Devil's Advocate

[Salinye]

Better late than never! Vote away! :0) Thanks for the great submissions!

 

~Salinye

[Salinye]

Option # 1

 

Devil's Advocate:

 

This item, highly sought after among assassins, forgers, and disguise artists, appears to be a small leather-bound folder of the type used for carrying important documents. The leather has a slightly reddish tint that is disconcerting to anyone who inspects it for too long. Any documents that are put inside have the annoying habit of becoming lost.

 

The actual use of an item comes into play when it's owner has need of a false identity, or needs to impersonate a real person and whispers to it:

 

"Advocates,

They're hard to get.

Associates,

Food on my plates,

I'm in a state

And need someone to take my side.

 

I have a plan

That needs refining.

I'm just a man

And slowly pining.

But with help

This little whelp

In plain sight can hide."

 

The Devil's Advocate will then contain a complete set of identifying papers including birth certificates, deeds to property, and any other papers the user needs to fill his real or fictitious persona. It will also contain directions to places where the user can acquire costuming, weaponry or anything else he may need to fill the role. Once the user is finished playing the part he simply has to destroy the papers and the Devil's Advocate will be ready to craft another identity.

 

The Devil's Advocate was created long ago when an assassin told a mage he'd been contracted to kill that he'd spare his life in exchange for a powerful magical item. The mage bound a spirit of trickery into the folder and handed it over to the assassin. The assassin then killed the mage anyway, accidentally getting a little of the mage's blood on the folder. This is where it's reddish tint comes from. Some who know the Devil's Advocate's history suspect that the spirit of the mage is somehow also trapped in the item.

 

They have good reason for suspecting this because anyone who uses the item for an extended period of time will begin to believe that he actually is the person he claims to be. If he is impersonating a real person as this happens, the urge to kill his "impostor" and properly take his place will also grow.

 

As this takes place, the certificates and papers in the Devil's Advocate will begin to disappear, giving the user less proof of his identity even as he becomes more sure of his delusion. If the papers in the DA are destroyed or all disappear, the user will slowly regain his rightful identity although he may retain some little aspects of his delusion (answering to the false name, speaking as if he were that person occasionally, etc.)

 

This situation can usually be avoided by not using any identity from the DA for more than a couple of days. Although someone who uses it in short spurts a great deal may still receive some residual effects...

[Salinye]

Option # 2

 

Devil's Advocate

 

The Devil’s Advocate, not to be confused with the Devil’s Avocado or the Devil’s Adventist, is in fact a living imp skeleton with bones fashionably dyed in red ink. He arrived on this plane by stowing himself away in part of Horace’s briefcase, and can usually be found nestled on top of peoples’ heads, which he mistakes for their shoulders. He is small and bitter, like the Devil’s Avocado, and speaks with a chatter of teeth and a nasal squeak. A bitter rival of the Death of Rats, he enjoys constructing satanic mousetraps, which often prove to be as useless and self-destructive as the Devil’s Adventist. He is also skilled in music from Hell, and can play Britney Spears’ “Oops I did it Again” with a small rubber band harp and a set of toothpicks.

 

At the direction of his master, the Devil’s Advocate will argue for whatever cause its owner chooses, even if that argument is in favor of the Devil’s Adventist. All of the imp’s arguments eventually deteriorate into an argument for why the Devil is great, however, and he frequently becomes repetitive and irritating. Fortunately, this is often enough to dissuade opponents from arguing entirely, which makes for victorious debates. Essential for any Minstrel Hall feud!

[Salinye]

Option # 3

 

A tiny fire flickering in a dark, smoke-filled room, two hundred years in the past. A tiny hexagon, less than half a foot across, with enchanted herbs at each corner and a phoenix feather along each side. The murmured tones of spells being cast, safety nets woven at every turn. The most powerful magician yet seen by the world. Black magic. A summoning, then another. Two supernatural beings, bound together by phyiscal and spiritual and mental ties. Such was the Devil's Advocate brought into the world.

 

About two hundred years ago, a magician summoned an angel and a demon and twisted them to his own means. Shrunk in size to a mere two inches tall and thrust together into a portable enchanted cage, God's Advocate and the Devil's Advocate were intended to serve their owner by debating important decisions until a choice was made. They were given as a gift to the magician's son when he left to make his own way in the world.

 

Approximately one hundred eighty years ago, after only twenty years serving as intended, the Devil's Advocate found a way to break the spells holding him, killing both the angel and the magician's son and escaping into the world. Some magic still prevents him from returning to his true master, so for years he wandered Terra and served Satan's will by attempting to corrupt good people the world over.

 

Hearing of the Mighty Pen Keep and all the heroes who make quarters there, the three-inch tall demon found his way there, only to be recaptured by the Pen's best mages. His true nature cannot be changed and he is a constant danger to any but the most pious or most corrupt, but he is once more bound to a cage and forced to answer direct questions with truth, albeit twisted.

 

Conniving always to poison minds or to escape, the Devil's Advocate is nevertheless a valuable possession. His tiny frame is well-muscled and his mind sharp, always ready for a good argument. He is unclothed (and unashamed at using his body to subvert females or insult males) with red skin, unnaturally little hair (just eyebrows, goatee, et cetera) and of course two horns and a spiked tail.

[Salinye]

Option # 4

 

The Devil’s Advocate’s real name is Mitch Cranson. Mitch is really rather well off. He has two kids, James and Amelia, and a beautiful wife Jeanie who works as a paleontologist at a local museum. Mitch himself has a good job as a trial lawyer with Schwartz, McHoliz & Johnson. Mitch also if the Devil’s older brother. Mitch dosen’t really know how it happened but somehow the time stream was bent out of proportion and the space continuum was kick in the rear. The short of it is that Mitch is the Devil’s older brother, and as his older brother, Mitch is responsible for keeping the Devil safe. This is why Mitch acts as the Devil’s Lawyer in all matters, both in earth and in heaven and hell. Mitch is rather successful, with a 84-14-1 record (the tie counted when a Buddhist Monk’s soul was up for grabs and before a verdict he reincarnated) he is the ultimate gentleman working for your soul’s well-being. Just call 1-800-OH-SATAN now!

[Tamaranis]

Alright... and the winner is... Kasmandre! (Because he's the person who wrote the first entry)

 

The second entry was Wyvern, the third Katzaniel, and the last Orlan.

 

So now you all know what you're bidding on. (The first one, the folder)

 

Aaaand... I can't really think of anything else to say on the matter.

[Kasmandre]

Wow, thanks for the votes everyone! And here I voted for Katz's entry. Heck, I'm just surprised I did so well against these great writers. Thanks again.