Demons

Demons, sometimes called virtuebounds, are one of the major species. They are connected to a Virtue deity and generally embody similar shape to their master with differences depending on the sin their souls are bound to. They protect and serve their deity in symbiotic relationship with them. In hostile state they are capable to shift to a corrupt form that feeds off various negative emotions including but not limited to fear, grief, sadness, jealously and rage. Corrupt forms vary from individual to individual and are commonly believed to be the "true" state demons are meant to be in.

## History

Demons were formed by their deities almost immediately after their creators emerged from the Ether. In the beginnings demons have always served their deity and abided their Rules of Word but as the Earth influence grew the Soul Shatterer conflict broke out resulting in the Great War leaving demons in question of accountability of their creators or simply wiped off some regions completely.

The remaining demanded more freedom that was eventually granted letting them divide into their levels of Hell as they saw fit. This resulted in development of subspecies crystallizing specific traits depending on the environment they were in. As deity domains were growing in power reincarnated unborn souls entered Hell but while similar they were separate from the born demon counterparts.

## Born Demons

In day to day life virtuebounds are typically called born demons to signify their connection to their deity as their singular creator. Due to the soul connection of creation all of them are essentially immortal, meaning they cannot die from their own hand, age or sickness. However, demons can be killed by others and their soul forcibly removed from their bodies by their deity. They do not possess hearts or lungs, in some cases experiencing complete absence of internal organs, compensating with higher bone and muscle density. Their souls are typically tainted with a single sin and it shows when they light any type of fire as the first spark glows in shade associated with one of the seven deadly sins. Anomalies such as multiple arms, eyes, mouths etc. are extremely uncommon, however, horns, wings and unique skin patterns are widespread depending on subspecies.

### Succubi and Incubi

Succubi and Incubi (used interchangeably) are subspecies of born demons commonly associated with sin of lust. They are highly intellectual and prone to complex social structures and are represented with color blue.

#### Appearance

Body types and heights vary. Skin colors and pigmentation patterns are identical to humans. From other demons succubi are distinguished with pointy ears, long tails and royal birthmarks somewhere on their bodies. The ears are narrow and long, commonly without earlobes, though this anomaly can be spotted among mixed children and is not considered significant. Their tail is in range between half and full length of the individual's height. They are long, typically bare and extremely thin, safe for flattened formation at the very end resembling a heart or square shape of a crop. The tails produce signature sound of cracking whip when swished around and can be used as a form of non verbal communication in casual settings. Royal birthmarks have gained their name from the way they were used to assign a class to incubi and succubi families depending on their shape. The mark typically corresponds to the shape of tail's end but placement and sizing varies from individual. Common appearances of royal birthmarks are on cheeks, upper back and thighs. In most cases the royal birthmark doesn't exceed the size of a palm. Eye colors cover entire visual light spectrum and tend to display mild glow in the same hue when the demon is filled with lust or curiosity.

#### Behaviour

These demons typically live in massive groups they simply refer to as "families" even if the individuals aren't related to one another. Said families dedicate their lives to obtaining and collecting items or connections relative to their respective lust.

Non monogamy in all forms is the standard and children are raised in groups often referring to multiple individuals as parental figures depending on their role in person's life rather than their relations by blood. Family cannibalism is an occasional occurrence in which a large family tends to devour souls of members that lack skills or potential to benefit from in times of hardship. Another alternative for a family to feed is to allow more self sustaining members to meet and "date" other individuals only to bring them back to family for consumption adding to the idea of succubi being incapable of romantic bonds. However, true long term romantic bonds are considered to be extremely rare and thus desired by succubi of all levels as ultimate showcase of selfless trust. A confession for such feelings is typically presented in the form of the individual's most cherished and valuable item in their respective collection. Depending on families turning such confession down can have drastic consequences.

Succubi society mainly functions without money stressing the importance of trade as a relationship of established trust and mutual understanding as well as the overall need and importance of societal relations. They have established currency for the convenience of tourists and student's from other levels that may not be used to or fail at the natural system established there. Their society can be considered extremely wealthy if the collections were to be transferred into monetary sums as one of the most common lusts are lust for knowledge and lust for inspiration resulting in families seeking out rare books and antiques that are all in public domain as the urge is satisfied upon obtaining these items of lust.

