Character Feature: Otto Vogerath (AKA Pride)

Three AI-generated images of Vogerath. In all three images, he wears a gray suit and blood-red power tie.

(Left) A shot focused on just the head of the man and he smiles evilly, very pleased with himself. There's fresh blood on the wall behind him.

(Middle) A wider-framed shot, in which he's still smiling, but the grin isn't quite so wide and the blood on the wall is more smeared than spattered.

(Right) The blood on the wall is long dry and Vogerath has dropped the Illusion of humanity he normally portrays, revealing his true nature as a snake demon.

Buy This Book Otto Vogerath may be many things, including a German man that supposedly came to the states before the Nazis took over Germany, the ring leader of a circus, an abusive husband and father, a criminal, a mob boss, a mass-murderer, a mad genius plotting world domination, but all of that pales in comparison to his true identity: Otto Vogerath is one of the seven Arch-demons that rule Hell, where he's known as Pride.

He's very intelligent and often runs mental circles around his opponents, treating them almost like puppets dangling from strings, continually manipulating them into doing exactly what he wants. In that regard, he's playing a grand-scale game of chess, while his opponents think they're playing a simple hand of go-fish for no stakes, when in fact, the stakes couldn't be higher.

Even when he appears to be losing, he's usually accomplishing something of lasting value to his long-term goal of galactic domination or just possibly, taking over Hell. What really motivates him is a mystery to all others, but he'll never give anyone a straight answer.

Vogerath is extremely old, having been born before the dawn of humanity, which makes it almost believable when he claims to be the Serpent from the Garden of Eden.

Whether that's true or not, however, he is the living embodiment of Pride, literally believing himself to be a cut above all others, his greatest flaw.

However, when his plans start falling apart, making him look the fool, he can be extremely dangerous and unpredictable.

When his life is on the line, he becomes a total coward, because in his mind, he's the most important person in the multiverse, bar none. Therefore, leaving his minions to die while he escapes is perfectly acceptable.

Vogerath is the arch-nemesis of Little Miss Secret, because he's responsible for murdering her parents. His mysterious plans revolve around the girl, because he has need of the unique powers of a half-demon. He may even be responsible for arranging for her to be born.

Tags: ashen-blades, character-feature