Seir

**Seir**, formerly known as **Sirius Arno**, is one of the two Lords of Cania, the eighth layer of the Nine Hells. Once a mortal adventurer lauded as a hero, Seir descended into the Nine Hells as a co-ruler of Cania after ending an infernal invasion of the material plane by binding the Mephistopheles to his will. While Mephistopheles still rules Cania's cold wastes, treating his realm as a experimenting ground, Seir rules what can actually be called 'civilization' in Cania. While he began his rule as an upstart mortal, his "mutually beneficial" arrangement with his partner has made him a feared and hated ruler within the infernal hierarchy.

## Description

During his mortal lifetime, Seir had the appearance of a half-elf, with gold elven ancestry. He was shorter than average, with fair skin and dark hair, and he had a notable grin that helped to bring down the guard of anyone he spoke to. If seen without of the many arms and armor he gathered from an eventful life as a young adventurer, he would be indistinguishable from any charismatic half-elven rogue from the Silver Marches. With his arms and armor, however, the adventurer was imposing to anyone perceptive enough to notice him at all.

Since his 'ascension' to the role of an Archduke of the Nine Hells, Seir's mostly unassuming appearance has changed dramatically. The archfiend has retained some of his half-elven features, but his skin has taken the sable hue of the shadows he once walked in, his hair is a bone white, his eyes are black and pupilless, and he has grown to assume a more imposing form. He has short gold-tipped horns, and a vampire-looking fangs. Standing at 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall, Seir presents himself in two separate ways among the devils of Cania. To his subjects and visitors residing in the City of Souls, Seir dons the black armor of a blackguard, riding on a winged Nightmare. To his courtiers, his advisors, and occasionally his enemies, Seir doffs the knightly attire to wear light armor made from the white scales of gelugons and pit fiends who have been skinned after failing in their duties to the Lords of Cania.

## Possessions

Before his ascension to the Lords of the Nine, Seir was an adventurer who had gathered a trove of numerous magical items and artifacts which granted him enormous amounts of power and wealth. From an ancient mirror that gave him access to a city in the Shadowfell to a djinn bottle that allowed him to sell and store his goods within the marketplace of an enslaved noble genie, the mortal Sirius had much at his disposal, which allowed him to serve as a capable rival to even Mephistopheles. One of the most notable of his many possessions back then was the Relic of the Reaper, an artifact made of Mephistopheles' flesh that allowed him to escape death on numerous occasions, as well as travel between planes through a crossroad known as the Gatehouse. This relic was eventually revealed to have been a part of a ploy by Mephistopheles, and was lost during Sirius' revenge.

When Sirius returned to Cania to be its lord alongside Mephistopheles, one of the first things he had the infernal archwizard do was infuse his mortal body with the many ability-enhancing magical items he possessed. This included items such as a *ring of cold immunity*, *+3 bracers of dexterity*, his *+4 belt of agility*, his *+10 boots of striding*, his magical cowl and cloak, and most importantly- the *talisman of pure evil* that had driven him to return to Cania as a ruler rather than simply banishing Mephistopheles and living a fulfilling mortal life. The infusion of these items into his flesh, as well as the draining of several other items in his possession, were integral to making sure Sirius could not be caught unaware and destroyed by an archdevil while unprepared. Sirius, now going by Seir, kept his most prized weapons mostly intact, and continues to use them to this day.

Seir is nearly always armed with ''Deathslayer'' and ''Jergal's Claw'', a rapier and dagger he acquired during his adventures and improved with through the work of the greatest smith in Cania, Rizolvir. Even his aspects are said to wield lesser forms of these now-infamous blades. *Deathslayer* is said to have been forged long before Seir got his hands on it, for the purposes of assassinating a great lich. After Sirius took it from the drow assassin Nathyrra, he had the blade infused with life draining, elemental, and speed-enhancing magic. While Seir drained the blade's enhanced speed long ago, the blade still possesses its immense magical might. *Jergal's Claw* is a dagger that was once sacred to the god Jergal, acquired by Seir in his mortal life after allying himself with the mummy lord Kel-Garas against the undead cleric's mortal enemies. This dagger, enhanced over Seir's career of adventuring, blinds those it strikes and makes it easier for the archdevil to deal critical blows against his blinded opponents. Once the blade also granted him truesight, spell resistance, and doubled speed, though all these properties were eventually infused into Sirius to make him into the archfiend he is now.

Finally, there are also items of power that were once wielded by the mortal Sirius Arno, but have been lost, sold, or discarded throughout his journeys and ascension to the throne of Cania. Among these are the sentient shortsword *Enserric the Gray*, the elven light armor *Greenleaf*, and the demon-bound shortbow *Assanti*. While some of these items have seen new wielders in the century since Sirius became Seir, they are also sought out strongly by his worshipers as well as mortal treasure hunters.

## Realm

The realm shared by Seir and Mephistopheles is the gloomy, frigid wasteland of Cania, a realm of indescribable cold, rivaling even the coldest points of the Frostfell. In the wider layer of Cania, it is so cold that without magical protection, the merciless chill of Cania will claim the life of an unprepared creature in minutes, if not seconds. Warm-blooded creatures cannot survive in Cania for more than a few hours without cold weather gear, and the cold of Cania would still claim them if they made the mistake of attempting to sleep during their stay.

The wastelands of Cania suffer constantly from violent snowstorms with brutal howling winds, capable of tearing flesh and bone off any unfortunate creature unable to block the spray of ice and dust. While most of Cania is a frozen expanse of jagged glaciers and mountains, this is where the influence of Mephistopheles is strongest, not Seir. In these unattended and brutal wastes, glaciers and mountains are in constant cycles of collision, destroying all attempts at civilization and burying those attempts in ice and snow. Most devils find this portion of Cania inhospitable, leaving these vast wastes of Cania to native pit fiends, the gelugons, their slaves and servants, and finally the beasts and monstrosities that had come to call the cold landscape Cania their home. Counted among these 'beasts' are fiendish dire polar bears and wolves, who migrated into the layer eons ago and have evolved to survive the bitter cold. It is also said that vast cave networks beneath the earth are home to remorhazes and glacier worms, though even the devil inhabitants of these wastes would struggle to find these caves.

