Location: The Hells
Native Denizens: Demons (Dee-mons)
Average Life Expectancy: Unknown
My beloved home. I am Gothrak, one of six Elder Barrakka during the War with the Heavenly Host. Elder Barrakka, pronounced Ba-rah-kah, are similar to Generals in other established ranking systems that serve loyalty under the royal family. Having been exiled shortly after the wars" completion by my Lord's Queen along with many others of Queen Shendavari's loyal servants, I have only just recently been permitted to return at the behest of the new Queen, the eldest daughter of my Lord Lucifer, Lai. It is a beautiful landscape, not this horror of a nightmare referred to in a human poet's tale, the Divine Comedy, or the entire dead religion of Catholicism based in the Earth realm.
Breathtaking red stone mountainous peaks grace the horizon that pierce the ever orange hue painted sky as far as one can see with a wide, dark, calm river winding through them. Etched into the sides of the mountains are caves of various depths that hold wondrous flowers and moss that cast a dim glowing light when movement occurs nearby. Some demons choose to make their homes in these natural outcrops that occasionally hold natural hot-springs; a well enjoyed relaxing spot for all demons. Again, for the first time in such a very long time, the swirled sky of warm hues of the lower levels are scattered with the sight of proud demons in flight.
Though inherently wrong in their perception of Hell, Dante and the religious nuts have some of it right in regards to the circles and levels. There are indeed nine "circles" and the royal family resides in the deepest pits. However, you'll not find souls of the dead, damned or otherwise, milling about to be tortured for all eternity'so I would suggest you save the coin the charlatan priests request; it will not buy you a place in any paradise. Here you will only find my people.
The further 'down" one goes in the levels, the more powerful and ancient the demons are that reside there. The "highest' level belongs to those that are the youngest, no more than four to five hundred years old. It is also where Netheri and half-demons are permitted to live out their lives without the supervision of a full-blooded demon. Here is where the Midian's portal gate has been erected to link our realm more easily with the others to permit those interested in traveling the realms without expending too much energy or do not have the ability to tear open the planes and travel. In the ninth domain is where I call home. It is the dwelling place of the most powerful demons. Everyone from the age of the angelic wars that did not parish call it home and it is where the ruler of all the Hells oversees everything; sending aid, instruction or punishment to whichever level they deem it is required in. Upon Lai's call for all those wronged by her mother to return, this place has once more become a thriving civilization.
We have many traditions and idiosyncrasies that make us unique from other cultures I have encountered during my short time here in Rhy-din. The most predominant issues that have become relevant to me are our lust for carnal pleasures, our need to dominate perceived weaker creatures, our tolerance for slavery, our pride, and the thrill of bloody combat. When discussing our lust, it is a common misconception that only the Incubi and Succubi spawn enjoy it, I must correct this notion. ALL demons adore sexual relations; it is the most base and satisfying physical action we can take part in. Though it is true the Incubi and Succubi of my Hells do re-energize after their coupling instead of growing into a momentarily useless pile of bliss.
When I speak of slavery, I do not speak of it in the negative connotation as many seem to have. Yes, we have taken those unwilling in the past, but we are not unkind to those that we take. They are cared for, treated well and even loved"we do not view them as slaves but pets. Like a human would consider a dog or cat, though while not exactly the same as demons do tend to use their bipedal slave-pets for all manners of entertainment, including intercourse. Demons are also very picky about the ones they claim as their chosen pet as it is generally a lifetime commitment. The demon and their chosen pet take on an extremely deep bonded connection learning everything there is to know about the other"every word spoken and not spoken, every movement of their body, every inch of their flesh all dedicated to memory over years of being with one another"In time, if the pet has a longer life span such as in the case with their preferred pets, the Netheri, or half-breed demons, they are able to tell each others" emotions, even when far from one another. It is a very special relationship and never one taken on lightly due to the absolute devastation it causes to the one that remains.
You see, Demons do not die of old age, we die only in battle, it is just the way of things"however everything else seems to have a life expectancy so, more often than not, it is the demon whose heart is left in shattered pieces. Yes, we have do indeed have hearts, yes we have feelings as much as I loathe to admit to them, we feel them passionately and never easily. When our chosen pet that we have spent so much dedication to for so long passes away, it tears a piece of us apart, never to be able to get it back. I have seen some destroyed from this loss, literally dying of broken hearts or becoming so hardened, they become secluded never to feel for anyone again. There are some, generally the younger ones, that can in time take on another pet"it is never the same, but they have that need to fill the gap their death leaves in the one who's left behind.
This brings us to the comment on demonic pride every demon in my realm feels. It stems from our Lord Lucifer"how he refused to continue to bend a knee to his creator, Yaweh, and was cast out as a fallen angel. We all hold ourselves up as the most powerful of all the creatures in the galaxy. We are made of pure instinct yet capable of complex thought. It is true in my realm, no other creature, save for the gods come close to the power that we demons possess. We do not surrender, we do not bend knee unless it is proven that we are the weaker creature. Even then, we will fight tooth and nail to prove our worth. Within demonic society it is expected for us to battle each other, to challenge one another to establish a pecking order of sorts; a hierarchy of strength with our Queen at the very top.
Young demons, when they become of age are then referred to as Draelings and taken by a mentor to teach them and gauge their strength. It is our version of puberty it would seem. Through years of training with their mentor, these Draelings learn where in our society they will belong for their adult life. It is rare for a Draeling to ever be more powerful than their mentor as it is generally an elder relative that takes on the young one for training. This mentor-ship tends to be more accepted by the Draeling as there is already an element of trust established within the relation of blood. The mentor teaches them their place and through the training and learning of their function in society, gives them a sense of peace. They are taught, without words most often, how to submit but still keep their pride, how to train and keep a pet, how to fly if they have sprouted their wings, and guide them through any other changes their body goes through such as their craving for blood, the sudden savage increased desire of sexual relations, how to conduct oneself properly in front of those of higher rank and of lower rank, when to accept or deny a challenge, and what to do when chosen as a mate.
When my Lord Lucifer fell, there were not many Angels that fell with him. Many were created through the massive amounts of energy that were formed by the coupling of he and his Queen, Lillith. They created the Hells themselves. It was my Queen, Shendavari, Lillith's blood sister, that created me from her essence, taking a piece of herself to create me and several others. You see, the natural birthing process for demons is quite vicious and so many opt not to. A child is not birthed through the same manner in which the seed is sowed?a natural demonic child born to a demonic mother literally rips themselves free of her womb using tooth and talon, leaving her shredded from the inside out. Yes, she heals relatively quickly from it but it is not at all a pleasant or joyous experience.
It is actually rather difficult for a female to become pregnant at all. They only come into their heat once or twice during a span of a millennium and there are only a precious few female demons. This means that the female can be selective of her mating partner, taking on only the strongest or wisest of demons to breed with in order to pass on genes that would better serve our race. It is not uncommon for a female in heat to take a partner related to her by blood, due to the level of trust, or take multiple partners to satisfy her urges as the mating heat she experiences lasts for some months on end. Every time a female demon goes into heat, she releases a potent pheromone and make sounds low in her throat that drives males into a frenzy. This frenzy causes them to posture and challenge one another in front of her to prove their strength and worthiness and earn her approval to mount her. Every other time, sex is a means of fun and satisfaction for a demon, not so much affection, partnership or duty. Monogamy is a human notion that is rather foreign to a demon of the Hells.
That is all I have to share on my home and culture'some items a stranger to my people should never do is touch their horns or wings without permission, challenge them on anything, prick their pride in any manner and never trespass upon their territory or disrupt their property even if it is only a perceived trivial thing it is still theirs.
