The Nature of Evil

The Queen of Hell

The Dark Queen's origins are somewhat disputed. Some say she was formed of the God's afterbirth. Others say that, when Saromata stood for the first time in the light of the sun, her divine shadow was formed for the first time - and was evil. A few believe she's somehow tied to Fortuna, who's appearance in the pantheon isn't really well-explained, either. The myths do agree: while Saromata may have/must have created the Dark Queen, it was an accidental or incidental thing. The Goddess certainly has her dark Aspects, but the Queen of Hell is just evil.

The Dark Queen is thought to live in a cold, wild, dark place, away beyond the farthest stars. She is surrounded there by her demons and the souls she has managed to steal away from Saromata. This is no mean feat - souls are meant to reincarnate, not languish in either a heaven or a hell.

Why Does She Do It?

She's an evil goddess. It's her nature. Unlike mortals, who can sometimes trace their mental abberations to poor childhood experiences, the Dark Queen was evil from her creation onwards.

Is She Unconquerable and Irredeemable?

Sages believe that if women and men can ever truly drive evil from their souls, the Dark Queen may be redeemed. So in other words, she's nigh invulnerable.

Is She Worshipped?

Individuals may turn to the Dark Queen or her minions for aid, but such worship is strictly forbidden in Saromatia. There is no known organized church of the Queen of Hell, nor any temples. There have, over the years, been the occassional cults. Most are small affairs, being perhaps twenty or so women and/or men. One serious challenger to a past queen forced all of her people to worship the Dark Queen to augment her own powers. This was possibly the largest number of people to worship her at any one time.

Not More Demons! What's Up with Them?

The Queen of Hell must remain in her realm of air and darkness. To tempt mortals to her worship, she sends out demons, who generally take the forms of humans while on earth. Demon-summoning is quite easy - the demons want to be summoned, after all. But knowledge of it is very much suppressed wherever it is found by the more orthodox Church of Saromata. More rare and arcane rites are said to be able to summon demons without risk to the summoner. Whether these fabled rituals exist - or if demons just want you to believe they exist - is an open question.

Demons can do great things for you. They can get other people to fall in love with you, aid you in tracking down your enemies, increase your prominence at court, destroy things (within certain limits; see below), and perform some magical spells. The catch is that you then owe the demon a favor in return, and the demon has ways of making you pay. If the demon did something really spectacular for you, it may be your soul that she comes looking for. Otherwise, it might just be evil acts for you to perform for the benefit and amusement of the Dark Queen.

Demons can't kill people for you (although, in certain circumstances, they may kill you). They generally can't touch holy items, enter holy places, or be touched by holy people (i.e., those with the True Faith advantage). Indeed, someone with True Faith can attempt to force the demon to return to its mistress via a Quick Contest of Will.

Demons, by the way, don't have to be summoned. Sometimes, they show up on their own (perhaps sent by their queen to tempt a certain person or persons).

Are There Going to Be Demons All Over The Place? We Had Enough Demons in The Last Game!

There should not be demons all over the place, although they do prefer to tempt those in high places, or those in dire straights (like adventurers tend to get). Demons don't typically hang around for long periods of time (although you can summon the same demon repeatedly) - demonic advisors or consorts are not part of the legends of this land.

According to various legends and myths, the typical demonic MO is to assume a pleasing or apparently trustworthy human form. (While they can wear a priestess's robes, they will never carry a holy symbol or be able to speak a blessing). And they'll offer you your heart's desire. If you accept, the demon has a "hold" over you and can compel you to do something it wants at a later time.

The best defense against demons is just to remember: If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is!

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