There is only one region of Cania, once fiercely guarded by the legions of Mephistopheles, which has any warmth to allow for extraplanar visitors to survive- the Sea of Hellfire. This inland sea, comparable in size to Toril's Great Ice Sea, is filled with searing hot lava with properties similar to hellfire. Capable of harming even pit fiends with its heat, the Sea of Hellfire provides the large island chain within it with enough heat to allow for the growth of velox berries, a necessity for long-term survival in Cania for outsiders in need of a source of safe heat. Safe from the collisions of glaciers, though still not from bitter cold of Cania, it is here that most outsiders can be found. Frost giants, ice trolls, winter wolves, and more can be found living on the islands. It was on one of these islands that a fledgling settlement called the City of Souls formed, though it could hardly be called a city for most of its existence. The settlement consisted of an infernal mining operation, a githzerai temple, and the many souls of captured by Mephistopheles to be brought back as slave-warriors in an invasion of Toril rather than being made into lesser devils or soul currency. When Seir became a co-ruler of Eighth, it was at the 'City of Souls' that he began his plan to civilize the wastes of Cania.

### Civilization

The City of Souls, despite its pitiful origin, became a true planar city under the administration of Seir. With Mephistopheles 'convinced' to allow the velox fires within the city to burn longer, Seir transformed the settlement of wandering souls into a proper city, the closest thing to a safe haven in the entirety of Cania for both lesser devils of other layers and visitors from other planes. This development process began with Seir using the last embers of Mephistopheles' invasion of Toril to drag the ruins of Lith My'athar, a drow city, into the Nine Hells. Using the many souls that returned from the invasion as a work force to build the city, the infernal Lith My'athar soon became a favored spot for extraplanar visitors to trade and stay in during their time in the Nine Hells. After the seat of Seir's power was built, the souls of Mephistopheles' invasion were evaluated for their usefulness. Many of them were minted into soul coins, to be sealed in Seir's newly constructed Soul Vault. Others were brought into the infernal hierarchy as devils, while others, too unique to waste, were allowed to remain as the hopeless, although useful, souls of the Lost. By the 1480s DR, only a century after Seir's ascent to power, the City of Souls has eclipsed the gate-town of Ribcage in the Outlands, though its location in Cania keeps it from truly escaping the shadow of Sigil, which Seir considers his city's true rival. All sorts of creatures from the multiverse, from traveling wizards to Githzerai priests, call the cold streets of the City of Souls their home, though only the most dedicated non-baatezu can stand to stay for more than a few months at a time. Only demons and celestials are truly banned from the City of Souls, though anyone hostile to the "benevolent" rule of the conniving Seir could find themselves "disappeared" in the night, never to be heard from again.

Aside from the City of Souls, there are a handful of ruins and forts in Cania ruled by worshipers and servants of Seir, though the number of these locations has diminished after Asmodeus started pressuring the Lords of Cania to be less tolerant of those outside the infernal hierarchy. Outside the Sea of Hellfire, Seir's influence is limited to a few forts and dungeons, as well as the holds and territories of his vassals.

## Activities

From his court in Lith M'yathar, Seir serves as an avid patron of thieves and warlords, meeting regularly with visitors from the Outlands eager to make a deal with a devil they deem reasonable. Although most who seek him for a pact are relegated to impish contract holders, those of interest to the Master of the Vault are always welcome to seek him out in his city. This is a dangerous act, as Seir is far more capable of manipulation than his servants, but the Archduke has a known fondness for the bold and daring, which perpetuates the rumor that he is more lenient on those who present themselves brashly before him.

When he isn't sponsoring heists or contracting legions of souls as mercenary warriors, Seir spends most of his days keeping his partner Mephistopheles, as well as Mephistopheles' servants, in line. Although Mephistopheles cannot easily overthrow him due to the power Seir holds over him, this has not stopped the Archduke from trying on numerous occasions. This often means Seir must undermine Mephistopheles' control over his side of Cania's bureaucracy, or even work against Mephistopheles' cultists through his own servants. More often than not, however, curtailing Mephistopheles' ambitions is as easy as paying the infernal wizard a visit, and reminding the elder archfiend of his place.

Unlike other Archdukes who have attempted to scheme Asmodeus out of his position in the Infernal hierarchy before, Seir rarely schemes against his master, though not out of any sense of loyalty. His descent into the Nine Hells of Baator to become an archduke did not earn Seir the favor of his peers, and he has spent his infernal reign both acting against the ambitions of his vassals and fellow Archdevils, keeping him from ever even considering a scheme to unseat the Lord of the Nine Hells. Unbeknownst to Seir, this is exactly the arrangement that Asmodeus prefers.

## Relationships

### Servants

Seir has many power several powerful devils in his retinue, including entire companies of cornugons and gelugons who owed both he and Mephistopheles their fealty. The ice devils in particular are bound to serve the dual-rulers of Cania before any other archdevil, similarly to Asmodeus' pit fiends or Levistus' amnizu. Unlike Mephistopheles, however, Seir has retinues of outsiders in his service who reside within the City of Souls or in the surrounding islands in the Sea of Hellfire. Among these extraplanar servants is Sefawynn Margaster, a human mage and Waterdhavian noble who came to Lith M'yathar as a magic item broker and became an arcane advisor and 'ambassador' after a series of dealings with Seir. Although these dealings initially seemed appealing and in her favor, Sefawynn is now trapped in her role, having promised 'everything she'd ever built' in exchange for eternal longevity and a position at Seir's side. Unbeknownst to her at the time, this promise granted Seir the bloodline of her descendants and the inherited prosperity of their line, rather than just the treasures she'd gathered in her lifetime. Knowing that Seir will claim all that she has promised away should she fail him, Sefawynn conducts her matters loyally, and is seemingly uncorruptible.

