Demons

**Demons** are a primarily antagonistic group of beings associated with darkness. They are the end result of a human twisting their soul with dark magic. Demons do not have neither a soul nor a spirit, and they are instead comprised of a blackened anima.

## Origin

Demons are the result of a person carrying out too many dark deeds. Whether it be a mage practicing dark sorceries or a murderer, anyone can become a demon. Demons possess an anima, a twisted version of a soul.

## Behavior

Depending on who they were before they became a demon, a demon can take on a myriad of different forms. If a human had a particularly strong will or very clear goal in mind, they will maintain their consciousness and clarity of thought. These are called Greater Demons. Humans whom had a weak soul would be turned into Lesser Demons; these demons are more instinctual and have varying degrees of intelligence.

### **Greater Demons**

Greater Demons pose the largest potential threat to humanity and the realms. Greater demons lack a physical form, granting them high resistance to physical damage. Their form can still be disrupted by magic, however. These demons have clarity of thought, can communicate verbally and often collaborate with other demons and the occasional human. Some demons are not inherently hostile; there are a few demons that were simply overzealous mages and now live out their shame quietly.

### **Lesser Demons**

Lesser Demons prove themselves problematic in the day-to-day after the Coalescence. These demons are more feral and less intelligent, acting more on impulse and instinct.

## Powers and Abilities

### **Possession**

Demons are capable of performing possession, not unlike how deities will possess Acolytes.  However, demons can only comfortably possess humans with their permission.  If a demon possesses a human without their consent, it will be very painful for the demon.  The human's soul will burn away the demon's anima slowly until the demon leaves.  An entity possessed by a demon exhibits the following properties:

* Blackened sclera, or darkness in the eyes that absorbs light
* Speaking in a two-toned voice
* Detectable Dark energy emanates from the twinspirit
* Drastically augmented magical ability, especially when using dark magic
* Soul cannot be devoured or removed
* Resistant to all magic types except Radiant
* Immune to dark damage

### **Devouring Souls**

A demon's anima is unique in its power to consume and eradicate other souls.  This process takes a while to complete fully; in fact the shortest recorded time a demon has devoured a soul is six hours.  A demon may take a "fragment" of a soul--here they devour a tiny portion of a soul in much less time to fuel themselves temporarily.

If a demon takes its time and fully devours a soul, it benefits the demon greatly.  The demon grows stronger, as well as gaining the memories, emotions, and experiences within the target soul.  It is possible for a lesser demon to regain clarity of thought this way.  If the target soul possesses a unique ability, this ability will be transferred to the demon devouring it.

## List of Notable Demons

* Malladir
* Xerias
* Nazir
* Ymir
* Azamir