Eidolon

**Eidolon** (pl. **Eidola**) is a race of shapeshifting daemon known in many cultures across the world under names such as **doppelgänger**, **shapeshifters**, or **skin-walkers**.

## Overview

### Eidolon

In ancient Greek literature, an **eidolon** (plural: **eidola** or **eidolons**) is a spirit-image of a living or dead person; a shade or phantom look-alike of the human form.

The concept of Helen of Troy's eidolon was explored both by Homer and Euripides. However, where Homer uses the concept as a free-standing idea that gives Helen life after death, Euripides entangles it with the idea of *kleos,* one being the product of the other.

Both Euripides and Stesichorus, in their respective works concerning the Trojan Horse, claim that Helen was never physically present in the city at all.

### Doppelgänger

A **doppelgänger** or **doppelganger** is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or paranormal phenomenon and usually seen as a harbinger of bad luck.

The word "doppelgänger" is often used in a more general and neutral sense, and in slang, to describe any person who physically resembles another person. Other traditions and stories equate a doppelgänger with an evil twin. In modern times, the term **twin stranger** is occasionally used.

### Skin-walker

In Navajo culture, a **skin-walker** (Navajo: ***yee naaldlooshii***) is a type of harmful witch who has the ability to turn into, possess, or disguise themselves as an animal. Navajo witches, including skin-walkers, represent the antithesis of Navajo cultural values.

The legend of the skin-walkers is not well understood outside of Navajo culture, mostly due to reluctance to discuss the subject with outsiders. Traditional Navajo people are reluctant to reveal skin-walker lore to non-Navajos, or to discuss it at all among those they do not trust.

## Summary

Like many other demonic creatures, eidola 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 Satan, more commonly known in the Netherworld as the original Belial, to serve as loyal servants of the royal Belial Clan.

After the Devil Civil War, despite the majority of daemon joining the Extra Demons to create their own settlements in the Inferno, the eidola remained in the Netherworld to loyally serve the Belial Clan as they have been doing for millions of years.

In the early 19XX, a small group of eidola decided to rebel against the Belial Clan and infiltrated into the United States' government, stealing the identity of many important politicians and businessmen, and using their influences to push back the influence of the 72 Pillars, especially the Belial Clan's, on Earth. Their rebellion, however, was squashed by Diehauser Belial and all perpetrators behind it were executed, though this came at the cost of the Alpha Belial's death. According to Simon, this was the "true history" behind the reptilian conspiracy.

## Appearance

In their transformed state, it is nearly impossible to separate eidola from the being they shapeshifted into, though for humans, due to them only "borrowing" the appearance of a pre-existing person, there will always be two versions of said person, possible even more if their appearance is taken by more than one eidolon. However, when they are filmed or captured on camera, a retinal flare'd appear in their eyes, revealing their inhuman status.

In their true form, eidola are giant slug-like creatures covered in gray pockmarks and a glowing gold "brain" floating inside the dark slime.

## Characteristics

Eidola are among the most common species of greater daemon, often being compared to imps due to their high number. They couldn't reproduce among themselves and could only give birth to new eidola by impregnating females of other species, typically humans, and the offspring born will almost always eidola with only a very small chance of them being born a warlock.

When they are born, they are originally slug-like creatures before changing into their base human form several minutes after birth. Afterward, their demonic power will be temporarily sealed until they reawaken it later in their life, either in their childhood, in their teenage years, or in their adulthood, by killing someone they consider a family, regardless if it's by choice or by blood.

For most eidola, their mother will die delivering due to demonic power poisoning them in most cases and their shapeshifting powers will be unlocked from birth. If they survive, however, there is a very high chance that they will never awaken their shapeshifting powers and would live as ordinary mundanes for their entire life, even subconsciously aging themselves and die a natural death like many humans do.

Due to their shapeshifting powers, the ones who have unlocked their demonic powers from early on tend to simply cycle through various forms and appearances and never settle on one particular permanent appearance. Those who awaken their powers later on, however, tend to stick with their original human form, though many do make some change to their body so that they may appear more attractive.

While they are capable of turning into different animals and the physical form of different monsters and other daemon, most of them refrain from doing so. This is because when an eidolon shapeshifts into a human, their mind will also partially become that of the person they're changing into, and the more they change into someone, the more of said person's personality and characteristics will be adopted by the eidolon. The same principle also applies to animals, and by changing into animals multiple times, they will begin to lose their humanity and will slowly become that animal in both body and mind.

## Population

The majority of adult eidola can either be found in the Belial Territory within the Netherworld, and small covens of them do live in the Inferno with the Extra Demons and the majority of other daemon. Other than that, there are also some eidola who live on Earth among humans for their own reasons, and in big cities like New York City or Los Angeles, a community of eidola can be found in their moonlit community.

According to Magnus, due to the fact that many eidola never awaken their demonic powers, they still continue their life as ordinary humans among the mundanes and after a couple of generations, around the line of their great-grandchildren or later, the eidolon genes will disappear from their bloodline.

## Sub-Species

### Du'sien

**Du'sien** (ヅシアン, *Dzushian*) is a sub-species of eidola whose true form is abstract and irregular, like a greenish-gray wisp of smoke with a glowing black core, who can transform into any being whose flesh they have consumed, humans, animals, and monsters alike.

They can also slipping into someone's body through their mouth, ears, and nostrils and possess their body, though some experienced du'siens can even possess inanimate beings such as statues, automatons, and even electronic devices.

## Trivia

* The name, *eidolon*, means "image", "idol", "double", "apparition", "phantom" or "ghost".
	+ "Doppelgänger" is German for "double-wakers".
	+ In Theosophy, the astral double or perispirit or kamarupa after death, before its disintegration, is identified with the *eidolon*.
* Their average lifespan is around 250-300 years.
* They are one of the few mortal races of greater daemon.
* In the Underworld, they mainly inhabit the Ring of Sloth.
* It's considered bad luck to see an eidolon mid-transformation.
	+ It's a well-known bad omen to see an eidolon transformed into yourself.
* Their skin can secrate a type of slime-like sweat which can transform into any clothing they want.
* They can only breed with human women and the offspring is almost always another eidolon.
	+ It is unknown if an eidolon can breed with a human man, though it's implied to be possible.
	+ An eidolon named "Charles Douglas" had a human twin brother, suggesting that in such cases, not all children will be born eidola or warlocks, and some might even be born humans.
* Unlike other supernatural creatures, they are incapable of noticing others of their own kind.
* Despite popular belief, they are neither ghosts or undeads.
* While they are known as "skin-walkers", they don't seem to have any similarity with the monster of the same name from Najavo mythology, other than the shared power of shapeshifting.