One of Seir's most controversial servants is his most prized commander, the half-fiendish red dragon Morkenthrax, born from the coupling of Seir and Thraxata the Flamefiend. Conceived after an expensive arrangement with the greedy red dragon, Morkenthrax is not very old by draconic or baatezu standards, but they are nevertheless a capable commander due to arrangements made by their infernal father to have them trained in the eternal battlefield of Acheron. With several companies of merregons, cornugons, and gelugons at their disposal, Morkenthrax already has a sizable amount of military power without counting the cambions that Seir sends their way. However, Morkenthrax's half-fiend nature makes them the target of many schemes, and they lack territories to rule over as an aristocrat or duke. Despite this, Morkenthrax is loyal, seeing the vast riches of their father as a means to reliably build a hoard to rival that of Tiamat herself.

Two of his most prominent servants are undead reflections of those he met during his mortal life. The first is Aribeth de Tylmarande, who had been a fallen paladin and traitor during her life, which had resulted in her condemnation to Cania after her death. Seir met her during his own time in Cania, recruiting her to his service with the promise of allowing her to exact vengeance on Mephistopheles for the torment she'd faced after death. During this journey, her service to the mortal saw her lose more and more of herself to hatred and revenge, until her new 'ally' had twisted and bound her in a way Mephistopheles could not. After Seir's ascent to power, he made Aribeth his personal enforcer, an undead blackguard to send to the wicked who broke pacts with the powers of Cania. Aribeth is now a shell of a person, devoid of conscience, remorse, and compassion- exactly what Seir desires for his blackguards. Wielding the soul-destroying blade *Void*, Aribeth is a dreaded force, even among the fiends of Cania.

The second undead servant of Seir is a reflection of his greatest mortal 'enemy', the drow Valsharess. Once a conquering priestess of the Underdark who bound Mephistopheles to her service, the Valsharess attempted an invasion of the Undermountain and the surface, which brought her into conflict with Seir, a hero of renown at the time. Manipulated by Mephistopheles into sending assassins after the then-hero, the two became enemies. After the mortal hero brought ruin to the Valsharess' plots to control Undermountain, she offered to rule beside him, though this too was ruined by the machinations of Mephistopheles. Though she was slain by Seir during his last day of mortal life, he remembered her skill, her grace, and her arrogance fondly enough that he made her a servant: an undead nighthaunt, forced to live the rest of her days in the archdevil's shadow. With her memories of her accomplishments still intact within her now incorporeal form, the Valsharess is now always found where Seir's shadow should be, switching between the forms of a drow matron, a winged bestial abomination, and that of her master. She is used as an assassin, an advisor, and occasionally even as a herald to whisper Seir's commands to his mortal servitors and warlocks.

Seir's most powerful, and least loyal, allies are the pit fiend aristocrats of Cania who, along with many of the cornugons, dwell on the rocky spires and pits of Cania's frozen borderlands. These two companies of pit fiends, each consisting of thirty-three individuals of equal rank, owe their fealty and tribute to Seir and Mephistopheles both, though neither archdevil can truly count on their support except in schemes against each other. These pit fiends, as encouraged by the baatezu promotion system, are as strong as they are ambitious and favor dissent and rotation in the ranks of dukes and archdukes to better increase their own chances of promotion. Before Seir arrived, these aristocrats were considered Mephistopheles' greatest weakness, though now they are split between their schemes against both archdukes. Notable pit fiends among these groups of aristocrats are Silcharde, Bechard, Guland, Sphandor, Buldumech, Anxrabas, Exegul, Ulfrin, and Seilazar.

### Dukes of Cania

Due to the disloyalty of his pit fiend vassals, there are many onlookers who believe Cania, divided as it is, will soon burst into an open conflict. Those onlookers would be wrong, though only because of Hutijin, greatest of Cania's dukes. The chief servant of Mephistopheles and quintessential duke before Seir came along, Hutijin is responsible for guiding Cania's pit fiend nobles. It is sometimes whispered in the other layers of Baator that without Hutijin, another devil would have claimed Cania from the Cold Lord long before. This capability as a leader and administrator makes Hutijin a valuable underling to Seir, though he fears how fiercely loyal Hutijin is to Mephistopheles, and so he has the pit fiend under constant surveillance.

Above Hutijin in political influence, though not in power or age, is Seir's consort Sitri. The daughter of the exiled duke Amon, Sitri was once a wanderer in Avernus like her Amon and her mother Malarea, and outcast because of her parentage. Brought in an attempt by Seir to make an ally out of her outcast father, Sitri has since become a capable consort, respected by the authorities of Lith M'yathar. Sitri is rather unimaginative compared to other devils when it comes schemes and plots, instead possessing greater physical strengths. Seir sees his consort as a means by which he can win over the loyalty of Amon, and also a way to stave off his human desire for companionship. The Master of the Vault does not trust his consort, however, owing to a declaration by the Knower of Names that he would walk the hells alone, forever devoid of true love. As a result of this distrust, Seir often subtly reminds Sitri of his power over her, which ironically keeps Sitri from ever truly falling in love with him.

Aside from his consort and Hutijin, there was also the Cold Duke known as Bifrons, a commander known for his great physical strength, apparent vigilance and loyalty, and philosopher outlook. One of the first dukes to profess a greater loyalty to Seir over Mephistopheles, Bifrons has enjoyed an over all increase to his domain in Cania, as well as his hunting grounds on the Material Plane. The cost to this arrangement was greater tensions between he and Mephistopheles, though Seir has ensured that his partner cannot retaliate against the Cold Duke for his sound political decisions. Alongside Bifrons, Mephistopheles' former steward Adonides too has professed his loyalty to Seir, receiving administrative authority over the City of Souls. With sixteen companies of ice devils under his command, as well as many fiendish bureaucrats, Adonides ensures that no one leaves the planar city without the proper paperwork and fees. Seir distrusts Adonides, but that feeling is mutual- as Adonides is known for seeing betrayal in every shadow. It was that same paranoia that made him useful to Seir in the first place, however.

