Ashmedai

Ashmedai, also known as Asmodei before his decent into Infernus, was a seraphim archdevil and supreme lord of the lower planes. An ever ambitious and careful creature, Ashmedi was once the right hand of the creator and when the creator god Eos withdrew from the world, Ashmedi attempted to claim dominion over Eo's offspring, the Empyrean Titans. Ashmedi was banished from the heavens and ordered to guard the mortal realm from demonic incursions. After ages of dwelling on the border of the abyss, it and its followers declared themselves independent and Ashmedi declared itself lord of the Great Gates of Hell.

Ashmedi was the undisputed master of the Great Gates of Hell, commanding fear and respect from all those who occupied its realm. Even the Empyrean gods who visit the Great Gates of Hell gave Ashmedi its proper due. Though other devils might work to usurp it, few had the courage to act openly. Ashmedi’s machinations were long in the making, and they might take centuries, if not millennia, to see a resolution. it worked on a grand scale, carefully constructing insidious and inexplicable intrigues, maneuvering the forces of wickedness like chess pieces on a board that encompasses all the planes. its core concerns were simple. First, it wanted the power structure currently in place to remain exactly as it stood, with itself in charge. it had spies on every layer, planted in every court. No king knew for sure which of its minions actually served Ashmedi, so the climate was one of justified paranoia. Ashmedi waged endless war against the demons of the abyss. This war was known as the Blood War. its minions combated the agents of the Celestial Planes whenever and wherever they could outside of the battlefields of the Blood War.

Ashmedi's celestial followers have spent eons fighting the forces of the Abyss. The close proximity to the Abyssal energies has warped many of their celestial forms to the point that they are physically similar to Demons. Devils use Abyssal energies and evil mortal souls to fight fire with fire in the Blood War. This use of evil souls puts them in competition with Demons and they work to capture the souls of evil mortals.

He influenced every level of society and had followers of every race. Despite its path being the way to great and unrestricted power, priests openly dedicated to Ashmedai were rare. Those who dedicated themselves to the First Fallen were often mighty and charismatic making them natural leaders among their kind.

Some traditions say that Ashmedai, to counter the creature Unex, blessed humanity with an unquenchable thirst for power and the ability to reach the heights of mortal abilities within their short lifetimes.

Ashmedai mainly concerns itself with its duties holding the line against the abyss but has made public deals with various mortals in the past, including a non aggression pact with the Archduke of Thessan, Aragoth Hellslay. Devils do not tempt mortals in Thessan, in exchange, the Hellslay family offers aid in the blood war. This allows Ashmedi to redirect some of its followers to tempt other nations to do evil. Diabolical encounters in Thessan have lead to the birth of the Tiefling race as well as Warlocks being relatively commonplace.

Ashmedai appears as a tall six-winged humanoid wearing long red robes which blend into a constant flow of blood at its feet.