KR|Emergence Review #14: Demo-Rha (Emergence Edition)

Toy prototype details
Name: Demo-Rha^TM (Emergence Edition), aka Apprentice-Sorceress Demo-Rha
Subtitle: novice witch
Line: KR|Emergence
Item type: action figure - Nº 12 in the line.

Character details
Name: Demo-Rha
Classification: human
Sex: female
Home: Tahron
Era: 3 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Unnamed Clan (formerly belonging to the Theriom faction)
Rank: sorcerer's assistant.

Background
First appearance: KR|Emergence #1 - The cradle of evil
Brief bio: raised together with her older sister Modi-Rha by Nemhisto, Demo-Rha became more and more estranged from her sibling after their father's murder and decided to travel Tahron alone. Eventually, she joined the Theriom royal army and learnt the ways of military combat from Ir-Ash, who had his eyes on her. While striving for mastering new capabilities, in order to improve her range of skills, Demo-Rha met and fell in love with an enterprising soldier named Xonedar, thanks to whom she became competent in handling dangerous ordnance. Soon after giving birth to her and Xonedar's daughter Sei-Lha, she started a clandestine relationship with Ir-Ash and eventually agreed to join his cause against the Therioms when he was banished from the Amhalgaard family. Demo-Rha fled Theriom City, leaving behind all who loved her, and followed a calling to Lor-Drek's Unnamed Clan together with Ir-Ash. Conscious of possessing unique supernatural talents, she aimed at enhancing her powers under the tutelage of the reptilian sorcerer Sphenorat, who agreed to teach her the ways of witchcraft and the dark arts. As Sphenorat's assistant, not only Demo-Rha learnt many of his advanced spells, but also the history of her father, who due to a demonic possession gave her latent magical abilities as a child. Over time, she became more ambitious and felt trapped in Artelon, developing a wish to compete with Sphenorat and to replace him. After Ir-Ash had been transformed into Deptilion, Demo-Rha renewed her allegiance to her partner, offering her help as a wicked enchantress, who could deploy the dark arts to defeat their enemies. Although now a monster, Deptilion's power and ambition excited her and together they left the Unnamed Clan to seek adventure with their own faction, the Destructomorphs! Many years later, defeated and stripped of her powers by her own daughter, Demo-Rha gathered her last strength to transport her second child Nemhetra to safety to her sister Modi-Rha shortly before dying.

Associated SpawnCrystal
Name: Parity Ring (sometimes referred to as Symmetry Ring)
Shape: torus
Colour: blue
Corresponding element: water
Powers and capabilities: augmenting balance and flexibility
Creator: Multiversal Balancer Niväz^TM
History: after the impact of a meteor had devastated the Earth environment, mainly through a lingering impact winter that triggered an ecological collapse and a subsequent mass extinction event, Niväz lodged the Parity Ring in a magical spiral snowflake and sent it to the land which became known as Tahron, aiming at creating a mass transformation process that would restore the original potential of the entire planet's biological evolution. Mixed with other ice crystals, the enchanted snowflake fell on the mountainous region of Kroniv during a snowstorm, contributing to the formation of a massive glacier. The slowly moving mass of ice bonded with many living beings at risk of extinction, transferring vital faculties to them, while simultaneously eroding the underlying limestone and producing large caves adorned with tapering formations. In one of such caves, the reptilian sorcerer Sphenorat fought and defeated the evil jötunn-like creature Eote, who was created by the rogue Multiversal Balancer Zesakhur using a mystic disc derived from the mythical seventh SpawnCrystal. After he had transfixed the creature with a stalagmite, Sphenorat ripped the life force-giving disc from its body, to prevent its resurgence. While the mystic object was damaged in the battle, its detached fragments as well as the stalagmite were later fashioned into new enchanted artefacts by Sphenorat and his monastic compeers by using an ancient grimoire containing the collected magical knowledge of the elder reptilian warlocks-turned demons Eshi, the first practitioners of dark magic. When Sphenorat pledged his devotion to Bi-Harr, he stole and carried all the magical relics with him while serving as a wizard-priest in the Reptonoid army, and used them to train various occult warriors. During the centuries, many of those objects were either destroyed or taken by others:

