The Demon Tarot Texts

From: nu-monet v 4.0 <nothing@succeeds.com>
Newsgroups: alt.binaries.slack
Reply-To: like.excess@sex.org
Date: Mon, Jul 1, 2002 11:57 PM

All together now...

1. "The Primitive Evil"

This image, bearing a striking similarity to a Paleolithic
cave painting used by primeval shaman to forewarn their
tribe of the hideous entities that ruled the dark places of
their legend, is often associated with "The Taker of Heads",
who despite his name most often stole the vitals from his
victims, for some unknown purpose.

2. "The Sky Djinn"

A rare creature, who unlike the typical djinn abhored the
graveyard in favor of the open field or pasture. It was
known to descend onto large animals, sometimes people,
and could strip their body of skin in a mere few seconds,
sometimes slicing away at body parts most often genitalia,
and draining the body of fluids.

3. "The Despoiler"

An entity of decay, filth and rot, its gift was to distract the
unwary, then befoul their food, poisoning them to die an
agonizing death within seconds. It would then cause their
body to bloat, fester and become rife with insects, its
minions, corrupting their victims entire household and
often causing the indirect loss of the entire family through
pestilence.

4. "The Agony"

Small in size, and perhaps insect- or fairy-like in physical
appearance, this demon flew at night into the open mouth
of a sleeper. With great speed it would burrow through the
back of the throat to gain passage to the brain, where it
would wrap itself about the upper spinal cord. It would
then parasitically control
its host and force them to perform acts of hideous
perversity and violence. A shaman often would perform
several trepanation in an unsuccessful effort to dislodge it
before it could lay its eggs.

5. "The Ifrit Succubus"

A demon which assumes the countenance of a nubile young
girl, and seeks to drain the essence from males of all
variety, young and old. From male infants she would drain
and consume individual drops of blood, rendering the child
weak, listless and prone to illness. She would often marry
an old hermit, isolation from others being her ally, then
feed him medicines fooling him into the belief that his
virility had been restored--only to sexually drain him until
he died.

6. (An Unnamed Demon)

One of a thousand, ten-thousand such predators that exist in
nightmares, it is their task to lead the unwary
dreamer into such a labyrinth of dreams from which they
can no longer emerge to resume their waking life. Often
they work in teams, with one distracting the awareness, the
other suppressing the vital functions of the body, causing
death.

7. "The Cadaverous Horse"

A specter of a giant and decayed horse corpse will appear
in a town, perhaps to snatch a small child in its jaws forma
gruesome meal. But it is really there as the harbinger of a
plague of pus-pox, which shall soon devastate the land.
Often on seeing such a specter, village elders set the town
alight, favoring a quick death by fire to the slow death of
this plague.

8. "The Sailor Scourge"

A creature drawn to fresh or saltwater craft and swimmers
in search of its human prey. It is small enough to enter the
body through the anus, then imbeds itself in the walls of the
gut, causing copious bleeding and intense pain. It is not a
parasite, however, and kills its victim through internal
bleeding often before he can leave the water. It is
supernatural of character, as it does not seem to feed on its
victims, killing them out of malevolence, then quickly
burrowing an exit from the abdomen.

9. "The Janus Fish"

Symbolic of the forces of imbalanced duality: gentleness
and murder; mild kindness and savagery; tact and rape, as
examples. Named after a fish that is slightly better in
flavor than ordinary for eating, yet unpredictably deadly
poisonous. As a symbol it is of a bargain not worth it. A
"devils deal", with small gain versus horrible and
permanent loss.

10. "The Bone Chewer"

A desert demon that eats only the bones of its victims. Its
talons are used to tear the flesh from the bones, which is
discarded. It is suggestive of a marrow eater, and yet it
consumes the bones in their entirety, leaving behind a
gruesome massacre which attracts many vermin.

11. "The Avatar of the Abdal"

Given different names in different cultures, the Abdala are
a group of entities whose activities are beyond the ability of
men to understand. They are so alien that often there is a
prohibition against even attempting to divine their purpose.
They are seen as neither good nor evil, and yet the
appearance of their avatar is seen as a profoundly bad
omen.

