Zariel

"Keep wasting my time with your pointless words and die, or join my war band and live. Choose swiftly. I have a plane to conquer."

— Zariel

Archdevil of Lust

Zariel was an Archangel and ally of Freya and Asmodeus in a world shaped by gods and filled with chaos. While Freya opposed Asmodeus's vision of perfection through order, Zariel admired mortal imperfections as signs of resilience. However, she secretly harbored a deep, unspoken love for Asmodeus, which created internal turmoil as she watched his growing rift with Freya.
During a cataclysmic conflict between gods, mortals, and Primordial forces, Zariel sought peace but became increasingly disillusioned with the endless strife. After Asmodeus's betrayal of Freya and his transformation into the ruler of devils, Zariel proposed a trial to hold him accountable. Despite her efforts, the trial ended without resolution, deepening her despair.
When Freya launched a relentless crusade against the devils, Zariel tried to intervene, questioning Freya's obsessive vengeance. Their disagreement led to a bitter split, leaving Zariel vulnerable. She was later ambushed by devils and brought before Asmodeus. In a moment of desperation, she confessed her love and struck a deal with him to end the conflict.
The pact transformed Zariel into the first succubus, granting her immense power but cursing her to never feel genuine love. She became the Archdevil of Lust, commanding an infernal legion and claiming the First Layer of Hell, Luxuria, as her domain. Her followers, succubi and incubi, share her eternal torment, yearning for a love they can never truly possess.

Zariel

(Archdevil of Lust)

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Titles

Asmodeus' Lover
The First Succubus

Race

Archangel (formely), Devil

Sex

Female

Alignment

Lawful Evil

Sheet

dndbeyond

Lair

Luxuria is the first layer of the Seven Hells. The most likely beachhead for any attack by angel-kind, it is the primary battleground of the Celestial War: legions of devils march across its plains in continual readiness to repel the angelic troops of invaders.

History

Prelude of War

The world, brimming with primal energy and chaos, was discovered by formless gods. They saw this untamed realm as an opportunity to define themselves through creation. Driven by this vision, they shaped the first races. Freya was an archangel, and a friend of Asmodeus and Zariel.
The gods created the first species in their own image, granting them immortality. However, these beings, though eternal, lived lives rife with violence, betrayal, and endless conflict. Asmodeus, as an archangel, and alongside Freya and Zariel were tasked with cleaning up the chaos wrought by these creations. The freedom granted to these immortal beings led to constant battles and pointless bloodshed. Though Asmodeus cared deeply for mortals, he believed the gods' methods were flawed, and their creations inherently imperfect. Many gods and angels came to share Asmodeus’s convictions, aligning themselves with his vision.
Zariel did not share Asmodeus's perspective on the flaws and imperfections of mortal creations. To her, these imperfections were not signs of failure but marks of beauty—proof of resilience, growth, and potential. However, Zariel also believed that the gods' creations could be improved upon, that new, flawless versions might one day be forged without sacrificing their beauty or potential.
This fundamental disagreement became a source of growing tension between numerous angels and archangels, especially Asmodeus and Freya, driving a wedge between the two lovers. The rift did not go unnoticed by Zariel, who harbored a forbidden love for Asmodeus. For years, she had been silently and deeply in love with him, but her bond of friendship with Freya kept her from confessing her feelings.
Zariel felt sinful for her envy, torn between her longing for Asmodeus and her desire for Freya’s happiness. She admired their love yet secretly wished for a place in Asmodeus’s heart. Wracked with guilt, she sought ways to suppress her emotions, convincing herself that interfering in their quarrels would betray the trust she cherished.
Her silent suffering became a test of her devotion—not to any Deity, but to her friends and the ideals she held dear. She watched from the shadows as the conflict between Freya and Asmodeus grew, their opposing views on the nature of creation threatening to unravel the bond that once united them. Zariel’s torment deepened as she wondered whether her unspoken love was destined to remain a secret forever, or whether the growing divide might one day present an opportunity to reveal her heart.
In 7201 BD the unchecked actions of the gods and their creations eventually disturbed the balance of the world, awakening the wrath of primordial forces, colossal primordial emerged, seeking to obliterate the gods' creations and restore balance through destruction. This cataclysmic conflict divided the gods:

• The Ancient Gods sought to protect their creations and bring balance to the world. They introduced mortal species—beings with short lives—to counterbalance the immortality of the first races and to fight alongside them.
• The Despairing Gods, overcome with grief, believed their actions in this world to be irredeemably flawed. They joined the primordials in their quest to annihilate their creations, hoping to start anew elsewhere.

