Demons of Tryed - Chapter 1: First Steps in Noom (684-689)

1.1 First Steps

For the first few years after the Vessel arrived into Omeon Valley there was little indication of upcoming upheaval.  The Hardlands of Noom are a difficult place to live: little rain falls there, the river beds snaking through the lands rarely have water in them, and the few plants that grow in the hard soil are not edible by people or livestock.  Before coming of demons Omeon Valley itself was a dry, unwelcoming empty valley running through South-Central Noom.  The Vessel emerged into the part of the valley that was a hundred and fifty farthens north of Roevar Mountains, far from where people went; the only regular track through the area was Yolü Road that hugged the coast of Sea of Frell to the east; Rundrow's Road, the only path that crossed the hardlands, has not been used for almost a century since the principalities of Roevar Mountains allowed Slonean and Lechowian caravans to pass on their way northwest.  Nearest settlements, small villages of the coastal sheyrates, were over a hundred farthens away.

Thus, whether by design or not, the demons emerged in what is likely the best place in Tryed to go unnoticed, and could spend the first several years establishing themselves.  It was during this time that the Omeon Keep grew up around the Vessel, and the first of the demons' beasts were grown.  The first of the clever irrigations that squeezed out the little water that ground held were constructed then too, as were the first mines and workshops.

While it is yet to be confirmed by demons' records, the first order of business for the demons was likely to construct the wells.  Unlike most wells that go straight into the ground, demons built tunnel wells that cut into the valley slopes almost horizontally, running for several farthens with a slight upward incline as they went deeper into the mountain sides.  Then the ground water that hid in the mountains after a rare rain would run down the well channel and out of the opening near the valley floor, producing a steady flow that varied only occasionally as the seasons changed.  Two of these wells were constructed in Omeon Valley in the first year, and in the follwing four years thirty four more were dug in Omeon and nearby valleys.

With presence of water the soil turned out to be fertile, and the demons then planted their own plants on the fields around these wells.  Most of these first plants produced tubers that had soft purple flesh inside, as well as large pumpkin-like fruits that demons ground into mush to eat.  These were not demons' main preferences, as when they got to more fertile lands they switched to a different set of plants, though they must have provided sufficient food to the demons for the first few years.

At the same time they also made bricks and mortar, and used them to build buildings, walls, and water channels.  They also found metal ores and produced iron and copper tools.  Though demons used coal and wood when they reached areas with abundance of these, they had very few of either in Noom, and for some time their initial source of heat was a puzzle.  After arrival to Omeon Keep in 763, the armies of King Otner found a disused kiln where hard shubbery that gew up around the outlets of the wells was turned into charcoal, though the quantities of charcoal it would have produced there were so small that all of it likely went into iron to turn it to steel.  In 771 compact furnaces with unusually small burning chambers that could have been heated only by charge crystals were found in the side of Monom Valley; however, the combined charge crystals recovered from demons were not enough to hold charge needed to supply enough heat for all of demons' enterprises for more than a few weeks, so either they had many more potent crystals that were not recovered, or they had a way to recharge them from the sun, or they indeed had other sources of heat as well.

They did, however, find plenty of metal.  There were exposed iron formations in Monom Valley which were exausted within the first decade and abandoned.  Copper ore was found in upper Omeon Valley, and nickel in Partar's Valley.  As demons used these deposits they prospected further througout Noom, and digged deeper under the surface, finding richer deposits during next several years, as well as some coal and plenty of underground water.  By the time they expanded to more fertile lands in 690s there was a number of mines surrounding Omeon Keep, which ensured that it remained an important site for the Red Horde even after it moved its headquarters to Seren Keep sometime in late 690s.

Most of this initial work was done by the arriving master demons themselves, as the records show that the first demon hatchery was not constructed until almost a year after the arrival, and it took another year or two before the first bulls, diggers and crafters entered service.

1.2 On Variety of Demons

One remarkable thing about the demons is that while we call them all by the same name now, there were in fact very many different kinds of them, over three hundred altogether.  Some were seen only in the beginning of the Wars, or only at the end, while others were present only in one Horde but not others, and there were demons that were present in all Hordes at all times.

Altogether the demons can be split into two types: the beast demons and the master demons, just like living creatures of our world are split into animals and people.  No matter what type of demon they were, they all had bones and organs inside much like people and animals, though most of the organs were quite different, and bled dark purple blood.  None had fur or feathers, and none wore clothes except when cold, though some wore vests, belts and sacks used to carry items.  Some demons had bone plates growing on their hard grey skin, and larger demons that walked on four legs often had thicker plates on the bottoms of the feet that served as hooves.  Few of them, notably the flying demons and the wolf demons, had tails.

They usually had flattened heads like snakes, with ten to twenty eyes of different size and strength depending on the kind of demons they were.  They ate through a mouth in their head or their neck, and breathed and listened through multiple holes along the sides of their body and their heads, and defecated through an opening at their rear.

