Important Personalities:

I've decided not to write these in character (though captions for pictures still are), and I think you guys can figure out what you do and don't know ICly.

Hierarchy:

Elisa

AKA Daemonesu (Demoness) or "Eli"

Title: Empress-to-be or Empress-to-be Daemonesu (or, in Demonese: Daemonesu-kaminofu - "Little Living Goddess")

Age: 1

Height: 3'

Eyes: Green

Hair: Black

Information: Isn't Eli just the cutest? Why is her back to the camera, you ask? Do you think we're stupid enough to show what she actually looks like to the public?

Elisa matures faster than the typical human because she's two evolutionary steps ahead of the rest of the country thanks to Jia Li. Take her chronological age, multiple by three, add three months, and then you have her physical age.

She speaks Demonese and English, but she prefers her first form of communication - telepathy - and often intrudes on people in the Palace during her tantrums. Aside from that, she's the typical toddler.

Extras: She has the same telepathic ability as her mother: she can talk to any Demonessian; however, she can pick up on unprotected surface thoughts.

Yuri Katsuragi

Title: Regent of the Empire and Communications (formerly)

Age: 29

Height: 5'8"

Eyes: Gold

Hair: Black

Information: This is a picture of me a few years ago and that's the Handmaid's uniform. Nice, huh? ^_~ Anyway, I was in it because I was supposed to pull double duty as Comms and Handmaid (yeah right!). I just took the opportunity to get a nice picture while I was at it. (Click on it to see the whole thing.)

Her father is Netoru Katsuragi, a High Guardsman who now teaches the next generation. Her mother, Yukiko, was a political advisor to Jia Li's mother and, as Yuri later found out, the reincarnation of Brann, her brother in her first incarnation. Combine this with Ikarin, the reincarnation of her and Brann's love Kylara, and the Palace wasn't a very happy home for her to grow up in.

Because her father was always on duty and her mother was away, Yuri rarely saw her parents, but when they got together, Yukiko would start fights because of her own malcontent. Since she was the first of the next generation of children in the Palace, she was very isolated and sheltered for several years before she met Jia Li.

After college, she decided to train as a Handmaid as she didn't like what she'd trained for, but after a year, she gave it up when she realized that she just wasn't cut out for it. So she returned to her training - computers - and worked in the offices around the Palace until Jia Li decided to send her to a Communist convention.

After succeeding so well at the convention, Jia Li decided to make Yuri in charge of the larger communications center they were building. Dealing with these people frustrated her and brought out the inner bitch. It's only gotten worse after she became the Regent.

Then during the Demonessian Massacre, she went temporarily insane and tried to kill Elisa and Kieran, but slew Arilyn instead. She was found guilty of murder and sentenced to the Kirimai, which she won, and was pardoned. After a brief stay in Yggidrasil, she came back to rule Demoness.

Extras: She is still authorized to carry a handgun, though she prefers the crossbow, and she is fairly accurate in aim, but she now only carries the Xel's Darkskye pistol as a matter of remembrance. She carries a dagger besides the handgun. She is also one of the original souls of Daemonesu - Roarke - and she was married to Kylara, but loved Shadowfox; after a brief time of remembering and hating, Shadowfox stole the memories and transformed Yuri into a new soul; however, she got the memories back after the Massacre. Her husband, the Magi Jared, is dead. She still wears the wristlet and necklace she received on their wedding day. However, she's become involved with Leigh "Theo" Davion of Fenwick and is carrying his child; he has Jared's wristlet.

Kimera Kobannaiha

Title: Supreme Commander of the Military and Supreme Commander of Land and Air (formerly)

Age: 37

Height: 5'11"

Eyes: Hazel

Hair: Black

Information: Kimera isn't a true Demonessian - or wasn't, anyway; she's Italian by birth. She was orphaned when she was a baby. Her mother, a visitor, was killed in a robbery when the crime rate was higher. Fortunately, Kimera, who was with her mother at the time, was not harmed, but her mother did not have proper identification with her. Eventually, she was discovered to be from Italy and the Demonessian government apologized profusely, offering to pay grievances to Kimera's family. Unfortunately, Kimera's mother still had not been identified and no family - or even father - was found; the Italian government gave official custody of the child to Daemonesu.

Kimera was placed into an orphanage and given her name. At 13, she enlisted in the military instead of going into the then popular field of computers and quickly climbed the ranks. Proving her loyalty through military service, Daughter gave her the option to become a true Demonessian and she accepted. She was recently appointed Supreme Commander of the Military after the Demonessian Massacre.

Ebony and Ivory Suzuki

AKA Grey Crystal, Onyx and Pearl, etc.

Title: Communications (Ebony, formerly), Intelligence (Deputy Director and Director of the Tania, respectively), and Matriarchs of the Yumeneko clan

Age: 30

Height: 5'6"

Eyes: Violet

Hair: Silver

Information: Neither of these pictures are really of the girls because they wouldn't sit still for them either. The one on the left is Ebony in some disguise, but that's pretty much what she looks like - the stance and stuff. Really, the only thing that was altered was her hair.

The one on the right is Ivory and I think she's supposed to be Ritsuko or something. ::shrugs:: Not that it matters. She's wearing contacts and a wig, I believe. In any case, the girls are identical twins and you can't tell them apart unless they want to be.

The girls are of the same clan as Megumi and they, as well as the rest of their clan, moved to Daemonesu from Ravenspire at Megumi's request. However, they're going to get out of the office a lot less now that Megumi officially resigned and gave the twins her official and unofficial positions. This not only includes heading up the spy network, but also control of the Yumeneko clan in Daemonesu.

Extras: They're authorized to know everything Megumi knew and given everything she was allowed. They like to pull a trick on people by purposely doing the same thing at the same time when they're together or they pull the "Grey routine" and pretend to be the same person.

Dominia Kobannaiha

Title: Supreme Commander of Land and Air, Vice President of Feoras (formerly), and Ambassador to Houde (formerly)

Age: 3

Height: 6'2"

Eyes: Golden at rest, as with all dragonman GELFs. She has no pupils, and when she has any sort of emotion, they shift colors.