He Who Was

Asmodeus rallied an army of angels, divines, and the primordials to challenge the Ancient Gods, gaining support from those who believed in his cause. His rebellion led to a confrontation with his former master, a god whose name was erased from existence after his Death. This deity is now remembered only as He Who Was.
Freya, opposed him. She believed that turning against the Ancient Gods and their creations was a mistake and repeatedly tried to dissuade Asmodeus from his path. Their disagreement culminated in a desperate battle. Freya overpowered Asmodeus but could not bring herself to kill him, still seeing the man she loved. Taking advantage of her hesitation, Asmodeus stabbed her and fled, leaving her gravely wounded.
Zariel found the wounded Freya, and saved her. When Freya regained counsciousness again, Zariel was by her side and He Who Was was dead. Asmodeus and his troops were cursed by the dead god, turning into a new kind of monster: devils. The primordial defeated by the Ancient Gods, Asmodeus and his forces were cast into a prison plane, thus forming the first of the Outer Planes.
Freya mourned the loss of her lover, Asmodeus, for seven long years, retreating to the solitude of Mount Olympus. Consumed by grief and bitterness, she locked herself away, reflecting on the betrayal that had shattered her heart. Over Time, her sorrow transformed into a burning resolve. To Freya, the man she once loved was no more, replaced by the Devil he had become. She vowed to eradicate the devils, believing it her divine task to seek vengeance and cleanse the cosmos of their corruption.

The Trial of Asmodeus

The Ancient Gods retreated to the Outer Planes they had created, where they could observe and influence the world from a distance. The Dawn War gave way to a prolonged series of skirmishes and battles, eventually evolving into what is now called the Celestial War. Angels and devils clashed ceaselessly, their conflict marking a new era of strife. The most powerful devils became archdevils, granted dominion over layers of the Seven Hells by Asmodeus himself.
With the Primordials defeated, mortal species flourished, and countless other races emerged—some as deliberate creations of the gods, others as spontaneous adaptations in the evolving world. With Freya's new resolve, the Celestial War between angels and devils raged on, with neither side willing to concede.
Many sought to end the conflict, yet a truce seemed impossible. Freya, now leading legions of angels, descended into the Hells alongside her ally, Sol, to fight Asmodeus's corrupted followers. Zariel sought a different path. Hoping to end the bloodshed, Zariel proposed a trial, a chance for Asmodeus to defend himself before the gods and perhaps redeem his actions.
Asmodeus, an unmatched strategist and orator, accepted the challenge. The Ancient Gods also agreed, hoping to resolve the growing tensions. Bahamut, the god of justice, offered to oversee the trial as a neutral arbiter. A contract was drawn to ensure the trial’s fairness, binding all participants to its terms. Asmodeus, unable to leave his infernal domain, sent a puppet crafted in his image to the Prime Material Plane to face the judgment of the Celestial beings in a neutral territory.
Accused of corrupting mortal souls to strengthen his infernal army, Asmodeus defended his actions by appealing to the principles of law and cosmic necessity. He admitted to swaying mortals toward evil but insisted that he and his devils had never violated a contract. Every deal waFs presented with clear terms, and mortals entered into them willingly.

Have we not followed the dictates of law? Is it not mortal ambition, not infernal deception, that leads so many souls astray?

— Asmodeus

Asmodeus further claimed that mortals who rejected devilish offers were left unmolested, in accordance with the law. Those who managed to outwit their infernal contracts were even freed from their debts.

A contract is law, and the law is a contract

— Asmodeus

Bahamut weighed Asmodeus’s words carefully, listening as angel after angel testified against the Lord of the Nine Hells. Days turned to weeks as an overwhelming number of witnesses recounted his crimes. Eventually, Bahamut declared that the testimonies had gone on long enough and limited further accusations to only a few more voices.
Chaos erupted in the court as angels argued over who should be heard next. Amid the turmoil, Zariel pushed her way to the front, demanding to speak, but her claim wasn't heard. The heated debate escalated into a skirmish, with angels turning on one another. Asmodeus, watching the scene unfold, could not hide his smirk.
In the end, Bahamut declined to issue a definitive judgment. Instead, he rebuked the angels for their descent into infighting but stopped short of punishing Asmodeus. However, he did impose a condition upon him: Asmodeus would carry a mighty artifact, the Ruby Rod, as a guarantee of his adherence to law.

