A bunch of beings trying to survive in a broken clock
Late in the coming of the new daemons before, the first magic users appeared along them too. Since conflicts have begun to rise, the earliest ones were told to be the byproduct of attempted murders or misfortunes, saved by the good will of the nascent daemons.
Of the notable examples includes the users of ice, where the first one was thrown into a freezing river as a baby, but the daemons who took notice became upset, and they used their powers to keep him alive. From their efforts, he was dormant, only conscious in dreams, but alive and growing.
When he came of age, he awoke, and looked like no other man, his skin perpetually cold and pale, his age impossible to pinpoint, and hands bereft of flesh. Entering the world, he also thought unlike other men, as he introduced far more advanced agriculture to a village edging on starvation, so he gained great respect, despite how alarmingly alien he appeared to them.
More magic users came to be over the years, and whether viewed as aberrants or gifts from daemons, the novelty magic users were once held in was going to turn to more, and neither did the daemons, who adored the magic users as their gift to humans, consider what was to happen.
As conflict continued, the daemons oversaw the humans in their antics, from ingenuity after ingenuity, and shortcomings following more daemons afterwards. By this point, the earliest empires have started to form too, from unsatiable ambitions. Soon, the word on strange people, ones with the powers of daemons yet were accessible unlike daemons, lived in these villages around, so interest shifted to the magic users.
By this point, the only ones that existed were of water and wood, as said generosity often concerned curing a disease or saving someone from the elements. The initial reference, they were sought to be recreated for divinations and war strategy. From extreme means such as starvation and highly hallucinogenic drugs, the results were effective, but were often horrific and rarely attempted. As a result, the magic users here often enjoyed a niche status, but were hard to replicate. Still, more was wanted, often from ambitious kings and general, and in turn, the daemons became reference.
In terms of direct relationship, fire daemons were the ones who were around humans the most, in their indirect aids towards war, where as the others rarely concerned themselves with humans unless it's a specific reason or were a subject of worship, so fire daemons were the particular ones being replicated. With war and conquest, came many slaves, and seen as tools, slaves and a few daring soldiers were put through countless mutilation and other violent rituals to become magic users, at the cost of many lives and pain. From the civilizations that exploited such became victorious, reaping the fruit of their ambitions, and the magic users as a whole, from being an innocent gift to being seen close to daemons, now saw their status nearing a slave, and sometimes lower.
From the treatment given to magic users, daemons have grown increasingly angry, and the ones who cared about humans more are nearing their wrath for the gift they see abused. Alongside, though humans may grieve, and they may prosper, but among the noise, the daemons know one type magic user has not shown up yet, like the successive introduction of newer daemons by element before. Among these realizations, there was a shift among daemons to take their place among humans and the clock more seriously, regardless of what their characters suggested, and certain older ones are particularly included, as they hear knocks from outside the clock.
Effect applies as before. And for here specifically, it's the feeling of gifts being abused, and confusion.