Hair: Black, but dyed red

Information: Dominia's wings must be tucked in or something because I can't see her wings. Yeah, I know she looks like she's possessed, but that's what the dragonmen look like normally. ^_^;

Dominia's past was basically ever other dragonman's until she completed her year of service. She left the military and joined Selwyn Yamashita's ceding movement. She was the strong military leader he needed, even if they didn't have any troops, and she eventually became his second-in-command and then Vice President of Feoras. When Feoras was reclaimed, she was pardoned with the help of Emerald and the other foxgirls  who pleaded that she was merely misguided and not traitorous.

She was recommended for and accepted the position of Supreme Commander after Commander Kobannaiha was promoted.

Extras: She's technically the sister of Bette and Bob and the daughter of Dr. Lewis Dodgeson. She hates Megumi Yumeneko for replacing her at Yamashita's side, but she's grateful to her clan for the pardon.

Palace:

Kitsune Nedia

AKA "Kit" or "Kitty"

Title: Communications

Age: 20 (21 due to Adult's Day)

Height: 5'6"

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Black

Information: Sexy, short, shy, and in charge of Comms - she's not going to last. >.<;

Kitsune is the younger sister of Priestess Ryuu, though you might not know it at first. Kitty is fairly shy, especially with the sex she's attracted to: other women. Realizing this early on didn't do much for her confidence, even with an older sister in a similar situation. However, Ryuu took a lot of attention away from her growing up because of her "condition", as it was termed at the time, and Kitty learned to entertain herself.

Her parents weren't Palace staff, but encouraged her to work there. With the help of her relatives - Brianna Nedia and Netoru Katsuragi - she was able to secure an education similar to that of Yuri Katsuragi, focusing on Comms as well. She managed to stay low on the radar of bad things happening in the country and impressed many in the Comm room. After adults were declared, Ebony decided to make her the new Comms since she wants nothing to do with the job. Many in the staff think that poor Kitty will undergo a bitch transformation as well similar to that of her cousin and have a betting pool going.

Extra: Kitsune has a stuttering problem.

Kieran

AKA "Kie"

Title: High Guardsman

Age: 1

Height: 6'2"

Eye Color: shifts between blue and green

Hair Color: He discovered bleaching like his father. Naturally, the color is a combination of black and red.

Information: He'd be cute except for the fact that he's a one-year-old in a twenty-year-old's body.

Kieran had the unfortunate experience of being taken over by an ancient war god: Tiernan. Tiernan aged the child's body and transformed it into what he desired and kidnapped him de facto by trapping Kieran in his own mind. He was eventually saved by Empress Iserri of the Golgothan Kine, though not before he suffered some "interesting" experiences.

Upon returning to Daemonesu, Jia Li discovered that she could not restore her child to his previous form without risking death and so asked Hegemon Witzig of Terraus to do her a great favor and sealed away many of the experiences Kieran had, as well as Tiernan's memories, which he was left with. However, Kieran kept the useful memories, such as how to fight and speak ancient Demonese.

He was under the tutelage of Arilyn, who taught him modern Demonese and English, as well as many of the things he should know for his physical age. Though he's mentally about two, magic and a little help from Jia Li as enabled him to adapt and mature more quickly. Like his sister, however, he prefers to communicate via telepathic images.

Extras: Kieran not only is a telepath, but like his sister, he can read unprotected surface thoughts. When he was possessed by Tiernan, his body was made into Tiernan's image (but shorter) and when he left, Kieran still had a few residual traces of Tiernan's physical tampering. Shadowfox also left him a High Guard katana - the fifth - for when Arilyn felt he was ready to receive it, which was the day of her death.

Jared Kanzaka

Title: High Guardsman

Age: 20

Height: 5'11"

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

Information: Stupid Jared had nice, long, thick black hair, but he decided to cut it because it was getting "too hard to manage"!

Jared - not to be confused with the half-dozen other Jareds out there - is known as the Palace pervert, jokester, and scapegoat. He was a good friend of Xel's and now that the High Guard is dead, Jared is a good candidate for an unofficial replacement - once he matures.

He does have a serious and caring side, however, as shown by the way he treats his (first) girlfriend and now wife, Solo Ni-Airne of CreepyTeef.

Yosho Konoma

Title: Palace Doctor

Age: 52

Height: 5'7"

Eyes: Fading to grey

Hair: Grey

Information: Dr. Konoma has been around forever, or so it seems, and has seen everything. There are no surprises left for him after living in the Palace nearly his entire life.

He was married to Tiara, a retired Handmaid and advisor, but he's been widowed for a five years. He's pretty insightful about relationships in the Palace, and he's the basic father-figure of the Palace. For an older gentleman, he's also fairly liberal and quite up-to-date on the medical technology.

Ambassadors:

Ritsuko Aiko-Davion

AKA Ritsuko Aiko (formerly) and "Ri-chan"

Titles: Empress of Fenwick (formerly), Archduchess of Fenwick, and Ambassador to Fenwick

Age: 19

Height: 5'7"

Eyes: Red

Hair: White, naturally, but she dyes it blue regularly

Information: Like Megumi, Ritsuko was a resident of Ravenspire until last year. She immigrated to Daemonesu, stayed for a few months, and then accepted an invitation to train as a pilot for Fenwick's mechs. While there, she fell in love with Emperor Ned Davion - with lots and lots of drama to go with it - and married him in a non-denominational ceremony.

She was granted adulthood in Daemonesu when she arrived because Megumi requested it. Her parents are still alive and she has an insane amount of sisters: Zeryl, Yume, Xinia, Wadeena, Veronica, Uca, Tammy, Sphina, Qi, and Pyra. She is a member of the Yumeneko clan, though only distantly.

As the wife of Jia Li's best friend, she also became a trusted friend of the Empress. Unfortunately, she, like a lot of people around here, lost three great friends in a very short time. Ned died the same day as Jia Li and she hasn't quite recovered. She has a son by him.

Extras: As with all Fenwicki, Ritsuko is allowed to carry a firearm in Daemonesu. She's hyper, even for a foxgirl, and four hours of sleep is "over" sleeping. She has excellent reflexes, she's loyal, and she likes long swords. She also can't speak a word of Demonese. She's an albino. She also chose to leave the Demonessian soul pool, but she stayed the ambassador.

