Breaking the Chains of the Concordat of Flame

Breaking the Chains of the Concordat of Flame is a book uncovered through use of Study-related Inquiries.

## History

Curious about the fates of those that have acted against powerful entities from the Hells in the past, Ellie delved into the local library to look for details on famous or infamous Hellish pactbreakers and their fates. The resulting text included six such examples of beings that crossed Archdevils and the like, detailing the nature of their pacts - and what befell them.

## Reading

### Completed by Elinor

#### Fauz Fayr, Bulwark of the Dawn

Empowered by the former Lord of Avernus, Bel, the Sunar military general Fauz Fayr is historically remembered as one of the forefront minds of military efficiency and logistics, with books written by his hand still sometimes uncovered in libraries across the continent. Nonetheless, since his links to the Artifice of Avernus were uncovered - by Pandolfo Harthain, a Lachosi theologian - such books have become a rare commodity, destroyed by order of a number of monarchies and governments out of precaution of hidden rituals intended to empower the Archdevil or even the Nine Hells generally within the text. Most controversially however, even after accusations were made, Fauz Fayr did not find themselves immediately condemned by the Sunar royal family, who instead waited - with great reluctance, according to the Faris family's seneschals - until after a siege against the city of Conda by Codornish forces had been broken by Fauz's talents.

The Bulwark of the Dawn took the dismissal poorly, immediately renouncing his home nation and switching sides to that of the Empire of the West. It would not be for this traitorous and turncloak act that he would find himself punished however, for in his fury, he offered up his soul - already promised to Bel - to the Artifice of Avernus' main rival, that of Zariel the Blackened Feather, seeking her offensive prowess over Bel's defensive competency. Fauz Fayr was slain shortly after, supposedly by disgruntled Codornish Black Cross soldiers who found themselves disgusted that their generals had accepted the aid of the one that had slain so many of their companions. Whether or not Bel had a hand in such an occurrence is a matter of speculation, but there is no denying that Fauz's soul languishes somewhere within the First Layer of Baator - although whose hand it is grasped in remains a mystery.

#### Galoys Vandame

An Atral merchant of little consequence, Galoys shot to prominence after discovering a hoard of platinum pieces buried amongst the roots of a plum tree while napping in the shade. While initially Galoys invested much of the findings wisely, purchasing trade goods and a wagon in which to transport them, his avarice increasingly grew as he made the long journey to sell the crops in the eastern Realm of Tulis. By the time Galoys reached Brient, the Atral was so overcome with greed that he dithered in selling his produce for so long - keen as he was to find a buyer at a fee much greater than which he had paid - that it had long since rotted and spoiled. From such greed Galoys never did recover.

While stretches of time passed in which the Atral merchant appeared to be doing very well, later established to be closely tied to times in which he had managed to persuade others to engage in pacts with Mammon the Gilded Miser too, they likewise going on to do the same as one vast hierarchical pyramid with the Archdevil at the peak, collecting dues from all below them, Galoys rapacity would always catch up with him. Soon enough, the interest owed on the loans made by the Viscount of Minauros grew so great that the Lord of the Third moved to lay claim to the souls of his entire bloodline, tormenting his family until their eventual deaths, reducing their souls to nothing but coins in Mammon's vast collection.

#### Haiko the Heartbreaker

The early life of Haiko, a Courrak adventurer is little known, something considered by scholars and researchers to be a deliberate act of erasure by the so-called Heartbreaker to both add an aura of mystery to their character and likely hide the mundane life from which they had come - most likely a family of whalers, fisherfolk or nomadic hunters. Nonetheless, upon the arrival of a rugged, and by all accounts remarkably handsome and well-built figure in the southern courts, many individuals of various political, noble and orientations quickly took note, and for a while, he became amongst the most in demand guests for dinner dates, galas and festivities. His arms were strong enough to crush a dragon's skull, they whispered. His voice was filled with such husky resonance it would make every hair stand on end, they echoed. Nobody could quite place exactly what it was about Haiko, but that only added to the speculation - and there were many that postulated that surely he must have been the scandalous child brought forth from the union of a solar and a succubus. In truth, it would in time be established that Haiko did indeed have a devilish boon to him, one granted by the Duchess of Enticing Flame, Fierna.

