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Demon Cosmology

PROPOSED TERM: Demon Knight — provisional working label per Wave 0 deferral for the sub-King demon rank described below; not yet committed canon.

Scope​

This file owns the cross-game cosmology of demons in this setting: the demon-origin layer they come from, what demon gates physically are, the demon rank structure, what a Demon King is in cosmological terms, and why mundane force does not destroy demon essence. Specific Demon Kings, named demons, and the demon roster of any single game's era are gl-* scope; the structural facts about demons are universe scope and live here.

Facts​

Fact: Demons originate from a non-mortal layer.​

Demons come from a layer of reality that is neither the mortal world nor the divine layer. The demon-origin layer is a separate layer, distinct from both, and it is not simply a far continent or hidden region of the mortal world. The mortal world cannot reach the demon-origin layer by physical travel.

Canonicity: hard canon Cross-refs: ul-cosmology.md, ul-divine-layer.md

Fact: Demon gates are breaches between the demon-origin layer and the mortal world.​

A demon gate is a breach in the boundary between the demon-origin layer and the mortal world. Taint flows through gates from the demon-origin side, and demons can cross when a gate is sufficiently coherent. Gates are not natural features of the mortal world; they are wounds in the boundary, opened by demon-origin pressure or by corruption of older transport-gate structures.

Canonicity: hard canon Cross-refs: ul-demon-king-remains.md, ul-cosmology.md, ul-shroud.md

Fact: Demon ranks exist.​

The demon hierarchy in cosmological terms is layered: minor demons at the lowest rank; greater demons above them; Demon Knights as a sub-King rank of demon lords with extended coherence; and Demon Kings at the apex. The exact taxonomy below the Demon Knight rank — how many sub-rank types exist, what distinguishes them — is not yet committed.

Canonicity: hard canon (the four-rank structure named here); proposed (the precise taxonomy below Demon Knight) Cross-refs: ul-demon-king-remains.md, ul-demon-cycle.md

Fact: A Demon King is not simply a large demon.​

A Demon King is a being that has achieved coherence across the demon-origin layer and can project that coherence through gates into the mortal world at scale. A Demon King is the cosmological condition of a unified demon-origin presence, not a single creature that grew larger than its peers. This is the structural reason a Demon King event is the peak of the Cycle rather than a routine encounter.

Canonicity: hard canon Cross-refs: ul-demon-cycle.md, ul-demon-king-remains.md

Fact: Demons are real existential enemies.​

Demon nature is hostile to mortal life. Some demons may be residual fragments left over from a prior peak, and some may be politically redirected by other demons or by mortal manipulation, but demons as a class are not misunderstood neighbours. They are existential enemies of mortal civilization, and the setting does not treat them as victims, allies, or simply alien.

Canonicity: hard canon

Fact: Demon essence is not destroyed by mundane force.​

Mundane physical force disperses demons but does not destroy their essence. A dispersed demon recoheres, or its essence returns through a feeding gate, unless the destruction is performed under the rules of True Harm. This is the cosmological reason why mortal warfare alone cannot end a Cycle.

Canonicity: hard canon Cross-refs: ud-world-law.md, ul-demon-cycle.md

Fact: Gate closure is possible but requires world-law-correct methods.​

Gates can be closed, but only by methods that satisfy world-law: divine-touched, ritually-prepared, or runic-worked methods consistent with the True Harm rules. A gate closed without world-law-correct method reopens or leaves a residue that allows the breach to recur. Abandoned gates leave scars in the mortal world: taint fields, wound regions, and corrupted leyline segments.

Canonicity: hard canon Cross-refs: ud-world-law.md, ul-demon-king-remains.md, ul-wardhearts-and-nexuses.md

Fact: Lesser demons can be dispersed without True Harm but recohere unless the feeding gate is closed.​

Lesser demons can be driven off, dispersed, or temporarily destroyed by mundane force, but they recohere from the demon-origin layer through whatever gate feeds the local pressure. Removing lesser demons is a symptomatic action; closing the feeding gate under world-law is the structural one.

Canonicity: hard canon Cross-refs: ud-world-law.md

Fact: The exact structure or geography of the demon-origin layer is bible-only.​

What the demon-origin layer looks like, how it is organized internally, and whether it has its own geography is reserved as bible-only material. It is not surfaced in any player-facing content.

Canonicity: bible-only

Fact: Whether the demon-origin layer has inhabitants beyond demons is bible-only.​

Whether non-demon entities exist on the demon-origin layer is reserved as bible-only material. It is not surfaced in any player-facing content.

Canonicity: bible-only

Fact: Whether any mortal has ever entered the demon-origin layer and returned is bible-only.​

Whether any mortal has crossed into the demon-origin layer under any conditions and returned to the mortal world is reserved as bible-only material. It is not surfaced in any player-facing content.

Canonicity: bible-only

Cross-references​

  • ul-demon-cycle.md
  • ul-demon-king-remains.md
  • ul-cosmology.md
  • ul-divine-layer.md
  • ul-shroud.md
  • ul-wardhearts-and-nexuses.md
  • ud-world-law.md