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The Demonic Knight Tribe

Summary:

A tribe or clan of devils, notable for not just striving for their own personal power, but for devoting themselves to a lord/king or oath. Sub tribes are scattered around hell, often bound by lineage, as Devil Knights are highly adaptable and known to spread out due to their instincts and culture.

aka: demon anthropology

Notes:

HELLO! So I don't write usually, but I've had Sparda marinated in lore and spinning on a spit over a low fire for weeks and weeks, so this is the result of that. Aka, these are some headcanons. If you like anything in here, feel free to use it (maybe give us a little credit) and if you don't like something in here, last I checked my name is not Hideki Kamiya creator of devil may cry, and you can do whatever you want. I definitely took inspo from other headcanons in the fandom, I tired to credit what I could remember but I'm sure missed a few sources (sorry).

Credit to WhiteBeakedRaven , who basically peer reviewed this.

Also, big thank you do my army of beta readers:Myste_Roads, letliv3, Dragons251, fiddlesticksandnonsense, and JamJam_32

Work Text:

The Demonic Knight Tribe

A tribe or clan of devils, notable for not just striving for their own personal power, but for devoting themselves to a lord/king or oath.

Sub tribes are scattered around hell, often bound by lineage, as Devil Knights are highly adaptable and known to spread out due to their instincts and culture.

Territory

Knights are very territorial, like many demons and devils. They form nests, which become heavily guarded as they keep expanding their territory in the name of their tribe. Knight are highly skilled, and often choose to display trophies (like Devil Arms, demonic heads /hides, etc.) in their nests. They are also intelligent and hoard knowledge, create wards, smith weapons, or develop other skills as they age. Matured Knights may leave their territory in the pursuit of oaths, but joining another demonic court means abandoning their lineage and starting fresh under their new lord or king.

Nests are built in strategically defendable areas of a tribe's territory, sometimes with smaller outposts scattered nearby. Nests have one large entrance leading to a "main hall" and a handful of hidden exits. the main hall is where large gatherings and ceremonies are held, as well as the room where trophies are displayed to show off the strength of the tribe or lineage. Nests can be small, containing a main living area and sleeping areas; or expansive, with hearths, nurseries, training areas, forges, libraries, etc… all depending on the size and strength of the tribe.

Nurseries and Nestlings

Unlike baser demons, Knights take raising their young very seriously.

A devil's spawn are incubated in the mulched up flesh and blood of prey, where they begin to pupate. This is the most vulnerable stage of life, and the young must be fed blood, kept warm, and guarded at all times. Once pupae emerge, they are soft and feral. It's common for newly hatched nestlings to immediately attack their siblings, so Sires watch over the infighting, sometimes letting runts be killed to weed out strong individuals. Some Sires are more honorable and prevent infighting ( by stuffing their little faces with food), or at the very least prevent older clutches from picking on the younger ones. Once the surviving nestlings have calmed, they're brought out to the main nest to be named and become Pages.


Pages and Naming Ceremonies

Names in the underworld hold power. Nameless devils are without power, and demons that share a name are weak and beastly. Higher devils distinguish themselves and their strength by having names and gaining titles. Knights have a rigid structure to how and what will earn a young devil a title. After being named, a devil is now considered part of the lineage, and their strength is the strength of the family or tribe.

Nestlings are presented, and names are chosen for them. They are then given to a senior Knight (frequently their own Sire or a sibling from an older clutch) to become a Page. The now named Page will be taught basic skills, and will follow their senior to watch them hunt, study, and train with other Pages. At this stage, it's seen as distasteful to let Pages kill each other, as a named devil now represents their lineage.


Esquires and Proving One's Self

Eventually, a Page will become an Esquire. Esquires (or squires) are already close to reaching the end of their training, they can hunt on their own and are strong enough to help their Sire/Senior Knight in combat. Esquires are disciplined, and are expected to start thinking about what their knight's oaths will be.

Note: Though Pages and Esquires will mature into full fledged Knights, Sires will instinctively view their Heirs as nestlings no matter the age. Devils are long lived, and seniority is always acknowledged in family dynamics.

