#taxonomyofdemons

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Irina, Count of Powderscar

Irina, Count of Powderscar, The Rust-Feather Crane, Shadow Of The Killing Rain, Demon Noble of the Sixth Circle. Subsidiary Soul: Beza, The Rust-Feather Crane

Irina takes the form of a tall, thin woman - unnaturally slender, her body corded with muscle. Her skin is rust-red, her head adorned with scarlet feathers like a thick mane. Her eyes are black holes ringed with bright steel; meeting her gaze is like staring into the barrel of a gun. She dresses in elegant robes in more shades of red and brown, with wings upon her back. Her weapon of choice is called Leadfire Wheel, a ringblade studded with pistols.

Her demense, Powderscar, is a dense and tall city wreathed in gunsmoke. The gunsmithies ring with hammers and testfire at all hours, almost drowned out by the bustle of the markets. It is surrounded by the bullet paddies that bring it wealth; oil-flooded fields where ammunition is grown by serfs and patrolled by stilt-legged guards. It sits on the edge of a canyon and the bridge to the far side is controlled from her palace.

She is known to be decisive and merciless; not cruel, but without hesitation in meting out punishment, quick to apply to the death sentence by her own hand. She is also well known for her taste and fondness for fashionable attire; her preferred colour palette may be limited but she delights in designs which make interesting use of pattern, texture, and shape. She practices pyrography, searing detailed and delicate scenes of nude figures lounging in gardens. Her private chambers are decorated with abstract sculptures of smoke and her favourite guns from her personal forge.

She serves Earl Ruthven of Kanon with fidelity, but feuds with her closest peers; Titus Ironhand covets her gunsmiths and she despies his boorish manners, while she and Lelka the Cutting Scream have never forgiven each other over being punished for infighting by having a rare material over which they battled taken by Ruthven. She is ever at war with her neighbour of the Fourth Circle, Count Lenshi of the Bitter Coast, who rules the demense wildward of her own. The great cannons of Powderscar shout their rage every few hours in a effort to sink his fleet. She takes lovers in secret and their names are not known.

Expressions: Hunter's Eyes: When sighting a target, Irina gets one use of the Hyper-Appraisal Blasphemy for free. Cannon Queen: Ballistic cannon revere Irina; they will try to miss her when fired in her direction. Bullet Ballet: Irina can use her Perform Skill in place of Evasion when avoiding gunfire and kick off bullets to propel herself.

Her subsidiary-soul, Beza, takes the form of an immense crane with rusting iron feathers. He soars above the demense, his shadow causing terror in Demons who fall under it. Traitors, spies, and criminals feel the piercing besk of Beza, whether falling from the sky like a spike of doom or exploding from a perfectly still one-legged posture. Beza enjoys harp music and eating Imps.

Expressions: Steel Beak: Beza's beak attacks ignores up to 5 Soak. Stillness to Violence: Beza blends into his home territory when still. When doing so, his Composure is doubled for determining Initiative and his next attack counts as if from stealth.

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Princes of the Fourth Circle

I may not go back do this for all of the Circles, but this one is in ascending order and comes with a playlist

Valtanta, Scourge-Prince, Sovereign of the Winds, The Coldest Shoulder, Cutting Sigh, Evergone, The White Mourning, Cruel Prophet, Lord of the Rain of Tears, Lady of Last Resorts, Voice of Betrayal, The Kindly Knife, Saint of Exile

Twilight Mirage, Scourge-Prince, Sovereign of Mesopelagia, Unknowing Knower, Sea of Ghosts, Ice-Rimed Eyes, The Empty-Handed, First of the Drowned, Forget-Me-Now, Inward Blade of the Unforgiven, Saint of the Lost

Luce, Scourge-Prince, Sovereign of Bathys, Lightscorned, Whalecorpse Palace, Shipwrecker, Blackheart, The Great Serpent, Jaws Within Jaws, Scapegoat Seeker, Outward Blade of the Unforgiven, Saint of Murder

Isioros, Scourge-Prince, Sovereign of the Doldrums, The Hungering Void, Master of Empty Rooms, Heartstopper, The Crushing Fathom, Silence Absolute, Doomsickness, Great Kraken, Saint of the Wounded

The Moon In The Deep, Sovereign of The Abyss, The Great Attractor, Nightsong, Who Abides Eternal, Martyr In Themself, What Loves You Always, The Glow In The Rock, False-Home Spectre, Saint of Suicides

The Bitter End, Scourge-King, Forsaken of Names, Mouthless Eater, Mountain-Killer, The Dark Hope, Breaker of Virtue, Fourth Symbol of Royalty, All-Consuming Tide, The Silent Maelstrom, Frost-Devouring-Dawn, Deathscorned

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First Circle Princes

Lux Tyranis, Illuminor-King, Who Sits The Nuclear Throne, Radiant Blade of The Infinite Horizon, Brooks-No-Shadow, First And Final Blood, Commander of the Endless Host, The Ur-Monarch, The First Symbol of Royalty, Hydrogen Saint of Fusion, Whose Light Severs, Warrior Without End

Tacitus, Illuminor-Prince, The Unblinking Eye, The Pitiless Sun, Shining Lord of the Paper Desert, Thrice-Broken, The Revelation of Time, Mentor of the First General, Uranium Saint of Fission, Whose Gaze Unravels.

