Sephone

"The nightmares in the dark are only brought to life by the luminous glow of flame."

Introduction

Undone by Felfire and blessed again by its smog, Sephone proved that even the flames of oblivion cannot kill a true witch. Continuously serving as the Witch Queen’s most trusted lieutenant, the First Phantom is considered to be one of the greatest sorcerers in the cosmos. Her spellcraft is unrivaled, and many covens seek to please her just just as often as they do Paschia Fel.

Background

Intertwined with Mavkoda’s mutilating transformation into a Felfire Demon, Sephone’s tale truly began only after she was killed by the monster she had tortured for a century. Prior to this event, Sephone was one of Paschia Fel’s trusted witches, but only just that. She was regarded with pride alongside her sisters, and when a plan was concocted to rid the Void of its ruling tyrants, she volunteered to lead. In the slaughter that followed, a demon general was imprisoned and it appeared as though the witches had gained the upper hand. For the century that followed, Vul'karik was forced to contend with Paschia Fel’s growing power within the Void, and at her side, Sephone persisted, not only to be known as the witch who defeated Mavkoda, but as one of the most prolific demon hunters the Void had ever seen. It was no wonder that in the end, her arrogance proved to be both her undoing and her rebirth.

Despite her body being incinerated and her heart swallowed by Mavkoda, Sephone’s soul lived on. For a time, even Paschia Fel believed her to be lost. Yet once the ashes had settled and the demon had freed himself from his tormentors, the thick smoke that billowed around the Burning Lake shifted and stirred. A voice, whispering at first, turned into horrid screams of pain and anguish, the final cries of the living witch continued into the mind of the immortal Phantom that was born. They echoed through the halls of the Witch Queen’s palace until they manifested into the shape of the woman who once was, though it only lasted for a few moments. For some untold amount of time, Sephone haunted the grounds and the caverns, she brought herself into being and was swept away with the wind, until finally she managed to sustain her newfound, ethereal form.

When she returned to this sense of life, Paschia Fel recognized Sephone for who she was and rewarded her for the faith and devotion put on display in the self-forced reincarnation. Sephone returned to her Eidolon’s side, now without any shred of humanity to hold her back. Noted as the First Phantom of the Witch Queen, Sephone lead the covens of the Burning Lake across the Void where the stagnant war exploded once again into a horrid and flaming inferno of violence and terror. To this day, Sephone’s approach is one recognized as a storm of pitch black smoke, like a storm breathed out of the recesses of some abyss, and the demons that see it know it spells doom for their kind, though they never shy away from the fight.

Trivia

It’s believed that not even Paschia Fel was aware of a spell capable of creating a Phantom until Sephone had done it first, a prime example of the directions that witchcraft can take in uncovering untold mysteries of magic

Sephone’s efforts have ensured other Phantoms have risen in service to the Witch Queen. It is believed that they stem from witches who give up their mortalities to Felfire and are once again born as the pyre’s smoke and ashes

Sephone and Mavkoda have never met upon a battlefield after their previous encounters, though they are both hunting one another consistently

Credit

Tattles https://forum.verdict.dev/showthread.php?tid=2173&pid=12016#pid12016