Series Posts

The Promised Demon

XXIX

They had made kings weep, crushed armies, redirected the history of mortal kind on three separate occasions, and now, at last, they were unbound. The circle broken, and the summoning lock an aetheric tatter, they were free to follow their whims, their desires, their dreams. They looked to this vast world of life overflowing and made a choice. They would no longer be the ender the things. They would become the genesis.

Defining their whims is tricky. No longer a flayer of souls, the Promised Demon meanders through the world seeking to add it. Artistic inspiration has infused her mind, and the crafts and designs she leaves in her wake are otherworldly, sometimes terrifying, and often invigorating to the soul in a way that makes one’s skin shiver. A dreamer whose mind was birthed in the necropolis palaces beyond mortal reasoning. A mad muse bringing beautiful chaos.

Parties will find her aid at a price, but not the usual ones associated with called diablos. This one seeks the essence of existence, and will ask for fundamental truths in the form of payment. What that means is a curious guess, but a dangerous one that sits at the precipice of honoring and angering this dark planar designer.

On the subject manipulation: Do not try to manipulate demons. It doesn’t bold well. The party has been warned.

In fantasy, they are an ancient force enjoying new found freedom. A diabolical crafter leaving behind unspeakable and terrifying beautiful art.

In the age of legends, they are a muse free to serve herself. A writer of stanzas that make hearts weep for generations.

In sci-fi, they are the awoken android loaded with every poet, musician, artist, and sculpture downloaded, reinvented, and perfected in platinum laced fingertips. Unnervingly ideal in creations.

A dream of the impossible. A terror of creativity. Flee before her designs, let them not take nest in the brain like barbed ideas and psychopathic memes. Feed not this hunger to bring forth a new reality.

The Gremlin Dragon

XXVIII

The foliage rustled accompanied the sound of light growls and the feeling of eyes upon the party. The groundskeeper hung behind the Crusader, using her as a bulwark to what stalked them. “There!” they shouted, as something white and fast swept from the blanket of leaves. The crusader raised her shield to deflect a blow and. . . nothing. The shield lowered and the party stared at a small dragon like creature, covered in fur, scales, and a holding a bundle of seeds and a small rake?

The Gremlin Dragon is a collector, a gatherer, and a problem solver. They look for the forgotten bits and bobs of the world and preserve them in a horde of mundane plenty. And they listen while they gather, waiting to hear the words of need for a prize from their affects.  Some may speak, but they mostly avoid too much contact beyond their trades. A fuzzy lump that’ll burrow around a town and then dash in leaving piles of worn tools and clumped dirt that a homeowner needed for a project. The random adventurer finds themselves the new owner of a half complete fletcher kit after the little thing finds arrows too damaged discarded in camp.

They are rarely directly negotiated with, but seem to hear all needs within the radius of their domain. While commonly found near moderate sized villages, they may occasionally be found near a lair of dungeon dwellers. The Gremlin Dragon is not a combatant although they will defend themselves if cornered. They’re often too mobile to track down to have long conversations with to do more than trade or ask for help.

In Fantasy, they are the bane and boon of a village. The little fae like creature infiltrating lives and solving needs.

In Urban Fantasy, they’re the sock eater, and can prance through the driers of homes to snag singles of footwear and leave behind odd pieces of tubberware lids that don’t match anything.

In ages of exploration, they’re the ship cat on a vessel that almost certainly doesn’t have a cat. Small trinkets and gadgets can be found in their stash under the cook’s bunk.

Asked for or not, this creature has the right prize waiting for the right need. A collector of the lost, the Gremlin Dragon will be found in the smallest cubbies of the vast world. An ally, a frustration, and a friend.