Stolas

Lore

In ancient legends the demon Stolas also appears under other names: Stolos, Solas, Stopas, Stelos, and Selas. He bears the title of the Great Prince of Hell and is linked to knowledge of astronomy, astrology, botany, and mineralogy. Hence the epithets “Owl Demon” and “Star Prince,” and in folklore his bond with night birds and command over the stars is highlighted most vividly.

Sixteenth-century treatises describe Stolas as a “night raven,” yet the famous 1863 illustration from the Dictionnaire Infernal fixed his image as an owl wearing a crown with long heron-like legs. His chief visual manifestations are: a demonic form (a gigantic owl-demon hybrid with black or dark-blue plumage, several pairs of glowing red eyes, and a blazing crown); an anthropomorphic or angelic form (an elegant man with white wings, blue-green eyes, and refined clothing); and a fully human disguise (a gray-haired man whose irises are red, dressed in aristocratic attire, red glasses). In every shape he retains certain traits: an elastic neck able to swivel 180–360 degrees, long legs, feathers, and the crown.

Stolas gives off a sense of dualism: he can look ridiculous, yet his presence always presses with mystical power. His aura carries ancient aristocratic melancholy and wisdom, and after he departs a room is strewn with feathers. Anatomically he has an extremely flexible neck for threatening head turns, while his long legs symbolize the ability to step between worlds.

By origin this demon was once a fallen angel. After being cast into the Abyss with the legions of rebellious spirits, Stolas kept his high status and was honored with the rank of Great Prince of Hell. His age is measured in millennia. In the myths Stolas is never encountered by chance; he always chooses complex haunts: ancient observatories, abandoned libraries, botanical gardens of poisonous plants, or astral dimensions beyond mortal reach, where he immerses himself in magic, scroll deciphering, and the care of dangerous greenhouses.