The Personality of a Wise Daemon

[Nethermoosen]

Before I ask my questions, I should detail the history of Daemons in my universe.

In my planned story, Daemons are not demons or fallen angels or anything created by gods or celestial powers. In fact, they were created by men as experiments in the ancient, but lesser known, history of the world.

Be that as it may, time has eroded the truth. Daemons are recorded in texts that pass in through religious organizations, occult manuscripts and myths.

The truth of the matter is that they were created by some of the earliest arcanists who were still too green to understand the implications of creating something beyond themselves.

Some still lurk about the world, but most are sealed beyond the realms and can only commune with those who know how to contact them.

Even the youngest of these had existed for over a millennia. In that time, these creatures have learned and waited, becoming far more informed than any person could hope to be, even in three lifetimes.

That brings me to my question: How do you write a personality so far removed from the human condition? Removed from fear of death, knowledge of the inner workings of the cosmos, studies of phenomena that lead to an impartial attitude toward any human ambition or plight. Time means very little and the only downside is that humans managed to seal them before they had lived long enough to learn how to defend against it.

How would a daemon respond to being summoned at the behest of a human who seeks their wisdom, knowledge and aid? What deals would they strike? How would the daemon manipulate this person into unwittingly setting them free or at least provide them with entertainment? Would they simply be angry and unapproachable?

How does a daemon speak to the descendants of their creators who imprisoned them to a life of random inquiry?

Thank you for your time.

 

[Aldarion]

Do they get bored? If so, some may be driven insane with boredom. They may or may not hold grudges; if former, they may refuse to speak at all. If not, no issue - but I would expect them to speak much like a very bored professor holding a lecture.

 

[Nethermoosen]

Do they get bored? If so, some may be driven insane with boredom. They may or may not hold grudges; if former, they may refuse to speak at all. If not, no issue - but I would expect them to speak much like a very bored professor holding a lecture.

Most will be some kind of bored, no doubt. That said, they are not without some sort of entertainment. They have ways of scrying the world and beyond. They have nothing but time and learn a lot about the universe, though they are in exile.

The system of magic I am implementing has a long-winded explanation, but suffice it to say the daemons still have a small measure of influence in the world.

I suppose my question should address the manner I which they would speak. Terse? Concise? Impatient? Maybe bored would be a good angle to approach from, since they will always be speaking with what they regard as an imbecile.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Unless they are all the same, I would expect them to each speak in his own way.

I think that the main common denominator is that they view time very differently from humans. In the same way that my 3 year old tell me she missed me so much after I've been away for 30 minutes while I can not see a friend for 3 months and just pick up where we left off, so will a creature 1000's of years old not care about something taking a day or a year. If they can escape by planning something that will take a decade to finish then that is worth it, since it's still a short time to them and they've got many more decades left to them.

Other then that, some options are
- bored (I like this one)
- they view humans as play things (and see how far they can mess with them)
- angry
- insane
- very long-winded (if you have all this time to fill, then why would you hurry?)

 

[Night Gardener]

When speaking to or being contacted by a human... why not have their 'personalities' be vast and highly unpredictable? (Which is why contacting one is not usually advisable.) Bored, annoyed, exploited, impatient, angry, insane, manipulative, patronizing, mercurial, ambiguous, eager to please, aloof, kind, clingy, curious, maternal/paternal, friendly...

...secretive. Your demons hold the majority of the cards and also are the dealers of the deck. There is very little a human could do to balance out that power inequity. Why would demons want to help humans, their creators? Their prisoners? Why would some become 'trustees' to their wardens?

Not that I'm an expert or anything ::whistles innocently while passing by:: but that is why the name of (your) demonic entity is so insanely, jealously guarded by the practioner who summons it. If you can build repore and this entity is actually pretty easy to get along with and you can trust it...you don't want anybody knowing its Name, because they just might try to steal it from you.

Why do you think most documentaries/ stories about hauntings, posession and exorcism revolve around trying to figure out the name or identity of a demon? Because once you know the Name of the thing, you can rob it of its power...

Have you ever read "The Pilgrimage" by Paulo Cohelo? That was a very interesting take on the relational dynamics and personality of a demon familiar to its ...summoner. And I feel like I also have an obligation to mention The Q from Star Trek Next Generation.

Have fun chasing rabbits down this particular rabbit hole...