Demon statue

Demon Statues ("Statue of Corrupted Daeloch", etc) were added in the "Ashes of Urh'ok" DLC. They give a random effect, ranging from a buff such as Arcane Supremacy or a unique item drop to summoning a much higher level unique monster. Touch with caution!

Demon Statue of Kryl-Feijan

Lore found: demon statue: Kryl-Feijan

The text at the base of this statue has been scratched out. A note is attached in its place.

Hello, Eyalite. The text here wouldn't have meant a whole lot to you; a whole lot of blathering about his accomplishments as a naturalist, and his mysterious disappearance. Let me tell you what you need to know instead.

Kryl-Feijan was my lover, and along with a friend by the name of Walrog we came to Eyal out of curiosity and thirst for knowledge. It was an enlightening hobby, and the reports we made of your many, primitive species were read all across our world. Do not think you deserved this attention; you were not special in any way aside from your inferiority. How could the planet of the powerful, intelligent Sher'Tul create such savages that had barely escaped feudalism? Your sins were endearing, and your failures amusing.

And it was knowing this, along with the curious absence of the Sher'Tul, that led us to go out and investigate when a wounded child of onyx came through our portal, deactivated it, and told us of horrible destruction unleashed on Mal'Rok by Eyal. We knew you were not capable of such feats, so we had to learn the answers for ourselves; Kryl-Feijan and I adopted our usual disguises as human mages, while Walrog arranged to scout the seas for anomalies, then meet us back after a few days.

When we emerged from our underground lodge, we were surprised to see firestorms (although not nearly so fierce) raging across Eyal as well. What surprised us more, though, was an enraged horde of peasants, provoked by our unfortunate choice of disguises - in your ignorance, you chose to blame spellcasters for the disaster. We tried to escape, but the mob swarmed us from all directions, and were soon upon us.

Soon, I was tied up and restrained, while they gloated and made threats I couldn't hear over the din of the crowd. I could have fought back, but I kept telling myself only to lash out once I was sure my life was in danger, reassuring myself that the people of Eyal who were once so fascinating to me surely couldn't be aware of what they were doing.

Judging from the geysers of flame bursting above my head, my lover was not so patient; when the blasts stopped and the crowd started to clear away, I saw why he'd fought so fiercely. His injuries were horrific, clearly done to make him suffer rather than incapacitate him, and he was on the edge of death.

In a moment of desperation, I muttered a spell to myself to understand what was going through their minds, what could possibly justify such treatment. That's when I learned what they'd done to him, and what they were planning with me, but neither was as awful as the unthinking hate motivating it... there are both too many words for it and not enough.

Horrible, barbaric, sadistic, all are accurate but none fully convey the evil of it. That moment is when I learned the true savagery of Eyal, and realized the fate all Eyalites deserve. That moment is when my patience broke.

There is a type of magic on Mal'Rok that will allow one to transfer his or her life-essence to another, prolonging the latter's lifespan at the expense of the former. Voluntary donations to honored figures are popular, but the reverse - draining another to help one's self - was considered the gravest of sins, a statement that you considered your life to be worth more than another's, which is a decision nobody should be allowed to make when they have a vested interest in it. Walrog had taught this forbidden spell to me, and only now did I use it, withering the horde all at once and forcing their lives into Kryl-Feijan. The survivors, too weak to stand up against me, suffered greatly, playthings of my brief and furious revenge. Unfortunately, even all the life l'd drained was not quite enough to restore my lover to health; all it could do was keep him in limbo, in incredible pain and unable to act, but still alive.

I took his surviving essence and fled to safety, then started picking the natives off one by one, extending my lifespan and getting ever closer to restoring him to health. I can only assume Walrog is doing the same, preying on sailors first and then naga; I've lost contact with him, but the stories of terrors from the sea tell me he's still alive. Keeping Kryl-Feijan in limbo consumes a great deal of energy, though, and soon lone travellers were not enough to keep him stable; I needed others to work for me, gathering victims and willingly sacrificing themselves once they'd outlived their usefulness. And that is when I learned of the approach of the Fearscape, and came up with an offer I could make to the residents of Eyal.