Setha, Illuminor-Prince, Queen of Duels, Heaven-Sundering Glaive, Temple of the Warrior’s Fortune, Arbiter of Trial by Sword, The Just Cut, Mentor of the First Knight, Plutonium Saint of Fission, Resplendant Division of Murder and War.

Rathless, Illuminor-Prince, Mercenary Heart, Mentor of the First Sellsword, Adopted of War’s Forsaken Children, The Underhanded, Who Kills By Sight, Disfavoured of the Hellsun, Leaden Saint of Fission, Law’s Shadow

Adalgard, Illuminor-Prince, Shield of Dawn, Patron of Heroes, The Obliged Noble, Mentor of the First Lawkeeper, The Punishing Sun, Deuterium Saint of Fusion, The Terrible Power of Duty. The Grieving Sword of Execution

Tentham, Illuminor-Prince, The Defier, Tyrant-Rebel, Quill of the Death Warrant, Mentor of the Last Rebel, Poisoner of Revolution, Bright Lure Atop Power’s Jaws, Neutrino Saint of Fission, Hypocrite in Golden Finery

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Third Circle Princes

Ur-Sekhem'gal, Avenger-King, End of All Swords, Keeper of Thunder's Forge, The Great Drake, Of Adamant Scale, Third Symbol of Royalty, Doom of Nations, Vengeance of Spiritus Mundi, The Burning Tower

Shurdat'urma, Avenger-Prince, Lady of the Flaying Wind, Destroyer of Kings, Doom of Tyrants, Thrice-Penitent Killer, Blood-Drowned City, Guillotine Queen, The Red Axe, Vengeance of the Downtrodden

Karpallas, Avenger Prince, Bloodshot Eye of Desperate Fury, Trenchlord, Sovereign of the Killing Fields, The Bloody Fisted Wraith, Vengeance of the Forsaken Soldier, Heart of Murderous Intent

Y'shora, Avenger Prince, Widower Knife, Bloody-Handed Child, The Ashen Hovel, Wild Flame of Anguish, Vengeance of the Wounded Soul, The Woman With Red Teeth, Stonehearted, Whom No Love May Conquer

Tothis-Nale, Avenger Prince, Mewling Scythe, Weeping Terror, Vengeance of No Home, Blood-Drunk Patriarch, Loathesome Guardian, The Silent Chapel, Heart of Smoke, The Hollow Man

Red Lotus, Avenger-Prince, Bodhisattva of the Twin Graves, The Path of Crimson Footprints, Vengeance of the Penitent, Destroys-by-Touch, Drinker of Poison, Cuts-You-Cuts-Me, Retributor, Sin-Eater

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Second Circle Princes

The Unspeakable,Nightmare-King, Annihilator of Meaning, The Colour of Madness, Voice of Apocalypse, Moonless-Night Sovereign, Here-And-Nowhere, The Tall Man, Prince of Falling Leaves, Second Symbol of Royalty, Thief of Hope, Master of Mirrors, Walker in Dreams

[Redacted], Nightmare-Prince, R, Duchess of the Wall of Sleep, Who Is Summoned In Speaking, Warden of Dreams, Jailer of Art, The Terrible Power of Banality, Lady of the Border-Marches, Bearer of The Moon-Piece, Mask of Anhedonia.

Margenta, Nightmare-Prince, Master of the Maelstrom, the Overflowing Cup, Patron of The Too-Sighted, The Untameable Hands, The Ceaseless Tongue, Rapture of Wilderness, Bearer of The Rare-Chance Piece, Mask of Mania

Tower-Ever-Falling,Nightmare-Prince, Lord of the Dead City, The Watcher From The Garret, Cageheart, The Great Empty, All Unseeing, Love’s Last Revenge, Voice of the Dusk, Bearer of The Ice-Piece, Mask of Tragedia

Ebroad, Nightmare-Prince, Keeper of The Bleak House, Moonscorned, Eater of Sleep, The Hungry Threshold, Thought-Jawed Trap, The Thing With The Endless Tongue, Eversmiling, King of the Toads, Bearer of the Night-Piece, Mask of Commedia

Old Scrape, Nightmare-Prince, Tender of Night’s Vast Garden, Scarecrow Lord, Rot-Shepherd, Beloved of Beetles, Cemeterian, The Lord of No Court, He Who Walks Behind The Hedge, Bearer of The Scale, Mask of Acedia

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Taxonomy of the Demon Realm: Dopplers

Hounds of the Great Beast, Dopplers in their 'natural' form are inchoate heaps of flesh, studded with eyes and mouths, dripping with corrosive digestive fluids.  They are normally encountered in one of three shapes - something desirable, something they like, or another Demon.

Dopplers have an intuitive sense for what, in their immediate environment, would be desirable. The smallest Dopplers mimic nearby currency or valuables; larger Dopplers at rest stops might take the shape of chairs or beds. Unfortunately, they're not especially bright creatures - once, a Doppler crawled into a Pandemonium hotel through an open window, and disguised itself as a bed. Over the next two days, seven more Dopplers found their way in. By the time someone tried to occupy the room it was wall-to-wall beds and the door was wedged shut (a problem solved by strapping a few ampoules of neurotoxin to an imp, sending it through the window, and letting unnature take its course). This is less of a problem when they get into vaults and treasuries, but when one finds oneself in possession of three additional crystal skulls for no clear reason, it's probably Dopplers.

