Satan

**Satan**, also known as **Samael** or **Samael Validus**, is a major recurring character in the *Divine Comedy*.

Next to Lucifer, he was once one of the greatest angels in Heaven, specifically an exalted cherub that was known for his power and status. He is the husband of Eve (who was given to him as a "gift" from God) and have several children with her, being the patriarch of the Validus family.

After his fall from Heaven, Samael went by the title "Satan" and became one of the supreme sovereigns of Hell, worshipped and revered as a god by Hell's denizens but often treated as a legend due to his brief appearances in the upper Circles as he rules the lowest one being the Ninth Circle.

## History

### Background

Samael was created after the first five archangels followed by Azrael. He joined his siblings in the Genesis Jam and was prominent for nearly matching Lucifer's octaves during the Jam as they worked on creating the universe together. When all was said and done, God gave Samael a great hammer that he would then use to mend the newly manifested universe by "drumming" it into stability alongside the other great angels.

After the full stability of the universe and the creation of Heaven, Samael became an exalted cherub and the prince of the choir due to being the first one to come into existence. He also became an arbiter which is an angel that was charged for determining what is good enough to have a place in the grand order of things in accordance to God and Goddess' laws. Samael was known to be strict, blunt, and straightforward, something which made the other angels keep their distance from him though Samael preferred it that way as he was not really one of the more social angels.

Nevertheless, that did not stop Lucifer from wanting to drag Samael into one of his shenanigans much his chagrin though Lucifer was drawn to Samael mainly due to the fact that Samael was one of the first angels that stood out among the Jam. Even so, Samael kept mostly to himself though occasionally he can find solace with other angels like Raphael, Apollyon, Azrael, and even Lucifer despite the latter's energetic personality.

### War in Heaven

One of Samael's most defining moments was when he witnessed the creation of humanity; Adam and Lilith. When Lucifer was tasked by God to have Lilith be under his wing, the Morningstar took his time to introduce her to his posse which included Samael. While she found the others to be quite endearing, especially Lucifer, Lilith was very fond of Samael. Later on, after the creation of Eve, it was Samael who was tasked with having Eve be under his wing. Samael found Eve's inquisitive and bubbly nature to be amusing and despite their contrast in personalities the two became quite close. Using his advantage as an arbiter and celestial being, Samael explained all that occurs in the Natural Order of things and answered her every question though took care into not revealing too much.

As time went by, Samael would be among the angels that Lucifer vented towards in regards to the way God was running things in creation. Samael would try to convince Lucifer (and himself) that whatever their Father does it is for a good reason but whenever he is alone with his thoughts Samael would think too deep into it and start to find a smidge of truth in Lucifer's words. When word broke out of Lucifer declaring war on Heaven, Samael's first instinct was to go to Eden to make sure Eve would not get caught in the crossfire, however, he was intercepted by a group of angels who mistook him for trying to kill Adam and Eve under Lucifer's orders and attacked him without provocation. Enraged, Samael slaughtered the angels and went on to demolish any angel foolish enough to stand in his way.

The onslaught of attacks he received from all sides sent Samael into a frenzy until he was saved by Lucifer from an oncoming attack by one angel. Lucifer arrived from being knocked away Michael who confronted the two great angels in a two on one. Seeing Michael's enormous power, Samael assumed the form of a Great Red Dragon which Lucifer used as his steed to overwhelm him. But despite their advantage, Michael was far superior in terms of combat and strategy as he overcame both Lucifer and Samael, bringing them down. Samael, still as a Red Dragon, tried to fight back in vain but was chained and speared by the Heavenly Host and would have died had Lucifer not desperately pleaded for Michael to stop them.

### Falling in Hell

Samael was cast out of Heaven and into darkness alongside the other rebel angels. Battered, bloody, and beaten he could barely move as he bled from his wounds. Though somewhat conscious, Samael was approached by Lilith who alongside her sisters was tending to the wounded fallen. She was initially searching for Lucifer but came across Samael. Scared at first, Lilith slowly began to help Samael with his injuries, speaking to him and apologizing for what he had to endure. Although in pain, the injured fallen angel gently held her hand with Lilith comforting him as she healed him. Lucifer later joined them and helped Lilith in carrying supporting Samael up and bring him back to their camp.

As they spent time recovering and licking their wounds, Samael and the others start to make use of their current predicament by making a habitable realm for themselves just as they did during the Genesis Jam. Lucifer would be the conductor of the musical number as the fallen angels broke out into song which fashioned and molded the realm around them. Like before, Samael would use the hammer he onced used to stabilize the universe to drum the the stability of this new realm but because of the rage, hatred, and animosity he held towards everything that happened the realm would only grow to be jagged and distorted, filling it with scorching heat, bitter cold, and burning light.

With everything set and done, they started to make plans on how to hit back against God and Heaven. Amongst the cacophony of suggestions and arguments, Beelzebub came up to Lucifer and relayed info regarding the humans Adam and Eve to which Lilith jumped at the idea saying that they would hit God where it hurts most by hurting his "magnum opus" though Lilith discreetly was also using this to get back at Adam. Samael initially did not want to join as it would mean harming Eve but was convinced by Lucifer to do so in believing that he is "saving" Eve from God's puppet strings.

