Asmodeus The Cloven
The Supreme Master of the Nine Hells
Cloven one, Great serpent Ahriman (a.k.a. Asmodeus)
Divine Alterations table. As you grow closer to the might of Asmodeus Roll a D6 to see what your reward is for dutiful service to hellish order
| D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your hair becomes red in color and will grow faster |
| 2 | You awaken with your feet having been replaced by black hooves |
| 3 | You sprout 1d4+1 horns that curl around your head |
| 4 | You gain the ability to recall every slight or insult directed to you |
| 5 | You learn to speak infernal |
| 6 | Your tongue splits, closely resembling the tongue of a serpent |
You have no right to life, it is a thing you barter for every second of every day of every year of your life. The cost is steep, often too high a price for any other good, but life, to breathe and touch and see and feel and to live, is always worth it. -Asmodeus to a young boy about to commit suicide 1112 D
What is a man but a pathetic stack of lies and deceit? And what is death bu t those lies and that deceit returning to haunt you? -Asmodeus to a sinner begging to be brought back to life 2575 B.C
I am alone… let the silence be my faithful companion, forevermore. -Asmodeus to the void after The Collision
Divine Domains
The divine domain of Asmodeus is a complicated one. To the vast majority of the multiverse, Asmodeus is a devil. A monstrous enemy that wishes for nothing more than the subjugation of everything and everyone, but this is a skewed perspective. Yes, Asmodeus is a lawful evil deity of law and tyranny, but he is not a cruel master. If you approach him and his followers with hostility, he will approach you with hostility. It is why Bator has been so blessed by him; the people of Bator always accepted him as just as worthy of praise and worship as any other deity and their belief in the dualistic concept of Sanity and Madness is very similar to his ideals of Law and order, where Law and Sanity in this case both embody stability and the ability to progress because of it.
On Bator, he is one of the 3 gods of civilization, he is the god of cold law, and is considered compassionate in how he treats all fairly by the letter of the law regardless of species, gender, ancestry, or nationality.
In short; His domain is that of cold law and civilization. He is the basis of stability in a lawful society, and the judge of sinners.
Holy Books & Codes
The main holy scripture of the Asmodai religion is known as The Scripture of Asmodeus, and it is widely known one of the only ''official'' mythos on him as a religious idol. There are countless stories of him as a villain, hero, mentor, passive force, and inciting danger but The Scripture is what defined all these stories as more than just myths told to children to teach a lesson and into an actual tangible history that is heavily studied and interpreted by Theologians across this day, although not upon the world where it was written as they would be too busy hiding from the Golden Eye in the shade to read it more than once a year.
The Scripture of Asmodai is well over 1500 pages thick and, most of, its stories are twisted to fit one of three lessons; mortals deserve order, mortals are animals, and deception is the filthiest of sins.
The first is the one most followers of the Asmodai religions gravitate towards the most, as it is the one most comforting. Mortal-kin deserve order and stability and Asmodeus literally exists to provide that, so of course those who need it will gravitate towards a religion that preaches this lesson.
The second is less hopeful but, in a way, just as comforting because that is exactly what Asmodeus treats his followers as: animals. Specifically, pets. To the followers of Asmodeus, his followers are treated and loved and cared for the same way one would take care of his dog and love his dog, a feeling many followers of the Supreme Lord of the Hells appreciate.
The last one, perhaps the most integral to the religion in how it treats the world, its very self explanatory. If anything apposes what Asmodeus and his followers are trying to achieve, a perfectly ordered and safe existence, its is deception. No Devil has ever lied in a contract lest he be destroyed by Asmodeus, no Asmodite has lied about their goals to the outside world, and if any follower of the Cloven One dares deceive, they will be immediately excommunicated by the patriarch without question.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
The sigil of Asmodeus is made up of three triangles which together form a larger fourth triangle which aims downward, with the parts that make up the sigil having black gradient edges that morph into its red core. This sigil is called ''The hoof of Hell'' due to how it resembles the hoof of a goat and how it is, well, the sigil of Hell.
Symbolically, it embodies various aspects of the Asmodai religion. The triangles it is made up of represent the goal of order and stability since the triangle is the physically strongest shape, which is empasized with how 3 work together to create a greater fourth triangle. The way that the sigil is oriented is also very important, with it explicitly being aimed to the ground and towards Nessus, the meaning of which is that stability lies within Hell and can be derived by following the lessons taught by Asmodeus and only Asmodeus. Lastly, the coloring of the sigil is also incredibly important as the black edges represent the way that outsiders view the Asmodai religion, as a horrid cult that worships evil, while the red cores represent the truth that lies inside of the religion, namely the passionate fire that burns within all Asmodite hearts.
