Ulafi, the Spirit of Greed

Ulafi, The Spirit of Greed

"Take this gift, goodly man," said Ulafi, gesturing to a mountain of gold.
"But you have already done so much for me!" replied the man, but it was an empty gesture of refusal. He intended to take the gift, as he had taken so many from this generous spirit before. He was rich before meeting Ulafi, and now his wealth had tripled in only two fortnights. The luxuries he enjoyed were beyond compare and he always knew that he deserved all that he was given. It was not his fault that others were so lazy and so slow to jump on the opportunities that he had capitalized on. The strong survive, after all.
"Indeed, but you are a good man, whose wealth overflows and feeds the poor slaves and servants beneath you. It would be wrong to leave this gold sitting here when it could belong to someone so wise and generous as you." Ulafi grinned; this was a familiar dance.
"If you insist, wise Ulafi." The man had accepted many gifts from this spirit and indeed, he employed many under him. Of course, to give away such wealth would be unwise; it was important to make it last and to prepare his family for generations to come. Maybe he could even afford to find powerful sages to help research ways to give him a longer life! Surely that would be good.
"Excellent. I will have the gold loaded onto camels for you. In the meantime, perhaps you would join me for dinner tonight? There will be many of my fellow spirits there and we would be honored to have such an illustrious guest! We would make the feast in your honor!"
The man had eaten the lavish and exotic foods that Ulafi's servants had made before. In truth, he had grown so accustomed to eating so lavishly that his belly had grown and his tastes became more discerning. Traveling to Ulafi had winded him more than before, when he was a thinner man, and the idea of resting in Ulafi's palace for the night, reveling at a feast in his honor, among potentially powerful spirit allies, was too good to dismiss.
"I would be delighted, great Ulafi. Please, show me to a room where I may prepare myself and wait."
"Of course. My servants will make sure you are properly dressed and tended to." Ulafi clapped his hands and his spirits led the man to his suite. There they bathed him in the finest of scented waters and oils. They dressed him in lavish perfumed clothing. Tended to his every whim.
And when the feast came, he was delicious...
- Excerpt from the Tales of Folly, a collection of morality plays.

---

The stories of Ulafi date back to the dark ages after the Collapse, making them hard to study as oral traditions. A popular but gruesome folk monster, Ulafi is a demon that seduces and corrupts men and women with the promise of wealth and power. It is particularly eager to seduce people that already are inclined towards greed, avarice, and envy. It rains luxuries and gold onto its victim, never asking for anything in return. The more the victim freely takes from Ulafi, the weaker their soul becomes. Ulafi fattens them up, both literally and spiritually, giving more and more to them until they are ready to be eaten. Ulafi then consumes them, quite literally eating their flesh after they accept a final gift. Images of Ulafi usually depict it as a very wealthy person, chin dripping with blood, and the fat corpse of a greedy man on it’s dinner table.
Ulafi is seen as a grim but effective boogeyman to convince children to share.