12. "The Violator"

A being sent to torment and ultimately destroy a person
who has sinned by violating one of the three Babelachic
Covenants. So ingrained is the revulsion against breaking
these laws that no man has dared to do so in uncounted
years. This demon is strangely alert, however, and near
omniscient over mankind in seeking out one who would do
so. Its horror unleashed would be beyond estimation, and
could spread far beyond the intended victim with ultimate
savagery.

13. "The Joyous Blindness"

A "dilemma" of the mind, which entices its victims to stare
for hours at the sun until blind, yet laughing and happy all
the while, hearing its hypnotic and lilting music and
"seeing" beautiful images. The victims then follow this
siren song, throwing themselves from high precipices while
still ecstatic.

14. "The Phoenix"

Unmentioned in the traditional tale is how the Phoenix sets
alight those unfortunates that fall under its gaze.
Similar to the fabled Cockatrice in lethality, the slightest
glance of a fired Phoenix would cause blindness, most
likely followed by the entire person bursting into searing
flame, reducing them to ash. Humans were not unique, as
it would scorch tracts of land, along with other animals and
plants under it, until it itself was once again consumed by
its own fire.

15. "The Disemboweler"

Little is known of this demon save that it dwells in dark
places and has been known to overwhelm entire companies
of well-armed men. It is a thorough murderer. It strikes
repeatedly until it is sated, then vanishes for great lengths
of time, even many lifetimes.

16. (A Fury)

One of the eleven demons known as the "furies", it bears
animosity to all men and women--a higher form of hatred,
almost a blind rage~that people cannot fully comprehend.
It is lost to time why it is this way, or how it can maintain
such emotion for generations without exhaustion. What is
known is that as the numbers of men have increased, so has
its power, so that now it may be truly indestructible.

17. "The Mind of the Other"

This is an entity which finds entry into the human body at
the back of the crown of the skull. Though it is not a
physical thing, at first, under the skin of the head, it is like a
small worm, seeking a slight hole by which it gains entry
into the skull. It then fuses with the brain, learning from it,
until it can take partial control of the body.

18. "The Cursed Blade"

An edged object, traditionally, but not limited to a knife or
sword, that actively strives to do harm to others or even its
owner. It is indistinguishable from an ordinary blade,
except that it will alter its own sharpness, brittleness,
flexibility and balance with uncanny timing to do injury. It
is indiscriminate and is just likely to shatter, leaving its
owner defenseless. The most powerful of these may even
fly through the air, but only to do damage.

19. "The Emasculator"

A demon of the cesspit, that singularly preys on males. It
waits until they are perched on the seat, then it will spring
up to slice into both testicles simultaneously. It is attracted
to the smell of fear, so often those most frightened of
castration will be attacked.

20. "The Ball-Lion"

An omnivorous demon, most unearthly in its manner. It
seems to have no outward hatred of man, only contempt,
though it is remarkably destructive in its behavior. A group
of six such things may strip a field bare of food, a mine of
its ore, or a lake of its fish overnight, leaving poisonous
waste in their wake. If disturbed in their harvest, one such
will consume a man utterly without distraction and
continue on with its work.

21. "The Ifriti Incubus"

Like the Incubus that steals away the virtue and life of a
woman, this creature appears as a handsome man, but once
she is under his power, he changes in character and
appearance, committing terrible acts that either deform her
horribly, or result in her becoming a demon herself.
Women who crave demon-like powers are deceived and
killed, however, as such things can only be given
involuntarily.

22. "Harpinions"

Earth creatures that dwell in packs to attack animals and
people much larger than themselves, though they are
defeated in their attack by hard shoes or hooves. When one
is trod upon, he thrusts up with a barbed harpoon spear into
and perhaps through the foot. The harpoon is very strongly
cemented to its nest and so off-balances their victim, who
falls on the nests of other Harpinions. When secured with
dozens of such weapons, the Harpinions emerge from the
ground and consume their prey.

23. "The Moon Sorcerer"

In his youth, a very powerful sorcerer tore the moon from
the earth and placed it in the heavens. He could never
again match this powerful act, though he lived a very long
life, and resented the fact that his peers lost interest in his
paramount act. In his rage, his powers turned him into a
monstrous thing, that lashes out at all who observe the
moon yet do not remark on its magnificence. In his new
form he is vastly long lived, but he is only corporeal when
the moon is full. His violence is remarkable.