• Geode of Perpetuity - created by the sorcerer Lafrovath, it had the ability to generate and project lethal orbs of plasma. After being stolen by Sphenorat, an all-out war occurred between the Reptonoid army and O-Kin's Golden Eagle armed force, with the latter prevailing and acquiring the geode. Mounted onto a royal sceptre, its destructive power was briefly used by Modi-Rha after Wordron had temporarily overthrown O-Kin's monarch Lord Tafmohr, only to be stopped and defeated by the Therioms
• Flaring Dust - a magical explosive powder created by the warlock Phemneth, it was capable of producing destructive blasts and toxic smoke on impact. Sphenorat used the dust to power deadly weaponry during the war between the Reptonoids and the Therioms. Centuries later, the last remaining powder was fashioned into a number of grenade capsules used by Fai-Rha as her weapons of choice during her service in the Unnamed Clan
• Shadow Cape - a potent mystical item that was created by Sphenorat and had the primary purpose of allowing its wearer to transform into a shadow demon. The greatest advantage of this was that the wearer needed to know little about the mystic arts and to use hardly any of their magical powers in order to operate it. The cape was used by many warriors trained by Sphenorat such as Elykta and, after several centuries, Demo-Rha, who stole it before abandoning the Unnamed Clan
• Eight-Horned Crown - created by the ancient reptilian wizard Zarlosh, this helmet linked the wearer to its creator, providing various physical and mental powers such as turning emotions into reality. The last known user was Demo-Rha, who lost it during a fierce battle between the Unnamed Clan and the Rexodons. It was finally crushed by Khronodon to prevent further use
• Staff of Mnepha - a powerful magical staff controlled by the thoughts of the wielder, which could be utilised to project and absorb mystical energy, manipulate force fields and weather phenomena, open dimensional portals, observe events in other locations and heal wounds. It was eventually combined with the Fiery Eye of Zesakhur by Sphenorat, in order to form an even more powerful magical sceptre
• Reliquary of Thymlo - originally an artefact that could give magical powers to any object stored within, it was eventually fitted with the stalagmite that emerged from Eote's bleeding chest by Sphenorat. Thanks to their combined power, the two relics could grant their user the faculty of self-duplication. While the reliquary was destroyed during a battle between the Unnamed Clan and the Rexodons, the stalagmite was used by Khronodon to extract the essence of the Parity Ring and to produce the blue shards, and was then stolen by Demo-Rha
• Purpureus Gem - created by the diviner Drentoh, it had the power to control people's minds and project energy blasts. It was seized by Ki-Shudan, who used it as a template for creating a similar black gemstone that allowed Myneran to restrain his telepathic and mind-reading abilities. Stolen again by Sphenorat, the gem was then set in a mystical headband, which he used to attack his enemies. The headband was lost during a violent fight between the Unnamed Clan and the Rexodons, and its damaged remains were later recovered by Psadimyr, who, combining science and sorcery, constructed a dreadful mind-bending cybernetic weapon.
  

Articulation
Standard, excluding hinged abdomen.

Description

Head: half-Asian features, vampire teeth, heavy makeup (i.e., purple eye shadow, dark-red lipstick and two black "tears" painted below her eyes). Her skin, hair and eyes have an albino character, but their colour, instead of being completely white, tends to a very light-toned blue. She wears a complex glossy purple helmet ornamented with four pairs of golden horns (the upmost of which hold a translucent purple disc similarly to Hathor's headdress, while the lowest are ridged and point downward and forward) as well as a shiny light-blue snake skull in the centre; the sculpt includes her mid-length hair sticking out of the back of the helmet (the latter is also embellished with two intertwined shiny light-blue snake skeleton designs)

Body: while her arms are exposed (showing very pale skin, whose colour, instead of being completely white, tends to a very light-toned blue), her legs are covered with tight purple trousers. Her upper arms and left thigh carry single- and double-strapped studded light-blue sheaths for three different purple-hilted knives (non-removable), one of which is very reminiscent of the stiletto that came with her Foundation version
Wearables: a sleeveless light-blue outer garment with purple details (including a fastening down the front, a fur trim along the neck and a pair of flat shoulder pads), two long-sleeve fingerless black leather lace-up gloves (each embellished with a series of narrow ornamented light-blue bracelets), two cross-strap light-blue leather boots with black furry turndown tops (equipped with fishbone-shaped, spiked golden shin guards and snake skull-shaped golden knee guards), a light-blue waist sash that holds a short strip of purple fabric with a jagged lower edge, as well as a Y-shaped belt made of several golden rings laced together (except for the leaf-shaped, purple-gemmed vertical element that includes a buckle resembling a snake skull) and a smaller loose fitting black leather belt underneath. The garment is designed to partially expose Demo-Rha's upper back (revealing two tattooed intertwined snake skeleton designs) and displays various gold leaf ornaments resembling skulls, bones, teeth, and claws; it also extends and opens below the hips, forming a high-low skirt, which is long and jagged on the back. Additionally, she wears a black removable cape with a jagged design (there are two long protruding points that can optionally be attached to the wrists) and a grey-fur-trimmed cloth hood hanging down the back; the cape connects directly around her neck by means of a choker ornamented with a purple-gemmed brooch (this collar includes a fairly high-standing piece on the back, whose shape looks a bit like a trunk vertebra of a snake).

Demo-Rha's stylised helmet.

Demo-Rha's stylised garment (upper part).