Vashiti Kobannaiha

Title: Lodossian Nations Representative

Age: 3

Height: 5'4"

Eyes: Pink

Hair: Pink

Information: That would be Vashiti having a ball outside the LN building in Raevyn. >.<

Vashiti is one of the few bunnygirls created. Their initial purpose was never really made public, but after their creation, many bunnygirls became waitresses, babysitters, receptionists, and the like. Unfortunately, most of them were fired from their jobs because of a natural instinct: sex.

Bunnygirls typically have the sex drive of their animal ancestors and Vashiti is no exception. She sees no moral problem with having sex with any member of either sex, though she tries to be as discreet about it as possible. She's not all sex and games though; she has a business side.

Rumors abound that she got her esteemed job as a representative through sleeping her way to the top and that's only half true: Vashiti is actually qualified for the job; she used her body to get an advantage over the competition. Vashiti has a greater control over her sex drive than most bunnygirls, being able to become all-business in a minute, but she likes to have fun and occasionally uses her sex to get information out of people or to make "contact" with them.

Extras: Vashiti is also unusual in that her hair is naturally pink. She's the genetic sister of any of the other bunnygirls in Daemonesu.

Aelda Masaki

Title: Primary Decoy (formerly), Imperial Handmaid (formerly), and Ambassador to CreepyTeef

Age: 23

Height: 5'9"

Eyes: Violet

Hair: Black

Information: That would be Aelda acting as decoy at some party. Bet you can't tell the difference!

Aelda joined the Handmaids as soon as she finished college and trained diligently for the position once she was accepted. She was isolated as a very convincing decoy early on and she was separated from the rest. She watched Jia Li closely and picked up her habits and mannerisms and at her peak, she could not be distinguished from the real Jia Li.

Luckily, her training was completed just after the Nerran IV incident and she took over as primary decoy. She has gone insofar as to speak in the same inflections Jia Li used when speaking either of their native languages. When Jia Li died, she was nearly out of a job, but Yuri, realizing she also had extensive background in diplomacy, assigned her to CreepyTeef as their ambassador.

Extras: Aelda became so dedicated to being a decoy that she forgot her own mannerisms and inflections of speech, so she's still adjusting to being herself. She dislikes being called "Lady" and she's very paranoid that any man interested in her sees her only as Jia Li. She was engaged to Han Solo-Bwee of CreepyTeef, but he's recently disappeared.

Ryuumiko Nedia

AKA "Ryuu"

Title: Council Member, Seer (Order of the Oracles), Priestess (official title outside Church), and Ambassador to Yggidrasil

Age: 26

Height: 5'10"

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Black

Information: Ryuu is the older cousin of Xel Nedia, meaning that their mothers were sisters. At an early age, she began to have dreams about long ago times and places that as a child, she should not know about. Distressed, her parents took her to see a doctor, who referred them to the Church.

After several meetings with the Church, it was confirmed that Ryuu was remembering past lives, but what really amazed them was her ability to read others' past lives as well. Eager to train the rare gift, the Church took her into their program early.

Ryuu trained for many years and got involved with the Revivalist Movement, which seeks to uncover the history of the Church and restore it to its original form. Though unpopular even in the Church itself, she still managed to climb the hierarchical ladder and put herself in a position to become a member of the Council of Twelve. However, before she could become a full priestess in her order, she had to refine her abilities to see the past by interacting with outsiders, which is why she was sent to Yggidrasil. She mastered her abilities and returned to Daemonesu to take a seat on the Council of Twelve, but she still manages to spend time in Yggidrasil.

Extras: Ryuu is a pretty optimistic and, at times, hyperactive and immature individual. She carries a staff and knows but one spell (fireball), but she's learning more from Valantir of Yggidrasil, her boyfriend. She also has a great singing voice and remembers at least five of her past lives.

Emerald Yumeneko

Title: Ambassador to Lavenrunz

Age: 28

Height: 5'9"

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Silver

Information: I'd say someone just really pissed her off in that picture. It was probably Megumi asking her to do another job for the clan. Emerald just doesn't like the family business of spying, and in fact, enjoyed the arts, but when Megumi told her to move, she did, and she was asked to help her aunt spy on Feoras, she became their Councilman of Economics.

After the Feoras incident, she "retired" from her aunt's services again and was called up months later to serve as ambassador to Lavenrunz - by her aunt's recommendation. At first, she assumed it was another assignment, but she was overjoyed - and a little scared - to find out that it was a legitimate job.

Extra: She looks like her aunt, but it's really only a family resemblance.

Other:

Megumi Yumeneko

AKA Unknown

Title: Communications (retired) and Matriarch of the Yumeneko clan (formerly)

Age: 58

Height: 5'9"

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Silver

Information: You have no idea how long it took me to find a picture of Megumi! She had a picture taken when she immigrated to Daemonesu, but that has "mysteriously" disappeared from our files. Hell, I don't even know where this one came from. She's probably going to shoot the photographer for taking her picture, I'm sure.

Megumi is originally from Ravenspire and she moved her entire clan to Daemonesu when she decided to move here herself. Her past is shady, though she's often referred to as the female James Bond. She gained Jia Li's trust quickly and the Empress, in return, gained her loyalty. She started out as Yuri's "assistant" in Communications, but actually worked as a spy, heading up the network of foxgirls in Daemonesu. When Yuri became Regent, she was promoted to Communications.

She accompanied Daemonesu's forces to Golan as a guard for Ritsuko Aiko-Davion, and while there, decided that she needed a break from everything. On her return, she resigned from her official and unofficial positions and gave them to Ebony and Ivory Suzuki.

In her travels, she managed to rescue/gain a daughter, Kemorri, who is actually Empress Iserri's dark catgirl daughter. Iserri asked Megumi to take Kemorri away so she wouldn't be harmed by Iserri. Now, Megumi spoils Kemorri as if she were her own daughter, a phenomenon that many find strange about the foxgirl.