Finally, the last few dukes of Cania are Mephistopheles' unscrupulous chamberlain Barbas, as well as his impartial justiciar Bele. Both dukes owe their feallty to Seir as well as to Mephistopheles, but find themselves performing their duties almost exclusively within Mephistar and other territories under Mephistopheles' control. While Seir has considered swaying both of them to serve him directly rather than Mephistopheles, he does not wish to trust Barbas with his own stored treasures, nor does he wish to make Mephistopheles desperate for external allies by swaying dutiful Bele.

Early on his rule while he was still under the tutelage of a bound Mephistopheles, Seir also had to contend with the political aspirations of Baalphegor, consort of the Lord of Hellfire. Baalphegor despised the power Seir had stolen for himself by binding her partner to his will, and the two were opponents in the political landscape of Cania, forcing Seir to act against her if he wished to remain in control of Mephistopheles' infernal layer. Although no one knows what eventually became of Baalphegor, there are many who wonder if her disappearance has something to do with the new Lord of the Eigth's aspirations. Regardless of what made Baalphegor disappear, there is one thing that is clear: there will be no place for Baalphegor in Cania, should she ever seek to return.

### Archdevils

Among the archdevils, particularly the other Lords of the Nine, Seir is treated with immense resentment for the manner in which he was able to insert himself, with all his mortal memories and gathered power, into the hierarchy of the Nine Hells. His greatest ally and rival among the other lords is undoubtedly Mephistopheles, who he can influence and control through his true name. At the beginning of his time in Cania, Seir relied on Mephistopheles to protect him and teach him the inner workings of Baator, and although he could make Mephistopheles step down from the rule of Cania, Seir has no intention to do so, preferring the arrangement despite several attempts by the elder archdevil to get rid of him. This strange relationship with Mephistopheles has led to Seir inheriting some of the allies and enemies of his co-ruler, such as a hatred and distrust of the greedy Mammon and a desire to make an ally of Glasya. The hate between Mammon and Seir is mutual, with the Lord of Minauros craving the riches of Seir's thriving City of Souls and Seir hoping to one day steal Mammon's undeserved riches.

Although Glasya could not be considered a true ally, Seir does his best to remain in her favor, and she was the one to recommend both consorts Seir has taken during his relatively short reign as an Archduke. A consequence of this relationship he has attempted to forge with Glasya has been Seir becoming more hated by the archdukes Levistus and Baalzebul, as well as their direct servants and dukes. Another archdevil Seir has repeatedly attempted to ally is the exiled duke Amon, loyal follower of the former lord of the fifth Geryon. Seir admires how fiercely Amon follows Geryon even after his exile, and he has offered to make Amon a duke in Cania, if he would only serve him just as loyally. Despite Amon seeing Seir as an ally in his never-ending rebellion against Levistus and Baalzebul, he has so far declined. This has, ironically, only made Seir desire Amon's subservience even more, to the point of covertly supporting efforts to see Amon's master Geryon destroyed.

Seir saw the archdukes Belial and Fierna as a model he could follow when he first forced Mephistopheles into a partnership, though Belial's alliance with Baalzebul made it difficult to become proper allies later in his reign. Seir hopes to use Glasya or Mephistopheles to win over Fierna in the case of conflict, though so far this has been a fruitless endeavor. When it comes to Dispater, Seir has tried to keep his relationship on good terms, though his rapid ascension to archduke has made him a subject of Dispater's enmity. In his effort to improve his relationship with the dreaded Lord of Dis, Seir has also attempted to win over Titivilus, Dispater's nuncio. Zariel and Bel both had a somewhat favorable opinion of Seir, though only because he increased production of Hellfire engines and other inventions from Mephistopheles' domain that could be used in the frontlines of Avernus.

The archdevil who sees Seir in the most positive light is none other than Asmodeus, ruler of Baator, who understands that Seir's presence in Baator keeps his ambitious vassal Mephistopheles in line. Seir rose to power stopping Mephistopheles from turning Toril into the 10th layer of the Hells, a scheme the Cold Lord hoped would see him become the ruler of all of Baator. That, and the fact that Seir is too occupied maintaining his own rule to scheme on Asmodeus, has led to Asmodeus allowing Seir to persist as a co-ruler of a layer despite previous decrees granting that right only to Belial and Fierna. Seir understands that he was only allowed to ascend to Cania's throne by the silent approval of Asmodeus, and thus he keeps his inner ambitions in check to play his allotted role.

### Family

Despite his relatively recent ascension to the throne of Cania in 1372 DR, Seir has had numerous fiendish offspring, primarily with his second consort Sitri. Acquiring those relatives took time after his ascent, however, as his search for a consort was initially fraught with complications. Aside from Morkenthrax, Seir only maintains a connection with a few of his half-fiend children, being far from a good father even by infernal standards. Seir keeps contact with with only the most powerful, useful, or influential of his half-fiendish offspring, with others instead being relegated to companies of cambions under Morkenthrax's command. Among this small group of notable children is Queen Xenak Night-Eye of Mal-Thorag, a child born of an infernal pact with Odessa the Slave Queen, a cyclops who used Seir's support to topple a Fomorian kingdom in a massive slave revolt. Seir keeps a close eye on his monstrous daughter, using her to grow his influence outside Cania in the Feydark realm she now rules. This interest has allowed the half-fiend to grow her own power, always counting on her infernal father to provide support in her endeavors. Another notable half-fiend is the cambion Whispering-Wind, who resembles a black-furred rakshasa and employs her skills as an extraplanar assassin for patrons both in Baator and outside it. Born to one of the greatest thief-warlocks under Seir's influence, the feline devil stands out from her siblings because of her perfect record that rivals many of Baator's assassin devils. This career has kept her within her father's favor, to the point of occasionally overshadowing some of his less-prestigious 'trueborn' children.

