Kobal's Personality

Kobal's only goal is to create for himself a temporary feeling of superiority over everything else in the Universe, and to prolong that feeling for as long as possible. He knows that he will ultimately fail, that some day God will wrap everything up, and either destroy him or, worse, render him powerless in some way. This concerns him, but at least he is better off than those who never realise the truth. To this end, he ensures that everyone he meets fears him, or hates him, or both. He also encourages those he meets to mock their fellows, since he can then feel doubly superior in his own refined contempt of both joker and victim.
His favoured Servitors are occasionally exceptions - if they can prove that they properly despise the world, he will allow them their own pleasure for as long as they can keep it. None of his demons ever knows whether they are truly favoured, or whether they are simply acting as the butt of another of Kobal's jokes. Kobal is whimsical in the extreme, since he has no ultimate desire. However one of his whims seems to be to carve for himself a little power in Hell. He always does this by taking it from another Prince, usually publicising his victory. But whenever an act seems to serve some complex purpose, that purpose will remain inscrutable. Whenever a scheme seems utterly without motive, it will shortly prove to have gained Kobal some invaluable prize. Of course this often provokes covert counterstrikes against his assets. This is not a problem: everything he has is utterly irrelevant to him, and he doesn't mind losing it so long as he forces his opponent to destroy it rather than steal it. Kobal will not stand being mocked. If any demon belittles him in any way, he will typically destroy them immediately. If the incident occurs in public, he forces them to admit that their comment was inaccurate, inarticulate and unfunny. He will ensure that all around think the worse of that demon for their stupidity. Only then will he destroy them, and possibly also those who witnessed the incident. Kobal does not like jokes. He never laughs, and if others laugh or joke around him, he will usually ask them to justify their levity. This applies as much to those who laugh at Kobal's own comments as to those who make jokes in his presence. Those few who can, without having the arrogance to share the laughter, cause others to laugh at the misfortunes, weaknesses or imperfections of others, will gain Kobal's favour, because this is the complete perversion of his former, Heavenly, word. Kobal does not in general make blatant displays of power - he feels no need to impress others with main force when he can do so much more with his intellect. He also realises that enforcing his will over another is aping God in a way which is doomed to failure - controlling others does not reduce God's power over Kobal. Only his knowledge of the secret of Mockery reduces the extent to which God can mock Kobal.

Aro's Demon: Kobal's History

Kobal is the Demon Prince of Dark Humor or Mockery. Kobal was created Archangel of Laughter, one of the second generation of Archangels. He brought joy to Heaven with his sometimes sharp, but always gentle, observations. He was valued in particular by Lucifer, Janus and, secretly, Dominic. Lucifer appreciated first Kobal's awesome intellect, a match for his own in many situations. Janus respected the way that Kobal fought prejudice and mental stasis, in much the same way that the word of Wind opposed laziness and stagnation. Dominic was often the target of Kobal's humour, but was always left feeling that he gained more self-insight and perspective from Kobal's observations than he lost in embarrassment.
Then came the Fall. Lucifer had been watching carefully as his support grew, and as an opposition formed in response. Since heresy and discord had never been seen before in Heaven, those who suspected Lucifer were far too slow to counter him. Thus it was that he was able to rally his legions around him and strike against the Eternal City in an attempt to capture Heaven for himself. He failed, and his armies were cast into Hell. Among them was Kobal. As he saw the Rebellion fail, watched as those opposed to God were defeated, but not destroyed, Kobal became aware of a Truth. He saw, in an instant, the future of the War, and he recognised it for what it was. While the newly altered demons were writhing in agony and despair in what became Hell, torn from the presence of God, Kobal looked at them, and he laughed. Then he approached Lucifer, and spoke with him.
When Lucifer rallied the demons, and urged them to join him in continuing the War with Heaven, Kobal was quiet. When some of the demons councilled surrender, he only smiled. When the idea was first put forward that the Archangels clearly would have destroyed the rebels if they could, his smile perhaps twitched a little. The final decision, to fight on if possible, earned his polite applause. When Baal made it known that he still believed in God's omnipotence, and was fighting only in order to provoke Him into direct action, Kobal bowed to him with a flourish, and departed. Where he went is not clear - Lucifer had not by this stage created and opened the gates of Hell, but Kobal and his few servitors played no part in the creation of Pandemonium and the laying out of the Principalities. When Kobal returned, he was the dark, bitter figure that all Hell has come to know, hate and fear. He declared that he would take no territory of his own, and asked the Princes how long they expected to hold their properties against their rivals. Kobal created very few servitors, and ridiculed the energy with which Baal and Belial, especially, had been pouring their energies into armies of pointless flunkies. He scrutinised the elaborate systems of games that Asmodeus laid out, and asked him whether he had noticed such and such a flaw in his plans, or how he intended to reply to the obvious move that Heaven would surely make to counter some brilliant attack.
He asked Beleth whether how the Nighmares she created compared to the terror she herself felt at the idea of her own existence. He asked Andrealphus whether he thought his carnal pleasures would ever fill the cavernous, aching void left in him by the loss of the Love of Heaven. Finally, he asked Lucifer how he hoped to defeat Heaven with such a ragged mob of pathetic, snivelling, brawling, fractured reflections of everything they wished they could be but were not. Lucifer gave his hideous smile, and answered: "We will win, Prince Kobal, because however strong we become, you will always be here to tell us that we are not yet strong enough."