Tenets of Faith
The Asmodai religion, as should be clear by now, revolves around the necessity of order and stability. Stability brings progress and all that, but besides that there are three tenets spawned from the original ideal of law; mortals deserve order, mortals are animals, and deception is the filthiest of sins.
The first is the one most followers of the Asmodai religions gravitate towards the most, as it is the one most comforting. Mortal-kin deserve order and stability and Asmodeus literally exists to provide that, so of course those who need it will gravitate towards a religion that preaches this lesson.
The second is less hopeful but, in a way, just as comforting because that is exactly what Asmodeus treats his followers as: animals. Specifically, pets. To the followers of Asmodeus, his followers are treated and loved and cared for the same way one would take care of his dog and love his dog, a feeling many followers of the Supreme Lord of the Hells appreciate.
The last one, perhaps the most integral to the religion in how it treats the world, its very self explanatory. If anything apposes what Asmodeus and his followers are trying to achieve, a perfectly ordered and safe existence, its is deception. No Devil has ever lied in a contract lest he be destroyed by Asmodeus, no Asmodite has lied about their goals to the outside world, and if any follower of the Cloven One dares deceive, they will be immediately excommunicated by the patriarch without question.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Asmodeus has never in his life lied about his goals as that goes against everything he stands for, Tyranny through lawful order. Due to this, his goals are well known and documented; he wishes to control the multiverse. Its that simple. He believes, with all his being, that the multiverse would be a better, safer, more civilized place if he had complete dominion over it, an idea that is not completely without justification as he is as, if not more, powerful and intelligent as any other deity but with an ego that wont allow him to fail as his duties. Every action he takes is another move in a game of Senet wherein he plays at least 5 moves ahead of almost everyone else, with only other deities of his power like Primus, Jazirian, Tyr, and Thoth having the ability to stand on his level.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Asmodeus is a long, muscular, and absolutely massive serpent with pitch-black scales and an arrow-shaped skull. His entire body is marked and bathed in his wounds from when he fell to Hell, with a constant stream of his blue-golden blood streaming from the worst ones on his back.
Identifying Characteristics
Perhaps the most striking quality of Asmodeus are the two horns which sprout from his head and curl around it again. Seemingly made of a mix of bone, onyx, and ruby, the two protrusion slowly change shape over time, meaning that, say, at the start of a conversation they can be straight forward and by the end of it they will have curled or moved to the sides. These horns are a constant among every form he takes, as declared by the Pact Primordial, so that all who lay gaze upon him know just who they are dealing with.
Apparel & Accessories
Whenever he appears within his humanoid form, he is dressed in a set of red robes, at least 16, that overlap with one another and are heavily embroidered with a golden-blue lining at its edges, as well as many different ruby-onyx art pieces woven into the fabric depicting various scenes of the 16 planes of existence upon their respective robes. Under these 16 red robes resides a rightfully restrictive collection of bandages and wrappings that hold back the endless tide of golden-blue blood as they can, but, sometimes, some of it seeps out, creating a trail of it as he walks or leaks from his sleeves.
With him Asmodeus always carries around his ruby rod, as declared by Primus. This long and thin wand is red in color, as its name indicates, and is tipped with a perfectly clear ruby in the shape of a pentagram as well as a pentagon on a chain at its rear-end.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The Dawn
At the dawn of everything, the multiverse was naught but Chaos. This Chaos was intrinsically self destructive, lashing out against itself for there was nothing to lash out against besides itself. From this Chaos arose two serpents. Jazirian and Ahriman. Brothers in arms, created for the sole purpose to end the Chaos that spawned them. However, they were fundementally opposed as Jazirian embodied law through morality while Ahriman embodied morality through law, and as such, as all things born from Chaos would and will, they lashed out against each other to impose their form of law upon the blosseming multiverse.
