Demon

Demons are mystical fringe entities formed by compressing souls stolen from the cycle of reincarnation into a corporeal form. The more souls that are absorbed by a demon, the more powerful they become, and the stronger the demonic miasma they emit becomes. Demons first came to be as servants created by Abraxas when his avatar stole a large amount of souls from the Cycle and corrupted them in retaliation for his imprisonment by Morik following Ardothun's demise, but they are also used by demonologists as minions, or even to form personal armies.

Overview

The power to create demons does not have a clear origin, but is usually granted in some way by an avatar or lesser envoy of Abraxas to those who study demons, often without any special regard to allegiance, as Abraxas himself only ever employs his own demons for his purposes. As amalgamations of many souls, most demons who are dense enough to assume a humanoid form will resemble the past appearance of its strongest soul (in demonology, often referred to as an anchor soul), albeit distorted and shadowy, constantly exuding a miasma of corruption.

While lower ranked demons are unwaveringly loyal to their master, higher tier demons are usually still willing to serve, but in chaotic and unpredictable ways unless being personally employed by Abraxas, in which case they will carry out orders to the letter. If they perceive their master as weak, they will attack and attempt to kill them.

Whispers of Abraxas

All demons (and demon-blooded, by extension) are, to some extent, susceptible to a phenomenon referred to as whispers of Abraxas. It is the quasi-hivemind instinct that causes demons to congregate upon a target the way they do - lesser demons are more strongly affected, and greater demons can to some extent influence or direct the whispers of lesser demons nearby, as long as they themselves are not being influenced by a superior demon. The Archdemon Swarmlord is well known for its unparalleled ability to utilize the whispers.

Types of demons

Demonic Critter

Demonic critters are the weakest of demonkind. They take the form of demonic versions of small animals in their natural sizes, of which the most common are snakes, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and rats. They tend to attack in swarms.

Grunt Demon

Grunt demons are the lowest level footsoldiers of the Underdeep. They are small in stature, about the size of a kobold, but can resemble any of the civilized peoples of Zairis.

Skulk Demon

A slightly stronger variant of the Grunt demon with additional abilities that facilitate stealth, Skulks are demonic infiltrators and saboteurs.

Brute Demon

Brute demons resemble hulking humanoids and behave as such, too. They are infamous for charging through formations of even the most disciplined mortal soldiers with ease.

Black Knight

Black knights are high level demons who possess self-awareness, and frightening prowess in combat and tactics. They are most often seen commanding armies of lesser demons.

Malefic

When a dragon soul is pulled from the Cycle, it remains fully intact and creates a fully self-reliant demon with a single soul that generates its own body instantly. Like other demons, they are distorted and shadowy, but retain the dragon's personality, memories, and appearance. These powerful demons are fiercely independent and will immediately turn on anyone who purports to be their master and is not Abraxas himself, which they will grudgingly serve.

Archdemon

The most powerful souls Abraxas pulled from the cycle during his avatar's first raid of the Cycle became the anchor souls of his demonic commanders, who have unique abilities, and carry names according to their set of powers, as follows:

Archdemon Devourer | Archdemon Incinerator | Archdemon Malady | Archdemon Swarmlord

Proto-demons

While not considered true demons, these corrupted souls are nevertheless irreversibly corrupted by the demonic miasma they've been treated with and are usually encountered after destroying a demon's corporeal form.

Demonic Wisp

Demonic Wisps are the forms usually taken by singular souls that would under normal circumstances be part of a corporeal demon. At a glance, they are indistinguishable from demonic miasma, but further observation reveals a hint of a greater range of emotions than the pure malice felt near the miasma. When near a corporeal demon, they are usually quickly absorbed, though higher level demons will sometimes shed these tactically to increase the spread of their miasma.

Demonic Spectre

Demonic spectres are essentially incorporeal demonic entities who take a humanoid form resembling a true demon, with a clear personality and an ability to speak and reason at the level of a grunt demon and beyond. This is considered a fork in the development of demonic power, as there is usually a sufficient quantity of souls within a spectre to form a demonic critter or even a grunt demon, and when spectres finally constitute themselves into a corporeal form, they become sneaks or brutes.

Demonic Wraith

Demonic wraiths are the forms taken by the anchor souls of demons of black knight rank or above, when their corporeal forms are destroyed. They tend to escape battle rather than risk destruction for good, but they can nevertheless be highly challenging foes for adversaries who are ill-equipped to deal with incorporeal foes.