bestiary
Persian Divs: The Fragmented Hunger
The malevolent entities that feed on human emotions—weakened by the Broken Sun's shield but growing stronger as Alignment approaches.
What Are Divs?
Divs are parasitic, extradimensional entities that feed on specific human emotional and spiritual states. They originate from beyond reality, imprisoned on the 9th planet, constantly seeking to breach into the mortal realm to feast.
The Fragmentation Effect
At full power, a major div could end the world. But the Broken Sun's shield shatters their essences as they attempt to manifest on Earth. Only dangerous fragments arrive—powerful enough to threaten, weak enough to fight.
The Three Primary Divs
Div-e Sepid (The White Div)
Feeds On: Hope and Subservience
Original Power: Could drain hope from entire nations instantly
Fragmented State: Can only affect individuals or small groups
Manifestation: Beautiful promises, false salvation—"trust me, I'll save you"
Corruption Method: Offers easy solutions that create dependency. Slowly replaces genuine hope with hollow optimism, then harvests the despair when promises fail.
In Current Era: Zahhak's propagandists unknowingly use Div-e Sepid's methods. "The tyrant will protect you—just obey."
Resistance: Cannot be killed permanently (respawns on 9th planet). Must be recognized as false hope and resisted through genuine hope rooted in real connections.
Div-e Ahriman (The Darkness)
Feeds On: Despair and Suffering
Original Power: Could plunge the world into eternal darkness and hopelessness
Fragmented State: Creates localized zones where hope dies
Manifestation: Shadows deeper than night, cold that freezes the soul, whispers of "nothing matters"
Corruption Method: Spreads apathy and nihilism. Convinces people their actions are meaningless. Harvests the resulting despair.
In Current Era: Empowered by Zahhak's reign of suffering. Growing stronger in the undercities where hope is scarce.
Resistance: Light—both physical (fire, sunlight) and metaphorical (meaning, purpose, defiance). Must maintain that existence has value.
Div-e Nariman (The Rage)
Feeds On: Rage and Conflict
Original Power: Could ignite continent-spanning wars with a thought
Fragmented State: Inflames existing tensions and grudges
Manifestation: Red mist in the air, blood boiling, reason abandoning, violence feeling justified
Corruption Method: "They deserve your anger. Hurt them. It's righteous." Turns legitimate grievances into blind rage.
In Current Era: Civil conflicts spreading across Persian lands as this div feeds and grows.
Resistance: Calm mind. Righteous anger (Dāvar) vs. blind rage. Fight for justice without losing humanity.
Lesser Divs & Fragment Spawns
Māni (The Demon of Insanity)
Twitching automaton with shifting, mirrored face. Breaks logical thought and induces madness. Tier 2-3 threat—solvable through maintaining clear thinking and resisting its reality distortions.
Apaosha (The Demon of Drought)
Skeletal, locust-like automaton radiating heat and spiritual drain. Tier 2 threat—requires water magic or life energy to counter. Threatens agricultural regions.
Astō Vīdōtu (The Demon of Death)
Bone automaton wrapped in funeral shrouds. Accelerates aging and brings death closer. Tier 3 threat requiring vitality magic to resist.
Bushyasta (The Demon of Sloth)
Bloated, sluggish entity with intoxicating presence. Induces lethargy, apathy, and giving up. Tier 1-2 threat but insidious—difficult to recognize until it's too late.
Div Combat Tactics
Physical Combat:
- Enchanted weapons are effective (conscious engagement hurts them)
- Spenta-aligned magic damages their essence
- The more laws you engage (Pair of Threes), the more they suffer
Spiritual Combat:
- Resist their emotional influence through opposite virtue
- Counter despair with meaning, rage with calm, false hope with genuine hope
- Strengthen consciousness through Pair of Threes mastery
Strategic Combat:
- Cut off their food source (stop feeding them appropriate emotions)
- Seal or banish rather than kill (they respawn on 9th planet anyway)
- Turn their methods against them (use rage to burn away apathy, etc.)
The Growing Threat
As we approach the Alignment (800 years away), divs strengthen. They're learning to resist the Broken Sun's fragmentation effect. Manifestations grow more complete. Their intelligence sharpens. The fragments coordinate.
By Year 10,000, without heroic intervention, they may manifest fully—and then, even the Broken Sun's eternal suffering won't save us.
This is why heroes are needed. Not to win permanently—but to buy another 10,000 years. To hold the line. For home.