Devils
"The flame did not damn us. The world did." -Valek Runeskarn, Exile of the Cinderfront
The Devils are not children of Gaiatia, but pilgrims, and exiles, from a realm far crueler if one could believe it. The Hells, a place where fire shapes the sky and conquest is etched into the stone. For untold centuries, their kind knew only endless, brutal war. Then came Vile, a warlord with a general’s mind and a god’s ambition. In mere decades, he did what had never been done: united them. Beneath his banner, blackened bone and seared steel, they became something terrible. Not a horde, but a legion. Disciplined, relentless, and sharpened by strange magicks and infernal warcraft unknown to the surface world. They did not seek out the Folklands. They were led there, driven by prophecy, compulsion, and the promises of the goddess Xaethra. In their wake came fire and silence, cities razed, armies shattered. But victory was not Vile’s true goal. His final act was not triumph, it was betrayal. He sacrificed his armies to strike at Xaethra herself, igniting The Fall and dooming the world. The portals burst open not for glory, but for vengeance. And in the smoldering aftermath, the people of Gaiatia rose not to rebuild, but to punish. Devils were slaughtered indiscriminately, soldiers and innocents alike, until their ashes outnumbered their names. Now, centuries later, the Devils remain a haunted people. Once forged for glory, now scattered in exile, they dwell in broken enclaves across the scorched steppes of the Hells and the ruins of fallen cities. Their culture, once marked by ceremony, discipline, and enduring memory, splinters into war-clans, survivalist cabals, and bitter remnants. Hated for the sins of their forebear, watched with suspicion in every land, they live beneath a burden no repentance can lift. They are not defined by their origin, nor their defeat, but by a punishment that will not end. For the flame does not forget. And neither does the world.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
- Azara.
- Cindreth.
- Valmira.
- Drossa.
- Kethra.
Masculine names
- Vorun.
- Skarn.
- Rakel.
- Dravon.
- Malreth.
Unisex names
- Inva.
- Tharn.
- Vekka.
- Lioras.
- Brael.
Family names
Once glorious house names are now worn with shame, altered by history and infamy. Some families still hold to their ancestral lines, others adopt new titles based on clan, deed, or disgrace. Examples:
- Emberthrone.
- Of the Twelfth March.
- Ruinborn.
- Scion of Ash.
- Flamefallen.
Other names
Ashbloods (colloquial), Hornskull (slur), Demon (slur, colloquial) Brandborn (reference to Vile’s rune-marked legions), Cinders (common Gaiatian shorthand), Helltouched (formal, but outdated).
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Devils speak Infernic, a fluid tongue of battlefield shouts and ceremonial litanies. It is often paired with hand-signs for tactical precision. Common idioms:
- "Ash knows its father." (Legacy never lies).
- "War remembers." (Nothing is truly forgiven).
- "The chain snaps loudest before it breaks." (Warning of rebellion or collapse).
Culture and cultural heritage
Devils once prided themselves on military discipline, legacy warfare, and civic structure amid chaos. Vile’s unification forged common rituals, oaths spoken in fire, ceremonial runes burnt into skin, and war songs as holy recitations. Now, post-Fall, their culture is splintered. Clans rule in isolated craters or on scorched steppes, each a faded echo of their former glory. Their old conquests are remembered less as victories and more as warnings.
Shared customary codes and values
- Never kneel without purpose.
- War is sacred, waste is blasphemy.
- Forgive not the enemy, but remember them.
- Vile is not spoken of unless mourning or cursing.
Average technological level
Pre-Fall devil society possessed clockwork war machines, heat-forged armor, and magick-infused siege engines. Much has been lost, but remnants remain, some scavenged by Gaiatians, others hoarded or entombed in vaults beneath scorched cities.
Common Etiquette rules
- Speak only once when asked a question.
- Baring one’s horns is a gesture of honesty.
- Do not eat in sight of an elder without offering them the first bite.
- Refusing to duel when challenged brings dishonor.
Common Dress code
Functional armor and flame-resistant fabrics dominate Devil attire. Hellsilk, ash-weave, and brimstone leathers are popular. Colors of soot, ember, and coal are favored, though elite castes still wear radiant crimson or scorched gold as symbols of rank.
Art & Architecture
Devil architecture is symmetrical, formidable, and pragmatic, built to endure siege and entropy. Fortresses are carved into cooled magma flows, lit by captured starfire or rune lanterns. Art is bold and emotional, battle murals, scarred statues, and etched histories often mingled with magick to replay deeds of glory… or warning.
Foods & Cuisine
Devils consume what survives the flame, charred meats, fermented roots, and emberspiced stews. Nutrient slurry is common among lower castes, while nobles partake in elaborate “feasts of ashes,” symbolic meals with illusionary flavor and magickal substance.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
- The Rune Reckoning: Annual burning of Vile’s rune marks by those who wish to sever his memory.
- Bloodmarch: A coming-of-age trial where youth must traverse cursed terrain with only fire and grit.
- The Ash Silence: Communal mourning ritual, no words spoken for a full day, only the hum of battle hymns.
