Bael Clan

## Bael

The **Bael Clan** is one of the 72 Pillars of the Netherworld. Ranked at the first of the pentagram, the house holds the title of [Great King] in the infernal hierarchy.

## Summary

The Bael Clan is one of the original 72 Pillars of the Netherworld. They are descendants of the original Bael, the first demon summoned by Solomon and was bestowed the title of [Great King] by the wise prophet-king. Since days of old, the house has been considered royalty among the devils, a reputation they keep to this modern era.

Because of their power and influence, devils from the Bael Clan are famously known for their extreme pride and arrogance, looking down on other lower-class devils and daemon. They prefer the old tradition where strength determines everything, going as far as discriminating against their own members if they don't live up to their definition of strong or powerful.

During the Devil Civil War, they were originally affiliated with the Old Satan Faction due to personal loyalty with their own lords, the Lucifuge Clan. However, after their heiress Elenei was kidnapped and raped by a Beelzebub, they switched to the Anti-Satan Faction and swore a blood-feud with the Beelzebub Clan.

Thanks to their support, the Anti-Satan Faction gained an advantage against the Old Satan Faction and eventually achieved victory. As such, they were handsomely rewarded after the war, though this didn't stop the greed from growing in the new head's heart. After hearing about Ajuka's proposal of using the Evil Pieces to reincarnate new souls into devils to repopulate their dying species, Lord Argilac Bael refused the notion, though after a rather public beating courtesy of his older sister, he became quiet and agreed with the plan, albeit only begrudgingly.

To prevent the reincarnated devils from gaining more power, Lord Argilac founded the Great King Faction, consisting of the Bael Clan and many surviving houses from the 72 Pillars, with the purpose of maintaining their authority and influence over the Netherworld. Seething because of his action, Venelana Gremory (née Bael) created the Kings' Right Hand to oppose their influence.

## Physical Traits

Members of the Bael Clan are known for their beautiful purple eyes. They are also known for being physically more robust in their chest area, as female members are known for their voluptuous breasts while the male members often have large pectoral muscles.

Later, it's revealed that they have another - lesser known - trait within all those who carry the Bael bloodline, which is that their left index finger is longer than their right index finger by 0.5 centimeter.

## Emblem

The Bael Clan's royal emblem is a purple lotus-like flower called the **Lord's Lament(Tears of the Devil Queen)**, which grows throughout the Bael Clan's Territory. On formal documents, a wax emblem of the noble house features a cursive capital letter "B" in gleaming gold in the middle of a garland of seven Lord's Laments, typically in dark-colored waxes like black or dark-purple.

## Hereditary Abilities

### Power of Destruction

**Power of Destruction**, also called the **Demon King's Breath**, is the Bael Clan's signature housecarl, which allows them to summon forth an immensely destructive aura of infernal energy capable of disintegrating all matter, both living and inanimate, upon physical contact. Due to its versatility, capable of being used for both offensive and defensive purposes, it is considered one of the most powerful housecarls among the pureblood devils of the 72 Pillars.

## Locations

### Ancestral Seat

**Bael Castle**, also called **Storm's End**, is the ancestral seat of the Bael Clan and is located in the south-east of the Bael Clan's Territory, standing on a high white cliff overlooking the Boiling Sea. It is surrounded by a massive curtain wall, composed of a double course of pale-gray stone, and the wall is smooth and curving, stones so well-placed and perfectly fit together that the wind can find no purchase. There is no safe anchorage by the castle, and on the seaward side, there is a hundred-meters drop below the wall into the sea.

It has only one tower, a colossal drum tower crowned with formidable battlements, which make the tower looks like a huge spiked fist thrusting toward the sky from afar, and is so large that it comfortably contains the granary, barracks, armory, feast hall, and the lord's chambers at all once. Decorating the walls of Bael Castle are murals, tapestries, and statues that are as old as human civilization, dating back to the days of Ancient Sumer, which depicted various scenes in the Bael Clan's history.

### Bael Territory

**Bael Clan's Territory**, also called the **Stormlands** by the Netherworld natives, is a land of harsh mountains, stony shores, and verdant forests, with the windswept plains and grasslands in south-west serve as an effective buffer zone between the Bael Clan and their old enemies. There are a few islands considered to be a part of the Stormlands, and though ships avoid the notorious Boiling Sea and its storms, the seas along the territory can be clear and blue.

The territory has long martial traditions dating back to the day the Netherworld still connected to Hell, and many places within the territory are considered favorable training spots within the realm. Following the creation of the Rating Games, multiple stadiums are also built in the Stormlands, which serve as a great boost to their tourism. According to Venelana, while the place isn't as fertile as the Gremory Clan's Territory or as technologically advanced as the Astaroth Clan's Territory, this is where "strong men are born and raised".

Due to the conflicts between the Bael Clan and the Vapula Clan, over 65% of the available farmlands were destroyed and the economy of the region has been severely crippled. Nowadays, most produce coming into the territory are from the Gremory Clan's Territory, which are cheaper than other regions due to Venelana's elopement with Zeoticus forming a bond between them and the Gremory Clan.

Following the alliance between the Netherworld and the Norse Pantheon, many Vanir gods are sent to help them with their Fertility Magic, which has shown significant improvement. According to Sairaorg, while they can never be on-par with other regions, they won't have to be wholly reliant on other regions as much as before anymore.

## Trivia

* **Ba'al** (בַּעַל) is the Hebrew word meaning "master" or "lord". Since the Bael Clan is the top-ranked clan of the 72 Pillars, this can be related to the house's powerful position.
* Their personal guards consist of 66,000 devils, daemon, and demonic beasts.
* The house, excluding Sairaorg and the people close to him, are hostile towards the Gremory Clan as their current generation have strongly inherited the Power of Destruction.
	+ Despite this, their territory still relies on to the Gremorys' for economical supports.
* Despite having lost their duel, Ellyn and Magdaran are still considered members, albeit of a cadet branch, as part of Sairaorg's (and Misla's) requests.
* According to Venelana, excluding their Power of Destruction, they are one of the weakest houses of the remaining 32 houses, military-wise, and would be *crushed* if the Vapula Clan decided to attack.
* The house's mascot is **Bapple**, an apple-headed anthropomorphic cat with bat wings.
* A traditional meal within the Stormlands often consists of brown breads, goat cheese, cold mutton, alongside a bowl of steaming stew, typically made with goat meat, carrots, and potatoes.