While Dopplers rely on things around them they can mimic, some become fixated on specific objects that they find somehow beautiful or entrancing. The Doppler in question will puddle nearby, manifest dozens of eyes, and simply stare at the object in question. Items they mimic in this fashion are forms they can always remember and take, although rarely with much regard for their surroundings.

A rare few Dopplers are cunning and clever enough to convincingly mimic mortals, imps, or other beasts of Hell. The most infamous case is Count Ilustrin, who was devoured by an especially large Doppler. The Doppler then assumed his identity so perfectly, it didn't know it wasn't Illustrin. The situation later resolved itself as the Doppler succeeded so thoroughly, it worked its way up to Earl and transformed entirely into a true Devil.

The WanderInn is a very large Doppler in Pandemonium that takes the shape of a pub, shambling into empty spaces between buildings and luring in customers, and moving to a new location once recognized. Still, it has become well known enough that Demons dare each other to go in for a drink, and an infection of Pustules has taken to staffing it.

Dopplers are most often used as security for treasuries or similar locations, assassination tools, decoration, or even ammunition (some very small mimics make horribly, hilarious effective bullets).

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Taxonomy of the Demon Realm: Blight

Fiends of the Bitter Sea, Blights are creatures of concentrated spite and cruelty. For the most part of roughly humanoid shape, they are usually tall and very thin. Their skeleton of ice or salt is often quite prominent, and they often feature the traits of venomous or predatory sea creatures. Their flesh, or scales, or jellies are shades of blue, white, and black with hints of green or pink (and these often lurid in a way that suggests poison).

Blights are rarely independent, either living in service on various Estates or traveling the seas on raiding ships. Deceitful and conniving by nature, Blights thrive in these environments because they're constantly scheming to take power for themselves. The most successful Blights are those who take power and anticipate the inevitable betrayals from their underlings. It is no surprise that Demons of other Circles often serve on Blight pirate crews, being considered more loyal to their captain (or their captain's coin) than fellow Third Circle Fiends. Despite their reputation for trickery and cowardice, Blights actually prefer to strike at those they perceive as more powerful - their natural power to curse enemies can make conflicts an exercise in attrition, the effect more potent the greater the gap in skill between the Blight and their target.

Blights are most often promoted from the seething ranks of the Shivers, either by deed or as a reward. Particularly spectacular betrayals can see a Shiver evolve into a Blight and, potentially, immediately ascend to the ranks of Nobility.

Blights rival their counterparts from Hell's Night in talent for assassination and alchemy, and less violently inclined Blights are among Hell's most celebrated brewers and distillers.

Zang is a highly unusual Blight; a monk from an obscure monastery in Hell's wildest reaches who has chosen to betray the very conceptual underpinnings of his kind; he has become an altruistic, non-violent wandering hero.

Kesha Ki'ar, the Invincible Sword Princess, has committed herself to humiliating professional warriors of other Circles, especially Bladesworn. Far less subtle than many of her peers, her most deceptive habit is rapidly producing duplicates of herself to overwhelm and confuse opponents.

Tirok the Brewer runs a bar on the canals of Pandemonium, and loves nothing more than mortal customers. Whatever their power and station in Hell, they're most likely to sabotage their own lives after a few drinks too many, and he is poised to enjoy the show.

Name: Blight Circle: Third Circle, The Bitter Seas Family: Fiend Class: Rabble Preferred Habitat: Bustling bureaucracies and pirate crews. Reproduction: Promotion

Typical Appearance: Tall, thin, almost emaciated. Often featuring traits of sea creatures, or venomous creatures. Shades of blue, white, black, with hints of vibrant green or purple.

Theological Significance: "Despair is a key to Glory"

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Taxonomy of the Demon Realm: Kerberoi

The original kerberoi of the Third Circle were akin to hyena, with hides spotted by burning eyes. A Bladesworn aspirant to the Duchess Shaukur dan Tacticus wiped them from existence in an effort to please her. Now a rare few persist in private menageries.

Hell abhors a vacuum, however. Where precisely the new kerberoi originated is unclear, but they are among the rare kinds of Demon which reproduce sexually. Litters are usually of six pups, but half eat the others in utero (some Demons consider the muffled barking coming from a pregnant kerberos' squirming belly cute). As a result, most litters are functionally of three, two-headed pups. Unlike their namesakes, modern kerberoi (often called Hellhounds by mortals) have mottled hides under a variable pattern of scales and dense fur. The eldest breeding pair of a pack tend to have three heads, growing the third rapidly as they take their role as pack leaders. Sturdy, muscular beasts that most resemble of mortal fighting dogs, they are fiercely loyal to their pack or master and will fight to the very last against aggressors. More than one arrogant hunter has died drowning in the molten blood of an angry mother hound.

This combination of loyalty, tenacity, and a panoramic field of vision make them popular guardian beasts. The heads rarely diverge significantly in personality, but a few breeders have noted different food preferences between the heads on a single kerberos, or that one head takes training less easily.

