Demon
While the terms “Demons” and “Devils” are often used interchangeably, they in fact, are a completely different set of species. Demons embody one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and have abilities, powers, sorceries, and weaknesses associated with that sin. As they partake in the sin, they grow in strength and gain new abilities. Devils, on the other hand, are created from human concepts such as hate, love, peace, etc. However, they are not human, and lack the ability or experiences beyond their own concepts.
However, both Demons and Devils come from the Abyss, and as such, can only cross to another Realm by being summoned, having a Gate opened for them, or some other similar mechanism. The Abyss is said to hold an infinite number of Demons, each one specific to their Realm - there is only one Abyss in all of the Realms - and each Realm’s demons fiercely defend their Realm from any demons of a different realm. The true irony is that it is only their inherent selfishness that keeps the Demonic horde from uniting and rending the fabric of reality into shreds.
Demons can grant boons and powers to mortals who summon them, but at the end of the day, they are after the priceless Souls of mortals. They lack any sort of positive emotions, and delight in causing as much of their Sin as they can while they can, corrupting Souls to continue their Sin and give them power.
Both Demons and Devils can manifest Hellfire, an abyssal fire that hungers to burn and consume, and both are highly resistant to normal weapons. Demons, if their mortal body is killed, return to the Abyss, most of their power lost in the journey, and are significantly weaker when they arrive, causing them to presumably be subjugated by a more powerful Demon. In addition, Demons that are not bound by a contract have to be ‘anchored’ somehow to the mortal Realm to stay in it.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Demons typically have chitinous skin (though their true shape is often to horrible for the average mind), and instead normally have thick, almost chitinous skin, horns, claws, a tail. Their skin and eyes are often times red, black, or other similar colors, but sometimes it can be more exotic colors. Typically they have two forearms and two legs, with their hands having three fingers and a thumb, and their legs being digitigrade. They can sometimes have hooves, but often times do not. Low ranking soldier demons are typically average human sized. Demons bleed tar-like black ichor, and half-demons bleed thicker than normal blood.
Higher ranking demons are larger (even up to several times the size of a human), have tails (typically thick, powerful ones that are not the most dexterous), and large wings. These wings can be leathery, bat like wings, but they can also be made of fire, or perhaps living shadow (depending on the power of the Demon. Their skin is even more chitinous, and usually scarred from the countless battles in the Abyss.
Genetics and Reproduction
The Demon horde is functionally countless, for all intents and purposes infinite. However, each Realm has a nearly countless, but not actually limitless, section of Demons that are assigned to their Realm.
Demons can have offspring via copulation with mortals, though it is fairly rare due to their psychology and overall rarity on mortal Realms. Offspring of a demon will be able to wield Hellfire like their parent, though not quite at the same level, and also will have the weakness to Light damage. Interestingly enough, Holy damage does not inherently deal increased damage to these offspring, suggesting that Holy damage looks more to the Soul rather than a genetic code.
Growth Rate & Stages
All Demons start off as Imps, and can stay at this stage unless gifted power or summoned by a mortal. After being granted a small bit of power or gaining a bit of power, they evolve into a Soldier Demon of their specific Sin Aspect, and this is where the majority of Demons stay.
After killing enough demons or mortals, a Soldier Demon evolves into a Towrok. A Towrok has wings and a tail, and gains some abilities based on the Sin Aspect it embodies. Eventually, after killing even more demons or - ideally for the demon - tricking enough mortals to take their Souls through contracts, it evolves in to a Caco.
A Caco has a greatly increased powerset and abilities based on the Sin Aspect it embodies, and can both cast and channel some minor demonic magic. It can also shapeshift, though it is an imperfect shapeshift, and won't hold up under close scrutiny. While other demons have some level of self-preservation, the Caco is almost always watching out for itself, prizing it's power above all else. It seeks to make deals with mortals as soon and as quickly as it can, fully aware that it is now enough of a threat that other more powerful demons may try to take it down, but it is not yet powerful enough to carve out a place of it's own in the Abyss. Cacos, if not actively seeking out ways to manipulate mortals into summoning it, will pledge themselves to Demon Lords or other more powerful demons, doing their bidding and giving a portion of the Soul Energy to their masters in exchange for protection.
After gaining enough power, a Caco demon evolves into a Xath. A Xath has powerful abilities of it's Aspect Sin, boasts a decent ability to cast demon magic, and can form contracts with demons less powerful than it, enabling it to gain power through them. Xath's often are enforcers or other similar roles in a more powerful Demon's territory, and they can grant very powerful boons or abilities to mortals who summon them, even granting things like forbidden knowledge. For the most part, Xeth are the highest class of demon that mortals can summon and hope to control or bargain with.
After much time and a great deal of gathered power, a Xath evolves into a Demon Lord. These powerful demon are extremely dangerous, having almost unmatched strength, abilities, and demon magic. They are able to create a demonic weapon that rivals the greatest smiths, instilling part of their power in the weapon itself, linking it to their own life energy. The weapon grows more powerful as they do, and Demon Lords will seek out a new territory, or wage a bloody war to take it from another Demon Lord. The most powerful Demon Lords hold vast amounts of territory, commanding armies of less powerful demons.
However, even a Demon Lord pales in comparison to the greatest of demons: A Demon Prince. Demon Princes are rulers of the Abyss, each one capable of fighting an Arch-Angel in one on one combat. They have unrivaled magical prowess, are ancient beyond compare, and have abilities that rival Gods and divine creatures. Luckily for mortal Realms, they are far to powerful to be summoned by any mortal, and would only be a threat if somehow a large enough Gate was opened for them.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Demons can consume almost any biological material, though it has been observed that they prefer meat - the bloodier the better - if they can get ahold of it. Due to the fact that they are immortal, it is unclear if they could simply not eat, but instead have always been observed consuming food with relish. It has been postulated, however, that it is less of a hunger and more of a desire to take and consume instead of a biological need.
The one exception to this is demons with the Sin Aspect of Gluttony. They have been observed to start to wither away without food if not able to feed for some time, but again, this may be more related to how their powers and biology are tied to the act of always consuming rather than a strict biological need like mortals have.
Biological Cycle
Demons are immortal, untouched by time. In addition, unless prevented by a specific ritual, if killed on any Realm but their own, they return to the Abyss and are reborn; though their power is greatly lessoned, possibly enough for them to devolve in sub-species, though their memories remain.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Demons have an extraordinary sense of smell and sight, as well as the ability to sense Souls that have been stained with evil. As they grow more powerful, these senses increase to a certain point, but they rely on their sense of smell far more than their eyes for finding hidden prey. Certain specific Sins do have increased senses beyond that of their brethren, but overall they do not have the vastly superior senses that some other species have.
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