#### Food

Succubi are the only demons who sustain themselves with purely soul based diet. They are capable to consume regular food for personal enjoyment but they are not capable to digest it in a way that allows them to gain any nutritional value from said meals. This unique trait means they can exist for extended time without feeding but also makes hunger a critical and dangerous point of transformation and suffering. Upon starvation individuals fail to contain their demonic forms and may to go in blind rampages to seek out potential victims for consumption. Within closed succubi circles this can easily be prevented but individuals without family support possess huge risk or illegal cannibalism and usually seek contracts and deals outside the norm to sustain themselves.

### Pixies

Pixies are subspecies of born demons commonly associated with sin of anger and occasionally envy. They are generally high energy and willing to share their joy with others via festivals. Pixies are represented with color red.

#### Appearance

In body types dominate lean and petite frames of varying heights. Skin colors and pigmentation patterns generally mimic those of humans with minor differences in mixed children. From other demons pixies differ with extremely long fingers that end in claws, pointed teeth and patches of feathers in symmetrical patterns. While their palms are proportional to their bodies the fingers two times surpass them in length yet maintaining the same amount of joints as a human. These fingers end in sharpened claws that must be carefully maintained to prevent them from curling. Jaws of pixies are generally small but filled with jigsaw shaped teeth made for puncturing and tearing. These teeth grow sharper as pixie ages to prevent jaw from deteriorating. On patches of skin fully functional feathers develop albeit research fails to trace them back to any existing bird species leading to a belief it is unique to pixies. Feathers usually are symmetrically placed on cheekbones, necks, lower arms and can be manually moved by the individual. Color of the feathers correspond to the hair and eye color limiting their color palette to blacks, browns and reds, as a result family trees being traced by the specific shade their feathers display.

#### Behaviour

Pixies generally prefer monogamous relationships and living in multi generation families that together run a business or partake in a trade where elders assist in raising the youngest children while older offspring help their parents and prepare to take over the craft over time.

These demons are prone to intense emotions especially anger which if not controlled or somehow tamed can result in individuals death due to complications from high stress levels. This high irritability is the most dangerous in summer months when pixies are the most active. Upon survival of high stress periods pixies enter low response periods where they become apathetic and non responsive to provocation. Unique form of conversing among pixies to warn others of their state is in form of expressing themselves through set of sounds each of them representing a specific sound. For example, peeps are generally expression of positive reaction akin to exclaiming "I like" that can be applied to agreement in an argument, seeing something they approve of or enjoy. These sounds are only partially under individual's control thus are mostly ignored by other subspecies. Over years they have learnt to use specific herbal mixes in teas, food and multiple forms of smokables as medication and calming agents to control the stress alongside developing resistance to the side effects unlike other demons who aren't exposed to them on regular basis. Another form of emotion control is planning and partaking in various events that have developed in theme parks and tourist attractions ensuring constant access to places for seeking positive emotions and tiring themselves out over time to enter low response periods. Their medication is widely offered as "experience enhancers" and "vitamins" to tourists who actively seek them out to use as designer drugs or last resort pain killers against severe chronic pain infamously making pixies known as "drug dealers of Hell".

The herbal mixes and tourism are the main sources of income for pixie communities making them excellent hosts and vendors which are skills they take great pride in passing this knowledge down for generations alongside skills required to maintain them such as costume making, design and conversationalism.

#### Food

Pixies can sustain themselves both with souls and carnivore diet. Souls can sustain them for far longer than meat but the accessibility creates overall meat preference despite it increasing their irritability so when presented with an option to choose they will pick souls for their own comfort and well being. Pixies cannot survive on vegetarian or vegan diet for more than few days without intense supplement use thus alternative forms of diet are considered foolish displays of rebellion with no positive consequences. Casual cannibalism widespread during high activity periods by unmedicated individuals and is considered a turn of bad luck to fall victim to one of these aggression prompted spikes of violence.

### Imps

Imps are subspecies of born demons commonly associated with sin of gluttony and color orange. They are hardworking and a closed off community with extensive research and long lasting traditions.

