The majority of demons loose in Creation are con- tained within reliquaries, inanimate objects created by their worshippers for them to inhabit. When a demon is summoned, the ritual is focused on the reliquary; the demon appears within it, its spirit melding into the physical substance of the item. These demons, along with the few bound to specific locations instead of relics, are known as the Earthbound.
The process of making a suitable reliquary for a demon is long, difficult and expensive, but these obstacles mean little to sufficiently dedicated (or fanatical) worshippers. A reliquary must be created for that specific purpose, built from scratch using raw materials and ritual methods. An existing item, no matter how fine or valuable, cannot be used as a reliquary, because it lacks the essential spiritual component — the faith and devotion invested by the demon’s followers during its creation.
The first requirement for a reliquary’s design is the material from which it is crafted. Specific de- mons have an affinity for specific substances, reflecting the role they played in the creation of the world before the Fall. A demon who was once an angel of fire still possesses an affinity for flame, and requires a reliquary that speaks to that affinity — one crafted from rubies and stone taken from a dormant volcano, perhaps. The form of the reliquary is also important, and should resonate with the demon’s own specialties and purpose. A demon of slaughter and violence can inhabit a sword or battleaxe far more comfortably than a throne, which is better suited to a demon of lies with a taste for commanding lesser entities. The reliquary’s size is rarely signifi- cant to the demon inhabiting it, which is a spirit unbounded by human notions of space and dimen- sions; the archduke Belial, one of the most powerful demons in Creation, inhabits a tiny statue less than a foot tall.
Size may matter to the mortals making the reliquary, though, and in the end it is their faith and belief in the item’s power that makes it effective. The key component of a reliquary is the faith of its maker or makers, who alter the object’s spiritual properties through ritualized applications of their own divine potential. Such rituals lend significance to the reli- quary, as does the amount of effort and pain required for its creation. Blood, suffering, human sacrifice,
self-mutilation — these are the prices required for a reliquary’s creation, because these things whip a mortal worshipper into the ecstatic heights required for her to focus and direct her faith. (The same principle applies to the painful, demanding rituals devotees use to worship their demonic masters.)
A demon incarnate inside a reliquary is bound to that object, and its spirit remains anchored to that specific item as long as it remains in Creation. Should a reliquary be destroyed, the demon within would be instantly drawn back into Hell, a fate worse than destruction. For this reason, reliquaries are always well guarded by fanatical worshippers, willing and even eager to die protecting their masters; many demons erect further traps and even magical de- fenses around their reliquaries. Even if a determined adversary should reach a reliquary, he would find it nearly impossible to destroy, because the demon’s essence lends its body a preternatural resilience far beyond that of its mundane substance. The reliquary of even a comparatively minor demon is tough enough to withstand a battering ram, the pressure of the ocean depths, or the heat of a volcano; those of the archdukes may be completely indestructible. The only weapon that might potentially destroy a reliquary is one imbued with holy might, such as a blessed sword in the hands of a dedicated inquisitor; alternatively, powerful magic or the profane power of an equally powerful demon may be effective.
In return for the protection and durability of a reliquary, the demon pays a heavy price. Reliquaries are inanimate objects, after all, and the presence of a demonic soul within does not allow a statue to walk and talk, or an obsidian plinth to float through the air. The demon within is hardly helpless, of course, because it still possesses immense supernatural power — if it wants to levitate its reliquary through the air, it can do so. But such an act consumes precious spiritual energy, draining away purloined faith the demon may need for other purposes.
A demon within a reliquary possesses a number of abilities that do not consume faith, or require only insignificant amounts. It can perceive things occurring around it with spiritual senses that mimic the mundane sight and hearing of mortals, but are less fallible and difficult to fool: It can see through darkness, hear through noise, and easily penetrate the lies of illusions and magic. It can also sense magic at play for many miles around, including those of the other supernatural in- habitants of the Dark Medieval(vampires, werewolves, mages and even the fae). The demon can mentally communicate with its thralls, as well as with other
demons if it knows their Celestial or True Names. Unsurprisingly, the demon is also unaffected by hunger, fatigue, heat and cold, or any other conditions that plague mortals.
Possession
The only alternative to inhabiting a reliquary is to possess a human host — and until recently, this was a very poor alternative indeed. Demons can possess humans for a time, but not permanently, because the act of possession dooms the mortal to an unavoidable and hideous death within a short time. Nonetheless, a demon may be summoned from Hell to inhabit a mortal body rather than a reliquary. This may occur because the summoners lack the resources required to build an appropriate vessel for their lord. Other times, the summoners want to make use of the demon’s power and then return it to Hell — which is difficult if the demon has found a permanent anchor on Earth. A demon inhabiting a reliquary can also deliberately possess one of its willing thralls for a time, sliding its spirit from its normal home into a temporary vessel.
Summoning a demon into a mortal vessel re- quires a ritual that is just as long as one focused on a reliquary, but it is far easier and faster to prepare a living vessel than to craft an item from raw materials. All that usually matters is that the mortal will not resist being possessed. If the mortal puts up resis- tance, he becomes extremely difficult (if not impossible) to possess, because he bends the divine potential in his soul to holding back the demon. Obviously, a willing thrall is the easiest subject to work with, but a drugged sacrifice will also suffice; such drugs must affect the subject’s willpower, not just knock him out, because even an unconscious mortal can potentially fight off demonic possession. When a demon possesses a mortal, it floods into his body and mind like a tidal wave. The demon gains full control of the host’s body, mind and memories; it knows everything he knows, and can perform any task the host could with the same degree of skill. The mortal’s soul is not destroyed, but “submerged” within the demon’s spirit, unable to reclaim control until the demon’s spirit leaves (if it ever does).
Although in a mortal body, a demon has far more than mortal power and only a few mortal limitations. It can channel its own spiritual might into the mortal’s frame, allowing for feats of super- human strength, resilience or intellect. It can evoke any kind of miracle it knows, and can also
heal any injuries if the host becomes damaged; such effects draw upon its precious reserves of mortal faith, however. Like a demon in a reli- quary, it can detect supernatural energies for miles around.
Such a vessel would be a perfect body for a demon, save for one fatal drawback. A mortal soul may be created in God’s image, proof against the power of demon-kind, but a mortal’s body is just meat and bone. A demon’s soul is a staggering nexus of supernatural energy, and the human body simply cannot channel such power and survive. Even if the demon exits its vessel seconds after possessing it, its spiritual taint has already perme- ated every fiber of the mortal’s body; the mortal
will die, and no force short of divine intervention
can prevent his end.
The exact span of time left to a possessed body depends on the Torment of the demon in ques- tion. The more of the pain of the Abyss the demon retains, the faster the body it possesses dies. That death is always hideous in the extreme to behold, and often reflects the propensities and power of the possessing demon. Bodies crumble into dust, explode in a shower of blood and tumors, burst into flame, or meet any number of grisly fates.This effect is called Consumption, and is described in game terms on p. 96.
When a vessel dies, the demon returns to its spiritual form, and must find some way to protect itself from the call of the Abyss once more. De- mons who normally reside in a reliquary are instantly drawn back to that object’s protection. Otherwise, the demon must move into a new temporary vessel, or else lose its grip upon Cre- ation and return to Hell.