Towards that end of this conflict, the two serpent gods bit each others' tails, forming a wartorn oreboros that defined the borders of a new plane. Born from the soup of chaos through the interaction of the two most powerful entities of law, one strict and the other lax, formed the neutral plane of the Outlands. The other Outer Planes arrayed themselves around its circular border, forging the Great Wheel, and the concept of the Unity of Rings was created. The next law the two created was the Rule of Three in honor of the three aspects: Madness, Sanity, and Morality. However, when they had to decide a center for the multiverse, they disagreed. The Outlands were the ideal place but ascendant Jazirian wanted Mt.Celestia to be the center, while downsided Ahriman wanted Baator to be it. They tugged each other and bit each others' tail tips off. Unlike Jazirian, Ahriman was a scaled serpent without wings and therefore fell into the ground of the very world where he wished to create the scenter of creation, the hole he created forming The Red Hells. The epicentre of his crash formed into Nessus and created the deep fissure called the Serpent's Coil before his fall halted. There, his serpentine body lay bleeding, and from the blood arose the first baatezu.
Having failed to choose a center for the multiverse, the two lawful entities had effectively perpetuated the chaos they were meant to silence by making every plane infinitely big and therefore every place being the center. The two serpents had spent so much power in creating rules for the multiverse and in their struggle that they were unable to prevent other, newer gods from taking over positions of importance. Ahriman later took the name Asmodeus for himself, taking a new identity so his old could properly heal.
The Court of Asmodeus
According to the The Scripture of Asmodeus, the holy book of the Asmodai religion, disgusted angels and servants of Jazirian condemned Asmodeus and his subjects for tempting mortals to, what they called, evil and taking hold of their souls. The Archfiend protested, stating he was no different from any other deity in his search for followers and the angels agreed to have a hearing with Asmodeus after accepting his proposal to ask Primus of the modrons to be an impartial judge, both of which were fully able to put aside their past relation with the Cloven One for this trial.
Asmodeus argued that he'd never done anything wrong for he consistently acted as a lawful creature in accordance with infernal and divine tradition in service to the cause of law and the continued existence of the multiverse. According to him, mortals always had the choice whether to accept an infernal bargain, devils always held up their end of a bargain, and a mortal who nullified a contract by finding a loophole was respected and even rewarded for their wit. Furthermore, souls condemned to Baator were conscripted into the infernal army against the Abyss's forces of chaos, thereby protecting the cause of law and good from the forces of chaos and evil, even aiding the Conjoining of the Mad Gods in their cause, which meant the souls were also used to further and protect the cause of law.
The angels presented their cases one by one, but with so many and for so long and so chaotic that Primus' patience ran out. The judge declared he would only listen to a limited number of angels, not all of them. After this pronouncement, Zariel, at that time still an angel, started a brawl to get to the front row to get her case heard. This degenerated into a massive punch-up among the angels. Primus scolded the angels for their lack of restraint and refused to give a final verdict, and Asmodeus suffered no punishment. However, two matters were decided. First, Asmodeus was effectively given the right to sway mortals to his cultus and lay claim their souls. Second, a decree was made that Asmodeus must always carry his Ruby Rod of Asmodeus, both as a symbol of the devils' right and as a punishment device against devils who did not uphold their end of a bargain made with mortals.
The Noontide
Asmodeus was acknowledged as the oldest devil in existence, but not everyone believed him to be such. These mortals convinced of his wisdom were called Extravagrants and were scorned and forced to the edges of society. During the Era of Divines, these Extravagrants found a place where they were not only accepted but actually welcomed, namely on Bator. This strange world had been constructed from parts of every plane of existence, from Mechanus to Limbo and, as such, was much more open to those who were shunned by other spheres, and had long since been convinced of Asmodeus' good nature and, as such, the Extravagrants had a home among their kin on this world.
Here, by permission of Acr'Aldr, Que'Tar, and Primus, Asmodeus was assimilated into the Sphere and its influence. At first, he had similar plans for this world as all others, slowly corrupt its populace while keeping them at a distance so increase his influence and heal of their loyalty, but he quickly realized such plans were unnecessary. These people did not detest him, they adored him, they did not need to be absorbed into the Nine Hells, they already carried pieces of it with them. In all ways but one, namely complete fialty, they were already his people, loyal to him and his ideals of law. On Bator, his trial was seen as an unjust persecution of him, his cause as just, and his realm as an essential part of the Multiverse.
From there one, the Cloven One became a true deity among the Batorian Pantheon, and his name was always said in prayers to it alongside other gods such as Primus, Baronie, and Luthic, without exception.
