The Empire of Demoness
(Sune no Daemonesu)
This report is written by Yuri Katsuragi, so it's basically her opinion. Anything that she does not know, no one else should know, and etc. is written in brackets ([ ]s).
National Statistics Economy Transportation Government Culture Religion Military History Important Personalities
Nationality: Demonessian (female and male)
Adjective: Demonessian or Demonese
Size/Location: Approximately the same size as Japan. Demoness (Daemonesu) is one large land mass located on the island continent of Lodoss in the Atlantic Sea along the equator. Daemonesu shares borders with the Empire of Elvenwood to the east, the United Socialist States of Fenwick to the northeast, and a short border with Menelmacar on the east (below Elvenwood). Its other border is the Atlantic Ocean.
Major Cities: Sacred Rock (Capital), Solaris, High Cliffs, Forested Haven, Fortress, Ryen, Daemonesu, and Dellfall
Imperial Seal: It is a silver (or mithril) Chinese-style dragon wrapped in a circle (like ouroboros). In her claws is a sphere of jade. This is also the symbol of the Church and, most often, Mother.
National Flag: The crossed katana represent honor and the fight to stay free. The red sun is the blood of Mother Daemonesu and our enemies, and it also common belief that it represents our connection to the Japanese culture. The purple represents the royalty, loyalty, and Daughter (apparently, it's her favorite color). White is for the purity that is required to go to with Mother to the Afterlife.
Motto: "Our Empress is God. You are not. Prepare to be Smited." Oh, that old thing. >.< It's from the Two Hundred Year Virgin Era, where she basically went on a rampage and killed "infidels." Ask Fenwick. Now it's mostly a joke.
National Anthem: "To Her We Owe" - played on the Japanese shakuhachi (flute) and koto (harp) to the tune of "Kiseki no Umi" from The Record of the Lodoss War (They stole it from us!)
National Colors: Red, Purple, and White
National Animal: Demonese Cheetah, the only cheetah species known to thrive in the rainforest
National Flower: Rose
National Foods: Sashimi and Tsun (a gazelle-like creature native to our forests)
National Sports: Fencing, Archery, and Demonese Martial Arts (Daedoo)
National Drink: Elvish Wine. The golden Elvish wine is extremely intoxicating. A full-grown man can become drunk after a sip of the wine, so it is usually diluted for better enjoyment.
National Currency: Whetstone
Languages: English (Primary), Demonese* (Daemonesugo), Japanese, Elvish, and ASL. English is spoken everywhere and used at nearly all times by everyone. Demonese is spoken usually in traditional ceremonies or where it is otherwise appropriate, but it is sometimes used in common conversation. Everyone is fluent in it; official documents are written in Demonese. Japanese is spoken by a majority of the population, though not always fluently; most of those who speak it can only read or write hiragana or katakana, but not kanji. Elvish is spoken by the elven population. ASL is spoken by the anthro population and a good portion of the rest of the nation.
*Demonese is a combination of Japanese, Gaelic, Elvish, Latin, and a few unidentifiable lingual influences. Its alphabet is pictorial, and resembles kanji in only the fact that there are thousands of characters. As far as we can figure, the alphabet (nyaku) is completely unique with no influences from any other culture.
Population: 98.1 million: 100% Demonessian (all have the Blood of Mother):
>99% True Demonessian - Formerly human. They mysteriously transformed into elves during following the Demonessian Civil War. They have been inaccurately been classified as a sub race of "Asian" elves. Aside from resembling the human Asian blood stock, the true Demonessians have a slight gold tinge to their skin.
<1% Elvenwood elves. Immigrants from the neighboring country of Elvenwood. Most are not true elves, but of a human/elf descent.
<1% Anthros (Cat, Fox, Bunny, and Dragon)
Catgirls and Catman GELFs. They're actually two different races...in a way. The catgirls are immigrants from Raevyn who evolved during the Transformation to their present look. The catmen GELFs are genetic creations that were based off the combined DNA of Emperor Vladimir, Demonessian, and large, predatory cats, and were created as soldiers. Collectively, the catgirls and catmen are cat-people and inter-marry. The catmen are a few years old.
Foxgirls. They're immigrants from Ravenspire that chose to stay for the Transformation. [Many are insanely loyal to Megumi Yumeneko. Rumors have it that all Demonessian foxgirls are from Megumi's clan.]
Bunnygirl GELFs. They GELFs are genetic creations that were based off the combined DNA of a Demonessian and rabbits. They are only female and number less than 20. Most take "docile" jobs as waitresses, maids, and babysitters, but a few of the smarter ones are very good spies. All are about a few years old.
Dragonman GELFs. They are genetic creations that were based off the combined DNA of a Demonessian and a client dragon race, who wanted to create the hybrids. When payment failed to show up, the dragomen GELFs became part of the warrior caste. Like their draconic cousins, they can breathe fire, and their eyes, which are pupil-less, show most of their emotion. All are a few years old.
Negligible Population:
<1% Ents
2 Androids
Religious Breakdown: 100% Church of Demoness (Horiokaa no Daemonesu). However, most elves still also worship their god, though Mother Daemonesu is primary.
