Duke Cassel

''"I have been there from the very beginning. Every part of your journey happened because I permitted it." - Cassel''

Duke Cassel was the mysterious benefactor that initially brought the Wandering Drakes together, and their eventual employer for a short time period. Cassel was in fact a false form serving as a disguise of Mephistopheles, who intended to use the Wandering Drakes to gather the Consecrated Weapons in order to slay and usurp Asmodeus.

Description
Cassel was a visually human male around the age of 65. He had shoulder-length black hair that was tinged with grey, brown eyes, and white skin. His face rarely moved from it's stern countenance, though he was known to make jokes (normally at the expense of others).

Personality
Cassel was a grim and domineering man, who held power with an iron fist. Often very quiet, he was known less for outbursts of rage as opposed to quiet seething venom. He treated his servants with cold dismissal, something he would eventually come to regret.

History
As a mere disguise, it is uncertain exactly what life Cassel lived prior to his interactions with the Wandering Drakes. According to the records of the Duchy of Cambrais, he did indeed serve as an actual duke, implying that Mephistopheles had used this disguise for other purposes in the past. Despite ruling a duchy in Gallacia, Cassel held court from a manor in the southern part of Lotheria.

His first interaction with the Wandering Drakes was sending the mysterious letters to each of them, gathering them in the village of Hilldale to set them along their path. During their adventures, it is heavily implied that he manipulated events from the shadows to aid them. He also sent his vassal, Savitar, to look over the group's progress.

Cassel eventually met with the party once he believed they had enough power, fame, and influence to suit his needs. He encouraged them to aid him in exchange for information on the location of each Consecrated Weapon. The party did not trust him, but went along with his plans anyway. During this time, Waylaith Uraciel discovered Cassel was not as human as he appeared, and made plans to deal with him in the future.

Cassel eventually revealed his true nature, entering a deal with Rhys Drouste and Reuben Fortuna following their deaths at the hands of the Headhunter, resurrecting them in exchange for loyalty. The party followed Cassel with little recourse, but all planned to find a way to destroy him eventually.

Cassel eventually met his fate in the ending days of the campaign, after being betrayed by Savitar. Savitar informed Asmodeus of Mephistopheles' plot to usurp him, prompting Asmodeus to painfully and humiliatingly subjugate the traitorous archfiend. Asmodeus would later make an appearance at the Victory Day celebration as an avatar, with the subjugated Cassel in tow. This was the last anyone saw of Cassel, or Mephistopheles.