₴₮łⱠⱠ ԋҽɾҽ

 

Of Demons and the Seven Princes

 

The home of the Daigor, or demons, is often described as a cold wasteland to some and a fiery ashen plain to many others. Originally it was simply known as the Prison, where the Mîrrovorghí (Death's Folk) would carry souls that have stained themselves too deeply in their finite lives. Thus they are no longer viable for rebirth. After Arunel's fated Rebellion, he was given the accursed name and title, Sathanîr Mûrahkar, Profane King and Rotten Son. The Prison he once oversaw twisted and defiled to fit those very titles. Becoming the Mawed Pits, Arbûrah; the Realm That Devours Realms.

Yet this terrible realm's appearance does not adhere to a mere, single form. Its domain's foundations rely upon the horror and despair of those who visit or remain there. Even the native Daigor are not exempt from that rule. Only the Seven and their vile Master are capable of moulding it as they wish, though the Seven to a lesser extent as Sathanîr, who dominates all within with absolute authority as the Rotten King.

The Seven Arch-Demons have been granted their own pocket realms within this dreaded Realm of Afterlife. They are often based on a reflection of their Spheres and personal tastes. 

For example, the Red Valley, which is Wrath's abode, is nothing more but perpetual strife and warfare to harden the demonic legions under his direct command. Honing both their brutality and cunning to suit his many ongoing campaigns. Or Sloth, whose realm resembles the inside of an infinite, gloomy cathedral. Praising Sathanîr in every tentacle-filled and hair-riddled room with daily sermons and sacrifices

Something all can agree on, among those who caught a glimpse of the Arbûrah, is that once you enter all happiness and one's memories of it are slowly drained by the very air. Scattered like leaves on the winds of winter. To willingly visit there is to sacrifice a piece of one's own being, leaving only emptiness in its place. Emotions are replaced with a cold void of depression. This makes it easier for the Daigor to Stain a visiting soul if not adequately prepared for their scheming. If successful, this leaves any visitor bound to their hellish realm slowly becoming a Stained One.

Their abandoned bodies then remain as empty vessels in the Living Realms, defenceless from demonic possession. 

- Daigor (Demon) Classifications for the Vigil

Stained Ones→ wretched demons of mortal origin, making up most of Sathanîr's host and main occupants of Rotborne bodies. Named after the Black Stain that corrupts their souls, making it easier to become demons under torment but considered as "poor class citizens" by the purer and older Daigor still.

In Arbûrah's hierarchy, they hold the ranks of Livâr (laymen), Vîdor (Deacons), Pûlr (Preachers).

(What follows are the entities of non-mortal origin and aided with setting Creation in the Age of Birth but later fell from grace or rebelled due to Sathanîr's calling.)

Faded Stars → Lesser demons but greater in power and authority than the Stained. They act as regular officers and tormentors.

In the Arbûrah's hierarchy, they hold the ranks of Bâkîsh (Priest) Ûru-Vîdor (Arch-Deacons) and Bûssûk (Bishops).

Black Suns → These greater demons are more powerful and assert even more authority over the previous two types. They are known for their screeching when threatened and raising the recently deceased as ghouls, guiding wayward souls to their corrupting influence.

In Arbûrah's hierarchy, they hold the ranks of Pashâr (Prefects) and Ûru-Bûssûk (Archbishops).

Great Calamities → The nobility, Sathanîr's closest confidants and servants. They act as the Princes of the Daigor, outclassed only by their Lord in pure power, cunning and dominance. They are also known as Arch-Demons, Ûru-Daigor, Khárdosh (Cardinal in the Rotborne Tongue) or Daigolîm. Only seven such demons exist at any time, carefully chosen only by the Rotten King himself.

Currently, they rule as Regents of Arbûrah, as listed below.

- About the Seven.

Sathanîr may be the undisputed ruler but there are entities only just below him that serve as advisors and governors over Arbûrah''s Domains. Seven were appointed with these tasks. They rule with the same authority over Arbûrah and each holds complete power over their respective spheres. One does not outrank the other for they only answer to the One King. 

Also named the 'Arch-demons' and the 'Infernal Principality' (As they are also viewed as the Princes of Hell), simply the 'Seven' or the more widely known: 'the 'Cardinals of Sin'

As a note, the Seven Virtues do not exist as separate entities. However, they are known as the Seven Legions of Lusanfîr in which each Legion is dedicated to combatting a specific Infernal Prince.

These are the chief servants of the Rotten King and they adore him as a deity. A foul perversion and mockery of the mortal religions. Each has its own respective Domain,  within the Mawed Pits to rule and govern over. These Domains are reflections of the Spheres they represent.

Mal'varras'mîr: Sphere of Pride

Once closest to Lusanfir's heart, his grand betrayal of her still haunts the Radiant Lady. Often confused with Sathanîr himself on the mortal planes, he takes the forms and minds of known courtiers and influential advisors to the lesser. 

Considered the one with the most sway among the Arch-demons as well as the Rotten King's vizier. He is widely known as the Corruptor of Minds. In the absence of his dark master, he considers himself the Regent-Lord and successor of the Wailing Throne, an arrogant claim which was never taken with any merit by his peers, Cardinal Mîrawn of Wrath in particular.

