#terror demon

We heard their screams from miles away, out in the darkness where we couldn't see anything. Once, back when I worked on my uncle's farmhold in the Bannorn, there was a calf that fell into a gulch and broke its leg. I should have run for help, but I thought I could drag it back to safety on my own. I wasn't strong enough, however, and each time I tried to pull, its leg ... the calf's screaming haunts me to this day, and that's what I heard out there. Like that calf was coming for me, come to rip off my leg ever so slowly so I knew what it felt like.

But we all heard something different, you see? One of the others said he'd run into darkspawn at Ostagar, and the scream he heard was from something called a "shriek." Another said it was a dragon roar, just like the beast that burned his family. That's when I knew what was out there was a demon. Something that wasn't just looking to make us afraid—it wanted us gibbering in terror. It wanted us running for our lives.

And we did. I couldn't rightly tell you what it even looked like. There was something in the shadows, and even though we were ready when it let out that howl, I turned and ran. I couldn't even control myself. My bowels turned into water, I dropped my sword, and I took off. It was only later when I realized I was separated from the others, and that there were more of those demons out there, hungry for more of my panicked tears.

Drunken with rage.

—

Time is up, burn the world.

—

“Mmm, still up hun?”

Ebrius groggy voice echoed in the greenhouse, and Yunal turned to give him a peck on the side of his hood as he embraced her from behind.

“Yep. Can’t shake the feeling I’m needed tonight.”

Ebrius nuzzled the crook of her neck, glancing at the materials in front of them. “...Need anything for when you get back?”

She chuckled and turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving kisses to his forehead, nose, and finally lips. “Just tea, you, and Sabeh?”

“Duly noted.” He placed a kiss on her forehead, giving a quick squeeze to her hands, and left to find their other Mate. She watched him exit the greenhouse, before gathering her materials in a basket and rifting to a small lake, where a lone tree brushing it’s leaves on it’s crystal surface. A figure sat beneath the swaying branches, chin resting on her knees and tail reflexively curled about her.

“Kinda late isn’t it, even for a midnight swim?”

Vilinaya’s head whipped around, golden eyes scanning the area until they found her, and her shoulders slumped. “Hi Auntie...Can’t sleep,” she murmured, rubbing her eyes and stifling an yawn.

“Nightmares again?”

“Mmm.”

Yunal placed the basket to the side and wrapped an arm about Vili, giving gentle pats as she pulled her in closer. Vili leaned into the touch, eyes drooping dispite her best attempts. Slowly, the images haunting her began to drift away, of fires and darkness where there should be none, of crystaline gates crashing to the ground, the rubble scattered for miles about. Of beings of light trapped and their anguished cries as their brethren fell. Of menacing laughter and piercing claws bringing abrupt ends to those cries. All of it started to fade away, not replaced, but temporarily hidden for now.

It didn’t take much after that, and the tea that was pushed into her hands only made her limbs feel heavier. Soon, she was curled up into Yunal’s side, breathing becoming slower as she drifted further into a more peaceful slumber. Yunal stayed like that for a few minutes, just brushing Vili’s hair out of her face and watching as she descended into a dreamless sleep.

It was a simple matter to bring her back to her home, and tuck her into bed, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. She made sure to check on the other residents of the home too, even the studious angel who finally was asleep for once. Once she was satisfied, she checked on the rest of the small outpost, soothing nightmares and drifting through shadows, until soon there were no fears for the night, the gaurds less jumpy and the children curled peacefully, not afraid of the darkness in their closet or under their bed.

TERROR DEMON 

As an underling of last week's Fear Demon, I personally think the Terror Demon ticks a few more boxes on "fear" than its boss. Despite being a rather generic gangly baddie, the parts come together for a cohesive whole. The face is absolutely great. The randomly scattered, asymmetrical, reddish eyes already scream "alien, bad, no", and the fact that there isn't even a proper mouth below them adds to the impact. The jaws that sort of... <i>melt</i> into a pair of insectoid mandibles that may or may not work inspire a sense of both disgust and fear. From there, the too-long limbs and randomly placed spikes help give it a sense of immediate danger that's much less present on the Fear Demon. Aside from that, though, the Terror Demon is nice to look at in its own right. The colors remind me of some sort of fungal growth with their blacks, greens and pallid whites, bringing to mind both insects and rot - delicious! A lot of the general mook army of Dragon Age's demons seem to have this color scheme, and it works really well with the rest of the game's focus on green and black. I'm a huge sucker for thematic coloring.

Terror Demon