Daemon

**Daemons** are an ancient and mysterious supernatural species with a plethora of unique characteristics. The origins of daemons are clouded in mystery, though it is theorized by some that they are either the distant descendants of primordial deities, not quite demigods but not human either; or they are actually gods who have incarnated into a human life. They display a high creative capacity and are known for their extremely free form thoughts. Daemons run the risk of being branded "mad" or "insane" due to their tendency for their strange and high levels of eccentricity.

Some say that the first Daemons were the human children of Cain, fathered before he made a deal with the devil and became a Werewolf and Knight of Hell. Like the other creation myths, there is little evidence to support this.

## Description

### Characteristics

Daemons are searchers, always longing to find their own kind. They live in their vibrant imaginations and appear quirky to outsiders. They do not follow fashion trends, they create them. Daemons find rules boring and unnecessary and are often on the experimental edge of culture. When it comes to their favourite interests, they can focus more intensely than anyone and they are sometimes gifted with prophetic visions of the future.

As such, daemons are creative, artistic creatures who walk a tightrope between madness and genius. They live life in a chaotic fashion yet show great affection for those around them who share their ideals. Their stronger distinguishing characteristic is awe-inspiring creativity. They are exceptionally talented and often have a love for music and art; they can also be wildly unstable, however, and toggle between bursts of wildly productive activity and dangerous depressions. By turns dreamy and intense, decrial daemons live the same ordinary life span as witches and humans but with such intensity and so little sleep that they seem to live several lifetimes in one.

Naturally gifted and unpredictable, daemons tend to exhibit their traits at puberty in one of two ways: extraordinary mental and/or creative abilities or madness. Teenage daemons are at great risk of harm from drug abuse, homelessness, and aggressive mental health treatments. And because they are sometimes born to perfectly ordinary families, they can be isolated in their biological families, marginalized and misunderstood. In those rare cases where they are born to understanding families who nurture their tremendous gifts, daemons can be unusually stable and competent, and go on to accomplish remarkable things.

Most Daemons exhibit some degree of psychic abilities. The extent of these varies from individuals, with the weakest only being able to subtly implant an idea in the mind of another person, while the strongest could theoretically warp reality on a global scale. Telekinesis and telepathy are extremely common amongst their kind, as is preternatural intelligence, creativity, and awareness, but many are too disturbed or confused to tap into their full potential. Daemons are theorized to be the precursors of mutants, a supernatural variation of the X-Gene.

### Nature

Some people claim that daemons are either rock stars or serial killers; though this is overly simplistic, this assessment contains a kernel of truth. Because daemons are brilliant and intensely creative creatures, they do gravitate towards high-risk/high-reward careers like pop music. They are also found in professions as diverse as computer programming and gaming, hedge-fund management, music, theatre, and the graphic arts. Many of the world's foremost playwrights and authors - both past and present - are daemons. In modern times, daemons frequently appear on the bestseller lists. Many, if not most, artists - both creatively and performing - are daemons. And the individuals who surround these are artists (including actors' entourages, paparazzi, and various groupies) are often young daemons, drawn like moths to a flame.

Many daemons walk the halls of colleges and universities around the globe, though given the nature of daemons, those institutions cannot always contain them tidily. Historically, they were drawn to study mathematics, alchemy, and astronomy. Their scholarship and contributions were especially prolific throughout the eighteenth century, during the period popularly known as "the Enlightenment". Today daemons continue to make contributions in areas ranging from biology to history. They are particularly drawn to the creative possibilities of multidisciplinary fields, such as the history of science and computational bioinformatics (which develops software tools to analyse biological data).

There is a darker side to daemons. While serial killing is not exactly a profession, it is true that the genius of some daemons can spin toward madness and even, in a few regrettable instances, murder. More often, however, young daemons engage in crimes of impulse and opportunity, like street brawling, petty thievery, or counting cards in casinos. Others who prefer to avoid crowds and the possibility of being physically attacked may engage in counterfeiting artworks and historical artifacts or the sophisticated and destructive enterprise of computer hacking. In general, however, daemons are more of a nuisance than a danger. This stands in sharp contrasts to vampires and humans, creatures who are truly lethal but seem to get much better press, perhaps due to their superficial charms and tremendous powers of deception. When it is possible to identify, channel, and cultivate their creativity, daemons can be valued members of society.

## Crossbreeding

When Daemonic genes are introduced to a pre-existing supernatural bloodline, strange new mutations and unique characteristics may eventually manifest in a later generation. For example, a witch with daemonic ancestry has the potential to become a Weaver; an individual with the innate capability to create their own spells. If a person descended from Daemons become a vampire, then they may become a Ripper. Rippers are savage and highly sadistic vampires afflicted with the Blood Rage, a genetic illness that accompanies some strains of vampirism and only manifests when the Dark Gift is bestowed upon someone who has some degree of Daemonic DNA. Even rarer are the Moonkissed, werewolves who can fully shift into a wolf with completely snow-white fur. These wolves are incredibly rare and are often the subject of mythical omens and legends.