Extras: She is one of the few people authorized to carry a gun in Daemonesu. She is probably also the only one who knows what's going on most of the time and she knows more secrets than Yuri.

Grey Heili

Title: Liaison to the Tania, Lieutenant, and Tania Agent Second Class

Age: 30

Height: 5'10"

Eyes: Violet

Hair: Red-brown

Information: Foxgirls agree: Grey's a cutie!

Grey worked with the police department in the port town of Solaris for over seventeen, though he didn't officially become an officer until his twenty-first year. Solaris was a busy town, being the second largest city in the country, but Grey didn't see much action most of his time working there as he was stuck behind a desk writing reports.

Finally, he caught a break and began his beat at twenty-six. By the time Ivory and Ebony had shown up, he'd seen nearly everything...but foxgirls. After being taken captive by the twins, Grey was smitten with Ivory (and he learned how to tell them apart quickly enough). They hooked up after the Unbelievers case was wrapped up and he was transferred to Sacred Rock to serve as a liaison between general law enforcement and the Tania.

Extras: Grey is the only person to be able to tell Ivory and Ebony apart when they pull the Grey routine. His title as a Tania agent is mostly honorary, though he functions as one anyway. As a law enforcement officer, he's authorized to carry firearms.

Lewis Dodgeson

Title: Doctor, "Researcher" for Biotech, and Government Agent

Age: 32

Height: 5'10"

Eyes: Violet

Hair: Brown-black

Information: Lewis - or "Dodgeson" as he's often called - is the bane of everyone in Daemonesu. He's charsmatic, truly, and he knows it and uses it to his advantage. He's also very intelligent. He's worked for nearly all of Daemonesu's technology companies, often switching fields as his interests change, and sometimes a few outside companies.

Those who know Dodgeson hate him; those who don't get swept up in his charisma until they know better. He engages in industrial espionage and sometimes sabotage and will do nearly anything to gain knowledge. He is, however, strangely loyal to Daemonesu and her government and won't willingly let any technology or information out of the country that will harm it.

Tiernan

AKA "He Whose Name Shall Not Be Spoken" (banished)

Title: God of War (minor)

Age: Fairly old

Height: 6'10"/6'2"

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Red

Information: To the left is an artist's conception of Tiernan from Shadowfox's description. Said artist found it particularly funny to dress him in an orange trench coat. >.<

He was a minor war god from the British Isles who was kicked out of his pantheon for being a bit too ambitious for the other gods' tastes. Eventually, he found his way to Daemonesu and found Daughter. After finding out that Mother slept in the people and Daughter was the guardian of her power, he decided to take that power himself. He wooed Daughter for many years and eventually married and had a daughter, Shadowfox, with her. Finally, Daughter granted him power over the Demonessians.

Tiernan immediately betrayed her trust and set the two tribes against one another, hoping that they'd wipe each other out. At the same time, he attacked Daughter and tried to steal her power. Things were going great and then his daughter showed up to stop him. With Mother's help, she sealed Tiernan's soul in a jade stone and destroyed his body.

Millennia later, Tiernan managed to break out of his prison by a sheer stroke of luck and sought to take his revenge on the country. He stole Kieran's body and went on a rampage across Yggidrasil after allying with Shadowlord and Empress Iserri. However, Iserri betrayed him and stabbed him with a dagger that stole his soul and sent it to Hell, thereby ending Tiernan's second attempt to destroy the Empire.

Pantheon:

Daemonesu

AKA Demoness or Mother Demoness (hibernating)

Title: Daemonesu-kae, Kae-sama, or Mother

Age: As old as the universe

Height: 5'10"

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Black

Information: The two faces of Mother: the right is what she used to be and the left is what she is now.

Mother is one of the few first generation gods left, having been born from the source of it all: chaos.

Within her pantheon, she lived for many, many years in peace and doing what gods do best in Egypt before she realized that the time of the gods was ending. People stopped believing in many pantheons and she feared that the lesser gods, who were killing each other off, would turn against their superiors.

She was told in a dream what she would do. Under the pretense of blessing a few lucky humans, she inserted her soul into their husks (they'd already been dead). She transformed a little part of Lodoss into plains from desert and put the rest of her body to rest as the land to the south of the Blood River. Then, as her astral self, she searched for those she would bless and found the Irish tribe of the Cine and the Asian tribe of the Shuzoku. She brought them to her paradise in Daemonesu, explained her sacrifice, and left behind her daughter to lead them until the day she might return.

Many people in Daemonesu believe that was the end of her and her consciousness - for she must have gone into hibernation - but that's not true. She is very much alive and watches her country carefully, but she does not interfere except to lend her power once or twice. She awaits the day she will be fully alive again.

Extras: Aside from what she told her people, there was another reason she went into "hibernation": she wanted the experiences the Demonessians would give her while the time of the gods was in its recession. She is preparing for something that even she doesn't know about, nor does she know how long it will take. She cares little for the lives of the Demonessians as they are only a part of her, but she will not allow others to kill them. She also created the original Demonese language, which is a derivative of the divine language.

Daemonesu

AKA Demoness or Daughter Demoness (deceased)

Title: Daemonesu-sume, Sume-sama, or Daughter

Age: approximately 4,600

Height: 5'10"

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Auburn

Information: Daughter was "born" the day Mother fully went into hibernation. She was created in an image that Mother believed to be pleasing to the Demonessians - half-Shuzoku and half-Cine - and left to rule without any experience or direction. For many years, this was fine - the Demonessians lived in naive bliss - but then Tiernan showed up and ruined it all.

Tiernan wooed Daughter, married her, and sired Shadowfox. After many years, Daughter finally trusted him enough to give him power over the Demonessians, and he immediately tried to kill her and her people. With the combined efforts of Mother and Shadowfox, Daughter was able to save her people, but it affected her deeply. She married a priest and had a half-mortal daughter to continue her rule. She also set up the High Guard and the Council of Twelve, as well as most of the old traditions, before setting off into the Catacombs.

She created the Palace of the Dead and retired there, shutting out everything from the world except prayers. She intervened fewer times than her mother and only when she had to - namely, the expulsion of the Romans and the Civil War. She also cursed Hikari to an immortal life, which eventually led to her own death when her life force was completely expended and she was replaced by Jia Li.

