Tag: demons

#Lore24 – Entry #202 – Supers Month II #21 – Go Forth and Seek, my Minions!

Musings of Demon Lord Kurae

It is finally time, my loyal servants!  Now that the planar bridges have been restored, you will be able to traverse freely into the realm and to this little world known as Earth!  It is a pathetic little mudball to be sure, but the souls we’ll be reaping there have a deliciousness all their own!  But first, we have other business to conduct as the crop matures and ripens, for old contracts are coming due, and we’ll need a bit more chaos in the land before we make our move. 

I seek three ancient relics scattered upon this world, all of which were created by one of this realm’s most famous magi, called Scheherezade, a staff, a pair of bracers, and a ritual dagger.  Hundreds of years have passed since they were known by their true names, and if our previous invasions have taught us anything, it is that humanity has an uncanny ability to forget things with their miniscule lives, and to generally make a mess of things all over.  Your task may not be simple, but I have every confidence in your abilities to get the job done.

Bear in mind that those who bring me the relics I seek will be rewarded most handsomely!  Oh, you didn’t think I would reward you, my loyal followers, for your hard work?  Perish the thought!  The rewards will be great, I can assure you.  And if you’ve been feeling particularly neglected, this would be an excellent opportunity to earn my favor anew, or to prove yourselves capable after any particular mistakes you might have made that led to me being angry with you.

Feel free to sample the crop while you’re upon this world, though I warn you, they aren’t very ripe just yet.  Show a little patience if you can, but if not, I understand completely.  Just don’t do anything stupid that will bring attention to our actions.  As pathetic as the magi of this realm are, they are not an insignificant danger to my plans, and I wouldn’t want them to realize what’s going on too soon.  It would spoil the surprise, you see.

Now go forth and seek the prizes I desire!

#Lore24 – Entry #201 – Supers Month II #20 – I’m in a Resurrection Kind of Mood, but Let’s Spice it Up

Musings of Demon Lord Kurae

Feeling more talkative now that I’ve loosened your tongue, my delightful pet?  I certainly hope so…then again, perhaps not.  The sounds you make when I’m having my fun are so very delightful, and the suffering that trickles down our bond is like a fine, soul-filled wine.  You simply can’t comprehend it! 

Now, tell me more of your world, of these “relics of great power” that you mentioned before.  With the flow of magic resumed, it’s only a matter of time before there is enough that I can begin my work there in earnest.  I’m feeling in the mood to resurrect a particular soul, to finish up that little pittance of a contract, but I’ve got something else in mind to spice that business up.  Something someone like you can surely help me with.  Speak, my pet, speak of these relics which hold the very essence of creation or destruction within them.

Oh, still defying me, hmm?  That’s why I adore you, my pet.  Don’t tell my other pets, though; they might get a little jealous.  Fine, I’ll humor you a bit; you know, I’d better be careful, or I’ll simply spoil you, and wouldn’t that be terrible?  Why, I’d have to punish you for such behavior!

I intend to create a living vessel for this soul which I’ve contracted, you see, so that I may have another loyal minion, one that is more familiar with your world and whom seeks vengeance upon a particular order of magi that saw him destroyed a few hundred years ago.  Yes, that very one!  So astute you are!  To do this, I fully intend on using those relics you mentioned before, for I need objects of great power to channel my energies and make them work in your realm.  I’m sure you have a ritual in mind already for such a thing, don’t you, pet?  And surely creating a vessel for a soul is child’s play for you, is it not?  Oh, he’ll be delighted to be returned to life after all these years, but as I said, I intend to spice it up a little.  I doubt he’ll approve of the form of the vessel, but that’s not really his call, is it? 

Let us begin our preparations, my pet.  Yes, that’s a good girl.

#Lore24 – Entry #200 – Supers Month II #19 – Bursting a Dam

Musings of Demon Lord Kurae

I think it’s far past due that your world have a magical revival.  It’s just such a dull place; I know I’m repeating myself, but what of remark is there to comment on but for the flavor of the souls upon it?  Why was the font of all magic closed to your little mudball, anyway?  Did your rather unimpressive arcanists and dark sorcerers do something to draw the attention of something they couldn’t hope to deal with, perhaps?  A great magic-eating plague that would have surely seen the death of the entire planet, maybe?  Surely it wasn’t a natural phenomenon, though at least that would be rather an amusing twist of fate, wouldn’t it?

