Author: Anonymous

Overview

In the general cosmology of Hestion, Demon is a term used to refer to an incorporeal and immortal soul. Like many such definitions, this is far from a perfect understanding of these creatures; there are seemingly as many exceptions to the rule as there are adherents. As a more complete understanding would drive any mind to madness, this guide chooses to leave the definition as it stands. In general, there can be said to be three types of demon as labeled below:

• Demon
• Arch-demon
• Grand-demon (god)
  To better understand the role of demons in Hestion, it is best to begin with what they represent and how they are formed (to the best of this guide's knowledge at least)

Demons and their roots

Demons have a symbiotic relationship with both mortals and the dead. Demons are the manifestation of dream and desire; as society evolves to value different precepts, so too do demons evolve to match. Every thought, hope, prayer, and feeling experienced by the mortal soul feeds The Aether in a small way. As this mysterious mirror realm to reality is fed, it must process this variety of emotions to still the metaphorical sea. The method of doing this is varied, but if enough of a theme can be found in the aether at a given time, an infant arch demon is forged. This creature is born into a new realm of the underworld, shaped in the image of its mind. If the ideal or emotion that formed the arch-demon is strong enough, the arch-demon will become a grand-demon. These creature are gods in their own right, shaping the world in proportion to their power to increase their influence. In Hestion, these beings are often subject to worship in some form or another, for example, the newest grand-demon, Yalda, already commands a powerful body of believers. As they develop, grand-demons will often accept the service of other arch-demons. These demons represent ideals that mirror the greater view of the demon that they serve. Lesser demons (typically referenced as demons) are servants of the other types of demons. They are created as an independent fragment of the arch or grand-demon's soul, imbued with autonomy and serve their creators to help further their aims. We will not delve into specifics on the various demons in this text; there are far better resources to assist in this task elsewhere.

Are Demons Immortal?

One of the standard points of friction with the definition of demon given above focuses on their status as immortal beings. In truth, demons are only theoretically immortal; there are way in which they can and indeed have been killed.
The simplest way that a demon can be killed is by their creator. If a grand or arch-demon wills it and completes the appropriate ritual, they can return a lesser demon's soul to their own.
Far less common is a demon being killed by a living mortal. For lesser demon, this can occur anywhere. Although the principle is in theory possible for greater demons, they can only be killed in the realm of power. If they are sufficiently harmed in any other place, they are simply banished and will reappear in their realm after a short time. Although some mortal stories tell of arch-demons being killed in this way, these stories seem highly speculative and are not to be trusted.