Action feature

In the Emergence comics, Demo-Rha is shown to study spell casting and the manipulation of magical forces under the tutelage of Sphenorat, with the aim of using her powers to affect the nervous systems of her opponents, distorting their physical perceptions and sense of balance, and inducing effects that include extreme disorientation, anxiety, pain and unconsciousness. During her training, the reptilian sorcerer grants Demo-Rha the use of several mystical artefacts; here is a list of those objects:

• Book of the Eshi - the iron-bound book of spells, which is the greatest known source of dark magical knowledge on Tahron, is included with the figure - it is a slightly retooled version of the book that came with Foundation Sphenorat and can be attached to Demo-Rha's leather belt
• Eight-Horned Crown - the package comes with a separate helmet as well as an unhelmeted head for Demo-Rha, which shows mid-length hair, pointy ears, a pair of grey fangs as earrings, and her teeth clenched tightly
• Shadow Cape - the cape, which is described at the end of the previous section, can also be used with the unhelmeted head, so the figure can be displayed with the cloth hood up. Unlike the previous versions of this item, the cape is not accompanied by a shadow demon figure
• Staff of Mnepha - the included wooden staff is carved with a viper coiled around the top and a rattlesnake tail emerging from the spiked end. At the end of the Emergence comic book series, Sphenorat is shown to take back this staff and to connect it to the Fiery Eye of Zesakhur (which came with Emergence Loghar), in order to form his signature sceptre
• Reliquary of Thymlo - in the comics, Demo-Rha has the ability to create a very large number of perfect copies of herself through absorption of magical energy by means of this artefact. Each of the duplicates has exactly the same powers as Demo-Rha herself, and has independent thought, though prime Demo-Rha is telepathically and empathically linked to the duplicates. In addition, prime Demo-Rha can absorb all the duplicates back into herself at will, which also makes her absorb their memories, knowledge and skills. The mystical item is tipped with an ogival bronze ornament, which recalls the redented towers of Rokang Tar and features some great detail work (with some difficulties, you can make out a reptile skull in its pattern), while the end of the handle can be connected to Demo-Rha's right wrist via a real metal chain and a removable cuff. The bud-like decoration on the top, whose tarnished appearance has been rendered using black speckle added to the bronze colour, is composed of four pieces that snap together snugly (the higher two clasp together and hold the lower two in place); when you release the peg, the four sides fall open to reveal a milky tip similar to a stalagmite inside (which also moves slightly up and down when the four sides open and close). The opening reliquary has two interchangeable handles of different lengths and materials (a short wand-like grip made of bone, and a long staff-like haft made of bronze and equipped with a cupped handle as well as a bottle-shaped end, echoing the appearance of Origin Sphenorat's spell-sceptre) and two interchangeable stalagmites (one inactive that is glossy and partly clear, and one active that glows in the dark); either stalagmite can also be attached to a chained piece that can be worn round a figure's neck.

Weapons and accessories

Aside from the rich profusion of accessories described in the section above, Demo-Rha comes with three blue shards symbolising the essence of the Parity Ring, as well as two alternative heads: one for herself and one for Foundation Sphenorat. Demo-Rha's alternate portrait shows her look before being disfigured by her mystical powers, and resembles closely her Enmity sculpt except for a much meaner expression and very short hair.

Sphenorat's Emergence-accurate portrait is similar to his Foundation version's unhooded head, characterised by a face that resembles a tuatara (although it's flattened, in order to acquire a more humanoid appearance), a blue-green GITD skin, two small pointy ears, two visible yellow eyes with vertical slit-shaped red pupils, a slightly open mouth that displays a number of sharp white teeth, and a large wound in his wrinkled, bumpy scalp. While it is compatible with the cowl that came with the old figure, it displays a golden headband bearing an oval purple gemstone in its centre, which conceals his third eye. In the comics, Sphenorat uses this magical headband to fire taser-like light-blue energy bolts, which are powerful enough to incapacitate an enemy with a single hit, making their mind temporarily numb and allowing him to hypnotize or to absorb the abilities of anyone who is trapped.

In addition, the package includes a flame-like translucent purple attachment for Demo-Rha's left magic-wielding hand, a recast of the accessory that came with her Foundation version.

Finally, in the first comic issue Demo-Rha is shown to use her powers for creating a frightening demon-ghost, which is also included in his disrobed form (in his first appearance, he wears a three-hooded light-red robe with a strange symbol in front). This creepy little tentacled, long-tailed Asura-like neon green creature has four legs (each hand has two clawed fingers, while each foot has three clawed toes, one of which points backward), two bat-like membranous wings, 12 sucker-bearing tentacles, three mouths (each with tusks and fangs, and showing a different expression: one grinning wickedly, one angry, and one cold) and a single large leering eye on top. It has a great, detailed sculpt and a nice paint work, showing some warty skin texturing with a subtle airbrushing that brings out the detail as well as some chalky blue on the lips and gross gloss red on the protruding spiny bones (which form a sort of armour) and inside his mouths. It's made of a solid rubbery plastic and can be perched firmly on a stand, which gives it the illusion of floating.

Final thoughts
Overall: I am blown away by how cool this figure is. I wasn’t originally looking forward to her, being perfectly happy with the previous prototypes (variants included), but the excellent new sculpt, amazing paint applications as well as many add-ons make her not only superior but a must-have for KR fans. I can’t stress enough how cool she looks alongside Sphenorat or Lor-Drek or nearly any figure you’d want to put her with, and the interchangeable heads mean you can have several of the same character in your display, but still have them look unique
Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5