Political Ties:
Allies: Elvenwood and Fenwick
Close Ties: Bowker, CreepyTeef, Darkskye, Elvenwood, Fenwick, Menelmacar, Oshati, Raevyn, Ravenspire, Shadow Mist, Terraus, Xen, and Yggidrasil
Loose Ties: Akbar, Dillitron, Estavia, Order of the Dragon, and the rest of Lodoss
Military Vassal of Menelmacar
Economy: The UN defines Daemonesu as socialist because the state owns everything. Technically, this is true, but the UN forgot to take into account that the Empress, not the government, owns nearly everything. She is the biggest landowner and owns almost all business: 73% of the highest-earning companies and 17% of the rest of business. There is almost no competition. However, our economy does a lot better than one would think. Our primary industries, (stupid UN) are the researching of genes and GELFs (Genetically Engineered Life Forms), nanotechnology, medical research, other scientific research and stuff that we can apply that to.
Primary Exports: Medicine and medical services, construction services, collectible weaponry (e.g. katana), books, uranium, and mithril
Primary Imports: Beef, construction materials, and "exotic" materials (think tourist trap items without the tourist traps)
Transportation: Transportation is rather complicated in Daemonesu. The forests contain trees that are twenty feet around at the base, hundreds of feet tall, and practically impossible to burn or chop down. In the early years, this basically meant Daemonesu was just a bunch of city-states with an Empress everyone believed was a goddess, but she really didn't have that much power over the people. Then we built roads and connected the city-states and the Empire was born. [Something Yuri doesn't know: The trees have only been around since the Roman Empire was kicked out of Daemonesu.]
Back to transportation - there are few paved highways between cities and only a few roads besides those. Cities are still basically cut off from each other, but we can still easily communicate with one another. People get from city to city - if they really must - by maglev trains, which run several times daily to keep the tracks clear, and by horses. Some people even walk, though they may take months to get to their destination, if they reach it at all.
Another funny thing about the trees: they limit our ability to build cities. City streets are narrow and allow only for people or horses to pass through. Cars are banned. However, people can get around in the cities (which can be quite large) by subway. There are also walkways between the upper floors of buildings.
Government: The government is currently ruled by Regent Katsuragi and the Church of Daemonesu . Actually, it used to be. We still run by most of the rules of the Church, but it has been established that the Empress is always right about religious matters (though she may need to be reminded once in a while which is the right decision). The government has always been run by an Empress, usually the first female heir to the current Empress. However, if the Empress dies without bearing a female heir, she is reincarnated, and it is the job of the Clergy (who still exist) to find this reincarnation and put her on the throne. That will be explained later.
On a side note, the Imperial family doesn't have a last name. This proves to be a problem when the sons and other daughters of the Empress are integrated into society. They receive no special treatment officially - though they receive a lot respect (reverence is more like it) - and they often take jobs that keep them in the Imperial Palace, such as a priest or a guard. Kieran, son of the previous Empress, will probably become a High Guardsman. Usually, the child will create a last name for himself or herself take the last name of the one she marries.
Back to the government again. In the eyes of the law, a child becomes an adult at the age of 21. Once a person has reached 21, they can marry, smoke, drink, and drop out of school (of course, they should have graduated from college by then).
The only exception to this rule is the Empress; if there is no ruling Empress, the Empress-to-be will become Empress on her eighteenth birthday, a tradition started during the Two Hundred Virgin Era where there was a war going on for nearly one half of it. The Empress (the Supreme Commander of the Military) was needed to help direct the troops and 18 was deemed old enough to lead.
Children go to school until the age of 21. At the age of 13, they are expected to pick a career, and they will train for it the rest of their time in school. However, they still must learn the basics: Demonese, English, math, science, history, and politics/current events.
Everyone receives free quality health care because the Empress pays for it - well, actually, companies do, but she owns them. Every Demonessian has been injected with medical nannites to serve as super white blood cells, to help a Demonessian heal faster, and to combat toxins if she is exposed to them.
Guns are not allowed in Daemonesu. Officers of the law are authorized to carry handguns, and the military, of course, can carry just about anything else. [Palace personnel can carry up to heavy light arms. Jia Li and Xel were known to carry Darkskye pistols, but Xel also carried a .50 Desert Eagle somewhere on his person at all times.] Citizens are allowed to carry traditional weaponry, such as daggers, katana and other swords, and bows. We feel this helps deter crime. Much of the Imperial Guard also carry weapons such as these.
Crime is practically nonexistent in Daemonesu for several reasons. Religiously, attacking another Demonessian is like attacking a part of Mother. The people of Daemonesu are also well-educated, but we think the two main reasons crime is so low are the following: everyone carries weapons, which helps deter crime, and almost all criminal punishment is carried out in public; this ranges from slightly embarrassing to various death penalties.
The trial system in Daemonesu is very similar to that of the United States. There is a jury of twelve, but at least one of the jurors has to be a priest. Judges traditionally were also priests, but this has changed so that only the majority still are. Like in America, cases can be appealed up to the Imperial Court (Supreme Court) where the Empress will hear a case personally and decide a verdict, but due to a shortage of the Empress' precious time, this hardly ever happens (again, like the Supreme Court). However, unlike American courts, there are a few crimes where the defendant is assumed guilty: treason, sedition, and murder. There is also a requirement of a unanimous verdict of guilty in these cases, but a majority vote of not guilty clears the defendant.