Extras: For some strange reason, Daughter chose to speak in archaic Demonese, which was in style around the Daemonesu-Fenwick Wars, and this was probably due to loneliness and half-insanity. She was a second generation goddess, but a grossly underpowered one. She is dead, though her memories and power, which reside in Jia Li, are not.

Jia Li

AKA Daemonesu (Demoness) and "Ji-ji" (ex-deceased)

Title: Daemonesu-sume, Sume-sama, or Daughter, and Empress (formerly)

Age: 20

Height: 5'10"

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Black

Information: This would be what Jia Li loves to look like. Black leather and all its glory. You can't see it in this picture, but she's got some long ears (think like a cross between a real elf's ears and those in anime). At least her skin is the right shade of gold.

Jia Li's problems started simply: her father, Ashram, was madly in love with his wife. Unfortunately, she was too sickly to bear children and died in childbirth early on in her and Ashram's happy life. Jia Li's father never really recovered and blamed Jia Li for many years afterward.

Consequently, Jia Li was raised mainly by the Church, who wanted her to be a weak and controllable Empress, but it didn't work out that way. First of all, she was an agnostic. Secondly, she refused to do anything her father would approve of because she hated him nearly as much as he seemed to hate her.

At age 13, she gained a permanent companion in Xel Nedia, her High Guard. At age 18, Jia Li officially became the Empress and her father, High Priest Ashram, stepped down from the throne. Things were pretty quiet in Daemonesu until the Great Nations War, but it got Jia Li to finally admit that she loves Xel. They were married - though not without repercussions - and lived a short but happy life with him afterward.

That is until Hikari decided to make her life a living hell. After Xel died, Jia Li demanded that he be brought back to life. Daughter accepted, realizing that she couldn't argue with the Empress, and granted her request, but consequently, Jia Li was to die after she gave birth to her heir and take Daughter's place. Exactly four months later, she died in childbirth (as she was already pregnant at the time of the agreement), much to the surprise of everyone, and left behind a son and daughter: Kieran and Elisa.

Immediately afterward, Xel committed assisted suicide and joined Jia Li in the Palace of the Dead, thereby fulfilling a prophecy that foretold their replacing of Daughter. After their deaths, they continued to fulfill the prophecy by producing twin avatars for Leilani and Du Isa.

Extras: Jia Li is the only Empress to take a real name. Jia Li is also half of Xel's soul, which is another part of the prophecy. She is technically dead, though she still has a physical body to use as an avatar when she chooses. She also has all the power a second generation goddess should have when combined with Xel's power.

Xel

AKA Xel Nedia (formerly, ex-deceased)

Titles: Daemonesu-kume, Kume-sama, or Consort to Daughter, and (formerly:) Emperor, High Guard, High Priest, and Advisor

Age: 20

Height: 6'2"

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: Naturally, it's black, but he still bleaches it.

Information: Xel somehow managed to always be at Jia Li's side, even as a child, and he is probably the only reason she managed to stay sane growing up.

His father was the High Guard Ikarin and his mother was the Handmaid Briana, but that really doesn't matter since Xel was raised by the High Guardsmen. At an early age, he showed great talent, and he took the most shifts guarding Jia Li, illustrating his loyalty. Between shifts, he trained diligently and the effort paid off when he became the High Guard at 13.

Besides the self-defense and martial arts training, he is actually quite intelligent as he was the only one to actually pay attention during Jia Li's tutoring sessions. He was also the Supreme Commander of the Military in all but title because of his superior skills.

After Jia Li finally admitted her love for him, Xel started studying to become a priest so that he could legally marry her, and he finished his priest training rather quickly; he already had been to Church enough to know the bible well enough and the martial arts the priests use to bypass a large part of the training. The Council of Twelve didn't like him becoming a priest, but Ashram ordained him anyway before Ashram was executed by Hikari and the Council.

Unfortunately, Xel was too devoted to his wife and when she died, he couldn't bear to go on living without her. He challenged Shadowfox to a duel to the death and lost, in my opinion, on purpose. He later joined her in the Palace of the Dead, again her Emperor and guardian, and fulfilled the prophecy.

Extras: Xel carries the fourth copy of the High Guard katana, which was burned with him on his funeral pyre and reclaimed just before the flames could damage it. He also owned the third, but he gave it to Mei Ling for saving his life. Xel is also half of Jia Li's soul, which is another part of the prophecy. He is technically dead, though he still has a physical body to use as an avatar when he chooses. He also has all the power a second generation god should have when combined with Jia Li's power.

Shadowfox

AKA Tania, Vultania, the Dark Fox, and "Fox"

Titles: Goddess of the Dead and First High Guard

Age: Approximately 4,600, but younger than Daughter

Height: 5'10"

Eyes: Green

Hair: Red

Information: Aside from her curly hair being plastered down from sweat, Shadowfox looks about as I remember her, though she changed the uniform later.

Shadowfox is a third generation goddess born of Daughter and Tiernan. She lived happily with them for many years until Daughter granted Tiernan power over the Demonessians and he decided to complete his plans to absorb the goddesses called Daemonesu. After he attacked her mother, Shadowfox fought Tiernan and eventually defeated him with Mother's help by sealing him in a jade stone.

Immediately after the battle, Shadowfox returned to the battlefield to discover her friend Kylara dead and another friend, Brann, about to commit suicide, so she stopped him by taking his life. Unfortunately, Roarke, an unrequited love, saw her slay his wife and brother and attacked her; she defended herself and accidentally killed him.

Shadowfox swore off relationships after that, but curiosity got the better of her, and she sought out Roarke's reincarnation. Morven, like all other Demonessians then, remembered his past life as Roarke and was understandably upset with her. He asked her to kill him. She did and also sealed the memories of the dead from that point onward.

Unfortunately, her half-sister (the reigning Empress) died while she was away, and Shadowfox blamed herself. She found a suitable replacement for High Guard, gave her another High Guard katana, and started the High Guard traditions. She left Daemonesu after that and only returned to help free Daemonesu from Roman rule.

