MEREDITH VOLKOV
Age:
31
Country of Origin:
Ireland (Irish/Russian)
Gender:
Female
Slayer Type:
Creation Type
Abilities:
Meredith’s Creations were honed in her early days, so they often take on very dark and twisted shapes. Her signature Creation is Hellfire, a bright and terrible fire that saps at the demons’ being and essentially suffocates them to death. She utilizes this Creation most times, as it is perfect for attacking from a distance and by surprise.
Meredith has also been known to Create beings to fight alongside her, that take the shape of demons themselves. She can maintain about two or three demon Creations at a time without much trouble, though it does sap her energy quick and she usually only utilizes one or two in order to conserve her energy.
She has a variety of weapons she Creates on the regular, though she prefers long-range weaponry like Hellfire-laced arrows or bullets. Meredith can comfortably maintain two weapons at a time, and has been known to lend a weapon to an ally in need.
Meredith’s defensive-based Creations are unique to her own style and upbringing. Creation-type Slayers are not normally relied upon for defensive Creations, being considered more as offensive-only Slayers. Never one to fit anyone else’s mold, Meredith has made a point to develop defensive Creations that take the form of barriers between demons and herself or her allies. These Creations require more focus and energy than her offensive Creations, and they are also less refined. While maintaining a protective dome or barrier, she is unable to make any offensive Creations, and so she only relies upon her defensive Creations as a last resort, or as a retreat.
Weaknesses:
Meredith’s Castor Energy is not limitless, which influences her fighting style. She plays the long-game, tailoring her Creations so that the energy-sapping is at a minimum, allowing her the ability to stay in the fight longer. If she is forced to exert too much energy into defensive Creations, her offensive Creations are often limited in their variety and endurance. She is a slow-and-steady fighter, which can be difficult to maintain against more aggressive opponents.
Having focused her early training on long-range Creations, Meredith’s close-range Creations are unrefined and limited. She has a few tricks up her sleeves, but often relies more on physical training than Creations when in such a predicament. She caries two long knives for such occasions.
Fighting Style:
Meredith fights smarter, not harder. She is a strategist, and tailors her style to her opponent. She believes there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy when it comes to demon slaying, and will often study her prey for hours, if not days, before striking. She prefers to fight from a distance, something she became comfortable with in her assassin days. That does not mean she is incapable of engaging in hand-to-hand, only that her strength lies in long-range combat and her close-range Creations are not as refined.
Personality:
Meredith takes no shit, nor does she tolerate it. She is a strong and confidant woman with the experience and power to back it up. She is known to push her students, never one to hold back or sugarcoat things. Demons don’t hold back, demons don’t sugarcoat. It is not uncommon for students to leave her classes in tears, and perhaps she can take it a little too far sometimes, but her personal experience with the demons they fight is what has developed this teaching strategy. She would much rather have a student run home crying and hating her, than going out into the field with false hopes and meeting their end at the hands of a demon. She challenges her students because she cares, and though they may not understand her tactics most times, she knows they will all be the better for it. Demon Slaying is not for the feint of heart, and she has little interest in lying to her students about this fact.
Meredith can come off as arrogant and callous, but she would do anything for her students and fellow teachers. She maintains an open-door policy, and ensures that all students have her personal cell number should they require anything off-hours.
Backstory:
Meredith’s past is a rocky one. Some might call it dark, but she has never viewed it as such. She carries no regrets or shame, for shame and regret are the enemies of progress. Her past is her past, and without her past, she would not have her present. She does not dwell, her conscience is clean, and her thoughts lie only on her future.
Meredith was an intentional child, the first of three. Her mother chose her suitor carefully, hand-picking him for his strength, smarts, and his overflowing Castor Energy. Being the child of a Demon Slayer herself, she was well-versed in demon and slayer lore, and knew exactly what to look for. He was an Armament-type Demon Slayer, one of the best in Ireland, renowned across the world of slayers. Meredith’s mother seduced the Slayer, and once the child was born and confirmed healthy, she killed him while he slept. Meredith’s mother was no stranger to using others for her own gain, and had come to lead a group of powerful demons, promising them blood and the freedom to pillage Ireland at their leisure in exchange for their undying loyalty.