Celestial war

After the trial, Zariel, frustrated that her voice was dismissed, withdrew her forces. She had grown disillusioned, believing the conflict to be increasingly futile. However, Freya, unsatisfied with the trial's outcome, refused to relent. Determined to end the infernal threat once and for all, Freya led her legions deeper into the Seven Hells. Her crusade pushed forward until they reached the Fifth Layer, Ira, where Zariel confronted her.
Zariel questioned Freya's obsession, noting how her actions were becoming darker and more vengeful than those of Asmodeus himself. Freya’s pursuit of vengeance seemed to overshadow her divine purpose. But Freya refused to listen, consumed by her desire to destroy Asmodeus and his forces. Their argument ended in a bitter split, with Freya abandoning Zariel, who was left behind in Ira.

Zariel's Fall

While attempting to regroup, Zariel and her remaining troops were ambushed by a squadron of ice devils. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, Zariel was captured and brought before Asmodeus.
When she awoke in his presence, Zariel pleaded with him to end the war, to surrender, and confessed her love for the Lord of the Seven Hells. Asmodeus listened, and offered her a deal.
He promised Zariel great power and a position as his general. Together, with her unmatched prowess in battle and his scheming intellect, they would halt Freya’s crusade and protect the integrity of the Seven Hells. In return, Zariel would gain the power to seduce any man—a reflection of the love she craved yet never received.
Blinded by her desperation and emotions, Zariel agreed to the terms. With the contract sealed, she was transformed into the first succubus. Zariel then gave in to her carnal desire for Asmodeus, finally acting on her long-hidden feelings. But once the deed was done, she was left hollow.
Asmodeus was no man, but a devil, unswayed by Zariel's beauty. He had indulged her not out of passion but out of pity. Zariel, now cursed by her transformation, realized the price of her choice: she had gained the power to seduce any mortal, but no love she found would ever be genuine. Like all succubi who followed her path—eternally yearning for a love she would never feel.

by Anna Pavleeva

Archdevil of Lust

Bound to her contract, Zariel became Asmodeus’s first archdevil. Commanding her own infernal legion, she was tasked with stopping Freya and her forces. Zariel drove them back to the First Layer, Luxuria, a domain she claimed as her own.
The soul Zariel claimed became succubi and incubi, bound to the smae fate those devil yearn for a love they will never feel.

Expedition to the shadowfell

To fight the forces of mount celestia and bring the fight to them, Zariel ordered Malfuriel, her chancelor,l ed legions of devil into the shadowfel to battle the angels in the Syre Wood: a strategically-located shadow forest that, if conquered, could provide a position for the forces of hell to take the fight away from the first layer, Luxuria. The legions’ relentless army of martial imps and devils took the forest by surprise, quickly slaying the Shadar-Kai there and razing the villages in their path as they made their way to the heart of the wood. The forces of mount celestia finaly intervened to stop the infernal army, and Freya managed to land a debilitating strike on Malfuriel charged with a curse: binding the legionnaires to the Syre Wood and turning Malfuriel to stone.
That night at dusk, Malfuriel’s petrified body suddenly erupted, releasing a foul wave of blood that tainted and stained the Syre Wood—a blight born of his intense hatred. Gushing waves of Malfuriel’s blood swept through the wood, corrupting the beasts that lived there and twisting its plantlife into a grim husk of its former beauty. Protected by Freya’s blade’s aura, the area immediately surrounding Malfuriel’s statue was spared from his lasting corruption: creating the Verdant Heart at the center of what is now known as the Bloodmire.
To this day, the Legate’s thousands of oath-bound servants are afraid of Syre’s blade and magically warded from entering the Verdant Heart. Trapped in this cursed swamp by the sword’s powerful magic, these fiends have slaughtered every fey that dared step outside of the Verdant Heart, and eagerly await their leader’s eventual return.