Ellingham

Briathos Ellingham is the Leader of Hell, and claims to be the only pure demon in existence. He is eventually revealed to be Gabriel, the original fallen angel.

History
Along with Seraphina and Raphael, Gabriel was created during the birth of the universe as an Archangel. Sharing the role of Leader, the three ruled Heaven together and Gabriel's main role was to watch over the early humans on Earth by visiting them often. His charisma made him a favourite amongst the humans, and he was much worshipped and loved. He found himself falling for the beautiful Seraphina, who was unfortunately also admired by Raphael. A fierce battle for Seraphina's love ensued, and Gabriel was overpowered by the stronger Raphael. Stripped of his title as Leader, Gabriel was thrown from Heaven with such force that his wings burst into flames, burning so brightly that even the humans on Earth could see him fall against the night sky. He was never again seen by man nor angel, and was believed to be dead. He was soon forgotten in the ages by the humans, and Raphael and Seraphina never spoke of him again.

Unknown to the humans, Gabriel did not die. As he fell through the universe, his hatred towards Raphael and Heaven grew and grew until his soul exploded in a blinding light. The sheer power erupting from his Archangel soul seeped into the universe and formed a barren land beneath Heaven, and he named it Hell. He abandoned his angelic name and became Briathos Ellingham (adding Ellingham to his name to sound more pleasing). Raphael noticed Hell's creation and, worried that his old friend might attack Heaven, started to send sinned souls to Ellingham as a distraction.

Lonely in Hell, Ellingham agreed to reap the souls. As more and more of them started to arrive in Hell, he turned some into demons so he could have some company whilst reaping. Unlike the family-like bonds of the skeletals, Ellingham prefered to treat his demons as good friends. Together they built a mansion and a factory in the middle of the desolate land of Hell, where they would gather every night in the great dining hall and feast on the souls of humans. He spared some humans and used them as servants in his mansion, and they served both him and the demons, occasionally being chosen by Ellingham himself to become a demon and to work in the factory. Ellingham never told any of his demons that he is in fact an Archangel.

War of Spirits
Ellingham did not care much about what was going on in Heaven or Limbo, but he was forced to take action when the angels, commanded by the paranoid Raphael Briathos, suddenly entered Hell and began to fight his demons in the belief that Ellingham was forming an army. Ellingham fought alongside his demons for countless days, but they were eventually overpowered by the angels. Despite surrendering to the angels, the angels killed every single demon, leaving Ellingham horrified and on his own. The angels took over Hell, but there was one fatal flaw to their plan: they had killed all the demons, so there was no one left to Reap. Ellingham's final act of defiance was to refuse to Reap ever again, before using his powers to throw out the angels and lock up his factory for good so he could mourn over the loss of his demons in peace. As he grieved, something suddenly appeared in the fireplace in his chambers - the place where fallen spirits arrived. It was Seraphina, who had tried to Reap and had become an Fallen angel due to her extensive Reaping and the corruption of her soul. Overcome by grief and madness, he attempted to kill her, but later allowed her to live after remembering his old love for her and realising she was the only angel who hadn't invaded Hell. He converted her into a demon, but refused to trust her due to her betrayal when she allowed Raphael to banish him from Heaven without argument.

Pierced Heaven
Ellingham was introduced in the first novel along with Seraphina Viscen and Liner Kingsley.

Liner's arrival
A decade or so before the events of Pierced Heaven, another figure appeared in Ellingham's fireplace. It was a skeletal called Liner, who had decided to commit suicide by leaping from Limbo into the Chasm that led to Hell. Much to Liner's dismay, however, Ellingham decided to turn him into a demon. Unlike Seraphina, though, Liner was not treated as a higher-rank demon. Ellingham instead used him as a butler for him and Seraphina. Over the years, however, Ellingham grew to like Liner, and even gave him a second name - Kingsley - and Liner was allowed to become a full demon alongside Seraphina, although Ellingham occasionally forgets this and orders him around.