When it comes to his children with his consort Sitri, Seir has been far more precise when it came to their conception and education. Born in the year 1461 DR (by the dating methods of Faerûnian mortals), Seir's eldest three fiendish children experienced the most paternal presence of Seir's offspring, not counting his direct servant Morkenthrax. These three are Naberius the three-headed wolf, Valefar the Hunter, and Latabi the Temptress. While these three were not directly parented by their archduke father, Seir still took an interest in molding them as allies and servants throughout their childhood years. Seir now employs his beast-like spawn Naberius as the primary defender of his Soul Vault, the repository of gathered soul coins and divine energy within his realm. It is because of this role that Naberius is considered their father's most favored child, to the dismay of all the other 'trueborn children'. Valefar and Latabi in contrast do not yet have a truly defined role within Cania, though both have been given hunting grounds in the Material Plane, as well as the role of harvesting souls and cultivating corruption. Seir encourages a rivalry between both of them, preferring they turn their ambitions towards besting one another over them turning that attention at himself. The final child of Seir and Sitri, unlike their three eldest, has not yet reached maturity as of the late 15th Century DR. Apollyon the Devourer, a strange amalgam of shadow and fiendish flesh, is a source of both pride and confusion for Seir, who has kept the fiend hidden like a prize in his vault since its birth in 1476 DR. Due to its shapeless form and violent tendencies, Seir is determined to keep Apollyon's nature hidden from the other archdevils out of a fear that it will be destroyed for being too chaotic of a being- at least until the fledgling archfiend can masquerade its nature.

Least notable among his relatives, and mostly unknown to all who research the archfiend, is his mortal family. Born to a human thief and an elven lord, Sirius Arno lost his mother at a young age and detested his father's noble family once he came to meet them. During his mortal life he disowned them completely, and his hatred for those relatives persisted long after he became a grudge-holding archdevil. By the end of 15th century, Seir had brought the decline and near-extinction of that elven house, although some distant relatives escaped the extinction he set out for them. Although these remaining scions are no longer a priority, if faced with their continued existence, Seir would not hesitate to turn his fury against them once more.

### Others

During his mortal life as Sirius Arno, Seir had both allies and rivals of note. He owed his training and much of his later success to the dwarven Harper Drogan Droganson, who took him in when he needed a mentor and a real father figure. Drogan, alongside with Sirius' fellow student Xanos Messarmos, was one of the few people that could keep the mortal adventurer's ambitious nature in check. When Drogan was slain by the villain Heurodis, both Xanos and Sirius set aside their own evil desires to avenge their mentor. After Drogan's death, both heroes drifted apart, with Xanos wanting to continue living as Drogan wanted them both to, and Sirius only desiring more power and wealth. Seir's fondness for his old friend never truly faded, though the now elderly Xanos has on numerous occasions rejected Seir's invitations to claim a place in his infernal court.

Another notable companion to Seir during his mortal days is Deekin the Scalesinger, a kobold bard, sorcerer, and historian who served Sirius Arno as a loyal underling during both his first adventure and his last. While Sirius Arno first treated Deekin as a servant, in time he grew fond enough of the kobold to call him a friend, even if he still called himself Deekin's superior. Together they braved the Underdark and Cania both, and when Sirius became the archfiend Seir, he released Deekin from his service, letting the bard enjoy the privileges of being the surviving Hero of Waterdeep. Since his ascension, Seir has kept an eye on Deekin and his descendants, ensuring their protection from any great threats. Once every few decades, Deekin comes to visit his old master, and Seir delights in hearing the kobold's shrill ballads. This feeling isn't mutual though, as Deekin grows noticeably less enthused with every visit to his now irredeemable friend.

## Worshipers

Despite his recent arrival to the Nine Hells, Seir has a large follower base due to his efforts to establish Lith M'yathar as a city that welcomes most extraplanar travelers. These followers are not all worshipers and cultists in truth, but their fealty to the Baron of Lith M'yathar secures them free passage through the frigid wastes of Cania, and all the benefits a safe haven in the hostile land of the Nine Hells can provide. Among this sizeable group are wizards and archaeologists looking to gather power from the lost ruins of Cania, fiendish frost giants who have long-since abandoned the Ordning, and even yugoloth mercenaries who ply their trade in the City of Souls with the approval of their superiors in Gehenna. Independent agents, such as thieves, assassins, and sellswords, also find themselves pledging their fealty to the archdevil, who often serves as a patron to enterprising souls looking to make themselves rich. Unlike most archdevils, who claim the souls or sometimes the life-years of promising mortals, Seir prefers to play the long game, knowing corrupted men and women will end up at his doorstep upon their death, regardless of any legal arrangements. Most of these non-cultist followers therefore promise wealth, the souls of others, their lineages, their children, and sometimes items of magical power.

Although a majority of his followers owe him fealty as a liege or as financial patron to their endeavors, there are those in the planes who truly worship him, as they would a god. These cultists are usually sole individuals or tight-knit cells who hide from all onlookers and do their best to use their patron's favor to advance themselves. Sometimes cultists appear to all others as the inner circle of a thieves' guild or mercenary company. Other times, individual worshipers can be found in the clergy of gods like Mask or Vhaeraun, hiding their treachery with gifts of divine energy from their true master. These cultists and warlocks are very rarely duped or misled individuals, with almost all of them understanding who they worship and what they stand to gain or lose through said worship. Nearly all of them have signed away their own souls, or if Seir believed their corruption would lead them to him anyway, the souls of others. The most common goal of these worshipers is to mimic Seir's own path of glory, living a life of intrigue, adventure, and extreme wealth before perhaps retiring to a position of power within the Hells. This is something very rarely accomplished, as nearly all souls that go to Seir are either minted into Soul Coins, or stripped of their memories and divine energy in the torturous process of becoming a lesser devil. The greatest of the greatest do sometimes join the Legions of the Lost, though, and this keeps the ambitious fools trying. After all, with the gifts of longevity from their generous patron, they typically have many years to prove their worth.

