Calling himself the Imp king, he grew a crown of horns and led the largest army of demi-demons into the throne room of hell, where he was ultimately victorious as the other side surrendered and volunteered to be his slaves for life. The tiny, gargoyle-like creatures peep from the buttresses of giant cathedrals, leer down from the stonework over grand entryways, and crowd around tombs, where they are fended off by angels. Over time, they began to be connected with darker forces, often being depicted as toadies for witches and warlocks, or worse, demons in league with the. An angel appeared and ordered them to stop. If his master has set him on you, you have much bigger problems than fending off the little rascal! During the time of the , supernatural creatures such as imps were sought out as proof of , though often the so-called imp was merely a black cat, lizard, toad or some other form of uncommon pet.
The Imp is distinguished from these creatures by its relatively low place on the magical totem pole and by its desire for human companionship. In early mythological accounts, Imps relied on each other, and the occasional human passerby, for amusement. They pop up in some of the famous Grimm brother tales. Most of the time, the pranks were harmless fun, but some could be upsetting and harmful, such as the switching babies or leading travelers astray in places they were not familiar with. He called upon all of the other imps and hell-hounds and all other minor beasts to join his fight for revenge. This was the object of the 1891 story by , which told of an imp contained in a bottle that would grant the owner their every wish, but their soul would be sent to if they didn't sell the bottle to a new owner before their death. In its appearance and behavior, the Imp is closely related to the goblins, elves, and fairies of English and Germanic folklore.
Although imps are often thought of as being immortal, they can be damaged or harmed by certain weapons and enchants, or be kept out of people's homes by wards. The Imp does have a knack for shapeshifting, and many are good at conjuring up fire as well. These feisty little creatures love nothing more than to irk humans. Imps are minor magical creatures with a big appetite for the spotlight. By all accounts, Imps are small, bony, unattractive creatures.
Eventually, it came to be believed that imps were the servants of and , where the little demons served as spies and informants. Imps in Art and Literature Imps have infiltrated architecture more than any of the other arts. They have also left their fingerprints on literature, mainly appearing in descriptions of. Special Abilities Imps are talented pranksters. In , the imp is one of the three selectable monsters at the beginning of the game.
Rise with Sorcery During the Christianization of Western Europe, Imps were transformed from attention-seeking pranksters into satanic minions. You should just hope that the Imp who targets you is acting of his own accord. Related Creatures Despite its obnoxious behavior, the Imp delights in the company of its fellow creatures. They may take a corporeal form when summoned from this object, or they may lose their corporeal form altogether and exist only as a spirit in the object. Their skin, ranging in color from purple to red-brown to gray, may be scaly or stone-like, and they walk with an unpleasant hunch.
One turned to throw a rock at the angel and was instantly petrified. Unlike the Christian faith and stories, demons in Germanic legends were not necessarily always evil. However, both creatures were fond of pranks and misleading people. Some of these unpleasant creatures more closely resemble monkeys or cats than humans. Oversized ears and horns sprout from their heads, just as leathery, bat-like wings sprout from their shoulders.
They make excellent spies, as they can sneak along quietly and disguise themselves or disappear when necessary. It was later in history that people began to associate fairies as being good and imps as being malicious and evil. However, some lighter stories have also given the Imp the spotlight it craves. Their faces are like masks of thin stone, which are frequently twisted into a smirk or a grimace. In other cases imps were simply kept in a certain object and summoned only when their masters had need of them. It has now become a symbol of the city. A mission began to retrieve his stolen siblings and give them pleasant lives in his newly conquered lands; finally being awoken from their long, long slumbers.
They are usually described as lively and having small stature. Always desirous of attention, they act out through practical jokes and small outbursts of magic, trying to get anyone to pay attention to them. Because sorcery was seen as a satanic practice, Imps were lumped into the hunt with witches and warlocks. In fact, most of their outbursts are only intended to win the attention of onlookers or gain the approval of an unseen master. Imps are often described as mischievous more than seriously threatening, and as lesser beings rather than more important supernatural beings. Some folktales Imps with magical power, but all of them acknowledge that these little creatures are minor in comparison to other magical beings.