Patronal demons

"We don't know how they are spreading, whether it be through dreams or by finding ways to cross the bridges linking the Regions. If it's the former then the Waking Sands should be all right. If it's the latter, then if they manage to spread to the Waking Sands ... it's over. We won't be able to dream them away because sleep is impossible there. That is why we're stationing troops around all the bridges directly leading to the Waking Sands that we can."

— General Tyrieuf Kbovicin

Patronal demons are monstrous creatures that were born in The Abyss. Their origin is unknown, but it is theorized that they were either created from a nightmare or an evil lucid dreamer dreamt them into existence. They are incredibly malevolent, seemingly existing only to maul their prey. They are not known to eat any part of the people that they attack and maul.
The patronal demons are incredibly intelligent, even bordering on sapience. They appear to display signs of sapience, however they mostly act non-sapient. They have thus been labeled as "quasi-sapient".
Sometime after their creation, they began to spread to other Regions in The Dreamscape and terrorize towns and cities full of people. This led to factions forming to fight them off.
It isn't entirely clear whether or not patronal demons are capable of traversing the bridges between Regions in The Dreamscape. This idea and the idea that they replicate through dreams are the two leading theories on how they are spreading to different Regions. Occasionally a patronal demon will spare a person who happens across them or vice-versa. This reinforces the theory that they reproduce through people's nightmares, and so spare a person on occasion only to burn their frightening image into the person's mind so they dream another one into existence elsewhere. Nevertheless, there are certain factions that are permanently positioned to all the bridges leading to and from the Waking Sands to make sure the demons don't enter and become completely invincible.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

They are currently known to reside in several Regions of The Dreamscape, most infamously The Abyss and Rheynolt.

Patronal demons closely resemble this, but have no hair, empty eye sockets, and teeth that are longer, pointier, and more plentiful.
Image credit: Van Helsing (2004 movie)

Lifespan

Indefinite

Average Height

10 feet (3 meters)

Trivia

• The word "patronal" means "relating to the patron saints", giving the patronal demons an oxymoronic name.
• Their resemblance to the demonic bat form of Dracula in the 2004 movie Van Helsing, this is purely coincidental. I saw a random demonic-looking face form in the colors in my vision while in a completely dark room and later imagined the body to compliment the face. It wasn't until later that I realized the resemblance.