### Aspects

Seir's aspects are split between his dual-appearances, depicting either a fiendish black night, or a deadly fiendish assassin. These aspects, often summoned by his followers and worshipers as a part of fiendish pacts, share the archdevil's great skill, though they rarely if ever employ the archdevil's charisma. This is because the aspects are obsessed with death and carnage, and lack the patience of the true Seir. When a worshiper or follower calls upon the aid of an aspect of Seir, they cannot afford to spare any time giving that aspect an order, lest they find a black knight tearing through their own allies, or the quick shadow of rogue assassinating all those it assumes to be the summoner's enemies. As long as the aspects are treated with reverence and are given an outlet for the murderous intent, they remain loyal to whoever they were sent to aid. Sometimes, if the tasks they were sent to complete involved working with others who had not yet sworn themselves to Seir, these aspects even attempted to entice any promising individuals with power or wealth.

## Basic Information

### Titles

Drogan's Pupil
Hero of Hilltop
Hero of Waterdeep

### Former Home(s)

Loudwater, Delimbiyr Vale
Morynarth, High Forest

## Statistics

### Class

Rogue 10
Fighter 8
Blackguard 10 (D&D 3.5)

## History

### Early Life

Sirius Arno was born in the Year of the Bloodbird, 1346 DR, to the unlikely coupling of the human thief from Loudwater and a visiting gold elf lord of the ancient House Hyshaanth. Sirius' father, Lord Evindal Hyshaanth, had come to the human settlement to visit prominent elves, and he became the target of a robbery planned by Loudwater's thieves' guild. The agent send to learn about the mark and commit the crime was Sirius' mother, Rosynnd Arno. Despite his arrogance and his beliefs about humankind, the proud Evindal was both an easy lay and an easy mark for the charming thief. She seduced and laid with the gold elf for several nights during his visit, and when he awoke on his last day in Loudwater, he found no trace of the thief or the wealth he'd brought along with him. Although Evindal stayed in Loudwater longer to try and find the thief and his valuables, he gave up in a tenday and left for the community in the High Forest he ruled. Rosynnd lived off her stolen prize for months before she realized what their unlikely union had resulted in.

Despite not really being prepared for a child, Rosynnd Arno was a good mother to young Sirius. Her own status as a thief and a commoner meant there were times they were without a place to stay or needed to hide from the law, but she always prioritized Sirius' well-being when possible. This didn't stop her from teaching her young son the tricks of the trade, so from time to time he helped her with her robberies and tasks. When Sirius was old enough to question his lack of a father, his mother began to tell him of his own 'birthright'. Sirius was told he was a prince, the heir to some distant and unknown sun elf kingdom in the vast and dangerous High Forest. From then on he wanted nothing more than to meet his father, though his mother never told the boy the name of his father's elven house. In the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, Sirius' mother was slain when the town of Loudwater was occupied by Zhentarim forces in their attempt to take over crime in Loudwater and kill the visiting Heroes of Ascore. Sirius had not accompanied his mother on the day of her death, and found out a couple days later when her body was found where it was dumped. Heartbroken and now alone, Sirius was forced to start his search for his royal father, at just twelve years of age.

For two years, young Sirius was an urchin on the streets of Loudwater, making by on the generosity of others and occasional jobs working for criminals as a spy of sorts. When he'd gathered a modest amount of coin (which appeared like a dragon's hoard to someone so young) he tried to hire a wizard in the city to direct him to his supposedly royal father. In the end, he found Idriane Deslin, a half elven sage in the city who took pity on the young boy and recognized his tale of a royal visit for what it actually was. Idriane contacted Evindal Hyshaanth magically, and after being informed of his lost bastard, the elven leader spared one of his community's warriors to meet the boy and ascertain the truth. Sirius was delighted when an 'elven knight' came to take him to his future kingdom, though that excitement soon died down when the boy was interrogated over his mother and her theivery. Ultimately, the elven warrior sent to investigate brought young Sirius to the Morynarth, where was left of House Hyshaanth was leading a resettlement effort.

Just as quickly as his delusions of grandeur about his 'future kingdom' were shattered, Sirius' hopes about his royal father too were destroyed. The fourteen year old half-elf had wanted to be an elven prince, sure, but more than that, he'd craved a loving parental figure after the passing of his mother. Evindal was not what he'd wanted out of a father. Lord Hyshaanth was cold and formal with his bastard son, and if it were not for his own sense of responsibility, the sun elf would've kept Sirius out of his life altogether. As a half-elf among a settlement of sun elves with questionable beliefs about humankind, his years in Morynarth were years spent as an outsider, an intruder. Although his needs were attended to and he received a modest education, he never felt as though he belonged, and that eventually made him resent his new 'family' altogether. This in turn led to more rebellion, which did little to improve his reputation among the gold elves.

At the age of eighteen, Sirius had such a troubled relationship with his father that he elected to leave Morynarth altogether, hoping to make a new life for himself as thief just like his mother had before him. He left the High Forest for the settlement of Noanar's Hold, and after brief stint trying to work as the enforcer of a loan shark, he continued his journey north the Evermoor Way to avoid legal punishment. It was on this trip that Sirius met the man that would change his life forever - Drogan Droganson, wizard-cleric of Mystra. Sirius tried to con the old dwarf out of his purse when the two met, but he was sloppy and obvious to the experienced adventurer. Drogan saw potential in the youth, however, and he made Sirius an offer of mentorship. Although Drogan was not a rogue or fighter himself, he had met many in his journeys, and he wanted to be the man to mentor Sirius in these skills, so they could be used for good. Sirius accepted the offer with the intention to just rob the dwarf after becoming his pupil, and the two left together for Hilltop.

Over the next eight years, Drogan became the father figure that Sirius had always wanted, doing his best to mold Sirius' resentment and ambitious nature as a force for the greater good, hoping to one day introduce the half-elf to the Harpers. Sirius became very fond of the dwarf despite his stern nature and hard lessons, and he also grew fond of the village where he and Drogan's other pupils were taught and housed. He even grew to be great friends with Xanos Messarmos, a half-orc sorcerer who shared in his aspirations to become rich and powerful. He was less fond of the other two pupils, as he viewed Dorna Trapspringer as a rival and Mischa Waymeet as a naive fool. Still, he was so comfortable with his life with Drogan that he stayed with him for longer than he truly needed to, just to have the dwarf's approval.