The beast demons, often called just "beasts", each served their own purpose.  Some plowed the fields, others patrolled the borders, and others delivered messages by air, or fought as soldiers.  The beast demons, were often far more intelligent than our animals; for example the bull demons that plowed and harrowed the fields could attach the plow themselves, and knew which fields to plow and how to plow them, though they could not do much else.  Likewise, it was noted by the scounts in 740s that the flying messenger demons could, after half a year to a year of training, deliver the messages to new destinations they did not visit before.  Many of the beasts could also recongize their masters, and would not obey master demons that were not of their own clan or keep, and fought viciously against people who came close to them even when not provoked.

There were beast demons for nearly every hard task that needed to be performed.  For demon army, in 698 the Sheyr of Kalran, who then lead the army of Sloneom against the demons, noted in a report to his Prince after the Battle of Oxmald Ford that

"The demons ... had many warriors much corresponding to our own: there were short, two-footed, moderately plated ones that carried pikes and shot small, sharp spines from appendages much like our muskets; there were taller, faster, lightly plated ones that did not carry pikes but short larger spikes from longer distances ...; there were four-legged beasts that ranged around like cavalry; and there were large, slow four-legged beasts that dragged their guns and dug their earthworks; ..."

He went on to describe some twenty different demons observed, during, before and after the battle, including the messenger demons the size of a large bird, the wolf demons that patrolled the countryside in packs, the master demons, and two large flying demons that were observed bearing away things that could not be discerned sometime after the battle.

Many of the war beasts changed over time, as new varieties appeared and disappeared.  Thus, General Trinow Sharpwane wrote during his 724-5 campaign in Adrins against the Black Horde:

"Many of the forts are held by the new variety of solider demon: they are not as heavily armoured ..., and are shorter, but they are strong and effective diggers, bringing up new fortifications in days; so if we let them sit in one place for more then four days, we can no longer dislogde them quickly, but have to sit down for a long siege instead. ... They also carry spine muskets, and can fire several at once, instead of carrying the spine-shooting appendages; these spine muskets are less precise, but if each of demons shoots three of them in span of several moments, it makes little difference."

These demons were observed only in service of the Black Horde, first appearing in 723 and gradually diminishing in numbers during late 730s and early 740s, disappearing altogether by 742.

Among the worker beast demons, there were also many varieties.  The the largest of these varieties were the heavy burden beasts, among which the biggest were those that hauled cargoes, plowed the fields or powered the machinery.  Many of those, while similar, varied depending on their task: the war beasts of burden that hauled the cannons and dug the redoubts were smaller and plated heavily enough to withstand a volley of muskets, had bigger and better eyes, and had broad horns around their heads for digging, while the cargo beasts that served on the roads inside the conquered lands were larger, without any armor or horns, and had more stamina and less intelligence.

The agile worker demons looked more like the master demons.  They had six or eight legs: two powerful hind legs for normally carrying their weight; two middle lengs that were used for carrying heavy loads or for assisting in walking or running, and two or four dextrous front arms that had either digits or multi-jointed tentacles capable of fine manipulations.  These were often specialized in some of the more complicated tasks: there were masons, woodcutters, carpenters, metalworkers, miners, farmers, and many others.  They were more capable than most other beast demons, as according to scout reports they often completed more complex tasks without oversight by the master demons, and sometimes even directed other beast demons; however, none were observed speaking, reading or writing.

There were other worker demons too, including swift four-legged carrier demons the size of a horse that likely carried more urgent cargo and messages along the roads; big-eyed observer demons that flew over land and noted anything unusual that occurred; small demons the size of cat or dog that dug tunnels or performed finer work, though some of them may have acted as sentinels as well; swift flying messenger demons; and rarely sigted large flying demons that may have been used to carry most urgent goods or master demons.

1.3 Master Demons

In command of the beast demons were the master demons.  These all looked mostly the same, though varied slightly in size and appearance.  When upright, the master demons stood about as tall as a human, and always had six limbs: the bottom two, ending in flat paddles like our feed without toes were used for walking; the middle ones, ending in rough digits, for helping them run or for carrying heavier burdens or assisting with other things; and the upper two, ending in three to five digits, for dextrous manipulation.  Most of them had light plates along their body and limbs, some of which were the color of their Horde.  Like many other demons they had twelve eyes ringing their head, though only four front ones were large and able to see well, two of them larger and two of them smaller.

The master demons were as intelligent as people, and were capable of speech in their own manner, as well as writing.  They were organized in hierarchies like us, and were clearly capable of careful, strategic thought, as in the decades after their appearance they have lead their armies in victory against some of the most capable generals first in Tryed and then in Elleom, and have built realms rivaling our own.