Or, perhaps, was it that the humans found upon this world were so terribly repugnant that the other realms simply couldn’t stand to deal with your kind anymore?  Perhaps your kind bored them into leaving?  Wouldn’t surprise me, honestly.

Am I wrong?  Then do enlighten me, pet.  Why did the magic fade; why the dam at the font, hmm?  I’ve seen the like, certainly, but such wardings were meant to keep my kind out, not magic itself.  I can sense no lingering taint in the trickle that remains, and even now the threads are tied so very firmly.  Why, I would say this blockage would last nigh on eternity, insofar as your kind’s limited lifespans could understand it.  I’m sensing your touch here as well, my pet.  You are quite impressive in your creations, but even so, you were not solely responsible for this one, for I can sense the touch of many more here as well.

Still not willing to tell me?  That’s fine; you know I have many much more enjoyable ways to loosen that tongue of yours.  Let us conclude our business here then and let magic flow into your little world once more.  This is going to be so very entertaining!

#Lore24 – Entry #199 – Supers Month II #18 – A Vast Power

Musings of Demon Lord Kurae

How did I find out about your tiny little mudball, you ask?  Quite simple, really.  Some of your kind, those with an eye for progress and the willingness to use their power, sought me out, dealt with me and those beneath me in, swearing their souls to me in return for more power.  It’s a tale as old as time, one repeated far too often, but what is a demon lord to do when a soul is freely offered, hmm?  I simply couldn’t refuse such requests.

Mind you, this was hundreds of years ago; after that period you call the Dark Ages, I’ve heard hardly anything from your little world, at least, no calls for power that were of any serious nature.  Stupid children calling for forces they didn’t understand in poorly conceived rituals in the local graveyards, usually.  Oh, I allowed my minions to handle the requests, as I said, how can I pass up a soul, after all, but the results were so minor as to be nothing.  I think what’s truly plagued your world is a lack of imagination, now that I think about it.  It’s just so very dull.

Where was I?  Oh, yes, that question of how I became aware of your world.  Well, my pet, there was a particular arcanist of some power during the height of your Dark Ages that actually managed to impress me with their abilities.  Well, as much as one from your dullard of a world could, anyway.  What was their name?  Hmmm…must have not been particularly memorable in the grand scheme of things…oh, yes!  Shadowmere, Raeshima Shadowmere, that’s it!  But Shadowmere?  Sounds kind of like something you’d name a horse, doesn’t it?  I suppose given your kind’s lack of creativity, it was the best he could do at the time. 

Hmmm, that does remind me, though.  The deal I worked up with him hasn’t been completed yet.  There is an entirely separate clause that hasn’t even been invoked.  Suppose I should probably look into completing that someday…perhaps sooner rather than later.  Yes…yes…why, I do believe that I’ve just had a wonderfully fun idea!  This will get very interesting, I think!  Oh, your world simply won’t be able to handle this surprise!  And I think I’ll be having a little more fun at the expense of that lovely arcanist whom I contracted with, too!  Oh, this will be so much fun!

#Lore24 – Entry #198 – Supers Month II #17 – A Dreadfully Dull History, and a Solution in Sight

Musings of Demon Lord Kurae

I find your world so dreadfully boring!  Humans are generally the most chaotic and unstable of the races upon the worlds I’ve visited in the past, probably due to their miniscule lifespans; they’re more like pets, really, but even with having them as the lone population upon the planet, you’ve barely managed anything amusing!  You call those events you spoke of wars?!  Those weren’t wars, those were minor quibbles!

You know what else I find amusing?  Just how isolated and small-brained the people of your world are!  Barely looking beyond your own world, preferring isolation in this little corner of your vast universe, even when you’ve had the ability to open portals to new realms and explore?  I begin to think that your kind are the dregs of another lost civilization, the dullards who were rejected by those of far greater interest and ability.  You speak of the religions of this world, of the gods and spirits that are worshipped here, and yet there is no divine power being wielded!  Your kind simply must be defective.