The Reckoning of The Hells
The Reckoning was an event in which the archdevils revolted against Asmodeus, and he survived without a wound. The key catalyst was Baalzebul's ambitions increasingly clashing with Asmodeus's. He tried to smear Asmodeus's reputation as a competent leader and to circumvent the infernal bureaucracy, sabotaging even the Alliance of the Sane Gods in his ambitions. To save his amassed military strength, he even withheld his armies in the face of a Limboan invasion until he had to admit that not entering the fray would cause Baator and even Bator to be ruined. At the time, the archdevils acted in a fairly obvious manner to achieve their goals and, at the culmination of their scheming, two factions crystallized: that of Baalzebul with Belial, Moloch, and Zariel under him; and that of Mephistopheles with Dispater, Geryon, and Mammon under him. After Baalzebul's machinations were uncovered in an investigation, their armies clashed in Maladomini to determine who should inherit Asmodeus's power. But it was all for naught, as Asmodeus had secured the loyalty of Geryon and infiltrated the eight armies up to the highest level, some say he had even orchestrated the Limboan invasion to weaken their forces despite the risk to his own and his favored world. On Geryon's signal, the pit fiend commanders turned on their archdevils and their armies were destroyed while Asmodeus watched from the skies on the back of Tiamat. Afterward, Asmodeus instituted the Dark Eight, giving an effective promotion to the pit fiends loyal to him. He generally left the archdevils with their realms: Zariel, Dispater, and Mephistopheles were allowed to keep their layers; Mammon embarrassed himself begging Asmodeus for forgiveness, who did by allowing him to keep his layer but forbade him to keep his relationship with his daughter and limited his influence on the other planes; and Belial went into the background to evade responsibility and managed to hold power by accepting Asmodeus's condition that he hold power jointly with his daughter, Fierna. However, Geryon was deposed despite his loyalty and Levistus was restored to consciousness and elevated to archdevil of Stygia. Moloch was convinced by Malagarde (who worked for Geryon and therefore Asmodeus) that if he showed defiance, Asmodeus would respect him and absolve him of all crimes; instead, he was deposed and Malagarde, who'd convinced him to join the fray to begin with, became the archdevil of Malbolge. Baalzebul was allowed to keep his position but his body was transformed into a giant slug. In summary, all archdevils were forced to accept Asmodeus as their superior and he became sure of potential usurpers' capabilities while also dramatically reminding them of their position. Why Asmodeus deposed Geryon was a mystery. At least three possible explanations were accepted by scholars. The first was that it spurred increased loyalty in Geryon and he would work even harder for Asmodeus in the hope of being restored to power. The second was that it was a kind of reward by Asmodeus, even if Geryon did not think of it that way, where he was now free of the infernal bureaucracy and free to roam the multiverse.The Dusk
This Era was the most dim in Asmodeus' existence on Bator, beginning with The Collision. The story of his involvement with the event vary, some stating he fought with the Alliance to minimize the damage to Bator, others saying he remained in Hell to feed on the souls that died during the cataclysm, and others even say he caused the event to take control of the weakened world. Needless of the exact role he enacted during the event, the results remained the same. He, as with all gods of the Old Batorian Pantheon were locked out of the Abandoned Realm, his influence not only weakened but replaced by Hartenvocht of the New Batorian Pantheon. For 5 centuries, all he could do was watch from his Crimson Throne as his servants begged and grovelled in the sands while his very archdevils went behind his back to use their various methods to replace him bit by bit, to the point where his realms true name was forgoten and replaced with the title of The Red Hells. This ended in the year 555 A.C when, after much contemplation, he sired an heir on Bator, who would reinvigorate his people and bring forth a new age of gods for the Abandoned Realm, at the helm of which would stand Ahriman and his dark prince and princess besides him.Accomplishments & Achievements
Asmodeus has achieved many things; Dominate worlds, subvert the faithful, bring forth despair and mania on a whim, and much much more but, in his mind at least, the greatest of Asmodeus' achievements is the very thing he rules; The Red Hells, or the Nine Hells if you are from anywhere but Bator. It is the paramount of order and tyranny, the zenith of morality through law, created from his own ashes. Across the millennia, as Asmodeus himself would love to remind his fellow deities, his plane has grown from a simple crater into a metropolis, the bastion against the forces of the Abyss where Mt.Celstia is against Ysgard and where Mechanus is against Limbo. It houses a massive population of loyal and vivid Devils that live and die by the Rod, never spared it when they fall out of lines.
More akin to 9 anthills in many ways in modern times, the plane has fallen into some form of disrepair as his power waxes and wanes due to the countless catastrophes he is forced to endure in the last centuries. The Collision, the Spell Plague, the Sundering, The Last War, and many more have sapped his influence as his own archdevils and daughter constantly vie for more and more power over their own layer and he can do naught but watch and sometimes intervene when his wounds allow him to do so. But, despite this, he will be damned before he lets it ever truly fall into Chaos or to the forces of The Abyss.