### Fall of Man

As the trio made their way back to Heaven, they stopped by the walls of Eden seeing it being guarded by several angels and had to pick their targets carefully. Lucifer laid his eyes on Gadreel and told Lilith and Samael that while he distracts Gadreel they would use the opportunity to sneak past him and up the gate. As Lucifer would distract Gadreel - by taking the shape of a cherub who was lost and needed directions - Lilith and Samael slipped past the guardsman angel, jumped over the wall, and entered Eden. Samael and Lilith snuck through the grassy plane of Eden looking for Adam and Eve. When they found them, they set their second phase of the plan in motion; Lilith would take the guise of an owl and talk Eve into going over to the Tree of Knowledge where Samael would hit the final nail on the coffin and have her eat the fruit.

When Samael saw Eve approaching, he took the form of a snake and watched her. However, when he saw Eve again, he thought back to the times he spent with her and was starting to have his doubts in going forward with this plan based on his feelings for Eve but he shook them off and went ahead. Samael as the snake would then begin his introductions but did not really disclose his true identity instead being one of the animals that gained sentience from eating the "magic fruit". He played into the thoughts that Lilith already implanted by saying how she herself would not only gain full sentience but also get the answer she's always wanted to know; to know about herself. Convinced, Eve took the fruit with Adam in tow. Samael and Lilith quickly made their escape from Eden, rendezvousing with Lucifer and went back to their realm but Samael felt guilt for what he had done to Eve.

As the fallen angels were adding the finishing touches to their respective Circles and regions, Samael came across the cold and desolate realm that would come to be known as the Ninth Circle. His actions toward Eve were eating him up and was in a losing argument with himself over the circumstances of what needed and should not have happened that led to that. It eventually culminated in him going to Earth to try and make amends with Eve. When he went up, he saw Eve lying on the ground and unmoving which made him realize that she passed out from the scorching heat. Samael conjured heavy rain that cooled her off and brought her to a cave to recover. When Eve came to she was immediately frightened by who was in front of her though she couldn't fully make out his appearance because of the darkness of the cave. Slowly, Eve and Samael would speak again after the whole thing with the snake and fruit with Eve venting her frustration about Adam's controlling behavior, something that Samael sympathized with as he had to deal with Lucifer himself. As Samael tended to her wounds, the two slowly began to fall for each other until it culminated into them making love. From their union Eve gave birth to Cain who then had a brother named Abel. Ashamed at what happened especially after what Cain had done to Abel and indirectly making Eve's life even more miserable, Samael shut himself away from everyone.

### Ruler of Hell

Despite his isolation, Samael would find solace and comfort in Lilith leading to the two to spend more time together until they eventually ended up in a romantic relationship which lasted a couple hundred years. Lucifer, jealous of how close the two were getting, manipulated Samael into being the ruler of the Ninth Circle - the lowest Circle in Hell - so as to keep him and Lilith separated. Though Samael asked Lilith to come with him, she declined as she was already offered to rule the upper Circles with Lucifer. In addition, the long distance relationship would not work and so the two ended their relationship but on a healthy and positive note as Lilith and Samael remained close friends ever since.

After becoming the ruler of the Ninth Circle - named Treachery - and one of the supreme emperors of Hell, Samael grew a reputation on Earth and in Heaven as a dark and terrible destructive entity. Humans started calling him Satan, which meant "Adversary", viewed as the arch prince of evil and for the past 2,000 years they even went so far as to call him "Evil Incarnate". Eventually everyone, even his family in Heaven, started calling him by that title. The things he had done to warrant that title were mainly instigated by Lucifer as a way for Samael to take the blame and again use him to get back at God but at the same time be used as a distraction while Lucifer works on finding out how God's Story ends. However, unbeknownst to almost everyone, Satan is not really "evil" per say, he is a judge and prosecutor of sinners and malevolent humans, and while cruel, callous, and cold he is somewhat fair with the way punishments are handed out to certain sinners and requests from other demons that are granted or denied by him.

Though anti-social, Satan would become lonely in the Ninth Circle, devoting himself to work and the improvement of the largely barren realm. And because of his devotion to his work, he scarcely has any appearances in the upper Circles which led to many demons and sinners to view him as a legend but is nonetheless worshipped and revered as a god by the denizens of Hell though he could hardly care less by how demons and humans worship and view him.

## Trivia

* Satan, also known as the Devil, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for "evil inclination." In Christianity and Islam, he is usually seen as a fallen angel or jinn who has rebelled against God, who nevertheless allows him temporary power over the fallen world and a host of demons.
	+ The name "Samael" also equates to a demonic archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic lore, acting as a figure who is the accuser or adversary, seducer, and destroyer. Although many of his functions resemble the Christian notion of Satan, to the point of being sometimes identified as a fallen angel, he is not necessarily evil, since his functions are also regarded as resulting in good, such as destroying sinners.
* Samael's name means "Venom/Poison of God" in Hebrew.
* The series creator states that Satan's favorite drink is whiskey.
* Eve claims he smells like a forest fire in the winter.
* Satan often gets confused with Lucifer and vice versa which aggravates him.
* Satan states that he showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world because, according to him, as a carpenter, "Jesus didn’t have many travel prospects."
* Out of all the emperors Satan is actually the most competent ruler as he takes his job seriously even though he does not enjoy it in the least. His workload and demeanour often makes him out to be a "party pooper" according to Lucifer.
* Satan created a treaty with Mictlantecuhtli by giving him Hernan Cortez as an offering despite Cortez being Catholic.