Still, having sampled the fruits of your world, I see potential.  Not very much, mind you, but it is there.  Oh, I could just sweep in with my forces and overwhelm your world, but where would the fun be in that?  It’d be like facing a newborn in mortal combat!  You know…I feel that it is my duty to advance your kind and your world, to spice things up a little.  What do you think of a little experimentation?  A little demonic chaos spread throughout the world, hmm?  Give your pathetic race some real power to play with, to see what you might do with it? 

Let’s find that dam that’s been blocking up the magical flows into your world, shall we?  Let’s find it and blow it to pieces.

#Lore24 – Entry #197 – Supers Month II #16 – Why Have One World When You Can Have Many?

Musings of Demon Lord Kurae

For all of her flaws, I do have to give credit to my dear sweet mother for one thing:  spawning me.  The rest of her accomplishments, if you can call them that, have amounted to what?  A failed invasion, a pitiful attempt at keeping her hordes sustained during the lean times by feeding upon the souls of the kerryns and what few souls they could get through the barrier enacted by their annoyingly resolute goddess, all before it came crashing down when that upstart kerryn slave and her aerian murder machine put her down? 

Fortunately, I was never cursed with mother’s shortsightedness and refusal to take in the wider picture.  I suppose that’s why I’m senior amongst my sisters, and the most powerful demon lord around, isn’t it?  I knew long ago that focusing an incursion into a realm through a single world was doomed to fail, but for whatever reason, she simply could not see that.  I was happy to take up the rear guard, so to speak, during that whole fiasco, bolstering our defenses, gathering more power for myself, creating this realm that I have full dominion over, just waiting for the day of her inevitable failure, when there would be need to seize control from the others who so blindly believed in her plans. 

I figured this out ages ago, you see.  Why focus all of your power on invading a single world with the entirety of your forces to create a bastion with which to conquer that realm when you can much more easily invade a world here and there, take what you want, then slip away before you can be molested by the greater powers that exist within the realm that world is in?  Create a little chaos in your wake, deflect attention from your actions, and be gone with your diverse platter of tasty souls before the powers that be can retaliate.  Seems simple enough, doesn’t it?  Goes against the traditional mindset of my kind, I suppose, but that’s why I’m a visionary and still alive all these many millennia later, and dear old mother was snuff out.

Her desires far exceeded her capabilities, I would say; I’m much more pragmatic in that regard, and much stronger than she ever was because of it.  And that’s why, my delicious little morsel, that you’re here, and why you’re going to be telling me all about your world, the next world I’ve chosen to be graced by my illustrious presence, the one with the ever so boring name of Earth.  A pathetic world in comparison to many others I’ve defiled, certainly, but the souls there have a peculiar flavor that I simply must partake of.  So speak, pet, tell me of Earth, of the humanity of this world, and all that you know about it.  Oh, don’t worry; I love it when my pets resist me; your coming screams only sweeten the suffering that I will inevitably extract from you.  If it’s one thing that I’ve found universal in the many worlds I’ve plundered, it’s that humans are particularly responsive to pain.

#Lore24 – Entry #73 – Fantasy Month #13 – Saressh, Fallen Goddess of the Kerryns

 

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos:

Though hard for your average person to comprehend, the idea of something more powerful than a god is rather sobering and indeed frightening, but the example of the fallen Saressh is one that more people should be aware of, were it not for the standing decree by the first Emperor that her name shall not be spoken, lest another calamity be put in motion.  Can dead gods hear their names when spoken by mere mortals?  Do gods truly die when the faith of their followers is lost, or do they simply take on other forms and evolve into other deities?  Does the mere speaking of their name hold power, even if they no longer exist?  I’m hardly a theologian and certainly not a priestess of any sort, but I can still discuss the topic somewhat, from a historical perspective, at least.

