[DEMON INFORMATION]

[Lazarus Carter]

D E M O N S

Demons. Demons are, according to Biblical scripture, a manifestation of all of the evils that humanity is capable of. They appear in the afterlife to torment the irascible, the prideful, the hate-mongering, the lecherous, the greedy, the gluttunous... the sinners. They manifest themselves as all sort of supernatural forms. They target themselves, originally represented as intangible beings, and know when they will be most feared.

They are our worst nightmares.

In Deus Mortuus, however, Demons are not bound to such restrictions. The First Pope fashioned tellings of Demons and the Devil himself to whip the hedonistic and anarchic societies that surrounded him into shape - the truth is far more harrowing. Demons are not some supernatural, extraordinary race, but they are not simply figments of the darkest, dankest corners of our imaginations. No. They are us.

When an exceptionally powerful, particular, poignant, specific, or simply evil individual passes away in this world, provided their moral compass pointed more downwards than up, then they cross the barrier to Inferis, for good. However; instead of just having their flesh and shell molten away and being burnt down into another tormented soul to feed the billions that inhabit Inferis' energy rivers and refineries, these individuals, stalwart and able, somehow manage to retain a majority of their physical form. When they cross over into Hell, they are not burnt down into an intangible essence of what they once were; they are simply disfigured and damned to walk the alter earth for all eternity. Some, as torment, lose their mortal memories. Others keep them for torture to remind them of what they once were.

Demons take many a form, typically grotesque and harrowing in their purest and truest forms, but they vary wildly from the region in which they call home. For instance, Demons found in the Black Sea are typically somehow tethered to the aquatic environment, typically appearing with powers pertaining to water or watery forms. Likewise, Demons found in the Tarpit Enclaves are usually industrial-looking in some way, perhaps smothered in tar or followed by some inexplicable shadow miasma. This - if you are making or NPCing a Demon - is almost entirely up to you.

Some Demons are intelligent enough to speak, but this does not mean they are higher-ranking in Demon society. Demon language itself does exist, primarily for Demon-Demon communication and as an ancient signpost to speaking in tongues, but Demons that communicate via growls and hisses will not necessarily be viewed as disabled - Demon power structure and hierarchy is entirely dog-eat-dog. He who kills wins, essentially.

Demons themselves are far more powerful than pure humans when in Inferis, but restricted via the fact that they cannot cross into the real world of their own accord - they typically possess their own specific abilities. If you're choosing to make a Demon, you'll be able to determine these - but if your Demon carries a particular theme then we encourage you, for character coherence, to attempt to craft their skills - or "apparatus" - in line with the general theme.

The Demon population is often said to be somewhat smaller to the human population at any given point, though it is difficult to gauge due to the feral nature of most demons and most Demon Hunters concerned with matters other than handing out census forms. There are full legions of them, but Demons often die in inter-demonic conflict after a few thousand years of life, or become more powerful and ascend higher in the ranking. This said, the ground that Inferis covers is far smaller than Earth as a whole, which probably means there are only around fifteen or twenty million Demons alive at any one point.

Demons themselves will not die of their own accord: essentially, possessing a Demon form grants them tentative immortality. This, however, relies on their ability to defend it: as inter-Demon power relations tend to be vicious. Strictly speaking: if you're a strong Demon, or you learn quickly, then you'll live for long. If you manage to keep Demons above you appeased or find your own little cave that no-one else knows of, sure, you'll be able to stay alive - but if you're killed, be it by a Demon Hunter or another Demon, your body will evaporate into soul energy and rejoin the flow.

Lead by the Archdemons, the general Demon populace is tentatively considered an army - the bulk of them, anyway - that will work for Lucifer and the Hell Princes when the time comes, sitting waiting for some obscure, oft-prophesied and referenced judgement day of sorts.

D E M O N S / M O R T A L F O R M

Demons themselves possess what are commonly known as Mortal Forms. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY CAN CROSS INTO THE REAL WORLD OF THEIR OWN ACCORD. Because most Demons are a) human in origin and b) sometimes in possession of large, "true" demon forms, they possess the ability to, at will, transform into a Mortal Form. Their powers, in these Mortal Forms, are non-existent, but it should be noted that these forms are simply for some face-to-face interaction with humans that cross into Inferis, and essentially to give Demons a "face" of sorts.

Note: if you possess a Ritualist as a Demon, they DO NOT take on your Mortal Form as their appearance. They retain their human forms. Mortal Forms are SOLELY for transport, mobility, and aesthetics when in Inferis.

D E M O N S / R I T U A L I S T S

Demons thrive off what they consider the stupidity of most Ritualists. Because Demons tend to have a yearning to cause sufferings, sometimes, they are contacted from beyond the barrier, summoned by name from texts or even seek out humans indirectly, tempting them to sacrifice in their name. When summoned, Demons channel their energies into the Ritualist's mortal body. Doing so is vastly relieving for them, and often considered as a form of release.

