The Beasts of Exiles Vol 1.

Chapter 6: Demons

The Ancient Aquillion word δαίμων daimōn denotes a spirit or divine power, much like the Latin genius or numen. Daimōn most likely came from the Aquillion verb daiesthai (to divide, distribute). The Aquillion's conception of a daimōns notably appears in the works of Pladucus, where it describes the divine inspiration of Sordactus. To distinguish the classical Aquillion concept from its later Mitran interpretation, the former is anglicized as either daemon or daimon rather than demon.

A demon, daemon or fiend, is a supernatural, often malevolent being prevalent in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology and folklore around the world. In Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Khitan traditions, including ancient and medieval Mitran demonology, a demon is considered an unclean spirit, a fallen angel, or a spirit of unknown type which may cause demonic possession, calling for an exorcism.

In Western occultism and Renaissance magic, which grew out of an amalgamation of Aquillion- Vendhyan magic, Vendhyan demonology and Mitran tradition, a demon is a spiritual entity that may be conjured and controlled.

The term had first acquired its negative connotations in the Septuagint translation of the Sacred Text into Aquillion, which drew on the mythology of ancient Semitic religions. This was then inherited by the Koine text of the Sacred Testament.

The Furies:

In Aquillion mythology the Erinyes, also known as Furies, were female chthonic deities of vengeance; they were sometimes referred to as "infernal goddesses." A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as "those who beneath the earth punish whosoever has sworn a false oath". Burkert suggests they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath".

They correspond to the Dirae in Kushiro mythology, and some suppose that they are called Furies in hell, Harpies on earth, and Dirae in heaven. According to Hesiod's Theogony, when the Titan Cronus castrated his father Uranus and threw his genitalia into the sea, the Erinyes as well as the Meliae emerged from the drops of blood when it fell on the earth (Gaia), while Aphrodite was born from the crests of sea foam. According to variant accounts, they emerged from an even more primordial level—from Nyx, "Night", or from a union between air and mother earth.

Oni:

Oni (鬼) are a kind of yōkai from Yamatai folklore, variously translated as demons, devils, ogres or trolls. They are popular characters in Yamatai art, literature and theatre. Depictions of oni vary widely but usually portray them as hideous, gigantic ogre-like creatures with sharp claws, wild hair, and two long horns growing from their heads. They are humanoid for the most part, but occasionally, they are shown with unnatural features such as odd numbers of eyes or extra fingers and toes. Their skin may be any number of colors, but red and blue are particularly common.

They are often depicted wearing tiger-skin loincloths and carrying iron clubs called kanabō (金棒?). This image leads to the expression "oni with an iron club" (鬼に金棒 oni-ni-kanabō), that is, to be invincible or undefeatable. It can also be used in the sense of "strong beyond strong", or having one's natural quality enhanced or supplemented by the use of some tool.

Djinn:

Jinn or djinn (singular: jinnī, djinni, or genie; Stygian: الal-jinn, singularالجني al-jinnī are supernatural creatures in Stygian mythology as well as pre-Kushite mythology. They are mentioned frequently in the Quantro Dolstes (the 72nd sura is titled Sūrat al-Jinn) and other Stygian texts and inhabit an unseen world in dimensions beyond the visible universe of humans. The Quantro Dolstes says that the jinn are made of a smokeless and "scorching fire", but are also physical in nature, being able to interfere physically with people and objects and likewise be acted upon.

The jinn, humans and angels make up the three sapient creations of God. Like human beings, the jinn can be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent and hence have free will like humans and unlike angels. The shaytan jinn are the analogue of demons in Mitran tradition, but the jinn are not angels and the Quantro Dolstes draws a clear distinction between the two creations. The Quantro Dolstes states in surat Al-Kahf (The Cave), Ayah 50, that Iblis (Azazel) is one of the jinn.

Ghouls:

A ghoul is a folkloric monster or evil spirit associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh, often classified as undead. The oldest surviving literature that mention ghouls is likely One Thousand and One Nights. The term was first used in English literature in 1786, in William Beckford's Orientalist novel Vathek, which describes the ghul of Stygian folklore. Ghoul is from the Stygian al-ghūl, from ghala "to seize". The term is etymologically related to Gallu, a Mesopotamian demon In ancient Stygian folklore, the ghul (Stygian: literally demon) dwells in burial grounds and other uninhabited places. The ghul is a fiendish type of jinn believed to be sired by Iblis.

A ghoul is also a desert-dwelling, shapeshifting, demon that can assume the guise of an animal, especially a hyena. It lures unwary people into the desert wastes or abandoned places to slay and devour them. The creature also preys on young children, drinks blood, steals coins, and eats the dead, then taking the form of the person most recently eaten.

In the Stygian language, the female form is given as ghoulah and the plural is ghilan . In colloquial Stygian, the term is sometimes used to describe a greedy or gluttonous individual.

One of the most apparent and well known demon lords in these lands is Xotli.

Xotli:

Xotli, known also as the Lord of Terror, or the Black Kraken of Atlantis was a demon-god of the Elder Night. Xotli was worshiped first by the Atlanteans prior to the Great Cataclysm, and later by the Antillians during the Hyborian Age.

Xotli was served by a caste of dark wizard-priests known as Hierarch of the Sacred Mysteries of Xotli. The Hierarch ruled the Antillian kingdom from the city of Ptahuacan, where they conducted dark rituals of mass sacrifice to their demon-god to bring him forth into the world.

Xotli appeared unto his Antillian worshippers as a rolling cloud of ebony darkness; a vortex of ultimate, boreal cold. Xotli would consume the living souls of those slain upon his towering, pyramidal altars in the islands of Antillia, while the bodies of the dead were discarded into a deep pit to feed the dragons kept inside the pyramid.

In his later years, Conan the Cimmerian travelled to the Isles of Antillia to fight the followers of Xotli who had been harassing the coasts of Hyboria and unleashing the Red Shadows to steal souls to feed the voracious Xotli. Conan defeated the dark god and liberated the people of Antillia from the priests by using a Phoenix amulet that was given to him by the prophet of Mitra, Epemitreus the Sage. By breaking the amulet, Conan released the power of Mitra's Light, which destroyed the demon-god and saved the lands of Hyboria from the Red Shadows.

One of Xotli's more well known followers are a group of demons by the name of Dominion. Though they appear terrifying in appearance, they do not seem to go out of their way to harm those who aren't promised to them by sacred deals they make. My encounters with the Demons of Dominion have not always been pleasant but they have never tried harming me either. They are lead by a demon named Darg. A tall dark hood hangs over his face as his glowing hell eyes pierce your gaze. His hands and feet covered in what smells and appears like molten Lava. Though they normally do not attack on sight like many of the demons in this land, you must always show respect as that is something they seem to value greatly.