Overview
"Inferni" is a collective term for the "infernal" races of the Sunken World; demons, imps, cambions, and monstrous humanoids. Although each race has its own quirks, they all share a similar history.
Shunned from the rest of the world and ousted from their ancestral homeland into the hellish, fiery lands of the Sunken World, the Inferni are a resilient, violent people. Largely independent and self-serving, they strive for whatever wealth and power they can claim. Calak'mul is the capital city of the Inferni.
Personality
Lustful, arrogant, smarmy, devilish. These are the traits that best describe Inferni. When demons rose to power, Vandun rewarded the most deceitful, vicious, cunning, and violent of them. These demons went on to forge the foundations on Inferni society. Inferni tend to have the mannerisms and appearance of their demonic forefathers, with the ambition to please their cambion overlords -- or even the pure demons that cambions bow to.
Inferni are a ruthless group of people. They are arrogant, fierce, and self-serving. Most individuals care only for themselves. Inferni lifespans, although ranging wildly depending on the species of their parents, tend to be cut short by dangerous plots and schemes or infighting. Despite the chaos and brutality of their society, most Inferni are quite litigious due to the binding nature of demonic contracts. The value of saying what you mean and communicating effectively are pervasive in Inferni society.
Appearance
Because Inferni is a blanket term for several different infernal races, they have varying appearances.
Pure Demons: Regular humanoids from the Crescents or Isles who were gifted power by Vandun. They have horns, claws, a forked tongue, tail, hooves wings, or other demonic features.
Cambions: Offspring of a demon and a mortal. Cambions typically have very vibrant skin tones ranging from rust-red to copper-brown to ruddy red, and any hair or eye color. They typically carry a few traits from their demonic parent. A few cambions have grey or dark blue/purple skin.
Lesser Inferni: Lesser Inferni encompass anything from a half-cambion half-human, to a drider-human cross (which is exactly as grotesque as one can imagine). They range from fully monstrous humanoids to mostly-human looking creatures.
Society
Inferni society is brutal and unforgiving. It is as harsh as the lands they live in. With an every-Inferni-for-themself mindset, few things unify the Inferni.
There is a certain hopelessness that permeates Inferni society. The more demonic blood an individual has, the higher their station. Pure demons, succubi, and incubi are at the top of the Inferni hierarchy so long as they can fight to keep their place. Cunning, vicious, and scheming cambions often hold positions of immense power.
All Inferni enjoy the taste of blood. Blood is used as currency by some, but Inferni primarily bargain with each other and barter for what they need.
Demonic contracts are a way for Vandun's non-demon followers to seek guidance, acquire agents for nasty schemes, and get committed henchmen. However, after demons became scarce, regular Inferni began filling contracts. The words spoken during a demonic summoning ritual pull at the threads within an Inferni's soul very lightly. If taught to heed them, an enterprising Inferni can become a contract-fulfiller and exchange their services for blood, goods, favors, or other items of value.
Demonic contracts are also used by Inferni to make and ensure promises are kept. Contracts in the Infernal language are soulbinding and cannot be broken.
History
The Origin of Demons
Long ago, Vandun, the god of deceit, made a bargain with an elf. He granted them power in exchange for their soul. With enough souls at his command, Vandun believed he could overthrow the pantheon of gods. He made more and more bargains until he'd corrupted thousands of elves, humans, orcs, and dwarves. Each bargain imbued the mortal with a fraction of dark and twisted power. These individuals become demons in servitude to Vandun. Some grew horns, flashing eyes, thin tails that ended in spade-like shapes, wings, or even hooves. Their limbs elongated slightly and their bodies became lithe and limber. Vandun granted them all the power to turn invisible at will.
The only price? A Truename. Each mortal-made-demon in this fashion was bound by a secret name known only to Vandun. When he called it, the demon had to answer. The name was wound throughout every current of a demon's soul. It could never be removed or replaced. Today, pure demons are relatively rare as Vandun has perished. No more can be created.
The Origin of Cambions
Vandun’s demons existed for hundreds of years, procreating with mortals and other races. Half-mortal, half-demon offspring are known as cambions. Cambions inherit some traits from their demonic parent. They do not have Truenames. Curiously, cambions have very vibrant skin tones ranging from rust-red to copper-brown to ruddy red. Some even have more rock-like purple, blue, or grey tones. This is largely due to the corrupt nature of their demonic parent.
The offspring of these are known as Inferni. Calak'mul is inhabited mostly by Inferni. Cambions, succubi, incubi, and others of higher status run the city. Few “pure” demons are still left in the world after Vandun’s destruction. Other races, like lamia and driders, allied themselves with demons and also live in the city.
Cambions live approximately three times as long as their mortal parent. This creates difficulties in their society, as half-human cambions can expect to near 300 years of age while half-elven cambions could theoretically reach 3,000. Due to rampant infighting and betrayal among cambions, these theoretical lifespans are seldom reached.
Comments