Failures & Embarrassments
Throughout his eternal existence Asmodeus has faced many trials, now all of which he faced unscathed and many more he suffered greatly for.
Perhaps his greatest of embarrassments was his relationship with his former concubine Graz'zt. Once, this demonlord served as Asmodeus' second most trusted companion, the godfather of The Cloven One's daughter Glasya, and Asmodeus' companion. However, this trust was used and twisted by Graz'zt in a vain attempt to increase his own power, and, as some legends go, tried to assassinate Asmodeus in his sleep but failed and put the blame on an innocent devil from Avernus. This was not the final time Graz'zt attempted to usurp his master and, after many failed schemes, he simply turned his back on his former master after having invaded and conquered three layers of The Abyss, breaking free completely of Hell itself and punctuating his betrayal by spitting on Asmodeus' face before he left the plane entirely.
Morality & Philosophy
In the eyes of Old Hoof and Horn, the greatest virtue is Tyranny. When considering this, one has to accept that Asmodeus is not a mortal man. He is a deity and considers things from that perspective.
A king, dictator, and, well, tyrant is not virtues if they use tyranny to oppress their people, to oppress minds, and to oppress progress. Those tyrants and kings and dictators are, more oft than not, mortal men who rule over mortal realms in mortal planes and are a part of mortal races, born with the wish to rule but no right to rule, a trait that he, and, by extension, other deities and especially his brother Jazirian do not share for they have both the wish and the right to rule, at least in his mind.
Tyranny, law, order, Sanity, these are what he believes matter most. In his mind, stability of a society, be it religious, tribal, secret whatever is what matters most, for stability provides a chance to progress, it provides safety, and it allows a society the ability to thrive as well survive. As such, since laws create stability, law should be upheld without question, since opposition to law would oppose progress, and we would not want that now would we?
Social
Family Ties
Asmodeus has very little actual blood relatives, but those he does have he treasures greatly.
First, of course, is his brother Jazirian who he holds a special mix of hatred, love, and indifference towards. For untold millions of years, Ahriman has contemplated how and when to obliterate his twin brother but over just as many millions of years he has, in a way, calmed his senses and accepted that, had he been the one with wings, he would have allowed Jazirian to fall just as well as his brother let him fall. Due to this realization he has come to appreciate his brother in a manner not too disimilar to how one would appreciate an infestation of Gnolls in a forest, unpleasant but a worthy adversary if handled correctly. In the broken mind of the Serpent of Hell, Jazirian is not an enemy as much as another hurdle to overcome once he conquers the multiverse which he will lovingly destroy.
Second is Asmodeus' daughter; Glasya. Also known as ''The Dark Prodigy'', she is, perhaps, his greatest of treasures and the only one who he truly loves, despite how difficult she oft makes it. Spawned of Asmodeus' favored concubine, and wife by some accounts, Bensozia, Glasya is an impetuous woman who has opposed her father on numerous occasions and who has found a loophole in every law that was used to impede her progress. Despite these traits, or even because of them, Asmodeus can not find it in his heart to hate her and, while he has punished her, will protect her with his life.
Lastly is his most recent offspring; Azazel. Also known as ''He who will return'', he is destined to reopen the Abandoned Realm to the multiverse and return the old gods to the world of Bator. Currently, he still but a babe, having been born on the dawn of the 557th year after The Collision, but Asmodeus none the less cares deeply for his son, having already prepared a crib and gift to give him when his destiny comes to pass.
Relationships
Wealth & Financial state
Asmodeus owns all wealth that any devil has obtained and has right to all precious metals and gems used in magical rituals unless stated otherwise
Divine Classification
Greater Deity
Alignment
Lawful Evil
Current Location
Realm
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Supreme Master of the Nine Hells
Lord of Nessus
The Lord of the Ninth
The Cloven
Old Hoof and Horn
Lord of Lies
The Archfiend
The Raging Fiend
Prince of Evil
Lord of Sanity
He who exists beneath
The Bleeding God
The Serpent of Hell
Date of Birth
The Dawn of Creation
Birthplace
The Primordial Chaos
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Current Residence
Nessus, The Red Hells
Gender
Masculine
Eyes
Shining red and wise
Hair
Short, shining onyx, slicked back
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale Caucasian
Height
2.8 metres
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Ruled Locations
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments