Rambles and Speculations
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Thank you both for recognizing my altruism and my kind and supportive nature.
So few beings ever recognize or acknowledge my good deeds; thus it means a great deal to me when they do!
:-“
If a demon shape is a function of the expectations of those linked to the demon, how long until Tom starts growing a lantern jaw?
Well…the expectation thing really only applies to the initial conjuring. Once a demon’s form is set, it’s pretty much set without a lot of undo influence.
On the other hand, not sure why one needs a lantern jaw, demons can see perfectly well in the dark, no need to have a lantern hanging from the bottom of one’s head.
Look a bit weird I’d think.
Tizzy, while we’re all glad that you’re the generous, selfless demon you are, I believe that Tom needs to deal with this himself. I think Tom’s going to have to learn to let go of some of the responsibilities (if only for a few hours), or he’ll keel over from exhaustion at an inconveniently deadly time. He’s stressed out right now, and a stressed out Dark Overlord is probably NOT a good recipe for goulash. Though stress DOES make an excellent gumbo ingredient.
HINT!!!
Ghoul ash? Oooo, that sounds…umm, well, I’m not sure. Can the dead be reanimated in the Abyss? Or are ghouls considered undead?
We at Doom prefer the term UnLife.
Which will be explained in Book 3.
[SPOILER]Ghouls are technically living, but infected with antimus (negatively polarized animus), they crave living flesh and fresh animus to replace animus consumed by the antimus.[/SPOILER]
Ok, so, I suppose Talarius was fighting ghouls in Book 2, instead of vampires. I think he even said ghouls, but I didn’t understand how the ghouls worked.
So are vampires similar? Are they more or less powerful than ghouls?
Different infections, different mechanisms.
Vampires only need blood, Ghouls need flesh, very fresh flesh, preferably still living fresh.
[SPOILER]As I recall, in Book 3, Lilith refers to ghouls as having atrocious table manners.[/SPOILER]
As to more powerful, well, they are people after all and various people have different strengths.
Both have different “handicaps” if you will.
Vampires, don’t like sunlight, but their eating habits are relatively straightforward to maintain. They also like the dirt of their grave for some reason. Unless they are a mana wielder, however, they do not turn into bats or wolves or anything like that. They are extremely hard to kill however.
Ghouls can operate whenever they want, but their eating habits are messier and harder to clean up/hide/cover. They are also a bit tricky to kill, not as hard as a vampire, but still difficult, particularly if they are berserk with hunger.
Generally speaking, most people consider vampires to be more sophisticated and of higher social stature than ghouls; but that really could be the eating habit thing.
The thing is, a newbie vampire is a bit easier to hide than a newbie ghoul; again the eating habits.
An outbreak of ghoulism is generally quite nasty. In many cases they can be mistaken for a zombie outbreak.
Vampirism typically doesn’t “break out” because there is the whole formal process of creating new vampires, where as ghoulism transmits very much like a disease.
So, typically, you do not see a lot of very experienced ghouls because they often don’t survive long enough, unless protected by someone more senior (like a senior vampire)
That being said, I know of tales of very senior people becoming inflicted with ghoulism. Typically nobility or very rich persons who can hide their eating habits from the general public. These folks are generally the most dangerous of ghouls because if they feed well, you don’t know they are ghouls, however, their needs create motivations that make them very dangerous.
Hmm, that’s fascinating. So those were ghouls Talarius was burning in Book 1, right? Not vampires? But it was a vampire minion of Smody’s that stole Millie’s soul?
I wonder if demon flesh will work for ghouls? You know, eat, regenerate, eat again? Kinda…”ghoulish”, eh? EH?!
Well, I wasn’t there, so all I know is what I read in book 1, but it was both.
Vampires create ghouls sometimes on purpose, sometimes by hastiness. Ghouls can also spread the disease if they don’t completely consume/kill their victims. Sort of like a werewolf bite.
Actually, if the ghoul lops off an appendage and eats it, the victim can typically run away and be safe, just missing the appendage. But if the ghoul takes a bite out of you, there is a good chance his/her saliva and particularly their blood (if they are bleeding or have open mouth sores etc which the ones in bad repair typically do) will infect you and you will eventually succumb.
Now, vampires who drain their victims beyond a certain point, but who don’t kill them or turn them (drink the master’s blood and then bury them for a while to suffocate them) will leave a ghoul as a remnant.
So in some sense, ghouls are vampire leftovers. There has not been a lot of “scientific studies” but likely it is “sparked” by the animus drain, and an infection of antimus from the vampire’s saliva, etc that causes this infection.
So anyway, in the case that Talarius was dealing with, Sir Etrian (who is the brother of Sir Etrias another KRoT) fell under the sway of a vampire who turned Sir Etrian into a vampire; who sort of went on a half cocked power trip treating the village Talarius was at in Book 1 as a buffet table.
Word reached Arch-Vicar General Barabus who dispatched Talarius to deal with Sir Etrian and clean up the mess. Talarius is introduced as he finishes cleaning up the mess.
The situation, in Talarius’ mind at least, was similar to what he believes happened to his love, the High Priestess Melissance a few years prior.
Imagine his surprise when he finds out High Priestess Melissance’s soul is still in the Abyss.
Oh, Book 3 is going to be SO MUCH FUN!!!
It’ll be interesting to say the least! Of course its all Tom’s fault. As the reincarnation of the Demon Prince Orcus he is fully capable of plotting the capture of Talarius, Knight Rampants Lady love thousands of years ago. From oblivion. For some nefarious purpose. : I
Yeah!
Of course, no idea what Talarius will do if he actually gets a gander at the fellow who took her and has been holding her. Eesh. Known the guy for a long time; do not like him. He really creeps me out!
[SPOILER]He’s a Denubian based demon, so you can only imagine what something the Denubians find frightening must look like. 8-[ [/SPOILER]
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