### Shadows of Undrentide

#### The Lost Artifacts

Sirius' time as a true adventurer began in the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR, when Drogan Droganson's farm was attacked in the night by kobolds. Although Sirius and his fellow pupils came to their mentor's defense, the kobold attackers struck Drogan with a blade coated in an exotic poison resistant to magical healing. Fortunately, a Harper named Ayala Windspear arrived on the scene, having followed the kobold attackers. From Ayala, Sirius and his fellow apprentices learned of the kobolds' intent: the attackers had stolen four artifacts of power that the Harpers had entrusted to Drogan. While she tended to the dwarf's wounds, Ayala entrusted the mission of recovering these artifacts to Sirius and Xanos. Eager for an adventure and desiring a chance to avenge Drogan's injury, the two adventurers departed in search of missing artifacts, though they did take a small detour to slay the last of the kobolds still inside Hilltop.

The first of the missing artifacts to be searched for was the *mummified hand of Belpheron*, which had been taken by kobolds who fled into a nearby elven crypt, built to inter the traitor knights of Ascalhorn. Sirius was guided to the crypt after a meeting with the elven ranger Ferran Valiantheart, who told them the crypt's dark history, and informed him of how the kobolds who fled with Drogan's artifacts were ambushed by gnolls before they made their way into the crypt. When inside, Sirius and Xanos met the guardian spirit of the crypt, Nimaldor, who asked that the duo help expel both kobolds and giant spiders from the tomb, without claiming the treasures of the site for their own. Sirius immediately took a disliking to the self-righteous spirit and the the legends of interred knights, but he bided his time and cooperated with the spirit. With Nimaldor's aid, Sirius and Xanos dealt with the kobold tribe by activating a poison gas trap, and although the leader of the kobolds Urko survived this initial attempt at his life, he was soon put down by Sirius' blade. From Urko's body, Sirius claimed the *mummified hand of Belpheron*, which he immediately took a strange liking to. Once attached to the feared lich Belpheron, the artifact served both as a means to divine on the rest of the stolen artifacts and as source for dark dreams. Rewarded with the ''cloak of Ascalhorn'' for his efforts by Nimaldor, the duo departed, hoping to find the rest of the artifacts before they could leave the region. On the night after clearing the crypt, however, Sirius experienced a strange nightmare, ordering him to return to the crypt and dispatch of its guardian spirit. The rogue did his best to ignore the dream, but it became a reoccuring one as he and Xanos continued their questing in and around Hilltop.

Four days after departing the crypt, as Sirius and Xanos were helping a duergar friend of Drogan's reclaim his stolen daughter, the mummified hand's influence took hold during the day. As Sirius tried to convince a drunken hill giant named Rumgut to part with his dwarven 'bride', the mummified hand caused him to black out. The hill giant Rumgut took the opportunity to also imprison Sirius, and during this nightmare, Sirius finally agreed with the dark artifact. After he came to his senses and broke himself and the dwarf Becka out of their shared cell, Sirius completed his quest and finally returned to the crypt. There, they were immediately attacked by the Knight-Gallant Nimaldor, who'd warned them to never return. After a grueling fight where they both nearly perished, the guardian spirit was slain. In return for the evil deed that would render the elven crypt vulnerable to dark influences, Sirius became a blackguard, with a piece lich Belpheron, long-thought destroyed, as his 'patron'. With the first of his dark dealings completed, the quest for the artifacts resumed. Soon after, Sirius and Xanos met the kobold scalesinger Deekin, who had been part of the raid on Hilltop on the orders of his master, the white dragon Tymofarrar. During the raid, Deekin had taken possession of the *tower artifact*, but in his carelessness he'd dropped and supposedly damaged it. Out of fear, the kobold abandoned its tribe to avoid his draconic master's wrath- but he was willing to give that artifact to the pupils of Drogan if they dealt with his master. After much discussion, the two adventurers agreed, but instead of going north to the Nether Mountains where the white wyrm laired, they went south to follow the urging of the mummified hand and the tracks of gnolls who had stolen one of the artifacts from the kobolds.

This journey eventually took them to the northern edges of the High Forest, to caves filled with all sorts of dangers. In their search for the gnolls, the pupils of Drogan found themselves slaying trolls, bugbears, and bandits while traversing a small network of caves. During this exploration, the two even discovered the sealed tomb of Lady Ikora, a mummified spellcaster that had sealed herself away in stasis in a failed attempt at apotheosis. Sirius and Xanos, power hungry as they both were, endured the hard fight with Ikora's mummy, claiming her *sash of shimmering* as a reward afterward. Afterward, the search for the gnolls resumed, leading Sirius and his companion to the caverns in which the gnolls dwelt. The two cut a bloody path with spell and blade to the prisons, where they freed the kobold prisoners led by Nafeeli to force them to help fight against their gnoll captors. Then, when the fights took the gathered group all the way to Gishnak, Chieftain of the gnolls, Sirius learned that the gnolls had only cared about stealing the artifact because of the orders of the powerful sorceress J'nah. Rather than waste a potential ally, Sirius subdued Gishnak until he agreed to aid against J'nah, and told him to wait for the order to attack. Before the heroes of Hilltop could reach the mysterious mistress of the gnolls, they were forced to endure an elemental gauntlet of sorts, located within a surviving portion of a Netherese ruin. When they finally met J'nah, who had claimed the orb artifact for herself, Sirius felt the echo of his lich patron urge him to be cautious, and he approached diplomatically. The strange sorceress was receptive to his offers of alliance, and she spun him a tale of how her gnolls were meant to aid the kobolds in the raid on Hilltop, but that the plans changed when Tymofarrar the white dragon sent in his kobolds too early to claim the items for himself. J'nah's gnolls had only managed to claim the orb, but she desired the tower statue most of all, and she believed it to be in the possession of the dragon.

