Second International Master Demonist Contest

International Master Demonist Contest 1696

Dates
Final date	24 Konil 1696
Host
Venue	The "Palace", Gathering Place
Presenter(s)	Master Clancy DuPree
Winner	Zalin Sky
Participants
Number of entries	7

The Second International Master Demonist Contest is a contest held among the various titleholders of the Goetic cycle families to determine the next leader of the Community of Goetia, known as the International Master Demonist. This is the second contest held to determined the third International Master. Clancy Dupree, who won the First International Master Demonist Contest serves as the host, organizer, and producer of the contest. Preparations for the contest began in late 1693 when cycle families began to hold their contests to select their representatives.

After the contest winner, Sir Zalin Sky, was declared, riots broke out throughout the Community. Zalin, a devout and intractable Old Guarder, was a suspected former member of The Saints CF and rumors of his misconduct swirled around him for years. He won his title largely by default and suspected coercion and the fact that he was allowed to compete at IMD2 caused several judges and sponsors to boycott. The Sky Riots are one of the contributing factors of the Community's collapse in late 1696.

Participant Expectations

The first Master, Lukas, offered a few guidelines for how each family should select its representatives: "The ideal demonist is comfortable being a demonist, they are proud to worship their demons, and speak confidently and engagingly. The ideal demonist is charismatic, and can function as the face of our entire Community. The Master Demonist should be steeped in the demonist lifestyle, knowledgeable of our history, aware of our persecution, and always striving to protect our way of life. The International Master must be unafraid of the other nations of this world, they must protect us and defend us. A Master must be respected by their cycle family, and must be able to earn the respect of the other families. A Master cannot condone the Old Ways or suffer those that do."

Titleholders

Contests were held among the turfed cycle families and their affiliated nomadic families in 1693 to select participants.

Titleholders for 1696
Title Patch	Eligible Families	Title	Winner	Home Venue
	Cliffbase CF, Eagles NF	Mr. Basecliff	Cletus Brisco	Missie C's Bar and Parlor
	Navigators CF, Swifts NF	Mr. Sunset Coast	Sir Zalin Sky	DD's Dockside Dairy Bar
	Gateway CF, Oxen NF, Eagles NF	Ms. Gateway to the Best	Maryanne La Fayette	Lounge 68
	New Guard CF, Eagles NF	Mr. Gathering Place	Eustace H. Wriggles	The "Palace" Annex Basement
	Crophaulers DF, Oxen NF	Mr. Longhauler SUPREME	Porthos Serena	Exit 3 Park 'n Rest
	Troglonauts of Cibola, Bloodhounds NF	Mx. Westwoods	Jamie Goode	SIRenity Campground
	Gladius Demonist Society, Bloodhounds NF	Mr. Straight to Hell	Ol' Gus	Attitude Check Check

Contest

The contest was marked by controversy from the start. Jamie Goode, Mx. Westwoods, refused to compete on the same stage as Sir Sky, Mr. Sunset Coast. Goode accused Sky of being an unrepentant Old Guarder, former member of the Saints, and Vanic-sympathizer. Goode provided a stack of a dozen formal complaints issued against Sky by his former submissives, who escaped from his torture rooms. Goode claims that if Sky were given a platform to speak at the IMD contest, then the abusive and dangerous brand of demonism he practiced would threaten the stability of the entire community. The previous Master Demonist, Clancy DuPree, conferred with judges and decided there was no legal mechanism to prevent Sky from competing because to deny him his spot in the competition would be to deny the voices of the Goetics of the families that sent him. Jamie Goode immediately removed their name from the competition in protest, as did Maryanne La Fayette, in solidarity. They both supported Eustace Wriggles, a known New Guarder from Gathering Place.

The competition eventually came down to Eustace and Sir Sky, as both contestants presented themselves as opposite ends of the spectrum of demonic worship. Emboldened by being allowed to compete, Sir Sky was unapologetically Old Guard in all of his contest answers. He advocated extreme forms of physical torture well beyond the ritual bondage practiced by some demonists, he delighted in how many young submissives he broke emotionally and mentally, and verbally assaulted members of the audience. Eustace presented himself as a young, attractive, professionally well-rounded man. He promoted the positive side of demonism, that taught self-love, open discussions, and healthy exchanges of power between all parties involved.

At the closing ceremony, the tally master handed DuPree the sealed winner's envelope. DuPree opened it and read Sky's name to a stunned and silent auditorium. Without a word, he took off his sash and placed it over Sky's shoulders, thus conferring on Sky the title of International Demonist Master. Rumors swirled for days that the tally master forged the scores to give Sky the single point to take the lead. Rumor appeared to become fact when Sky appeared at his first event holding a leash around the tally master, his newest submissive. DuPree committed suicide a few days later, with a note pinned to his vest that said "I'm sorry."

The Sky Riots

Protests began in the western families (Troglonauts, Gladius, and Crophaulers) demanding that the Conference of Cycle Families repudiate the contest and re-do it. A protest parade from Gateway to Gathering Place also sought to draw attention to the rumored evils of the new International Master. The Conference conducted a review but found no technicalities to invalidate the contest and allowed Sir Sky to remain.

Taking it upon themselves, vigilantes from Cliffbase, Gateway, and Gathering Place, along with some members of the Gorillas rode to the Navigators' turf and began to riot. The riot quickly turned into a bloodbath as the vigilantes began to kill the Navigators indiscriminately as they assumed they all supported Sir Sky as their contest winner. The vigilantes did not realize that Sky had cheated his way into winning the local contest as well.

As word spread of one cycle family being decimated by the others, the social order began to break down. Goetics began to flee their communes in large numbers, returning to their birth nations or returning to the Green. By the end of 1696 the communes had become so depopulated that basic services were impossible. Devout demon worshippers and others who were unwilling or unable to return to the outside world fled to Gathering Place, hopeful that they would find refuge there.

Aftermath

The riots resulted in the total collapse of the community. It exposed the fragility of the contest system and the instability of armed and autonomous cycle families. After the refugees coalesced into the new Civic Dominion, Andrea Drakland ordered an overhaul of the contest. It would now be more of a pageant to draw tourists, with the new Demonic Master holding ceremonial duties only. She hunted down Sir Sky, brought him to The Barn in Gathering Place, and sliced him in half, from taint to tip, in front of a cheering crowd. She ordered that a new contest be held as soon as possible, with the original 1696 contestants competing.

The contest was not held again until 1708, after the Goetics fled the Crusade of Saint Lazaros and reestablished themselves in New Goetia.