What is the Great Dark?

(Excerpt from Colt's Guide to the World of Dragon Metal)

The Great Dark

Imagine every nightmare you’ve ever had. That’s the Great Dark, a force that grips the entire world. Evil beings from various mythologies united in service to the Great Dark, and together, they won the battle for mankind’s soul. No one knows the precise moment the Great Dark won, but most believe the victory happened years or decades ago, gradually, as opposed to one final climactic victory.

So, what is the Great Dark? No one knows what the Great Dark is exactly. Is it a force? A cosmic being? A collection of entities? Whatever it is, whatever its origin, its nature is pure evil.

The Great Dark won the battle for mankind’s soul. What does that mean? Look at the news. Lies, corruption, sickness, war, death, in all aspects of life, in government, in religion. The Great Dark doesn’t want to “rule” the world, it wants chaos and despair. Also, humanity has been separated from the heavens, an effect I call the Veiling. Magic has left the world. Hope has left the world. Corruption and chaos rule the day. That’s what it means to live in a world where mankind has lost the battle for its soul.

Hedron Conglomerate: A massive corporation that serves as the front for the Great Dark on Earth. Demons, thralls, and forces of evil of all shapes and sizes work under the thumb of the Conglomerate in one form or another. 

The Baron: The leader and CEO of the Conglomerate calls himself the Baron. He does not reveal himself to anyone, including his underlings, so it is unclear if he is a demon, god, thrall, human, or something else entirely.

Tiamat

The primary servant of the Great Dark, the embodiment of primordial chaos, from Babylonian myth. In a sense, she now influences the entire world. According to some legends, Tiamat was born before the beginning of time, out of swirling chaos. She was an Old God who mated with another Old God, Apsu, and gave birth to the Young Gods.

Apsu found the Young Gods annoying. So, the Young Gods killed Apsu before he could kill them. This made Tiamat angry; she turned against the Young Gods and summoned the Forces of Chaos to wage war upon them; the Forces of Chaos included the Eleven Beasts of Tiamat and her champion, Quingu. Tiamat gave Quingu the Tablets of Destiny so he could lead her army; the tablets supposedly granted ultimate authority over the universe.

The Young Gods had their own champion: Marduk. He defeated Tiamat, took the Tablets of Destiny for himself, and trapped the remains of Tiamat within what became known as the sky, sea, and land.

When the Great Dark subdued this world, years ago, maybe decades, Tiamat was freed (although she doesn’t manifest physically). And she reclaimed the Tablets of Destiny for herself.

Eleven Beats of Tiamat

According to Babylonian mythology, Tiamat created eleven monsters to join her army, the Forces of Chaos. Her minion, Lagren, serves as the Beasts’ caretaker on Earth.

The Eleven Beasts are:

• Bašmu, “Venomous Snake”

• Girtablullû, “Scorpion-Man”

• Kulullû, “Fish-Man”

• Kusarikku, “Bull-Man”

• Laḫmu, the “Hairy One”

• Mušḫuššu, “Furious Snake”

• Mušmaḫḫū, “Exalted Serpent”

• Ugallu, the “Big Weather-Beast”

• Umū dabrūtu, “Violent Storms”

• Uridimmu, “Mad Lion”

• Ušumgallu, “Great Dragon”

Lagren

Origin unknown, but a demon, possibly a former god from Babylonian mythology. He has a network of demons and thralls that work beneath him, and also commands the Eleven Beasts of Tiamat, serving as their caretaker. Wears a long black trench coat and a black, wide-brimmed, flat-crowned hat. Carries a black cane with a silver grip that resembles a double-headed lion. Looks almost ageless, anywhere from mid-twenties to early forties, with chalk-white skin and pale-blue eyes. 

Abilsin

Appears as a pale child. Associates with Lagren. Not a human, not a demon, not a god, not a Fallen Angel. We don’t know what he is or where he came from. But he has demonic powers such as telepathy and telekinesis. Abilsin shows a persistent, twisted obsession with Jestin. He doesn’t seem to have any motives other than causing chaos for his own perverse enjoyment.

Demons and Thralls

Demons came into existence around the same time that the earliest archaic humans learned how to use magic, 1.4 to 2.4 million years ago. When ancient magicians allowed themselves to be corrupted through various negative emotions (despair, rage, greed, etc.), their souls would burst from that corruption and birth demons.

Where did the demons come from? The popular theory: alternate planes of existence and different dimensions. Think of the corrupted souls of magic users as gateways that allowed demons into our world.

No new demons have been born since the earth was severed from the Magical Source (“Veiling, the”), as humans can no longer tap into magic directly. No magic users means no gateways. This means no new demons have appeared for at least decades, and no new demons can be born.

Side note: Demons don’t use magic. They have auras of their own. Cursed auras, which generate demon energy (a dark reflection of spirit energy). Unlike human auras, cursed auras can generate special abilities such as telekinesis, telepathy, and pyrokinesis, to name a few. A cursed aura is an ugly thing, blackened and evil. Nothing human about it. If a human aura is light, a cursed aura is pure, inky darkness. If a human aura is the essence of hope, a cursed aura is the essence of despair. Some cursed auras can generate enough energy to transform a physical host body or host object into a monstrous creature. 

