The Forgotten Shadow: Ozulla’s Return by Niamh Young

Ozulla is a quick tempered demon from Hell. For years she’s battled her way up from the depths of the abyss after being banished there a millennia and a half ago for something she now can’t remember.

With revenge on her mind for Hell and for those who put her down there, a mysterious old man has offered her a way out and an insight at what her actions actually mean.

With her staff - Statera - in hand and lessons from her new friend she’s finally able to understand the rest of the world - a world she’s forgotten and who’s forgotten her.

// Description

Ozulla takes the form of a woman in her early twenties, immortality helps a lot with that. She is slim with two black jagged horns coming out of her head, her skin tone starts with a deep blue at her limps and face with it fading to red towards her joints and upper limbs (thighs, biceps, neck) finally turning to golden around her torso.

She is roughly around 5’9”. Ozulla hasn’t been around people in so long she struggles with her emotions causing her to panic sometimes.

// Abilities

Ozulla’s ability is hard to describe, she was a high-ranking demon before she was banished so has natural strength, speed, and agility but being down in a hole where only the shadows are your friends? They start to talk and soon she couldn’t tell where she began and they ended.

The shadows talk to her, telling her people secrets and weaknesses, but their actual form allow her to bend them to her will. Their strength is far too great for her to control sometimes and to unleash it wholly on the world would end in devastation.

The staff - Statera - that Kodi gave her helps control and can nullify some of the effects that the shadows have. The staff is her only weakness, that and her fiery temper can get the better of her.

// Backstory

Ozulla was from a notorious family in Hell but when her parents did the unspeakable and got greedy for power, specifically tried to rule Hell for themselves, the entire family was punished. Her parents died by Hellfire and she was sent to the absolute bottom of Hell where the only things down there were horrific beasts and the shadows. Soon both she considered her friends.

Soon she began to wish the Hellfire had taken her too. Soon she was to become the Hellfire.

For a millennia she planned her revenge for the top tier demons, Ozulla had forgotten everything else, too focused on her hate and anger to realise that was all she was becoming.

After so long, she made it back with the help of her shadows she was stronger, more powerful than ever before and set on destroying all of Hell. All she found at the top was more destruction however.

People, demons, fantastically horrific monsters were all in pain, suffering for what, she thought. For nothing, so with her millennia old plan starting to disintegrate and her lack of knowledge of nearly everything she almost cried when someone offered to help her. It had been so long she she’d even has someone acknowledge her. Kodi was a kind older man with the kind of eyes you trusted and so she did. He saw her pain and was old enough to remember the stories about her family. So he helped, with his knowledge of demonic crafts he created her a staff of balance. A staff that would help her keep everything in control and if worst came to worst nullify her powers, as a failsafe the necklace she wears must also be used to nullify her powers.

After lessons on other worlds and Hell she decides that her new quest would be to help those in Hell and those out of Hell - first stop Earth. Kodi told her of various higher demons who are ransacking Earth something she was sure her shadows could help with.

Niamh Young Online

Instagram: @nveillustration

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The Lakes International Comic Art Festival competition for 2019 is a tribute to Mike Mignola’s Hellboy. Students are challenged to create their own new character who despite emerging from the hellish heat and fury of the underworld is, like Hellboy, a cool force for good.

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Related event: From the Depths: The Hellboy Comics of Duncan Fegredo