To earn a title, a Squire must defeat a higher devil (usually bringing back a trophy, like a Devil Arm, head, or hide). Rarely, a Squire may earn a title by completing another great feat, like expanding the territory of the tribe, defending their Sire/nest, and occasionally usurping a senior Knight (though this may also get them kicked out of their tribe)


Oaths and Dubbing Ceremonies

When the Squire has proven themselves, they are dubbed with a title before their tribe and presented with a Devil Arm (either one they claimed in combat, or a forged arm. More on weapon smithing later.) A dubbed Knight must come up with an oath to devote themselves to. Oaths are personal and can change throughout a devil's long life.

Oath examples:

  • Sworn to the Knight's tribe

  • Sworn to a lord/king of hell (ex: Sparda to Mundus)

  • Devotion to a craft, like spell casting, swordsmanship, or smithing

  • Sworn to abide by virtues, like not killing (uncommon)

  • Sworn to protect the human world (ex: Sparda and Dante)

  • Sworn to rivalries

  • Sworn to vengeance (ex: Vergil and Dante)

     

Note: Devil Knights are not dissimilar to Cerberus devils, who also devote themselves to guarding things, like the Temen-ni-gru or Qliphoth.

Oaths are what make Devil Knights notable from other devils and demons. Most devils strive for personal power, serving or being recruited by other devils usually through pacts, threats, defeats, or other enticements (food, protection, etc…). Similar to how a devil gains power from their name and title, a Knight may receive a boon from staying loyal to their oath.

Note: To a lord/king, being served by a Demonic Knight was seen as a great blessing (ha), as Knights were a perfectly loyal and devoted asset. Sparda's betrayal of Mundus was unheard of, and tainted how all Demonic Knights were viewed in the underworld henceforth.


Forging Devil Arms

There are 3 main categories of Devil Arms:

  • Devil Arms, claimed as a trophy when a devil is defeated (ex: Cerberus, Nevan, Agni and Rudra)

    • A devil may submit willingly, or could be forced to become a weapon after death from it's remaining power (ex: Beowulf)

  • Artificial Arms, where materials are grafted to a pseudo-soul (ex: Artemis, Cavalier(debatable))

  • Forged or Bound Arms, weapons imbued with the will and power of their wielder, said to be semi-sentient (ex: The Sparda, Yamato, Rebellion)

A very simple breakdown is that a Devil Arm has had its will bent or broken to that of their wielder, an Artificial Arm lacks a will, and a Forged Arm is an extension of the wielder's will.

Smithing is an art more commonly practiced with Devil Knights than other species, as imbuing a will into a weapons is a difficult skill to master. The weapon acts as an extension of the knight and a receptacle of power. Forged Arms are said to be semi-sentient and closely tied to the soul of the wielder, calling back to the old saying "the blade is the soul of the warrior." The breaking of such a weapon is akin to the breaking of one's will, or the shattering of a part of the soul, and so is extremely painful.

Note: The process of a Forged or Bound Arm gaining sentience may have ties to the concept of Tsukumogami (soul tools.)

Forged Devil Arms are another typical arm to be bestowed at dubbing ceremonies, either passed down from master to apprentice, or a blade forged by themselves. Among Knights, the swapping of a Forged Arm to another of the same lineage is common, like a Sire down to their Heir or between siblings (especially twins, more on that later), usually in the heat of battle. However, an outsider claiming or wielding a Forged weapon is seen as a transgression or violation (get your sticky nasty fingers off of my soul).

Note: Sparda was well known for forging of not one, but three blades: The Rebellion, The Yamato, and Force Edge/Devil Sword Sparda.


Twins

Twins are very rare in the underworld. It's already distasteful for a named devil to kill its own kin, and its doubly so for twins. Slaying one's kin is seen as betrayal of the family, a potential weakening of the lineage, but those power-grabs aren't unheard of. However, twins are seen as two halves of the same soul, so slaying one's twin would be seen as a betrayal of your own soul and power. Although twins may be at odds and fight, ultimately, claiming superiority by erasing the other half of your soul would be a contradiction, and unthinkable in devil society.

+"Only the lowest and dumbest of beasts kill their own kin."

- The Straightforward Path by Oblivian03

Note: Mundus' orchestration of the Sparda twins' fratricide was renowned for its cruelty, and word of it spread throughout the underworld, even after his defeat by Dante's hand.

