DEMONS
Others may think the demons are dumb because of their large burly appearance, drinking habits, and lack of manners, but that is far from the truth. Demons are responsible for creating cars and several other modern-day luxuries in Affer. They are also the most technologically advanced kingdom in all of Affer. A large part of that is due to the humans, but it’s the demons who teach them how to invent.
Demons are by far the largest and strongest species on Affer. The average demon stands at six feet six inches, but many of the soldiers and guards are well over seven feet tall. The weight range for males is from three hundred thirty to seven hundred ten, and for females, it is two hundred twenty to four hundred five. All demons have light gray skin, which is thicker than leather, and an exoskeleton covering their collarbones, sternum, knuckles, and spine. Their bones are jet black, and their blood is just as dark.
For demons, scars are a sign of strength, and even though a war hasn’t happened since the Great War, they make up for it by training with little to no armor. Like the angels, the demons have some that are born with rarities. However, they are substantially rare. They are called the White Horned. As the name suggests, these demons have white horns instead of black, like all their kind. A White Horned is only born once every one hundred years, and those demons live longer, are taller, stronger, and faster than a normal demon. Time seems to slow down for them in high-pressure situations, such as a fight, and even the weakest White Horned can wield a heavy greatsword in one hand with ease.
SYMBOL
THE KINGDOM
The demon kingdom spans across most of the northern trunda. Because the temperatures are cold year-round, there is always a coat of snow on the ground. In some areas, such as along the main road bordering Yoxtoll Forest, snow can be absent, especially in summer. But for most of the kingdom, at least a few inches of snow cover the ground. In the winter, it grows much worse, and areas like Titanan can gather up to two to three feet of snow.
Dotting the vast white wilderness are very few pine trees and many rainbow hot springs. These hot springs are a vivid array of blue, green, orange, and yellow. They are very different from the ones in Yoxtoll Forest for several reasons. The most obvious is the color and size. The springs in Yoxtoll are colorless, compared to the multi-colored ones in the tundra. As for size, the diameters of each vary drastically for both types. The ones in Yoxtoll are quite shallow, and are only one to two feet deep, while the ones in the demon kingdom range from fifty to two hundred feet deep. The last major difference is temperature. In the kingdom of the dammed, the hot springs sit at 100°F; the ones in the north sit closer to 170°F.
THE CAPITAL
Alzuledon
Alzuledon is unlike any other city in Affer. Similar to every other demon city, it’s fully made out of knightnium, but what differentiates the capital from everywhere else is Nythrium Tower. This tower sits in the center of the demon capital in place of a castle or palace. It rises seven hundred feet into the air and is hexagonal. Eight massive chains attach to the building, serving no purpose other than looking intimidating. The bottom four hundred feet of Nythrium Tower is the thickest, and it tapers in slightly for the next one hundred eighty feet before thinning once more for the last one hundred twenty feet.
The city itself is also a hexagon and is built in the middle of a shallow lake. Although it is very cold in the north of Affer, especially in the demon kingdom, the lake never freezes. That’s because in the lake are dozens of boiling rainbow geysers. These colorful, sapphire blue, lime green, rust orange, and vibrant yellow geysers are scattered throughout the lake. The water is boiling year-round, even in the freezing winter.
RANKS
Guards
Rank 1 guards are the highest rank, and each city only has one hundred of them. Since spots are limited, the demons in this rank who are from larger cities (such as Titanan) are much stronger than those from smaller cities (like Artin). These guards protect the city hall, wear knightnium armor, have the demon symbol painted in red on their breastplate, and all wield montante, a greatsword, made of ilbar.
Ranks 2–3 are very impressive but are purely skill-based and aren’t limited in spots. These guards are exceptional fighters and are stationed near the main gate of every city. They are extremely devoted to protecting their kingdom and wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice their lives defending it.
For weapons, these guards wield zweihanders, a greatsword, and wear knightnium armor painted red, with the demons’ symbol left unpainted and embossed on the breastplate.
Ranks 4–6 make up the bulk of the demon kingdom’s unit. A small group of them would still lose to a rank one, but they aren’t anything to sneer at. They are stationed near the inner parts of the city and defend it more by sheer numbers than from raw skill, like the lower ranks.
These guards wield claymores, wear steel armor painted red, and have the demons’ symbol painted in black on the breastplate.
Ranks 7–9 bring up the latter half of the demons’ forces. They are mostly demons who have only served as guards for a few years and have minimal fighting experience.
These guards wield longswords, wear steel armor painted red, and have the demons’ symbol painted in black on the breastplate.Ranks 10–11 are the runts of the pack, comprised of demons with little skill who are solely there to keep an eye on the slaves, making sure they do their job and don’t rebel. These guards wear leather armor and wield longswords and daggers.
Soldiers
Rank 1 soldiers are the greatest fighters in the demon kingdom, only surpassed by the king, his family, all overseers, their right-hands, and the military commanders. This position is the most coveted for a demon, and only eighty are appointed. All eighty demons stay in Alzuledon and only take orders from Demon King Varos, his right-hand, and the commander of the capital’s army.
Rank one soldiers all wear knightnium armor, with the demons’ symbol embossed on the breastplate and painted in red. They all have custom greatswords forged specially for them by Abe Yonder, the best blacksmith in the demon kingdom.
Ranks 2–3 are harder to achieve than the equivalent for guards, as this position is limited and each city only has 150 to 450. The number a city has assigned is based on its population. Alzuledon, Gonttimire, and Titanan are the only three cities with four hundred fifty ranks two to three, while Artin and Wradmsoul are the only two with fewer than two hundred.
For their part in the army, ranks two to three serve on the front lines, charging into battle alongside the commanders.
Similar to the rank-one soldiers, they wear knightnium armor, and the demons’ symbol is embossed and painted on the breastplate. However, their helmet is painted red. For weapons, they all wield zweihanders.
Ranks 4–6 make up the bulk of the army, with eighty percent of the military belonging to this category. It’s not hard to reach this rank, but neither is it easy, and because there are limited spots in ranks one to three, some ranks four are much better than others.
For armor, these ranks wear steel painted red. In terms of weapons, there’s a wide variety. Some use double-headed greataxes, others greatswords or claymores, and even giant hammers are used.
Ranks 7–9 are the bottom of the barrel. These ranks are used to determine whether a demon is worthy to be a soldier, and if a demon is still in this category after four years of service, then they are kicked out.
To put them to the test, these demons are given the dirty work/the jobs no one else wants to do.
For armor, ranks seven to nine receive cheap, poorly made iron armor. Because of that, some soldiers chose not to wear it and go unarmored. For weapons, they are given the choice of a longsword or a shortsword, and they are also given a dagger, like every other soldier and guard.