Buy me a coffeeThe Courtiers of Perdition
The Gates of Hell (Dice Freaks) Grimoire of Cosmic Entities Volume One By Eli Atkinson, William Church and Serge W. Desir, Jr.
Original Concept by Serge W. Desir, Jr.
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The Courtiers of Perdition, also known as the “Peers,“Peerage of Perdition,” or “Powers of Hell,” are the various nobles and high ranking officers who are part of the Courts of Hell. Thus, there are a fair number of pit fiends, exceptionally powerful half-fiends, and a sprinkling of non-devilish, diabolical beings among the Courts. On the other hand, there are quite a few extremely powerful devils who are not Courtiers of Perdition.
First and foremost, there are no devils of rank lower than pit fiend within the Courtiers of Perdition. Although powerful gelugons, cornugons, and even barregon serve as bodyguards and attendants to pit fiend generals and Dukes of Hell, these beings are too lowly to achieve any recognition within the Courts. When a gelugon or cornugon achieves some great success that merits a place in the Courts, that being is always promoted to pit fiend status for at least 99 years before an official invitation to join a Court is offered. Still, many Dukes of Hell (but never pit fiend Courtiers) do bring greater devi attendees to Court to reflect their status among their peers. To be selected to stand beside a Duke at Court is both a tremendous honor and a great threat. On the one hand, a cornugon attendee has proven its worth, power, and intellect in order to draw the attention of a Duke of Hell; this becomes a clear indication of quick advancement in the hierarchy. On the other hand, the cornugon then has to worry about embarrassing not only his Duke by failure to adhere to some subtle from of protocol, but embarrassing another Courtier in the midst of a meeting, which may well result in the cornugons immediate reduction in status. Still, most greater devils are eager to attend any high level meetings with Courtiers and, in the vast majority of cases, such devils are too intelligent to risk disclosing classified information, knowing that the hoarding of such knowledge only reaps greater power in the long run, not to mention a longer existence.
Pit fiends who are part of the Courtiers of Perdition are those who serve a Lord of the Nine or a Duke of Hell. These pit fiends are distinguished from those that serve within the Legions of Hell under the Dark Ministry. Although the Dark Ministers are without question the most powerful pit fiends involved with the Blood War, the Dark Ministry is not considered part of the Courtiers of Perdition. Likewise, the Governors like Ariyan and Gazra are not considered Courtiers since they too are part of the Legions of Hell. Governors who are appointed to their positions by the Dark Ministry are, like their Ministers, “commoners” in that they serve the needs of Hell rather than the lofty, specific goals of a Duke or Lord of Hell. Still, there is some overlap with the Dark Ministry, Governors, and few other high-ranking pit fiend generals. It is almost unheard of for Gazra not to be invited to appear at the Court of Belial during important meetings between the Phlegethan Dukes, and the Dark Ministers are always present when the Infernal Court meets in Malsheem.
Most of these pit fiends who are officially part of a Court of Perdition served within the Legions of Hell at one point or another and distinguished themselves in their roles. Upon being invited into the Courts of Perdition, a pit fiend is typically granted some manner of title, baron or earl being the most common. They are now part of the lowest rung of diabolical nobility. As a whole, pit fiends that join the Courtiers of Perdition are part of some Infernal Knightly Order. The roles of pit fiends within the Courts of Perdition are varied, but – with the exception of those that serve within the Court of Bael – there is very little in the way of martial activity. For example, the pit fiends that serve the Court of Dis tend to war against those who value ethics, hard work, and integrity in business, while those that serve the will of Mammon are dedicated to battling against the acts of financial charity and generosity. Thus, the wars fought by pit fiend Courtiers are more esoteric and cerebral in nature than those fought in the Blood War and are meant to increase not only the number of souls damned to eternal torment in Hell, but to ensure that the Realms Above and the Realities of Chaos lose any potential prizes among mortals.
All Dukes of Hell are part of the Courtiers of Perdition. Each Duke (of which there are believed to be 81, or 9 for each Perdition) maintains his, her, or its own responsibilities within a given Court and most often maintain their own smaller courts in their demesnes. The Dukes of Hell all represent some fundamental aspect related to the overarching principle governing the Perdition they serve. Thus, while all Dukes of Avernus are warlords after a fashion, Abigor represents misplaced honor, a love for violence, and strategic genius while Malphas represents the intellectual pursuits related to combat success and superiority. Of course, the Dukes all vie for greater authority within a given Court and all Courts boast one or sometimes two Dukes who clearly outshine the others.
The Dukes are simultaneously more accessible than the Lords of the Nine and more shadowy. Mortals are very familiar with the Lords of the Nine as these beings have, through no desire of their own, become embedded in mortal consciousness across Creation. Many powerful mortals have tried to summon the Lords to accomplish some service, a ploy virtually impossible to achieve for any but the most powerful mortal. One reason for this is because if one attempts to summon a Lord (or, in some cases, an arch-devil) to the material plane, he will end up summoning a Duke of Hell that best fits the goals/needs/ requests of the summoner. Due to the fact that it takes so long to successfully casting a summoning spell, a Duke typically knows well in advance that such a request is coming and can usually find the means to either make itself available at the probable time of successful summons, or can send a pit fiend or some lower ranking devil to meet with the would-be summoner prior to the end of the summons. Thus, the Duke of Hell is significantly less well known than a Lord because they are so infrequently called to the material plane successfully. On the other hand, it is often a Duke of Hell that orchestrates and fulfils contracts signed by mortals and other beings, although in most cases this is done behind the scenes.