Sirius worked out a deal with J'nah, taking her payment in exchange for the promise of killing Tymofarrar and retrieving his artifacts- but he failed at his attempt to also court the evil sorceress. To aid him in his dragonslaying, J'nah gave him a *phylactery of ice*, an artifact that would imbue its user with the power of a great ice elemental. This was meant to both shield Sirius and enrage Tymofarrar, as J'nah had made it so the magic item would make its user look like a frost giant that had once battled the dragon and injured it in the past. Taking the sorceress' aid and gold, Sirius left for the north once more, to finally deal with the kobolds who had raided his home village.

The kobold caverns were easier to clear than that of the gnolls, and after slaying the chieftain of the kobolds to make a deal with the 'Master Jumper' of the caverns, the half-elf blackguard and his half-orc sorcerer companion were able to finally meet the white dragon that was causing the region so much trouble. Tymofarrar was arrogant, but no less eager to cut a deal than J'nah. The wyrm was supposedly willing to both pass on *the Mask* and release Deekin from his service, if only the duo was willing to kill the treacherous J'nah. The dragon was even helpful enough to provide a flask of strange red powder, which it instructed the heroes to use against the sorceress. Sirius thanked Tymofarrar by using the *phylactery of ice* to become an ice giant, enraging the dragon and forcing him into a hard fight. The power of the phylactery ran out before the fight was complete, and the blackguard rogue was forced to cut the white dragon down with his own weapons as the white wyrm was getting ready to release a cold dragon breath upon Xanos. With Tymofarrar dead, Sirius had claimed his second artifact- *the Mask*. This powerful artifact had once belonged to a high priest of the god Mask, and alongside the whispers of dead Belpheron's hand, it only added the dark magic of the youthful blackguard.

With his mission for J'nah complete, Tymofarrar's treasures claimed, and the dragon's head seized, Sirius set for the High Forest once more, to see what would become of his alliance with the strange and beautiful J'nah. Returning to the caverns were only a few subdued gnolls and kobolds remained, Sirius entered the high hall of J'nah proudly, still reveling over the act of having slain a young white dragon. Flanked by the freed kobolds of Nafeeli and the subjugated gnolls of Gishnak, the half-elf hero of Hilltop expected either a reward from J'nah or a fight. Although he did not return with the tower artifact that she was dedicated to claiming for herself, J'nah took pleasure in the fact that her ally had killed her hated enemy. As thanks for his deeds, J'nah gave a long-overdue explanation of what she was. She admitted to being one of a the demonfey, the Fey'ri that had brought upon the fall of the High Forest's elven kingdoms. Sirius was not incredibly in touch with his elven roots, but even he had heard of her kind through the elves of Morynarth. J'nah revealed that her kind had not only escaped from the ancient prisons they had been sealed in, but they lived in the shadows, awaiting a proper moment to destroy the world. Then, after laying out her clan's plans for the world once she acquired the tower statue, she informed him that he and his allies could not live if she wanted this secret to remain hidden.

The fight with J'nah was a difficult and bloody one, which would not have been won at all if not for the *fiendbane powder* provided by Tymofarrar. J'nah was an extremely capable sorceress and a half-fiend, and together with her cultist servants, she came close more than once to killing the pupils of Drogan that came up against her. Her spells and claws scarred and burnt the heroes, and Sirius' minions, the gnolls and kobolds he subdued, did not live through the fight. In the end, the fey'ri sorceress fell to Sirius' blade, allowing him to claim the *dragon's tooth artifact* her gnolls had brought to her. Bloodied and exhausted, Sirius emerged from the gnoll caves with a single freed slave named Glendir behind him, with the intention of claiming the last artifact from the kobold Deekin.

After several nights of rest and travel, Sirius and Xanos arrived in the nearby hamlet of Blumberg to find it overrun with gnolls who had burnt most of the village to the ground. After clearing the gnoll caverns, killing a dragon, and killing J'nah, a handful of gnolls proved no challenge. Soon after, the kobold Deekin appeared from one of the surviving buildings, thanking Sirius for freeing him from Tymofarrar and providing the broken tower statue that he had taken from Hilltop. Deekin and the two heroes parted on good terms, and the two then returned to Hilltop, having completing their mission of recovering the four stolen artifacts.

Although both the Mask and Hand artifacts had provided him with dark magic, and the tower artifact was intriguing due to a strange orb inside it, the half-elf Sirius still elected to return to his poisoned master with the items in tow. When the opportunity came to lie and claim the items for himself, he was more focused on Drogan's recovery from the poison, and getting his mentor's approval. Ayala had managed to cure Drogan fully by the time he arrived, and although the dwarf was concerned by the strange new powers his eldest student displayed, he appreciated Sirius' returning them all.

Sirius' quest, however, had only just begun. Drogan did not know the true nature of the strange magical orb located within the tower artifact, or why it had been desired by J'nah and her potentially Fey'ri masters. As Sirius and Xanos had more than proven themselves, the dwarven Harper wanted his students to accompany him on an expedition to the Anauroch, where he could have the strange orb identified by the famed archaeologist Garrick Halassar. The rest of the four artifacts were entrusted to Ayala, who would return them to the Harpers while Drogan and his students set out for the desert. Parting with the hand of Belpheron was a nightmare-inducing experience, but it did not steal away Sirius' new powers, which he would use for months to come.

#### Journey in the Anauroch

Together with his fellow students of Drogan's academy, Drogan himself, the kobold bard Deekin, and a caravan of halflings led by a merchant named Katriana, Sirius left the mountanois settlement of Hilltop for the desert wastes of the Anauroch. For tendays the journey was going smoothly, until the caravan was attacked by tlincalli raiders and the caravan's bedine guide Zidar was stolen away. Sirius was tasked with rescuing Zidar, and he elected to bring the kobold Deekin with him to test the bardic sorcerer's mettle. Together the two descended into the caverns of the scorpionmen, fighting tlincalli warriors and even being forced to fight a captive manticore after the tlincalli trapped the two in an arena with the creature. Eventually, Sirius confronted the high priest of Zaltec who led the tribe, stopping the cleric from performing the bloody sacrifice of caravan's guide.