Some Notes on Demons pt. 1

1.) Demons are the antithesis to a culture. They exist to destroy, with all definitions of that world being valid, what that culture produces. If the culture values virginity, demons are the opposite of that. If the culture values war, demons are the opposite of that too.


2.) Demons operate through rituals. Profane rituals are a form of counter-culture, and counter-culture is the easiest weapon for a demon to possess. Many civilizations have fallen because demons twist the minds of artistic or rebellious movements, which allow them to then twist the minds of the mainstream and normal movements too.


3.) Demons cannot be killed. When a demon "dies," it is simply recreated to continue plaguing the culture it haunts. If that culture dies, the demon is broken down and reshaped and then sent to another culture. Because of this diabolist believe that there are a limited number of "demon classifications" that manifest in different ways for different cultures.


4.) Demons can be exorcised. This is how one defeats a demon. Exorcism involves taking the most pure, divine, or sacred aspects of a culture, codifying them, and using them to banish or seal a demon. This does not kill the demon--it just removes it from the playing field.


5.) Summoning a demon for a task is the same as setting yourself on fire to light a torch. If you know a demon's true name, it's because the demon has, at one point, put its true name out there to be known. You aren't summoning the demon, you are progressing one of the demon's manyfold plans. This isn't always bad for you, but it is always bad for somebody.


6.) Angels are no better, and in fact, are worse in many situations.


7.) Every religion, civilization, culture, tribe, tradition, etc has stories about an afterlife. The afterlife is a construct of demons--it is where they dwell, where they grow, where they sleep. When someone dies, their soul sometimes slips into the afterlife. Be it Heaven, Hell, Valhalla, Elysium, the Shadowfell, the Wall of Souls, or anywhere else, you can be sure that demons are at the heart of it, and that this is just another engine of destruction chugging along.


8.) Doves, not angels, are the natural enemies of demons.