Xaphan

"I just love setting things aflame so I can see the pretty fire dancing. That's all there is to it."

- Xaphan.

Xaphan is a pyromaniac demon that rebelled against God under his master Satan.

Overview
Xaphan was one of the fallen angels that rebelled with Satan and Lucifer. He is a demon of the second ranks, but once was one of the apostate angels, and is said to have an inventive mind even among demons. When still an angel, Xaphan was said to hail originally from one of the lower orders of Heaven.

Xaphan was something of an inventor even while he still resided in the heavenly sphere. He was recruited for the rebellion and he devised a plan to blow up the celestial realm. Of course, this plan was never carried out because Xaphan and all his compatriots were overthrown and cast into the Abyss. Residing now in the infernal realms, Xaphan is said to man the forge of Hell itself, fanning the flames for the rest of eternity.

Due to his association with fire, Xaphan is believed to be the demon who keeps the fires and furnaces of Hell ablaze. According to the Dictionnaire Infernal, he fans the flames with his hands and breath until the end of time. He has a bellows as an emblem.

Personality
The Dictionnaire Infernal describes Xaphan as having an inventive mind even among demons and he is traditionally depicted carrying a pair of bellows. Xaphan is basically a pyromaniac who enjoys playing with fire. He does not care who or what he destroys, so long as he can cause more destruction with his flames. For Xaphan, the sight of flames dancing before him is his greatest joy.

He is a good friend of the demons Phenex and Decarabia and also shares a friendly rivalry with Leonard due to their different approaches to shaping the world – Xaphan applying the laws of fire to his own use and Leonard downright bending nature with his powers.

Powers and Abilities
Xaphan is most notable for his mastery of fire and flames. His flames are capable of clashing and even overwhelming other flames, even the powerful infernal flames known as Hellfire. Xaphan can use his attribute for fire in both an offense and defense style.

He is also decent in his abilities of metallurgy and architecture. He often relies on his fellow Demon, Furfur, to test his inventions relying on the latter’s electrical powers. He can be summoned by mortals who wish to learn the secrets of fire along with metallurgy and architecture.

History
He is said to have come from the lower orders of Heaven. Even since his conception, Xaphan adored the element of fire so much that his fellow angels were sometime worried and cautious around him. All but Satanel who saw potential in Xaphan and so assisted him by training the angel to control his flames. While unable to quash his somewhat psychopathic adoration of fire, the arbiter did gain Xaphan's loyalty.

This was shown as when Helel was able to convince a third of the Heavenly Host to join him in his rebellion against God, Xaphan with a quarter of other angels had no issue assisting him after Satanel himself joined up with the Morning Star. And despite once having been from a relatively low rank on the heavenly plain, Xaphan was known for being an inventor of formidable creativity, and was recruited by the heavenly rebellion for his skill.

During the rebellion, he suggested the idea to set fire to the celestial realm of Heaven, an action which he was doing for some time beforehand to small parts of Heaven, before he subsequently cast out of Heaven and into the abyss with the rest of the rebels. This cost him his moth-like angel wings, which were heavily burnt on that occasion but was able to gain devil wings after becoming a demon.

After they were cast out of Heaven to the Abyss, he has been continually busy blowing the embers of the furnace, with his fans, bellows, mouth and hands. Xaphan subsequently became one of the demons that populate the fiery realm of Hell.

Myths and Legends
According to some sources, the reason for why he turned against God was to follow the demon queen Barbelo, for whom he had a deep attraction even before the rebellion had begun. It was believed that his attraction was due to her capabilities in fire like him.

Quotes

 * "Once of Heaven, Now in Hell, A smiling Fallen, With a story to tell..."


 * "There was a time In days of old Where archangels were seraphims Their wings, they shone like gold My little wings Were pretty things I feared not wildfires I fanned the flames Demons despised me Cursed me in vain One fine day Things were never the same again Upon my wings Rained holy flames Heaven will never forget my name" - Xaphan singing.


 * "I always hate when people say I put stuff on fire because of some deep, philosophical meaning they believe in. Like, I just like putting shit on fire. That's all to it. It's my fuckin' hobby, why don't you people try to get a life of your own before I burn your noses off!" - Xaphan.


 * "Xaphan is a demon of the second order with an inventive spirit and a bellows as an emblem. During the rebellion in heaven, he proposed to set heaven on fire. He was thrown into the abyss with the other rebels & fans the flames of the furnaces with his mouth and hands." - Bio of Xaphan in the Dictionnaire Infernal.


 * "Xaphan is sorta like hell’s personal blacksmith. He is an independent demon of high rank who mans the forge and fans the flames of hell. And despite once having been from a relatively low rank on the heavenly plain, Xaphan was known for being an inventor of formidable creativity, and was recruited by the heavenly rebellion for his skill. Said creativity must have involved Flaming Swords or fire or something, because his main contribution to the rebellion was an idea to BURN DOWN THE HEAVENLY PLANE. The whole fucking thing. Which, being Heaven, is presumably really big. The plan fell apart, of course, and he fell with with rest of the rebels. But he was rewarded for his massive balls with a nice job, doing something he was very good at. Making things burn." - John Constantine.

Trivia

 * Xaphan is the name of the Secret Chiefs 3 album of John Zorn's Masada Book Two tunes.
 * There is a rumor that he invented gunpowder.
 * While his title of nobility is not truly known, some rumors say that he is a duke of Hell.

Image Sources

 * (Xaphan by TotenVeloren.jpg) Xaphan by TotenVeloren
 * (Xaphan.png) Xaphan by ???
 * (Xaphan Dictionnaire infernal.png) Xaphan by Louis Le Breton
 * (Art-various-shutterstock-editorial-6051092hg.jpg) Xaphan by Louis Le Breton
 * (Old 2013 i g n i s by kirahimee d96uuhb-fullview.jpg) [OLD - 2013 ] I G N I S by kirahimee
 * (Demon xaphan by benedickbana d6vy6hm-fullview.jpg) Demon Xaphan by benedickbana
 * (Monster strike xaphan profile fixed.png) Xaphan from Monster Strike
 * (Xaphan GothicNarcissus.jpg) Xaphan by GothicNarcissus