Dæmon.
The first time you hear that word, you probably assume someone just misspoke and meant to say demon, right?
But surprisingly, that's not the case at all. The word dæmon has little to do with demons as we usually imagine them. If memory serves, it actually refers to an animal manifestation of a person's soul, physically present alongside them. That idea comes from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series.
Not that I was a fan or anything. Just one of those random pieces of information I picked up somewhere along the way.
Now, in a lot of fiction and storytelling, the terms dæmon and demon are sometimes used interchangeably and in those cases, it makes sense. The context usually allows for it.
But stepping back for a second — what even is a demon?
Well, without a doubt, they're nothing like humans.
One thing's for sure: they're not human.
That much is obvious.
