Origins
At the center of EON, the Demon homeworld, lies a great and endless storm of spiritual energies called the Maelstrom, or the Eye of Terror.
There are many theories as to how this storm came to be, and its origins are part of countless folktales and fables told throughout the galaxy, but in truth there are none alive who know its exact cause or even in what era it formed. What is known of the Maelstrom is that it is a tear between the Afterlife's Otherworld and the Mortal Realm. A rip in space between life, and death. And from that torn seam in the universe pour out energies that manifest as the race called Demons. The most commonly believed theory regarding the Maelstrom and the demons born of it is that when souls pass through the Afterlife towards their final destinations, whether that be Heaven or Hell, they are 'washed clean' of their evil in a Soul Laundry, and that the Maelstrom was formed by a disaster where that evil 'vim' overwhelmed the Soul Laundry's restraints and defenses, spilling back down into the universe where it continues to steadily drip.
The birth of a true Demon of the Maelstrom is rare. They often take the form of a dark spiritual nimbus until they manifest a body suiting what demons refer to as their 'true-name'.
Once a Demon has manifested, they are able to couple and copulate like any other species. Most Demons alive in the galaxy in the modern era were not born from this Maelstrom, but from mothers of their own kind. The importance of a Maelstrom born Demon cannot be overstated, as these Demons are considered the scions of powerful and noble bloodlines. A concept that has caused nearly endless war and in-fighting between Demons since time immemorial.
Demons can take physical forms and features that may widely vary, even from father to son, but they are loosely categorized (and ranked) by a system of birthright and horns.
A demon born of the Maelstrom with horn is considered an Archdevil. A demon born of the Maelstrom with no horns is a devil. A demon born of a womb with horn, a teifling. A Demon born of a womb with no horns, a lesser Demon or Imp.
Modern Era
EON is a world of constant warfare. It has gone through more rises and falls of great empires than any other homeworld. It is a hellish landscape that has no sun, but is heated by the fires of the Maelstrom itself, leaving it in a perpetual state of winter where nearly nothing green can grow.
The ruins of ancient Demon civilizations dot its landscapes that monstrous creatures and bestial lesser Demons roam. It is difficult for anything to take root on EON for long. Technology such as spaceship ports and even simple aqueducts grow in use and then decline as cities are raised and torn down generation after generation. For this reason, visitors to EON are likely to see a strange, Frankenstein patch-work of medieval and modern architecture and technology.
And likewise the Demons themselves hold strange, antiquated viewpoints of rulership. Kings and Lords of bastion-like territories find themselves and their settlements under the attack of marauding, tribal warbands as often as they do spaceship-faring pirate captains, and cultist congresses.
Cultural Keystones
There is only one "law" on EON: "Take what you can, give what you must."
EON has many rulers, and many territories due to this ideal. Some Demons join what are known as "Totem" clans. Collectives of like-minded individuals working towards a singular purpose usually united under the symbol of an animal that represents their values such as the Bear, the Raven, the Wolf, or the Dragon. But there are many more Demons who unite under "bloodline" kings and scions, arranging themselves into a hierarchy based on how far back they can claim their lineage to an Archdevil. All of these different methods of government and a willingness, nay an encouragement, to fight amongst themselves rather than seek order has kept EON in an endless state of warfare, but the very few times that the various rulers of EON have ever agreed to set their sights on an outside enemy as a unified force has left the galaxy on fire, and reduced to ashes, such as their conquest of Arlia.
Suffice to say, if the Demon species does have a cultural keystone to speak of it is simply "Let chaos reign!"
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