DAEMONS

[grigori]

DAEMONS A PIECE OF YOUR SOUL

what is a daemon?

A physical manifestation of your soul and conscience, though they have a small measure of independence from their person, able to hold different intuitions and opinions. A more cautious daemon may belong to a more adventurous person, but both of them are inquisitive, for example. This daemon is the only one that you have your entire life, and is with you from birth to death. Daemons are usually named by the daemons of a child's parents, but in this setting you will inherently know the name of your daemon upon arrival with them. Unlike in the His Dark Materials canon, player daemons here cannot communicate verbally.

what shape does the daemon take?

That of any animal, from the smallest insect to the grandest dragon. This does include animals from your characters' canons, as well as real world animals, living or not. The more imaginative the person, the more impressive the daemon; the duller the person, the more plain the daemon. Settled daemons aren't often mythical creatures, but unsettled ones (especially of children) do frequently see them during playtime. These forms tend to either reflect the kind of person their other half is, or their mood, depending. Angry and want to be more intimidating for it? Want to obscure yourself and shy away? Your daemon will reflect this. More often than not, the daemon is the opposite gender of the person - but not always. (Mods will not be policing this, or mythical/canon forms, but ask that players keep in mind that same-gender daemons are relatively uncommon, and there is no explained reason in the His Dark Materials canon as to why this happens.)

settled? unsettled?

Daemons can take on many forms throughout a person's lifetime, and are constantly in flux during childhood - this is referred to as an unsettled daemon. Settled daemons are those that belong to adults, and are seen as a right of passage, in a way. A daemon settles at an undetermined time generally associated with "maturity," when a person exits childhood, and remains that form for the rest of a person's life. This form is one that represents the person best, and might not even be one that the daemon took often - or at all - previously when they were still taking shape. Just hope it doesn't take the form of something that depends on water to survive and move...

... why?

Because of the bond between a person and their daemon. You can communicate with your daemon non-verbally through this bond, and even share the same dreams and "see," in a sense, what one another is seeing. But this bond also has a catch - a person and a daemon can only reach a distance of three yards (nine feet / almost three meters) from one another before beginning to feel a sense of dread, longing, and visceral pain at the risk of separation. You can test this distance, but it's unpleasant on almost a metaphysical level, as you're trying to distance a part of your soul from yourself - and it's a terrifying thing. As such, daemons who settle in an aquatic form result in persons that are unable to set foot on land ever again for this reason.

so what happens to my daemon if..?

Well, that's a loaded hypothetical series of questions!

If they're separated from you, or you test the distance of your bond a little too rigorously, inform the mods.

If they're touched by another person? Well, there's a built in revulsion to the idea of touching another person's daemon, and you'll know the moment that you have a daemon that it's taboo. However, if someone touches another person's daemon despite that revulsion, the person whose daemon it is will find extreme discomfort to the point of physical pain being inflicted, sending the victim into nausea, weak knees, and possible shock beyond that. Daemons will go weak from the shock, in most cases, as they go out of their way to avoid touching someone that isn't their person.

Conversely, if the touch is consensual with someone of great emotional importance (the easiest example being a significant other), through a gesture of love, then the revulsion is absent. This can instill surprise, privilege, comfort, adoration, and a sense of euphoria.

If your daemon or you is injured, you'll feel one another's pain. The physical injury will not be reflected, but the pain will be felt in the same location as the injury. It is, however, important to note that humans bleed, but daemons lose Dust if injured. Depending on the injury to one half, it might even cause the other half to be winded, their legs to go out, or be rendered unconscious.

how many forms will my daemon have?

Player daemons arrive restricted to three forms, rather than unlimited ones, no matter the characters' age or maturity. These forms can represent your character in a variety of ways that we leave up to player interpretation, and the mods won't be asking for an explanation for why you picked them. But remember that they're still the same daemon - just because they've changed their form doesn't mean they've changed who they are, the same way it means that it doesn't change who you are. It might just be that it's a reflection of a different facet of your person.

will my daemon settle?

Fuck around and find out.

if daemons can't talk here, how do they communicate?

Daemons will be able to communicate with one another and understand each other in ways that their persons won't be able to detect. Between a person and a daemon, the spiritual and emotional connection between you will allow you to communicate on an empathetic, near telepathic level. You share your thoughts and your heart with your daemon, essentially. If your daemon knows something, you'll know something; if you think something, your daemon will know you've thought it. You can, with effort, keep secrets from each other - but with effort.

do daemons need to eat/drink/poop/sleep?

Technically no on the first two, as they're an extension of you and are thus sustained by you. They can eat and drink, but it's not an interest or priority. Your daemon definitely doesn't need to use the bathroom, and the only reason it's being brought up here is because one of you would have inevitably asked, because that's the kind of people you are. Daemons do sleep, though, and get tired when you do. Additionally, there are certain ways of making them sleepier.

daemons can be affected by things?

They sure can! Explore the game to find out more, but in example - if you find yourself getting drunk, your daemon is also drunk, resulting in a tipsy giggling and tumbling tangle of limbs, sometimes with shifting through forms included.

Additionally, if you find yourself with a case of self-loathing... well, congratulations for a severe case of probably hating your daemon, even if it never expresses the same self-hatred reflected towards you. Your emotions and mental state will have an effect on your daemon, the same as outside sources could.

i have more questions!

Feel free to ask the mods, either in the questions channel or via DM!

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