Third Circle Demons
Each Deathlord is attended by six Demons of the Third
Circle, also referred to as Yamajin. The aggregate of six Second Circle Demons
themselves, the Yamajin have achieved corrupt ascension and may fully wield the
powers of Hell as Yamajin, the Infernal Exalted. As such, they have enough
souls to emulate their Yama King masters without ripping their entire being to
shreds. Each group of Yamajin has access to a Shintai that grants a fraction of
the Yama Kings’ powers by becoming a temporary avatar. The Yamajin are
influential throughout the world, serving as generals, chief diplomats, and
executive officers.
The Yamajin of the Demon Emperor are also called the Slayers, their souls chosen for their
ferocity and capabilities in combat. They serve as generals under the First and
Forsaken Lion. Chief among them is the Brass Tiger Legion, led by the eponymous
Yamajin. Most of them are militaristic in nature, though some are fighting
champions or mercenaries. They may call upon the Demon Emperor Shintai, which
transforms into the devils of legend—monsters with black claws, cruel horns,
fangs with dripping venom, and wings that breathe despair into the wind.
Those Yamajin who serve the Princess of Hell are called
the Malefactors. Their souls are
selected from a long line of those who use the power of dominance, both
physical and emotional, to secure their positions of authority. While most are
in positions of religious authority, others are CEOs and judges. They emulate
the eternal sands of the Princess of Hell through Soul-Sand Devil Shintai,
through which their bodies become living constructs of silver sand.
The perfectly obedient servants of the Grand Arbiter of
Fell Wisdom are known, paradoxically, as the Defilers. Despite their quest for perfection and stasis, neither of
those come without getting dirty. Their souls are chosen from those who crave
order and despise deviance, with a particular focus on those who prefer to use
their superior intelligence to solve problems. Most are highly acclaimed
academics, but one or two are leaders bent on creating a uniform society. They
emulate the brilliant wisdom of the Grand Aribter by use of Ten Thousand Flame
Spiral Shintai, in which they call a small, tangible portion of the white
flames of her infinite wisdom to protect themselves from those who would act
against the bringers of peace and order.
The Herald of the Emerald Winds does not have Yamajin
servants, per se. Those who do
further her goals serve her indirectly through the Lover Clad in Raiment of
Tears, her only outlet into Earth. They are a secretive group, knowing that if
they went public with their affiliations and intentions, the Demon Emperor
would deal out harsh punishment upon the Herald. Even so, these Scourges are modern-day vampires. They
latch on to someone who strikes their fancy and drains them of time,
resources, and, most importantly, vitality, until the victim is a husk in human
shape. Some do this through impossible demands coupled with inescapable
attraction, some through endless carousing, and some through more nefarious
means. In any case, this drained vitality is metaphysically transferred to the
Herald, infusing her with that energy, which she keeps locked away in a secret
wind that quietly travels the outskirts of the Endless Desert. Their souls are
chosen among those with insatiable appetites—for power, money, lovers, fame, or
simple more. They emulate the Herald
through Scarlet Rapture Shintai, where they achieve, in some small part, the joyous
freedom the Herald so desires—by bursting from their mortal shells and rushing
wantonly about as a crimson wind of gore and viscera.
The agents of the Shadow of All Things are a treacherous
group, likely to backstab each other to further their own selfish goals—but the
Shadow wouldn’t have it any other way. These deceitful Fiends are masters of shadow games and intrigue. Their souls are
chosen from those who manipulate the desires, beliefs, and emotions of others
for their own personal gains. They emulate the Shadow of All Things through
Black Mirror Shintai, which allows them to take the form of an unfortunate
victim, stealing his vitality, skills, and very identity with every strike.
The ardent followers of the Mother of Poisons are known
as the Corrupters, but that is not
how they would want to be remembered. They would be seen as benevolent, caring,
nurturing, parental figures—they just happen to destroy the lives of those who
share love with them. They just can’t help themselves. Their souls are chosen
from among those with a crushing agony to be loved. When they finally get their
wish, they become smothering, then jealous, then abusive, and finally
murderous—after all, isn’t their love
the only thing the objects of their
affections truly need? They call upon
the eternal love of the Mother of Poisons through All-Devouring Depths Shintai,
where they draw their wayward opponents into a loving embrace—with prehensile
tentacles of pure toxin.
Second Circle
Demons
The Yamajin, also known as Third Circle Demons, are given
command over six Second Circle Demons of their own. Second Circle Demons,
usually called Greater Akuma, are the product of six First Circle Demon souls
being warped and bound together. In this midway point of demonic transcendence,
the Greater Akuma may wield many of the power of Hell, even channel
great bursts of it, but must do so in generalities—they do not have enough
souls to distribute the destructive violence of channeling the might of one of
the Yama Kings without damaging themselves. The Greater Akuma are not as globally influential as their
Yamajin masters, but still hold positions of power, such as governors,
advisers, and city crime bosses.
