'Though exceptionally varied in form and cause, a vitaphagus or 'grief demon' is always a lonely, misfortune-stricken being. Often formed out of the survivors of terrible famines, plagues or even ongoing bad luck, they epitomise the fearful and hopeless climate that their communities fall victim to in times of tragedy. Common knowledge holds that a vitaphage carries their ill fate with them and can infect others with their woes, however in reality the contagion is entirely emotion-based. Those who fall under its sway are in fact subjected to a lesser form of possession rather than a mundane disease.One of the most unnerving of the vitaphagus are thurifiers, whose twisted bodies resemble great mushrooms. They crave human empathy, though their ‘spores’ possess those unfortunate enough to linger in their presence, eventually transforming them into mindless matango, or ‘mushroom people’. This condemns the victims to an existence following a king or queen who feels nought but pity and exasperation for them. These matango left with a spark of sapience can be seen arrhythmically playing simple instruments or offering ‘gifts’ to their creator, despite having no knowledge of their use or worth. On the move they resemble a grisly procession that few witness and survive with their individuality intact.'Another of the demons from the same project as the festival demon, rendered over a few hours in gouache. Some development work for this character can be found in my scraps.Festival Demon: zuboros.deviantart.com/art/Fes… Sample development page 1: zuboros.deviantart.com/art/Gri… Sample development page 2: zuboros.deviantart.com/art/Gri…