She wandered for many years, playing Puck in some countries and honor-bound knight in others, and became more human every year. She finally returned to Daemonesu when Daughter died so that she could help protect the new Daughter until her ascension. While there, Tiernan escaped, possessed Kieran, and went on a rampage in Yggidrasil. During that time, he awoke memories in Yuri, who turned out to be the reincarnation of Roarke. At first, Yuri-Roarke was upset, still, but after talking, Shadowfox ripped out Roarke's memories from Yuri, transforming her into a new soul, so that she could live a happy life with the Magi Jared.

Shadowfox again left Daemonesu and swore to only return when Jia Li or Elisa needed her. Unfortunately, that happened sooner than she thought when the Demonessian Massacre happened. Roarke was reinserted into Yuri, and many souls were mended.

Extras: Shadowfox carries the first High Guard Katana, which can slay gods, and she has amazing skill derived from her father. She can freeze time, which is her method of teleportation, and use powerful magic, among other things. With Demonessians, she can read their souls and take their lives with a touch, and she can read the souls of others if they're dead. Her name comes from the strange birthmark of a black fox over her eye.

Leilani

Titles: Goddess of love, beauty, innocence, and music

Age: Approximately 4,600, but younger than Shadowfox

Height: 5'10"

Eyes: Green

Hair: Reddish black

Information: Leilani and her twin sister are an interesting pair. Leilani has existed for nearly as long as the other gods, but she only recently acquired an avatar when her "mother" Jia Li became pregnant and delivered her.

Leilani's essence was born from Daughter. Because of Tiernan's betrayal, Daughter lost all innocence and the compassion she had for others and those emotions, rather than being destroyed, formed a will that become the goddess of love. Though her name, which literally means "love", and her realms suggest otherwise, Leilani is not necessarily good, nor is she necessarily evil; she is technically neutral, but she usually falls into the "good" category.

The final function of Leilani is to stop her sister from prematurely awakening Mother from her slumber. The twins use mortals as pawns, though Leilani tries only to free those from Du Isa's grip.

Extras: Leilani's powers include the ability to read or control the emotions of others, but she cannot create what is not already there, however small it may be. She also controls the elements of fire and earth. She is thought to be naive, which is an unfortunate side-effect of her realm, but if threatened, she can become as dangerous as any of the other goddesses. Even though she is a third generation goddess, she is able to influence Shadowfox, but only at the fay's present level of power.

Du Isa

Titles: Goddess of free will, corruption, war, and lies

Age: Approximately 4,600, but younger than Shadowfox

Height: 5'10"

Eyes: Green

Hair: Reddish black

Information: Hmm... Some things are genetic!

Du Isa, like her sister, has existed for nearly the entire Empire and only recently acquired an avatar by being "born" from Jia Li. True to the superstition that younger twins are bad luck, Du Isa is the opposite of her pure sister.

Unlike her sister, however, Du Isa is not the essence-daughter of Daughter; she's the offspring of Shadowfox as well as her half-sister. When Shadowfox was propositioned by Tiernan, she was torn between the love of her parents and the need to obey them both eventually tore her in two without her knowledge. When Du Isa split from Shadowfox, she took with her all the "bad" things the fay contained: love of war, conflict, and everything that comes with it. Unfortunately, in making the choice, Shadowfox also gave up her free will to Mother and Du Isa inherited it as one of her realms.

Du Isa started many conflicts after she was born, encouraging the conflicts between the clans, but she teamed up with the other goddesses, including Leilani, when they repelled the Romans. She also encouraged the initial conflicts between Daemonesu and its colony until full-blown war broke out. Unfortunately, her plan backfired and she became sealed for four centuries until the Demonessian Massacre awoke her and Jia Li gave birth.

Extras: Du Isa is the reason the tradition of killing the younger twin was started; instinctually, the Demonessians knew that she'd be born second and sought to destroy her before her avatar became powerful. She controls the memories a person holds and can influence thoughts. Her powers also extend over water, which is why water is considered evil in Demonessian society. Du Isa is considered evil, but it isn't true; she, like the rest of the pantheon, is subject to Mother's will and she only carries out her duties, which tend to be on the evil side. However, despite molesting Shadowfox, she seems to have a soft spot for her sister-mother and between attempts to control her, she has tried to help her..

Deceased:

Anne

AKA Dr. Anne (Annie) Queen (deceased) of TechGate

Titles: Leader, Tactician, and Defense Coordinator

Personality's Age: 35

Death: Vaporized by Hikari

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Blonde

Information: Anne was nearly a bigger bitch than Yuri, or at least according to her. The truth is that she was just cold and analytical - and nearly anti-social. She was authoritative, strong, and expected nothing less than perfection from everyone. When she knew something was right, it seemed that no one can stop her from doing it.

This is the opposite of Dr. Queen, her personality, who was a sweet, mousy, woman who took whatever she got from anyone. She didn't fight back and never complained, even when TechGate repeatedly placed her with Dr. Yamakawa.

There's a theory (by the other programmers) that Anne acted the way she did because she felt that she wasn't held back by the inhibitions Dr. Queen was, which was true. Being dead and all-powerful did wonders to her confidence.

Anne was the leader, defender, and tactician of the Magi, making her a very busy person. When the Magi are attacked directly, she was the first one to respond; she was to identify the threat, the best way to deal with it, and have the other Magi help her, if need be.

Extras: Dr. Anne Queen was trampled just outside her home during the riots of the Civil War. She and Anne hated Dr. Noah Yamakawa. She also had a strange glitch: occasionally, Anne didn't seem to be able to differentiate between her personality and Dr. Queen's and she'd twitch.

Andrew

AKA Dr. Andrew (Drew) Araizumi of TechGate

Title: Weapons Specialist

Personality's Age: 29

Death: Crushed to death by Hikari

Eyes: Grey

Hair: Black, naturally. To distinguish himself from the original, Andrew "dyed" his hair red.

Information: Andrew was a strange, strange AI. He was a little too over-eager to use his weapons of mass destruction, but that's mainly because out of the Magi, he had the (second) least to do.