24. "The Lung Burrower"

A demon creature that hides in dust storms of all types. It
leaps out of the storm and dives into the mouth of a person
who is speaking, rapidly crawling down into his lung with
barbed legs before it can be coughed out. Once in the lung,
it digs a hole which collapses the lung, and nests in the
lower abdomen. The injured person may survive for
several weeks with one inside their body, but will
eventually expire. The Lung Burrower then leaves through
the mouth.

25. "The Siren"

Appearing as a woman, this demon causes madness. She is
attracted to death and strives to turn a single fatality into
the loss of an entire family. In their grief and madness,
they are driven to suicide. Rumored to foretell the future, if
one's ears are filled with wax, softening her song, one magi
reported that her lyrics were instead babble and childish
lies.

26. "The Great Cockatrice"

Created when an aged rooster lays an egg, which is
incubated in the coils of a viper, this depiction can only
guess the appearance of a Cockatrice, as to gaze upon one
would be fatal. As would hearing their shriek, or coming
under their gaze. Even in death, their blood is the most
deadly of poisons, and the only known defenses against
them are their natural enemy, weasels; weasel fur, which
will not transmit their sound or blood; and mirrors to reflect
their lethal image. Vast areas of desert on the earth are
believed to have been created by various Cockatrices,
where before there had been lush jungle and forest.

27. (An Unnamed Demon)

A demon that lives in shallow water, often on irrigated
lands. Its sting causes the muscles of the body to turn into
stone from the extremities inward. The stone is of a fragile
type, so that striking a tree could cause an entire arm to
shatter into small pieces. The only known cure is to sever
the affected limb immediately after being stung, rarely
done in time.

28. "Murthira"

Symbol of some thing which dwells in rock and can reach
out only a short distance through cracks in the rock to take
a small bite from its victim, often a barefoot child. The bite
may cost a toe, but the wound left behind is often septic
and lethally foul. The origin of its name is not known.

29. "The Sword Runner"

A monster of great speed that cuts down its prey from
behind. Even from a mountain, its movements are a blur to
the eye. It feeds where it kills, its kill being either animal
or man, but often it only eats the liver, the richest of the
internal organs, before leaving.

30. "Rhxys"

A demon of the mind, it traps a victim by making it favor
old memories in its sight instead of the world. Such a man
or woman loses desire to eat or sleep or care for themselves
and withers away. They do not feast, they only imagine
they do, so they starve.

31. "The Firefly Of Death"

It is said to descend from the night sky 'as a meteor that has
lost its way', in an irregular course, finally darting
downward to burn a hole through the head of one who
would watch its flight. What becomes of it, after it is
embedded in the ground beneath, is not known, as it
continues its path to great depth.

32. "The Warrior Assassin"

A demon that appears in human form, near a field of battle,
but not wearing the uniform of either side. Once thought to
be a fury, as it uses its strange weapon to attack any human,
it can control and direct its rage, even appearing gentle and
peaceful before killing.

33. "The Strangler Fiend"

This demon manifests as a man, befriending someone who
is a stranger or perhaps lost in a foreign place. They have a
fixation with the hands of their victim and will take them
after the murder. This in some way increases the power of
their own demon hands until they can crush rock or kill
with a single blow.

34. "The Deformer"

A monster capable of scrambling the facial features of a
child with its fingers. It can somehow manipulate the face
of an infant like soft clay, even adding or taking away eyes,
ears, nose and mouth. If the child survives such
manipulation, often it is killed by its own parents as an
abomination.

35. "The Ritual Dancer"

An ancient Djinn of lies, whose gift is to convince the
seeker of power that it offers immense, arcane magics, but
only if the seeker can perform an impossibly complex
ritual, failure being at the cost of their life. To further
confuse, the Djinn performs a distracting dance, all along
ready to pounce at the slightest mistake. It has no real gift
to offer.

36. "The Death Flower"

A chameleon demon, it will take the visage of a flower,
hoping to lure inspection from an insect, animal or man. Its
perfume is deadly, as is its blood if someone foolishly
consumes a petal of its bud. When closely gazed upon, it
shoots out barbed seeds that blind, drive mad and kill.