When the legions of Urh'Rok manage to get an invasion force to Eyal's surface - not if, but when - you will all suffer, more than you can possibly imagine. Many of you will die; some will not be so lucky, and will be an ever-living target of their rage, tortured until the end of time.

Their reasons are somewhat inaccurate, but make no mistake: you deserve the fate they have lined up for you. Even if I wanted to, neither I nor anything else in the universe could stop their invasion, save the word of Urh' Rok himself - and that seems rather unlikely. If you assist me and follow my orders to my satisfaction, I can guarantee you two things. One, your inevitable agonizing fate WILL end in death, after a maximum of a couple of weeks; even the armies of Mal'Rok can't undo the effects of having your life-essence drained. And two, before you feel the pain, you will feel nearly-equal pleasure. With my magical skills, I can alter myself into any form, create all manner of illusions, and manipulate all your senses to your liking. Your wildest, most unrealistic fantasies will become true; the time before the pain starts will be so enjoyable as to eclipse every moment of your pathetic lives that came before. And if you think yourself above such hedonism, consider the psionically-gifted servitors I've recently acquired, and the way they could change your memories - when the "demons" are dripping acid into your eyes, then growing them back with more nerve endings than before so you can feel the pain more acutely, won't it be much more bearable if you're under the delusion that you've made a selfless sacrifice to save Eyal, and that your children and loved ones aren't suffering the same fate?

Countless others have agreed to this deal in the millenia before you were even born, and I have amassed enough essence to contain Kryl-Feijan in a stable "seed." Once it is planted in a suitable victim and allowed to grow, he will once again walk Eyal, far more powerful than he was before, and the two of us will do everything we can to speed up your miserable world's much-deserved death. Technically, any sentient and fleshy body would work, but I'd like someone who'll be missed, whose death will allow my lover's first act in rebirth to cause great misery to Eyal. If you'd like to accept my deal, come unarmed and alone to the Crypt of Kryl-Feijan, and join your fellow Eyalites in servitude to me. And if you were to bring a suitable host for my lover... well, that'd be deserving of some special, one-on-one attention, wouldn't it?

Eyal is doomed to perish in screaming agony. Wouldn't you at least like a good-bye kiss first?

-S.

Demon Statue of Shasshhiy'Kaish

Lore found: demon statue: Shasshhiy'Kaish

Once a naturalist and explorer, this scholar frequently made trips to Eyal in the period before Mal'Rok's destruction. Her journals about a wide assortment of curious species living in the shadow of the Sher Tul were a delightful read for our citizens, and she had a genuine love for these pitiable, uncivilized creatures. She, along with two of her companions, were trapped on Eyal when the portal network was destroyed; for a long time, she was feared dead, or worse, turned traitor and working with the natives against her old home. In any case, it was assumed she would have expired of old age by the time we arrived in orbit around the planet. Once we got there, though, something curious happened: by magic we still haven't been able to reverse-engineer, a handful of Eyalites dressed in strange robes appeared on our continent, proclaiming devotion to Shasshhiy'Kaish and wishing to be subjected to our experiments. Ever since then, batches of these willing captives have been delivered with great regularity.

Sadly, they have not been as great a boon to our research as this would sound - all of them appear with nearly every shred of their essence drained, leaving them on the edge of death, and that's not counting the frequent cases of internal bleeding and the rare occasion of them appearing with a rewired nervous system that perceives pain as pleasure, frustrating our attempts to create better methods of punishment. Nonetheless, they are both cooperative and plentiful, and have been quite helpful. We cannot be sure that Shasshhiy'Kaish herself is still alive, but if she is, we can be sure her allegiances are with our cause.

A short message is etched below the main text.

Cute. I'll let it stay.

-S

Demon Statue of Draebor, the Imp

Lore found: demon statue: Draebor, the Imp

Teleportation is one of the most crucial areas of magical research to our cause of revenge; until we break the Sher' Tul-made shield surrounding Eyal, it will remain our only means of reaching the surface. One of our leading scholars, a child of onyx known as Draebor, has perfected short-range teleportation and has been studying methods to work his skills into a mass-producible artifact to grant this ability to all of our troops. He's kept his work under wraps as of late, but rumor has it that he's been reverse-engineering the Sher' Tul portals, letting our invasion get through via their own weapons. Whatever he's up to, keep an eye out - big things are just around the corner, courtesy of his dedicated research!

