So Skylar (and his story/world) comes directly from a dream I had three years ago, in which I was Skylar. I really liked the main chunk of it, but as it is a dream, connecting everything coherently has been a hassle. If something sounds a bit off, that's... likely why. Anyway!

Skylar, unhappy with his old life, decides to completely ditch it. He stops by a small town and, desperate for friends, is willing to hang out with pretty much anyone that will give him the time of day.

Three people, a preexisting friend group, start talking to him. There are three others -- Andrew (name change possibly pending. Not sure that I vibe with it), Garrett, and Lillian. It isn't long before he finds himself getting swept up in their demon-cult-rumors, because this group recently found a half-ruined journal detailing a lot of weird ass shit. And, also, there's some unexplainable shit going on down in the hills.

They suggest checking it out.

Skylar buys exactly none of it, but he goes along with it anyway for that sweet, sweet human connection.

Now, the group decides to visit a 'ritual site.' A large, 5'x5' square of flat rock pressed a bit into the earth, with a red rune carved into it, slapped into the center of wild hills and forest.

They do the stupid young adult thing, which is to consult the journal for the ritual, which they then do.

Now, listen, the way the demons and rituals work is a bit convoluted because I'm trying to translate it from nonsense dream systems, and I don't really think this is something that can be skipped over or it all ceases to make any sense.

To make it simple: demons need to be summoned into a 'vessel' (a human) to get to Earth. But one ritual isn't enough, and it only partially binds a demon to the vessel and Earth. Five total rituals need to be completed for the demon to be fully tied to Earth and the vessel. These rituals increase in severity with each one, and each ritual requires a specific site to work. But, even with all rituals finished, the demon still relies heavily on the vessel to keep it in line. And not, like, killing everything.

If a vessel dies with a demon attached, the demon is released into the world. A few things can happen:

If it was the first ritual, little occurs. The demon is intangible and unable to interact meaningfully with the world. It can barely move at all, in fact. Imagine if your arm, just your arm, got teleported into another world. You can't do anything with just an arm out there! And it inconveniences you back home!

If it was the third ritual, this is the point at which the demon can cause real harm, as most of it is on Earth- it can influence creatures (aka possession a little to the left), move objects with some effort, and generally cause chaos. Still cannot be seen, except under extreme circumstances. However, it cannot move far from the general area the vessel died -- maybe a few miles.

And if the vessel died after the fifth ritual has been completed, it would be... very bad. The demon would have no human attachment able to hold it back, and it would just be out there in the world, a physical thing with full capabilities. It would be 100% on Earth. Nightmare scenario.

Never fear, though! It is possible to banish a demon at any time. Just stick it in a body and send it back with DIFFERENT rituals! The vessel will lose demonic influence and will be fine, as will the demon, but both will again be separate.

You can tie a demon partially stuck on earth to a new vessel with the rituals, then do the banishment when you're far enough along and have all its rogue parts in a vessel again.

Okay, that's all. Now. Moving on!

Skylar (this used to be about him...) and the gang do the ritual. Nobody expects much of anything. Problem: Skylar's arm starts burning and shifts into something pitch black and iridescent, not unlike oil.

Everyone is very suddenly aware of Oh Shit, This Is Real.

They all hurry up to get the rest of the rituals done so they can banish the demon (if they can. Honestly, half the journal is fucking ruined, they're winging it, this is not going as planned). They decide to try banishing after the third ritual.

Skylar's mental health deteriorates, because he's experiencing unfamiliar thoughts and emotions (thanks, demon!). Plus the rapid-fire rituals are just taking their toll on him, physically - he's tired, and sore, and cranky, and not at all used to having a demon slowly infesting him. It makes all of the demonic stuff worse, harder to control. He both loves and hates that.

The demon very very badly wants Skylar to go on a deadly revenge tour. Be powerful, it says, be unstoppable, don't you want to make everyone look at you with fear and awe? And Skylar...

He starts to buy into it. Yeah, he SHOULD be powerful and unstoppable and scary. He SHOULD fuck shit up! But also he doesn't want to, that would be bad, he likes it here, he likes his friends. But it would be nice to go after that guy that was mean to him on his first day here, wouldn't it... no, he can't do that!

One day he does the fourth ritual by himself, making the demon stronger and the whole situation worse. They double down on trying to banish the demon, less concerned with the town's wellbeing now than their friend's.

I have a handful of endings for this part of his life in mind, but I haven't settled on any as the 'canon.' It depends on how bitter I feel that day, really.

In the best ending, it follows my original dream.

You see, throughout my dream, I would flash into the present, older, curled up in one big bed with my friends (the ones with me back then!) reminiscing on this like I'm telling a story. They are apologetic, because this experience has left me scarred mentally and physically. But I'm better, happier. The demon is gone, banished. My body hurts sometimes, still, but I met lifelong friends. Skylar's story would follow mine -- the demon is banished before the final ritual, not without consequence, but it gets better. He heals, is content.

The worst ending: Skylar succeeds in the final ritual and can't handle it. The demon has near total control of his body, Skylar's mind too addled and worn down to fight or disagree. His friends don't manage to banish it (in some versions, Skylar kills them outright). Skylar never recovers, in this one.

In the ????? ending, Skylar completes the fifth and final ritual, but his friends manage to banish the demon. There are so many versions of this one in my head, frankly. Ones where Skylar never forgives them, ones where Skylar gets better, ones where he tries to do the rituals again in desperation.