His banner is that of a black snake constricting a bleeding, green apple on a field of violet flames.

Zahg'azorr'zorû: Sphere of Envy

A weaver of discord and destructive ambition. Arbûrah's main tormentor and interrogator, she leads the efforts of converting her Master's enemies. Uses the gullible and weak-minded to spread hate and misinformation among mortals to great success, going as far as twisting new religions and dynasties in their earliest conceptions into instruments worthy of the Rotten King.

Her banner is of a great white peacock with green feathers and yellow eyes on its tail, looking down on smaller peacocks of different colours on a webbed field of black and white.

Mar'mîrawn'farû: Sphere of Wrath 

Considered Sathanîr's chief enforcer and Lord Marshall of his Legions. His hatred for mortals is only surpassed by the King's own and rather than dominating them, he would exterminate them all, save those who garnered his attention. Coming in the guise of silent yet highly tactical individuals who excel in absolute results rather than glory or any other form of grandeur. He takes trophies from all his victories and leaves them on display for all to see. In his past failures, he understood the importance of a retreat in any endeavour, not allowing unnecessary losses that would hinder future planning, long deceptions and careful understanding being his main tools in any strategy built by his hands, and those few close to him.

His banner is of a bright white field displaying a sanguine sun. In its centre, sits a ferocious creature: four cobalt bull-heads with barbed horns, set on a creature akin to a spider but long as a worm, glaring out with misty eyes. 

Shar'abdîs'sul: Sphere of Sloth

In quite a contrast to his sphere, he is disturbingly energetic and unhinged when encountered. He rarely leaves Arbûrah, even less so than Sathanîr himself, preferring to possess mortals by chance from the confines of his Domain. Minds being far easier to hold on to than a soul or crafting his own flesh suit, at the cost of the body burning out by a Cardinal's presence within. Often described as the most fanatical of the Principality. Among Lusanfîr's folk and the mortals aiding her, Abdîs is the most feared of the Seven, surpassing even Mar'mîrawn'farû in sheer dread due to his crazed spasms and unpredictable nature. For this reason, Cardinal Mîrawn is known to sometimes employ Sloth in his more terror build strategies as a 'wild card'. 

His symbol is that of a sickening green octopus with 32 tentacles that squirts out blood and seven sapphire-enflamed snake eyes on an azure field.

Sul'mallon'dûr: Sphere of Greed

Takes on the mortal guise of one in wealth or extravagance. They are close allies with Cardinal Azzor of Envy, as their spheres greatly complement each other in the long plan of Staining the souls of mortals in great numbers. The most possessive of the Cardinals, only Mûrron knows the exact number of Arbûrah's inhabitants, be them demons or banished souls; they would share these numbers with the King and only then when commanded to do so several times. 

Their banner is of a pair of six-legged lions with four emerald green eyes and gilded manes, attacking one another atop a great blue diamond on a yellow field.

Bâr'dûrûn'gur: Sphere of Gluttony

Comes forth as a grotesquely obese man or woman that distributes harmful knowledge that aids in spreading plagues and famine or as a great beast burrowed beneath water or earth slumbering in the deep. He commands hordes of insects or warps the weather to meet his goals, he is the only one willing to consider Abdîs of Sloth as an ally to lay a weariness of the mind farmers, traders and other cultivators.

His banner is that of a terrible, ravenous swine with a bloated shark's body on a plain orange field.

Kha'arahdor'an: Sphere of Lust

This demon brings forth the desires of the flesh to all weak enough to succumb to it and that of the mind to those who crave it. Comes as a distributor of these desires to all circles of society and much like Envy, has no real preference in gender, though mostly seen as a sultry individual. Considered to be most in touch with mortals as he frequently travels to their planes, even engaging in craven vulgarities there which mostly end in bloodshed. 

His banner is of two pink frogs mounting each other upon a hill of corpses on a black field with white rainfall.

Lore: Black Mirrors

 

Said to have been crafted from cursed obsidian, these dark devices were used in the Old Empire for swift communication. Fortunately, most had been destroyed save but a few. Their creation and usage require a mage to be entirely enamoured in dark arts and demonic rituals, learning secrets from the deepest shadows of Arbûrah. Regular mirrors can also be used for the same effect but not as infinite and potent as a Black Mirror. More infamously used to communicate with lesser Daigor and their mortal evokers, Black Mirrors could also act as minor portals from their hellish realms into Corras. That is if the right amount of sacrifices is smeared across their cursed, black surface; the nature and amount depends on the Daigor summoned.

Only a few of these remain, thought to be still in use by powerful witches and the leadership of the Faithful Cult. There had once been rumours of grander Mirrors. Vile devices which require no sacrifice or incantation to invite more calamitous entities into Corras, such as Cardinals; whispered to be "blessed" by the Rotten King himself. Such rumours luckily remain in the wind, for there has never been proof of these so-called "Grand Black Mirrors". Described as "gargantuan" and "beyond the confines of a room", such things would have been surely found after the Empire's fall. Their smaller counterparts still plague the Kingdom and its allies yet the Vigil makes it a priority to destroy these horrible Mirrors with great prejudice. 

Fuming demonic forces like vile smoke from a furnace, Black Mirrors remain a threat in every age still. Dark lures that bind mortal souls, ensnared by the false promises made in the darkness beyond.