#### Appearance

Imps are shorter than other demon subspecies and usually maintain a stocky build but it is not absolute. From other demons differ with unique mucosa and teeth coloring, horn formations and pupil shape. Imp mucosa and teeth instead of the typical pink and white tones tend to take shades of black, purple and green with teeth in a lighter shade than the gums. The color tends to darken in cases of illness or malnutrition but the coloring can differ between siblings. Imps are one of the two demon subspecies with horn growths but the only ones who don't seem to display symmetry. On one side it's possible for an individual to have up to six horns in various shapes and sizes with one typically larger and the others either resembling small bumps or merging together halfway. For aesthetic and convenience sake horns are often trimmed down in complimentary and smooth shapes or severed off completely but it is a personal choice of the individual rather than demand of the society. Imps don't have round pupils unlike most demons instead having vertical slits which widen and shrink separately for each eye if you shine a ray of light in only one eye. They are also capable to see in almost complete dark if minimal light source is provided.

#### Behaviour

Little research has been released to the masses to describe the imp society. However, it is known that their family arrangements usually consist of a couple with up to two children and up to five workers that assist in the field work when taking care of their farms and conducting research. Couples rarely separate out of fear of losing their investments and land thus common are so called "friendship weddings" to ensure potential future relationship issues don't get in the way of their main goals, making romantic relationships secondary.

The unmatched imp interest in botany and zoology has these demon subspecies joining sciences in a mission to create premium quality produce. The research primarily focuses on finding the best possible conditions for animals and plants to grow in as well as hand selecting and crossbreeding them for obtaining desirable samples and traits. The overall imp communities are close knit and separated from the rest of Hell because they are suspicious and hesitant about outsiders and even after moving there sometimes it takes a while to be fully accepted as one of their own. However, they are also extremely loyal and once the individual has been approved by the neighbours they will keep a memory and fond relations even if separated for years.

Main source of income for imp communities is through export as their trade produces food for entire Hell and inner trade is often ne through friendly relations and under the market prices.

#### Food

Imps are capable of transitioning to a plant based diet but due to their work conditions in high strain environment they prefer a mixed diet with equal amounts of plant and meat based produce. They are immune to most poisonous plants and thus their cuisine might be lethal to other demons but substitutes are available for those interested in trying these gourmet masterpieces without of the added spice of a death threat. Souls are difficult to come by in such sparsely populated communities so they are in high demand with imp families of significant research willing to sell their findings for them. Souls can make even the most docile imps become aggressive and powerful which is often used during harvest season.

### Dragis

Dragis are subspecies of born demons commonly associated with sins of greed and pride. They are represented by colors yellow and purple. Often found in leadership positions all over Hell dragis are extremely driven and dedicated demons.

#### Appearance

Significantly taller than other demon subspecies with lean on chubby and muscular body types. Dragis differ from other demon subspecies with scale like formations, protruding teeth and partner-mark claws. Scale like formations on their backs and arms appear to have increased heat and mechanical damage resistance and regrow within a span of a week if removed. The scales are flexible and match in shade to individuals skin color being nearly unnoticeable unless in direct light or wet serving as incredible subtle armor. Protruding teeth are a sign of an individuals maturity as they continue to grow in size their entire lives. Trimming used to be popular to appear younger but latest research proving the negative impact on dental health resulting from this trend has spawned campaigns that encourage embracing signs of age. More and more dragis not willing to sacrifice health for fashion more and more have caught on with this positive change. Partner-mark claws are two overly developed claws that show up at teen age approximately in knuckle region. In the beginning they are made of cartilage later forming in full bone and break off later in life out of malnutrition to these bones

## Unborn Demons

Earthbounds are not carrying the soul connection with their deity even if they exist under their care, thus typically called unborn demons. This lack of connection causes their soul to "age" until they reach a stage where they eventually reincarnate either by sickness or lack of sustainable energy leaving their soul up for collection. Similar to born demons they do not have hearts, however, the internal anatomy greatly varies in case by case basis. Over the human lifetime the souls get tainted by multiple sins resulting in variation of their overall appearance that is not limited to a single subspecies dependent on their sin and hues of the lit fires by their hand. Anomalies are far more common among unborn demons contributing to the acceptance of such differences as the unborns are generally more widespread in the overall population.