History

Some say that there has always been a version of a spirit turned demon lurking the Hawaiian Islands. Some claim him as a sort of God, a deity to pray to. Others think him more of a mirage. The locals, the ones who have always known of a Wise Man imparting wisdom and advice in exchange for rations and anything that glitters, know them to be gullible fools. Sometimes he is seen as a positive influence on the islands, at other moments he is only coloured as a stark realisation that Hell exists.

Stolas was never the most evil of his brethren, though there is no doubt that he remained a Grand Prince of Hell. Known mostly for his wisdom and non-partial aid to those who appeal to him in just the right way, Stolas has twenty-six legions of demons under his rule, and so this one’s existence is no more important than the others. Strewn across the Universe to protect nature and defend against the world’s insistent attacks, their purpose is to always act in the name of Solas himself. Never to take sides unless a particularly good offer comes to pass, each demon must to His bidding above any other.

For this lifetime, we must call him Alaka’i, a name given by the locals of Kauai whenever they sought his attention. Meaning ‘leader’ or ‘guide’, he was something of a guardian in those early years Though, before, when he had been sent to the deep of the Congo or the uninhabitable Siberi, in this stretch of time Alaka’i was reincarnated from the mouth of the shield volcano of Mount Waialeale. Some refer to him as the very beginning of Hawaiian religion, his form sewn into the islands of Hawaii — but that is just a rumour, a lie to keep people from his door for the most part.

It was not in his mission to treat the humans for their stupidity, or to teach them of the poisonous plants and the rich knowledge of astronomy, but he did. Grown attached to their strange habits and inclinations after so much time spent in the wilds on his own, Alaka’i held a special fondness for those who inhabited the islands. He helped midwives, whispering in their ears how to treat a breached child, he went so far to accept little to nothing in return for his advice and knowledge. But every demon has its limit, and so, before they could come to learn of the face Stolas had given him, he would retreat into the unreachable parts of each island, preparing for when he was wanted the most.

For each island Alaka’i was given different names, though travel between each isle was rare at the most populated of times he seemed to pop up when a transaction was offered from tribal chiefs and their needy concubines. Colloquially he was known as a Wise Man, or even as a Witch — though it was rare to ever see him for a long time, which didn’t help the myths and legends that came with his small moments of existence. Rumour was it that on the isle of Lnai he was a man-eating spirit, sent to wreck terror on their shores. There were others, small snippets of folklore that would become stories to scare your children into acting straight, but that one had confused him the most. Well, he had never eaten anyone!

Mostly the years went by as blinks to a human, and nothing really ever happened. He took care of the islands and momentarily paused his watch to check in on Stolas, listening with eagerness for a task, a mission or the news sent from the other Great Princes.

It was not till the 18th Century did things take a turn.

Acting as the secret advisor to the great Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the ali’i nui (supreme monarch) of the islands, he had paid witness to the arrival of outsiders. When Captain James Cook arrived in 1778, Alaka’i’s frustration ran deep — he watched those small petty violences enacted between the two camps, waiting with a fork tongued for the first hint of a need to rid themselves of such a man. With his charm he influenced the fall of such a man, easing them to steal from Cook, that then led to Cook kidnapping Kalaniʻōpuʻu, which eventually pushed Alaka’i to promise their safety and fortune if they made the ultimate sacrifice of killing that hailed visitor. The Captain’s death ripples across the Ocean, and to protect the nature of both humans and demons, Alaka’i (a name that sticks, a name that felt familiar to him in that life) left the islands.

By the order of Stolas, who thinks in his grand form that the demon has not yet been spent for such a lifetime on Earth, Alaka’i goes to California. There he meets the Spanish, and there he concludes the greed of man. With their ever present need (for whores, for money, for more of all things) he spins his contracts with ease, parading along the coast as he gets all that he can in return. But the Spanish always were a religious punch, pious to the point of fanatical in their following of God and his damned Angels. As they plot a trail of missionaries dotted along the country’s edge, Alaka’i finds those who prefer a Godless land, and pushes them to make amends with the promise of victory.

He watches absently as the Spanish and the Quechan people rile against one another, in some malicious mechanism he pushes the Quechans to rebel against the Spanish, aiding them in destroying the Catholic missions: Mission San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuñer and Mission Puerto de Purísima Concepción. Ultimately, he found the Catholic Mission project so devastating to his nature that he folded into himself instead, finding a small workshop in the Sierra Nevada instead.

For many years he remains alone as he becomes accustomed to the mountain range — he returns to exchange contracts but even then, he becomes a solitary creature till far into the next century.

Visited only by those who dared to climb into the dips and highs of that mountain range, he lived out an isolated existence for most of the next century, revealing himself to adventurers only when he craved the violent greed of winning something, anything! Visited by Stolas once more, he was pressed to leave that lonely height to reinvent himself. Barred from returning to his beloved islands, Alaka’i was influenced to descend the mountains to find the path toward Never, New Mexico.

Returning to the modern world meant a new identity. Keeping the name given to him by the people, he picked a last name at random and made his way to the border of that new county instead, flexing his muscles around what character to make his own. On his way he dabbled with the idea of acting as a Sheriff, a Lawman or something to bury himself fully within the population.

It was not till he crossed Colorado did he find an enthusiasm of becoming a Doctor for the town. Arriving in 1860, appearing as much younger than he was, Alaka’i boasted an exciting history to all those who thought to listen. Ever since he has lived in a modest abode on the central street, tending to pregnant women, ailing men and the like in exchange for coin, first borns and something much darker. Known around town as a healer and a wise man, akin to his first days on Earth, Alaka’i must now struggle against the known appearance of Angels and Spirits between funding his own needy greed.