Weak demons

[Bradyman]

Zargoffelstan specifically

[Bradyman]

Do the weak demons like Zargoffelstan trust the “good” wizards more out of rationality or Stockholm Syndrome?
Zargoffelstan’s reasoning for not abandoning Hortwell was that he was the best master he had ever had and that he didn’t want to get stuck with someone worse. However, the fact that Hortwell was able to summon Tom shows that any wizard with a true name and enough skill and power can summon a demon from the abyss, even if they already have a binding to another demon. Sure, we know that the wizard that binds the demon normally has the greatest power over them, but a demon that has had several masters already wouldn’t be affected by that. The only protection from other wizards that Hortwell offered him was that he couldn’t be summoned while on Astlan. However, if he killed Hortwell, or let Tom do it, and went and hid as far from society as possible, he could get at least several hundred years of freedom from summon and safety from anything strong enough to stop him if he laid low didn’t cause problems. If he stays with Hortwell, his protection goes away in a couple decades at most. Plus, even if he is killed or captured quickly afterwards, the knowledge that he escaped will cause other wizards who hear about it to be less likely to summon him.

So, I propose that either Zargoffelstan and other demons like him suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, or at least for the younger, weaker demons, they aren’t as jaded or evil as even they think they are.

Also on the subject of weak demons, does each summoning imbue them with a minuscule amount of magic similar to the original binding but on a much weaker level? This could explain how weak, non mana-using first order demons can eventually get stronger. This is a pretty common demon summoning trope, but does Astlan work this way? If so, it could explain a lot about Tizzy. Billions of years of summons have to make even a second order pretty special.

[Tizzy]

Demon names are very carefully guarded and typically passed on from master to apprentice (or son/daughter).

They can also be sold, and if bound, name and links passed to new owner and old owner promises not summon the sold demon.

But, should someone summon a bound demon, not their, they really can’t bind it, they can torture it and give it orders but those orders are only good in the wizard’s presence/range of spells, if the demon gets out of range (of the torture spells) they can escape. A smart demon would escape, but not return to the Abyss (so they can’t be summoned again by the guy) and then wait around until the person who summoned it, but was not its bound master was unguarded and kill him/torture him etc.

In general it’s a very bad idea to summon a demon who’s name you know but can’t bind, so very few wizards will do it, except under the instructions of the wizard master.

I don’t remember if Hortwell had the ring or not, I don’t think he did, but he knew the name and probably had some other device from Lenamare to persuade Tom to do Lenamare’s bidding. Lenamare is very good with things like that.

But from what he tells me, Zarg really does like Hortwell. And feels he’s better off bound to him than someone else. It might be a bit Stockholm like, but it’s also based on experience and looking for the best deal at the time.

It is not unheard of, look at Antefalken and Damien.

Also, I will point out that Shamans and Animages that summon demons often don’t use force (they can, or might–but it’s a lot more work for them and more dangerous). They often bargain with the demon. Of course, this is a rather dangerous trial and error, but it can lead to very profitable relationships for both sides.

Some of these guys even offer up their souls to the demon in exchange for favors. That’s called “hitting the jackpot” Can also happen to djinn’s, although not as common as you might think from the tales. In particular, if you somehow bind a djinni against it’s will, you have to keep it from returning to Djinnistan or it will tell the others and then you are in the sort of trouble Exador is in.

Demons, unfortunately, don’t typically operate that way. Enemy of my friend?, that’s my friend’s problem, not mine.

UNLESS–you are bound/in service to a higher level demon. So for example, if you were to bind someone in Lilith’s service, if your demands interfere too much with her demands on that demon, she’ll deal with you (or have someone deal with you more likely) so that you don’t annoy her anymore. On the other hand, if she’s somewhat ticked/annoyed/bored with her demon servant, the wizard might get lucky and never know how close they were to destruction.

Demons age and grow through their experiences, good and bad, just like everyone else. The demons who don’t get bigger, or do so very slowly, generally aren’t doing much. E.g. sitting around drinking. However, being bound in service to a master and working hard to figure out how to screw the master over is a generally a good way to learn and grow as a person, and thus get strong. What doesn’t kill you makes you strong…unless it just wears you out…

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