Upper Demons

"*Demons are like natural disasters. Unavoidable. All you can do is hope something else saves you when you cross paths with it.*"
―Tovia about Ormr

## Upper Demons

### Dominion

* Alrasid
* (Rarely) Limbo

### Languages

* English
* Itim

### Divisions

* Upper Demons
* Lower/Normal Demons

### Distinctions

* Extremely powerful
* Strong connections with death
* Unique summoning rituals

### Hair Color

**Common*** Black
* Dark brown
* Blonde

**Uncommon**

* White
* Any shade of blue
* Red

**Rare**

* Two toned hair of any kind
* Silver

### Weaponry

* Magic
* Natural weapons (claws, teeth etc.)
* Respective Commandments

**Upper demons** are a subcategory of Demons that make up The Delegation and directly serve the god of death.

## History

### Creation

The upper demons were the first life forms created by the first god of death, initially they were created to keep him company. Svjetlo took a small portion of his life force and molded it into another individual: a sentient being. They were almost blindly loyal to him, he disliked this and began perfecting them, giving them the ability to think for themselves. Grateful for this gift, they chose to follow him and swore fealty to him, promising to serve him and the future gods of death to the best of their abilities.

### Evolution

As the number of upper demons grew, Svjetlo saw fit to bestow upon them each gifts that would assist them in supporting him. Each loosely adhered to a trait that became known as "the commandments." On the snake, he gave the commandment of selflessness, the spider: repose, the mantis: patience, the wolf: loyalty, the raven: purity, the scorpion: love, the hawk: truth, the fox: confidentiality, and the koi: faith. Each wielded these commandments with the intention to help him, and so they did.

Uniquely, after an upper demon dies, they are reincarnated into another demon who is born at the same time as their demise. These demons are typically born from lower demons and are found and taken away by the god of death to grow up in Koto Palace and grow into their duties as an upper demon. Svjetlo came to realize that waiting centuries for a demon to grow leaves their district in a state of constant unease and insecurity, so he manipulated their life force and altered their perception of time. He allows them into a small part of limbo where he molds and stretches them to fit into their role sooner than they would otherwise be able to.

## Diet

Unlike other beings in Lore (with the exception of other demons), upper demons are required to eat their food alive. Whether it's simply bread or an animal. Despite the fact that upper demons are able to taste and greatly enjoy food, it does not sustain them. They rely on life force to continuously survive. The life force provided in things such as pastries, bread, and vegetarian dishes are offered by the life force from The God of Death through the dissolving ash into the water that is then used to water the crops.

Upper demons are not picky in their food and will try almost anything, however only food from Alrasid is able to keep them alive.

## Abilities

The abilities of an upper demon range depending on the commandment that they have received, however there are a few basis abilities that every upper demon possesses: the ability to warp interdimensionally (and even in and out of limbo with the god of death's permission) and the ability to be summoned using a unique summoning ritual.

### Commandments

Each commandment gifts the wielder a unique set of abilities based on the commandment in question.

