Devils

Devils are a humanoid species that originate from Hell, one of the Divine Trifecta alongside the residents of the Void: Fiends and other Demons, and the residents of Heaven: Angels and other Holy beings.

Government Structure

The Devils of Hell follow a strict governmental structure. Hell is said to be one of the most lawful places, though the laws are, by many, said to be rather draconian and downright evil, kept in place to torture souls and residents and keep the wealthy in power.

Satanael by Jarhed

Infernal Commander-in-Chief

There is only one Infernal Commander-in-Chief: Satanael, God of the Devils.
Satanael is worshipped as a God, but he is also the head of government in Hell. All officials report to him or a subordinate of him if he finds himself too busy.
Some find it rather amusing that a God like Satanael busies himself with paperwork and other bureaucratic nonsense, but some say he finds fulfillment in it. Others say he doesn't think anyone else can do the job as well as he can.

President of the Layer

There are other Presidents in Hell as well. Eight, to be exact, one for each layer but Crookston, of which Satanael is President.

President Zagan by Jarhed

The most well known of these Presidents are President Zagan of Manhottan and President Mortala of Firland.
These Devils have some of the most powerful Area Devil Abilities, sometimes multiple, and are able to enforce their will over the people of their layers. However, they do report to Satanael and, for the most part, they are subordinate to him.
This is except for the President of Laveyorn, Mephistopheles, who constantly seeks to betray Satanael, but lacks the power and influence to stand up to the God.
Mephistopheles is chained in the maze, which is said to be his torture and his prison as much as it is for the souls of the damned.

President Enlightenment by Jarhed

Outside of Hell

It should be noted that there are Devils that live outside of Hell. For most of time, they would assimilate into other governments or hide away in vacation homes on the surface.
However, in 560, a Devil named Enlightenment led refugees to the surface, ultimately settling down. They created their own government.
In this government, there were two bodies: Executive and Legislative. The Executive body of this government is modeled after the government in Hell.
A President (the first of which was Enlightenment) leads the Executive Branch as the Head of State, enforcing the laws alongside their advisors.
The Legislative Branch consists of a parliament of representatives who are elected to carry out the will of their constituents.
Both of these positions are carried out by vote, the first of these taking place in the streets of Zephys by a Draconian known as Jargar Eltan.

Religion

Contrary to popular belief, Devils as a society are generally fairly religious. They may not be the most religious people in the planes of existence, with many not following all of the practices of the Crimson Court, but they do generally worship Satanael, God of the Devils.
At the very least, most do at least acknowledge him as their God and know of some shrine or place of worship near them that they can go to pray to him.
Some Devils worship other dieties, and there are broken churches throughout Hell to these Gods. After all, Holy forces are impervious to Devils, and therefore Churches and holy locations cannot be harmed by Devils.
The most famous example of a Devil who worships a God aside from Satanael is the Divine Hero and Head Priest of The Two-Faced Cult, Entropy, who worships Janus.

Area Devil Abilities

Area Devil Abilities are the outrageous powers wielded by Devils. They are gained by claiming land as ones own and gaining powers that represent their very souls and beings.
These powers can be absurd or rather mundane in comparison to the magical insanity of Hell, but each one is magical in its own right.
Some examples include the ability to make deals that grant power to others but steal the years they would have lived for the user, making the user invisible, denying death by reviving those who die around the user, or making doors that the user can only enter after someone else has entered first.
Area Devil Abilities are stored in Brimstone, which is the shriveled up heart of a dead devil. If a Devil were to die, their body would decompose to ash, but their heart will remain, the moisture drying out until only Brimstone remains.
Eating this Brimstone will grant the one who consumes it the ability it contains.

Economy

Hell uses a special currency known as Soul Dollars. They are the souls of those who die and go to Hell, but they are not all that happens to the soul. It splits into two, one becoming a soul that wanders Hell and the other becomign currency.
These are traded on Ba'al Street, where people invest in what species on the surface will be dying more often at a given point in time. The most successful job for Devils is a Stock Trader on Ba'al Street.

It was there that Enlightenment, the man who led the people to the surface, was voted as President and a small emergency parliament including Oppror, Loaded Bases, Trickery, and Avidity were elected until they found a permanent settlement and could make a larger government body.
There were considerations to make a Judicial Branch as well, but it was decided to be insensitive to the people due to the reason for their exodus from Hell: The World Court. Alongside this, they did not believe judges to be fit to rule a government unless elected, as they would be biased and make rulings beyond their positions. This was considered far too evil, even for Devils.