Immigration and citizenship are now interesting subjects in the Empire. To put it simply, no one but Demonessians are allowed to be citizens, whether they are true, elven, or anthro Demonessians. Immigration and tourism are strictly controlled. While an immigrant cannot become a citizen, they can apply for a Permanent Residence license, which is almost the same as being a citizen. Really, the only reason why people can't become citizens anymore is because of the religion. That's basically it.
When the People's Republic of Feoras (PRF) reconciled with Daemonesu, they made a few demands, which we have carried out. Citizens were allowed to vote for representatives and rulers. Cities gained Mari (mayors) and wards are ruled by Eda (governors), both of which report to the Empress. The Adon, which has a representative from each of the seventeen wards, were created as a council of advisory to the Empress and reflected the people's wishes. Feoras, whose representatives from each ward is based on population, suggests laws to the Empress. In all matters, Adon and Feoras have equal consideration before the Empress.
I nearly forgot to mention one of the most important parts of our government: the Imperial Guard. Actually, they have nothing to do directly with the government, but they protect the Empress. The Empress is followed around twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, by the High Guard and most of the time by the rest of the guard, which can consist of the High Guard (always), five High Guardsmen, six to eight Handmaids, six catgirl ninjas, zero to four foxgirls, and the occasional priest. I think the best way to continue this would be to break it down further.
High Guard/High Guardsmen: The High Guardsmen train from the day they are born. The job is hereditary. They are trained to obey and protect the Empress at all costs. They learn swordplay, martial arts, gunmanship, and, well, I have no clue. Basically, anything that they would have to conceivably go against. When the Empress-to-be turns 13, the High Guardsmen fight each other to see who is the best. The best warrior then challenges other High Guardsmen (assuming there are other candidates for the Empress-to-be and not the current Empress) and whomever wins becomes the High Guard. He also receives the High Guard Katana - a very high honor and it has only been remade four times in recorded history - upon the death of the current Empress and the ascension of the next. The other High Guardsmen continue to train, but they take shifts protecting the Empress, whereas the High Guard is a permanent position*. [All guards wear mithril and a katana; some may carry a firearm.] Unfortunately, it was dissolved upon Xel's death.
*You only get out of it if you really don't get along with the Empress or you die.
Handmaids: Handmaids are women who bear resemblance to the Empress. They are supposed to look enough like her that a potential assassin will pick the wrong target, but the secret is basically out. The Handmaids are like any other Secret Service job and include numerous benefits, including paid retirement, paid vacation, and free healthcare for the Handmaid, her dependants (she is usually discouraged to take the job if has them), and her parents. [Many of the maids wear mithril, which may be sewn into the loose, gauzy dresses they wear. Few actually carry weapons since they are trained to protect the Empress by covering her up and getting her out of danger, but all know martial arts.]
Catgirls: The catgirls are descended from Raevyn's catgirl population, and they've been taught to communicate using ASL. They are a recent addition who, I think, are supposed to be a distraction (either by sexual attraction or kicking ass) while the Empress escapes danger. [Unfortunately, they're highly susceptible to catnip, but we're working on that. ^_^;]
Foxgirls: The foxgirls, who are descended from Ravenspire's, don't actually stay with the guard, though they are a part of it. Their job is to sweep the area for possible assassins, to intercept them before they get too close, and to generally protect the entire guard from a distance.
Priest: She doesn't actually do a damn thing. [Something Yuri doesn't know: Priests are trained in martial arts as well, so she could protect the Empress if she had to, but that is not her purpose.] I think the priest, who only accompanies the Empress occasionally, is really only there for advice or spiritual guidance.
Culture: Religion, of course, is a major influence, but I think that'll get its own section. So let's move on to holidays:
New Year's Day: January 1. Yep. It's just like the Western one.
Spring Equinox: March 21. Generally, we just worship nature. I think. I never really got this holiday. ::shrugs::
Birthday of the Empress: March 30.
Death of Daemonesu/Birth of the Nation and Daemonesu: April 22. The day that we celebrate the founding of our nation and the "birth" of Daughter and mourn the simultaneous death of Mother.
Traditional New Year: April 23-30. The traditional New Year was celebrated the day after Mother died since we were starting a new life in Daemonesu. We basically get the week off to party and drink- er, reflect.
Adult's Day: May 1. After all that partying, then we declare adults. As with Japan, all children born after May 1 were considered a year old the following May 1, even if they were only a few days old. [Note: Japan's is January 13 and it's called Coming of Age Day.] Today is the day that children born during this year are considered an adult. However, I think Adult's Day was put after New Year's just to tease the poor children since they can't drink yet.
Summer Solstice: June 21. See "Spring Equinox." It's not that much different.
Remembrance: August 15. We remember and honor Empresses and High Priests of the past.
Fall Equinox: September 23. Yep.
Day of Ancestors: October 20-23. We remember all of our ancestors with feasts and celebration of their lives and sacrifices.
Death of Daemonesu: December 12. We mourn the death of Daughter. Well, not so much death as "I'm leaving you now to see if you can make it on your own."