Brute kennelmasters take kerberoi pups and focus intensely on raising and training them. This ensures the eldest hound in their kennel is utterly loyal to them, and by consequence so too will all its spawn. While wild kerberoi are dangerous, those trained for war are downright deadly, and kennelmasters can earn considerable wealth and respect from Nobles eager to hire them.

Some Demons keep a single kerberos as a pet and companion. Frequently these Hounds are larger than even their bred-for-war kin, and often develop a third head despite being subordinate to their owner. Forgemaster Kilnak's prized Hound Naster is twice the height of any mortal at the shoulder, and has been disincorporated three times while guarding its master. The trespassers did not survive the experience either.

The Black Dog of Coldmoor is a not unheard of but strange variation of the kind - a single-headed kerberos of great size and power, terrorizing the border territories of the Bitter Seas and seemingly a death sentence for any would-be hunter.

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Taxonomy of the Demon Realm: Bladesworn

Each Bladesworn of the Hellsun is of two parts - the obvious Demon of (usually) human shape, and the edged weapon with which they are bound. Most commonly a sword, any number of glaives, axes, knives, or bladed whips can also be found among their kind. A few notably idiosyncratic Bladesworn even employ flanged maces with sharp, exaggerated fins. These are often more expressive of the Demon than the anthropoid body, which is typically tall, beautiful, and hued most predominantly in shades of gold, bronze, ivory. One infamous Bladesworn appears to be a muscular, brooding man of black glass in whom a tiny star burns like a visible heart. Each of their weapons is unique, whether over-wrought and extravagant, or elegant and simple, frequently engraved with minute script or art detailing their history.

There are two competing tales of the first Bladesworn. One which is rejected by almost all Bladesworn and most other Lightbringers, but still enjoys some popularity, begins with a human warlord named Chaon. A rough and barbarous warrior of antiquity, it is held in legend that he was taught the arts of war by one of the Princes of the Hellsun, and gifted a sword forged from trapped, tainted sunlight. By the power of the blade and the wisdom of the lessons, his rose to rule his tribe and conquered his neighbours - but he was not satisfied and sought greater enemies, more conquests, more power. They say he was the first mortal to name himself king. The nature of his death is uncertain, but many say he fell in a duel against a powerful Vampire, perhaps even Vasnok herself, and was rewarded by awakening in Hell as the first Bladesworn.

The more popular story is that when Gogan, Illuminor-Prince of Duelists was struck down in a battle at the beginning of time, their sword leapt from their hand and manifested a wielder that it might defend its maker. This allowed Gogan to recover their strength and triumph, but the question remained of what to do with the sword. They named it Akon, the Wilful Blade, and made it captain of their honour guard. Inspired by this gracious reward, the abandoned weapons of other Princes followed suit out of devotion to their makers and masters. Akon long ago transcended his station and now rules a ring of the Hellsun as a mighty Duke, and while he doesn't confirm the tale, neither will he deny it.

Accordingly, many Bladesworn strive for perfection in the use of their chosen weapon. They serve as champions, bodyguards and sellswords to various Nobles, or become wandering warriors across the face of Hell in search of ever greater opponents. Some Nobles make a point of never allowing indentured Bladesworn to meet - they invariably insist on a ritual duel to determine hierarchy, a ranking of which each Bladesworn seems keenly and supernaturally aware.

Echoing the tale of Akon, it is not unusual for a storied but abandoned weapon to spawn a new Bladesworn. In recollection of Chaon, sometimes a blade falls into the hands of a mortal, and leads them on a path to Hell. Whatever the truth of the matter, there are believed to be no more than 777 Bladesworn active at any time.

Dashen, The Third Sword, appears as a beautiful, broad-shouldered man with bronze skin and black hair. He wields a gently curved blade almost as long as he is tall. As punishment for trying to usurp the Nuclear Throne he now travels Hell as bodyguard to an obscure monk.

Ji Mo has declared that she will kill God. A powerfully muscular Demon who favours an elegant, serpentine glaive. She accosts priests, sages, monks, and Nobles in her quest to locate and battle the creator. An infamous drunkard.

Atterac the Broken guards the first Sun Gate beyond the outskirts of Pandemonium. Those seeking to reach the Hellsun without invitation must first defeat this thin, masked Demon. Their blade is an executioner's sword, long since broken in half, the whereabouts of the upper section unknown. The remainder of the blade, fully four feet long, sits driven into the earth before the gate with prayer strips hanging from the handle. Atterac has not drawn it in centuries, but is perfectly capable of repelling trespassers barehanded.

Name: Bladesworn Circle: First Circle, The Hellsun Family: Fiend Class: Rabble Preferred Habitat: Wherever worthy foes may be found Reproduction: Spontaneous Emergence/Corrupted Mortals

Typical Appearance: Around six feet in height, well-muscled, with pleasing features and forms. Always bearing an edged weapon unique to the owner.

Theological Significance: "Divinity Through Violence"

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A Taxonomy of the Demon Realm: Aubade

Each of Hell’s Circles has a beast of such expressive form that it becomes known as the Hound to that Circle. Unsurprisingly, this term is applied to things which stretch the fragile boundaries of the word.

