Demons

Demons are entities that are widely varied in their use within fictional fantasy spaces. They are either fallen angels that exist to tempt mortals to sin, the most common option, or they are simply evil entities that do evil and encourage evil for evil's sake. In all stories, however, they are EVIL. But what is evil? Why evil? Why do demons represent that very specific other existence that we all strive to work against. Why does a demon have to represent the very essence of what we do not want to be. Perhaps demons are not actually real entities, affectable and enduring, but are rather just reflections of things inside us as a ghost is a reflection of one's life. If you were to make a shade of the evil inside oneself, would that then breed a demon? Does that then mean that making a shade of the good inside onself breeds an angel? Do we have our own guiding angels within ourselves? Maybe there is merit to the tiny-consciences of devil and angel.

A demon walks into a bar... bar blows up.

Demons can have feelings too, however, if they are in fact separate entities from ourselves, and not shades. They have organizations, they have social ladders, they have lives. But what kind of life, is the question. A demon lives in a world different from ours. This world of theirs is a reflection of ours, because there must be connection between there and here, else they would have no reason to be involved in our lives. Some stories encourage that demons traffic in our souls, but to what purpose? What do they gain by selling our soul? Power, inevitably, but is it just social standing, which then garners them more benefits due to their growing station, or are we in effect actual currency that they trade off to gain something tangible in exchange. And who do they trade us to? Is there eventually someone who consumes our souls as a tasty morsel, thereby increasing their actual power level by such ingestion, or do our souls sit in a barrel, whose weight of souls inevitably adds to one's power through the very act of being heavier than the other guy's?

As much as I find myself intrigued by stories involving demons, as I do not believe they are well explored in fantasy out there, I'm uncertain of how to create a story involving them heavily without stealing too many story aspects from other writers. I absolutely love how Kim Harrison treats demons and find it to be a one of a kind handling of demons in a way no one else ever has. I am so in love with her story setting that I keep wanting to use it to write my own story of demons in that location, and yet I know I need to come up with some other setting while appreciating hers.

Perhaps Demons are more like an alien entity, rather than a personification of evil out of own lives. An alien entity existing in a 'parallel' dimension. But this parallel dimension hasn't always been parallel. This dimension, is something of a parasitic dimension (can a dimension take on qualities of a living organism?). It, or the beings within it, have discovered our dimension/world and have a way in which they can take over our world. These demons have existed since our written records began mentioning them, but their ability to affect our world was limited during those times to manipulation through indirect means. Or maybe at first they were much stronger, pushing themselves through to our world physically, until some event shut out their means of direct travel or they wasted too much energy and had to reserve their power for some millenium or two. Over these millenia, the demons have influenced our world in a more subtle, but no less effective, manner. Through their subtle manipulations of our thoughts and emotions, they have over time corrupted the souls of many. As each soul is corrupted, the soul is dragged across the space separating the two dimensions and fuels the demons there. The very act of pulling the soul to their side additionally acts as a infinitesimal pulley, pulling the parasitic dimension that much closer to our dimension. With each new corrupted soul stolen by the demons, the two dimensions become closer and closer. Now, with the dimensions close enough to see the glow of the other world (you know how it never truly gets dark in the cities? That's the other world your seeing.. and its more in the cities because the number of corrupt souls stolen from there are greater), the demons are able to cross over once again and begin their attack more directly. Eventually, if the demons are not stopped, the two dimensions will merge and it will be open war - against a species that has been preying upon us for millenia. How does one stop the corruption, or push away a parasitic dimension??