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Naheixos, the Empty Soul, Demon of the First Circle

Progeny of the Guardian of Sleep

- by Moxiane

Outside the circles of those who make it their business to study the natures of the demonic, it is little-known that demons of all kinds do, in fact, have souls, and that the more powerful a demon is the more souls it is apt to have. This knowledge comes as little comfort to the naheixos, however, for every one of these misbegotten creatures is born without a soul, and this emptiness within them gives birth to an unending hunger for captured souls.

Their soullessness gives them their function, their purpose within the insane demon realm of Malfeas, for they are their parent’s spies. Able to creep and sneak and slither their way into all but the most secure rooms, they can learn almost any secret, and will remain undetected until their hunger drives them mad. Even the juiciest, most succulent soul will not satiate the demon for longer than nine days, and when driven mad by hunger they will neglect their duties until they have fed once more.

A newly summoned naheixos is always ravenously hungry, a tangled mess of bloodstained thorny vines, and unless the sorcerer has a sacrificial soul (and animals are not acceptable fodder) close at hand the demon will attempt to devour that of its summoner. Once fed, the demon takes on the rough shape of the soul it consumed (which then slowly degenerates over nine days), before it fades from perception, until only its summoner is aware of its existence, whereupon it can carry out the task given to it by the sorcerer.

Nature: Survivor

Attributes

Strength 4, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3, Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Appearance 1, Intelligence 3, Perception 5, Wits 3

Virtues

Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 5, Valour 3

Abilities

Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Brawl 4, Dodge 4, Endurance 2, Investigation 4, Larceny 4, Linguistics 0 (Native: Old Realm), Melee 2, Presence 1, Resistance 2, Stealth 7, Survival 4

Backgrounds

None

Charms

Camouflage, Hoodwink, Materialise, Stillness, Words of Power

Initiative: 8

Dodge Pool: 9

Soak: 4L/7B ( 3L/4B thorns)

Attacks

Lash – Speed 17, Attack 11, Damage 3L, Parry 9, Rate 4

Or as weapon

Essence: 3

Willpower: 6

Essence Pool: 75

Cost to Materialise: 39

Health Levels: -0 / -0 / -1 / -1 / -1 / -2 / -2 / -2 / -2 / -4 / Incap

Notes:

• • A hungry naheixos will use Words of Power to batter its target into unconsciousness, before proceeding to devour the soul of its target. This is an extended test requiring a number of successes equal to 10x the target’s permanent Essence – the demon uses Essence + Valour with a difficulty equal to the target’s Essence. Each roll takes a full minute, so the naheixos will usually drag its victim somewhere secluded before beginning the process. If the demon devours the soul of a Terrestrial Exalted then its permanent Essence is increased by one for a year and a day, while devouring that of a Celestial Exalted increases it by two, but inflicts dice of Aggravated damage equal to the Exalt’s Essence.
  • In human(oid) form a naheixos can hold and use weapons, albeit with only average skill. It is far better with its lash attack, which has a reach of five yards and can trip or entangle its targets much as a fighting chain can. However, use of this attack instantly reveals the demon for what it is, and so it is loath to use it.
  • The naheixos uses a slightly modified version of the Camouflage Charm – rather than lasting for the scene the effect will remain for as long as the demon keeps motes committed to the effect and it is capable of moving at a walking pace without disturbing the effect. The Charm is otherwise identical to the written version.

Comments

Moxiane, this demon is superb, fitting very closely to something I was imagining. In my case, I needed a demon that was setting wildfires in an effort to scare inhabitants into a soul-devouring trap, so I may tweak this guy JUST a bit, giving it Ignite. Perhaps its mad thirst for souls, combined with its understanding of the words that resonate with Creation is enough to allow it to strike sparks with its thorns, its all-consuming hunger given form in fire. --UncleChu

As a formality, if I read this correctly, when you summon this demon, even if you win the binding, it has to eat before it can do what you tell it. Doesn't this violate the magical and legal strictures of the surrender? Wouldn't this thing have to do what you tell it, even if starving out of its mind? My guess is that unless you feed it, the only thing it's reasonably good at is, well, killing and eating (making it a more directed alternative to a blood ape), but once satiated, it is much more able to effectively complete other tasks? -- GreenLantern

A Naheixos that has just been summoned is, quite literally, insane with hunger. It's not really possible to command it to do anything beyond, "Eat this slave that I brought alone for just that purpose" in that state, and that's purely so that it doesn't try to eat the summoner. The idea is that its hunger & need is not something that the demon has any control over - it can't not eat upon being summoned. A possible get-out would be to say that a Naheixos that is summoned without food (beyond the summoner) present simply dies, but either way... it is in the nature of the demon to eat souls, it can't go against its nature any more than a hopping puppeteer can not collect babies. - Moxiane

I think it is much like Zsofika, who must perform her dance and her ritual hunt before you can tell her what else to do. It's an essential part of their nature. On entering Creation they must devour a soul. - Kraken who makes up something that is hopefully true

Yep, that's pretty much it. In fact, I think that that was the inspiration for the Naheixos' need. - Moxiane

I just had a silly image of a large thornbush, slightly quivering upon summoning, moaning, "So... HUNGRY!" A cool ST would probably make it a wildly thrashing storm of vines and thorns, thrashing at the borders of its summoning circle, screaming words that haven't been heard since the making of Creation, deaf to all commands until it is fed. Then the vines calm, and weave themselves into a human form. Also imagining all kinds of strange mutations a Naheixos would develop when using more obvious Charms and attacks... teeth and nails becoming thorns, limbs slightly loosening without dropping their human form, revealing gaps within an otherwise human limb... --UncleChu

As long as it doesn't sing...DeathBySurfeit,wracked by memories of 'The Three Amigos'

... I hate you. Moxiane

No no, Moxiane, its cool, its nothing like the bush from Three Amigos... at all... *snicker*... At least my version won't, once the thorns are turned to flint, and every movement of the thorn vines causes sparks to light up inside its tangled mess. Then again, maybe all human forms must wear a sombrero :) --UncleChu

I was thinking 'Little shop of horrors' personally.
-- Darloth </i>wonders how to get a google-redirect looking pretty</i>

It just occurred to me that a demon who can assume the shape of its victim isn't going to be much use as an impersonator if all they can speak is Old Realm. --UncleChu