Demon

A Demon of Wrath

A **demon** is often a malicious spirit from the Dreaming that embodies a sin, or negative emotion, and that feeds on the darker parts of the mortal psyche like lust, gluttony, and wrath. A demon's strength and intelligence is dependent on the emotions or idea from which it feeds; the more complex the concept, the more powerful the demon.

## Nature of Demons

Demons have been categorized into a hierarchy by human observers since at least the Second Age in what is named "Bran's Scale"; after its inventor. Anger is the simplest emotion to feed from, so wrath demons are often much lower on the power scale. Sloth demons are above wrath demons, and are known as masters of disguise. Lust demons are higher still, and have the power to manipulate people without their ever knowing. Most powerful of all are pride demons. They are fearsome creatures, known for their intelligence. However, demons do not abide by this hierarchy. A wrath demon can focus on retribution, which is more powerful and complex motivation than simple anger, while a lust demon focused on lust will be less powerful than one who focuses on lust for something more complex. There are also "despair" demons, who work to extinguish feelings of Hope. Rarer demons include "envy" and "fear".

Demons do not have genders. Within the Dreaming, they are able to shapeshift and take a form of their choosing. As creatures of an alternate and malleable reality, a demon's natural mindset can appear insane to a mortal.

### Demonic Possession

As with most spirits, demons crave to join the living. Some spirits cross the Veil because they desire to experience life, either to indulge in an aspect of psyche or to fulfill a purpose they embody. Usually spirits or demons can only cross the Veil by attaching themselves to something in the mortal world. Demons in particular, cannot make sense of the physical world. They are unable to tell the living from the dead or the very static nature of the physical universe. As such, it becomes very confusing for such creatures who are normally accustomed to a physicality defined entirely by emotion and memory. Thus, demons unable to reconcile with their new reality would look monstrous and wrong in the physical world.

If spirits are made manifest against their will they become violent and mad by the shock and turn into demons. Most demons seek to immediately seize upon anything they perceive as life, jealously attempting to possess it since it is the most expedient way to keep their sanity intact in the mortal world. The only known way to exorcise a demon without killing its host is to enter the Dreaming and confront it directly - but this still entails substantial risks. If the host is killed, the demon returns to the Dreaming unscathed.

Mages, due to their enhanced influence across the Veil, are in the most danger of being possessed. It's unknown why demons prize mages as their ideal host. Some speculate it's out of convenience since their occult awareness facilitates demonic encounters; or it could be simply by virtue of their magical powers. Regardless of the reason, a demon always attempts to possess a mage when it encounters one, by force or by making some kind of deal depending on the strength of the mage. Abominations are the horrifying result of a demon possessing a mage.

However, demons do not only possess the living, and often cannot distinguish between a living host and one that is deceased, and will readily take control of either. This is one of the main reasons for the Ministry's custom of burning the dead; as to prevent the unintended creation of an undead entity. For weaker demons, corpses make tempting targets, as the demon cannot sense any resistance. When a sloth demon takes possession of a dead body, a shambling corpse is the result. Devouring corpses are held by gluttony demons and feed upon the living.

When a pride demon takes control of the corpse of a mage, an arcane horror is born, possessing all the spellcasting abilities of a living mage, as well as possessing the ability to heal and even command other animated corpses. Another powerful possessed corpse is a revenant; these are usually possessed by a demon of pride or of lust.

The longer dead also fall prey to possession. A fanged skeleton is a skeleton possessed by a gluttony demon. Driven by hunger, these skeletons attempt to consume whatever life they can find and often possess the ability to drain life energy and mana from their victims. Shambling skeletons are possessed by a sloth demon, and are able to use entropic powers against their opponents.

Demons may occasionally possess non-mortal forms such as trees, animals, objects and even ash to escape the Dreaming. Trees for example, may be corrupted into tree wraiths; in doing so the demon in turn avoids any side effects associated with the demonic possession that occurs from entering mortal and sentient beings.

