Malphas Goetia

"Warning! The following character page contains spoilers for Witch of Flowers" Malphas Goetia is the initial antagonist of Witch of Flowers and is the Avian only surviving Ex-Lucifer of Hell. Skilled in architecture and building creation, he's the creator of Borstal Academy and the designer of Stolas' dimension, The Infinite Library.

In a desperate attempt to stop the destruction of all life by the Demon Lord Ba'al, Malphas used his creation abilities to seal Ba'al in a body prison stuck in the Borstal Academy. Here, he unwillingly works with the Archangel Michael to find a way to permanently destroy Ba'al.

Appearance
Malphas is a crow Avian, having dark, feather-like hair and dark wings to match. His hands darken at his fingers which end in traditional Avian talons, painted gold. He wears gold hoop earrings and a pair of gold glasses. Beneath them and hidden behind his hair are numerous scars given to him by his brother Halphas. He wears a long, sleek jacket mimicking a priest's robes. The jacket is trimmed with gold fabric and has patterns stitched on to resemble his sigil. Underneath the jacket, Malphas wears a slim black sweater and dark denim jeans.

In his eldritch form, he towers over the average building. His skin has become rough and worn, his face becoming skeletal and all features replaced by a massive glowing eye. His robe becomes more priest like, but is torn and split into three sections at the back. His legs have become more bird-like, covered in torn tights and a three toed crow's foot coming out from underneath. He has four hands, mimicking bird feet as well, two almost always being held in constant prayer. His fur collar has been replaced with a writhing swarm of crows. A golden halo is embedded in his back, resembling a nimbus.

Personality
Malphas is sly and reserved, rarely letting anyone know how he truly feels. He tends to play up a smug, know-it-all type attitude, giving himself the high ground even in situations where he's in danger. If someone were to get close to him, his real personality becomes known, which is strikingly similar to his fake personality, but a little bit more compassionate.

Malphas dislikes anything which is an inconvenience, preferring to live a lazy life in a pursuit of fun. This includes fighting, preferring to convince others to fight in his stead or simply to avoid combat until his opponent becomes tired or too enraged to continue. In Mal's eyes, a hedonistic life is a utopian life.

Malphas has an appreciation for the arts and for the church aesthetic. Many angels believe he's doing so to mock them, causing them to dislike him more than the average demon, but he has a true appreciation for older Christian architecture. He likes to wander around old, abandoned chapels whenever he spends time on Earth, playing the organ until he's bored or someone is drawn by the music. A fast track to his heart is knowing how to play the piano.

Due to his past of being abandoned and thrown around, he views only things gotten himself and not given as valid and lives an individualistic life.

Childhood
Malphas was the youngest child of Marchiosias and Orias Goetia, two of the last surviving Abyssal demons. Being the youngest and having some developmental issues, he became at best ignored and at worst the punching bag for his father's issues. Halphas took pity on him and cared for him, discovering his latent abilities when he brought one of Malphas' dead crows back to life after an accident. When one of his physicals as a pre-teen showed a near guarantee of being infertile, Marchiosias cursed him for being unable to carry on their family tradition and banished him from the family, declaring him better off dead and a disgrace to the Goetian name.

Malphas was left to fend for himself in Hell, not seeing his siblings again until he was an adult.

Ascension to Lucifer
Malphas struggled with living on his own, having to work odd jobs and random summonings to stay alive. When he was fourteen and working a shift at a bar, he was sent to pacify an unruly customer, a middle aged Centyr. Worn down by a long day, Malphas told him to leave the establishment, which only enraged the Centyr, causing him to strangle Malphas. In a desperate bid to stay alive, Malphas broke one of the bottles at the bar over the Centyr's head and thrust it into the man's neck, causing him to bleed out and die. Murder is only frowned upon in Hell, but the patrons were in awe as Malphas had unknowingly caused the death of the current Lucifer, causing him to be crowned the next one.

Scared and with no political experience, Malphas knew it was only a matter of time before he was to be assassinated and locked himself in his new room in Hell's Palace. After a month of being absent from council, the councilmembers decided to arrange a marriage for him, if only to have someone in charge. The Avian in charge of finance, Andrealphus, was chosen as his wife, and they were rushed into a marriage. Andrealphus had no love for Malphas originally, intending to use her position to take power, but upon meeting him for the marriage ceremony, she took pity on the boy before her and raised him instead.

Abandonment of the Throne
At twenty-two, Malphas had grown annoyed at the responsibilities of a Lucifer, becoming selfish and bitter at his childhood and current life. On a night where all the council would be busy with plans for the year, Malphas abandoned his throne, leaving a note that left his fate ambiguous. He lived among the general populace, saying his resemblance to the now presumed dead Lucifer was only a coincidence, as crow Avians can look the same.

