Daemon
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Divine Magick |
Definition of a Daemon
Daemons are creatures of the Nether who are completely alien in mindset and goals to anything found in the Tether and the Aether. Though scholars have sought to define these creatures and even apply a hierarchy to them, none of them are sure that this is actually correct. Daemons feed upon negative energies and use negative emotions as their form of energy through a process that is similar to mindcraft.
On the Nature of Daemons
People very often think of demons as big, hairy monsters with leathery wings and two glowing eyes. They expect a demon to resemble a humanoid or animal, and combine traits of the two, perhaps in a remotely normal way, but more often in a grotesque way.
The truth is that the assumption is far off the mark. While a lot of daemons from the lower tiers and circles are bound to one form and often indeed resemble twisted animals or humanoids, the normal demon is a far cry from this. Most of them have no one form, or indeed any set form at all; they exist as disembodied entities, taking the form that suits them best at the moment. Because of their very nature, daemons tend to take to ‘natural’ forms (that is, the ones that they keep to most often) that are more horrible than even a very twisted mortal’s imagination can come up with.
Daemons understand what is expected of them, though. When a Tazlurian summons you, he’s not going to expect you to be a shimmering in the air accompanied with faint whispers and the like; he’s going to expect you to look faintly human, with crooked teeth and horns. Possibly he could expect you to be covered in the gore of your many victims, and tails and hair might come into it at some point. So daemons, when summoned, keep to this ‘expected’ appearance, and only drop the charade if they see a chance to catch their summoner off guard and break the bonds of service.
This aspect of catching one’s master off guard is a bad habit on the part of the daemon. As it says in the Liber Maleficarus, a daemon “may come unto this world and any other, but he must come by request; for daemons have no place in natural order, and no link between their nature and ours exist lest it is created through invitation” (Liber Maleficarus, p.622, chapter IX: De Daemonis et Nomini). This essentially means that unless he is invited into Tazlure, a daemon can never enter this world. However, nobody ever said anything about the conditions after his summoning – once the link between natures is made, the daemon is free to do as he pleases. So if he can break the bond between him and his summoner… well, you can guess the rest.
Few daemons choose to go on and cause a bloodbath, though. For one thing, it doesn’t amount to much (unless you’re one of those daemons who advance through the tiers solely by carnage); for another, the churches won’t have a hard time finding and unbinding you.
Most daemons lay low and bide their time. There are many who would worship a daemon if they ever saw one, and manipulation of the weak-willed is a fine tool to increase your power. Daemons sometimes have clear goals during their stay in the Tether, but just as often, their goals are as mysterious as their actions. One aspect is constant, though: their methods are always gruesome.
Hierarchy
"Lesser daemon, I? My darling miss Cullenmarc, I am but on of the lowest tiers of the hierarchy. More intelligent, mind you, than a lot of them, but I'm one of the fifth circle, and a lesser manifestation at that."
"Unfortunately, it's not that simple. You see, I'm fifth circle, but not all of my kind are. It depends on your manifestations, your age, your tier... daemonic hierarchy is a confusing thing, miss Cullenmarc. I suggest you start easy."
- Darius the Imp (Ryalda’s Tale)
Unfortunately, it is as Darius says. Demonic hierarchy is a confusing thing, but nevertheless I shall attempt to explain it.
Broadly, daemons can be ranked by what tier they are in. Nobody is quite certain how many tiers there are; demons have the habit of referring to themselves as being in ‘lower’ tiers, or ‘advanced’, or ‘one of the highest’, or what have you. Maybe there are only seven, or maybe there are six hundred and sixty six. However, one thing is certain: the highest tier is referred to as ‘First Tier’, which means that the demon’s actual position improves as the number of his tier lowers.
To make matters more complicated, each tier has different ‘circles’, which correspond to rankings within the same tier. Though demons tend to try and be mysterious about this as well, scholars and daemonologists agree that there are six circles within each tier, with the ‘first’ circle corresponding to the highest rank, and the sixth being the lowest.
Confusion sets in when a daemonologist has to decide whether a sixth circle demons is superior to one of the first, if the latter resides in a tier that is positioned one rank below the former’s tier. In some cases, the daemons from a lower tier are actually smarter and stronger, and far more dangerous to summon; and while the lower demon actually has been observed at times to dominate his higher-ranking brother, others have witnessed the demons in the same situation to observe the normal rankings, in which case the lower demon takes orders from the higher. Whether superiority is a matter of position in tier and circle is anyone’s guess, but the demons seem to have a system of their own.
Two other aspects factor into a daemon’s rank among his peers: his age, and his manifestation. Age, being a rather logical factor, is always an indication of how much the demon knows and how good he is at surviving in a world where you either eat or get eaten. Manifestation seems to be linked to the demon’s general power; it is his natural shape, which shifts as he grows more powerful to resemble his nature. These two, however, along with a demon’s achievements, are those factors that determine how fast a demon rises through the circles and tiers, if he does.
Cultism
A cultist is a daemon worshipper. He in fact uses the energy of daemons to create magickal effects, but with their permission as they do the daemon's bidding. The difference with the Dark Arts is that the daemon is not forced or bargained with. Cultism is therefore a form of Faith Magick.
