Explore a land of fated heroes, abyssal beasts, & little girls bearing the weight of the world
The Demonlands
Demons are the strangest creatures of the North — shapeshifters whose innate blood magic lets them shapeshift and gain psychic powers over those with weaker blood magic. In order to live, Demons must drink blood though they can eat other foods. Demons do not have a true hive-mind but can generally sense the emotions and intentions of those around them due to their shared blood. Demons can interbreed with every other creature, but this spreads their blood magic and makes it weaker — as such, they really only can occupy their home island. Many suspect Demons are beasts from the Abyss, but the Demons believe they were made from the body of a slain God and now live to repay their debt to Them.
The Demonlands are the one refuge in the North from the Aftokratoria, but the current royals disagree on how to keep the Demonlands safe… and strange, unrelated Demons keep mysteriously appearing throughout the world...
Sketch by Tarlachan
Guiding Beliefs
“In order to achieve true freedom, one must not owe anyone nor must they be owed. All debts must be repaid.”
Range & Population
Confined to the Demonlands, with perhaps a thousand scattered across the rest of the known world.
Languages Spoken
Demonic
The language of whatever humans they happen to be hunting...
System of Government
Hive-mind Monarchy
The Demonking or Enharr is the individual with the strongest blood magic. The title and associated collected power is typically passed to the eldest offspring of the Queen Mother or King Father.
Immediate Environment
Black stone and earth covered in red trees and grass
Spider lilies bloom year round
All creatures here have Demon blood and can shapeshift
Architecture Generally
Tiered, tiled red rooftops
Fabric sliding doors
Obsidian walls
Aesthetics
Crowded streets of silver-skinned, horned Demons
Creatures from throughout the world in iron cages
The ferric scent of blood and spices
Specialty Goods
Blood magic
Exotic animal byproducts
Demons do not often trade with humans, who often see them as devils trying to drink their blood -- though recently cultural exchange has increased in the North due to their alliance against the Southerners. Demons often see humans as chaotic and unreliable due to their misunderstanding of how Demonic debts work.
Demons have a cautious but more amicable but infrequent relationship with Selkies and Sha Hirza Ni.
Local History
The last King was murdered by his eldest son for surrendering in the war before doing the same himself in the face of the Philosopher King’s power. His eldest daughter — not eligible for the throne due to being the daughter of a concubine — is quite upset at this. The younger, fashionista prince and the half-human princess are caught in the crossfire of the conflict.