Demons 101

Spirits, gods, devils, angels, and demons all refer to the only other beings to use magic on Shaar. It was misunderstood that they might all have been separate species based on their actions and behaviors (I.e. Chaotic demons seen as devils, neutral ones as spirits, benevolent ones as gods) but this has long since been scientifically disproven. See, as you’ll remember from the calendar post, it’s 6009 H.E. or Human era. Before this Era was the terribly bleak Demon Epoch, in which humans scarcely survived in small tribal societies, at the discretion of the demons which became deities or guardian spirits in man's eyes. This existence was brutal for mankind.

Out of unprecedented generosity (or sheer laziness) a few demons gave humans their own limited magic abilities, often through possession but sometimes by creating human/demon hybrids (through various methods, all of them being equally upsetting) who held fractions of their demon parent's power.

Physiologically, demons are trans-dimensional beings unbound by space and time. Through some twisted evolutionary process they are however bound to ideas and symbols. Being imbued with immense arcane abilities from their hatching, they rarely are seen in their natural shape. It is rumored to be an insect-like form, with segmented bodies and serrated fangs, but this has proven difficult to prove. Demon's lives span aeons, and their births are infamously random and spontaneous. Even after the gift of magic to mankind, demons had been able to posses any living thing and pervert its form or control its actions. This made any resistance or misstep by humans easily punishable.

Although Demons are not omniscient or omnipresent, their indifference to distance and ability of invisibility (to the naked eye, that is) made widespread fear their conquering tool in securing Shaar as their personal eden during the Demon Epoch. Being trans-dimensional, demons are able to traverse the entire universe freely, but it is only on Shaar- they claim- that their powers fully function. They really had created paradise for themselves, with Shaar as the hub of the demon race they presumably plied the galaxy freely, and toyed with life at will. Shaar was certainly very chaotic, environmentally, as it had always been, but it was also more diverse and lush. Most modern depictions of demons show them frolicking in fire and volcanism, but recent fossil evidence shows that they undoubtably used their magic to foster rich varieties of flora and fauna, as well as manipulating the evolution of many of the magically inclined non-sentient beasts known as monsters. Modern oceans are still filled with many relics of the Demon Epoch.

This demon golden age ended within a century of the first recorded human wizard. The proliferation of witches and wizards was massive, and with thaumaturgy being genetically inherited, there was an unprecedented amount of humans willing to rebel against their guardian spirits and local deities, as well as tribes who dared venture into the vast expanses of wilderness and take on every monster and native god of the wilds. For reasons still unclear to humans, a minority faction of demons joined various human tribes in their fight for independence. It's long been thought that without this demon civil war mankind would have been driven extinct for its rebellion, but demonic logic remains a mystery to human theorists, and despite the fact that they could have easily sided with their own kind and wiped man out for good, they did not.

The official end of the Demon Epoch came when a band of primitive Greater Shaarian warriors came across an enraged volcano god and found themselves immune to its possession. The discovery of this mutation, now called the M Sequence, lauded the start of massive waves of human migration and rebellion in all regions of the world. This mysterious mutation is genetically linked gene similar to those infused into the human genome by demons, but its appearance is unprecedented. The dark ages that followed gave rise to the first major human civilizations, and the dawn of agriculture and metalworking came about in the time between the end of the Demon Epoch and the start of the modern calendar. By H.E. year 1, hundreds of miles of wilderness and thousands of species of monster and animal had been obliterated. This gradual clearing of the surface of Shaar was painstakingly slow at first, with every forest and mountain guarded viciously by its native demons, as well as the beasts bred there. With the invention of weapons and traps almost all humans could join in the struggle for land.

Today, most demons reside in the ocean. Its high acidity and immense pressure dissuade most humans from venturing there. Seeing as most of Shaar's surface is covered in water, the demons do not see the rise of mankind as a loss of "their" world, but rather a tragic despoilment of the upper biosphere. Demons born after the start of the Human Era have their own views on mankind's place, and each conducts them self as they see fit. Fiercely individualistic, demons have no known nations or families, and only one need in their lifetimes. Being bound to ideas, their reproduction depends on the proliferation of their natural idea. Hence, a forest spirit will fight to preserve its forest, while a greed demon will sow greed in the hearts of humans to ensure a home for its eggs.

Their behavior is just as unpredictable as always, with some living in perfect harmony disguised as humans, and others conducting fierce attacks from the sea. They do seem to identify with witches and wizards better, however, perhaps due to their shared ancestry. A common relationship between a human and demon is the Blood Contract, in which a human offers a part of itself (symbolically, as demons have no real need for food) and in return enlists the powers of the demon for a specified purpose or period of time. Like spells, however, these contracts are prone to poetic irony, with demons gladly willing to twist the words of their contracts for or against their contractors for pleasure.