Demon Statue of Rogroth, Eater of Souls

Lore found: demon statue: Rogroth, Eater of Souls

Recently, the cultists of Shasshhiy Kaish have begun speaking of a "demon seed," a sort of magical cluster of life-essence which can be implanted in a sentient being, allowing it to grow inside of them and eventually become one of our citizens. Inspired by this idea, the children of emerald have developed a prototype of this form of magic, and the children of onyx have made a chassis to carry it into combat. Rogroth generates countless essence-less seeds from within its frame, then embeds them in nearby living beings, so when they expire, their life-essence goes directly into the seed and allows it to grow. We have not yet perfected its production capabilities, so currently the seeds will only become degenerate husks when they grow, but fear not! As we get data from the tests of this design, we'll improve on it, and soon the slaughter of our foes will cause wretchlings, quasits, and even thaurheregs to spring up from their corpses. With a little bit of luck and some decisive early skirmishes, we could even bypass the problem of getting an invasion force to the surface entirely, growing it there instead.

Demon Statue of a daelach

Lore found: demon statue: daelach

Any one of us who's read up on our history will remember the story of the wicked dust-mages, tormenting us with sentient storms from the safety of their hidden cities. Although we were tempted at the time to erase all vestiges of their knowledge and culture like they did to us, we knew their magic could come in handy someday, and when their cities lay in ruin, we plundered their libraries for their writings, then dutifully copied down the practical details from these while stripping out the rest. Once the portals were unleashed on us, the children of ruby (after some controversy) managed to use their old spells to create a new kind of storm, one of swirling flames and coals rather than dust and sand. Obedient and cheap (if hazardous) to make, these living spells will torment and raze Eyal with their fiery onslaught, like their predecessors once did to Mal'Rok.

Demon Statue of a dolleg

Lore found: demon statue: dolleg

A walking monument to times of prosperity, the dolleg was once a beast of burden, carrying loads of trade goods through the Sher'Tul portals. Reliable, friendly, and rather intelligent for a beast, dollegs were often taken in as beloved pets as well - their joyous chirps when seeing their master get home could brighten up anyone's day, and despite their large size they were gentle enough to play with our young. Their kind temperament and dutiful labor were the pride of our breeding practices, and two-thirds of our population either owned, lived in a home with, or worked with a dolleg. In the wake of MalRok's destruction, the children of emerald developed an effective process to convert these companions into beasts of war, covered in acidic spines and thick plating, and loyally tearing through our enemies with incredible force. Unfortunately, their friendly demeanor was lost in order to make them merciless in combat; of all the sacrifices we've had to make for our war, it might be the loss of our gentle companions that troubles us the most.

Demon Statue of a wretch titan

Lore found: demon statue: wretch titan

The modified children of emerald, known as the Wretchlings, willingly accept their role as the arrows in Urh'Rok's quiver, and most only live to see a couple of engagements before giving their lives in battle. Once in a great while, though, one will stand toe-to-toe with the enemy and repeatedly come out on top. These outstanding fighters, chosen by fate and their own talent, are recalled, then put through a series of tests to ensure that their survival was not due to luck alone. Roughly 70% of these are then assigned to breeding duties, ensuring that the Wretchling bloodline gets ever stronger as it is forged in the fires of combat; the rest, whether due to sterility, consuming too much resources to sustain their brood, or simply insisting on staying in the fights for which they were created, are nurtured to maturity and once again let loose on the battlefield. If wretchlings are our arrows, wretch titans are our trebuchet boulders, causing a tremendous amount of damage to the enemy line with their incredible strength and the geysers of acid spurting from their flesh. Although no less aggressive than their younger counterparts, wretch titans generally have a much higher survival rate, due to not only their formidable power and size, but the sheer terror they cause when charging at the enemy - few Eyalites would stand and fight against such a foe, particularly when it means standing in a rapidly-growing pool of acid.