When Demons possess Ritualists, there are a number of factors that should be taken into account. First off is the Demon-Ritualist power level. Strictly speaking, unless otherwise agreed, a Ritualist that summons a Demon must be of the same level as the Demon otherwise the Demon will possess them outright. If a Ritualist is intelligent, they will have some form of leverage over the Demon, and if they are strong-willed, they will be able to fight back the possession.

If Demons possess a Ritualist and suppress the Ritualist's personality quickly, this is simple, black-and-white possession, squashing the Ritualist's personality downwards into their body and calling the Ritualist's body as their own shell. When the body is destroyed, the human killed, or the Ritualist regains control (which seldom happens) then the Demon is typically forced out and back into Inferis, though some stronger Demons have been able to flow from one Ritualist to another human's body. The process is not seamless, but plausible.

If Demons leave Inferis and enter the body of a skilled, capable Ritualist, and the pair manage to fashion some sort of symbiotic bond between the pair of them - or if the Ritualist indeed benefits from the transfer at all and retains their original personality, the Demon's energies simply imbue them and hold inside their bodies as a voice inside their head (which can sometimes be quite humorous) often tempting or taunting them, then the process is instead called bonding or symbiosis.

D E M O N S / A P P A R A T U S

Demons possess their own unique skillset known as "Apparatus". Similar in part to a Demon Hunter's Evocations, the Apparatus is only usable in a Demon's true form, and can manifest as just about anything you can think of. Demons themselves get one of these when they start out, another one at their second level, another two at their third level, and finally, a final extra two at their fourth and final level, culminating in a total of six. Archdemons begin at Level "X", and thus open with eight of their choosing.

To accommodate for the numerical imbalance in Evocations to Apparati, Demons are allowed a slightly greater degree of lenience in both the broadness and power departments of each individual ability - please note that this shouldn't be abused, however. Alongside their Apparatus abilities, Archdemons are also allowed generalised access to their sphere of manipulation; for instance Beelzebub has a monopoly over more or less all things fire. This makes up, once more, for the numerical imbalance; though their skills are typically FAR more powerful, but more techniques of utilising their general abilities rather than anything else.

Demon Apparatus is powered by Soul Energy. No exceptions.

Demons themselves, unlike Angels, cannot have Equipment. Due to the nature of object tanigbility in Inferis, Demons' weaponry must be part of their apparatus - they cannot just have weapons which they have, say, picked up off the floor.

D E M O N S / S O U L E N E R G Y

Everything in Inferis is powered by one thing above all else at the basest level. Every action, reaction, movement... are all fuelled by one thing, one base currency of energy. Soul Energy. More light can be shed on its origin in the Inferis Information thread, but Soul Energy itself is the ultimate, base energy currency of all of Inferis. It fuels every transition, every crossing, every ability utilised inside Inferis (Evocations, Apparatus, Augments, Gears, and Inferis Morphs) and is infact the very lifeforce of all Demons. Archdemons are no exceptions - they just commonly utilise more of it.

Demons, when utilising Soul Energy, never expend or destroy it, they simply convert it, and afterwards it is reabsorbed into Inferis' atmosphere and re-refined. As its nature: Soul Energy cannot be destroyed as long as Inferis exists.

D E M O N S / A N G E L S

Similarly to the Angelic view on regular Demon life, there’s no real binding. Bitterly the Archdemons and Archangels clash against one another; but for the more free and unaligned of the Demonic souls, there’s a lot of opportunity. Some may form erstwhile acquaintances or even friendships with Angels provided they’re personable enough, there’s no real predetermination there. It’s viewed as taboo, as there’s a sort of mutual racism from one species concerning the other – many Demons, whether allied with Lucifer’s forces or not, view the Angelic intrusion as a blight and do bear hostility towards them.

D E M O N S / A R C H D E M O N S

Demons are lead by ten elite, named Demons with preset powers that vastly outweigh those of regular demons. These are Archdemons. These powers have specific applications for as wide as they are, and creating an Archdemon is not all limited, there is some prerogative, but it is an essential role to the site, so you will have to prove your worth, ability, and activity before asking for a slot. Typically: you will be approached for one - it's not unusual for Archdemons to permanently change forms.

Each Archdemon possesses their own sphere or region of Inferis, as can be seen below:

• Lucifer (Ross) - Omnikinesis - The Spirelands
  
• Mammon (Vi) - Haemokinesis - Regal Necropolis
  
• Moloch (Jay) - Cryokinesis - Stygian Tundra
  
• Beelzebub (Aki) - Pyrokinesis - Forlorn Ashland
  
• Belial (Niko) - Ferrokinesis - The Great Undercroft
  
• Asmodeus (Al) - Pathokinesis - The Blightscape
  
• Legion (Bronze) - Biokinesis - Tarpit Enclaves
  
• Belphegor (Ross/NPC) - Mnemokinesis - Entropic Chasm
  
• Ba'al (Dai) - Gyrokinesis - Darkroot Domain
  
• Leviathan (Kume) - Hydrokinesis - The Black Sea