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Infernis

"I did not ask for the eyes I have. I did not ask for the dreams. I am asking now: what do I do with them?"
— A young Infernis in the Last Dance, to Alizarine, after a reading

The Darkness-touched humans of Cadwallon — people of human stock with demonic, devil, or Darkness-Realm heritage somewhere in the bloodline, visible to look at and felt at the edges of perception by anyone with magical sensitivity. Most Infernis in the city are refugees fleeing the very Darkness powers they descend from. Cadwallon's neutrality is the only place on the continent they can safely exist. Sophet Drahas can sometimes sense them, and some of them are his unknowing eyes.

What They Are

  • Human in basic biology, with visible Darkness-touched traits — horns (in pairs or singly), eye colors that catch light strangely, skin tones in unnatural reds or greys, sometimes tails, sometimes vestigial wings
  • No singular origin — Infernis bloodlines trace to:
  • Acheron survivors whose ancestors were touched by living-dead contact, several generations back
  • Dirz alchemical experiments that crossed humans with Darkness-Realm subjects
  • Drune sacrifice survivors whose lineage was marked but not destroyed
  • Spontaneous emergence in lineages that have never knowingly touched Darkness, but somewhere in the family tree someone did
  • Magical sensitivity — most Infernis have a low-grade Darkness magic affinity, whether they want it or not
  • Lifespan: roughly human (50-60 years), occasionally longer in those with deeper heritage

Where They Live

  • Morgue Street (Soma) — the largest Infernis community, under tacit Guild of Thieves protection (the Thieves house "individuals who are generally discriminated against in Cadwallon," and Infernis qualify)
  • The edges of the Court of Ashes — a smaller population that has been pulled inward by Drahas's influence; some have become low-level Court of Shadows operatives
  • The [[Last Dance]] cabaret — disproportionate Infernis presence among dancers and night-staff (their visible difference becomes performance asset); Alizarine reads cards for them often
  • Scattered through the city — many Infernis pass for human in low light and live "ordinary" lives nobody questions

In Cadwallon

  • The Drahas problem. Cadwallon's protector-shadow Sophet Drahas can sometimes feel Infernis through their Darkness affinity. Most Infernis don't know this. A small number have been recruited as unknowing Court of Shadows assets — Drahas plants suggestions in their dreams that they act on without realizing the source.
  • The Akkylannian Inquisition — present at the [[Solitary Lodge]] in Heaven Heights; they keep informal lists of Infernis. So far the Duke has refused to hand the lists over.
  • The Guild of Thieves protection is real but conditional. Infernis in Morgue Street trade information for sanctuary; the arrangement works for both sides.
  • No representation in the Peers, the Houses, or any major guild leadership. Aldenor Orrkrk (Camelia's frustrated cousin) is rumored to have Infernis ancestry. The rumor may be true.

Relations

  • Sophet Drahas / Court of Shadows / Feyd Mantis — the threat. Most Infernis fear them; some serve unknowingly.
  • Guild of Thieves — the patron
  • Akkylannie / Akkylannian Inquisition — the watcher
  • [[Last Dance]] / Alizarine — the gentle eye
  • Possessed — not kin. The Possessed are dwarves shaped by a Mid-Nor ritual; Infernis are humans marked by bloodline. The two peoples are sometimes mistaken for each other by lazy Cadwës; both populations resent the comparison.

What Drahas hears

A young Infernis named Lior, working as a stage-hand at the [[Last Dance]], has been dreaming Drahas's strategic deliberations for the past six months without realizing what they are. Lior has confided in Alizarine, who recognized the dream-content immediately and has not told Lior because the realization would crush them. Alizarine is gently feeding the dream-content back to Isabeau Soma. Drahas does not yet know his channel is compromised. If Lior is killed, the channel closes — and Isabeau loses her best line into the Court of Shadows.

The Inquisitor's list

An Akkylannian Inquisitor at the [[Solitary Lodge]] has put together a comprehensive list of Cadwallon's Infernis and is preparing to formally request the Duke hand them over for "Darkness-vetting." The Duke will refuse, but the list itself is dangerous. A free league hired by the Guild of Thieves to steal and destroy the list before it reaches the Duke's desk is doing the city a service. The Inquisitor will not stop with one list.

See Also