* **Purity** - The commandment of Purity allows the user to manipulate the memories considered impure in a person's mind and alter them, and in extremely rare cases, revert the act that was committed.
* **Patience** - The commandment of Patience gifts the user extreme patience and tolerance. It additionally makes it impossible for the user to feel any sort of feeling akin to boredom or apathy. Upon touching someone they are able to manipulate the person's "patience" and cause them to remain inactive for periods of time. The time varies depending on how skilled the wielder of the commandment is and who they are attempting to use this ability on. The time can vary from a few seconds to an entire hour.
* **Love** - The commandment of Love gifts the user extreme empathy and understanding. They are able to quite literally see from other's perspectives and view how strong a person's love, platonic or not, is for another through a thread only visible to the commandment wielder. They are able to view who the person in question loves by poisoning them with venom from the scorpion's tail
* **Selflessness** - The commandment of Selflessness gifts the user an extreme understanding of another person's needs and wants. It allows them to care for and provide for the person in question. This commandment additionally allows the person to "lose themselves" by sustaining countless wounds and simply regenerating themselves in an instant.
* **Truth** - The commandment of Truth gifts the user the ability to see through lies as well as draw out the "absolute truth," this can also be a truth that even the person speaking does not know. It additionally allows the user to see into the future, allowing them to see the entire "truth" of the timeline of life.
* **Confidentiality** - The commandment of Confidentiality gifts the user the ability to temporarily disable another's senses as well as erase certain memories that others wish to be kept a secret.
* **Faith** - The commandment of Faith gifts the user the ability to command other's faith by manipulating the water inside of them to control their bodies and stimulate what hormones reach their minds. This commandment is able to additionally gauge others' faith in themselves and those that they hold absolute faith in. They are also able to gift their strength to the one that they hold in the highest regard, which is typically the god of death.
* **Loyalty** - The commandment of Loyalty gifts the user the ability to control others through impersonating the person that they are the most loyal to. This ability operates much like the commandment of Faith in which the user of the commandment of Loyalty is able to give their strength and power to the one that they are the most loyal to.
* **Repose** - The commandment of repose gifts the user the ability to numb other's bodies and cause them to fall into a restful and somewhat sleep-like state.

### Rituals

As mentioned earlier, each upper demon has a unique summoning ritual that humans and other mortals can use to summon them to form either deals or pacts.

#### The God of Death

To summon the god of death, a pentagram must be drawn on the ground. The pentagram is the most intricate part of the ritual and must be one hundred percent accurate, otherwise the ritual will fail.

Place four candles equidistant from each other and light them in a clockwise order. If done correctly the candle's smoke should saturate and turn a deep black before rushing into the center to form The King.

#### The Snake

The Snake's ritual is quite intricate, although gruesome. First, a severed limb is required, it does not matter who the owner. of the limb is as long as it is mostly intact. You must then boil water in a cauldron along with the following ingredients:

* Freshly picked daffodils
* The wings of a butterfly
* Lotus petals
* 2 crushed pinecones.

Once this mixture is brought to a boil, pour it over the severed limb. If done correctly, the limb should begin to writhe and squirm before becoming long and serpentine, revealing The Snake.

#### The Raven

To summon The Raven, you require a flute, seven candles, and charcoal.

To begin, draw a basic pentagram on a flat stone surface with charcoal before placing a single raven feather inside of it.

Sit outside of the pentagram and play the flute, it does not matter. what tune. When the music is heard, the feather will begin to slowly ascend. When it reaches its peak, it will vanish and The Raven will appear within the circle.

#### The Fox

The ritual allows the summoner to summon the fox in a dire time of need and is heavily advised against.

In dire circumstances, it is possible to summon The Fox by causing yourself to bleed (even a little will suffice) and smearing the blood across one or more targets. Individuals marked by the blood will die.

When the wound stops bleeding or the word "vulpes" is uttered, The Fox will appear and swiftly devour those marked by the blood. This can serve as a last minute means of protection, although be prepared to give something valuable in exchange for its service at the last minute. If not, you will pay with your life.

#### The Hawk

The ritual for The Hawk is quite straightforward: obtain a fresh and pure white lotus flower.

Pluck five petals and crush them with a mortar and pestle. After they are thoroughly crushed, scrape them into a hearth and burn them. When done correctly, the flames should far upwards to form The Hawk before vanishing.

#### The Owl

The owl's ritual is simple. Find a large pearl and grind it into a fine dust. Once it has been ground, mix it with a base ink to create a shimmery pearl ink.

Using this ink, compose a poem. If the poem is to her liking, the words on the page will begin to swirl upwards to form an owl. If not, this ritual can be repeated as many times as necessary.

## Names

Upper demons are commonly named after their respective commandment or animal that they represent.

## Trivia

* The upper demons were introduced into Lore through a book placed by Sadie's grave in WWV.
* There were originally only six upper demons.