Present

No longer a pleasant individual in the least, Aronus wandered about for months truly believing he was a monster. Of course, in his roundabout way, Kobal informed the stubborn wolf that he was not a monster per say, but he was different. Aronus had grown cold and grumpy, though he was still the clumsy and playful pup beneath it all. Alone with his inner demon, Aro wandered for almost five full year before stumbling on the pack so called Daemon [I]ntra and it was with them that he learned of his true nature. At this point though he was almost too far gone to be brought back to his old self.

When at last the gray male came to understand that he was not a freak, or a monster but rather a different breed entirely Aro lost a good part of his angry and hateful shell. Granted, he is still grumpy and highly volatile but no longer does he have the wish to simply tear at everything he lays eyes on. Rather, now Aro internally wishes to make amends with his past and move on. In fact the male secretly wants to be as open and happy as he once was, but he truly can't remember how it felt to be so carefree and trusting. Nor what it felt to be truly happy.

Of course, Kobal would always whisper to him that the "happy" fools were never truly happy. It was just a facade, a mask, and he was falling for the masquerade. But after this year of traveling with this pack Aronus has come to learn that none of his kind are evil or always bitter in the way he is, and he's coming to realize he does not have to be a spiteful creature all the time. Yet through all of his trying the various run-ins with his packmates just seem to leave him confused, irritated and frustrated both with himself and them for their lack of communication abilities. The guy is trying hard to change his ways, but after so long of being an unmoved stone Aro might find he can't change his heart.

Past

Aronus was born into a tightly knit pack with much love for one another. He was as boisterous and happy a pup as any, freely frolicking and chasing insects through the grass. The young male was the blessing his parents had been wishing for and the rest of the pack were pleased. As he aged a few months Aro found that, whenever he was alone or was in a quiet area a voice would speak to him. Of course, this scared him senseless at first for the voice was cruel and cold. Never did it speak kindly or with any encouragement. Only harsh truths. He attempted to speak to his father about the strange occurrence but the older male simply waved it off as a young wolf's daydreaming. And so days went on with these sinister whispers in the pup's ears.

As the weeks dragged on these whispers grew more frequent and each time Aro wanted to run to his parents, seeking comfort and solace in their presence. But each time he felt the urge to flee to his parents he recalled his father's dismissal, and slowly the young wolf grew colder. There came a point when Aronus at last decided that he was the only one that could hear this voice, and that it had to be in his mind. He deemed himself crazy and, one fine spring morning, began to hold conversations with the voice.

"Who are you?" The gray adolescent inquired timidly. For many long and anxious moments nothing happened and then at last there was a reply. "I am what you make of me. I am everything, but I could be nothing if you made me so."

This comeback stumped the still youthful male and he piped back with his own complaint. "Well you obviously aren't nothing. I can hear you plain as day." With a plop Aro sat down. "But I'm crazy, so I guess it's whatever."

A booming noise rumbled in Aro's mind and he felt a wave of sharp disapproval. "Many minds I have seen, fool, and yours is far from the most shattered, though I'd not jump to calling it the sharpest around."

"I'm no fool!" Raged the small brute furiously. "What's your name? Why don't you show yourself, huh, then I'd show you I'm no fool." The challenge lay trembling in the air before the smooth tones of the voice in Aro's mind reached out once more. "It does not take a sharp-witted being to fight like an idiot." Came the hissed taunt. "But you were wise in your inquiry, my name is Kobal."

At this point young Aronus was all but stewing in his own anger and irritation. He sat stiffly with his ruff and the fur along his spine bristling unhappily as Kobal's last words trailed away. "Well. Kobal then." There was a pause. "Why don't you go away? You bother me more than anything."

Deep chuckling issued forth, followed by Kobal's ominous words, "If you wished me gone, strong-minded buffoon, you had simply to will it the day you first heard me. But you did not, and I've found your conscious to be...quite to my liking."

So Aro pondered those words. For three days all was silent in his mind as he reviewed constantly what Kobal had said. On the eve of the fourth day, he asked aloud, "Kobal, what are you?"

The reply came forth without pause. "A wisp of darkness in a world of light; nightmares held by those young enough to see truth before their very noses. I am a demon, young fool. And you'd do well to remember that."

 

Aronus took heed of that remark. Weeks passed where the two would converse frequently about differing matters, Kobal coming out the winner in every case. The demon one day convinced the wolf to leave his home den and pack, stiking out further into the woods. All alone changes began to wrack through Aro, throwing unnatural colors into his thick stone-colored pelt and robbing him of his pupils while granting his eyes an equally unnatural turquoise color and glow. It happened one day that his mother flewed by whilst he and Kobal were speaking. She turned to her son, relief, worry and amusement all clouded in her gaze. "My boy, the pack has been looking all over for you! What are you doing talking to yourself way out here?"

As Aronus turned to his mother she shrieked and fell back, "Monster!" She cried. "Creature of Hell!" The young male strode forward with cold, pupil-less eyes and glowered down at the fae with not even a hint of the love in his gaze that he once held for her. "I left." He replied to her first question. "I left because I do not belong there. Because I do not care to be there. Father wouldn't listen, but Kobal did. Leave me, mother. Leave me to be the monster I have become."