Demons
Demons are fearsome and loathed creatures that can be found trespassing on Arthos, seeking to trick or torment the weak and desperate. The more intelligent and cunning of Demons seek to bind mortals to contracts that will promise the Demon pieces of their spirit in death, while others act as foot soldiers for Demon Lords seeking to extend their influence from the fractured Hells into the Mortal Realm of the Material Plane. The most powerful of these Demons are the nine Demon Princes, who rule over the nine Principalities of the Hellstack.
The Hell King, his name now lost to history, once ruled over a single united plane of Hell until the Age of Lucidity. Beneath him were the nine Demon Princes, each with their own Principality. It was during the Age of Lucidity that, for reasons unknown, the Hell King removed his crown and sundered the united plane into three main plateaus before piercing a hole through their center. Within this central chasm is a swirling tempest, and at the eye of the storm, the Hell Crown. The nine Demon Princes were left without a ruler, and most immediately began to vie for this crown. Some of the Princes are more preoccupied than others by this quest, while others have their own agendas which they favour over all else. With their combined power the Princes could overcome the magic of the Spirit Tempest and seize the crown, but by their very nature they are too mistrusting of one another to ever allow that. The crown remains untouched to this day as the Princes battle over which among them is worthy enough to wear it, using mortal spirits as fodder in their unending war. Demons cannot be born so they use mortal spirits as fuel for resurrection and battlefield healing among other things.
Contents
Excerpts from the "Codex Daemoniac"
The following excerpts from a grimoire known only as the Codex Daemoniac, authored by one Spectre Oriana Iminos, were distributed by Spectre Raviel Labon Argeal during the Hell King’s War of 2267. The original grimoire’s date of writing and further contents remains unknown.
For immediate dispensation with updated information for current year as authorized by: Spectre Tarkus “The Fullblade” Kurgenschvert
Scribed the 31st of July, 2267
The Spectre’s College has fought the foul things in the wild corners of Arthos for over three decades, with amassed knowledge on several more macabre subjects dating back a century. The following release of Demon-based information is authorized from our archives to give the common folk and any new recruits to this most grim of wars a fighting chance to make a difference.
Demonic Classifications and Types
The Hellstack Plane (colloquially known as ‘the Hells’) is an Outer Realm consisting of demonic creatures within one of nine Principalities. All demonic entities fall under one of the following categories of classification:
Daemoni – Powerful creatures that serve unique purposes in the Hellstack, such as Succubus/Incubus, Baelonrog, Balorous, and the mysterious Drayghoul
Fiends – Experts in a demonic profession be it artisanry, warfare, or otherwise, such as the eponymous Fiends, Ifrit, Harvesters, and the devious Ophidia
Maledictors – Scheming cretins, constructed menaces both solid and amorphous, and lowly laborers that torment mortality, such as Imps, Dretches, Hellfire Oozes, and Furnace Walkers
Hellbeasts – The animalistic creatures of the Hellstack, such as Hellhounds, Scorvaks, Ember Spiders, and Chiropterans
Scourges – Tiny insectoids and formless masses of demonic essence, such as Hellish Locusts, Corpse Bursters, Wretched Crawlers, and Crimson Clouds
A Demon of sufficient rank (see below in this document) can ‘promote’ or ‘demote’ another Demon for its service–or lack thereof–in the form of transforming it to another demonic type. This can take the form of a full transformation (such as a Dretch becoming a Fiendish Soldier; a Maledictor type becoming a Fiend type) or a partial transformation (a Lesser Demon becoming a Greater Demon of its same species).
Diablicant: A Demon’s True Species Name
While Demons have been given common names by mortality, the demonic tongue known to some as “Diablicant,” has more proper species names known by those who study the Demonic Arts. For example, the true pronunciation in Diablicant of an Imp is an Iragoth. Only pieces of this hellish tongue are currently able to be understood by demon hunters and demonologists alike, as it seems to be beyond a fuller extent of mortal comprehension. Speak names in this broken tongue at your own risk.
