Abyssal Demons
The Abyssal Demons of Stehreel are a very black race. One of five races of Hkahnihn, the Abyssal Demons were the fourth born in the beginning. They trend towards an average height of 229cm (7'6") and have massive builds for Hkahnihn. Their coloration ranges from very light and pale greys to dark pitch blacks in skin tone, they have universally black colored eyes with cores of red, and their hair ranges from blacks to blacks. They possess twin gazelle, growing backwards from their temples, and short-sized tails for Hkahnihn. Male Abyssal Demons are often the size of moving mountains, with the women being less bulky, but still large and difficult to miss.
Born with the dangerous blessing of the Blood Rage, Abyssal Demons give in to their emotions with frightening regularity. Because of the constant danger an Abyssal Demon lives under, even in their own homes, they have a tightly wound instinct nearly from the cradle.
Shown here are Uleria, a Korganna of the Ma’a’leth Tribe, and Vosh, a favored Berserker of that same Tribe. Uleria is as progressive as an Abyssal Demon gets, willing to aid Elves openly as long as it is a benefit to her pack. Vosh was a warrior sent to kill a Blood Elf Berserker before he could be anything at all, but instead fought him to a stalemate and made an erstwhile ally of the warrior.
There are no symbols or crests to denote the nine Tribes of the Abyssal Demons. They are too chaotic and shifting for that. Instead, each of the Tribes is known only by their style of scarification, a distinction known only among themselves. The nine Tribes of the Abyssal Demons are Qa’a’tem, Ya’a’chem, La’a’nex, Ba’a’mek, Ra’a’kez, Ma’a’leth, Va’a’rem, Pa’a’let, and Na’a’pel Tribes. The first three inhabit the caverns beneath the continent of Mehnihs, the next three inhabit the caves beneath Zohlohrn, the following two inhabit the caverns below Sayleen, and the final Tribe lives in the caves below Nehrahn.
A Tribe of Abyssal Demons is broken into packs, with each pack led by a Korganna. The Korgannas are knife maidens of the Tribe and bare nine sanctified blades at all times. Sometimes as young as a bare 50, Korgannas are the only ones respected in any Tribe of Abyssals. The only one that it is unacceptable to kill, and the only ones other than one’s self that it is considered acceptable to die for.
There is no social structure in an Abyssal Demon Tribe. They are chaos incarnate and refuse to be structured or bound to any strictures. They live to destroy. Like a storm or an implacable juggernaut, they will roll over anyone and anything in their way until they are dead.
The Abyssal Demons do not build. It is not in an Abyssal Demon’s nature to construct homes or cities. The Abyssal Demons do not have a need for the economy of puny races. They do not find value in insignificant things like currency. Children do not play games in Abyssal Demon Tribes. Treating war as a game is considered blasphemy. They are instead culled for imperfections and pitted against one another in lethal competition as early as thirty years of age.
The Abyssal Demons practice ritual scarification. Each of the nine blades of a Korganna is focused on a different aspect of a warrior’s ability and can be used to scar a warrior in order to increase his capabilities in combat. When an Abyssal Demon does something of note like acquiring a rank, they are awarded with a new scar. Done in patterns decipherable only to other Abyssal Demons, it is sometimes difficult for outsiders to tell which of an Abyssal Demon’s scars are deliberate and which were acquired in combat.
The Abyssal Demons of Stehreel are the only race of Hkahnihn to actively despise the Nameless. The origins and roots of that hatred are buried deep in the past, and since the Abyssal Demons do not keep records of any variety, it will likely never be known. What is known, however, is that all Clerics of the Nameless must die. Even were it not for their chaotically destructive natures, this fact would put them at odds with every other Hkahnihn race. There is a small segment of Abyssal Demons, however, who worship the Red Draken, and Kain the Inkari of Flame by proxy.
He who chooses magic as is ally is a fool. The Abyssals do not laud those that can touch their spark, nor do they often give them any respect. To an Abyssal Demon, magic is for fools and weaklings, and only the true physical warriors are worthy to battle.
The Abyssal Demons delight in their Blood Rage. Their most feared warriors are their Berserkers, and it is a class befitting their take on war. They are chaos on a battlefield, and particularly terrifying given their size, and the fact that they often take to the field of battle with nothing more than knives in their hands.
Strategy is for those who are too timid to approach battle with the boldness of a victor. Abyssal Demons do not plot, nor scheme, nor strategize a battle. They do not construct plans, nor go in with roles and goals in mind. Abyssal Demons war, and they do it with the same haphazard chaos and destruction with which they live the rest of their lives.
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