Diabolus
Adjudicator of Souls, Tempter and Truth Teller Diabolus
She was the center of attention from the moment she walked in the room. The crowd parted around her as she walked to the dance floor, leaving her alone in the center. She turned, slowly, making eye contact with anyone willing. The ones looking with lust, or with wrath, they tended to lock eyes. The envious and the vain, they looked away, humbled.
She saw the Count, and held his gaze. It was lust that drove him, and when she crooked a finger, he came. They met in the middle of the dance floor, and the band started to play.
The dance was not something I had seen before. A few had, and danced along with them - where they learned it, I don't know, but I plan to find out. It was obscene - the scarlet dress she wore was hiked to her thighs, and she wrapped her leg around him as he dragged her across the floor. He spun her around, the dress flaring, her bosom heaving. I don't know if the Count knew the dance or not, but if not he was a quick study. Their legs entwined and they pulled each other tight, hands caressing each others faces. The other couples swirled around them, none with dresses as scandalous as hers, but scandalous enough in the circumstance.
We lost him there, I know now. Once she had him on the floor, it was only a matter of time. Now she's the Countess, and she's the source of the problems for us. She's a Devil, or the servant of one. His mind is twisted - he sits in judgement, claiming the mantle of Bonae but following the law in the cruelest way possible. He has changed laws to make almost everything a crime, then says that he must follow the law as he confiscates our property, conscripts our sons, and rapes our daughters. He must be stopped. She must be stopped. I pray to Adalci and Corinne, Quentis and Tempatia, to come to our aid. To strike down the evil in our midst.
Divine Domains
Holy Books & Codes
Divine Symbols & Sigils
The Bloody Eye symbolizes Diabolus' judgement upon those of no or broken faith.
The Hand - a skeletal hand clutching a large gold coin - is used by actual followers of the Devil.
Tenets of Faith
- Diabolus is the true calling of sapient beings
- The Judgement of Diabolus shall be brought on the unbelievers, while the followers of Diabolus will receive their reward
- Mortals cannot truly comprehend the Moribus, and reducing it to such banal terms as Good and Evil leads them astray
Holidays
When Mesic, the golden moon of the Moribus, is in full darkness, the followers of Diabolus gather for rituals. The highest of holidays occurs whenever Mesic is new, and the red moon Lanin is full. On those days, priests of Diabolus sacrifice sapient beings - preferably followers of Quentis, although it is not required.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Diabolus is known to be the ultimate arbiter of unclaimed souls. All Deities claim the souls of those who follow them, bringing them into the afterlife promised by the Deity. However, some do not follow any Deity, and some do not live up to those they claim to follow. Those souls are turned over to Diabolus for judgement. While he is a Devil, he is the Devil aligned with Order, and as such obeys certain rules in how he disposes of souls. Any soul strongly associated with a specific Truth can end up in an afterlife associated with that Truth, regardless of fealty to a Deity. Those with no strong connection tend to end up as backgrounds in the various afterlives, forced to serve those that were properly admitted. If such a soul has any evil on it, which almost all do, they will be claimed by Diabolus or another Devil, as fodder for torture or slavery in the Hells. This is the known motivation of Diabolus, and is used by various sects to motivate people to follow their Deity's will.
Diabolus also seeks to remake the Terrene in his image, along with the other Devils. He is very patient, and has been building plans for a long time. Only his most loyal servants know of any of his plans, and none of them know the full extent of them.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Body Features
Facial Features
Identifying Characteristics
Apparel & Accessories
Mental characteristics
Sexuality
Diabolus uses sex as an enticement or a weapon. As such, 'sexuality' is a meaningless term for him. He can take the form of any gender or none, and can use sex as a weapon with whatever form he has taken.
Intellectual Characteristics
Diabolus is a patient plotter. His plans can take centries to be fulfilled, and he generally plans for how failure will still advance a core goal. He is among the most clever of the Deities, and can generally scheme to get his way. His biggest intellectual flaw is overconfidence - he tends to dismiss others as unable to match him, especially mortals. He is normally correct, but he has been known to fail due to overlooking the possibility that anyone else can see through his tactics.
Morality & Philosophy
Diabolus is a Devil, with all that entails. He is willing to work with others, and keeps deals once they are made, but he always looks to his own advancement. Any deal he proposes with have multiple loopholes meant to benefit him at the others expense, and he particularly delights in letting others think they have found all of the loopholes and plugged them while missing the more subtle ones.
He does not consider his philosophy to be Evil - the Moribus is too complex to be boiled down to such a banal term. His end of the Moribus is that of death and decay, the nadir of the continuous cycle that allows for life to exist. Blood and sacrifice are central to his philosophy, and as he sees it, central to life existing at all. Without him - without the pressure of the dark Moribus, aligned with the bright Dharmus - life would be much more brutal and painful for all creatures.
Comments