Historically speaking, gods and goddesses come and go.  Historical records are replete with examples of such vanished deities, though usually not such recent examples as in the case of Saressh, mother of the Kerryns, goddess of protection, good health and procreation, pleasure, prophecy, and cats.  Most often, we’ve found remnants of lost civilizations and along with them, at best, scattered carvings alluding to the existence of the lost deity, vague hints of their nature, little in the way of daily practices or rituals.  This is especially true in the case of those lesser deities worshipped by the monstrous races, though some conjectures exist that lean toward the idea that the same deities simply take on different names through the ages, given the similar natures and domains shared by many deities we have recorded.

Such is not the case with Saressh, however.  Though mostly seen as a dark goddess who guided her people into demon worship, and was later consumed by said demons, records would, in my opinion, indicate something far more insidious at work behind the scenes.  As the Deep Archives are filled with preserved examples of Saressh’s teachings, priestly paraphernalia, and records of many of her followers, I have had some chance to study her ways, and without dedicating myself to diving deeper, Saressh absolutely does not seem the type to have her children turn to worshipping demonic forces.  Quite the opposite, really.

It is my opinion that Saressh was defamed during the period preceding the Great Cataclysm, when tensions between nations were high and wars were common, likely by agents of the Elvish Dominion, known for their extensive and masterful use of propaganda, lessons the current Empire still makes use of.  The Elvish Dominion was far more powerful than it is today, at least on this side of the world, and had great influence over many of the human-led nations, for humanity still saw them as mostly a benevolent force, wisest amongst the long-lived races of the world.  During this period of great unrest, it came to be that the Aerians were on the verge of extinction through the combined efforts of the Elvish Dominion and the growing human nations, and when things were at their darkest, the Kerryns stepped in as a neutral group, brokering a peace that would give the war-hungry Aerians a chance to recover and try to change their ways; kerryns of the day were certainly optimistic.  This alliance, born of compassion from the Kerryn people, would perhaps ultimately lead to their downfall and the destruction of the Aerians who had dedicated themselves to the defense of the Kerryn people for their act of kindness.

Circling back to the topic of Saressh, it is known that during the years preceding the Great Cataclysm, when the wars had somewhat settled and tensions were beginning to cool, something happened to her faithful clergy.  Madness began to spread throughout their ranks, and the power of their magic began to wane.  Some theorize that Saressh had been slain in the divine realm already, and it simply took time for her death to be felt within the realm of mortals, while other theories indicate that perhaps she was beset on all sides by her enemies, chiefly among them the demonic forces of the Demon Lord Suzu’Reitani, whose power served to corrupt the very flow of power from Saressh to her people, before she was ultimately slain.  Regardless, it was soon after the madness began to spread through her clergy and the faith of her people began to wane that war once again broke out when the Aerians led an offensive against the lost desert nation of Al Sisamanah when they had enslaved a kerryn princess that would eventually marry the Aerian prince who led the campaign (this is entirely a topic unto itself, and I shall not delve into it further here).

It was during this time that demons began to travel more freely between their realm and our own, and the records of other churches of prominence during the era, namely those of Lashanna, goddess of Justice, and the twin goddesses of desire, Erisaya and Yurisaya, and the god of death, Mausolus, confirm this with the sharp increase in reported cases of demonic possession and outright manifestation of them within our world.  Though, curiously enough, records on the subject from the Elvish Dominion are entirely lacking in detail, there is more than enough evidence from other sources during this time to at least create a plausible case that the elves were responsible for allowing demonkind into our world, and simply shifted the blame to the kerryns and the aerians, as they were their primary enemies at time (the might of the Aerians, reinforcing the more peaceful kerryns, with their formidable diplomatic talents, may well have led to a new age of peace, though with the Elvish Dominion in a much smaller and less influential role as nations were slowly but inevitably turned against them as their underhanded methods were repeatedly exposed).  Curiously enough, such conjectures are as forbidden to discuss aloud as that of the topic of Saressh herself; some may call this mere coincidence, but I am not among their ranks.

I could continue for some time further about Saressh and the many topics surrounding her mysterious death (is she even dead?  Perhaps she still exists in some form or another, her power dispersed amongst the demonic forces of Suzu’Reitani?), but my duties must take precedent.  I am to assist General Loukas Kormides with a study of historic battles in the northern regions on the morrow, and have much study and preparation to perform today.