Meredith was brought up into this environment, and eased into it without much thought for anything else. It was all she knew, and as she developed her Creation-type abilities with her mother’s help, she did so alongside demons. As a child, Meredith was sent ahead of her mother and her mother’s demons, tasked with scouting out Demon Slayers and reporting back so that the Slayers could be taken out before they were aware of the demons’ presence. As a young woman, she would scout ahead and deal with the Slayers herself, often attacking them while they slept, or earning their trust as a fellow Demon Slayer and taking them out when they least suspected. Once the Slayers were dealt with, the demons were free to ravage the town unchallenged.
Meredith spent the first twenty-four years of her life in her mother’s service, and racked up a death toll that became infamous. No one knew who she was, only that no one who ever crossed paths with the Harbinger lived to tell of him. Some thought she was a demon, others a demon-man-hybrid birthed from Hell, and still some told stories of a wayward Slayer who had turned on his own kind and joined the very thing he had once fought, and now walked the earth a grotesque monstrosity of a man, deformed by the dark evil that he now served. These stories allowed Meredith to work unabated, for she was neither male nor deformed.
About seven years ago, Meredith was nearly killed by one of the Slayers she had been sent to assassinate. It had been a trap, and she was ambushed by five of his fellow Slayers who had been lying in wait for the Harbinger. Meredith managed to handle the unpleasant surprise, but not without a cost. She was close to death, though she had managed to drag herself back to her mother before collapsing into a coma. Upon awakening, she found that her mother had made a deal—the allegiance of a massive and powerful faction of demons pillaging through the UK in exchange for her daughter’s dying corpse promised to their leader. Her mother had accepted, and Meredith had been nursed to health and handed over to the demon who had been promised her body as a vessel. Meredith, rightfully upset by her mother’s betrayal, fought off and killed the demon, which upset the demons who had promised their fealty to her mother. Meredith managed to escape with her life, going on the run, ending the terror that had been the Harbinger’s Reign.
Meredith spent a year reinventing herself, utilizing her Creation abilities to mask her scent (which the demons undoubtedly had) and spent another two years honing her skills with the intention of one day being strong enough to seek her mother out and take her revenge. It was in these years that she was noticed by the Slayer Society for her growing success as a Slayer. As there was no record of any official training, they sought to bring her into the fold, to indoctrinate her into their way of thinking. It was obvious they merely wished to muzzle her, and Meredith had no interest in being muzzled. She continued to operate outside their laws, but was left alone due to her success and growing popularity. She found an older Demon Slayer who was willing to accept a significant sum of money in exchange for going before the Council and speaking on her behalf, assuring the Council that he had trained her himself in accordance with the Society’s doctrines. They finally left her alone.
It was not much later that she met Jason Riley, and finding him of like mind, she decided to align herself—she knew the path that lay before her was not one she could walk alone for long. And when the opportunity to raise up the next generation of Demon Slayers presented itself, Meredith gladly took it, seeing it as an opportunity to both eradicate demons more efficiently with her own group of eager students, as well as a chance to further her knowledge of the other two Slayer-types. Anything that would give her an edge against her mother, Meredith was eager to try. Unbeknownst to her, her mother holds her own dark secrets—not everything is at it appears.
Extra:
Although Meredith’s past and her alter ego is known only to her fellow teachers, her students are likely to have heard stories of the ‘Harbinger’. Meredith has even been known to bring the myth of the Harbinger into her lessons, urging her students to utilize caution at all times, and to never trust anyone but themselves. Their closest allies could be working against them, and though she does encourage trust among her students, she instills upon them the importance of keeping an open mind and listening to their gut and instinct—everyone is a potential enemy.
She attempted to erase her Irish accent during her reinvention, but failed miserably. It is a part of her and if her accent is what gives her away, then so be it.
Theme Song:
Kazanna
Canth
DiehardGay
ratzo.
Kapowne
EndirReaver
TheElenaFisher
