Demons

Generally regarded as a bunch of pricks by the other races, the Demon Empire is nonetheless regarded as the strongest political organization on Aphrodisia. They share humanity's boundless ambition, lust for life, and steadfast determination to see themselves as THE major player on the world stage; however, each of these are magnified immensely by demon kind. Hailing from lands beyond the sea, demons are by many seen as the mirror or humanity, though the demons themselves would point out that it should be the other way around, considering who got there first.

They adore thralls and will go out of their way to collect as many as they can, measuring their personal standing in society by how many humans, dwarves, elves, wildmen, and even other demons have been bent to their will. This enthrallment, while frowned on by other races, was historically tolerated due to it always being ‘voluntary’, with the allure of the demonic life of hedonism and endless indulgence given as the reason why so many have willingly given up their freedom to serve demonic masters and mistresses. More often than not, lust magic is the real reason, though the end result is similar, as few beings can resist the sinful delights of a demon's ‘personal’ charms.

While not banned or hated by their neighbors per se, demons have a reputation for taking everything just a bit too far and angering less wild races. Demonic parties have a tendency to turn into drunken orgies, negotiations turn into brawls, and nights out on the town into drunken brawls, then orgies. This makes them very unpopular with the local residents, who end up having to clean up after the demons have run off from the scene, usually with whatever wasn’t nailed down.

The Demon Empire's power structure is similarly chaotic and hedonistic, with powerful positions being taken up, exploited, then abandoned by successions of minor nobles. This state of affairs is kept from falling into total anarchy by the Succubi and Incubi, powerful magically gifted demons whose physical appearance and physiological profile differ so greatly from their kin as to seem like an entirely different species. These are the wielders of true power in the empire and work to keep the many layered plans of the current Emperor or Empresses proceeding just as planned.

Demonic Reproduction

Unlike the other races, demons are incapable of reproducing biologically the same way as other races. In order to reproduce, demons have to gather the lustful essences from the other races at least as many as the population of the demons themselves, which as one can imagine is no easy feat. The more essences that goes into creating a demon generally equates to how much magic they will have once mature. Felatatius regularly demands his fellow demons provide an annual tribute of thralls to ensure his own children take and retain the highest positions of power. This leads to most demon offspring belonging to the most powerful of the demons, who can afford a lot of thralls and also explains why demons regularly engage in orgies with their thralls and followers--their hedonism is essentially an important part of their lives, a fact commonly misunderstood by dwarves and humans. Demons may regularly rotate their favorite servants and thralls around in bands on traveling harems, moving from one demonic palace to another.

Lust Magic

Demons lack the population to prevent an all out uprising against their subjects, so in order to capture and keep their thralls happy, demons use a powerful lust magic that acts as an addictive drug in the minds of those who fall under their spell, making them unable to satisfy their urges without the assistance, or at least approval, of a demon. Thralls are generally treated well and are sometimes “released” after seven years of service, though typically by this point, the thrall can’t imagine life without their master and choose to stay by their side in order to keep reaping the benefits of their masters.

When a human or other non-demonic race falls under the influence of lust magic, their fertility drops to almost nothing, which means the demons are constantly on the lookout for more thralls to capture. Virtually no thralls are born into captivity and the very few that do are often sent away to be raised by their own free kin or those of a similar race.

Thrall-Taking

Demons traditionally rarely outright captured a member of another race to become a thrall, preferring to arrest trespassers or troublemakers or those who fall behind on rent for their farms. This allows the other races to turn a (somewhat begrudging) blind eye to the thrall capturing, with the average peasant feeling safe enough within the boundaries of their own homes and professions.