Demonic Pacts

Demonic Pacts are the dark bargains struck between mortals and the demons of Runeterra, ancient spiritual entities that feed on human emotions. Unlike the Void or the Black Mist, demons are native to the Spirit Realm and have lived alongside mortal civilizations for millennia. Each is born from and sustained by a single feeling, embodying and harvesting the emotion it represents. As human societies grew and their emotions intensified, the demons grew stronger and more cunning in the ways they gathered their meals. The eldest of them is Fiddlesticks, risen from the primordial fear that predates human awareness itself, the terror of the dark and the unknown thing just beyond perception. Later demons evolved to feed on more complex feelings. Evelynn, a demon of agony, lures her victims with beauty before turning to torment. Tahm Kench, the River King, offers desperate mortals their deepest desires and takes their souls as payment. The pact is the mechanism of this exchange: genuine power granted to the mortal, always at a terrible cost. Demons are effectively immortal, regenerating from any physical destruction so long as their emotion endures, and an intuitive grasp of mortal psychology makes them devastating manipulators. A well-fed demon can rival the Ascended in raw power. Yet they remain dependent on the feelings that sustain them and can be starved by a people who overcome the emotion they exploit, or bound and trapped by sufficient spirit magic. They are also slaves to their own natures. Evelynn cannot help revealing herself at the height of a hunt, and Tahm Kench is compelled to honor the letter of every deal he makes. Though he can devour nearly anything, only a struck bargain truly sates him, and the return of water to Shurima's long-dry rivers opens fresh ground where the River King can seek out unwary mortals for new arrangements.