First Circle Demons
Each Second Circle Demon has control over six First
Circle Demons, also called Lesser Akuma. Like their greater counterparts, they
are created by the combination of six souls, but these souls are chosen from
among the Demonspawn—infernalists, Least Akuma, and actual demons of Yomi Wan.
Because they only have six souls, they cannot channel the true might of Yomi
Wan, even if they wanted to. They can still use some of its wrath, but not to
extent that the Greater Akuma can. The Lesser Akuma operate on a more local
basis, as city council members, managers, and street gang leaders.
Demonspawn
The term Demonspawn refers to three different servants of
Yomi Wan: Infernalists, Least Akuma, and demons. First Circle Demons personally
command at least six Demonspawn, usually six of each type, in addition to any
uninitiated followers.
Infernalists are mortal members of cults who worship Yomi
Wan devoutly. By the Christian world, they are labeled as Satanists or pagans. Many
wonder why the Yama Kings simply don’t turn all infernalists into Akuma, but that
would deprive them of one their most precious resources: Prayer. Like every
deity before them, they gain sustenance through consumption of prayer, and
prayer is most nutritious when it comes from sources outside of the deity’s
plane of existence. So, while Akuma do provide some benefit, mortal worship
from Earth is the most sustaining.
Least Akuma are mortals who have sold their souls to the
Yama Kings. In exchange for their eternal service (though it is usually cut
very short, very quickly, and very violently), their souls are twisted by
Hell’s power, infusing it with unholy might, then returned to their bodies.
Should a Least Akuma have second thoughts about serving, their lives can be
snuffed instantly. Most are inspired by the thought of becoming a Deathlord
someday—once their soul has been added into a First Circle Demon, then a
Second, then into a Yamajin, and finally into a Deathlord.
Demons are fiendish creatures of legend. They are formed
from the hollow husks left behind by the transformation of a Lesser Akuma,
Greater Akuma, or Yamajin into a being of higher power. The malevolence of the
Yama Kings seeps into these empty shells, filling them with power and
corruption, twisting their very flesh into something more suitable to contain
their might.
Infernal Exaltation
The process of ascending to a higher form of hellish
being is known as Infernal Exaltation. To create a First Circle Demon, six
souls must be gathered: two infernalists, two Least Akuma, and two demons. The
souls of the infernalists connect the First Circle Demon to Earth, allowing him
to cross between it and Yomi Wan. The souls of the demons allow him to survive
in Hell and grant him a connection to its powers. The souls of the Least Akuma
connect the two, allowing them to coexist in the same body without destroying
each other. The Second Circle Demon officiating the ceremony provides a body
for the souls to enter once bound together (the fresher, the better). The
ceremony can be performed on any night, beginning at sundown and terminating at
midnight. At the end of the ceremony, the souls are twisted around each other
so tightly as to be indivisible and enter the host body. This results in a
being of great power with composite souls, and six hollow bodies. The remains
of the demons are burned in offering to the Yama Kings, while the human bodies
are taken by the Yama Kings and transformed into new demons. With the creation
of each new First Circle Demon, there is a net gain of two demons.
When a new Second Circle Demon must be created, the
process is much the same: six First Circle Demons are gathered, their own
composite souls wrapped around each other, then inserted into a new host. This
leaves six corpses, two of which are burned in offering, while the other four
are transformed into demons. The ceremony for creating a Second Circle Demon is
performed from sundown to midnight, but is restricted to the nights of the New
Moon. The process and result is identical for creating new Third Circle Demons,
save for increased cost for materials and time for the conduction of the
ceremony, which can only take place during the Winter Solstice.
When a Deathlord is vanquished, the Yama King controlling
it must rest for one year and one day before it can create a new avatar. During
this period, their powers are greatly diminished, as are their wills—they
essentially died without perishing, something that rattles them to their core.
Having invested so much of themselves into the Deathlord avatar, and the new
composite souls going into its making, the new creation can never be the same.
The first Deathlord of the Herald of the Emerald Winds was called the Princess
Magnificent with Lips of Coral and Robes of Black Feathers. The Herald used
this avatar to play among the humans, using it as an escape from the tyrannical
hold of the Demon Emperor, which the Emperor allowed during her periods of rest
within the Emerald Sun. She grew too fond of humankind, however, which greatly
displeased the Demon Emperor, so he sent the First and Forsaken Lion and his Yamajin
to slay the Princess Magnificent. He then forbade the Herald from creating a
new avatar or having Yamajin or Akuma. For a time, she was so traumatized by
the experience they she obeyed his every command without question. She has
recovered much of her will, however, and without his knowledge, she forged the
Lover Clad in Raiment of Tears, complete with a full retinue of Yamajin and
Akuma. It was a long process, having to carefully gather the 1,296 Demonspawn
to create her new avatar, but absolutely worth it, since she can now escape the
reins of the Demon Emperor through her amorous proxy.
No comments:
Post a Comment