In the case of the Hellsun, the ‘Hound’ is in fact a feline of prodigious size and grace. While some unique examples exist, most Aubade strongly resemble tigers or leopards wrought of gold and ivory, with powerful jaws and deadly claws. The most striking feature of the Aubade is also the hardest to perceive – their eyes shine with a bright light, hard to look upon, hinting at what lies beneath. When roused to violence, the flesh and fur of the Aubade’s head peels back like petals to form a mane and reveals the burning star within. If one has the capacity to look without being blinded, the shape of the skull can be dimly perceived, formed from coruscating plasma.

In temperament, there are only two commonalities to Aubade – their limitless disdain for perceived prey and territoriality. Aubade fight viciously over lairs and hunt Rabble for fun, and will unflinchingly strike at even Nobility if they do not respect them. On the other hand, Aubade can be loyal to masters they respect and some can even be described as cuddly. Highly intelligent, Aubade are not trained so much as convinced to co-operate.

Aubade are formed when light from the Hellsun becomes trapped in an area and coalesces into shape, and they effectively ‘breed’ by gathering objects into a light trap.  Wild Aubade appear to hoard dark materials and parts of prey for this purpose.

The Emerald Lion is the loyal pet of the Illuminor-Prince Lux Tyranis. A particularly impressive specimen over twenty hands tall, The Emerald Lion is a dark, lush green striped with silver.  It sits, or lounges, at the side of Tyranis’ throne pampered by imps until he gives the command to kill. It does not hurry, however – some prey can spend the equivalent of decades seeing the glint of emerald light on the horizon before the Lion finally strikes, and it does not kill quickly even then.  Like its master, the Lion is powerfully radioactive even by the standards of the star-skulled Aubade.

[credit to mah boi https://silvertonguedcanine.tumblr.com for the concept]

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A Taxonomy of the Demon Realm: Manics

Despite the implication of their name, half of all Manics at least lack the frantic energy of their peers. All, however, are driven by a singular obsession that they find any excuse to avoid directly pursuing.

The average Manic is taller than an Imp and frequently around four feet tall, discounting ears or hair; both of which tend to be long and worn high. Like most Unseen, their flesh tends to be shades of purple, blue, and black with hints of silver or green. Typically humanoid in shape, but it’s not uncommon for them to have patches of chitin, extra eyes, or up to six limbs. Oddly, many of them resent comparisons to spiders.

Predictably, they rarely rise above their station – perhaps even less so than Imps – serving as minions to higher-ranking Demons as an excuse to focus on their goal from afar. Those without immediate responsibilities foisted on them, or a little more ambition, tend to assemble ludicrously convoluted schemes to achieve their goals. In general, knowing your minion is plotting against you in comically self-defeating fashion is preferable to one whose intentions remain hidden, and if you can keep them busy doing other things you hardly ever need worry. The danger lies in the rare Manic of such skill that it rapidly succeeds at other tasks, leaving itself lacking in excuses, or the even rarer example whose obsessive machinations are worryingly competent – something rivals, targets, and enemies may not realize until the noose tightens around them.

Like Imps, Manics usually spin out of the dreams of the most vast and terrible Unseen.

They usually find themselves employed as bureaucrats, spies, assassins, concubines, and weaponized diplomats (good luck getting all the paperwork done with one of these on staff. Some Demons take their filing extremely seriously).

Titled Manics skew to extremes; berserker-commanders of mercenary companies or aloof masterminds manipulating everyone around them.

Mora Mori serves as chamberlain to Kulshedra, the Great Serpent of the Lake of Inks. He also manages a vast spy network among lower-ranking Demons with intent to find and destroy his rival, Yakub the Bound, by luring him into a fatal confrontation.

Lewish All-Teeth is a roaming killer, hired not for discretion but to make a point. Her name comes from her favoured weapons – the jawbones of other Demons artfully broken and reassembled into crude hatchets and tonfa. It is only when you see her action you realize she must, at one time, have been a dancer or hoped to become one. A Lightbringer once applauded as Lewish cut her into seven pieces.

The Bladesong is the master of an obscure monastery where acolytes train in an esoteric martial art tied to the intersection of music and violence. No one has actually seen the Bladesong himself practice in many cycles – he spends much of his time writing elegantly crafted poetry based on puns. Famously caused an Incubus to cringe himself into a unique new form with a particularly devastating play on the word vulva.

Name: Manic Circle: Second Circle: Hell’s Night Family: Fiend Class: Rabble Preferred Habitat: Comfortable, dim-lit urban locations. Reproduction: Demonic Emanation

Typical Appearance: Rarely taller than five feet, never shorter than three. Fond of comfortable but stylish attire which is nonetheless rather unkempt. Has between four and six limbs, up to three eyes.

Theological Significance: “Behold, the careless sword that sunders nations!”

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A Taxonomy of the Demon Realm: Pustules

All Devourers are endlessly mutable creatures, capable of reshaping themselves according to their whims - insofar as their power allows. Pustules can never really hide their nature, always small and wide-mouthed. Pustules also have a habit of following trends; the smartest Pustule in an infection will find some unique combination of mutations and its siblings will follow suit, or an infection will ape the aesthetics of the ruling Demon. Which means Pustules could take the form of tiny women with impossibly proportioned hips and breasts, or tanned, pierced little Lotharios, or a head surrounded by genital-tipped tentacles. Given their lack of power, however, Pustules struggle to assume forms which are not on some level grotesque or eerie. 

