Berith

**Berith** is the twenty-eighth spirit listed in the Ars Goetia and a Great Duke of Hell.

## Berith

### Aliases

Stygian Knight, Great Duke of Hell, Red Knight, Lord of the Covenant, Demon of the Alchemists, Seeker of the Forgotten, Master of Ceremonies, Grand pontiff of the Order of the Fly, Chief Secretary of Hell, Head of Hell's Public Archives

## Physical Description

### Spirit of

War, Murder, Alchemy, Metals, Truth, Blasphemy

## Overview

He is a Great Duke of Hell, powerful and terrible, with twenty-six legions of demons under his command.

Berith was the chief secretary of Hell, head of its public archives, and the demon who tempted men to blasphemy and murder. When seated among the princes of Hell, he was usually seen as the Grand pontiff for Order of the Fly.

As an angel, Berith was prince of the order of Cherubim. As a Demon, he serves as a master of ceremonies, he notarizes Pacts with the Devil. He is respectful and worshipped by alchemists and necromancers.

Berith was important to some alchemists, who believed he had the power to transmute all base metals into gold. He was tricky to conjure, however, and had to be summoned with magic rings bearing his Seal. He was known for making great promises, but also for being a great liar.

## Appearance

He rides a gigantic red horse and burns those without manners. He is depicted as a knight or soldier wearing red armour and a golden crown wielder either a sword, lance or trident, according to other grimoires his skin is red too.

## History

### Fall from Grace

Berith was an angel that resided in Heaven, only to become a fallen angel that joined Lucifer during the War in Heaven, becoming a great duke of Hell whose sole purpose was to corrupt human souls to damnation.

### Botched Possession

During his one of his possessions, he went for an easy target and and attempted to drag the soul of a young male from Nepali to Hell. However, during the process, a guardian angel in the area detected his presence and tried to save the young human’s soul.

In fear of his own safety, Berith panicked and incinerated the human's body into nothingness in an attempt to escape. But before Berith could return to Hell, the angel would merge the infernal Duke with the human body in order to properly end Berith's existence so he could no longer cause harm to humanity. Berith instead was able to absorb the remaining human essence before entering Hell, devouring it in the end.

### False Canaan God

Berith was also worshipped as the patron god of the city of Canaan. He was beloved by all of his people; so much so that they made small figurines of him and carried them around, occasionally pulling them out to kiss them as worship. He was even more popular than the kings of the region.

When his subjects in the area began rebelling, King Abimelech of the Philistines destroyed Berith's temple and banished any worship of him. Those who continued to worship him were persecuted and became considered idolaters. Thus, his once good name became demonized by those who wanted control of his city and people.

It seems he took offense to how quickly his own people turned their backs on him and seems to have great disdain for the organized religions that followed his downfall.

### Prophecy

After the slave uprising in Pandemonium, several demons attempted to enter to the mortal world. Berith was one of such that seduced a mortal named Trent to become his vessel. Ashley Strode prevented him from fully crossing over and sent him back to Hell.