Demons and Angels

Demons and Angels do exist in this world, but they aren’t what the myths portray them as. Not only that, they call themselves something different. Demons are called Daevas, and Angels are called Celestials. They are very similar to fae, in that they come from another dimension, but theirs are a little harder to get from, so there are fewer of them than other fae descended races. They are also not stereotypical in terms of their morality. Daevas are not all evil, and celestials are not all good. They have as much variation in that as other species do. But the two species do NOT like each other for the most part. This is due to a long running issue between the two species based on dietary requirements.

For the most part, the general public does know of the existence of Daeva and Celestials, and they do accept that they aren’t “Demons” and “Angels” from mythology, but there are a few conspiracy theorists who think otherwise. They are much rarer than any other race, however, and as such tend to keep to themselves and try and keep a low profile when they are in public.

Daeva & Celestial Feeding

The two species feed on mortal emotions. Or to be precise, they feed on the pheromones created when mortals exhibit specific emotions. Each being feeds on a different emotion. But there is a catch. They cannot feed on a mortal being fed on by another of either species. Daevas can tell when another Daeva is feeding on someone, and will avoid interrupting that out of politeness. Celestials can tell when another Celestial is feeding, and will do the same. But they can’t tell when the other is feeding, and as such can and do interrupt each other, usually not on purpose. This has led to some nasty conflicts.

The type of emotion that they feed on varies from being to being. Unlike the mythology, Daeva who feed on lust or arousal are not called Succubus or Incubus, those are actually a race of Daeva with specific physical characteristic, and they don’t leave their food sources as dead empty husks after feeding. There is no way to tell what a being will need to feed on until they hit puberty, and when they do, they will be drawn to whatever emotion they feed from.

There are two types of feeding, active and passive. Active feeding requires close proximity to a mortal, and is the most nourishing. Most will prefer active feeding, as it allows them to be closer to their food source, and be able to keep them feeling what they need to in order to feed. However this doesn’t always work, especially for some dietary requirements, say for example fear. In that case, those who feed off of fear being active feeders usually end up being fairly evil beings. This is where the other type of feeding can help, passive. Passive feeding means you do something or help create something which will inspire an emotion in people, and all those who feel that ‘feed’ the being. This type of feeding is easily interrupted by active feeding, but with enough reach, it can be just as fulfilling over time. It also tends to be more sustainable. In the case of fear, for example, one that feeds off of that may make haunted houses, write horror novels, direct slasher movies, or even make roller coasters. All of these are ways to passively feed of fear, without actually being present to cause it.

Daevas and Celestials can both eat regular food and drink, and it is required still. The best way to describe it is like a car. Food maintains the car itself, but the pheromone feeding is the actual fuel. Not eating normal food will cause the same kind of body degradation starvation has on humans, and can even kill them. In the same way, excessive eating can cause Daevas and Celestials to become overweight, but this won’t cause any healthy complications. They just have a societal taboo about letting it happen. A little bit of extra weight isn’t frowned upon, but the moment it detracts from your appearance, it is too much.

Wings & Tails

All Daeva and Celestials have wings, which would be an issue leading to them being noticed, except most have the natural ability to fold them into an alternate dimension, which renders them invisible to anything except a specially enchanted mirror. Those Daeva that do have the ability to do this can also hide tails and horns should they have them. There are some who are either born without this ability, or just don’t have it due to their specific race. These individuals and groups tend to hide away from large groups, and choose less public ways to be in society, as their appearance is quite distracting.

Lifespan and Lifecycle

Both races have the ability to go into a form of hibernation which can last decades or even a century or two. This does affect their lifespan, which is why they do it. Normally, they will live in active society for around 150 years. For every 10 years they spend in hibernation, they “de-age” about 1 year. However, they cannot hibernate a total of more than around 300 years, so their functional maximum age is 180. Most will save up their hibernation for later portions of their life, but sometimes certain events will give them a good reason to drop out of society for a while. While in hibernation, they literally slip into an alternate dimension, so no matter what happens while they are gone, they will never be found, or disturbed. They also have no awareness of what is going on in the world at large, so they can’t decide to awaken at any time. They will, for all intensive purposes, set a natural alarm clock for however many years, and just vanish, re-appearing that many years later in a nearby location. This is why most will attempt to find quiet locations to start their hibernations, as they don’t want to re-appear in the middle of a crowded building later. Even if the original spot was destroyed in some way, covered by a building, or even turned into a volcano, they will re-appear at the nearest safe location, even if that forces them hundreds of miles away.