The Ruins of Pelevran

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The_Hidden_Lord

The Tenth Lord
Stalking ancient corridors, long since fallen into disuse, the latest in a long line of predecessor that stalked these same halls. An ancient city, once grand and magnificient in its hey-day, now a crumbling edifice to a time long past. Cleansed by dragon fire nearly 1,200 years past, this place once served as a prison for the Hidden Lord.

And so he moved through the winding complex as a multitude had done before him. The High Priest of the Hidden Lord, the Eyes of the Lord Who Watches, Tillaris Darkenslade, the Arch-Devil of Gargauth. Swathed in crimson velvet robes with a tabard of the deepest purple, the Vestaments of Betrayal. A demonic visage concealing his face, the Mask of Deception. A copy of the Gargain, Gargauth's Holy Book, held reverently in his hands, a Tome of Lies. A crimson hued long sword sheathed on his hip, Maleficience.

This middle-aged man comes out of the winding tunnels of the complex into a enormous cavern, the very cavern that contained the Devil God Gargauth those millenia ago. Here he ended his ritualistic walk, standing poised above a multitude of beings seeking power, revenge, wealth, love, and for some only simple acceptance, these beings who believe that no action is too heinous as long as it benefits them. These depraved, heartless mortals that murder women and children, betray friends and family, lie to lovers and benefactors, and deceive any who would deal with them. These Malefactors await this day, as they do every year, the night of the Unveiling. A holiday set aside to await the heralding of the days ahead, when the Hidden Lord rules all the lands under his lords of Havok.

And so with great pomp the High Priest opens the Gargain and speaks to the captivated audience. *Out of the flames of death, out of the storms of chaos, out of the minds of the mad, and out of the black of the heart, they shall come. To send the world spiralling into the dawn of despair, the era that will be known as the Lost, they will lead. During my return they'll accompany the One and the All from out of the void of the beyond, into the Prime we shall come, bearing the broken horn of corruption to lead the light into the shadows. The flames of the riteous shall be quenched in the sweat of the repressed, the winds of justice shall be frozen in the icy blackness of the heartless, the minds of the genius shall be shattered by the babblings of the insane, and the light of the pious shall be doused in the shadows of the past. They shall come to lead my Church into it's greatest era. Let ye who behold them quiver at their feet, for the four lords shall rule under my eye with the fist of iron. As it was written by the Hidden Lord so it will come to pass.*

*All Hail the Lord Who Watches* intones the malefactors gathered below. And then the oath of fealty. The writ of Gargauth.

*Thou shall Obey the Hidden Lord,
Thou shall not worship false gods,
Thou shall murder for personal gain,
Thou shall not harbor the foe of the Hidden Lord,
Thou shall reap the life of the non-believing,
Thou shall follow the preachings of the red cloth,
Thou shall betray thy fellow man,
Thou shall deceive all those about thee,
Thou shall not intervene in the Hidden Lord's dealings.*


As the mantra dies down, all offering up a part of themselves in fealty to the Hidden Lord in exchange for power to trample those that would oppose them, Tillaris closes the Gargain.
 
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As he now ascends the winding tunnels of that ancient edifice of decay, Tillaris muses over the state of affairs of his faith. They'd been falling off in number, many seeking the gods of Chaos over those of evil, both giving them what they desire, though the fickle gods of Chaos were more likely to take away what they offered on a whim, these short lived mortals cared not. Their base desires fullfiled, their enemies laid low, most grandiose dreams accomplished. Yes, his faith was definitely waning and as the High Priest of the Hidden Lord it was on his shoulders that the great task of reviving his faith rested.

When he finally arrived in his modest chambers, speaking the words of the Infernal that would bypass his wards and glyphs that protected his chambers. Upon being secured behind those same wards and glyphs Tillaris relaxed, the trek through those windings tunnels were made very treacherous if one of the other Malefactors believed it was his time to be the new High Priest. Tillaris stepped over to a onyx podium, and her he rested the tome of the Hidden Lord, the Gargain. Next he unclasped Maleficience, resting the mighty long sword again in its reverent place in a warded chest. Next he removed the Mask of Deception, placing it also in the trunk. As he next moved to remove his tabard, an unexpected event happened. The Mask of Deception arose from the trunk of its own violation, floating to be even with Tillaris's own face. Tillaris froze, watching the mask as it rose and bobbed in the air, held aloft by powers unknown and for what purpose, Tillaris could not guess. Then slowly the mask turned, its empty eye sockets seeming to gaze at the podium upon which the Gargain rested. Tillaris followed this gaze and now saw that the Gargain lay open. *It was closed when I sat it down* he thought. With that thought Tillaris covered the few feet between him and now open Gargain and read the entry it had turned to.

