I made this as a second-circle demon for Xerysis, the Fear that Shatters Nations, who may be found here: Oramus - Exalted - Unofficial Wiki I'm worried I made him a bit too benevolent, but I was going for a contrast with his greater self.
Eaxeros, the Fog in the Mind
Demon of the Second Circle
Messenger Soul of the Fear that Shatters Nations
Many a sight may be terrifying, but how much more so if it intrudes upon a place of safety and security? A monster may roam the wilds and drive fear into the hearts of men, but when that monster follows them home and steps across the threshold, how much worse is it for that profound violation? This is the service that Eaxeros once performed for his greater self – he brought lassitude and feelings of safety, fogging the minds and sight of men so that, when Xerysis came and bore him away, they were that much more afeared of the cold, cruel world he exposes and, trusting nothing but themselves, turned on their fellows with all the more fervour, hoping that they might regain that security. The Fog has not met his greater self in hundreds of years, though he knows not why he has been abandoned. Thrice he has espied the Fear that Shatters Nations in the distance and thrice the dread wind has sped away from him faster than his fog-feet can follow.
A sober-seeming intellectual and a well-known philosopher of the demon realm, Eaxeros spends much of his time in the form of a tall man of the West with cool, alabaster-white skin and robed in the colours of cloud. His eyes are hollow and contain nothing but a shifting fog, which curls from the sockets and drips from his lips when he speaks. He never travels faster than a leisurely walk, because he simply cannot move any faster. He is only fog, after all, and fog moves swiftly only when borne by the wind. The Fog in the Mind holds only a relatively small court of his own, composed of those first-circle citizens which he deems to have sufficient intellect and wit to match him in debate on the subjects of fear, truth, security, society and a thousand other topics alike in their abstractedness.
He has even been known to ask the opinions of serfs or prayer-slaves, though only rarely do they have something of worth to contribute to the discussion. When they do, however, Eaxeros will often patronize their applications for citizenship, and until they have accrued achievements enough to qualify them for such will allow them to follow his court and to serve them as he travels from the realm of one demon lord to the next. Prayer-slaves, of course, have no such chance to apply, but in such cases Eaxeros will often introduce them to the worship of his oversoul and teach them the ways of praying for ascension, such that they might become demons of the first circle and join his immortal school of philosophy – provided they survive, of course, and are not driven so mad that they offer no coherent insight. Eaxeros is rarely welcome in the courts of demon lords, but his reputation as a patron for citizenship earns him lodgings from serfs wherever he goes. They wait upon him and his hand and foot, and jostle to be in a position such that if the demon lord should address a question to the room they might be able to answer it. Such politicking is beneath the notice of the Fog, though, and he cares nothing for it.
In his other form, the Fog is a bank of mist which refracts light strangely, rolling silently across the ground. In this shape, his touch dulls the senses and fear-instincts of men and demons alike, while they see in his shifting mists and lights the forms of family, lovers, hearth and home. Eaxeros rarely takes this form, as doing so scatters his thoughts across his entire self, rendering him slow and dull – a feeling he despises – unless he is gathered all in one place. He will also take this form if Adorjan bears down on him, for although eh lacks the speed to escape her it is in his nature to be borne before wind, and so he rides her killing hurricanes until deposited somewhere new. Sometimes, he will gather his mist-self into the shape of a three-tailed cat the size of a yeddim calf and go abroad in that form, although he remains as insubstantial as ever. He is far more comfortable like this than as a full mist-bank, and the shape serves well for combat when necessary, as the effects of his fog are similarly concentrated, causing opponents to idle and daydream as he slips away on silent cat-feet. Occasionally he take his full fog-form to earn the favour of a demon lord, dulling the fear and veiling the eyes of their enemies in order to earn lodgings in the palace of a second circle soul, but always he moves on, seeking some clue as to why his greater self has abandoned him so.
Summoning: Eaxeros is summoned to Creation most often to serve in the same role as he does for demon lords, bewitching the senses of his summoner's enemies, though he dislikes doing so and will make this clear, though he can be placated by enlightening conversation or the summoning of his court to attend him. Such sorcerers must beware, though, as the Fog in the Mind has no ability to control who is affected by his fog once they enter. Eaxeros is, much to his annoyance, almost never summoned for tutoring or conversation, for although he knows many strange, obscure and esoteric facts and figures he is master of no art and his learning is bitty and fragmented, a vast collection of trivia rather than a scholar's knowledge. Nevertheless, should a sorcerer prove wise and clever enough to match the Fog in conversation, he will offer to teach his summoner the ways of prayer for ascension, and if they survive with sanity sufficiently intact to converse with him, will often induct them into his court.
Eaxeros may escape Creation when aurorae light the heavens and a fog creeps over a town or army camp, becoming the fog and offering solace and delight to the mortals there until the fog is burned off by the morning sun.