Winter Solstice: December 22. Uh huh.
New Year's Eve: December 31. That's right.
Okay. Enough with that. Let's move on to what some outsiders deem strange: the taking of family names by men. Since women were always prominent in our society (the goddesses, the Empresses, and the first Councils of Twelve), women's names were always more important. However, children of the royal family will take the name of their partner when they get married and the Empress' partner will always drop his name. We also go with the traditional Japanese naming scheme - family name first - but in dealing with Western society, we switched it for them and it's falling out of use for everything but official government documents.
I'm not actually sure what our connection is to Japan, but it seems to be strong. Mother knows when we were founded, but our scholars can't seem to decide. We were in existence during the height of the Greek Empire, which makes it a little strange that we have so much in common with Japan. My personal opinion is that we just evolved parallel to each other somehow because it's got to be impossible for the Japanese to colonize Lodoss (but not the Americas) and completely forget about us when Mother Daemonesu came.
Where was I? Oh, a high sense of honor and tradition is common to our society as well as Japan's (that's how I got to Japan). Anyway, people seem to think that we aren't traditional anymore since we are charging into the twenty-first century, but if you look at our behavior, we're still just as traditional; we're just kind of...modernized.
I keep wandering from the topic. Honor is one of the most valuable virtues a person can have. This is why we're so trusting - after all, when you break a trust, you lose honor. Unfortunately, people have taken advantage of that, and I've seen many become more and more jaded when dealing with outsiders. More honor can be bestowed, it can be taken away, and it can be restored. However, if you do something particularly bad, you're screwed. I'll explain that later, too.
One of the more interesting aspects of our culture is our tendency to build up and to cram. Because Demonese trees are so healthy and thick, we cannot pull them down, and this has left us with limited space to work with. Citizens live in Japanese-style danchi, which are self-sustaining apartment complexes (think schools, hospitals, grocers - all in one place); the record height for these danchi is held by the Sky-born Lights Apartments, which is sixty-one stories, but most danchi average thirty stories. Side note: "danchi" is the Japanese word for these apartments. I personally call them "shitty little holes in the wall that make a grown man want to cry", but they're called "eld" in Demonese and they're still "danchi" in our English.
Now that the danchi have grown to ridiculous heights, we've also got several people living in condos in the canopies of the trees. Mostly, they're for the eccentric or the rich or even anyone going stir crazy from living in the elds. However, it is still a new thing and we're still working on getting the tree houses right. ^_^; There are problems: residents can't get around (or even in and out of their homes) as quickly and the condos don't have the medical facilities, etc. that the elds have. There's also the nice long drop...
We've also created a new city called Olympia, which was carved out of the Body Mountains, and Heart, which floated atop Heart Lake. Unfortunately, they were both destroyed during the Demonessian Massacre.
One thing that seems to disgust outsiders is the tradition of killing the younger of a set of identical (or even same-sex) twins. The tradition stemmed from the belief that the second twin was a doppelganger of the first and would grow into an evil demon. [Something Yuri doesn't know: The belief came from a racial memory/instinctual knowledge of Du Isa, the younger twin of Leilani, who is corruption, war, and lies in addition to free will.] Unfortunately, Hikari, Jia Li's sister, survived this fate because the priests weren't sure if she could also be the heir to the Empress (it was her slightly pointed ears), and she ended up causing a lot of trouble for Daemonesu.
Religion: Mother Daemonesu is an ancient goddess. Countless ages ago, she believed the time of the gods was waning and she chose a special people to bless. They became hers and hers alone to influence, to care for, and to lord over; all other gods' power was useless against them. She placed a piece of herself in each Demonessian soul and left behind a daughter, who was also Daemonesu, to lead her people to prosperity. And so, Mother Daemonesu went into hibernation. It is said that she will awake once again, and she shall bring peace and happiness to all of Daemonesu for the rest of eternity. Mother Daemonesu's body is said to be buried somewhere in the catacombs of Sacred Rock, as is her Daughter's and the remains of the Empresses and other important people.
[Something Yuri doesn't know: Mother is actually the souls of all Demonessians. She had a vision telling her to go into hibernation as she did. She did not initially protect the original Demonessians, finding that they were already dead by the time she got to them. She resurrected them, preserved their memories, and gave them shards of her essence as her soul, and them gave them the above lies.]
Daughter Daemonesu established many of the traditions that still exist today. It was she who created the High Guard, the Church of Daemonesu and the priesthood, the first Council of Twelve, and our system of honor. [She also created the rule that the Empress must marry a priest and the supposed system where the High Guard will fall in love with the Empress - a way to insure the Empresses' protecttion.] All Empresses are descended directly from her and all receive her protection.
The Empress must be succeeded by a female heir, who, like all the others, will have longer, "elven" ears, slightly golden skin, and green eyes, the mark of divinity. If the Empress dies without giving a female heir, her soul will be transferred to a child just conceived. It is the job of the priesthood to find her and bring her to the Palace.
The hierarchy of the Church of Daemonesu has been reinstated. The Church used to be where the people learned about the religion, then the schools, but now people only learn about the religion if they wish.
