Phaneia

Asmodeus, the Creator of Phaneia

* Incubus (Male)
* Succubus (Female)
* Concubus (Neutral)

* Aphroditus (Alpha)

### Summary

Daemon who absorb the intense emotions of others to increase their demonic power and life-force.

**Phaneia** is a daimon who absorbs the intense emotions in other species in order to increase their own demonic power and life-force.

## Overview

### Succubus

A **Succubus** is a demon or spirit from European folklore during the medieval ages, which takes the form of an attractive female to seduce men. Their male counterpart is the Incubus.

They were either spawned by the legions of Hell or appeared as creatures of the night, just like vampires. They are believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping men.

They draw energy from men to sustain themselves, often until the point of exhaustion, the deterioration of health or the death of the victim. Lilith and her daughters, the Lilim, are considered succubi. Succubi encounters have also been theorized as an attempt to explain birth defects or sometimes adultery.

### Incubus

An **Incubus** is a demon in male form supposed to lie upon sleeping women in order to have sexual intercourse with them, according to a number of mythological and legendary traditions. Its female counterpart is the succubus.

They were either spawned by the legions of Hell or appeared as creatures of the night, just like vampires. An incubus may pursue sexual relations with a woman in order to father a child, as in the legend of Merlin.

Religious tradition holds that repeated intercourse with an incubus or succubus may result in the deterioration of health or even death. In medieval times, the church would use incubi and succubi to explain sexual functions, which were taboo subjects.

## Summary

Like many other demonic creatures, phaneia were the creations of the original Demons who used them to wreak havoc in the mortal world, especially on Earth, and bring misery upon mankind. They, in particular, were created by the original Asmodeus and the Alpha Phanes, Aphroditus, eventually founded the Asmoday Clan of the 72 Pillars in honor of her creator.

After the Great War ended, despite the majority of daemon joining the Extra Demons and leaving the Netherworld to create their own civilization away from the devils and their new government, Aphroditus put his feet down and have his house allied with the rest of the 72 Pillars, and with him, nearly the entirety of the phaneia.

## Appearance

Phaneia are humanoid daemon that appear as attractive and alluring people of various ethnicities, whose physical body can easily incite sexual desires in others regardless of their sexual orientations. Similar to devils, they have bat-like wings growing out from their back, though unlike devils, they have a sinuous, writhing tail growing from where their *pilonidal sinus* should be.

Female phaneia are known for having large and voluptuous breasts, which can range anywhere from DDD-Cup to M-Cup, as well as large child-bearing hips. Their standard height is also significantly smaller than the males, standing at 4 ft 8 and weighing 110 lbs to the males' 6-1/2 ft and 200 lbs.

The penis of male phaneia is reported to be very long and thick, above a minimum of 10 inches in length, with veins running across the shaft to form an inverted cross, as well as little spikes running across it for increased sexual pleasure during intercourse. It is reported to be very cold to the human touch, often described to be like an icicle.

### True Form

In their true form, they are vaguely humanoid monsters of roughly 8 ft tall, with pinkish-red skin and glowing snake-like eyes. They have giant razor-sharp claws and bronze hooves underneath their goat-like lower-body, their upper body resembling that of a muscular human torso with large holes instead of nipples. Their bat-like wings are always present and their tail is now a large, venomous snake.

## Characteristics

Phaneia are master manipulators, capable of utilizing their demonic powers to sway people to their size by controlling their emotions and the actions that are born from them. They feast upon the intense emotions of others, regardless if it is positive or negative, though negative emotions associated with sins are the most powerful emotions for them as these sinful emotions fuel them with more demonic power and life-force than positive ones like hope or happiness ever could.

According to Magnus, they are some of the most human-like daemon, and if one strips a phanes of their immortality and demonic powers, they would be no different from an insanely attractive human being. A large part of this is due to their powers mainly revolve around the manipulation and absorption of other people's emotions, with humans being the first and foremost choice, leading to them having more in-depth knowledge of the human mind and being unconsciously influenced by their behaviors.

As immortal creatures, they have trouble forming meaningful relationships with others, especially toward non-immortals, as they subconsciously know that the person they are forming a connection with would eventually die no sooner or later. Because of this, they often seek solace in short-term relationships that are primarily physical and not emotional when it comes to mortals, which resulted in their reputation as lustful or hedonistic beings.

