The Rise of the Lower Planes

*My thirst for knowledge or it may have been the finally our patron god Corellon Larethian having been painted in such light as a true hero amongst the gods, seemed to light a fire in me that it was not long before I would ask Thokyl Farwalker for the next story upon his truth of the ancients as he called it. When I came upon him he stood below the cliff where the mudslide had cascaded over. He chuckled and lit his pipe.* “Ah what a location to pick up on the next portion of the story young Luric Orelwa.”

*Hesitantly I nodded and spoke* “I would assume the next chapter is in the lower planes and of demons and devils.”

*Thokyl showed his grin and smoked his pipe* “Shall we start with the Nine Hells. Each of these hells outside of the first known as Avernus is housed deeper underground then the last until the nine with is wreathed in flame. While each one is different then the last it should be noted that those Arch-Celestials who inhabited these planes were twisted to pure evil with the aspect of law. The names should be known as the Archdevils or the Lords of the Nine, Bel twisted into a pit fiend and chosen as the first lord over Avernus the First Hell, Dispater Father of Strife rules over Dis the Second Hell, Minauros the Third Hell is ruled by Mammon the King of Greed.”

*While Thokyl has only reached three of the Archdevils of these Nine Hells I worried of the repercussions of knowing the names of all of the Devils of these hells but I had chosen to make this journey so I wrote on.* “Phlegethos the Fourth Hell is ruled by Fierna and at her side is her father Belial, Stygia the Fifth Hell is ruled by Levistus however he is a ruler as much as a prisoner, Malbolge the Sixth Hell is ruled over by Asmodeus’ own daughter Glasya.”

*I wanted to immediately ask about this Asmodeus however I stopped not wanting to question Thokyl who has always come to tell me information so I waited and continued to write.* “Maladomini the Seventh Hell is ruled over by Baalzebul, Lord of the Flies, Cania the Eighth Hell is ruled by the second most powerful Archdevil known as Mephistopheles, Nessus the Ninth Hell is home to Asmodeus the Prince of Evil and the strongest of all the Archdevils. They say he alone can kill a god or two in combat, and if it was not for his lawful nature the tides of the war would have changed.”

*I was shocked to see him so openly speak of one of these creatures power on par with the gods themselves, I can’t help but admit I waited for a god to right there strike him down for the comments he spoke but it did not happen.* “The Abyss however is utter chaos of a plane with no structure, a land of infinite planes which has come to be much harder to track. There are beings binded to these layers which should strike fear into your very soul such as; The 66th Layer of the Abyss is now the Demon Web home to one you now call Lolth, Yeenoghu inhabits the 120th layer of the Abyss, 212 to 215 is the Court of Orcus, Graz’zt is also a name which should be known and last but certainly not least head the warning of Demogorgon. While these are only but a small piece of the horrors which await you in such a place that is not the point of this story”

*I was taken aback as he spoke the words and looked up to Thokyl who simply remained calm as he smoked his pipe. I swear he almost took enjoyment as I squirmed from these stories.* “You see these new Archdevils and Demon Princes took their fight to a different aspect, they preyed upon the Elder Race’s lust for power corrupting them and stealing them to the lower planes as they would bolster their armies and planned for the coming storm…”

*I looked to Thokyl wishing to hear of what was nothing more than a story whispered upon the ears of scholars and dreams demons and devils attempting to fight across the plane we know, how could he know of these stories...*

An excerpt from the book: "The Codex of Heritage" by Luric Orelwa