#014 - Ignavian

[Jacob Maccabee]

IGNAVIAN

SPECIALISED DEMON OF BELPHEGOR

Name: Ignavian
Aliases: Pigrities, Desidians, Slothful Ones, Corpus Mortalis

Sphere: Primarily Entropic Chasm, though some have been found in the Blightscape and Tarpit Enclaves
Tier: Elite

Picture:

Spoiler:

You know who they are; the depressed, the forlorn, the couch potatoes, the stereotypical nerd. They go by many names, and undergo many different appearances and agendas. But though they do not represent the stereotype in which they belong, they are all united by one fact; they are gripped by the forces of Sloth.

It is believed that for every depressed, lazy, or inherently slothful soul out there in the realm of humanity, there is an Ignavian waiting to claim them. They whisper little promises, ask for tiny favors, though for the most part they are simply the buzzing in the back of one's skull whenever they want to get something done. Most can shake them off; in fact, some Ignavians have given up on a soul entirely, but for those that manage to get their sticky grip upon them they soon bring them down with promises of an eternal sleep; a world where no one can harm you, where you don't have to do anything. It is the epitome of laziness that they promise you; a decayed existence in which there is no stimulation, no desire except to just lay there and sleep. Those caught in its grip have the hardest time letting go, and many die while the world around them is affected by the disquiet they cause; trash is left untouched and piled in a corner, pets lay dead or dying with their corpses covered in maggots and other larvae, shelves full of books, movies, and memorabilia are left dusty and covered in ants and spiders, and one's family and friends are all but forgotten; having long since abandoned them to their troubles.

The beings behind this dark behavior are the Ignavians. In Inferis, they are the spawn of Slothfulness; perhaps the foul remnants of the dark dreams of the monstrous Belphegor, the King of Sloth. To look upon them is to see the epitome of sloth; their bodies appear almost human, except they are overly massive and large. They appear green and sickly yellow like a decayed corpse. Their bodies are covered in parasites and maggots. They lay upon their own sickly refuse, which gathers in a massive puddle around their bodies. They have virtually no muscle apparent; their bodies covered in layer upon layer of greasy, unused fat. Their eyes are either shut tight or always open, though it does not matter to them for the very effort of even blinking has become a complete nuisance to them. All they do in Inferis is sleep, dream, and leave themselves to their own thoughts until even that bores them back into slumber.

That is... until disturbed.

Like many demons, the appearance of being still is simply a ruse that disguises its true capabilities. Many a Demon Hunter, Templar, or even Ritualist has found an Ignavian, thinking it as a simple spawn and practically harmless, before they find themselves catapulted forward by a force to the gut so powerful and fast not even a supercomputer could register it, or covered waste-deep in acidic bile that slowly eats away at the flesh and is impossible to escape due to how thick it is. Ignavians, like the master of Sloth himself, prefer their slumber, and have a profound hatred to those that disturb it. Indeed, the entire purpose for an Ignavian to tempt and drag souls into hell is simply to shut them up, so loud is the mortal world that their silent dreams occasionally grace across. Most demons give an Ignavian's lair a wide berth, knowing full well that to do otherwise would mean being dragged into their pitiful graves for eternity or longer.

Abilities: Ignavians are stationary; they only move when a much stronger force than themselves commands them to do so, and so far the only force greater than they that they listen to (besides Lucifer, of course) is currently asleep, and therefore they remain in one place for the entire duration of their pitiful existences. All of their abilities tend to be ranged based or targets the mind, though this shouldn't encourage one to attack them close-up, as their stationary forms hide the fact that they are among the fastest of all demons. Their limbs can attack at such speeds that the force alone can shatter steel and turn bones into powder. Of course, they hate doing this often, as it exerts effort; an Ignavian could just get bored with a fight and give up rather than continue until everyone around it is dead. They are slothful creatures, after all.

Some of their most well known abilities include barfing up parasites or stomach acids designed to slow and deal damage over time. The very air around them, however, is just as deadly. Most Ignavian lairs are soaked in their own equivalent of biological waste, which rots and decays and is filled with deadly disease. Simply being in the presence of an Ignavian causes disquiet and discomfort that can potentially make a demon sick, much less a human being. It's part of why Ignavians are never found together; they hate each other, and much prefer to be on their own. They instead use the help of mortal souls or other demons; mostly those they captured and enslaved through their own special abilities; to do the fighting for them.

Miscellaneous Notes:
- No two Ignavians look alike, though they all bear similar qualities.
- It is unknown if they are truly servants of Belphegor or if they are a byproduct of his existence. Only Ignavians know, and it's too much of a bother for them to answer that question.
- Ignavians have a fascination for riddles (Hell, you have to if you are busy sitting around for eons. Got to do something to use up that spare time).
- Ignavians were the only demons capable of tolerating the plagues of the Blightscape, and practically thrived there for a short period after. Given that it's too much effort for them to even breathe, what use do they need of gas masks?
- The primary inspiration for Ignavians are the demons of Nurgle from Games Workshop's Warhammer