## Weaknesses

* **Physical Damage**: Like the majority of supernatural species, phaneia can still be killed through normal means if they receive a large amount of physical damage or fatal injuries that their regenerative power cannot heal them in time.
* **Salt**: Phaneia are physically incapable of crossing a circle of salt and they can receive first or second-degree burns if salt is rubbed on their bare skin without being protected by Defensive Magic. Under certain circumstances, the ingestion of large quantities of salt can force a phanes to disgorge all the life-force they have absorbed from its previous owner, thus returning them back to their original owners and revitalizing them.
* **Mandragora**: Mandragora is a famous weakness to all phaneia and is often used by Exorcists and Hunters alike for protection against their demonic powers when they have to deal with them. By grinding the roots into powder and mixing it with cold water, one can create a paste that, when applied onto the eyelids, allows them to detect if someone is being manipulated by a phanes.
* **Light Element**: As dark creatures, phaneia are vulnerable against the Light element. Sunlight will easily drain them of their stamina, not to mention exposure for an extended amount of time would cause immense burns ranging from third to fourth-degree. And as such, intense light, such as the one generated through Light Magic or used in the light constructs of Angels and Fallen Angels are extremely deadly weapons against daemon like phaneia.
* **Holy Attribute**: The bane of all demonic creatures. Religious symbols, scriptures, and prayers are extremely effective when defending oneself against a phanes' demonic powers, and items imbued with the holy attribute such as holy water or consecrated oil are the typical items used when fighting against phaneia. However, depending on the amount of demonic power a phanes possesses, the holy attribute's effects have upon them may differ, as the greater the amount of one's demonic power, the less effective the attribute will be upon them, and vice versa.
	+ **Reciting Scriptures**: Phaneia consider hearing recited texts from the Bible, the Tanakh, the Quran, or any religious scriptures within the Abrahamic religions to be torturous for them. They will suffer from intense headaches from hearing the reciting texts alone, and if they are exposed to them for an extended amount of time, they suffer from traumatic brain injuries that can potentially kill them.
	+ **Hallowed Grounds**: Phaneia are physically incapable of entering religious grounds, such as churches, synagogues, mosques, or other hallowed grounds associated with the Abrahamic religions. When entering pagan temples and shrines, they will suffer headaches that will increase by every minute they spend on the ground.
	+ **Holy Weapons**: Phaneia can be wounded or killed by weapons imbued with the holy attribute, such as holy swords or Sacred Gears with divine properties, such as Blade Blacksmith or Twilight Healing.
		- **Heavenly Weapons**: Weapons of heavenly origins can easily kill them.
* **Celestial Metals**: Weapons made out of sacred metals can be used against the majority of supernatural beings, phaneia included.

## Population

The majority of phaneia live in the Asmoday Territory within the Netherworld, though many of them have been reported to live on Earth among the Mundanes. There are also some phaneia who live in the Inferno among the Extra Demons and other daimon species, though their number is small and is considered a minority. They often take jobs as performers, entertainers, prostitutes, and even diplomats, using their appearance and demonic powers to their benefit and gain popular status among their peers.

Their number is naturally small, partly because of their own lack of interest in reproduction and the repopulation of their kind, much like many other immortal species. In addition, their fertility is very low and it would take a phanes centuries to impregnate or be impregnated by others, even when using Fertility Magic,

## Trivia

* **Phanes** (Ancient Greek: Φάνης) is the primordial of procreation and the generation of new life who featured in the Classical Greek religion of Orphism. He was associated with the gods Eros, Priapus, Mithras, and Metis.
* Despite their species being named Phanes, they are more known by their gendered terms: **Succubus** and **Incubus**.
	+ The female term, Succubus, derived from the Latin word *succubare* "to lie beneath".
	+ The male term, Incubus, derived from the Latin word *incubare* "to lie on".
	+ The gender-neutral term, Concubus, derived from the Latin word *concubare* "to lie with".
		- When used as plural, a group of succubi is called "concubina" while a group of incubi is called a "concubi".
* According to rumors, male phaneia are capable of being impregnated and bearing children.
* All children conceived with a phanes parent will eventually grow up into a full-blooded phanes with no exception like warlocks or half-devils.