Pustules are so named because they initially bud from the flesh of the Great Beast. Scores are consumed again by the Beast, or eaten by other Demons. Those that escape like to attach themselves to bigger Demons, living in their flesh or on their demesnes. Voracious eaters, Pustules consume more or less anything they can get their grubby little claws on and, when they’ve eaten enough, split into two. They can be distracted from their eating by being sent into battle, or used as sport, food, servants, dancers, and toys. For a time, at least.

Titled Pustules tend to be favoured concubines, head chefs, or occupy other positions of respectable servitude, but plenty of them go their own way using their impressionable fellow Pustules as minions as they pursue whatever they find especially interesting. Obsession defines the Devourers, and few mere Imps can deviate from such deeply embedded impulses.

Thimblethumb Rezza dearly wanted to be a fashion designer to the elite of Pandemonium, and took off to the Demon City to open a boutique. Unfortunately, between the nature of the Ur-City and the limited imagination of Pustules, he found himself owning a boutique on a street full of boutiques owned by other Pustules with the same dream. Now he’s gaining a reputation for sabotage and slander rather than fine clothing.

Sumptuous Su runs a brothel in Pandemonium staffed exclusively by Pustules. Mortals find themselves in Hell often enough, and the ones who survive are aware of the dangers inherent in romancing Demons (not that this stops a lot of them), and so Su offers a relatively safe place to indulge. They hope to secure a Pact with a client likely to find their way back to the mortal realm, out of an overwhelming desire to experience another world.

Crouching Teratoma fancies herself a stealth-assassin, and has trained her infection as a screen of incompetent goons in black uniforms. Either they provide a distraction from her backstabbing strikes against targets, or she disguises herself among their bumbling ranks to lull victims into a false sense of security. She dearly wishes to be taken seriously by an Unseen Count who runs an assassins guild. 

Name: Pustule

Circle: Fifth Circle, The Great Beast Family: Imp Class: Rabble Preferred Habitat: Everywhere you’d prefer they are not. Reproduction: Division

Typical Appearance: Rarely taller than two and half feet, Pustules are rotund and jolly little beasts with wide mouths and big round eyes. Given the usual powers of Devourers, Pustules frequently sport mutations that make a predictable appearance hard to pin down. 

Theological Significance: “Want is a careless cut”

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A Taxonomy of the Demon Realm: Gremlins

The Gremlin is the lowest ranking Demon of the Sixth Circle, even among the rest of the Rabble. Diminutive and long-armed, with large eyes and pointed ears, they make up for their small size with numbers and firepower. While all Breakers are peerless machinists and smiths, Gremlins delight in explosions and catastrophic mechanical failures, which leads them to deal with almost any obstacle by building a bigger gun - though impatient as they are, they prefer to scavenge components and cobble things together rather than manufacture from raw materials. That said, it’s not uncommon for some cannier Gremlins to use their small size and swift reflexes as pickpockets, or combine this with their mechanical skills to burgle vaults.

The role of Gremlins in their Circle is a function of their troublesome habits and expendability; like most Imps, they’re often lacking in much personality and group together in swarms under a smarter example of their kind likely destined to earn a Title. As is common among Demons, they reproduce asexually, and fresh Gremlins will emerge from their hoards of scrap to replace any losses within a few Dreams. Thus, Gremlins are popular as cheap and plentiful labour, saboteurs, gunners, spare parts, food, and victims on which crueler Demons can vent their frustrations without causing a diplomatic incident.

Gremlins who earn Titles typically lead an infestation, dwelling in crude tunnels under towns and cities or living in the wreckage of war machines. Most will spend the rest of eternity this way - a fixture of the Estate on which they dwell, filling a niche and ruthlessly ousting competition. A rare few might ascend to the rank of Count, and those that do rarely remain Gremlins as the whims of the Principles warp them into more pleasing shapes.

Gremlins often augment themselves with scope-eyes, stabilizers, ammo drums, and a few with self-destruct devices. They covet titanium and will settle for steel or iron if they can’t find or steal any. Their excreta work as a crude gunpowder analogue, so most infestations rapidly salvage enough to fashion muskets for themselves. It also means a Gremlin with a full belly is a hazard around open flames.

Tio Longreach leads an infestation near Powderscar. He and his Gremlins favour the conical plastraw hats of the field workers and dull red clothes. Hired as mercenaries, they’re excellent marksmen and treated with a modicum of respect. Tio is content to hold this position.

Shasta Devildrill runs a mining gang of Gremlins on the inward slopes of Vestor’s Corpse, extracting precious stones and petrified blood from vast arteries. They also have a profitable side-business in safe-cracking. They can be recognized by the drillbits welded to their mining helmets, and Shasta themselves favours a ridiculous pickaxe/power drill combo they built from scratch.

Snicker-Snack Shellseeker was the maiden of a mobile battle shrine to a holy artillery shell, until she was seduced by a pilgrim and the shell stolen. Now she wanders Hell in search of the shell and her seducer, so that her holy purpose may resume and her honour be restored through gratuitous violence.