The Nexus Corporation and You

   Originally the Nexus Chemical and Catalyst Company, the largest political party and most powerful corporation in Deltora began as a single independent refinery in Karnasi. Being situated under the dire conditions of Deltora's Eastern Shore region, the plant was constantly under siege by wild spirits and demons from the sea. In an effort to curb these attacks, the management saw fit to hire a local wizard along with their contracted demon. They introduced themselves as Mikhail Xevrich and Eperot, and during their first weeks employed to protect the refinery they began to implement changes where they saw fit in the production process. As productivity improved, they began dictating business decisions as well. In a matter of months Xevrich owned a controlling share of the company, and ultimately set about expanding the business in the decades that followed. While the detail's of Xevrich's contract with his demon Eperot has never been disclosed to the public, he's rumored to have given his mind to be eaten, in exchange for Eperot's services until the end of his lifetime. 
    The Nexus Company rapidly grew rich producing gunpowder during the Third Sand War and began buying up dozens of rival businesses, and began branching out into new fields of production and research. The company had over five hundred facilities as part of their vertically integrated industrial empire by 5991. At the start of the most recent Deltoran civil war they ended up deciding the outcome by refusing to supply the house Novacore and supporting the rebels, and eventually helping to install one of their primary shareholders on the throne, the house Glasskard. Under the new regime they were granted permission by the Royal sorcerer's guild to venture into the world of hyrbid technology (technology that invokes magic without human presence) and became a major manufacturing power in dozens of fields.
    Undoubtably a monopoly, the Nexus Corporation is the leading name in household chemicals, steam car manufacturing, electronics, and impersonal spells, with total control of all the factors of production behind those products. They're also granted first priority by the government in choice of raw materials, as they have received several exclusive contracts from the military for the production of guns, tanks, and airships. 
    Their management nowadays is as mysterious as they must be wealthy. More and more decisions by the board of directors are overridden by the reclusive Xevrich, Chief Executive Officer of the head branch of Nexus R & D. Over one hundred and twenty years old by 6009, many critics of the Nexus leadership claim he may be losing his mind to his demon, or even plain old age. These critics, of course, receive informal visits from the infamous Okhrana, the Queen's secret police, or worse yet The Stalkers, the abominable artificial demons supposedly created to dispatch the Nexus Corporation's most urgent threats. 

Deltora and Ulanazar: A Guide

    Here at SPFT, you may be encountering a great deal of words you do not understand. In upcoming (and past) posts there'll be talk of two entities which are very important to understand. A detailed history of each should come in due time, but today we're here to outline the basics for you. 
    The rival empires of Deltora and Ulanazar are two of the largest and most influential states in Shaarian history. At the start of Overture in 6009 H.E. (Human Era, as opposed to the previous Demon Era and the preceding Dragon Era) the two powers have been locked in cold war for over a generation. To understand the bad blood between the two powers you must understand the culture differences they fail to overcome.
    Deltora is a constitutional monarchy with a parliament and sorcerer's guild, each balancing each other, and in effect making up the imperial government. Historically prone to civil war and regicide, Deltora has seen a wild variety of identities, and recently taken up the sword of the conqueror, setting its sights on neighboring countries and long-contested colonial possessions. Why? Following the most recent Deltoran War of Succession, the House Glasskard of the Kulikov Province came to power, backed by the powerful Nexus Corporation. Over the next nine years the political branch of the Nexus Corporation, known as the Nexus Party to the people, became wildly popular with it's promises of restored economic prosperity and military domination. With Queen Elaine Glasskard on the throne, the nation certainly did flourish, and by the start of Overture the empire is overflowing with ultra-nationalism and practically fascist levels of bloodlust. The Nexus party controls five hundred seats in a six hundred seat parliament and the royal family is heavily invested in the company itself, which incidentally produces guns, airships, steamcars, and electronics. 
    
    Naturally war with their old rival seems inevitable. The Holy Ulanazar Nation has been noted for not being very holy, or by any means Ulanazar, and certainly not a nation per say. Traditionally Ulanazar refers the long-annihilated ethnic group from which the Church of Ulanazar originated. Dating back to 3000 H.E., the Church of Ulanazar Embarked on a spirited campaign of conquest and evangelization following the ascension of their lord and prophet, a vastly influential goatherd from the desert regions of Western Greater Shaar. His apostles each headed armies of their own and carved the region into a dozen "Aposolates", a few remaining to the present age, but most slowly consolidated by the central orthodox sect of the Church of Ulanazar, either through violent inquisitions, or even more violent crusades. The leadership of the Church and the Military in the Ulanazar nation has remained a mystery even to its own people. While it's clear the Church elders and high priests hold authority over the Church and state, the military and even some sects of the Church are rumored to be controlled by the Ulanazarul Scion, a supposed descendant of one of the apostles, and a powerful wizard as well. The empire has gradually expanded and solidified over the millennia and its leadership are as accustomed to their power as their people are eager for change. Unfortunately for the serfs of Ulanazar, a call for a ninetieth crusade has been issued, this time a war not against the heretic Aposolates neighboring Ulanazar, but against the heathen Empires across the deserts, namely Deltora and her allies. 

Calendar and Chronology

Shaar is a large moon of a gas giant orbiting in a binary star system. I won’t compromise on this, and human life exists there against all odds. The question now is what would their days, nights, and years look like?

Orbit around around the Source (as they call their parent planet) causes weekly eclipses, orbit around the twin suns makes up the years, called Turns.

24 hour days, 12 day weeks, 4 weeks in a months, 16 months in a Turn.

768 day turn, 64 week turn.

Months of the year, Deltoran names first, followed by Ulanazarul designations

Cyris, Subar (mid-summer)

Herak, Rumir

Bodrolion, Nisat

Gamelion, Tesrin

Metagies, Aled (start of fall)

Teralion, Temmuz

Netrovia, Elusyn

Dantelion, Essed

Heratombion, Tenujin (start of winter)

Siphrobion, Attar

Kirak, Kirad

Lavos, Lavine

Regios, Ruri (start of spring)

Trogos, Nisad Al’Arat

Metrovia, Sabine

Novalion, Sud’Enet (start of summer)

it’s 6009 at the start of Overture. The first book which takes place across several weeks in early spring, centered around the outbreak of war on a certain character's birthday. The two events are unrelated. Mostly.

Comment for clarification,

-No.55