Andrew controled the launch and guidance of all of the weapons of mass destruction (and a few of the minor ones too). Of course, Daemonesu never wants to use any of them, so Andrew's job was very boring.

Extra: In his spare time, Andrew was found gaming on the internet.

Jennifer

AKA Dr. Jennifer "Jenn" Akagi (ex-deceased) of ITC

Title: Director of Biomechanical Organisms and Former Director of Nanotechnology

Personality's Age: 23

Death: Fatal seizure brought on by controlling thousands of swarms of nannites

Eyes: Hazel

Hair: Dark Brown

Information: Dr. Akagi is the youngest of the programmers by far. She doesn't actually have a doctorate yet - she hopes to earn it working with the other programmers - so the title of "doctor" is purely honorary right now.

Jennifer's personality didn't differ from Dr. Akagi's by much, but Jennifer had aims to overthrow Anne as leader of the Magi. She got a taste of power when Anne and Andrew were being punished for their actions during the PFS Invasion and she liked it. While she didn't try to undermine Anne's power directly, it was obvious that she wanted her position, though when she became the leader, she didn't enjoy it as much as she thought she would.

Aside from the power struggle, Jennifer was quite nice - except when she had to go into overtime to deal with the nannites. Then she could become just as big a bitch as Anne.

Out of the Magi, Jennifer had the most stress, which is doubly worse because Dr. Akagi had a heart condition. How did this affect Jennifer? It didn't, at least not physically, but Jennifer's "body" reacted the same way Dr. Akagi's did, which usually means stress has to be shifted away from her until she can "catch her breath". This is also why she died. Her heart gave out from the stress.

Extra: Dr. Akagi died of heart failure during the Civil War and since she was an ethnic Demonessian, she was resurrected and transformed by Daughter. She's under careful watch by several doctors assigned to her by Empress Jia Li herself.

Jared

AKA Dr. Jared Kanzaka of InGen, Jared Katsuragi, and Jared Kobannaiha

Title: Defender of Land and Air

Personality's Age: 28

Death: Burned to death by Hikari

Eyes: Black/Blue

Hair: Black/Dark Brown

Information: Dr. Jared Kanzaka - not to be confused with the High Guardsman - is the second youngest of the programmers and probably the only personality to be transferred at 100%. He was also the most "sane" out of the Magi and the most stable, though there were doubts as to how stable he'd remain after his marrying of Yuri Katsuragi.

Jared was in charge of the army and air force, which really wasn't that hard, even with the updates. Officially, he was in charge of the land and air defenses, but he also passed on orders to from Anne and the Supreme Commander of Land and Air Kobannaiha. He also controlled the anti-aircraft stuff.

Extras: Jared had a nannite avatar built out of dome nannites, which gave him the full range of senses and made him appear nearly real, but when the design flaw in the nannites was discovered, it was scrapped. The nannite avatar was replaced by an android who appears more or less real and is more than capable of defending Yuri Katsuragi or anyone he happens to be with. If you'll notice, his avatar looks a bit like the actor Jason Isaacs; Jared and Yuri picked him as a model for the android avatar, though the finished product looks a bit more Demonessian and less conspicuous. It's also reportedly fully functional. His image usually was of the avatar as well. Now that Jared is dead, the avatar has been burned, as with custom.

Kamron

AKA Dr. Kamron Shepard (deceased) of ITC

Title: Defender of Sea

Personality's Age: 37

Death: Drowned by Hikari

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Dark Brown

Information: Dr. Shepard was the second oldest of the programmers, just slightly younger than Dr. Noah Yamakawa. He was a quiet man and a quiet AI. He retained much of the personality of the original and was definitely one of the more successful personality transfers.

Kamron hardly ever talked and it was usually only when he has something insightful to say. His job was quite easy in comparison to most of the other Magi. Like Jared, his job was to process whatever information Jennifer gave him about the nano dome over Daemonesu's ocean and beaches and to tag anything that passed through it. He was capable of directly controlling the navy by up-linking to the ships' onboard computers. However, his primary function was to control the biomechanical squids the navy employs to attack enemy ships.

You could also consider trying to mediate between various members of the Magi his job as well.

Extra: Dr. Shepard was shot by friendly fire outside his home while he was trying to help a neighbor to safety.

Sachiko Ivanova

Title: Supreme Commander of Sea

Age: 36

Height: 6'

Death: Cracked skull open when the Mother's Pride was sinking

Eyes: Blue-green

Hair: Brown

Information: Sachiko is not a true Demonessian by birth. Her mother was an American immigrant and her father was a natural born citizen of Daemonesu.

She grew up near Kimera's orphanage and they became friends at an early age, which is why they worked together so well. She enlisted at age 14, a true oddity, but she easily made up for the lost year and ever overcompensated, overtaking Kimera in rank early on.

Her skills with naval warfare were instrumental during the Civil War in the confusing fight against friendlies. At that time, her she was the captain of her own little fleet, but her ship was destroyed. For bravery, tactics, and outstanding performance under pressure, she was given command of the Mother's Pride, Daemonesu's only aircraft carrier and her flagship. She was also appointed Supreme Commander of Sea after a recommendation from her friend Kimera, with which whom she had a friendly rivalry.

She shared the same rank as the Magi Kamron and reported to Commander Arawn and the Regent. Her rank was equal to Kimera's as well.

Arilyn Moonflower

AKA Arilyn Isilótë

Title: Imperial Handmaid

Age: Even I don't know, but she's older than the Empire

Height: 6'6"

Death: Shot in the head by Yuri Katsuragi

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Black

Information: Arilyn's story begins long ago with a romance with a mortal man. Her father would not allow the marriage, as they were leaving this realm, and made her choose between him and her family - and she chose him, forsaking her family and everyone she knew. Unfortunately, her fiancé was called away to battle the week before their wedding and was killed.

After that, she wandered the world for centuries, never staying in one place for too long, and eventually ended up in Elvenwood. She settled in there, content for a while to be with other elves.

After Nerran IV attempted a coup against Jia Li, she placed an ad for Handmaids and Arilyn replied. She became very loyal to Jia Li because of her openness and trusting nature and quickly became Jia Li's most trusted Handmaid, nearly never leaving her side. Before Jia Li's death, she promised to watch over the royal family as long as Arilyn lived, and she did until her own death.

