TheMyriadOfShades/Nedian

Nedian, the Unknown Dark

Demon of the 2nd Circle, The Defining Soul of That Which Calls To the Shadows</b>

Nedian's true shape is that of Erembour's true shadow-- when he is off on his own, either by some private whim or by sorcerous command, Erembour is left to effortlessly craft a more mundane shadow for herself. If Nedian were to be destroyed, Erembour would temporarily be without a real shadow and would lose her command over the creatures of the night (and, in Malfeas, the monsters that lurk in the Ebon Dragon's Shadow) until she regenerated him. This takes a lunar month in Creation, a week in Malfeas, and a single night if she can summon Aluveia to her side and set her to the task of remaking Nedian.

Nedian can take the shape of any of the creatures of the night, but is more often a formless, shifting shadow. He has no human shape, as his was the love of the dark beyond human settlements, from whence spring the things that haunt men in the darkness. The creatures of the underways beneath the world do homage to him, for his darkness is that of things beyond the influence of both men and gods.

Nedian cannot materialize feely. He is quite permanently dematerialized during the daytime in both Creation and Malfeans (this being most of the time in Malfeas) unless he is acting as Erembour's shadow at the time, in which case he is as material as she is at any given moment. At night (or in Malfeas when the shadow of the Ebon Dragon crosses Ligier's face), away from Erembour, he is also instantly dematerialized when caught in the light of the iconic anima of a Solar Exalted.

Nedian can control the inner fears and passions of men, the things they dare not reveal during the day and struggle with in their dreams. Nedian can extinguish any mundane light source during the night-time, for there was a time before men built fires to keep back the dark and that time was his. In his animal forms, he is mankind's collective nightmare vision of that animal, rivaling the Animal Avatars of the creatures of the night (who hate him with a passion) in power, though he has no especial sway over such animals.

It is theroized by many savants that Nedian is the cause of the darkness in the Tomb of Night. They are wrong-- Nedian is currently bound to protect a library of Solar lore at the top of an abandoned yet still-standing glass tower in Chiraocscuro, in one of the ghost-haunted districts-- his First Circle spawn drive scavengers insane by turning their inner passions against them. He has been stuck in this assignment since the Usurpation (to Erembour's great consternation-- she would pay handsomely to have him returned to her side, as he plays some part in the plans she lays in response to the Ebon Dragon's recent actions), but he is only bound to protect the library against scavengers, pillagers, and others who seek to steal the knowledge in the library. A Solar who could convince Nedian that the tomes within are his rightful property could free Nedian from his task. It is likely that Nedian would ask some favor in exchange for abandoning his post, however, for he is among the souls of the souls of the Ebon Dragon and thus forever schemes to weaken Creation to allow his masters escape from their prison. The most likely oath Nedian would require from Solars seeking access to the library (which contains many First Age documents, training manuals for many Solar Charms, many spells of the first 2 Circles, and enough research material to learn both Terrestrial and Celestial Circle Sorcery from) would be to distrust and persecute the Sidereal Exalted whenever the opportunity arose.

Comments

Perfect. Very few custom demons feel as natural as this one. - Raindoll