Blade Demons

Blade demons are a unique type of spirit that are the physical personifications of legendary weapons created for and wielded by gods in the War of Nine. Few still remain today, but once, there were many. They are extremely powerful, capable of great and ancient magic, and no two are the same. Created by the ancient forge father Ferus, they are inherently tethered to the weapon they were forged in tandem with to inhabit. The demon and the blade are one in the same, like two halves of a whole. They have their own minor realms within the blade itself where they reside most of the time, and the weapon is most powerful when the demon is inside it.

They can manifest separately from their blade, and are able to act independently, but they are also tied to their masters, the one who wields their blade. They are known to be deadly, formidable warriors in their own right, but are not able to wield their own weapon. The weapon itself cannot be wielded by anyone other than its true master. Others could in theory touch, pick up, or even use the blade to fight, but if they are not its master the weapon will be extremely heavy, perhaps even harm the user in consequence, and will not shine with any of its potential near-divine power.

If the weapon itself is destroyed, the demon so too will be all but killed, even if they are not in the blade when it happens. If the demon is killed, the weapon loses its power entirely, becoming nothing more than the metal it's made of, empty.

Blade demons are more than just weapons, however. They can also be companions, confidantes, commanders, and advisors. Many were very intelligent and some were very wise. They have individual personalities, and are capable of great depths of emotion. After all, they are conscious beings.

Where Are They Now?

By the era of the Known World, only a fraction of the ancient blade demons remain. Since they are not naturally occurring beings, more will only come into existence if new ones are made by Ferus, which is unlikely, as there will never again be a war amongst gods like the War of Nine. Over the many, many centuries, some have been lost and forgotten, some lie dormant, and most are dead. Most, at the hands of each other. Not every blade in the world is made to destroy, but that is what most of the blade demons' masters wanted them for. They were ultimately instruments of carnage, and were set against each other from the very beginning. Allyship between blade demons is not unheard of, if their masters were allies, but for the vast majority, it was only ever kill or be killed.

The Blade and the Master's Bond

Depending on who their master was, the blade demon may or may not have more freedom. Some were given the blessing to move and act according to their own will, though even then, due to the nature of the bond they would not be able to resist or disobey a true command from their master. Some were treated like slaves, or worse, had their will entirely dominated by their master, so their entire existence revolved solely around them. It takes a great amount of power to utterly control another being in this way, though, even for a god, and few of the gods who wielded these ancient weapons were capable of it, or willing to go to such extremes.

Much of the true nature of blade demons is known only by their creator, Ferus. Most believe, from the demons themselves to the gods they were crafted for, to the mortals who tell the mythology of them, that a blade demon's true master could only be the very god they were forged for. As far as anyone knows, no one else has successfully wielded one, unless the demon was dead and their blade null, no different from any other steel sword made by mortal hands. But, a legendary blade's true master can indeed change. If they are cast aside by their master, another might become their new master, if proven worthy, or chosen by the demon themself. One might even challenge the blade's master, defeat them and win their title, or seize ownership of the weapon by force, deception, or plain thievery. In theory, someone powerful enough could claim a legendary blade and make themselves its true master by simply declaring it, whether they acquired the weapon fairly or not. In theory, a blade demon's master could also set them truly free, by releasing their bond as master and blade, and fusing the weapon into the demon, destroying the last of the demon's shackles. That is what it would take to unlock to blade demon's own true maximum power, to by unburdened by their own blade.

Canorsolanim, the Death Sword, was once abandoned by his master, a powerful and ancient Empyreal God. This disavowment, as well as the scorn and treachery of his master's worshippers, weakened him fatally. Centuries later, he chose a new master, a mortal, a young warrior by the name of Shea Tyvmir, and is now slowly regaining his true strength, though he is still far from his former power.

A blade demon could also reject its master. There was one infamous for doing this, long ago during the War of Nine: the Red Blade Kotys, also called the Red General. Believing his god master to be too weak, he overthrew him and formed an army of his own. However, because he attempted to wield his own sword-self, he lost all but a fraction of his power, and was soon killed.

Nothing Is Ever Made From Nothing

Just as a sword could not exist without having once been the raw materials it was forged from, the blade demon itself also could not have just been simply conjured from nothing. All blade demons were once a different kind of being before they were reborn as blade demons. Spirits, fay, grand fay, lesser demons, mortal gods, entities of nightmares and dreams. Some blade demons remember their previous lives better than others, some are made to forget. Blade demons always retain traits and characteristics of who, and what, they were before they were reborn in Ferus' forge. The blade, as well, reflects the demon, and not the other way around.

Canorsolanim, the Death Sword

Misnomer

Though they are called such, and known as such, whether or not Blade Demons are actually technically demons is a little bit murky. True demons are spirits of the domain of Chaos, and are often but not inherently malicious. Blade Demons are not born, but made, and do not all fall under the domain of Chaos, they could in theory belong to any domain, be it Light, Death, Creation, Law, or so on. They could also be considered angels-- spirits that directly serve a god-- or fallen angels, if the tie between them and their original god master has been severed one way or another. However, none are inherently tied to any particular diety outside of a master-weapon bond, they are technically independent entities, thus they don't quite fall perfectly under the angel classification either.