The less I say of my mother, Gretchen, the better, but I supposed you all would like to know.

She is a very high-ranking member of the various Goetia demons, being the head of her household. Or at least, what little family she had to begin with, only having a brother, Marduk, who was sealed away quickly. She wasn’t part of Helel’s initial rebellion, but rather followed them after they were cast out of Heaven, thinking they were at least on the right track. For those of you that are unaware, you would likely know Helel by his more common name, Lucifer.

All that were cast out opted to completely purge themselves of their Celestial essences, making them exactly the same as pure Hell-born Infernals today. She was no different.

They then began to consolidate their own power, forming a type of caste system. My mother wed my father, Halphas, much more recently in comparison to the rest of the Goetia, in order to consolidate their power, and had me to continue this influence. Our entire family was formed for political gain, nothing more.

Mother would often ignore me growing up, or even berate me for wanting to spend time with her, something that even other households found strange. How does one raise an heir without being involved in their lives? While I had quite a number of amenities due to my high-born status, it didn’t help with the loneliness. The only positive I have with her is that when I heard her playing her violin, I felt soothed. Her playing was never for me, but rather for the various souls she had bound over the years, but that was for the better; she would use her ability of manipulation to torment them, and since I was never the target, I could enjoy her playing. However, when I attempted to follow in her footsteps, she’d always tell me to make noise elsewhere.

To my mother, people could fall within a spectrum of two categories; useful, and useless. She viewed me as “somewhat useful,” needing me to keep our family strong, but not useful enough to care about what I did. She was ultimately the primary reason I defected in the first place, and I never looked back.

It honestly puts a smile on my face when I learn that she did not take well to my defection, not just because I defected from the noble class, but because it implied how poorly my mother can manage power, and this is before the fact that I learned I can wield Hellfire, a highly coveted ability among Infernals.

She lost her chance with me. It is rather unfortunate that she views my younger sister as “useful” as of late.