Demons come in four general groupings: 

• Demons in pure spiritual form with no bodies. 

• Demons that possess humans (a subgrouping can transform human hosts into monstrous forms).

• Demons that possess objects (a subgrouping can transform host objects into monstrous forms).

• Demons in pure physical form, monsters, no hosts necessary. 

Even though no new demons can be born into the world, demons can still make thralls. 

Thrall: A man or woman corrupted by a demon, no longer human. Impulses such as greed and anger can make a person’s soul open to corruption and manipulation. A thrall’s twisted soul is called a tainted aura, which generates tainted spirit energy. Tainted auras can generate special abilities such as telekinesis and telepathy, but at a much more limited scope when compared to cursed auras. A tainted aura can also influence the body, causing disfiguration to the eyes, skin, and teeth. A thrall can’t be turned back into a mortal. 

Misc 

Apostles of Ashai: A minor cult of demon worshippers. Its members get high by inhaling the dust of dead demons. 

Asag: Technically a Gallu demon, but a class of his own, monstrously ugly; legend said his appearance alone could cause fish to boil in rivers. 

Div: Ogre-like demons from Persian mythology. 

Djinn: Spirit-like creatures from Arabian mythology and folklore. They can appear as corporeal entities and mimic human form. 

Gallu: Also called the Offspring of Hell. Demons from Babylonian mythology, said to drag their victims into the underworld. Can appear as spirits, possessed humans, possessed objects, or physical monsters. Gallu either rip the souls from their targets or drive their targets to commit suicide and grab the souls at the moment of death. Some Gallu prefer to make thralls. Note: Gallu can’t drag their victims into the underworld anymore, because the earth has been cut off from the afterlife (“Veiling, the”). Instead, Gallu trap their victims’ souls or doom those souls to roam the earth aimlessly. 

Ghosts: With the earth cut off from the heavens (“Veiling, the”), the spirits of the dead can’t pass over to the afterlife. Instead, they roam the world. Ghosts come in various classifications from multiple mythologies. Here are a few:

• Dybbuk: A malevolent ghost that possesses a person to accomplish a task that was unfinished in life; the term comes from Jewish folklore.

• Ibbur: A righteous ghost that possesses a person, with consent, to accomplish a holy goal; the term comes from Jewish folklore.

• Moroi: A soul that becomes a vampiric spirit, draining the life force from its victims; a term from Romanian folklore.

• Mylings: The spirits of unwanted, neglected, and abandoned children who die; the term comes from Scandinavian folklore.

• Revenants: Souls of the dead that crossed over to the afterlife but returned to the mortal world before the Veiling.

• Shades (called gidim in ancient Sumerian): Echoes of the living that linger after death.

• Unquiet Spirits: Cling to the souls of the living. Victims of violence in life, they carry rage and violence with them into death. They sustain themselves through the feelings and experiences of the living.

• Vengeful Spirits: Victims of violent deaths, these souls seek revenge against the ones who killed them.

Grim Reapers: Spectral entities. Before the Veiling, Grim Reapers hunted souls that refused to pass on into the afterlife and “guided” those spirits into said afterlife, oftentimes by force. Now, Grim Reapers can’t guide any souls into the afterlife, because the mortal world is cut off from said afterlife. Grim Reapers no longer have a purpose. 

Ka’zuul: A cult of demons that worships an ancient witch named Pandora. My friend Alec and I stumbled upon the cult as it tried to free Pandora from her prison, and Alec died in the madness that followed.

Lilitu: Demons from Sumerian mythology that possess women and turn them into monsters that consume children and infants. 

Manticore: Creature from Persian mythology; human head, lion body, snake tail, covered in quill-like fur.

Mokumokuren: A yōkai from Japanese mythology. Mischief-makers that possess walls and sprout dozens, if not hundreds, of eyes. 

Rabisu: Demon attack dogs from Akkadian mythology. Used to serve the gods as messengers. Now, with no gods as masters, they wander aimlessly and hunt in packs. 

Rusalki: Demons from Slavic mythology that take the form of drowned women. 

Sin Demons: The Seven Deadly Sins are real. Seven monstrous demons that can appear in physical form or spirit form; each represents one of the Seven Deadly Sins: Greed, Rage, Lust, Gluttony, Pride, Envy, and Sloth. Before the earth was cut off from the heavens, back when new demons could appear, the Seven Deadly Sins created minions mirrored after their own powers. Many of these minions, Sin Demons, still exist today—demons who possess mortals (no spirit or physical form of their own, and they can’t possess objects).

Sin Demons come in seven classes, each mirroring one of the Seven Deadly Sins: 

• Rage Demons 

• Lust Demons 

• Demons of Gluttony

• Demons of Pride

• Demons of Envy

• Sloth Demons

• Greed Demons

When a Sin Demon possesses a person, that person’s appearance can change. For example, a Rage Demon will thin a person’s lips and sink their eyes. The eyes become solid black with wisps of red smoke, and bluish-purple veins swell from beneath the skin.

Sin Demons can create specific types of thralls called Sin Thralls. 

Yōkai: Spirit creatures from Japanese mythology. Yōkai can possess humans and objects and disfigure them, transforming them into monsters with various supernatural abilities. 

END ENTRY