## Types of Demons

### Despair

For centuries, despair demons were catagorized as demons of sloth, until it was discovered that these spirits are something quite different. They're not the antithesis of justice or valor, but rather of hope. They form nightmares, tearing away the foundations of self and purpose. When crossing into the world, they are most attracted to places the downtrodden populate: enclaves, slums, and prisons, for example. The miasma they spread can lead to extreme behavior, such as a surge of unexplained suicides, and men and women so filled with grief they lash out. The most intelligent of these spirits should be feared, as they not only feed on despair, they understand its causes, and seek to bring it about. From the shadows they ruin lives, drinking the tears of those who have no idea that the cause of their misery is not random chance.

### Envy

One of the rarer known varieties of demon, envy demons are equal parts arrogance and cowardice. They isolate their victims to study them at length, seeking to *become* them. Once the demon is satisfied enough in knowing its chosen subject, it takes on their form, leaving the soul to rot. Envy is never satisfied, however. The demon's bottomless cravings to be more powerful, more skilled, and more inspired, cause it to seek fresh prey, leaving a trail of stolen identities behind.

### Fear

Fear demons are known mimic the forms they see in the nightmares of mortals, hoping to elicit the response they crave. Some of these demons, however, stumble upon terrors that are much more deeply rooted; fears of the future, of chaos and disorder, and of failure. This sort of demon develops a far more refined palate, attacking the psyche of their target rather than seeking a simple scare. Beware the fear demon that gorges upon the terror of not only a single nightmare, but of a nation, as it can grow to such a size that it dominates the Dreaming.

### Gluttony

Gluttony demons are characterized by a compulsion to consume everything they encounter, including other demons. They are extremely rare, even in the Dreaming. In the real world, they are most often encountered when possessing a skeleton (fanged skeletons) or a mage (hunger abominations). Powerful gluttony demons can take human form.

### Lust

Far more intelligent than the bestial gluttony and wrath demons, and more ambitious than the demons of sloth, these malicious spirits are among the most skilled at tempting mages into possession. They use the yearnings of their victims, such as sex, wealth, and power, to their advantage, and use their abilities to affect the mind, allowing them to assume disguises and even alter the environment to their purposes. As a result, many who become their prey never realize it. While lust demons may resort to outright mind control, they seem to take greater pleasure in more subtle deceit.

If overpowered, a lust demon will most likely attempt to bargain its way to freedom. These deals usually end with the demon gaining an upper hand, even when the mage believes otherwise.

### Pride

The most powerful demons yet are pride demons, perhaps because they, among all of their kind, most resemble men. They are as clever, and manipulative, as lust demons, and have a penchant for cruel irony that is almost human. While demons of lust largely engage in the bribery of mortals, pride demons will use a mortal's own best nature against them. Clever men outwit themselves, strong men crush themselves, humble men forget themselves, and jealous men fear themselves. They turn corruption and ruin into an art.

### Shade

According to the various sources, shades are either the true form of a demon when appearing outside of the Dreaming without a host, or the soul of the dead who has come back into the mortal world from the Dreaming. Additionally, some scholars believe their confusion with the waking world leaves them unable to possess the living or dead. It has also been speculated that shades believe that they are still in the Dreaming. Some shades, however, are content to float as shadows, assaulting the minds of those they encounter; living beings are thus weakened when a shade is within close proximity.

### Sloth

The common assuption is that a sloth demon is, in and of itself, slothful. And as such, it is highly unlikely that such demons would cross the Veil into the world, or fight to possess any creature with a will of its own; this is not the case. The truth is that demons of sloth are named so because this is the portion of the human psyche that they feed upon; doubt, apathy, and entropy. They seek to spread these things. The sloth demon is a master of shapes and disguises, capable of hiding in various forms, and always in the last place you look. And, from its hiding place, it spreads its influence.

A community afflicted by a demon of sloth could soon become a dilapidated pit where injustices are allowed to pass without comment, and none of the residents could be aware that such a change has even taken place. The sloth demon weakens, tires, and tears at the edges of consciousness, and would much rather render its victim helpless than engage in a true conflict. Such spirits are best faced only with a great deal of will, and only with an eye to piercing their many disguises.

### Wrath

Wrath demons are one of the most common types of demons encountered. Since a spirit's power derives from the complexity of its host concept, wrath demons are among the weakest of malicious spirits. Anger is a simpler emotion than envy or lust, so its avatars are accordingly simpler. Wrath demons rarely resort to deceit, as demons of those aforementioned types often do, opting instead to assault its target with as much force as possible until it perishes.