Delethnoine

Considered the ultimate form of a "demon," a Delethnoine, Elvish term for Demon Lord, is a malevolent force of malice, cruelty and manipulation. More ethereal than physical, the Delethnoine attacks its victims' minds through an arsenal of powerful psionic abilities. What can be accomplished through years of rigorous training and honing of skills for most humanoids comes naturally to all Delethnoine, their focus and force of will so great it is said to affect reality itself.

The Delethnoine
There is no certainty as to where the Delethnoine are originally from, nor how many of them actually exist. Many speculate that the Delethnoine is one of the greater denizens of the Shadow Plane, as its necessity for the consumption of Mana and its shifting form would suggest. Much like the Flame Demons of the Lower Plane, the Delethnoine are mysterious and do not stalk about near the borders of the Material world. In the entire history of Natheria, there has only ever been one Delethnoine to have been loosed in full on the Material Plane, and that is the Demon Lord known as Acrenomir.

A Delethnoine can take on challengers or victims in one of many fashions. The path that is most known is that of slow dominance. Acrenomir chose a small handful of targets, only two or three at most, and slowly chipped away at their sanity, their mental resolve. He brought them illusions of power, bestowed upon them small shards of his own gifts, granting them the facade of true mental superiority over the other mortal races. Acrenomir took three puppets as his own, two to act as envoys and heralds, Glaidor and Xerasanas. Glaidor infiltrated the Grand Council of Kingdoms, and one by one the rulers and representatives of the Council fell to his will or to his blade. Xerasanas took a more hands-on approach, and amassed armies of Seral, Orcs and Trolls in Southern Raychan, and marched northward into Aldrian lands for a second Crusade. Glaidor and Xerasanas spoke to their cohorts and minions of a powerful being who would come to rule Natheria and all her people, granting his followers immortal life and an end to their suffering.

When Acrenomir finally felt his forces were adequate to stage his war, he gathered Glaidor and Xerasanas to the besieged Aldrian capital of Althanian. There, Acrenomir consumed the mana of Glaidor and Xerasanas, leaving their lifeless corpses, and gathered himself to his full strength, a towering form of shadow, the very embodiment of the void itself.

Acrenomir is said to have used the bodies of Humans as vessels, residing inside them, slowly devouring their magical energies until they had none left, and were of no more use to him. It is believed that all Delethnoine, in their controlling nature, would prefer to operate on the Material Plane under the guise of other beings, so as to extend their time while remaining unnoticed.

A literal gaping black hole for Mana, it is believed that the only way to defeat a Delethnoine is through strength of will alone. One cannot strike at it with physical blades, and to cast a spell against it is to feed it's gluttony. However, the strongest foe against a Delethnoine is one of stern will and no magical training. With a powerful mind, the hero can keep the Demon Lord from entering his thoughts, and by making no attempt at casting spells, the Demon Lord is given no easy source to consume mana. It is believed by many that Delethnoine can only perish from starvation.

The Dawnblade
Although legends do exist of a sword that can harm the Delethnoine. A blade forged by the works of Schildan and Danaristhu themselves, this sword was given to the Darkmoor bloodline as an heirloom, with the prophecy that one of their progeny would redeem the race of Vardel in the eyes of the deities and of the rest of Natheria.

Though many priests of Danaristhu and Danutilen will refute such as false claims brought on by quixotic Vardel, and that any suggestion of The Twin Gods working in accordance with The Lord of Shadow is blasphemy and heresy. Whether or not this blade, which many call the Dawnblade, actually exists is still a mystery, though any member of the Darkmoor bloodline holds true to the faith that the blade is out there and waiting to be redeemed.