Darceus

This is the wild tale of Darceus the Trickster.

Mage Life
Long ago there was a demon mage named Darceus. Though he was one of the brightest mages he had a terrible habit, he loved to play tricks on others. The tricks were mostly harmless illusions created to give his friends a scare once in a while. As he grew older his magic became more powerful and so did his tricks. Once he made it to the overworld and convinced an entire town that a thousand dragons were coming to pull the sun away. With illusions and magic he made it happen and some of the townsfolk went mad. Vyk was displeased with his actions and told him to cease his petty tricks and focus on his studies. Darceus agreed and did just that for many years, though he yearned to play his tricks he thought it best to follow Vyk's command. Vyk was pleased with his change in attitude and rewarded him with ancient demonic magic.

Darceus could no longer contain himself and used this magic to pull off his greatest trick yet. The mortals learned not to fear him, he often brought them gifts and told them jokes, so when they saw him they greeted him warmly. Darceus said he had a tale for them, but this one was different from the others, it was true! His smile was barely contained as he told the villagers that the sky was soon to rain fire upon them and that the end was near. The tale quickly spread across the land and so the trick began, the sun stayed up for an entire week. During this week no one could sleep due to dreams of fire raining from the skies. Then on the day of rest Darceus made a hundred thousand fireballs fall from the sky and burn the villages, though it was only an illusion. Their agony filled him with joy and he left to plot his next trick.

Weeks, months, even years went by but he couldn't think of anything to top his previous trick. No flood, unicorn, or army of undead could hold a candle to the terror he had caused. Day and night he thought of his wonderful trick and how he could top it, but nothing ever came to him. Anger poured out of him like an overflowing pot, he would top it, he must. There had to be a better trick and he would find it. Then, it came to him, he would make the mortals live in the mind of demons and torture them. It was perfect, but he had to test it first, if he failed after all this time he could never live it down. As a test he used himself so he would see the effects, he split his mind in two parts and sent one into a mortal's body. The spell only half worked, but the body died shortly after and his rational thinking and sense of order died with it.

Post-Accident
Darceus was now just a shell of what he once was, but he was still more powerful than any lesser demon by far. The memories of his greatest trick left him and his only motivation was to play tricks on any he came across. In a sense he became insane due to his own tricks. Now he wanders the realms always searching for his next trick but never knowing the purpose behind it. Some say if you look deep enough into his dancing eyes you can see the pain that sits just behind them. Others claim he is no more than a wild beast overthrown by madness. Perhaps they are right and his is more beast than man, or perhaps there is something more to him, something the naked eye cannot see, something hidden.