Scattered in status among the pit fiend nobles and the Dukes of Hell (and sometimes Grand Dukes of Hell) are the various half-fiends and powerful non-diabolical beings who have impressed the Lords of the Nine. Half-fiends invited to join the Courts of Perdition are sometimes the offspring of a Duke or even Lord, but a fair number are the children of erinyes, fallen angels, gelugons, or pit fiends who exhibited a significant degree of pride and success during their time in the Prime. Due to their tremendous sense of power and overweening arrogance, these half-fiends (or, more rarely, nephilim) have overcome the hatred and distrust the devils typically show them upon their arrival to Hell; indeed, quite a few have to go through quite a bit to prove their worth and typically have to do three times as much as another devil of similar standing. But, once a half-fiend proves herself (and this really depends on the Duke or Lord in question), the especially powerful ones are invited to join the Courts of Perdition. Most are ranked with pit fiends, but the fact that two -Fierana, Grand Duchess of Phlegethon (Phlegethos) and Lady of the Fourth, and Lixer, Infernal Prince and Heir to the Serpent’s Throne – have achieved virtual Lord status reveals that there is always room for a truly despicable and powerful half-fiend at all levels of Hell save royalty itself.
Likewise, beings like illithids, powerful undead, and dragons are found among the Courts of Perdition. These beings, often more powerful than pit fiends, typically compete with Dukes in every way save title, and tend to directly serve a Lord of the Nine. Like half-fiend Courtiers, such creatures have to prove their value to Hell and are often the targets of elaborate schemes to at least ruin their reputations if not kill them. It is interesting to note that most diabolical, non-diabolical creatures among the Courts tend to serve “devils true” rather than the Fallen. It seems that the Fallen, despite their obvious evil, still perceive beings like blue dragons and illithids as dangerous, untrustworthy scum.
While all Dukes of Hell are part of the Courtiers of Perdition, most arch-devils are not. Due to some odd rationale, most Arch-Devils are exiles from Hell. A fair number of arch-devils were former Lords themselves and are, as a result, threats to the current Hierarchy of Hell. Quite a few exiled arch-devils are among the Fallen. Indeed, there have been times when a Duke of Hell was promoted to arch-devil status and promptly exiled from Hell with no apparent reason. Still, there are arch-devils within the Courts and many of these beings outrank the Dukes of Hell not only in sheer power, but in official title as well. Most such arch-devils are given the title Grand Duke of Hell and all directly serve a Lord of the Nine.
The Lords of the Nine are the pinnacle of the Courtiers of Perdition. Indeed, they actually create another rank within the Courtiers known as the Procession of Perdition. The Procession of Perdition includes the Lords of the Nine and the Heirs of Hell (Glasya and Lixer), and there are rumours that there are two additional “nameless” members of the Procession, bringing the number to 13. Asmodeus does not count among the Pro-cession as he is the only member of Hell’s royalty (neither Glasya nor Lixer are accorded this recognition). The Lords of the Nine, however, clearly outstrip the Heirs of Hell in virtually every way, including rank; however, the Lords are cautious when dealing with the Heirs of Hell as to offend or threaten one of them could mean fierce and final retaliation from The Overlord for offense rather than any real threat to his station. The Lords of the Nine dictate the nature of the Courts of Perdition as well as their own inner circles. The Lords jealously guard their stations, knowing full well that they can be replaced by another if they are not cautious.
The Lords hate each other, but there are alliances within this august body. Currently, there are three groups among the Lords. There is what scholars refer to as the “classic Lords,” or those who have always been Lords and are “Devils True;” Mephistopheles and Dispater are the only two remaining among this group and, if devils can count on each other, these two are probably the closest knit pair among the Lords. The second group consists of the Fallen and they are actively opposed to the “classic Lords;” Beelzebub and Belial are the two remaining members of this group and, while not as closely allied as Mephistopheles and Dispater, they are willing to send aid to each other. The final group is the “unallied.” The “unallied” Lords are those who are either new to the role or are distrusted/hated by their peers. Bael, Mammon, Leviathan, and Lilith are the “unallied.”
Many scholars believe that eventually both Bael and Lilith will join with the “classic Lords.” Bael, although risen from pit fiend rank and having stolen Lordship from another, is a true devil; furthermore, he revealed a great deal of cleverness and trickery in his success at the expense of a Fallen. Lilith, having been an original Lord of the Nine, is currently reorganising Malbolge to her liking; once the reorganization is complete, she is certain to reenter Infernal politics with full fervor. In the past, she was at enmity with Mephistopheles and Dispater, but since she has to choose between true devils and fallen angels, she is almost certain to select former enemies over charlatans.
Mammon and Leviathan are almost guaranteed to never take up with any group. Mammon, a former ally to Mephistopheles and Dispater, brazenly betrayed them both during the Dies Irae, accused them of turning against Asmodeus, and has stolen a great deal of wealth from both. Neither trusts him and both are trying to determine the best way to avenge themselves against him. Conversely, Mammon hates the Fallen and wants nothing to do with them unless material wealth is involved. Leviathan, having always been at enmity with Mephistopheles and Dispater, is likewise hated and distrusted by the other Lords. Leviathan has sworn to destroy all of them for their roles in his imprisonment; furthermore, he has alarmed his peers – including Mephistopheles – with his vocal goal to overthrow Asmodeus. This alone has isolated him more than anything else.