Ahriman

“*I Am a Very Sweet and Pretty Boy/Sometimes Girl, merely possessed of a whimsical Nature.*”
—Ahriman, describing himself

**Ahriman** is the god of the Sheolfolk introduced in Asphodel. He acts as evil incarnate and the fully realized form of all of the Seven Vices. The Sheolfolk were taught to make blood sacrifices to Ahriman to please him and earn his blessings: his followers could gain greater power and favor by committing crimes and atrocities.

Like the bastard he is, Ahriman was incredibly fickle in his treatment of his followers. He would promise power, he was capable of giving mighty gifts, but just as swiftly he would take it away or crush the progress a follower had made. The only certain quality of Ahriman was his duplicity.

## Personality

Ahriman is a destructive force, first and foremost. His greatest weapon and highest pleasure is deceit: he revels in making cutthroat deals, backstabbing those that would agree to parley with him. Just like he would gladly slaughter the Elysians and Homini, so too were the Sheolfolk not spared from his wrath were he in a contemptible mood.

Most things he did purely for the amusement of it. There was no figure he encountered that was safe from his mischief or cruelty, should it please him to do so. He was not a leader-like figure except for when an interesting scheme caught his attention. Though the likelihood of rejection was high, he was always open to suggestions so long as they were put in an intelligent or compelling manner. (The presenter would likely still be ignored or punished, however.)

Ahriman was well aware that he was the most powerful being in the universe--barring a single contender--and he capitalized on it whenever possible. Like Elodi, he never led the Vice sects and he did not pick his Generals. Those that rose to the position did not automatically receive respect: their personal qualities were often overlooked in favor of lumping them all together under a single name, for example.  (Ex. All Generals of Anarchy are called Leviathan, all Generals of Lust are called Asmodeus.)

Occasionally he would take to making children, but without promise of their survival. If he acted as the sire, the unlucky mother was killed soon after they gave birth; it was very rare for a woman to survive the experience.  In other cases, Ahriman would bear the child himself and give birth whenever it pleased him.  Men were sometimes allowed to pass death at his hands, but not often.  The resulting children could be crippled, disabled, cursed, harassed, or otherwise harmed following their birth, and yet with enough grit and spirit, they could convince their hellish parent to let them live unharmed.  He appears incapable of love, never mind remorse.

## Gender

Though Ahriman was introduced with he/him pronouns by Tor, Ahriman himself is fluid; tending to gender male, but with some strong traditionally feminine affectations: male-ish, if you will.

## Promise of Reward

Knowing Ahriman's destructive tendencies, one begins to wonder what appeal Ahriman has ever held.

* First, in his lawlessness. Laws were made by the foolish to fail. There was no deed too lowly to be barred. No punishments were administered, barring that born of ire. Under Ahriman's rule, there were no codes of honor, no constitutes, no principles. Sheol was a free-for-all for all to take a piece of, the limits of which were decided only by the weakness of one's whims. Duty was a series of unnecessary shackles. Though you could die at any time, your life was completely and utterly yours to screw up as you would.
* Second, in his unflinching rage. For those who could match it or felt it too, he sanctioned their murderous acts, their revenge, their evil deeds done in anger. Hatred was not a thing to hold back. Rather, he encouraged it. No ill was beyond retribution: destroy those that had harmed you. Revenge was the name of the game, engage in it. There was to be no hesitation in the destruction of others. In their desolation, one felt alive.
* Third, in his seduction. Who was quite as clever, as tantalizing, as captivating? Elodi, for all his supposed goodness, had not nearly the pull. His attention was a blessing, any interest he showed in a follower was like rain on parched sand. No one could be so interesting and entertaining as Ahriman. There was no other worth attending to. He alone had the power, the blessings, the curses necessary to make a life worth living. In his breath was meaning and insight. To see him once was to want him again.
* Fourth, in his hubris. Regardless of what decisions he made, in what he had done, who he had harmed, what promises he had broken, what atrocities he had committed, Ahriman never doubted himself. He was impenitent, above apologies or rue. In this way, he was above all slander or hatred. What would he care if you loathed him? It was a decoration to his atrocities, an offering to his true power, and all those who opposed him were ants beneath him. Narcissism was his fine chain-mail coat: nothing could get through to him.
* Fifth, in his ravenousness. There was not a thing that he was beyond desiring. His tastes were insatiable. He was a force to be reckoned with, one that binged and consumed and absorbed everything in his path. In this likeness he was a great beast, unconquerable, undying, corrupting, and ever seeking. In his passionate avarice, admirers who wished to have as much as he flocked to his banner.
* Sixth, in his megalomania. To the conquerors, the greedy, the disgruntled, and the resentful, he was a point to fall behind in pursuit of all goals. Following the gesture of his finger and the plans from his mouth, one could take all that they had ever wanted. Enemies would tremble with fear, civilians at the mercy of all those who bent their mind to his and did his bidding. Such massive power was readily distributed to those who would use it with fierce intent.
* Seventh, in his overwhelming wretchedness. All those who drew near to Ahriman could sense the mockery, the malice, the anguish, the animosity, the torturous loathing, and deceit radiating from him. This power was enough to shake the earth and rattle bones. It was enough to bring visions, create ecstasy, and free one from delusions of life and pleasure. In Ahriman there was understanding: of ending, of death, of destruction, of misery. It was agony; it was enlightenment. There could be no doubts of the future, the present, and the past when with Ahriman. All was hell, and all were damned.  In him, one could be assured of reality just as easily as they learned to disconnect from it.

## Tools Given to Followers

Ahriman's standard gift came with a price tag, even the official ones. And while Ahriman's not exactly Santa Claus, but he could probably be convinced to pop out gifts if you had a good enough argument for it -- not that those gifts could be trusted, of course.

* The General Weapons. One for each Vice, and no copies -- Generals would have to fight each other for the right to use it. The Weapon responded to each General equally but came with a catch that gave the weapon great power with great cost or inhibition.

## Dwelling Place

When not causing mischief elsewhere, Ahriman had a grisly throne room deep in Sheol.

## Confirmed Children

* Behemoth
* Beelzebub

## Trivia

* Ahriman delighted in musical theatre and often required his Generals to attend productions of his invention, usually with a cast played entirely by Ahriman.