37. "The Changeling Homunculous"

A small, man-shaped homunculous created to serve and
assist a master surgeon, if left unattended, might be
replaced by a changeling of evil intent. Instead of helping
or lending aid, it would lie, err, and omit, resulting in the
death of those the surgeon sought to help, and ruining his
reputation.

38. "Hjrinn Leopard"

A creature of stealth and viciousness, that would attack and
kill all creatures, even insects, except man, and do it with
such speed that overnight a forest would fall silent. Soon, a
large area would have the pall of death upon it, and
assemblages of carrion creatures would follow in its wake.

39. "Illuminatee"

The greatest of the demons of illusion and perception. A
large being which dwells in deep caverns, it comes up to
take with force whole groups of people, injected with
venom, who then are sustained in its nest in cocoons,
unaware that they feed the Illuminatee with their dreams.

40. "The Demon of Fire that Flows As Water"

Its true name is lost to time, but it is made of the fluid
nature of flame. It is paired with a demon of smoke in
symbiosis to invisibly reach within the chest of a person
and constrict their heart until they die, though they may be
far enough away from the fire to avoid being burned.

41. "The Dictator"

A demon that feeds off the hate and fear of crowds, with a
passion for murder on the grand scale. It will take over a
man whose brain has been severely damaged, who is near
death, both heal and possess him, and project through him
irresistible charisma.

42. "Hennouie"

A demon that takes away all sense of purpose, leaving its
victims indifferent, debilitated and lethargic. Eventually,
they slow until they die.

43. "Heptosilv"

A parasite demon of the stomach. It controls its host
through pain and exudes a venom that prevents
unconsciousness. Some relief is obtained through opium,
but the demon will kill its host unless the drug is
administered carefully. As suicides, the victims prefer hot
fires.

44. (An Unknown Demon)

The symbol of an invisible demon that preys on women. It
invades their womb, and while at first causing no obvious
injury, creates the illusion of a horrible, monster fetus.
They or their family may even tear her apart trying to wrest
the monster from her womb, to no effect other than her
death. If she maintains her equanimity, then the demon
injures her, and she hemorrhages to death.

45. "Body Smasher"

Mostly indifferent to people, this demon is perhaps the size
of an ox, both unusually heavy and capable of long hops of
flight. If in its route, it will crush most any object or
animal, preferring them to the ground. It gives little or no
warning, appears and disappears as if through a magical
door.

46. "Pteracine"

A birdlike demon of antiquity, its vast flocks vanished from
view into a rift in the sky, after laying waste to much of the
lands of a great empire. The vanishing was described as
one side of "a great coin", and that the Pteracines would
someday emerge from the other side of the "coin" to
destroy much of the world once again.

47. "The Mother's Bane"

An ancient being, perhaps a fury, that is filled with hate at
the birth of a child. In many disguises it may attack the
mother or baby, perhaps dressed as a midwife, to dash the
baby on a rock, or to slice the mother open in the guise of
an angry man. In the open field, it may dash through and
snatch a baby, cutting the throats of all in attendance with
great speed. Strangely, if the child is born dead, its rage
ceases and it gives off a mournful song.

48. "Eater of Spines"

A most extraordinary demon that feeds only on the spine of
men. It is stealthy and quick, often taking its prey in a
crowd, breaking open its back, and sucking out the contents
of the spine before departing, sometimes tossing the
remains at the other people in contempt. It is known to live
both in the desert regions and in the forest.

49. "N'Gdan the Grasper"

A demon who takes the form of a misshapen fat and
deformed man. It is only seen to run, running up to a man,
woman, or child that it grasps in a hug, absorbing into their
flesh in moments, through their clothes. Still possessed of
their senses, they go mad trying to wrest the creature from
their bodies, attacking themselves with weapons or their
bare hands. They choose death over the retention of the
thing, and call out its name, over and over again.

50. "Death Trembles"

An invisible demon who attacks an older youth through
unknown means. First they tremble, then tremble greatly,
over months losing control of their limbs, which whither.
Their walk becomes a drunken stagger and they can no
longer feed themselves. In the last stages before death, the
demon takes away their voice, and their eyes roll in their
head.

51. "Yumak, the Beast"

A cunning predator demon, it seeks out man, pretending to
be a wild large animal, tamed through some means. Often
it is embraced by men and their children as a gentle, wise
creature that can be trusted. It cannot be held against its
will in a cage, and will snatch a child, consume it, then
return to its pen to act innocent. It is not trusted by dogs.