Seeking to wield Haiko as a listening ear to pilfer the secrets of the high courts of the Material Plane, Fierna had heard the young Courrak's cries for something more in life, and augmented and gifted him accordingly. When Fierna continued to push for more, claiming that sustaining the Heartbreaker's good looks was becoming increasingly burdensome as he grew older, the socialite started to engage in more malicious acts too, claiming souls for the Lord of the Fourth. The quota continued to grow however, further and further still, and soon Haiko had fallen so far behind that Fierna declared the contract forfeit. It was said that Haiko aged a decade in a day, and then three decades further the next - his face equated to melted clay, all definition lost. There was no third day, for Haiko took his life that very night, his soul no doubt destined for Phlegethos' fiery wastes.

#### Ogmo Soulreaver

Wielder of the greatsword Felthorn, Sculptor of Mortality, the ogre bandit lord Ogmo Soulreaver ruled with terror and violence over a kingdom in the Ironfangs north of the borders of the Empire of Raq for the best part of fifteen years, commanding an army of orcs and goliaths beneath his banner. Ogmo's open worship of Geryon, the Stalking Lord, only added to his fearsomeness, the Archdevil prizing physical prowess and domination of others through strength entirely in-line with Ogmo's wants and wishes. To the Soulreaver, Geryon granted a legendary blade capable of claiming the souls of Ogmo's victims, empowering him with unyielding crushing strength and an indomitable spirit for every individual slain.

Geryon has long maintained a rivalry with the Archdevil Levistus, the Frozen Prince, and it was the Lord of Stygia that would beguile Ogmo into breaking his pact with Geryon, depriving the Stalking Lord of a mighty mortal champion on the Material Plane. In the end, Ogmo would be slain by his own blade, Felthorn consuming his soul as it had many others before them, the accursed blade supposedly left where it fell by the scattering warbands once united by the Soulreaver.

#### Sylran Lunarford

Serving a diabolical cult by means of patronage from the Lord of Cania, Mephistopheles, the Gawylthlian politician Sylran Lunarford commanded the arcane to a degree far beyond his courtly peers, allowing him to rapidly accrue wealth, power and fame. Master of Arcane Innovation, the Duke of Brimestone's gifts repeatedly near overpowered Sylran's elven form, his connection to the magical Weave so vast that it was said to always be on the verge of spiralling out of control, similar to the wild magics wielded by other individuals such as Greenwood Family of Scylbialia Hold or Bluk Blightbearer. Subsequently, few dare threaten Sylran's position and power, fearful of his powers, and with it the politician's ego would grow, and he would start to chafe against the terms of the contract.

Sylran's political connections were of value to the Lord of the Eighth, and now the politician sought to withhold them, demanding increasingly more for his ongoing fealty. Enraged with all the heat of the substance over which Mephistopheles claims mastery, the Blood of Brimstone deigned not to strip Sylran of his powers, but instead empowered him further still, channelling more and more of the influence of the Weave into his actions. By the time the elf could nay but breathe lest he set his surroundings ablaze, dare not speak unless he shatter those he shared conversation with through a thunderous chorus, shun movement of any kind out of fear that the magics would lash out at all those in his path. And yet Mephistopheles' ire was not yet sated, and so more magic was spun. By the end, Sylran had entirely razed and destroyed all that he had come to hold dear, and only then did the Lord of Cania send his sycophants for the elf, striking him down, and seizing his soul as a listless vessel of administration at the sanctums of Mephistar forever more.

#### Taviano's Troublebreakers

The majordomo of the infernal city of Malsheem oozes charm and magnetism, greeting all that visit the capital - willingly or otherwise - with all the grace befitting of the courts of the Lord of Nessus. The gifts bestowed by the Archdevil have attracted many over the years, who have all found themselves drawn in by promises of prosperity brought on by an ease in connecting with those that surround them. Most famous in contemporary records is that of the adventuring group known as Taviano's Troublebreakers, who, by all accounts, were all supposedly unaware of their companions' own pacts with the Sinner in Satin, instead believing themselves to be the only one responsible for the group's continued success.

Of course, such was a deliberate effort made by Baalberith, who used the power they held over each individual to play them off each other secretly, until finally, while trying to navigate a masked ball to find the individual possessed by the ghost of a recently-executed serial killer, the escalating competition would lead to the group coming to a point of collective realisation. Immediately acknowledging how firmly held they were held in place by the Archdevil, Taviano and his companions immediately sought to break their contracts, a task that would ultimately prove for naught - the group growing increasingly agitated at each other until they struck each other down, their claimed souls eventually transformed into fully-conscious pieces in the grand mosaic within the entry hall of Malsheem forever more.