Should a twin fall, it's instinctual for the surviving half to take on all the strength they can from their sibling, to continue their fight. May it be the fallen twin's Devil Arm form, their bound weapon or other means of power, the remaining half will see it as their sacred duty to claim it. Impeding this instinct most often carries violent consequences.

It is also natural for the surviving half to seek vengeance on whoever felled their twin.

- WhiteBeakedRaven


Notable Knights

  • The Legendary Dark Knight, Sparda

    • Master Smithy

    • Previously Mundus' favorite general (until his betrayal)

    • Master to Baul and Modeus

    • Defeated and sealed both Mundus and Argosax

    • Separated the demon world from the human world

    • Sworn to protect the human realm

    • Sire to Vergil and Dante

  • Baul

    • Apprentice to Sparda (taught swordsmanship and, presumably, smithing)

    • Older twin brother to Modeus

    • Entrusted with Sparda's strength (pre-rebellion)

    • Baul swore to overcome his master's strength, dedicated to swordsmanship.

    • Slain by Dante

  • Modeus

    • Apprentice to Sparda (taught swordsmanship and, presumably, smithing)

    • Younger twin brother to Baul

    • Entrusted with Sparda's will (pre-rebellion)

    • Modeus swore off of swordsmanship, becoming something of a pacifist

    • When Baul was slain, Modeus took up his brother's sword to defeat Dante

    • Slain by Dante

  • The Dark Slayer, Vergil (half-devil)

    • Elder son to Sparda

    • Older twin brother to Dante

    • Wielder of the Yamato

    • Sworn to vengeance against Mundus

    • Raised the Temen-ni-gru

    • Raised the Qliphoth and ate it's fruit

    • Sire to Nero

    • Previously Nelo Angelo, slave general to Mundus

  • The Legendary Devil Hunter, Dante (half-devil)

    • Younger son to Sparda

    • Younger twin brother to Vergil

    • Wielder of the Rebellion and Devil Sword Dante

    • Sworn to defend the human realm

    • Defeated and resealed Mundus

    • Defeated and slew Argosax

    • Pizza connoisseur

  • Nero (quarter-devil)

    • Son to Vergil

    • Wielder of the Yamato (briefly)

    • Destroyer of the Savior

    • Slew Goliath and Malphas

    • Entrusted with protecting the human realm

    • Everybody's favorite white boy :)


Anatomy and Adaptation

Like many higher order devils, a Devil Knight's appearance varies greatly from individual to individual. Generally, they are humanoid, with a mix of insectoid and reptilian traits forming scales, plates, spines, wings (sometimes multiple sets,) and armor. The older and more developed a Knight is, the more heavily armored they become, often resembling actual plate armor. Demonic Knights also drape and fold their wings to resemble cloaks or coats. This follows them into their human forms/guises, though it's not known if they fold their wings to intentionally mimic coats, or if they subconsciously seek clothing that mimics their wings at rest. The particulars of an individual Knight's appearance has a lot to do with their personality and combat preferences (ex: broader vs shorter wings for a more powerful flight vs a more agile one.) Though we do not have many points of reference, Knights from Sparda's lineage all have horns.

Note: Sparda's helm sports a third "eye" or jewel. This is probably a nod to his past king, Mundus. It's likely lords and kings added aesthetic embellishments, or brands, to their Knights to claim them as part of their court. A Knight should be recognizable as an agent of their lord while doing their bidding.

It's theorized that Knights in the underworld are mesotherms, similar to some shark species:

The biological structure responsible for this internal warmth is a dense network of specialized blood vessels called the Rete Mirabile, which translates from Latin as the “miraculous net.” This anatomical feature functions as a highly efficient heat exchanger, preventing metabolic heat from escaping into the cold ocean water. The Rete Mirabile is strategically located near the shark’s central red muscle mass, which generates heat through continuous activity.

As the red muscle works, the venous blood flowing out becomes warm. This warm venous blood travels through a parallel arrangement of vessels alongside the cold arterial blood, which flows in from the gills after being cooled by the water. This arrangement facilitates countercurrent heat exchange, where heat is passively transferred from the warm venous blood to the cold arterial blood.

The vessels are closely intertwined, ensuring the thermal energy in the outgoing vein blood is transferred to the incoming artery blood before it leaves the body. This mechanism conserves the heat generated by the muscles and returns it to the body’s core, effectively recycling the thermal energy. By minimizing heat loss through the gills and skin, the Rete Mirabile enables the shark to keep its core muscles significantly warmer than the water.