52. "The Sky Takers"

Little is known of these demons, save that they come from
the sky, and take men and animals back with them, who
never return. In past they would collect entire towns, the
only witnesses being those on its outskirts, too far away to
be noticed. They were also known to make markings on
the ground as guides for their kind.

53. (An Unnamed Demon)

A demon that afflicts only women, its eye appears large
before their sight, even with their eyes closed.
It then commands them, making them do strange and
senseless things. Without warning, eventually it makes
them run off, and where they go is not known, for they are
never seen again.

54. "Blood Drinkers"

Entity that can resemble a man or an animal, that attacks
men and women and drinks all of their blood. It is thought
to live in abandoned cesspits and can be fought by
collapsing earth and rocks on its abode. They are the least
of demons.

55. "The Cursed Mask"

A demon that forms itself into the guise of a facial mask,
great or small. When worn, it soon controls both the mind
and the body, forcing its wearer to do the demons' will or
altering his face for strange purpose. For some it has been
used as a powerful tool, for others, it has made them feel a
thousand, ten thousand deaths.

56. "Heshen the Rapist"

Now a demon ghost, Heshen was believed to be a rapist-
killer possessed by a demon beyond compare in the world.
Through some magic, this demon was destroyed or driven
off, but Heshen was left so damaged that when burned alive
he became a demon himself. His rages are almost as those
of a fury, and though he intends to rape, he mutilates his
victims with unparalleled savagery.

57. "Yellow Mist"

A demon found only on a walking path where the air is
still. It makes about itself a stench so foul that the air is
displaced. A person walking into this yellow mist is
rendered asleep in a breath or two. The yellow mist then
descends on him, stealing away his life through suffocation.

58. "The Giant Marsh Toad"

An enormous demon that is like a giant toad. It waits in the
shallows of a lake until an unwary person approaches to
drink. Then as a toad to an insect, to gobbles the person
whole, vanishing into the bog. Its size is so great that it
may be confused with an entire lake bottom, where it may
sleep for hundreds of years between feasts.

59. "Helemin Siren"

A demon that preys on groups of children. It sings a song
without music or words that puts adults to sleep, and leads
children to dance and follow it to its lair, from where they
are never seen again. Its song is also said to be able to
move heavy objects and is even used to propel it through
the sky.

60. "Bruin Fiend"

An ancient sorcerer who was expelled from his clan and
forced to live in the woods became this thing after many
years. With his great strength, claws and fangs he returned
to destroy his clan. He attacks men with randomness, and
is a master of concealment, even stepping between worlds
to escape view.

61. "Impaler A'niiz"

A demon of either the open field or the cesspit, almost
unique in its use of tools, a spear. It seeks out where
people defecate and tries to impale them from its hidden
position beneath, or dug into the ground. Sometimes its
spear is hooked, and it will tear out its victims intestines.

62. "The Ancient Fish"

An odd demon that disguises itself as a strange fish. Yet it
does not die when taken from the water, and soon, strong
legs emerge from its body, permitting it to attack and kill
fishermen with ease. Its skin is proof against bladed
weapons, and it grows large by feeding on its victims. It
seeks to attack, rather than to flee. If landed, it may attack
and destroy every person in an entire village, before
returning to the water.

63. "The Weeping Darkness"

A demon in the guise of a starving girl child. She is taken
into the home where she then breaks and runs from room to
room, touching people and imparting blindness with her
touch. She then takes hours, or even days, to torment and
torture the people within, as her prisoners, eventually
vanishing as a strong foul breeze. She never kills all her
victims.

64. "The Agony Tick"

A demon, much in appearance as a large tick, but with the
design of a human eye on its back. It fixes itself in the
scalp, but unlike a tick, it burrows deeply and embeds its
whole body under the skin. In the night and without pain, it
moves to attack one of the two great nerves of the face.
The pain it then makes is beyond compare. A male demon
will leave once it has destroyed both nerves, but if a female
lays eggs, the result is fatal.

65. "The Brain Fire"

Symbol of the invisible demon that will attack a region. It
causes a rot in the brain that once run its course, steals the
will and makes the victims into cannibals. They stagger
about, feasting on any person they can catch or grab, biting
through and tearing off flesh that they consume.