In strength they slightly overmatched average men, and in single combat, which was rare, they tended to win against more capable warriors, though they lost as well.  After the first beast demons were hatched most of them did not do much fighting or base work, having beast demons perform it for them.  There were, however, some elite warriors among them, who were sent only on the most difficult tasks.

Most notable quality of the master demons, however, was their unusually strong abilities in the High Arts.  They did not need to take special teas or extracts like our own Adepts, as their very blood was far better at sharpening the mind a quickening the heart than the strongest Aakraa tea.  Thus they were rather more capable of manipulating the aethers, and their High Arts were more developed than ours.

Like our own Adepts some of the demons were more capable in High Arts than others, and often this was reflected in their station.  Thus, ordinary master demons often had almost no skill at working the  aethers, while their High Lords and Kings, who also kept the most potent charge crystals, were cabable of feats unmatched until King Otner and the Storm Company.

We do not know much about temperament or relations between the individual master demons, though more has come to light after deciphering their writings.  Roalam Greenfeather, for example, suggested that "The records and dispatches from the cache at West Morkan Keep suggest that the demons were selfish and quite proud, many not inclined to sharing, and appropriating from the lessers, and considered themselves the most intelligent and the only true beings" which, he noted, was consistent with why they have never traded with us, or why they have almost never attempted to negotiate, and why they so frequently slaughtered the human populations in the newly conquered realms.

Some have dissented, noting that the demons always faced scarcity of resources, which often made the best humans reluctant to share, and that no warfare was ever observed between the different Hordes, or between the keeps and armies within the hordes.  Dayn Maer-Arn also remarked in his diary that it may well be that the demons "thought our peasants to be like their workers: not true people, but beasts, dangerous when not under command of their masters, and likely to attack their own beasts," and therefore the demons slaughtered many peasants and soldiers in the lands they took as they would if they were to conquer another Horde's lands.

1.4 Expanding Around Omeon Keep

Altogether 10,844 master demons arrived on the Vessel, though only 851 of those were noted as being "awake" shortly after arrival.  Before waking the others, the first group of arrivals likely needed to be able to produce more food, dig more wells, build more shelters and workshops, and expand to the nearby valleys; for that demons needed the beasts.  The dates on the construction plans found in Omeon Keep archives suggest that the first beast hatchery was built about a year after the demons' arrival, in Spring of 686 inside the growing keep.

The hatchery did not survive further expansion of the keep, but judging by the construction plans and other similar hatcheries found elsewhere it was a low building perhaps forty paces long and twenty paces wide, built with thick padded walls that kept the air inside warm.  Like other hatcheries, it may have had small coal or crystal furnaces to help heat the air; the roof and sides were covered with tar or black paint for the same purpose.  Inside there were rows of vessels resting on the padding on the floor, ranging in size from those as large as a beer mug for growing smaller beasts to ones larger than a tub to grow bull beasts.  Once ready, specially created thick fluid was poured into each vessel, then a seed that would grow into a young beast was placed into the fluid, and the vessel was covered with a lid made either from thick wood or fleshy membrane.

The seeds and the fluid came from a mixing building that was often attached to the hatchery.  There the growing fluid was brewed by demons from special chemicals they created and from ingredients that came from their plants; the seeds were made by cutting parts of certain organs from existing demons and manipulating and treating them in special chemical baths.  Simpler versions of these processes and constructions have since been replicated in hatcheries belonging to Red Order and to others where demons are now grown for Skei serum.  More complicated processes, including those that convert demon seeds into seeds that can produce other demons, are still a mystery.

Each demon spent a different amount of time growing in the hatching vessel.  Smaller demons like messenger or rat demons were ready to emerge after three or four weeks, while the bull and worker demons spent up to five months.  After that the vessel was carefully wheeled out into a separate birthing room where the lid was opened, the fluid was drained and the beast was taken out and woken up.  During the first year of operation the first hatchery produced 62 bull demons, 20 flying observer demons, 6 flying messenger demons, 61 wolf demons for watching and defending, and 16 tunnel digger demons which built the remaining wells and other tunnels.

At hatching time the beast demons were usually a quarter or a fifth of their usual size in length, and took between half a year and two years to fully grow and train.  However in the first years in Noom the demons had urgent need for beasts, so the first bull demons entered service in late Spring of 867 while still having a year left to grow and train.

One hatchery was not enough, so within half a year demons built a second hatchery in Omeon Keep, then a third one three seasons later, and the production of beasts from these allowed the demons to dig deeper wells, cultivate more fields and expand mining.  By 689 demons built several settlements in Oneom and Monom valleys that farmed 170 hectares between them and produced around 2,400 tons of crop per year.  This was enough feed 500 bulls and over 900 other beasts they had by then, and to awaken another 515 master demons.  They have also opened twelve mines, and established smelting, forging, masonry papermaking industries in Omeon Keep.

By this point, however, they have reached the limits of inner valleys of Noom, and to grow further they needed to expand outward; inevtably that brought about their first conflicts with people.