- Excerpt on mesothermal sharks https://biologyinsights.com/are-sharks-endothermic-how-some-sharks-stay-warm/


This would allow for greater adaptability when going from warm to cold environments, and the conservation of energy without sacrificing performance. Interestingly, hybrids are observed to be fully warm-blooded even in their triggers. This may be because their human half is already warm blooded, or because the presence of human blood allows for the higher metabolic cost of being fully endothermic.

A devil's appearance can also be affected by their climate. Knights in colder areas of hell grow insulating fur between plates of armor, a recycling of the vestigial trait that is nestling fuzz. (Fuzz designed to keep newly hatched Devils warm while their bodies can't thermoregulate, and protect their softer flesh from hardening spikes and plates.)

Nestling Devils also have a form of camouflage. Thicker plating grows along the shoulders, forearms, and shins, with lines and patterns forming between the plates. When curled up, this not only protects their more vulnerable underbelly, but also mimics rocks and certain plant pods found in hell. By the time a nestling is an Esquire, those traits will reshape into proper scales and armor.

Note: Knights sometimes supplement their diets with underworld minerals, absorbing metals found in their environments and adding them to their armor, resulting in tougher plates with visible metallic sheens or ornamentation.

Hybrids and Devil Triggers

The Sparda lineage is notable because it's a union between a powerful high devil and a human, which resulted in uniquely strong hybrid offspring. Not only that, but their demon and human halves both support and feed off each other, making for particularly resilient beings. The main drawback they face is the amount of energy needed to support their demonic forms (devil triggers, or DTs), giving them something of a time limit on how long they can maintain it.

In the case of Vergil and Dante, their younger demonic forms seem to take influence from what Devil Arm they are using. This may be a kind of crutch, borrowing power from their weapon while their own demonic cores continue to develop. As they aged their forms stabilized, no longer relying on their weapons, sporting glowing power-lines in the fissures between scales. Notably, Vergil's DT was further along than Dante's, since he triggered far earlier than his twin. This may exaggerate the instinctual difference in seniority between their devils.

Demonic cores in hybrids are very interesting. There's a common misconception that the core is synonymous with their human hearts, and although individuals like Dante do seem to concentrate their demonic energy in their chest, a half devil can be stabbed in their heart without destroying their demonic core. Even more extreme, a total destruction of the core seems to not do them in either if the human body can still live (at least in the case of quarter-devils). Nero, who's demonic core was originally located in his right arm, had it fully removed when it got ripped off. Instead of dying, he managed to regrow both his arm and his demonic core when he unlocked his full DT (now no longer located in his arm). Interestingly, other devils wouldn't acknowledge or submit to him while his core was missing. This may have been because without it, he didn't register as a devil to submit to.

Nero's earliest Devil Trigger wasn't a full body transformation. As mentioned before, young DTs at least partially rely on their Devil Arms to manifest. While tapping into the Yamato, Nero manifested a spectral demon over himself that mimicked his movements. It's very likely he was using Vergil's leftover will and power remaining in the blade, a kind of ghost of his father. Curiously, while Nero is left handed, his spectral DT is right handed, further lending itself to the theory.

Sin Devil Triggers

Vergil and Dante also unlocked another phase of their Devil Triggers, by eating the Qliphoth's fruit and absorbing Devil Sword Sparda respectively. Sin Devil triggers (or SDTs) embody overwhelming power, with similarities and differences in both forms. The transformation itself is similar to an explosion, which could explain the "exhaust points" scattered around their bodies. Visually similar to spiracles in insects, these points would provide a way for built up heat and pressure to escape without literally exploding (see steam explosions.) Dante's are more spread out across his body, while Vergil seems to concentrate his output to "jet streams" along his forearms and horns, which he can turn on and off at will.

Physically, SDTs have exaggerated skeletal features, resulting in armor plating mimicking the rib cage, spine, pelvis, and hips, as well as a skull-like face. This is not to say they are skeletal, since their body mass increase significantly from their human forms (nearly a foot in height not counting horns or armored plating.) Both have 2 sets of wings, though only Vergil's SDT has a tail ending in a mace-like spike. This might be a remnant of his time as Urizen, as he had similar vines growing from his back used for grabbing and goring.

Inspo