Meeting Ba'al
Malphas met Ba'al when he was wandering the infinite plane of Hell, finding the latter looking over Hell's Capitol from a cliffside. Drawn to him by reasons unknown to him, he flirted with the stranger, spending the night with him and learning of his goals: the eradication of life. Malphas laughed this off as a joke, considering it impossible but found himself bored and looking for revenge for how life had treated him up to that point. He became Ba'al's partner, using his charisma to recruit people into his army and convince them of Ba'al's goals. He didn't know if he felt any real love towards Ba'al as the latter had Libidine genes, but at the very least, he enjoyed the new excitement in his life and the poetic satisfaction he got from destroying those who considered him worthless.

Upon watching the slaughter of a town distant from Hell's Capitol, Malphas began to realize the true weight of Ba'al's goals and his seriousness. He would try to convince Ba'al that his revenge had been realized and that life deserved to live, but Ba'al went from laughing him off to growing violent, bringing Malphas back to his original position as being viewed as nothing.

Meeting Death
Malphas awoke after a night together with Ba'al to come face to face with Death, being informed that he was there to collect his soul. Realizing Ba'al had strangled him to death during their time together, Malphas bitterly laughed it off as the old Lucifer's revenge from the grave and refused to die. Death allowed a game to be played for Malphas' soul, in which Malphas chose arm wrestling. Though Death was much stronger than Malphas, the crow used his wit to push on Death's arm to dislocate the bone from its socket, easily winning. Though cheating Death is an automatic forfeit of your soul, Death found Mal to be amusing, letting him live just this once and saying he could not outrun his fate.

Ba'al would be the death of Mal countless times, but Death never followed up on his promise, letting him live each time and growing attached to him. After Ba'al left Malphas for dead, Death gave a talking to to him that convinced him that Ba'al couldn't be swayed by words and had to be swayed by force instead, even if that meant the Demon Lord's death.

Imprisonment of Ba'al
Malphas went to visit his brother Stolas, who has begun a quest for knowledge. They met as Stolas had just slain an Eldritch. Stolas berated his youngest brother's recklessness and told him he wouldn't condone his endless mistakes, but recognized his goal to stop Ba'al and gave him a gift of a soul from one of the slaughtered Eldritch's children. Malphas gained the ability to manipulate matter from this transfer of power and an Eldritch realm as well. As Ba'al was searching for Malphas to put an end to his life, Malphas hid in this realm and would use years from his now endless life to practice building grand structures, starting with the churches he'd come to adore.

Malphas grew a small army of his own, convincing even angels such as the Archangel Michael to join his cause as Ba'al's destruction was becoming rampant. Malphas and Ba'al met again as the Demon Lord began his rampage on Earth. After a long, bloody war with only a few survivors, Malphas and Michael were able to incapacitate Ba'al long enough to create a prison for him. Though they had won, Michael and Malphas would soon split apart after, not able to agree on the best way to get rid of Ba'al. Their fight caused the window of his vulnerability to pass, leaving Malphas to be stuck figuring out a way to kill the man he once loved.

Events before Witch of Flowers
Malphas used his newfound creation abilities to thank Stolas with a design for his new realm and created the Borstal Academy for Witches to train a generation in magic as a potential way to stop Ba'al. Only the Headmaster, Catarina Graves knows of this involvement in the school. Malphas has otherwise stayed away from the public in his realm, especially now as his older brother, Halphas, has decided it his life goal to kill Malphas, having gone mad from their father's teachings and being told that Malphas is a disgrace to the family. In their most recent fight. Halphas damaged Malphas' eyes with necrotic magic, leaving them unable to be regenerated and forcing Mal to wear prescription glasses to see correctly. Malphas grows his hair to hide the scars, only because it's embarrassing to admit they come from a crazed lunatic.

Eldritch Power
Eating an immature makes him not as powerful as the normal Pseudo-Eldritch, but he still has powers beyond a mortal. In his want to undo Ba'al's damage, his power manifested in the gift of manipulation and creation, being able to use the dirt and stone around him to make massive buildings and structures, though he is not powerful enough to make something from nothing.

Being a Pseudo-Eldritch gives him an Eldritch form as well, something he's not fond of using unless he needs to, as it was a power given to him instead of something earned.

Charisma
Malphas used his charisma to survive and has near perfected it. With just words, he can convince people to do anything, such as join an army. He only uses it nowadays to make himself on everyone's good side.

Fighting
Malphas is incapable of fighting, struggling to grow muscle weight. He avoids combat at all costs, though he has talons if needed and an Eldritch form if things get too dangerous, though he makes sure things will never come to that.