66. "The Ground Crab"

Huge colonies of these creatures dwell deep in the ground
and they normally feast on worms and grubs.
However, if a cemetery of untreated remains is made near
their nest, they develop a taste for human meat.
Once their supply of food is used up, vast numbers may
burst from the ground like as ants, and raid towns where
people live, overwhelming the inhabitants through sheer
numbers.

67. "The Vile Holy Man"

The reanimate body of a holy man who appeared saintly
but was secretly corrupt. Mirroring his life, his shell
remains whole, but his interior is both decayed and full of
foul insects and worms. He seeks to pervert the innocent,
to become like himself, and having done so, his shell
breaks apart and he collapses into filth.

68. "Declen Tatoe"

A wizard destroyed by a spell that went horribly wrong.
She sought the powers of a hundred different animals to be
kept within herself all at once, but some energies partially
freed themselves, half exiting her body before becoming
entrapped. Her spell did impart to her great longevity, but
only as a hideous monster, with her human mind being only
in control of a small portion of the whole.

69. "The Wind Taker"

An invisible demon that is taken down into the lungs with a
cough. It enjoys tormenting its hosts, by slowly choking
off their air at irregular intervals, then perhaps allowing
them to breathe once again. Some times, it makes a foul
sputum with blood from the lungs, other times not. It may
live inside for years before killing.

70. "The Spiny Lizard-Man"

A creature or demon that lives near lake waters. It is
assembled from pieces of several different animals, and its
bite, claws, and spines are poisonous. It can throw the
latter as an arrow, and abhors being seen.
It preys on hunters and fishermen, and it has great strength
for its size, uprooting trees and tossing great rocks.

71. "The Tooth Thief"

A horrible monster than knocks a person down, then
wrenches open their jaws and extracts their teeth. Its
strange hard comb-like hands seem to be designed for
piercing the gums to snatch teeth from their sockets. The
cheeks of their victim are often torn apart in this pursuit,
and they may choke on their own blood. The monster
wears the teeth of its victims as a decoration, but rarely
more than a single set.

72. "Bearer of the Fire Jar"

A demon of the sky, it pours endless amounts of burning
liquid onto its victims, preying mostly on those who live in
caves. Only the deepest depths of a cave will be free of
fire, and even then the people will suffocate. It is thought
to be a fury, as its face, illuminated by the fire, is a mask of
rage.

73. "The Bird King"

At one time, offered up young girls to be its bride, it would
carry them off instead as food for its young.
Instead it now steals them from their play, and is enveloped
in a mist by which it escapes, even on cloudless days. It is
unknown where it, or they nest, and whether or not it feeds
exclusively on human children.

74. "The Wittin Worm"

A single egg is eaten unawares and over the course of many
months it grows inside a person, gradually making use of,
and sharing their organs. The host cannot feel the demon
until, in the final week, they collapse in apparent sickness.
After a time they spring to apparent health, then split open
to reveal the fully-formed monster within the human shell.
The creature then runs swiftly away.

75. "The Hellish Lute"

An instrument that lives and can transport its user to a
realm of horror, where they are left. It entices through the
beautiful music made in strumming its strings. Once it has
taken away a musician, it reappears in the world, without
him. It has an sulfurous air about it.

76. "Avatar Of An Unknown Demon"

This being is as a warning light for a demon that has not yet
made an entrance to the world, so is not known to man. It
searches for something, an object or precondition that must
exist for its master to come forth. It is impervious, and
nothing is known that may hide from its sight. It will kill to
learn what it seeks, though that may itself be beyond the
knowledge of men.

77. "A Demon To Be"

This demon is not of this time and does not belong here, yet
has somehow come to be here. It carries out terrible acts of
destruction, sometimes directed against men, other times
against things. It steals heat and leaves a trail of ice where
it trods. It has been known to speak a tongue near that of
men, but poorly done.
It will even attack other demons.

78. "The End-Bringer"

A demon that promises to destroy the world, in its own
time and from deep within the world. It holds the ultimate
magic and will open the gate to the other world, so that all
men and beasts and even plants shall be destroyed, ending
with the Earth plunged into darkness. It has followers
among men.

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Original file name: The Demon Tarot Text.txt - converted on Friday, 13 June 2003, 22:43