Priests are known as the most boring people alive and their order has the most remarkable ability to turn sweet, exciting, normal people into people who make Ben Stein look exciting. Priests train for years; they study the Bible. [Something Yuri doesn't know: They also study martial arts and the higher priests study rudimentary magic.] I'm not actually sure how their hierarchy works, but the order is run by the Council of Twelve and the High Priest, a title given to the priest lucky enough to marry the Empress. The priests are believed to have some magical power derived from Mother, but I don't know if it's true. When Elisa comes of age, she will be at the head of the hierarchy.
Demonessians believe in reincarnation. All citizens are reborn as Demonessian and will be reborn as Demonessian until Mother is reawakened. However, there are exceptions to this rule. The Empress is only reincarnated as long as she doesn't have an heir; once she produces one, she will be sent to the Palace of the Dead upon death. Demonessians who attain the positions of High Guard or High Priest will also be sent to the Palace of the Death once they're gone. [Something Yuri doesn't know: No one goes to the Palace of the Dead anymore. The High Guards and High Priests are reincarnated, and the Empress is re-absorbed into Jia Li.]
All other Demonessians, as a rule, will be reincarnated as Demonessians. If a Demonessian commits a horrible sin, such as the murder of a fellow Demonessian, or loses all honor, the Demonessian will be reincarnated as another race, therefore being cast from Daemonesu's sight. [Something Yuri doesn't know: They are actually sent to this thing called a "Soul Pool" from which any gods may take a soul for a new being or a person may reincarnate themself.] Outsiders may be reincarnated by the grace of Daemonesu as a Demonessian if they do an especially heroic act for a Demonessian - like dying protecting the Empress or acting as a true Demonessian upon death. However, they are only given the option - it is a choice. If she wishes, the dead may remain dead and follow the rules of her religion. [Something Yuri doesn't know: This happened to Bette Kobannaiha, who saved the entire pantheon from Shub-Niggurath, and then died.]
Marriage is no longer officially exists in Daemonesu. Couples are encouraged to stay with one another as long as possible, i.e. life, but it's not frowned upon if they have several partners - just not at the same time. After all, there are many lives and many lovers. In other words, the Revivalists won.
The exception to this rule is the Empress. She must marry and cannot divorce since hers is a new soul, and while she may marry for love, the one she marries must be a male priest so that she is able to produce a female heir. The High Priest also cannot divorce since he will not be reincarnated once he becomes High Priest. If he should find a lover from a past life, it is merely unfortunate and not the grounds for divorce as it may have been in the past with other marriages.
There used to be four branches of the Church: the Oracles, the Sages, the Sentinels, and the Hierarchs. The Oracles see the future, the past, and a person as they are, among other hidden things, while the Sages practice magic. The Sentinels prepare for war and all warlike things, and the Hierarchs take care of administration and the carrying out of religion, though the Hierarchs, not being one of the original branches, were disbanded when the Revivalists won the Reform Movement. The Order a priest can be told from the color they wear: Seers don purple robes, Sages wear white, and Sentinels are clad in black.
Now, let me explain the concept of heaven, hell, and the Palace of the Dead. First of all, heaven will be the existence created by Mother once she reawakens. We don't technically have a hell, but it can either be existence (since we're being reincarnated all the time) or to be reincarnated as an outsider. After all, being alive is often the ultimate punishment. [Something Yuri doesn't know: Actually, the ultimate punishment was given to Hikari, which I will explain in a minute.] The Palace of the Dead could be considered a heaven, as it is the holding place for the souls of past Empresses, High Priests, and High Guards until Mother awakens. It is also the place where Daughter, who "died", is said to rule; the Palace at Sacred Rock is a duplicate of the Palace of the Dead. [Jia Li is now Daughter and she and Xel rule in the Palace of the Dead, actually changing the hierarchy of gods to include him as one of the Two Souls, a prophecy in the Bible.]
Jia Li received a vision before her death from Daughter Daemonesu while down in the Catacombs that told her to take the actions she had. She dissolved the hierarchy of the Church of Daemonesu and put herself as head, as she should be (though the Council was later reinstated). She created a genetics program whose sole purpose was to take over the reproduction of Demonessians. For a while, Demonessians could only reproduce if they obtained a child-bearing license, but that was rare. [The purpose of this program was to artificially evolve the Demonessians to the point that they are almost identical to Mother in appearance, and they had developed the ability to link up with every other Demonessian through telepathy. When that happened, Mother would awaken.] However, this program is now obsolete.
[Many people have wondered what happened the day the Civil War ended. Jia Li was taken to the Palace of the Dead, where Daughter told her what she must do. Then Daughter returned Jia Li to Daemonesu, and upon her return, Jia Li asked the foreign troops to leave. Demonessians rioting suddenly stopped, and those not of true blood left with the foreigners. Daughter forced the "immigrants" to leave and called, through Mother's blood, those of Demonessian descent back to Daemonesu (anyone with more of a sixteenth of Demonese DNA). The GELFs and some of the loyal immigrants (elves and those who served in the Palace) were given the option of staying. Then Daughter resurrected all the dead ethnics and transformed every ethnic Demonessian so that they looked like Asian elves and the others became the remaining Demonessian races when Daughter gave Mother's blood to them. Jia Li's ears lengthened even further, but not quite as much as Daughter's, and her skin turned gold. She also became telepathic, having the ability to project to any and all Demonessians and hear Demonessians if they projected thought at her; she had slight telepathic ability with outsiders, and she was trained by Witzig of Terraus. It appears that her daughter, Elisa, might be a more powerful telepath than she.]