Musical Talent
Malphas, to keep himself busy while in isolation, learned how to play various instruments, his favorite being the piano and pipe organ. If bored, he'll tap against things mimicking playing whatever song is stuck in his head.

Prince Stolas Goetia
Stolas is Malphas' oldest brother and owner of the Infinite Library, something Malphas created for him as to not owe him any favors down the line. He and Stolas have a bad relationship, as Mal was kicked out of the house at a young age and Stolas was the golden child of the family. Malphas wants nothing to do with Stolas and views him as a slave to their Father's desires.

Halphas Goetia
Halphas is the middle brother of the family and the subject of their father's teachings. Halphas has gone mad over the years, artificially extending his life with necromancy and views Malphas as the root of all evil. Malphas views him as nothing more than an inconvenience, if an inconvenience he can't get to leave him alone. Mal stays in his realm mostly to get some peace and quiet from him.

Marchosias Goetia
Malphas' father, a raven Avian. One of the last remaining Abyssals, Marchosias forced Nyarlathotep's teachings on his children and grew them only to be future Abyssal Acolytes. Malphas was unable to carry on family, so Marchosias banished him from the family as a disgrace to their name. Malphas would learn later on that Marchosias passed away a few years after his banishment and was disappointed he couldn't flaunt his success in his father's face. He likes to say the shock of his son being a Lucifer is what killed him.

Orias Goetia
Malphas' mother, an ibis Avian. One of the last remaining Abyssals, she joined her husband in his teachings, though she often remained silent and in the background. When Marchosias died, she took over the family and focused her teachings on Halphas as Stolas had already left the home on a pursuit of knowledge. Her teachings caused Halphas to view Malphas as the root of all evil.

Death
Death is Malphas' lover, having rescued him from Ba'al's murders a countless number of times. He let Mal live originally to compliment his skill of trickery, but grew fond of him and would let him live for the simplest of reasons. After Malphas seduced him to keep his life, Death pursued a relationship with him, helping him break free of Ba'al and cultivating his Eldritch Realm, The Courtyard, allowing souls he's fond of who refuse reincarnation to spend time there to avoid dissipation.

Andrealphus Goetia
Andrealphus is Malphas' ex-wife. She had an arranged marriage of him to take over his duties as Lucifer and to gain power, but instead grew fond of him and gave him a supportive figure to grow up with. Though Malphas would abandon her along with his duties, they would reconnect when Malphas was building his army to combat Ba'al. She had no interest in combat with an opponent she viewed invincible, but planned a date with Mal if he'd survive. They have no romantic feelings for each other and instead are best friends, having similar, selfish, gossipy attitudes.

Archangel Michael
Michael is the rival of Malphas. He views Malphas as an unholy demon and someone who makes a mockery of what he stands for. He has allied with Malphas a handful of times, such as when they banded together to take down Ba'al, going back to hating each other shortly after. Malphas views Michael as a fun little toy and would love to mess with him and break him away from his perfect angel persona.

Amund Bael
Amund is a student of Borstal Academy and the summoner of Malphas. Malphas purposefully makes Amund's student life difficult, but keeps a close eye on him.

Archangel Gabriel
Gabriel is a friend of Michael's. Malphas keeps his distance from him, knowing what he's capable of.

Fl'ygbth
Fl'ygbth is the lover of Stolas. Malphas only knows him from occasional meetings with Stolas and views him as stuck-up and old. Malphas has gotten kicked out of the Library for joking about eating his Eldritch soul.

Catarina Graves
Catarina is the Headmaster of Borstal Academy and a work partner of Malphas. She would rather not work with a demon and Malphas views her as too serious, but they tolerate each other and work together for a common goal.

Annabelle Lovelace
Annabelle is a friend of Amund. Malphas is not fond of her.

Ba'al
Ba'al is Malphas' ex lover and partner. They built an army together to conquer life which broke apart when Malphas started regretting his decisions. Malphas sees Ba'al for the monster he is and has made it his life goal to undo his mistakes and rid the world of him once and for all, a mission that's near impossible.

Camio
Camio is in a one sided rivalry with Malphas. Camio works with Halphas to take down Malphas and wears a coat Malphas left behind as proof he's beaten Malphas in combat. Malphas views him as nothing more than an annoyance and doesn't care enough to stop him, letting him continue to live in this weird fantasy.

Trivia

 * Originally a fan character. I'm not saying from what, but if you ever find out it is PAINFULLY obvious.
 * Likes to eat chocolate covered cockroaches and sunflower seeds.
 * Will not say if his crows are real or not.
 * Has an encyclopedic knowledge of piano songs. He can play anything you request. If you ask for a meme song, he'll give you a disappointed look but he's already starting to play it.
 * Hates his name but thinks it sounds too cool to change.
 * Goth