attend, also studying the stories of Sainte Ciel and all the spiel surrounding her and Rosamund.
Curse of Kingdoms is, like the Spellsword of Truth, released on the Black Friday sale. However, nothing at or in the item hints it to be related to Mephiste; nonetheless, it is still related to the two kingdoms, perhaps a Grim Reaper for the ylves who die (the description certainly implies that with its message of equality in death).0-0-0
[EDIT: Update on 8/30]
A fresh perspective on Mephiste's/Briar's MO:
Okami Ameras
The power of love is an amazing thing.
I don't dismiss the possibility that Briar/Mephiste was telling the truth when Rosa and Celeste confronted her/him. It is a possability that s/he is telling the truth.
Think about it. He's a power seeker, right? And he had kidnapped Rosamund, to posses her, take her image, heart, soul, whatever.
Then he sees his prey being rescued, so she/he decides "If I can't have her, no one can!" And goes to kill her, but then the Paladin, Ceil, does something he does not expect; pushes her aside and takes the blow for her, and her love for Rosamund drives him away in the form of a flash of pure white light.
Later on, Rosamund comes back with a bone to pick, and slays him/her. From the ending of Agape, it is implied that Rosamund trained or went off train to do this when she cut off her rose-colored locks.
So he ends up alone. Alone, bound by roses, with one even poking out of his eyeball. Thinking about what force those two possessed that could have foiled him.
After all, only Rosamund and Ciel have had a 'happy' ending. Skyrim with Gay Dudes Hoarfrost Pass, kinda, but /she still got away with it. Only Rosamund and Ciel had successfully foiled him in all of his schemes.
He's left to think. And think. and think. Until he gets free of the roses. Eventually, he comes to realize that maybe Love is what that force was. So he sets out to take love by force. And thus, over the events of the other EI's, tries to find Love-- and after a while realizes that a soulless husk of a 'mistress' doesn't love very well (Ravenwood manor) a still beating heart, while powerful, doesn't love you, (Dark Heart) and it's hard to get love from one who fears you. (Hoarfrost Pass)
So he/she finally gives up and tries finding love the hard way; earning it, not taking it by force. Thus, we get the events of the Rose Saga. S/he finds Ciel and gets into a relationship with her, and then who shows up but Rosa! Who promptly steals away the one who s/he had been trying to woo; thus leading to the tears on the floor.
I don't dismiss the possibility that Briar/Mephiste was telling the truth when Rosa and Celeste confronted her/him. It is a possability that s/he is telling the truth.
Think about it. He's a power seeker, right? And he had kidnapped Rosamund, to posses her, take her image, heart, soul, whatever.
Then he sees his prey being rescued, so she/he decides "If I can't have her, no one can!" And goes to kill her, but then the Paladin, Ceil, does something he does not expect; pushes her aside and takes the blow for her, and her love for Rosamund drives him away in the form of a flash of pure white light.
Later on, Rosamund comes back with a bone to pick, and slays him/her. From the ending of Agape, it is implied that Rosamund trained or went off train to do this when she cut off her rose-colored locks.
So he ends up alone. Alone, bound by roses, with one even poking out of his eyeball. Thinking about what force those two possessed that could have foiled him.
After all, only Rosamund and Ciel have had a 'happy' ending. Skyrim with Gay Dudes Hoarfrost Pass, kinda, but /she still got away with it. Only Rosamund and Ciel had successfully foiled him in all of his schemes.
He's left to think. And think. and think. Until he gets free of the roses. Eventually, he comes to realize that maybe Love is what that force was. So he sets out to take love by force. And thus, over the events of the other EI's, tries to find Love-- and after a while realizes that a soulless husk of a 'mistress' doesn't love very well (Ravenwood manor) a still beating heart, while powerful, doesn't love you, (Dark Heart) and it's hard to get love from one who fears you. (Hoarfrost Pass)
So he/she finally gives up and tries finding love the hard way; earning it, not taking it by force. Thus, we get the events of the Rose Saga. S/he finds Ciel and gets into a relationship with her, and then who shows up but Rosa! Who promptly steals away the one who s/he had been trying to woo; thus leading to the tears on the floor.
It's certainly worth a read, and it has me thinking of a semi-solid timeline for these items!
The original post:
AKA "and who the ******** is you"
Mephiste, for those who don't keep up with R/EI lore (I don't blame you if you don't), is a recurring antagonist in some REIs. So far, he's officially appeared/been named in four of them (listed in canonical order):
...something doesn't seem right. All this ruckus-huckus...for some poon? Really??? No, I don't buy it at all.
No, there's an ulterior motive to what Mephiste/Jackdaw/Briar did, or else everything in Ravenwood Manor wouldn't have happened (unless my theory of "he needs a new body every so often" is true).
What is going on with this character and why is s/he so inconsistent?
Mephiste, for those who don't keep up with R/EI lore (I don't blame you if you don't), is a recurring antagonist in some REIs. So far, he's officially appeared/been named in four of them (listed in canonical order):
- Sainte Ciel (Agape): Killing Ciel because Rosamund wouldn't love him/her (thats_bullshit_but_i_believe_it.jpg) and leaving Rosamund, uh... thirsty, I guess?
Rosamund's Revenge: Gets shanked by Rosamund's sword Aculeus. Curiously, a single rose goes over her/his right eye, the same injury that would appear again in...
Ravenwood Manor: ...Jackdaw's face mod, knowing now that this is the same Mephiste of the Ciel stories. Presumably, s/he torments Little Miss Ravenwood because s/he needs a new female body, one that s/he eventually takes (Possessed Soul)...
Rose Saga: ...and becomes Briar, seducing Celeste/Ciel away from Rosa/mund before being magically healed away to also have her own story.
Dark Heart: Some time before or after all this, Mephiste torments the two sisters Desmona and Annise, taking the former's heart in the progress.
...something doesn't seem right. All this ruckus-huckus...for some poon? Really??? No, I don't buy it at all.
No, there's an ulterior motive to what Mephiste/Jackdaw/Briar did, or else everything in Ravenwood Manor wouldn't have happened (unless my theory of "he needs a new body every so often" is true).
What is going on with this character and why is s/he so inconsistent?
