Demons

Demons are a very common pest in Mirror Domain. A Demon is a creature summoned to this plane from a place called “The Void”, although neither Mortals nor Demons know of The Void. All they know is that Demons are summoned to this world, typically so they can be killed, butchered, and consumed. With such little water available for Mortals to drink, they had to find other means of survival. Thus, they began to drink Demon blood. Because Demons were brought to Mirror Domain in order to be killed and consumed, they naturally have a distaste for Mortals. The two classes have been at war ever since the beginning, and why wouldn't they?

Demons are beings that are summoned to Mirror Domain from a place known as the Void. Much like the Afterlife, the Void is a place where demon souls return to upon death. Demons are creatures created by red magic. Those who die because of heavy red magic infection will oftentimes have their soul damaged, turning it from a standard blue soul to a damaged green one. These green souls cannot return to the afterlife, which is how the void came to be.

   Seeing as a demon’s soul has been damaged and warped, their appearance often is as well. The more warped one is by red magic, the more beastly and monstrous they become as a demon. Demon’s appearances can be just about anything, but those who survive on Mirror Domain tend to have some kind of natural advantage. The average demon you’ll see on Mirror Domain has natural body colours, usually dark browns, blacks, or tans, in order to blend in with their natural environment. Those who closely resemble a mortal are also far more common, as the highly monstrous ones are almost always hunted down out of fear.

   The red magic of Demons has had some odd effects on their physical bodies. For one thing, all demons are naturally immortal, in the sense that they won’t die of old age. Many of them don’t have any physical signs of aging other than scars. They won’t die of most natural causes such as starvation or dehydration, but they will still suffer the ill effects from these things which can make survival more difficult. They may not die from not eating, but they’ll become lethargic and slow, making them easier to get killed by other outside factors.

   Behaviour wise, demon behaviour is not consistent. The majority of Mortals have not looked into the subject long enough to be able to identify patterns. All Mortals know about Demon behaviour is that they’re violent beings that will kill Mortals if given the chance. In reality, Demon behaviour is just as diverse as Humans. Some are mellow, some are violent. Demons tend to lean more towards the evil side, but that’s largely due to the torment they’re put in while in The Void. If Mortals didn’t summon Demons to kill them they’d hold no resentment towards them.

   That being said, there are a few different variants of demons which all have enough unique behaviours and appearances to be classified in distinct categories. These demons are Demons, Higher Demons, and Exotics. Demon hunters have created these categories as a means of determining how much of a threat any particular demon is. Demons themselves don’t generally use these terms, as they have their own means of classifying and identifying each other, but their terminology has the same general idea.

## Standard Demon

A standard demon is by far the most common variant on Mirror Domain. They're generally speaking very animalistic demons which vaguely resemble known mortal species but with enough distinct differences to be able to tell them apart. Just like mortal animals their intelligence, personality, mana, and behaviour vary from individual to individual. Some are highly magical like a magical beast where others are mundane like any run of the mill creature.

## Higher Demon

Higher demons are more akin to mortals in terms of intelligence and behavior. They may or may not appear similar to a mortal species. The higher demon category cares more about an individual's cognitive abilities and intellect rather than appearance; meaning a four legged best could fall into the category if it was smart enough to communicate intelligibly.

Higher demons are usually the most dangerous form of demon as their heightened intellect and resistance to dark and red magic allows them to manipulate mortals far more easily. Many of them have successfully slipped into mortal society undetected. Of Course, like all demons they aren't without their indicators. A skilled individual could still figure them out with enough investigation.

## Exotic Demon

An exotic demon may or may not be intelligent. They're classified by their bizarre and alien appearance compared to other demons. An exotic does not resemble any known species in any clear way. They appear almost alien, and if you didn’t know any better you may not even register them as real creatures in more extreme cases. They're by far the easiest to distinguish and the most uncommon form of demon as most of them have no natural camouflage to keep them safe.

Exotics are highly dangerous, as those who do manage to escape and survive the summoning process almost always have an ace up their sleeve. They're either intently powerful in terms of physical strength or have a strong tie to magic which aids in their survival. Some of them are exceptionally intelligent and use that to their advantage to keep themselves alive.