Demon Statue of a wretchling

Lore found: demon statue: wretchling

Behold, the humble wretchling, a testament to our devotion to our Father! These children of emerald were among the first to alter themselves for our quest for vengeance, and managed an astounding degree of success. With their bursts of blinding speed overwhelming numbers, and skin that can release prodigious amounts of corrosive fluid, wretchlings can storm onto the battlefield and pounce on our foes one-by-one, dissolving the ground they walk on while leaving them helpless against our onslaught.

Wretchlings will readily give their lives in combat, serving as obstructions and shields while their acid and our casters do their work, and still remain the most populous of our species thanks to their incredible birth rates. It is rare to see a wretchling survive to maturity, but make no mistake - every wretchling that fights does an incredible service to our cause.

Demon Statue of a water imp

Lore found: demon statue: water imp

Though they retain use of their hands, this altered offshoot of the Fire Imp has made a much more powerful sacrifice: the ability to breathe air. Most of the dominant species of Eyal reside above the water, making its oceans and lakes a prime location for carrying out covert operations, conducting experiments too dangerous to perform on our own soil, and preparing portals for a full-scale invasion. As our scouts and servants beneath the seas, water imps forego the fire-slinging abilities shared by their brethren, instead focusing on ice-magic that is similarly effective underwater. Like a wretchling, a Water Imp does not expect to live to see peacetime, and thus has no need to breathe above the surface. Remember to pay tribute to the Water Imp whenever you can; since they do not fight alongside our land-based forces, it's all too easy to forget the selfless sacrifices they've made, and their enormous contributions in gathering intelligence and setting up remote bases.

Demon Statue of a fire imp

Lore found: demon statue: fire imp

If the Wretchling speaks to our worship, the Fire Imp speaks to our commitment and loyalty. When a child of ruby goes out onto the battlefield, she fuses some of the Eyal-scarred earth from our planet to her hands, having perfected a type of magic that uses the raging magic contained within to blast our foes with the fires they've caused. Aside from this means of appropriate justice being pleasing to Urh'Rok (as he showed when dealing with the dust-mages), it shows how dedicated we are to our cause: without hands, there's very little a Fire Imp would be able to do if she deserted or became demoralized. Fighting and destroying is what we live for, and what better way to show it than making oneself unable to do anything but fight and destroy? Although the bulk of the ruby species do not pursue this path, instead focusing on magical research and furthering our alteration projects, the example that the Fire Imp sets is a shining standard of commitment for all of Urh'Rok's children.

Demon Statue of a champion of Urh'Rok

Lore found: demon statue: champion of Urh'Rok

The Divine Tournament of Combat is the most straightforward of our competitions for the spectator, but those competing have a huge variety of possible divisions to enter. Most are based on the maximum amount of energy consumed by their entrants since (and including) birth; others include those set in an open field for direct combat, or a difficult-to-navigate forest of pillars to properly evaluate those who use hit-and-run tactics or excel at setting up or detecting ambushes. In the high-energy divisions, those competing are typically not born in the conventional manner, usually being constructs made by a team performing a collaborative effort. The constructs we now call Champions of Urh Rok have utterly devastated most of the high-energy open-field divisions, while performing adequately in the less-direct ones, making them a solid fit for production and deployment in the invasion. Their development team has earned a place of honor for their ingenious methods of creating such incredible strength with a sustainable amount of energy-input, and once mass-production is in order, these gigantic creatures will become the backbone of our military. Once they arrive on the surface, Eyal will experience a few fleeting moments of terror before their utter annihilation.

Demon Statue of a dúathedlen

Lore found: demon statue: dúathedlen

This plaque is mostly covered in shifting shadows. You can only make out a little bit of the text.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------heregs are not the only 
 way we recycle
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 arness their fear and suspici-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 outs. Cautious and yet sadistic, these assassins
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 markably effective in indirect combat, setting ambus
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 justice. Additionally, the shadows they produce------------------------------------------------------------spionage, scouting, and
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 king them a val---------------------------------tion to our intel-gathering camps. Redee
 --------------------------------------------------------- data they contribute on
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 paving the way for our invasion.

As you reach the end, the text goes completely black, and a new message forms.

WE SEE YOU.