Belah Nain (Everlasting): Difference between revisions
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Some of this is true | Some of this is true. Yes she craves destruction and ruin. She needs it, but she needs it like mortals need food and water and air: for survival. She feeds off of these desires and acts, and in turn inspires more, creating a cycle of energy that sustains her, empowers her, allows her to empower others in turn, and ultimately means that death, pain, and suffering all diminish her. Were the world to be destroyed, she would quickly fade to nothing and simply cease to be. | ||
For most of her existence she lived on a razor's edge | For most of her existence she lived on a razor's edge: while there was chaos and ruin in abundance, it was tied to conflict and war, and so the benefits she would see from this were tainted by death and misery. What could have been feasts for her were reduced to crumbs and scraps; small, precious morsels she had to carefully choose to avoid poisoning herself. It was a bitter balance, and with the horrors of two world wars in rapid succession, she resigned herself to oblivion. | ||
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Once a driver of creation, then an orphan at the table of War, now renewed and brought to new heights. Her new church is the monster truck | Once a driver of creation, then an orphan at the table of War, now renewed and brought to new heights. Her new church is the monster truck rally, her modern offerings are the demolition derbies. Everything from a charity car bash to a building implosion is a festival in her name, and the crunch of metal and the tinkle of glass are hymns to her glory. | ||
Revision as of 23:26, 7 October 2020
The Succubus of Smash
At first glance, Belah Nain is no more than a pretty thug with airs of sophistication. After all, her name, roughly translated as "Destroying Beauty" is an apt description. Many take her as a blunt instrument that simply plows through everything in her path, heedless of the damage done and pain inflicted. A demon who feeds off of sex and violence. A monster clothed in empty glamour who would destroy the world if she thought it would make a pleasing sound.
Some of this is true. Yes she craves destruction and ruin. She needs it, but she needs it like mortals need food and water and air: for survival. She feeds off of these desires and acts, and in turn inspires more, creating a cycle of energy that sustains her, empowers her, allows her to empower others in turn, and ultimately means that death, pain, and suffering all diminish her. Were the world to be destroyed, she would quickly fade to nothing and simply cease to be.
For most of her existence she lived on a razor's edge: while there was chaos and ruin in abundance, it was tied to conflict and war, and so the benefits she would see from this were tainted by death and misery. What could have been feasts for her were reduced to crumbs and scraps; small, precious morsels she had to carefully choose to avoid poisoning herself. It was a bitter balance, and with the horrors of two world wars in rapid succession, she resigned herself to oblivion.
And then... something shifted. The later half of the 20th century began to give her something she'd never known before: spectacle. Her craft is at its best with a willing audience, and now there was a growing wave of events where thousands gathered to see destruction, guilt-free! Masses of people encouraging it! Cheering for it! Lusting for more! She felt a surge of power like nothing she'd known before, and with it found she now had the means and motive to protect this world and its people with everything she had.
Once a driver of creation, then an orphan at the table of War, now renewed and brought to new heights. Her new church is the monster truck rally, her modern offerings are the demolition derbies. Everything from a charity car bash to a building implosion is a festival in her name, and the crunch of metal and the tinkle of glass are hymns to her glory.
The world has changed, and The Succubus of Smash will defend it to the end.
A Complicated Dynamic
With gangs like the Skulls, the Hellions, the Lost, the Freakshow and more all having members performing acts of vandalism constantly, Belah is always at a superhuman level of power. However, she knows they're still a threat to life, and has no issues at all with taking them down. This allowance and encouragement of property crime while being one of the strongest defenders of this and other worlds has been enough to send quite a few moral compasses spinning out of control, but allowances have been made and blind eyes turned to her very particular nutritional needs.
That said, this dichotomy has caused ever-shifting rosters of friends and foes among heroes, villains, and gods.
Demolition Divas
Despite primarily feeding off of lust for destruction, it's still lust, and tying it to more traditional succubi activity was a natural step for her. Thus was born "Demolition Divas"; part burlesque club, part rage room, part rave, and part junkyard. An establishment where you can drop all inhibitions and go wild. Patrons are encouraged to pick up their favorite tool of destruction and have at it, aided and abetted by Belah's abilities. More generous (or rowdy) patrons may find that their vehicle is the center of attention for the next stage show, and that the staff is incredibly enthusiastic when it comes to showing off their skills (super-powered or otherwise), with performers like Candi Crush, Wrecking-Belle, and Strongtium-90 more than happy to test their mettle against someone else's precious metal.
(Im)mortal Enemies
Belah's easygoing nature and tendency to both antagonize and aid on all sides of a conflict has given her a capricious reputation. While she's made several enemies over the course of her adventures, she has made very few constant, permanent enemies. That said, all foes pale in comparison to the ancient death god Mot. A creature of death and sterility, Mot is an end to life, and with it an end to creativity, excitement, thrill, and anticipation. All things that Belah lives for, and loves to bring out in people she's around. So while she seems an unlikely ally, she is also a steadfast ally, and has sworn an oath on her immortal life to see Mot cast down and destroyed.
Art
Art by @JINworks
Footnotes
- References to her can be found in obscure books of demonology as a high Calabim (demon of destruction), and even more obscure books on ancient deities list her as a goddess of Chaos. She is essentially a minor deity or powerful demon, a patron of acts of destruction, chaos, entropy, and the pleasure of performing said acts. That said, she represents primordial chaos: the power of potential. Anything destroyed becomes inspiration or raw material for new creations.