Levistus, The Lord of the Fifth, The Rogue Archdevil, is the imprisoned devil prince who rules
Stygia, fifth layer of
The Nine Hells. Buried alive by
Asmodeus within an impervious an enormous iceberg, Levistus still rules his realm psychically through influence and avatars.
Levistus' true form is almost impossible to discern from outside his vast icy prison. His frozen tomb is a mountain of ice almost half a mile across, and he is visible only as a faint, dark shadow buried deep within. While his true appearance is not widely known, one artistic depiction of Levistus shows him with strong eyebrows, a sharp goatee, spiked hair and sharp, pointed ears.
When he projects an avatar to mortals, Levistus appears as a darkly handsome human man, always adorned with the finest of clothing. His clothing is often dripping wet. His eyes are all black; this, and his pointed teeth, are the only clues to most onlookers that he is not human. He is six feet tall, with very pale skin, dark hair, and a goatee beard. He wields a glistening cold iron rapier and main gauche.
Levistus has rivals within Stygia, primarily his archnemesis Geryon. The two have been battling over Stygia for centuries, with Levistus's imprisonment coming just after Geryon retook the title. Geryon did not hold the title long before he displeased Asmodeus, however, and control of Stygia was inexplicably returned to Levistus despite his imprisonment. With Levistus immobile and Geryon incapable of savaging him, the two are forced to battle indirectly for control. In addition, Levistus also has to deal with the similarly brutal
Sekolah, the shark deity of the sahuagin, and the conversely deceptive Set, both of which desire control over his domain.
Crime and Punishment
Many rumors abound regarding Levistus’ crime that resulted in his imprisonment. As the story goes, Asmodeus's consort, Bensozia, was travelling throughout Stygia inspecting the layer. Levistus ambushed her, although exactly how and why is disputed. Some say he nonviolently approached while others reported that he had first slain all her pit fiend bodyguards with the exception of one escapee, Asmodeus's constable
Martinet. Then, Levistus either offered to make her his queen if she helped him oust her husband, confident she would know if he had a weakness, or simply tried to ravish her. When Bensozia refused him, Levistus angrily murdered her and, if in this version of the telling, her pit fiend guards were still alive by that point, them as well.
Though that version of the tale is certainly told throughout the Nine Hells another suggests it is simply propaganda made to cover up the truth. Bensozia was believed to have hated Asmodeus, and if she refused such an offer it would have been for a reason other than loyalty. Instead, the alternative telling describes the two as co-conspirators, each selfishly using the other as both a lover and as a means to undermine Asmodeus. However, the arrangement was jeopardized when
Glasya became smitten with Levistus, and seeing an opportunity to further turn Asmodeus's household against him, began a secret tryst with Asmodeus's daughter as well.
Eventually, after one of her regular disputes with her father, Glasya fled to Levistus's arms only to find Bensozia already occupying them, turning her already hateful feelings towards her mother into raw, murderous rage. Glasya then killed her mother in a fit of jealous passion. Martinet, charged with upholding Asmodeus's regime, framed Levistus for the murder so Asmodeus could save face and slaughtered the pit fiends in order to leave no potential witnesses.
If the alternative story is to be believed, rather than a bout of fiery fury for his murdered consort, Asmodeus's choice to imprison Levistus was a cold, rational move, done more for the sake of precedent than personal satisfaction. Glasya's hatred for Levistus would also be fundamentally different, not the righteous fury of a grief-stricken daughter but the heartbroken anger of a betrayed partner. She is said to be obsessively focused on Levistus, although some say her anger towards him is a mask for her true feelings.
Rumors and Misinformation
Many devils feel that Levistus’s punishment is too light. Asmodeus's seeming indifference in regard to Levistus's actions, is confusing to infernal nobles throughout the Hells. Regardless of what he actually did, he attempted to seduce and played a part in the death of Bensozia, and yet he was merely imprisoned rather than destroyed and was, in fact, returned to power in the place of the loyal Geryon. A theory for the odd situation has arisen, positing that Levistus was actually just a convenient pawn.
When Asmodeus displaced Geryon, it was rumored that the energy taken from him, the magical and metaphysical power that comes with the title of Archduke, was not given to the imprisoned Levistus despite the transfer of title, but was saved for the ascension of Glasya and Levistus's treasonous behavior was tolerated because it distracted from this plot. Levistus has come to accept this theory but hates both of its implications, not only that he had been utterly outmaneuvered and his plans were used as a smokescreen for a grander scheme, but that he would have to temper his behavior in the future since his power had been so utterly diminished. Even his current war against Geryon is thought to be another test by sages, designed either to force the two archdevils to overcome their fatal flaws or failing that, create the circumstances for a more competent lord to rise in the aftermath.
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