Ashmedae

## Asmedae

Ashmedae (pronounced Ash-may-day) is the Cardinal God of Pacts, though he is very different from the other Cardinal Gods known to Djor. Ashmedae is a being that existed entirely separate from the Primordials and the original godly siblings. No one knows where Ashmedae came from, nor when he came into existance or what he was doing during the War of Divinity.

Ashmedae rules uncontested over the domain of Perdition—the Nine Hells—and his devil children. He is the only devilkin to hold true Divinity, though his Archdevils are incredibly powerful to the point of granting clerical powers to their followers. He oversees the honoring of all pacts or contracts, and often informs Calestra of any who would break their oaths. Chief among his duties is the upholding of the Divine Mandate, an article of power which defines the rules and bylaws of the Divine.

Ashmedae is far more receptive to would-be-worshipers than his Cardnial kin. Due to his continous watch for those that would break a pact, he has great insight into all secrets of the mortal plane. Many a knowledge-seeker or power-grubber have beseeched for his favor; none have gained it without a steep price. To bargin with the Wordsmith of Contracts is to ensure your own demise. The King of Perdition always collects, always.

## History

At the dawn of the Age of Divinity, before the creation of the Prime-Material Plane and when Primordials roamed free, from the aether of the Astral Sea came ten entities. These self-fashioned Gods came into conflict with the Elder Primordials, seeking to bring order to the universe around them. Leading them was Akaene, the Firstborn. The battles of the newborn Gods and the Primordials were devastating, ripping portions of the Astral Sea open and casting creation assunder. However, the disorder between the Primordials proved to be their downfall in the face of the cohesive new gods. The godly siblings were able to isolate and defeat each of the elder beings; while the Primordials were indominable together, alone they were vulnerable. In the final battle for the cosmos, the Cardinal Gods failed to destroy Primordas—mightiest of the Primordials—and were only able to divide portions of Its essence. They used what remained of Its power to create a new realm, to forever seal away their greatest foe.

The Cardinal Gods started to debate how they would divide their newly conquered realm, but their squabbles started cracking the very foundations they just formed. From the darkness came a figure unlike any they had seen, a being cloaked in flame and shadow that was neither Divine nor Primordial. Holding in their hands a scroll of gold and vellum, the Being spoke with civility and decorum. The Figure informed them that the adversary they fought so valiantly to seal would eventually be reborn if they did not take careful steps to ensure the stability of their newly created realm. Ashmedae referred to himself as a curator of order and divided the fundamental forces between the gods as a neutral party. No recollection states exactly what was said, but a contract was formed, a Divine Mandate, one that would ensure the everlasting sealing of the First Adversary and balance of the Inner Planes.

For his part in this accordance, Ashmedae was granted a seat at the table of Divinity and given a new realm to call his own. Upon his crimson throne, the Diabolic Prince watches and waits for any that would destabilize the realms he helped cement.