Settlements

Devils live in one of two places: Hell or on the Surface. This will mostly be detailing their settlements in Hell, particularly the nine layers that make up Hell's living space.

Firland

The entrance of Hell, Firland consists largely of bureaucratic offices for immigration services to go into and out of Hell, particularly Hell Customs, the government run immigration office that keeps Devils in Hell and mortals out.

Gello by Jarhed

Outside of the offices are seas of lava that are said to mask the opening to the Void, where the Demon Lords are trying to break through so that they may invade the surface and kill the Gods. Armies of Devils are said to remain outside of this opening, beating back any Demons that may reach outside of the Void.

Manhottan

The second layer of Hell, Manhottan is a city that consists of five boroughs: Manhottan, Tookland, Princes, The Barongs, and Shuten Island.
It is the hub of culture, money, and the largest population center in Hell. To most in Totania, they either believe this to be the image of Hell in their minds or they cannot comprehend its existence, as many of its common sightings are too much of a culture shock for surface dwellers.
Ba'al Street, the center of the economy, is here, and so the richest in Hell frequent the city. Aside from that, one can find Devils mingling with many diverse cultures here, allowing for the Devils of Manhottan to be more culturally acclimated to the surface as they can find themselves in communities of these cultures in Manhottan.

The Lava Marsh

The third layer of Hell, it is a swamp that supposedly has treasure somewhere within it, though it has never been found. A floating structure looms in the sky, moving around the sky of the Lava Marsh. It has chains dangling off of it that cut through structures and people that get in its way, and can anchor it to the ground if it needs to do so.

Hel

The fourth layer of Hell, it is the most common idea of Hell to most. A barren wasteland of fire and dark sands. Devils here are said to have some of the best survival skills, for this is also where most of the torture for dead souls happens, and therefore Devils here have to avoid that for themselves.

Piscarius

The fifth layer of Hell, Piscarius mainly consists of the River Styx that flows through all planes of existence, as well as the banks around it and some communities built on those river banks. It is fertile land, contrary to most of Hell, but it is dangerous to approach the river due to its properties.

Trickery by Jarhed

Taltal

The sixth layer of Hell, it consists of two areas: a city and a mountain chain around it. Few people stay in the city long, as the souls there are forced to go to the mountains, where they suffer the torture of trying to climb an endlessly steep mountain as boulders roll down the side, crushing them repeatedly.
Rich Devils vacation here, where they are not subject to this torture and are allowed to stay in their vacation homes in the city.

Artic

The seventh layer of Hell, Artic is a frozen, desolate wasteland. It is said to contain many small communities that live in igloos and other variations of ice huts.
The people here are generally very poor, and are kept in the dark on what is happening in Hell or on the surface, as blizzards keep information from traveling and generally prevent them from leaving or gaining wealth. They are cut off and kept that way for the wealthy to maintain their power and influence, only informed of things when those in power want them to hear about it.

Laveyorn

The eighth layer of Hell, full of mazes and bizarre locations. Laveyorn has never been mapped out, and it is said to change its layout at all times as a form of torture for those damned to it.

Crookston

The ninth layer of Hell, Crookston is home to the God of Devils Satanael himself and his tower that is supposedly infinitely tall, whose tip cannot be seen by mortal eyes.
It is a city similar to Manhottan, but instead of being a few landmasses, it is an ocean of lava with platforms of stone floating over it, connected by bridges or boats, with individual population centers atop each one.

Ruzrugh

A city on the surface, in the continent of Udai, Ruzrugh is populated mostly by Mammen. It was founded by the Mammen around the Temple of Satanael known as the Crimson Court.
Due to Satanael's affiliation, Devils have lived there for as long as history has been recorded. Most Devils that lived there for the majority of history were Priests or devout followers of Satanael, and for the most part they experienced mortal lifespans as opposed to the elongated ones Devils. inHell experience due to Hell Time being much slower than surface time.
President Enlightenment led his people to settle here as well.

Culture

For the Money

The center of Devil culture is monetary gain. The richer a Devil is, the more influence they have, and therefore the most powerful people in Hell are the wealthy.

