Succubus

A succubus is a demon that feeds off the sexual energy of it's prey. It is often described as a shapeshifter, taking the form of the most desireable characteristics of it's victims. It's dream form can have many attributes.

The most notable succubus in the storyline is Hagrendel, who's union with Starlight gave birth to Lun.

DESCRIPTION

The Succubi are a race of Ethereal Beings that rebelled against the primary sect and left the Divine Arcanum to prey upon mortals in the mortal realm. They operate in both the Dream Plane and the mortal realm. They are generally sexless in their feeding practice, but do take on either male or female personas when conversing with each other. It is not clear what the deciding factor of sexual identification is for the succubi.

In their raw ethereal form, Succubi are tall, humanoid creatures standing well over six feet tall, with pale, white skin, irregular colored eyes (often described as pearlescent, sheen or color-shifting), pointed ears and sharp teeth. Their frame is lanky, and they wear no clothing. Their hair is often white, black, crimson or bright orange. Their personalities are generally hostile towards other Ethereals, and even at times to each other.

Succubi, while extremely intelligent and cunning, are driven to madness by their need to feed on sexual energy, which is why so often they torture their victims to death by emotionally traumatizing them through their dreams. By forcing their victims to engage in unspeakable sexual desires in the dream plane, to which mortals (particularly humans) are prone to be susceptible, they tend to allow their appetite to overpower their host, either killing them or permanently damaging their psyche, which still generally results in death.

The demon's appetite is another fascinating feature. The more access the demon has to sexual energy, the more it craves, and is rarely sated for long before desiring more. As their appetite grows, so does their impatience, and if a succubus enters a ripe feeding ground it will decimate it, and then go mad when it cannot continue it's habitual feeding. It's unclear whether or not the madness is permanent, or if the demon eventually scales back their appetite to a more manageable level.

This demon has only one weakness - it cannot resist a challenge of wit, because a succubus generally does not lose a battle of wit. To outwit a succubus requires a tremendous amount of luck and well placed thought, and when a succubus is defeated in a battle of wit, it cannot process the loss, making it temporarily vulnerable to capture. To capture a succubus, it must be either contained in a physical state or kicked from the dream. Getting a succubus to accept a challenge is a challenge in and of itself - a succubus will grow bored quickly if it is not consistently challenged with critical thought, and would rather forfeit the deal and kill the victim than to realize defeat.

ABILITY

In the dream plane, which is the Succubus's preferred plane, they are completely omnipotent. They can control every aspect of the plane, and this control rarely can be wrestled back from them once they are manifested within it. Using terror, pleasure, pain and emotional warfare the succubus can deal tremendous amounts of psychological damage to their victim simply by existing within their dreams, preventing them from resting during their slumber, or implanting harmful memories, causing delusions, madness and eventually death.

In the mortal realm, it's unclear what the extent of their magical power is. They are masters of illusion, being able to take the shape of any form desireable to their victims, and have greath physical strength and agility. Their shapeshifting power allows them to assume any form, which in theory makes them next to impossible to trap.

HISTORY

Very little is recorded about the Succubi. The Daemonium Oculatus, an Illit manuscript discusses an unnamed warlord who weds a succubus. The man, being an aggressive and vicious warlord and barbarian, reigned in chaos by forcing his conquered to perform acts to satiate the demon, who became stronger as time went on, but also grew in appetite. By the end of his life, she became erratic, moody and unsatisfied. No amount of sexual depravity in any quantity could fill her desire, and the clan grew to despise her cruelty. Eventually, the warlord died, and the clan banded together to contain the demon, banishing her back into the arcanum and sealing the way out.

Hassan's Bestiary notes that the Incubus king, whose name is blacked out in every entry, departed the Divine Arcanum for the mortal realm to feed on mortals. It was suggested that they are in some kind of conflict with the other Ethereals, but given their divisive nature and moodiness with other creatures and each other, this comes more as a token of their emotional disposition. Their hatred for other creatures would make peace impossible.

Being ethereal, they are ultimately immortal and have existed infinitely.