[Finally, Daughter, at Jia Li's insistence, started to resurrect the rest of those who died in the Civil War, but since Daughter isn't omnipotent, she had a limited ability to do so. As a result, she resurrected very few over the two weeks Daemonesu's borders were closed. Then she went back to the Palace of the Dead to rest.]
[Something Yuri doesn't know: After the peace settlement with Polynesian Free States, Daughter visited Hikari as well. She told Hikari that she had betrayed her Empress and her country and for that she would be cursed. Hikari became immortal (through regeneration) and cursed to remain after Mother awakens and takes the rest of the Demonessians with her. Hikari, however, took out her revenge for the curse on Jia Li and Xel, eventually killing both. Jia Li made a pact with Daughter to bring back Xel with her (because she refused to live without him), but as a result Jia Li became an immortal who would die once she bore a female heir, and then would replace Daughter, who'd died from the effort of saving the royal couple. Jia Li has died, and Xel was killed soon after by Shadowfox, and both now live in the Palace of the Dead. Hikari's soul resided in a jade stone that Shadowfox carried for a while before she was set free and told to kill the Magi. Now her soul has been thrown back into the Demonessian soul pool.]
[There are also two new goddess, Leilani and Du Isa, but they are known only to the Council of Twelve, certain members of the military, and the other gods. They are not worshipped and they have not been introduced to the population yet.]
Military: Daemonesu's military is being updated with the help of Terraus, but currently, it is made up of the army, air force, and navy. The army is made up of volunteers (who get paid, of course). While the army is comprised mostly of Demonessians, there are special divisions of catmen and dragonmen. The army doesn't actually have tanks since they are impractical for the terrain of Daemonesu, but they have many of the modern technologies - including guns. ^_~ We also have a very nice "Eva" named the Raven from Fenwick.
The navy, similarly, is modern and really only intended to defend the long coast of Daemonesu. While it's nothing to sneeze at, it's not that great either. However, the navy also uses giant biomechanical squid to disable enemy ships. [This works well on surface ships, where the squid crushes and punctures the hull, but it is less effective with submarine warfare. Subs are usually as maneuverable as the squids, and if played right, they can use their speed and torpedoes to destroy a detachment of squid. The squids are semi-sentient, and can take orders from the ships they're guarding.]
[The navy also includes fishing trawlers, which are a militia or coast guard, if you will. All trawlers do what fishing trawlers do - fish - but they are also armored and armed with the intent to use them if the regular navy is not enough. They are occasionally used as spying vessels and some are escorted by giant squid.]
Daemonesu's air force absolutely sucks. It consists mainly of anti-aircraft missiles and a very generous gift from Menelmacar - the gravship Daughter's Wrath. However, Terraus has sold several aircraft to Daemonesu and pilots are being trained.
We are also known to have some rather nasty WMDs - particularly biological. [These include the non-communicable Virus 42, which is a mutated strain of the anthromorphic virus of Necronomicon that affects only humans, and Virus 37, which is actually the bacteria anthrax modified to be slightly worse. We have the cures for all of the viruses we have created. Unfortunately, the data for these all got wiped out by a freak EMP and we never stored the viruses, so we've lost all research regarding them, though a few of the lesser weapons remain.]
We also use our other main industry as a weapon - nanotechnology; unfortunately, there is a major design flaw which prevents us from using them extensively (or we risk losing their controller and therefore, control). There are three types of swarms - unaltered Shadow Mist, attack, and construction. The unaltered Shadow Mist nanos killed 98% of patients they were designed to help, so why not employ them like this? [Unfortunately, since the Magi are dead, it is a lot harder to use the nannites and they pose a risk to both sides, but they will be used in desperate situations.]
Attack nanos kill their victims by suffocating them. Then bacteria is left on their bodies; this is used for them to reproduce. However, the bacteria only works on dead things, and there is a risk that wild nano swarms will breed. [All nano swarms obey an electronic "whistle" that the Magi used and InGen retains; wild nanos have a high probability of responding to this whistle as well, but the probability decreases with every wild generation. There are a certain percentage of these attack nanos immune to EMP. Attack nanos actually came about when Jia Li was trying to make medical nannites immune to harmful magnetic fields, and they were reprogrammed as they are now, which included the ability to breed in the wild; the program was abandoned when it was realized the wild nanos could get out of hand, but attack nannites are still used. Apparently, she didn't learn her lesson with the InGen Incident, upon which part of the Michel Crichton book, Prey, is based.]
Construction nano swarms are meant to construct structures like buildings, but they also have a military application - they can deconstruct; thankfully, these aren't affected by the design flaw. [Unfortunately, these are highly susceptible to EMPs, but we're working on that, too.]
[Now that the Magi are dead, it's very unlikely that the nannites will ever be used again outside of medical technology. They can be programmed to obey a computer, but it's not as efficient as having an AI control them. Their reflexes aren't as quick and there is a greater chance of something going horribly wrong.]
