Hosts of the Nine Hells
Tiamat has long threatened Faerûn, often appearing in lands such as Chessenta and Unther to drive mortals to worship her awesome power. Although mortals don’t know it, the end of the Sundering and the Era of Upheaval also put an end to such direct meddling by the gods. Without powerful magic and mortal aid, Tiamat cannot travel from her home in Avernus into the world.
Avernus is a boulder-strewn desolation where fiery comets streak across the sky and devil aristocrats rule from dismal iron fortresses. The River Styx saws a jagged course through Avernus’s basalt cliffs, winds its way across ashen plains, and eventually plunges through a yawning pit into the eight levels of the Hells below. All the rivers of Avernus feed into the Styx, each one flowing red with blood beneath a roiling cloud of flies.
Asmodeus recently reinstated the fallen angel Zariel as the Archduchess of Avernus, reversing an earlier decision that allowed a pit fiend named Bel to take the throne. While in exile from her seat of power, Zariel was at the mercy of Tiamat—a fate that rankles her still. Despite her power as ruler of the first layer of the Nine Hells, Zariel cannot kill the dragon goddess, and she sees the summoning of Tiamat to the world as a way to be rid of her.
Zariel has directed her mortal agents to assist those who seek to free Tiamat, and her power has made it easier for the Red Wizards to summon devils and for the Cult of the Dragon to find more adherents. However, just as Zariel wants Tiamat out, other devils would be happy to see the Dragon Queen stay in Avernus. Foremost among them is the deposed pit fiend Bel and the devils still loyal to him.
Ordinarily, the Cult of the Dragon has nothing to do with devils. However, releasing Tiamat into the world is a massive undertaking, and Severin has called on every resource he can. Though many of his allies among the Red Wizards are well schooled in summoning and commanding devils, doing so is never a straightforward process. Devils cannot leave the Nine Hells of their own accord, and though Asmodeus can bend these laws, he seldom does. Most devils in the Material Plane were summoned there by mortal mages who expended tremendous amounts of magical power to breach the barriers that separate the Nine Hells from other planes.
Avernus is a boulder-strewn desolation where fiery comets streak across the sky and devil aristocrats rule from dismal iron fortresses. The River Styx saws a jagged course through Avernus’s basalt cliffs, winds its way across ashen plains, and eventually plunges through a yawning pit into the eight levels of the Hells below. All the rivers of Avernus feed into the Styx, each one flowing red with blood beneath a roiling cloud of flies.
Asmodeus recently reinstated the fallen angel Zariel as the Archduchess of Avernus, reversing an earlier decision that allowed a pit fiend named Bel to take the throne. While in exile from her seat of power, Zariel was at the mercy of Tiamat—a fate that rankles her still. Despite her power as ruler of the first layer of the Nine Hells, Zariel cannot kill the dragon goddess, and she sees the summoning of Tiamat to the world as a way to be rid of her.
Zariel has directed her mortal agents to assist those who seek to free Tiamat, and her power has made it easier for the Red Wizards to summon devils and for the Cult of the Dragon to find more adherents. However, just as Zariel wants Tiamat out, other devils would be happy to see the Dragon Queen stay in Avernus. Foremost among them is the deposed pit fiend Bel and the devils still loyal to him.
Ordinarily, the Cult of the Dragon has nothing to do with devils. However, releasing Tiamat into the world is a massive undertaking, and Severin has called on every resource he can. Though many of his allies among the Red Wizards are well schooled in summoning and commanding devils, doing so is never a straightforward process. Devils cannot leave the Nine Hells of their own accord, and though Asmodeus can bend these laws, he seldom does. Most devils in the Material Plane were summoned there by mortal mages who expended tremendous amounts of magical power to breach the barriers that separate the Nine Hells from other planes.
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