Expressive Mastema by Jarhed

Stock Traders, particularly the Big Five, are the biggest celebrities in Hell. The Big Five consist of:

1. Profit
2. Mantra
3. Eternal
4. Master
5. Sorrow

There are other prominent wealthy individuals, like Mastema, Ambition, Keepsake, Religion, etc.
Poor Devils, then, are perceived to be useless by some. For many wealthy people, the poor are just another source of gaining Soul Dollars, while for the poor, the wealthy are people that some worship as if they could one day achieve it.
It is a common saying for some Devils to hear from their parents or friends:

"Why do you not have money? What are you doing with your life?"

Due to this culture, the wealthy are able to do anything and go unpunished for it. After all, any crimes they commit, the police can be paid off to look the other way or they can pay bail with ease if they can't bribe the cops (though this rarely happens, for it would require one of the cops to not be corrupt).

Tricks and Mischief

Many Devils also are prone to pulling tricks and pranks. While it should not be said that all Devils are mischievous, for generalizing a whole group of people would be rather reductionist, the culture does not frown on those who embrace mischief over money.

Ambition by Jarhed

As a matter of fact, the trickster culture of Devils came as a direct response to the monetary expectations. Poorer Devils started an anrachist subculture that grew for some into a more benign, prank-centered ideology while for some it blossomed into a destructive force of anarchy against the establishment and expectations of the government.
Some prominent figures in this subculture include Revelry and Trickery, two old friends turned rivals who were famous for college pranks that would go too far. Many Devil college students would follow in their footsteps, though they did not originate the movement.

Naming

There are two types of Devil names. For some, it is a word that describes the person they intend to become. Some see it as a motivational phrase that keeps them on their intended path in life, such as Enlightenment, Entropy, Chivalry, Ambition, Mantra, or Profit.
For others, the names follow no pattern, but instead adhere to cultural names from before any records exist. Names like the Expressive Mastema, Loaded Bases, Eidolon, or Cantarella.
One thing that always stays the same is the given name and surname order. Surnames are first, given names then follow. For instance, the Cousin Family consists of those like Cousin Larry, Cousin Garry, Cousin Parry, and Cousin Tarry. Cousin is their surname, and therefore comes first, while Larry is the given name, and comes second.

Art

Devil culture favors profit over artistic merit. There are many art pieces that are made by Devils purely so that the Devil can get fame or fortune. In other cases, art is sold purely as a money laundering scheme, with a painting or sculpture being sold for large, suspicious amounts of money.

Mortality by RovaRed

This does not mean that there have not been great Devil artists at any point in time. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. There are museums throughout Manhottan and Crookston that feature some of the most prominent Devil artists and their best work.
Often, these pieces are stolen in attempts to sell them, but they are recovered by fans of the artist who do not wish to see them sold, but wish for the works to be appreciated for their true value.
Aside from those forms of art, there is also a bustling culture of theatre in Devil society, though Manhottan Brimway theatres are dangerous, for the only way to leave is to kill someone, otherwise the show will go on forever.

Language

The Devils usually speak the common tongue, but those that don't speak the Diabállein language.
Diabállein is an inflected, synthetic language. There are fewer words in the language than most, as it is mostly used in formal settings and among the wealthy, and due to its use of aggulation and inflection. Instead of a larger vocabulary, inflections paint the syntax in the phrases of the Diabállein language.

Biology

Entropy by genuinetrickster

Height

Devils have a wide range of heights, with no known limit to how tall they can be (some Devils have been recorded to be up to 20 feet tall) and no limit to how short (there are microscopic Devils that are not easy to find due to their size).

Skin

Devil skin can be a rainbow of colors, ranging from red, blue, and green to purple, pink, black, and white. There is no known reason for this other than to match their environment and look bright and garish, though it is said that some Devils are more suited for certain climates depending on the color.
Many believe this to be a hoax, but no studies have been done to test its validity. However, all Devils can survive in all climates with the right skill, so it appears to be a myth.

Horns

All Devils have horns adorning their heads, though the amount differs from Devil to Devil, ranging from one horn to hundreds.

Tails

Devils have pointed tails that can function basically as a fifth (or more) limb and can also be used as an improvised weapon if needed.

Hooves

The legs of Devils are capped off by goatlike hooves that are said to be very tough and can deal heavy blunt damage.

Brimstone

The hearts of Devils are made of Brimstone, which contain their Area Devil Abilities. If a heart is taken out and consumed, or if it is found after death, it will contain the very soul of the Devil and therefore their ability as well.

Fire Resistance

Devils are more resistant to fire than other species, as it is said that unless they are submerged in lava for a prolonged period of time, they would not be killed by it. A large part of this is that their bodies are said to produce fire in their blood, even devils that live in colder climate slike Artic.