Demons

Demons, similar to Devils and Angels are creatures from outside Creation. Unlike devils, demons permanently damage Creation by their very presence. Also unlike devils, there are only 23 different types of demon, each occupying the correspondingly numbered hell. It is important to note that in the Good/Evil duality, Angels are on the side of Good and Devils are standing for Evil, which makes the nature of Demons mysterious. It has been all but stated that goblinfire is at least partially made of Demons.

Known demon types

Absence

Possesses the ability to remove knowledge of people, places, and events from Creation. Direct combat capabilities unknown. Possibly responsible for the disappearance of the Yan Tei empire from Callowan history books for several centuries. Potentially responsible for the erasure of part of a Hell and the two decades during which the three Secret Wars were waged between Praes and the Kingdom of the Dead.

A Hell Egg containing an absence demon was suspected to reside near Harrow. Possibly unleashed and killed by the Crusader heroes. The Grey Pilgrim pledged to kill the demon and a few days later Catherine Foundling experienced a spate of headaches. Afterward no one, even the heroes involved, showed any memory of the Hell Egg, the battle, or the fact that there were 12 heroes afterward out of the original 14. The corpse of one of the demons killed during the Arsenal Incursion was a void that was painful to look at or think about, suggesting Absence.

Apathy

Apathy causes a slow parasitic drain in individuals causing their energy to slowly be sucked from their bodies. The effect also weakens and degrades miracles, as Apathy is the enemy of wonder. A demon of Apathy was deployed by Akua Sahelian the Diabolist at Second Liesse.

Corruption

Causes mutation and madness in those afflicted by its aura. At the Battle of Marchford, then-Heiress Akua Sahelian unleashed the specimen contained in one of Triumphant's Hell Eggs (a Triumphant-era Legion of Terror standard with a demon bound inside) upon the site. It turned the Silver Spears individually into twisted horrors fused with their armor and horses, while also combining other soldiers and mounts into massive, monstrous amalgams of flesh. This particular specimen has also proved able to corrupt Names if a Name phenomenon is triggered within range. The taint can spread through magical connections and those already corrupted; It however can be contained with adequate sorcery. Demons of Corruption originate from the 13th Hell. A Corruption demon's form is a creature made up entirely of blank flesh, with features such as hair or eyes being mere moldings.

Excess

Mentioned by Masego during the Battle of the Arsenal. They are the reason that Praesi diabolists rarely use demons of Terror, as they can "subsume" the latter.

Madness

Madness is one of the most potent demons and leads to a crazed state.

When a demon of Madness was unleashed by Dread Empress Triumphant upon the Callowan capital city of Laure, it killed nine out of ten people and ended the Alban Dynasty. One of the great treasures of Wolof is a Madness demon known as Insipentia, which is bound to a copper crown and to House Sahelian with such powerful and foolproof bindings that no enemy has ever succeeded in freeing it or otherwise turning it against the Sahelians in centuries of trying.

Order

Known to Praesi as "Beasts of Hierarchy." Not as violent as other classes. Alters the rules of creation. "Beasts of Hierarchy took creational laws, the hierarchy of the world as set by the Gods, and replaced them with something superficially similar but at cross-purposes. Air still existed, yet could not be breathed. Solid was as liquid, friction added where there should be none. Points became fixed without rhyme or reason". (Masego)

Wekesa suspected that the Demon of Order unleashed by Akua at Second Liesse was the specimen known as Shango's Doom, responsible for the destruction of the city of the same name. The Gatekeeper of the Tower, bound to the Tyrant's Gate by Dread Emperor Sinister, is a demon of Order.

Terror

This type of demon causes those it touches to experience permanent intense fear. It develops through three stages (Fear, which can be cured altogether with heroic intervention and medicine; Dread, which cannot be cured but can be mitigated; finally Terror, which cannot be either cured or mitigated). This type of Demon is known to Procerans as "Dreadfiends", and to Stygians as "Host-Breakers". A Terror demon's form is a crawling black blob surrounded by translucent, ever-shifting black veils that serve as limbs, with a cluster of moonlike eyes.

A demon of Terror was unleashed in the Arsenal Incursion, and was the only one present to escape immediate destruction at the hands of the Mirror Knight.

Time

Mentioned by Warlock during the Siege of Nicae, when he was dueling the Hedge Wizard. Originating from the 4th Hell.

Dangers

Demons cause permanent damage to Creation, contaminating places and infecting people and animals. A site heavily contaminated by a demon will still be hazardous years later, even after ritual cleansing. Just being near a demon can cause lingering metaphysical scars that permanently lessen whatever unfortunate bears them, although Named are immune to such minor effects. Too much exposure can irreversibly infect a person, gradually transforming them into living vectors of demonic power; after a battle with a demon, it is necessary to scan everyone involved with magic, and usually several seemingly healthy people will need to be killed before the infection takes. Actually being wounded by a demon is invariably a death sentence, barring immediate amputation.

Demons cannot be killed, or even dispersed like devils, except by heroes wielding Light.

Weaknesses

Demons can be bound if a mage is proficient enough in the use of wards, as well as their own control of magic. The Dread Empress Triumphant was known to have bound demons to her standards, allowing her to unleash them at a moments notice. Although this was an ability which she took with her to the grave, there still are a few of her standards (known as Hell Eggs) hidden throughout Calernia.

Bringing a demon into Creation is difficult enough, but ensnaring them to your will is akin to putting a straw leash on a raging tiger. The demon will constantly fight to usurp control and turn on their master. A Name such as Diabolist, would allow a being to control multiple demons, as well as properly direct them at their enemies. Still the snare that is used to bind demons is made of sorcery, thus it can be usurped by another mage and severed unleashing the demon.