Extras: She was one of the few armed Handmaids. She carried an enchanted short sword, which will only let her wield it. Since her lover's death, she's been cold, but she reconsidered her ban on relationships and lifted it to get involved with Carl Houde. Unfortunately, he was killed the next morning, but a god named Gareth told her that Carl had been her dead lover and gave her a pin to help her find him. She left the Demonessian soul pool and became reincarnated as a Houdian. She still has the sword and the pin.

Hikari

AKA "The Light That Brings Darkness" and Vulare (deceased)

Title: High Priestess

Age: 21

Height: 5'10"

Death: Slain by Shadowfox

Eye Color: Green, but her right eye has a gold ring around the pupil

Hair Color: Black

Information: Hikari was born the younger "identical" twin of Jia Li. She was identical to Jia Li in all but two ways. The first difference is that she had a ring of gold around her right eye that looks like light - hence her name "Hikari", which means light in Japanese - but most importantly, her ears didn't look like those of the true Empress. Instead, she had malformed but definitely elf-like ears (Jia Li's were longer when she was fully human), and this is what saved her. The malformed ears confused the priests enough that they weren't one hundred percent sure Jia Li was the rightful heir of the throne. They spared Hikari and instead put her into hiding in the Cathedral. So secret was her existence that even her father did not know about her.

The Council of Twelve made sure she became a priestess, and at first, they didn't give her any special treatment. However, as time went by, it became apparent that she was a very devoted and skill priestess, and she caught the eyes of more than one Council Member.

Unfortunately, she also grew up hearing a lot about her sister and her accomplishments and though she never met Jia Li in person, she developed a major case of sibling rivalry. It only grew worse as Hikari gained in rank as Jia Li began to rebel. When Jia Li took the throne, the Council immediately started training Hikari as a candidate for Council membership, which included learning the best of Daedoo and what little magic the priests knew.

Then the Civil War started, the priests attempted a coup with Hikari as the "rightful heir." When their plan backfired, she fled to Polynesian Free States, and that eventually turned really bad. During PFS' invasion, Daughter Daemonesu chided her for betraying the Empress and her country in several ways. As punishment, Daughter did a stupid thing: she cursed Hikari to walk the Earth "for time eternal" so that she would see the coming of Mother Daemonesu and despair. Well, that backfired too, but on Daughter. Hikari decided that she wanted revenge for an unfair trial and sentencing, so she would take it out on Jia Li and get back at Daughter through her.

Hikari swore that she would take down the Empire and she succeeded in killing both Jia Li and Xel. After Jia Li was resurrected by Daughter, she punished Hikari in the very same way Zeus punished Prometheus. Eventually, however, Xel let her go, figuring that she'd suffered enough, and she was exiled.

However, Xel later tracked her down, blaming her for Jia Li's second (and permanent death) as she was technically the cause of the whole situation. Shadowfox took her into custody and sealed her soul into a jade stone, which she carried on her person until Mother took it from her. Jia Li reincarnated Hikari, giving her a new form, and ordered her to kill the Magi if she wanted to become Demonessian again.

Hikari stole the power Jia Li had given Nemesis, a cheetah guardian/watchdog, and went power-mad, but she still carried out her orders. She killed over half the population of Daemonesu, and she was slain for the final time in Sacred Rock. Jia Li pardoned her, as everything she'd done was a part of her destiny and nothing she could help, and Hikari was welcomed home.

Extras: If one checks her DNA against Jia Li's, it surprisingly does not match exactly. Her identical appearance is a fluke, and a geneticist would find that Jia Li has several DNA chains that Hikari (and any other Demonessian) do not have.

Bette

AKA Bobette Kobannaiha (designation in public records)

Title: Lt. Colonel (retired)

Age: 2

Height: 6'2"

Death: First death was by being severed from her connection to Shub-Niggurath. Second death was saving the pantheon from Shub-Niggurath.

Eyes: Golden at rest, as with all dragonman GELFs. She has no pupils, and when she has any sort of emotion, they shift colors.

Hair: Black

Information: Bette was one of the only generation of dragonmen in Daemonesu. She was created to be a warrior, trained as one, and then served in the Demonessian military. Training, which consisted mainly of learning the official languages and martial arts, didn't take long.

Dragonmen, as a general rule, are to fly patrols over our borders, transport people, and rain flaming death on enemy soldiers. Bette, surprisingly, was merely second-in-command of her squad, though she was just as competent as Bob, her superior - she just tended to fail more dramatically. However, she's been promoted and is the head of whatever squad is given to her if she chooses to command in Daemonesu.

Bette and her squad were sent to pick up Lord President Arawn after he sent a telepathic distress call to Empress Jia Li. He needed help freeing himself from a certain dark god called Shadowlord; she and he hit it off as soon as they met. After a nice battle in which part of the Cathedral got destroyed, Bette and her new (and permanent) lover, Arawn, shared her soul in order to keep Arawn alive.

When Arawn left Daemonesu, Bette went with him, and that turned out to be a mistake. Arawn turned out to be an Elder God and in order to stay with him forever, they made a deal with Shub-Niggurath to make her immortal, but it also got her kicked out of the Demonessian soul pool. Bette unfortunately died before she was made immortal.

Later, she was resurrected by Shub-Niggurath in a different form. She was saddened by the loss of her country, but glad to be with Arawn once again. However, Arawn was plagued with guilt and devised a way for her to become Demonessian again. He let Jia Li and Xel overhear Shub-Niggurath's plans to go after the Demonessian pantheon. Immediately afterwards, Bette attacked the goddess and died.

Extras: Bette had a reputation as a bit of a slut, but that changed after she found Arawn. She shared her soul with Arawn, and they were engaged. "Bobette" and "Bob" were the result of the deranged mind of Dr. Lewis Dodgeson, the geneticist who created them. Bette had the option of being fully resurrected, as an adult, but she turned it down, instead choosing to be destroyed so that she could never bring pain to Arawn again.

Last Updated 08.29.03