Vol Sarkoth
Throughout the Blue Age, Vol Sarkoth was a flourishing metropolis. With its hot springs and fertile lands, it grew wealthy, influential, and sizeable. Typically, it maintained a position of neutral self-defense in the then-current Jotundraken War, as was the policy of the Vola. It was destroyed at the beginning of the Dark Age by barbarian invaders from the West.
Dark Conquests and Diabolic Pacts
As the Sarkothi faced challenges on their borders, the city's wizards turned to dark arts, summoning undead, fiends, and demons to secure their conquests. Fears of demonic incursions led to a pact with the archdevils of the Nine Hells. Contracts were signed, and the noble houses agreed to marry devils, leading to a permanent portal to Hell within the city's caldera. Vol Sarkoth, once a mortal city, became inexorably entwined with the infernal realms.
Tiefling Bloodlines and Infernal Legacies
The resulting offspring bore the traits of their archdevil ancestors. Surprisingly, the tiefling lineage endured beyond inter-house marriages. Once a noble consummated their union, any subsequent children, regardless of their partner, inherited tiefling characteristics. While this clearly marked those of noble blood, over time, the bloodlines of lesser archdevils waned, and the legacy of Asmodeus, the highest-ranked archdevil, dominated.
Nine Great Houses and Their Archdevils:
The noble houses, bound to archdevils, included Kavi (Asmodeus), Zultura (Mephistopheles), Throvia (Baalzebul), Zannifera (Glasya), Kiahlir (Levistus), Driyugue (Fierna and Belial), Kalhneborn (Mammon), Synnard (Dispater), and Aazariel (Zariel). Minor houses like Anastazhu, Baikanul, Barikdral, Kyrandanul, Ravoon, and Rennet added to the tapestry of tiefling diversity.(1)
1. While many tieflings traced their ancestry to Vol Sarkoth's nobility, these are not the only tiefling bloodlines. All manner of those with fiendish origins contributed to the diverse traits and appearances of tieflings, but these are beyond the scope of this page.
History
In a shadowy epoch known as the Infernal Interregnum, devils from Hell colonized Navia with the aim of seizing dominion. Their nefarious agenda sought not merely conquest but the relentless perpetuation of their eternal conflict against demonkind. As architects of a macabre empire, they viewed mortals not as subjects but as pawns in a ceaseless cosmic chess game.
Devilish Machinations
The devils, with their sinister hierarchy and cunning intellect, orchestrated a meticulous plan to establish an empire on Earth. Drawing power from infernal realms, they established grand city-states across the world which outwardly seemed to be places of enlightenment, learning, and plenty. In these Vola, the hungry were fed, the homeless were housed, and the suffering were comforted. Each of the Vola was a good neighbour, respecting borders and adopting an open-door policy in their own cities. The goal was not territorial expansion but the cultivation of a perpetual harvest of mortal souls—a resource essential for fueling their unending war against the chaotic forces of demonkind.
Subjugation of Humankind
Mortals, unbeknownst to them, became unwitting subjects of the infernal regime. The devils wielded unseen influence, steering political machinations, religious fervor, and societal structures to sow discord and despair. As unwitting pawns, mortals unknowingly contributed to the devils' malevolent design, their lives becoming mere currency in the eternal cosmic conflict.
The Endless War
At the heart of the devils' dominion lay a diabolical civil war, an unending struggle against demonic forces seeking to breach the barriers between realms. Mortals, caught in the crossfire, were conscripted into the infernal legions or sacrificed in gruesome rituals to empower demonic prisons. The Earth became a battleground, a proxy realm where the flames of celestial conflict scorched the very fabric of reality.
Resistance and Rebellion
Yet, even in the darkest times, pockets of resistance emerged. Secret societies, brave rebels, and clandestine orders sought to defy the devilish yoke, fighting against the puppet masters orchestrating their suffering. These pockets of rebellion, though small, harbored a flicker of hope that one day the infernal interregnum might be broken. One of these cells escaped Vol Sarkoth, and fled Hyperborea altogether, across the Dyscrasic Ocean to A'Tuan.
The Unraveling
As eons passed, cracks appeared in the devils' dominion. The eternal civil war exacted a toll even on the denizens of the Nine Hells. Some devils questioned the ceaseless cycle, and whispers of dissent echoed through the infernal hierarchy. The delicate balance between manipulation and rebellion teetered on the brink, and the stage was set for a cosmic upheaval that could either shatter the infernal interregnum or plunge Earth into even greater darkness.
Expansion and Barbarian Onslaught
With the pressure on Vol Sarkoth doubled down, but an unforeseen calamity struck—an invasion by barbarians from A'Tuan. The city's defenses crumbled, and the once-mighty metropolis fell to chaos. Barbarian invaders sacked Vol Sarkoth, scattering its noble houses and forever altering the city's fate.
RUINED SETTLEMENT
The Red Age
Comments
Author's Notes
The idea for Vol Sarkoth evolved from this excellent post by Agrippina Siderea, probably 20 years ago in the RPGnet forums. At least, at the time of this writing. I changed most of the big names and paraphrased this heavily, but credit where it's due.