Demon

Demons are the indestructible, body-less souls of people who have died, but whose spirits remain on earth. Followers of Xhoukadi are promised the eternal existence of a demon after death.

## Dena

Followers of Xhoukadi do not enter a unique afterworld, but
they are granted an unending existence on earth in the form of a demon (*dena*).  Demons are spirits bound to any earthly
object, most commonly some stationary object like a stone or tree.  They are not free to move about, though they
can transfuse to new objects with some effort.

Some Southern Vahim Regaad villages who revere Xhoukadi will lay stones on their dead
relatives’ body in funeral, allowing their lost ones to fuse with that
rock.  These rocks are then placed in
household shrines, where they can continue to interact with their living
relatives.  In general, though, demons
remain in the wilds of the world, fused to rocks, undisturbed by living
humans.  They will remain unmoving but
fully conscious for hundreds of years, during which they lose their sense of
humanity and grow into a characteristic demonic restlessness.

After hundreds of years of dormancy, wild demons may occasionally find the
opportunity to enter a human host.
Entering a human host requires either a willing subject, or a battle
between wills.  If the demon loses the
contest of wills, the demon cannot enter the body, but if it succeeds in
overpowering the human mind, it can enter and control the body for as long as
it lasts.  The human soul will remain
conscious, and can even mentally communicate with the demon.  Nevertheless, the host will be completely
unable to control their body unless the demon grants them control, a powerful
magician succeeds in exorcism, or the host mentally overpowers the mind of the
demon.  It is rare for any of these
instances to occur; typically, once the demon gains control of a human host.

Because demons
typically exist in the earth for hundreds of years before they possess a human,
they rarely exercise compassion on their host.
They have lost the ability to hold compassion over the years of
solitude, and wish to exert their control to experience sensations they have
missed for centuries.  To maintain
control, demons frequently subject their host to mental torture.  Demons may onslaught the human soul with
verbal abuse, or they may cause the soul to experience physical pain or undergo
realistic, horrifying hallucinations.
For instance, the demon Nalaagura, upon taking control of Tiy Xhadouk ra
Garet Rangar, forced him to experience hallucinated repeated incidences of his
wife and children dying gruesomely, as well as exempted him to experiences of
extreme physical pain and psychological torment.  Instead of feeling guilt for subjecting the
hosts to these pains, demons usually find the incidences amusing.

In addition to abusing their host,
demons will wreak havoc upon the human world once they contain a human
form.  They create chaos wherever they
run.  Having lived dormant and motionless
for so long, the demons take to their moving form with great exhilaration and
act with a notable lack of inhibition and conscience.  The presence of a demon in a land can be a
region-wide problem, if not a national one.

Demons contain enhanced magical abilities;
inside a host, they are able to manipulate magic in far more potent manners
than humans ever can.  Demons do not need
to ingest materials and evoke an incantation action in order to use magic.  Their use of magic in a host allows them to
heal the body they are in; some demons have been known to possess corpses and
use their powers to prevent the body from decaying.

## Neden

Usually, a host’s consciousness fades the longer a demon
remains in the body.  If the demon
suppresses the human will long enough, the soul will detach from the body and
be sent to one of the afterworlds.
However, demons cannot remain in a host body long without consequent.

The longer a demon remains in a body, the more it fuses with it.  Demons are unfettered human souls, but human
souls by nature fuse with human bodies.
Therefore, over time, a demon’s magic powers may wane inside the
host.  On rare occasions a demon remains
so long in the body that it fuses completely with the body; the soul of the
host and the soul of the demon fuse into one consciousness, and the demon (*dena*)
becomes a creature known as the *neden*.
*Neden* can also be formed if a human soul consciously accepts a
contract and fusing with a demon, though these instances are extremely rare in
occurrence, little more than legend.

*Neden* contain a long lifespan but they are mortal; they will die after 250-300 years
and be sent to Shenevezhah’s afterworld.
They are more magically powerful than humans, but less powerful than an
unfused *dena*.  Most demons avoid
becoming *neden*, and the process will happen accidentally.  On rare occasions of need, they may
consciously become *neden*, such as is the case with Nalaagura when she
fuses with the corpse of Shioka Kai-ri.