There is a legend that a Gremlin found the shell of a dead Demon leftover from the First War. They bade the swarm to repair and refit it, such that they could ride in the skull while their kin operated the limbs. To their great amusement, they were invited to the palace of the local Earlessa as if a foreign visitor. They spoke with the Earl of gunsmithing and walls, of the mystery of the Principles and majesty of Pandemonium. By the time the Earlessa waxed drunkenly of her distaste for Gremlins, the corpsewalking Gremlin had forgotten who they were. They agreed wholeheartedly. Within the body, the swarm had fused together like a grotesque armature, and the leader’s eyes grew to fit the sockets in the skull, and no longer were there Gremlins in that estate. 

Name: Gremlin Circle: Sixth Circle, The Infernal Machine Family: Imp Class: Rabble Preferred Habitat: Urban Reproduction: Spontaneous Sympathetic Emergence Typical Appearance; No taller than two feet, with large eyes and ears. Typically take on the colouration of the dominant Estate material (e.g. reddish in settlements on the edge of the Rust Desert), mixed with their iron-gray natural skin and coarse black hair.

Theological Significance: “Many may be one but one cannot be many”

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A Taxonomy of the Demon Realm: Shivers

Shivers are perhaps the second most common creature found in the Bitter Seas. Cruel, cunning, serpentine Imps, Shivers gather in shoals around the demesnes of Drowner nobility. Their bodies are sinuous and long, their legs more like fins than anything else. Their long snouts are full of teeth, and their beady eyes full of malice. They are often beautiful in motion; in water they are incredibly graceful and their scales catch the light like mirrored glass. This is a ploy to lure in unwitting prey, that the Shivers can rend them with sharp claws and venomous fangs.

Shivers serve mainly as watchdogs and informants. It is impossible to get close to most of the icy palaces of the Bitter Sea without being noticed by the local shoals of Shivers, who will gladly inform their masters. Ambitious Shivers will infiltrate the shoals around other estates to send intelligence to their liege. Very ambitions Shivers will engage in sabotage and assassination until such behaviour earns them a Title and makes it harder for them to pass unnoticed among their kin. Shivers are also employed as a means of execution, victims thrown from the battlements to be devoured in a writhing swarm of teeth and claws. 

Masterless Shivers tend to be quite solitary, selling their services as spies, poisoners, thieves, and sometimes diplomats. The average Shiver is incapable of telling the truth, compulsively lying at the merest provocation, and so their brethren which develop the skill of sincerity can be very useful.

Shivers are formed in the icebergs of the Bitter Seas, especially in the underside of those supporting demesnes. When the ice breaks or melts, Essence animates the bodies and gives life to new Shivers. Often elder Shivers that were killed will violently reincarnate in these bodies, rapidly transforming them to conform with their self-image. 

One-Eyed Temeri is reputed to be an unusually skilled alchemist, traveling the surface realm in a wheeled bathtub. Said bathtub is followed by a cart-cum-workshop, and the whole assemblage is drawn by an immense sea slug Demon affectionately referred to as Winkles. Temeri can fashion potent mixtures from the slug’s secretions, and sells his more powerful potions in exchange for an interesting story about what the buyer means to use it for.

Brazen Scuttleship earned her name doing what she loves best - having her shoal salvage vessels that enter her master’s territory, bringing them to his scrapheap, and then offering the stranded travelers a ride there to buy back their ship piece by piece. Sometimes they even salvage abandoned craft, too.

Imdir Cutting Whip is a martial artist who devised her own unique style, using her unusually long and thin tail as a whip. She is infamously harsh to potential students, and her circuitous pilgrimage around the Bitter Seas is usually dogged by a limping crowd of bleeding adherents. 

Name: Shiver

Circle: Third Circle, the Bitter Seas Family: Imp Class: Rabble Preferred Habitat: Close to Demenses Reproduction: Spontaneous Incarnation

Typical Appearance; From tail to snout they are nearly four feet long, but most of that is tail. Their legs are more like fins and not particularly able to carry their weight. Their fingers are webbed, with claws as sharp as their rows and rows of teeth. Their scales are typically dark hues of green, blue, and gray, with more powerful Shivers featuring spines or horns.

Theological Significance: “”

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A Taxonomy of the Demon Realm: Lurkers

In keeping with the their inconstant and nightmarish realm, Lurkers are difficult to tell apart from other Unseen. Outside Hell’s Night, they are smaller even than Gremlins and have huge, bulbous white eyes on their overlarge heads. They have neither ears nor mouths, as they mainly communicate by telepathy. They prefer to shroud themselves in robes and hoods when away from their home Circle. While in Hell’s Night, they take wrap themselves in illusions and their shape deforms into something more pleasing to the nearest Count or higher-ranking Demon.

Lurkers typically serve as spies and general dogsbodies for their masters, operating in inchoate clouds of white eyes and whispering voices traveling in the wake of Groundskeepers or worse. If left to their own devices, they will attempt to wear down the resolve and will to live of any prey - Demon or otherwise - until it can no longer resist their attacks and allows itself to be consumed. Titled Lurkers can be especially dangerous, wielding their swarm as an extension of their own significant mental powers, often employed as spymasters or assassins by their masters. Those without a master engage in convoluted schemes of theft, murder, and sabotage. A bored Lurker is quick to foment political tension even if it cannot exploit it. 

Lurkers emerge from sleeping Unseen, spun off by their Essence flows as the great Demons dream in fitful slumber. Often a freshly spawned cloud of Lurkers will be hell-bent on fulfilling a specific purpose presumably related to whatever the Unseen was thinking at the time of their creation.