History: Heh heh... History is an interesting subject for the Demonessians. You see, recorded history only goes back about six centuries because all records were destroyed during the Two-Hundred Year Virgin's reign. Everything before that is lost in myth and legend, [including a certain other goddess].
History...history... Basically all you would ever want to know is in our bible and our traditions. We do know one thing for certain: Xel's High Guard katana (the one he gave to Mei Ling) was the third recorded katana ever made for the High Guard. It's an antique, but a very, very sharp and deadly antique. Unfortunately, he had to get a new one cast since he gave it to a dead girl who may not be dead after all...
::ahem:: Let's talk about the Two-Hundred Year Virgin, shall we? As you know, the Empress will be reincarnated if she does not produce a female heir. This Empress Daemonesu actually refused to marry a priest. This was back around 1396...well, that was when we think she was born. Anyway, she was reincarnated over and over, each time refusing to marry a priest. Then, in 1503, she got the great idea to start attacking the "infidels" - starting with our neighbor Fenwick. The war went on for about thirty years before the Demonessians just gave up being stupid and went back to a peaceful life in Daemonesu.
Then in 1551, Fenwick decided to retaliate and started a war that would last another fifty years. We believe that it was sometime during this second war with Fenwick that the records were destroyed, but we don't know how or when this occurred. In 1589, peace was accomplished, though not in the way the Empress wished, and Fenwick and Daemonesu have been close friends ever since; in fact, Jia Li and Ned were best friends before both died. (Side note: It is widely believed that the Two-Hundred Year Virgin wanted to marry the Emperor at the time so that not only would she cement the relations between Daemonesu and Fenwick, but she would also get out of marrying a priest.)
Empress Daemonesu finally married in 1593, ending her over two hundred years as a virgin empress. She died in 1611, but she bore no female heir and was reincarnated again. When her son, Nerran the Bold (age 18), was refused the throne, he split from Daemonesu and founded the Holy Empire of Demoness (Sune Horii no Daemonesu).
Flash forward four hundred years of peace, and we find Nerran IV. Long story short, he attempted a coup while Jia Li was sleeping, but he mistook one of her Handmaids for the Empress and killed her instead. Xel threw Jia Li out a window and consequently saved her life. With help from Shadow Mist and a few other friends, Jia Li was restored as Empress. Oh, and Jared Kanzaka found Nerran IV's head in his bed - a gift from Mei Ling, who mistook his room for Xel's non-existent one.
Technically, peace was never shattered by war for over four hundred years in Daemonesu. Then Jia Li decides that it would be a great idea to join the UN and put us onto the world stage. Unfortunately, that was like putting a target on our backs. When an airplane from Darkskye was hijacked by government-sponsored terrorists from Akbar, a few Demonessians were trapped on board. One woman, who later turned out to be a slightly shady immigrant, was executed. Since the killing of any Demonessian is an attack on Mother, Daemonesu was dragged into Akbar's Civil War, also known as the Great Nations War. When it was finally over, Daemonesu gained Akbar as a military vassal, but Jia Li released them months later.
Next, we had the Civil War, which was actually started when Jia Li up and took off. She felt that if she held herself for ransom, she could force the priesthood into giving up their power and make Daemonesu a democracy. Unfortunately, her plan backfired. Jia Li had a twin, Hikari, who was hidden by the priests upon birth. They set her up as Empress and pretty soon, everyone was at each other's throats. Daemonesu called in a few friends, but they ended up taking a pounding from both the Demonessians and from each other. Jia Li abruptly seized power and the war ended.
Then there was the Polynesian Free States Invasion. Hikari apparently sought asylum with them, which gave them an excuse to invade Daemonesu, though they previously stated that they just didn't like Daemonesu for reasons I never understood. Daemonesu is a hard place to invade, even in modern times (which is why we have great respect for Fenwick since they were able to do it so many years ago), and PFS' forces were defeated with the help of several nations. As a result of this war, Daemonesu became the military vassal of Mark the Great, Menelmacar, and Xen for a period of five years, but we have been released from all but Menelmacar.
[Unfortunately, Hikari wasn't satisfied with this development and swore total vengeance on Jia Li. She successfully penetrated Daemonesu, killed both monarchs, and then was promptly punished by Jia Li, who had been resurrected by Daughter. [Something Yuri doesn't know: Jia Li also killed Daughter by draining her power when she brought back Xel, too.] Xel let her go, like an idiot, but Hikari has left the country alone. Unfortunately, after Jia Li's death, Hikari was blamed and then sealed in a jade stone.]
About a year ago, the wards of Derward, Inyx, and Uta declared independence from Daemonesu and became the People's Republic of Feoras. After a rather stupid move by their president, Selwyn Yamashita, Jia Li declared war on the province and took it back by force.
Empress Jia Li died in childbirth over a year ago. She was followed three days later by Xel, who challenged Shadowfox to a duel to the death and lost, which I think he did on purpose. Jia Li was succeeded by Yuri Katsuragi, who will act as Regent of the Empire until Elisa comes of age. [Something Yuri doesn't know: Daughter's death and replacement by soul mates (Jia Li and Xel) was foretold in the Bible, which neither Daughter nor Shadowfox had ever read.]
