Demons

Demons is a catchall term for those creatures that can be summoned and bound by the art of sorcery. The People of Sun and River teach that the Demons were originally the slaves to the Demon-Gods, They Who Dream Between the Stars, the Voices of Infinity, but that when their gods were defeated in the Days of Blood and Shadow, the demons became slaves instead to those sorcerers with the will or cunning to control them. It is well known that many of the ancient sorcerer lineages maintain pacts forged from the Days of Blood and Shadow or the Imperial Age that are still honored by the Demons who made them, even if their descendants are unaware of the fact.
Demons vary wildly in intelligence. There are many types of demons, some that can only be described as animalistic, others that possess sapience even if they are not able to speak, and then others that are as intelligent or even more so than the humans that summon them, able to speak and use sorcery, even if they remain bound to the rituals. Those demons that are more than just animals are said to be valuable, if incredibly dangerous, servants. Like humans, knowing the True Name of one gives the sorcerer immense power over the demon, enough to control the will of even the oldest and most powerful of these beings.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Demons all have True Names, even the animals. They will do whatever they must to protect their True Name to prevent being easily enslaved by a sorcerer. For particularly ancient or powerful demons, sorcerers will invest much time and energy into discovering that secret before they risk summoning that being.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

The language of the Demons is, according to the ancient texts from the First Imperial Era, called Sigilite.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

The Empress's Law does not forbid the summoning of Demons, but any unregistered Sorcerer who is caught summoning a demon is likely to be captured by the Empress's forces and likely to never be seen again. What happens to these sorcerers, none of their friends or family are ever quite sure. Those sorcerers who are part of the Imperial Bureaucracy or attached to the Iron Legions will on occasion summon demons, but the regulations on how to do so require that if you summon a demon with sapience, you must know its True Name. There are fewer restrictions on summoning the bestial classes of demons.
Among the people of the Jeweled Cities, there are fewer legal restrictions, but if one flashes the demons they control, it is meant as a sign of power or intimidation. Often, Merchant Family sorcerers will keep the demons in their employ a secret to be able to better use them as spies and agents. Demonic Mastiffs or Jalka are actually fairly common to see among the elite. They are a sign that a person is a sorcerer, but give little indication of just how strong beyond that. Once someone is known to have the ability to channel the Wyrdwinds, they often have little reason to avoid showing off a demon beast or two.
The Cairnlanders rarely use demons, instead preferring to raise the dead as their servants. They have the spirits of the ancestors to serve as their advisers and the Cairnlords would rather invest their magical energy in creating their abominations and wraith knights than rely on the treachery of the ancient demons.
The People of Sun and River will rarely keep long standing pacts with Demons, but instead bind Demons to perform a single task before dismissing them. Often this is to learn from the Demon stories from the Days of Blood and Fire or to protect them from Wyrdings and Mistwalkers. Sorcerers often will journey to the Jungles of Kar'ack to listen to the stories of the People of Sun and River when they wish to learn the True Name of a Demon, for often, there is a tale buried among many that will point them in the right direction. Demons have a complicated role within the mythology of the People of Sun and River as well, for many of the stories of their gods and heroes involve Demons as both villains and allies.
Firelander Sorcerers are often more open with the displays of their bound demons. However, that does not mean that they TRUST them. Simply that it is not uncommon to find a Demon able to be called upon in the court of an Amir. The Firelanders also show the most interest of any modern nation in unraveling the secrets of the Demon tongue, called Sigilite in the ancient texts, for Demons will not teach it to outsiders, and even compelling them to do so is difficult. Firelanders make more use of the sapient and intelligent demons even for long term service than most others.

Sorcerers from the Ivory Savanna and the Iron Spines often will summon demons to bolster their tribes warriors. The Dancing Witches of the Ivory Savanna are especially renown for having Ancient Pacts with Singers of Driva, the alien creatures that resemble a giant scorpion, but with a human face of incredible beauty and a strange, resonating stinger. The stingers of these demons' tails are hollow but they make a strange hypnotic sound when shaken, like a snake's rattle. They are often summoned on the battlefield for their ability to ensnare many warriors with their rhythmic rattling, often enhancing the magic of the Dancing Witch or Warlock who bound them. Though culturally very distinct, the Tribesmen of the Ivory Savanna and the Iron Spines both revere and fear demons, relying on traditions inherited from shamans throughout their history to 'safely' deal with the Slaves of the Dreamers.
The people on the coast of the Crystal Mother's Forest make common use of the animalistic demons and their nobility often makes pacts with demons to increase their sorcerous power.

Common Taboos

Demons never will willingly speak their True Name, for it will give those with the power to channel the Wyrdwinds and the Mists power over them. They seem to be reluctant to reveal any secrets of their language, often enduring the intense physical pain that will accompany disobedience before teaching any of it to mortals. The Demons will never, and have never, revealed the True Names of any of their Gods, referring to them only as the Dreamers.

History

Demons have been present on Terraneus for as long as humans can remember, perhaps existing since the dawn of time. The appear in the earliest of records about sorcery, with many of the oldest sorcerous texts being instructions on how to use the Wyrdwinds to bind and command the Demons. These early texts do not mention the trickery or deceit (or even the sheer danger of invoking) that demons are known for in the modern era. Mentions of the danger, of demons improperly summoned killing or enslaving the wayward summoner, do not appear until nearly one hundred years into the First Imperial Era.

Common Myths and Legends

There is one legend that is mentioned in passing in the earliest of Imperial Records, though it disappears fairly on into the Old Iron Empire's life. The ancient sorcerers say that the Demons sought freedom from their Gods for the Cataclysm That Woke the Storm Between Stars. What that means the ancient scribes did not say.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Demons are seen as monsters by the people of Terraneus, just like the Mistwalkers. However, unlike the Mistwalkers, whom appear only with hostility and who nearly destroyed the civilizations of humanity during the Age of Storms, demons have been around as long as humans. They are considered simply a part of Terraneus. That doesn't mean they are 'accepted', for a 'free' demon is a powerful sorcerer in their own right, a danger to any who stumble across it. An enslaved demon is the tool of a sorcerer, often mad with their magical power. They are effectively immortal, when they are killed, their bodies may be left behind, but their spirit remains, though the demon cannot be summoned again until it has regained enough of its strength to take form.