Messenger’s Legacy (14 page)

W
ards are magical symbols whose origins are lost to history. Long thought to be the stuff of superstition, their power was rediscovered when, after an absence of thousands of years, the demon corelings returned to plague the surface of the world.

By themselves, wards have no power. Demons, however, are infused with core magic, and wards siphon a portion of that magic away, repurposing the energy. The most common wards are defensive in nature, but a handful of wards that can achieve other effects are known, and in theory, it is possible to create a ward for any desired effect. Recently, mankind has discovered offensive wards, which can actually harm demons, who are otherwise immune to hand weapons and can quickly recover from almost any injury.

Defensive wards draw magic from demons to form a barrier (forbiddance) through which the demons cannot pass. Wards are strongest when used against the specific demon type to which they are assigned, and are most commonly used in conjunction with other wards in circles of protection. When a circle activates, all demon flesh is forcibly banished from its line. Some examples:

First appeared:
The Great Bazaar

Description:
Clay demons are native to the hard clay flats on the outskirts of the Krasian Desert. Small, they are about the size of a medium-sized dog, made from compact, bunched muscle and thick, overlapping armour plates. They have short hard talons that allow them to climb almost any rock face, even hanging upside down. Their orange-brown armour can blend invisibly into an adobe wall or clay bed. The blunt head of a clay demon can smash through almost anything, shattering stone and denting fine steel.

First appeared:
The Warded Man
/
The Painted Man

Description:
Flame demons have eyes, nostrils, and mouths that glow with a smoky orange light. They are the smallest demons, ranging from the size of a rabbit to that of a small boy. Like all demons, they have long, hooked claws and rows of razor-sharp teeth. Their armour consists of small, overlapping scales, sharp and hard. Flame demons can spit fire in brief bursts. Their firespit burns intensely on contact with air, and can set almost any substance alight, even metal and stone.

First appeared:
The Desert Spear

Description:
Mimics are the elite bodyguards to mind demons (coreling princes), and are believed to be the most intelligent and powerful demons, short of the princes. Their natural form is unknown, but they are able to assume the form of any living thing, including other demon breeds, clothing and equipment. These demons are somewhat lacking in creativity, and so are usually restricted to taking the forms of creatures they have themselves encountered (unless directed by a mind demon). One of their favourite tricks is to take the form of an injured human and feign distress to lower the defences of their prey.

First appeared:
The Desert Spear

Description:
Also known as coreling princes, mind demons are the generals of demonkind. They are physically weak, and have little in the way of the natural defences of the other corelings, but they have vast mental and magical powers. They can read and control minds, communicate telepathically, and kill with their thoughts. By drawing wards in the air and powering them with their innate magic, they can create almost any effect. The other corelings, great and small, follow their every mental command without hesitation, and will give their lives to protect them. Sensitive to even reflected sunlight, mind demons will only rise on the three-night period of the new moon cycle in the hours when night is darkest.

First appeared:
The Warded Man
/
The Painted Man

Description:
The largest of the coreling breeds, rock demons can range in height from six to twenty feet tall. A hulking mass of sinew and sharp edges, their thick black carapaces are knobbed with bony protrusions, and their spiked tails can smash a horse’s skull in a single blow. They stand hunched on two clawed feet, with long, gnarled arms ending in talons the size of butchering knives and multiple rows of bladelike teeth. No known physical force can harm a rock demon.

First appeared:
The Warded Man
/
The Painted Man

Description:
Cousins to rock demons, sand demons are smaller and more nimble, but still among the strongest and most armoured of the coreling breeds. They have small, sharp scales, a dirty yellow almost indistinguishable from gritty sand, and they run on all fours instead of two legs. Rows of segmented teeth jut out on their jaws like a snout, while their nostril slits rest far back, just below their large, lidless eyes. Thick bones from their brows curve upwards and back, cutting through the scales as sharp horns. Their brows twitch continually as they displace the ever-blowing desert sand. Sand demons hunt in packs, known as storms.

First appeared:
Brayan’s Gold

Description:
Similar to flame demons in build, snow demons are native to frozen northern climates and high mountain elevations. Their scales are pure white, blending into the snow, and they spit a liquid so cold it instantly freezes anything it touches before evaporating. Steel struck with coldspit can become so brittle it shatters.

First appeared:
Mentioned in
The Warded Man
/
Painted Man

Description:
Swamp demons are native to swamps and marshy areas and are an amphibious form of wood demon, at home both in the water and in the trees. Swamp demons are blotched in green and brown, blending into their surroundings, and will often hide in mud or shallow water, to spring on prey. They spit a thick, sticky slime that rots any organic material it comes into contact with.