- Hornblessing: During courtship, devil couples paint each other’s horns in patterns representing family, fear, and favor.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
Newborn Devils are presented before a Flame-Eye, a ceremonial brazier shaped like an open eye, said to represent both Xaethra’s lingering memory and the ever-watching judgment of history. The child’s tusks or horns (if present) are anointed with ember-oil, and a shallow brand is seared into their back or palm with their chosen name in Infernal Script, symbolizing both burden and permanence. In many surviving clans, the child is also wrapped in ashcloth woven with the sigils of three ancestors, offering a tether to both past and legacy.
Coming of Age Rites
At the age of sixteen, a Devil undergoes the Trial of the Ember Gate, a solo journey into one of the many scorched dead-zones left behind by Gaiatia's retaliation, known as Ashlands. There, they must retrieve an object of symbolic importance: a weapon lost in a past war, a page from a burned ledger, a melted emblem of rank. Upon return, the Devil is granted their first Fang-Ring, a loop of scorched iron worn in the ear, nose, or brow, depending on the region. The rite is less about physical strength and more about survival, remembrance, and the ability to carry history without being broken by it.
Funerary and Memorial customs
Devil dead are never buried. Their bodies are cremated in the Oathfire, with loved ones casting scrolls of remembered oaths, failed promises, and deeds fulfilled into the flames. Ashes are placed in obsidian urns etched with the deceased’s sigil and their final spoken word, then housed in vast fire-vaults or sealed in stone cairns at battlefields. Some are forged into blade pommels, spearheads, or even war drums, to be carried so their fury might echo through future generations.
Common Taboos
- Speaking Vile’s Name outside of ritual or historical recitation is seen as a provocation of fate.
- Forging with stolen ash (the remains of a Devil who has not been properly cremated) is an unforgivable crime.
- Wearing the Fang-Ring of another, even a family member, is seen as soul-thievery.
- Mocking the Lost March, the name for the day Vile sacrificed his legions, is grounds for exile or blood-duel.
- Showing the inside of one’s mouth during a war cry is considered a curse upon one's kin, it symbolizes an oath you intend to break.
Common Myths and Legends
- The Crimson Betrayer A tragic warrior who removed his Fang-Rings to forge chains and lead his people back to Gaiatia in peace… only to be flayed alive as a traitor by both sides.
- The Silent Brand A tale of a Devil too young to fight, who engraved the names of fallen soldiers on his skin. He grew older, and the skin vanished beneath ink. They say his descendants carry memory in their bones.
- The Forge of Regret A legendary hammer said to have been made from the melted war banners of Vile’s generals. It can only strike once per moon but always finds the weakest part of armor, or soul.
- The Hundred Names of Vile A whispered poem said to unlock forgotten powers, but anyone who speaks it in full is consumed by their own shadow.
Historical figures
- Vile, the Branded General Architect of the Hellish War, conqueror of the Hells, and the being most responsible for The Fall. His name is taboo, his legacy fragmented, some call him liberator, most curse his memory.
- General Drossa of the Scorched Banner One of the few Devils to refuse Vile’s final order and survive. Her faction led thousands to safety during the Fall’s end and now governs one of the few stable Devil enclaves.
- Skarn Emberjaw A Devil blacksmith whose weapons were so precise they were said to “cut the sins out of a man.” Killed in the post-Schism purges.
- Valmira the Hollow-Eyed An oracle who foresaw the sacrifice of the Devil legions. Silenced by her own court before she could warn them, she later became a symbol of those who questioned Vile, and paid the price.
- Rakel of the Last Host The Devil commander who held the last open portal against a Gaiatian counter-offensive long enough for over 3,000 civilians to flee. Rumored to still live in exile, burned but unbroken.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Devils value form shaped by fire, soot-streaked skin, horn carvings, battle scars, and brands worn as marks of survival. Jewelry is often forged from salvaged weaponry or ancestral steel.
Gender Ideals
Gender roles are largely tactical. Who leads depends not on gender but on victory, wisdom, and loyalty. The strongest lead. The wisest guide. The others endure.
Courtship Ideals
Courtship is intense and practical, marked by sparring, blood-vows, and offerings of strength or strategy. To win a mate is to earn their loyalty through cunning and shared hardship.
Relationship Ideals
Partnerships are seen as mutual pacts. Monogamy is common, but poly-unions exist in larger clans. Love, when it exists, is expressed in sacrifice and survival, not sentiment.
Interesting Facts & Folklore:
Idioms and Metaphors:
- Many devils paint over their rune scars, but some still glow faintly in moonlight.
- It’s said Vile’s final breath still burns in the deepest trenches of the Hells.
- Devil children are told that Vile’s whisper rides the wind, and to never dream with your mouth open.
- The oldest devil clans still perform rites in languages no longer spoken, inherited from dead planets long since forgotten.
- “He dreams of the First Flame.” (Someone who seeks power they’ll never control).
- “The horns curl inward.” (One who hides their shame poorly).
- “She burned the pact and the page.” (Someone who abandoned all duty).
- “Ash walks backward.” (A legacy you cannot outrun).
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