Many-Faced Epsis has dwelt in the borders between three warring Estates for cycles untold, he and his swarm wearing elegant uniforms and identical white masks as they ensure the war does not end. A few times over the millennia, wandering warriors have gone to slay Epsis and found the task surprisingly easy. And yet Epsis persists - some say he sacrifices a member of his swarm in his stead, others that the entity called Epsis simply selects a new host from amid the swarm. At least one enterprising Demon is collecting debts on what happens if a previously slain Epsis reincorporates.

Reaver Bleakly has abandoned their home Circle to serve a Brute Count, who sails the great seas of Hell in a burning ship of iron and brass, raiding coastal settlements. Bleakly has command of an escort ship, and dresses like an officer from a more civilized Estate. They come sweeping out of the darkness to capture small vessels or lone entities on the shore, and subject them to a living nightmare until all valuable information is extracted to better inform the next raid.

Yoel the Pilgrim is a lone Lurker who wanders across Hell, looking for something they will not name. Despite the infamy surrounding this bent and heavily robed figure, many begins - especially mortals - make the mistake of taking her offers of power or wisdom. At first, this gift is a powerful boon, but by the time the Pilgrim has moved on, her one-time pupil has become the architect of their own annihilation.

Name: Lurker Circle: Second Circle, Hell’s Night Family: Imp Class: Rabble Preferred Habitat: Anywhere dark Reproduction: Demonic Emanation

Typical Appearance; No taller than two feet, with small eyes and ears. Typically shades of red, with older Avernals being darker, taking on burning orange striations reminiscent of the ruling Demon’s crest.

Theological Significance: “The best mask is none at all.”

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A Taxonomy of the Demon Realm: Messengers

Messengers are the Imps of the Hellsun, and predictably consider themselves above the appellation. To be sure, they are typically more intelligent and fewer in number than those of other Circles, but in the end suffer many of the same weaknesses. Frequently four feet, and lithe, the Messengers have more dramatically long and narrow ears than other Imps, and their faces are very close to human. Rather than have eyes on their face, however, Messengers feature a beaten-brass halo studded with eyes. A few have wings, particularly Titled Messengers, though they rarely allow for flight beyond the sphere of the First Circle. 

Viewing themselves as footsoldiers, guards, and most of all pages to ranking Lightbringers, Messengers will attach themselves to such Demons as soon as possible and serve them faithfully. They gladly throw their lives away in the hopes of earning the approval of their superiors, and often the survivors are recognized for skill and cleverness. A few endeavour to keep in the back and make themselves indispensable in other ways, but no Lightbringer can survive without demonstrating skill at arms. Thriving in the strict hierarchies of the Hellsun, singular Messengers are rare enough - a few are given command of a small squad of their lesser fellows or prove themselves able aide-de-camps for their masters, but Titled Messengers are normally renegades of one kind or another. 

Messengers are not permitted to carry swords, and favour staves. A few employ daggers and pistols, particularly those given a command. Messengers simply bud off from the burning rings of the Hellsun; small rings that rapidly grow to a full Messenger when they land on the surface. They are typically fewer in number than their analogues from Circles, but likewise rarely become more scarce than that as replacements descend from the burning rings quite regularly.

Couronne dan Tassiel is sergeant to a crack squad of Messenger siegebreakers; a band of acrobatic and dignified warriors who risk destruction to seize gatehouses for their lord. Couronne has wondered, from time to time, what would happen if she simply claimed one such fortress, but drives the thoughts away. Surely Tassiel will recognize her service...

Quentyn the Wanderer is a renowned duelist, a lone Messenger who dares carry a sword and defend his honour from his betters. A taciturn and purposeful Demon, Quentyn wears a modified uniform from the army of a slain Duke of Hell, and seems driven by a hatred uncommon even in Hell. Many Counts of the Hellsun are concerned about the consequences of Quentyn attaining higher rank.

Ullor Twice-Penitent guards a well of light in an isolated span of the Hellsun, meditating on the nature of Hell and the purpose of Demonkind. Pilgrims visit to seek their wisdom, or to try beg instruction in martial techniques. Ullor has never killed a single opponent, nor ever been defeated.

Once, there was a Messenger who sought to ascend to the rank of Count (as many do) but found it difficult to distinguish herself from among her peers. All Messengers are able warriors, skilled with whatever weapon comes to hand. At first, she sought to master the staff beyond even the ability of her legion. Alas, neither her master nor the Principles acknowledged this effort. And so she defeated her commanding Messenger in single combat and replaced him, thence striving to treat dirk and pistol as extensions of her body. This, too, remained beneath the notice of her superiors. Incensed, the Messenger challenged her Count to a duel to demonstrate her power. Her staff was snapped in twain by a barbed comment, her dirk cast aside with a chiding glare, and her pistol shattered from sheer embarrassment. In the moment of her annihilation the root of her folly finally became apparent. She had trained too narrowly.

Name: Messenger Circle: First Circle, The Hellsun Family: Imp Class: Rabble Preferred Habitat: Where they are bidden. Reproduction: Environmental Extrusion

Typical Appearance; No taller than four feet, with eyes on a halo over their head and long, pointed ears. Typically shades of ivory, with older Messengers better equipped and sometimes sporting wings.

Theological Significance: “Existence is conflict.”