Levistus was an
Archdevil who formerly ruled the fifth circle of the
Nine Hells, Stygia.
History
Like the other archdevils, Levistus was born in the early years of the Age of Anxiety. He is not known to be a family relation of any other archdevil.
In the seventh century of the Age of Anxiety, Levistus tricked the god Sisyphus into giving up the secret of the immortality of the gods. The gods eventually restored their immortality and punished Sisyphus for his betrayal by trapping him in the
Elemental Plane of Earth.
He was once the ruler of Stygia and among the most hated of all the archdevils. Many of the other archdevils banded together during the Age of Integrity to drive him out to
Gehenna and install a more predictable archdevil in his seat of power. He seems to have regained his seat before the end of his lifetime, though scholars are still unsure as to how.
In Y1049 (Age of Complexity), a group of powerful mages claimed to have trapped Levistus in an iceberg at the edge of the Elemental Plane of Water. Yet sightings of him continued, at least for the next few decades-- perhaps only a double of him was trapped in the iceberg, or perhaps he can project his consciousness out into different forms for limited periods of time using the secrets he stole from Sisyphus. His appearances on the Material Plane have grown more and more sparse over the past twenty years; some theorize he is running out of the energy required to get himself to the Material Plane.
The downfall of Levistus began in Y1110, when
Loge Haderaa, a
Warlock of the
Demon Crowley, both signed a contract with him and had a dalliance with him. Through the latent demonic power in Loge's body from his contract and dalliances with Crowley, the demon was able to gain psychic power over Levistus and exchange his mortality for Loge's. When Loge died and descended to
Pandemonium in the
Royal Phoenix Showdown, Levistus became mortal and was killed by
Nekrotzar .
Characteristics
Levistus was known as a trickster, even more so than other archdevils. Though charming, clever, and capable, he rarely resisted the chance to double-cross others, even to his own detriment. He believed that all sentient beings are inevitably tempted to betray each other, and sought to accelerate this process whenever he could.
Levistus's true appearance is widely unknown. The form witnessed at the Royal Phoenix Showdown, an enormous humanoid devil with indigo skin and multiple sets of arms, is thought to be the closest to his true form ever observed by mortals. Before that, he often appeared in monstrous forms-- an enormous flaming squid with uncountable tentacles, or a pure white beholder with eyes of solid black. Other times he appeared as a humanoid. These forms changed through the ages, but were invariably male and devastatingly handsome. He often used sex appeal to charm mortals and gain their trust before betraying them.
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