Astaroth's Tale


Once an Angelic Watcher of Celestia, Astaroth was cast from his position by those of Celestia for over stepping his bounds. His fall from grace began when he had to lay witness and only watch the sufferings of man and beast alike. Unable to aid them directly and only watch and record their actions, Astaroth became dismayed and disenchated with the powers that be in Celestia and broke his oath to only watch when he gifted mortals with such techniques as metalworking and alchemy.

Little is known of Astaroth before his fall, save that he favored constant interference and assistance when it came to mortals, rather than leaving them to develop on their own. According to ancient writings, Astaroth himself maintains that this was why he fell, cast from Heaven for the "crime" of aiding the mortal races in their development of civilization. Most theologians, however, remain convinced that the angel was exiled for greater crimes. Legends range from an attempt to usurp the position of some heavenly god, to an effort to raise an entire mortal race to celestial status, to an attempt to turn all mortals away from worship of the gods so that he might be free to influence them as he saw fit. Astaroth admitted to no such defiance, however, and swore to the day of his disappearance that his fall was unjust.

For centuries Astaroth roamed the Planes, an Outcast in Heaven, yet because he never accepted damnation he found no allies among the fiends of the Abyss. Eventually he settled among mortals, watching over them as guardian and mentor. Slowly though he became obsessive with protecting the mortals under his rule by restricting their day-to-day activities to keep them safe. Eventually the populace rose up and cast off Astaroth's dictator-like rule.

Disillusioned and dismayed Astaroth resumed his wandering and watching of the planes, making occasional appearances among the mortals but always being turned away from when his words became too demanding.


- The Gargain, The Word of the Hidden Lord
 
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After finishing the page Tillaris muled over why he was meant to read that. He was sure he had read that chapter before...a mention of one of Gargauth's foes that was meant to be destroyed or that was his interpretation, though he knows that there have been many different ones over the years of the Gargain's existance, since it was first penned by the Hidden Lord himself.

Cryptic messages are reveled to those faithful to the Lord Who Watches dogma. But why this page, and why now. What was the mask, that relic of time past, trying to tell him. As he mused over these meanings the Mask of Deception floated to his side, near the opened Gargain. He shifted in front of his face, the metal straps folding themselves neatly around his head and again Tillaris looked at the page.

Astaroth's True Tale


Astaroth was cast from the realm of Celestia by those Angels above his station, not for overstepping his bounds as a watcher but for aiding the Tanari'ri of the Abyss in the Blood War. His ability to infiltrate the legions of Baator greatly aided the chaotic Demons in the Blood War.

With his fall from Celestia Astaroth was able to devout more of his time to infiltrating the ranks of Baator. He arose through the ranks after centuries of subterfuge, eventually becoming a Treasurer of Hell. Eventually his guise was seen through by an agent of Asmodeus, Gargauth. With his exposure complete Astaroth fled back to the Abyss to hide from the might of Asmodeus and even began to whisper to the mortals once more, seeking followers to gain true divinity to further ensure his protection from Asmodeus. Though this wasn't enough as Gargauth, under Asmodeus' command, tracked him down and destroyed him.

Because of a pact that Astaroth had made with Ahaz, a demon prince of the Abyss, his body was reborn in the Wells of Darkness, but his form could not be completed as Gargauth had cursed his body to burn with the flames of Baator. And so in constant pain, his body being consumed by the flames and healed by the power of the Abyss, Astaroth's resurrection was not possible.

Gargauth stole his divinity, taking the portfolio of Deceit from the fallen angel and even traveled the land in his guise on occasion.


- The Gargain, The Word of Gargauth
 
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