[There's been way too much going on lately, but... Tiernan, a stupid god from the past, resurrected himself and took Kieran. He possessed and changed the child's body, went on a rampage through Yggidrasil, and was killed by Iserri of the Golgothan Kine before he could go much further. Kiernan, unfortunately, stayed aged.]
[Hikari was freed from her jade prison by Jia Li and given a new body. In order to become Demonessian again, she had to kill the Magi. Unfortunately, Hikari went power-mad and started destroying half the country in the Demonessian Massacre. Over half the population was killed, and many more lost their Demonessian status.]
Just after the Demonessian Massacre, Kyoko Vuldryad and Akira Midorikawa led a rebellion against the Empire and tried to break away to create the Holy Empire of Feoras (HEF). They founded a religion which worshipped the supposed daughter of Daugher, Du Isa, [which later turned out to be true but is not common knowledge] and claimed religious persecution by Daemonesu. The rebellion was short-lived thanks to efforts of Terraus and Yggidrasil and HEF' territory (which included the Ida and Eisei wards) was retaken. Anselm Midorikawa is presumed to be dead and Holy Empress Vuldryad was executed for treason and heresy.
After briefly resigning for the murder of Arilyn Moonflower after winning the Kirimai, Yuri Katsuragi retook her position as Regent of the Empire. She intends to keep Daemonesu in one piece at any price.
History according to Shadowfox:
Approximately 2,600 BC- Daemonesu started out as two tribes: the Cine and the Shuzoku. The Cine were Irish Celtics explorers who were nearly lost in a storm, but Mother saved them and brought them to her land. The Shuzoku were an Asian tribe that was about to be wiped out by warlords before Mother rescued them. Mother then gave her spirit to them and left behind Daughter to take care of them.
Daughter ruled for several years and then Tiernan, a war god from the British Isles, appeared and wooed her. Eventually, they married and had a child named Tania, who would later become Shadowfox. Eventually, Daughter gave Tiernan the ability to affect the Demonessians, and he set out to destroy Daemonesu and take her power. He was defeated by the combined forces of Shadowfox, Daughter, and Mother and sealed into a jade stone.
Directly after that, Daughter created the Council of Twelve and the High Guard, as well as the line of succession and the Palace of the Dead. After she had a half-mortal child with a priest, she took Tiernan's remains with her to the Catacombs and was never seen again. Shadowfox stayed in Daemonesu until her half-sister died, and then she wandered the earth. Shortly before that, Roarke, a friend of Shadowfox's, wrote the first five books of the Bible.
Shadowfox's niece was a poor leader and the country fell into disarray. They became city-states who worshipped a common pantheon, but they did not obey the "living" goddess in their midst. At least there were no civil wars - in a manner of speaking, anyway.
In 92 BC, Daemonesu was invaded by the Romans, which wasn't that much of a bad thing. The Romans united Daemonesu, and they allowed the Empress to stay as a puppet-ruler as long as she obeyed Rome and converted to their pantheon. Mother was now called Terra, Daughter was Juno, and Shadowfox, still remembered then, became Nemesis.
All was fine for Daemonesu until Constantine decided to make Christianity the national religion. The Demonessians would not take that and with the help of Shadowfox and the protection of Mother, Daemonesu was freed in 380 CE. To prevent further invasions, Daughter caused the massive forests to grow wherever the Demonessians lived, and then she retired back to the Palace of the Dead while Shadowfox again left.
The Empresses after that were strong, and some were a bit too strong, taking out their anger at the fallen Roman Empire on "infidels" over many wars.
In 1448, Daemonesu started the colony of Faenvikku (Fenwick) to the north. Things went fine for a few years before the Fenwicki managed to gain their independence peacefully from Daemonesu. Then the Two-Hundred Year Virgin (and yes, she was half-German at one point) started the Daemonesu-Fenwicki Wars. During this time, many records were destroyed, though not all of them were burned by the Fenwicki. A number of documents were destroyed by Deirdre Oriana, priestess of the Council of Twelve, because she was angry at the Empress for her transgressions and the Church in general. With the documents and history destroyed, she led the Council in a reconstruction of the Church in her vision, which incorporated various Christian themes, such as the marriage forever and horribly long-ass sermons. The Demonessians also conveniently forgot that they'd colonized Fenwick in the first place.
Aside from that, history is pretty accurate from there. Oh, I might tell you the history of the High Guard Katana, all of which are made from mithril using a secret technique. Mine is the first and enchanted, among other things, to cut down any god. The second was given to the replacement High Guard by me at my departure and was destroyed during the Roman invasion when another Demonessian crafted mithril blade - that of a traitor - broke it and killed its master. The third was given to his successor - and this is about the time when the High Guard became exclusively male - and was only enchanted with a spell to keep it sharp. This sword lasted until Xel gave it to Mei Ling, and then the fourth was cast and given no enchantments because that art was lost. The fifth and final one was entrusted to Arilyn Isilótë, who gave the blade to Kieran upon her death; it has many enchantments, none of which I'm about to tell you.
Last Updated 08.24.03
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