The invasion
Ever since the War of Spirits, Ellingham had lacked enthusiasm and was not quite as he used to be. After Liner became a full demon, yet another skeletal appeared in the fireplace in Ellingham's chambers, snapping him out of his thoughts. This one, however, was not seeking to become a demon. It was Sergei, and he requested Ellingham's help in torturing an angel and invading Earth. Interested by something at last, Ellingham decided to take part. He transported himself and his demons and Sergei back to Limbo, where he cornered Vincenzo DeLuco and tortured him until the angel unleashed his powers and opened a gateway leading to Earth. Ellingham could've opened the portal himself, but he found the thought of torturing an angel far more enjoyable.

Ellingham and Sergei led the way to Earth, where Ellingham immediately began to destroy everything in sight. He relished in London's destruction and wanted more, but his powers were still rather weak after being left unused for centuries. He released his anger towards the angels by killing every human he could find. He was amused when he saw a small army of teenage boys led by Graeme Thomas try to attack him. He immediately killed the boys, and left Gray to die.

The aftermath
The invasion ended after Sergei shot Elliot Pierce dead and stunned himself back to sanity. The skeletals, Liner and Seraphina all returned to Limbo. However, Ellingham was too busy arguing with some Archangels who had appeared on Earth to revive the dead to notice this, and did not reach the portal in time. He had enough power to return to Hell without the portal, but decided to stay on Earth instead. After millennia upon millennia of being almost completely dead after the loss of his demons, Ellingham is now awake, and is hiding somewhere on Earth, plotting his revenge on the Archangels.

Appearance
Ellingham is a very tall man, well over six foot, and he has a fairly toned physique. He appears to be in his early thirties despite being far older than that. He has short red hair, pale blue eyes and white skin that's often covered in soot and ash. His irides burn bright red when his powers are used. He has two crack-like scars on his shoulder blades, where his wings once grew.

His usual outfits consists of a brown waistcoat, a white shirt with light grey pinstripes, black mid-forearm leather gloves and dark grey trousers. He wears a pair of iron-plated work boots that reach just below his knee. He is never seen without his trademark silver goggles attached to a brown leather strap, and whenever he's not using them he perches them on his head. He wears a black tie loosely around his neck, and occasionally wears a black knee-length coat that is similar in appearance to a nineteenth-century frock coat, but less embroidered. When silhouetted, his goggles create the appearance of having horns, which is where the belief that the Devil has goat-like horns has originated.

As an Archangel, Ellingham's hair was white-blond rather than red, but his eyes were still blue. He had the wings of a golden eagle, and the largest wingspan of all three angels.

Personality
Ellingham is polite to everyone, but beneath the surface, he has become cold, cruel and cunning after his fall from Heaven. He will do anything to protect his demons, which is why he's determined to avenge them by killing the Archangels somehow. He is known to speak eloquently with a refined English accent, but when panicked or surprised he drops the accent and is known to start swearing violently.

Powers
Ellingham's power is weaponry, which links with his previous role as a warrior who protected the early humans. In his demonic form, Ellingham grows cannons and guns out of his shoulder blades, elbows, knees, knuckles, tongue, chest and fingertips, and even his pupils become capable of shooting small silver bullets and lasers. He can also focus his mind on an object, and blow said object up with his powers. In this form, he is impossible to bring down. Unfortunately, the unstability of his heart after it leaked his soul means that the organ has become a bomb, and if anything makes any sharp contact with his body while his powers are activated, his heart is detonated and he explodes within ten seconds or so. At first it took his body days to rebuild itself, but he can now recover from an explosion within a few seconds.

Interesting facts

 * Briathos means 'ruler of the demons', but he prefers to be called by his last name.
 * His flaming red hair and burning wings as he fell from Heaven has inspired the popular belief of Hell being a burning pit and the Devil having red hair.
 * His design is influenced by steampunk elements.
 * His name was originally Casper Draco Ellingham, later Cyrus.