Demonic Rank
If a Demon hoards its accrued spiritual essence it can increase its demonic rank. This rank is a special assignment of power within the Hells and can differ from other specific rankings within a demonic institution. For example, a Baelonrog without a rank can still be a Commander over some demonic troops, but lacks any societal standing in the Hellstack without increasing its demonic rank. Most Demons start without a rank and are conferred benefits when they increase their power via this method. The ranks are as follows in descending order from most powerful to least, but be aware that these generalized ‘noble’ rankings may have altered names at the whim of particular Principalities:
King or Queen – Since time immemorial this position has been held by the entity known as the Hell King
Prince or Princess – At current, nine Demons of this rank exist, ruling over eight Principalities across the regions known as the Maw, Throat, and Bowels of Hell
- Nilestromus, Kaiser of the Abyss (Only Demon known to claim the rank after initial creation of the first seven Demon Princes by the Firstborn Ixiad)
- Vretchka, The Infinite Swarm
- Naught, The Formless One
- Mara’bagash, Prince of Blood
- Ling Wei, Serpent of Ten Thousand Veils
- Vandritas and Pergyntus, The Twinned Beguilers (Once a singular being known as Beleth bin-Amon before their willing severance into Vandritas and Pergyntus)
- Adramalech, The Black Tyrant
- Zahadun, The Unmaker
- The Mortigeist, Whitethorn, Fallen Archangel of Ll’yandra (Deceased by the hand of Thallan Ebonwalker as of the year 2266; as such, this Principality-by-technicality possesses no current ruler)
Lord or Lady – Extraordinarily powerful Demons that serve directly under the rulers of their Principalities
Duke or Duchess
Marquis or Marquise / Baron or Baroness
Earl or Countess
Knight
Marshal
The Principalities of Hell and Their Effects on Demons
The Principalities of the Hellstack Plane are places ruled over by a Demon Prince or Princess within one of the three regions of Hell. Demons spawned from or bound by these Principalities tend to have differing traits specific to such a place. Each Principality is listed below in the order of their rulers mentioned above:
The Maw of Hell
- Principality of the Midnight Mountain (Overlaps with the Far Realm), Domain of Fear – Demons of this Principality tend to be transmogrified visually by the Far Realm with eldritch abnormalities and have powers over warping one’s perceptions of reality
- Principality of the Spawning Pits of the Infinite Swarm, Domain of Corruption – Demons of this Principality tend to be completely of the Scourge type or be visually riddled with pox and disease
- Principality of the Wünderhole, Domain of the Void – Demons of this Principality tend to be esoteric oozes or have muted colourations and have powers over entropy
The Throat of Hell
- Principality of the Catafalque, Domain of Pain – Demons of this Principality tend to be composed of blood and have power over its use in either Wytchcraft or other stranger effects
- Principality of the Weeping Coil, Domain of Misery – Demons of this Principality tend to have a face covering or snake-like scales and utilize demonic possession or deceptive abilities
- Principality of the Princedom of the Immaculate Abhorrence, Domain of Perfection – Demons of this Principality tend to have an alien allure to their appearance and have powers over charming magics
The Bowels of Hell
- Principality of the Gulf of Perdition, Domain of Power – Demons of this Principality tend to have large horns and possess power over demonic contracts to a frightening degree
- Principality of the Forge Primeval, Domain of Destruction – Demons of this Principality tend to either be muscular or clad in metallic deposits and have great skill with crafting spirits into works of hellish construction
- Principality of the Mizzer’baugh (Locked as of 2266 with the Mortigeist’s death) – Only known residents other than the Mortigeist were the Shattered Elves, Eleghast’Thalan broken by the Mortigeist into becoming raving cultists of rampant emotion
Demon Princes
Each layer of Hell is divided into three Principalities, with a Prince (or Princess) at its head. The following is a list of the known Princes, including the Black Wytch and the Hell King himself:
Adramalech
Ling Wei
Mara’bagash
Naught
Nilestromus
The Black Wytch
The Hell King
The Mortigeist
Vandritas & Pergyntus
Vretchka
