Clash of Sanguine Swords

Clash of Sanguine Swords is a tome recovered from Fetorcreep Cavern.

## Description

Scribed by the Arcanaloth researcher Elerus Tas, Clash of Sanguine Swords appears to detail the endless battles of the Blood War, the eternal conflict between denizens of the Lower Planes. While predominately made up of demons and devils, numerous other factions have been involved in the past, most notably yugoloths of Hades.

## Reading

### Completed by Andrius

Even though it is not frequent for the conflict to spill beyond the dredges of the Lower Planes, the chime and call of the clash of sanguine swords wielded in vice-like grip by the combatants of the Blood War is not an unfamiliar one to many individuals that has graced the wider planes beyond that of the Material and its Echoes. While few surely have personal experience of the conflict, by their very nature of its seemingly eternal duration, it has been documented and remarked upon by a notable few with time. The origins of the conflict are disputed and muddied, as unclear and chaotic as the battlefields of the war itself, springing up and burning out in unexpected locations, building upon foundations familiar and logical. Few can deny that surely creatures of such disposition are surely ever inclined to seek domination by means of a firm hand or vicious strike, although the inciting incident - should it ever have existed - has long been lost to time. Nonetheless, suffice it to say that wherever and whenever demons and devils congregate, the Blood War is sure to continue, ever locked in an infinite struggle between smaller bands of regimented strategy and an endless horde of unpredictable chaos. Much of the fighting takes place within Avernus, the First Layer of the Hells of Baator, and likewise that of Pazunia, the Plain of Yawning Pits, the First Layer of the Abyss, but seeing as both sides rely extensively on the River Styx for transport, anywhere the river flows, bloodshed and violence is sure to follow.

Invariably, such threat of spread garners the attention of many those more vigilant, for where fighting blooms, destruction is likewise inevitable. A legion of devils would surely not hesitate to raze a town to slay a single demon that escaped their advance, whereas a horde of demons would surely make no distinction between combatants of fiendish, humanoid or any other composition, revelling only in the damage left in their wake. Forces, entities and factions from the Upper Planes have intervened in the past to ensure that the destruction remains localised to those areas already devastated, that of Avernus and Pazunia as mentioned before, with Oinos and regions of Acheron likewise involved, but ultimately their involvement has been less in nature. By definition, the endless combat between the fiends, devils, demons - and to a lesser extent yugoloths - surely demands much of their time and focus, and thusly means that they pose less of a threat elsewhere. Most fearful for those beyond its borders would be the time that the Blood War came to an end, an impossibility in truth surely, should a single devil or demon still remain, for then the attention would be placed elsewhere, to consequences and actions unforeseen, unpredictable - and no doubt awe-inspiring in their scale. Fiends are not bound by the need to act within the constraints of good, and thus fight without compunction or contrition, warping such things against their combatants. It has, as a result, subsequently been remarked by some scholars that the eternal bloodshed of war that spills across the Lower Planes is the only truly good thing to come from them. By contrast, it is a commonly held belief amongst devils that the worlds surely only exist as they currently do because of their efforts - without their heroic efforts, then demons would have surely spilled into each and every plane of existence, destroying creation in its entirety.

Treachery and diabolical plots reign supreme amongst the combatants of the Blood War, who offer little hesitation to all manner of underhanded machinations to seize an upper hand, even if for a few passing moments. Fearsome Sword and Shield Legions of the Nine Hells strike and stand fast against endless waves of foes, fighting beneath banners that proclaim their name with pride, names such as the Iron Maws, the Searing Myriad, the Blood of Kelgustos and Harzom’s Hornbreakers. Though undeniably more commonly associated with the masses of the Abyss, both sides wield legions and hordes with sacrificial masses of troops given up as fodder to distract and delay, referred to as the Dreg Legions by the devils, comprised primarily of lemures and nupperinos, while the Mulch Hordes stands as the less-organised demonic equivalent. Nonetheless, some level of organisation exists within demonic ranks, for otherwise the mind-numbing chaos of the Abyss’ armies would eventually falter in the face of consistent strategy. Numerous Demon Lords and other entities besides aligned or associated with the Elder Elemental Eye are capable of exerting control over the demonic masses, achieving what the unruly mob would be otherwise unable to do. At the whim of both sides, spies of incubi, succubi and night hags fall on both sides, acting to disrupt order to the legions to reduce their efficiency, or sow further chaos by turning demons against each other. The forces of the Hells have historically also used demons more directly, capturing them and casting them into other demonic flanks to further disrupt and destroy, though the inherent unpredictability of this tactic often proves futile. Instead, all manner of other cosmic forces may be rallied whether by will of those involved in response to a particularly potent or threatful demonic offensive, or by instead manipulating others into inadvertently aligning to their interests. While demons may delight in the opportunity to slaughter and ravage endlessly for eternity, many devils instead find deep and malice-filled enjoyment in these acts of subterfuge and beguilement.

And yet, not all fiends find themselves occupied with the Blood War. Lesser fiends freely embrace the conflict, revelling in it as a distraction from an ageless state of being, and finding cruelty and violence coming naturally to them. Races and subraces have been bred specifically for their role in the Blood War, having known naught but it, while numerous others, particularly that of the enigmatically-aligned yugoloths, have accrued vast fortunes in mundane currency, magical artifacts and souls alike in offering themselves up as mercenaries and warriors capable of serving specialist roles - until their contract is bought out by a higher bidder. But Archdukes and Demon Princes have been known to rarely pay the hostilities much mind, seeing the inevitability of the Blood War for what it is, a distraction from their own aspirations and goals. In truth, the greatest amongst the demons and devils are more like to scheme, plot and make war amongst their kin than they are their immortal enemies, furthering their own ambitions at the expense of those which they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with, or instead those that they are expected to look up onto and swear allegiance - to the delight of those that revel in the tumult of betrayal.