Blood War
The Blood War was an ancient conflict that raged between the fiends of the Lower planes. The two main sides of the war were the demons, inhabitants of the evil plane of chaos of The Abyss, and devils, representing the equally evil but lawful realm of the Nine Hells. Neutral evil yugoloths played both sides against one another. The Blood War had raged on since the Age Before Ages, a dark time when the Prime Material Plane had not fully developed. The conflict was massive, spanning entire planes of reality, and hosting an almost infinite number of fiends.
“When, in the course of events both divine and material, a chance develops on the face of reality, all beings must arise and take notice. The Blood War is such a chance, its pustules rising across the Lower Planes.”
— Excerpt from The Blood War: An Essay.
The Conflict
Prelude
The cause of the Blood War was unknown, but most believed it to be a remnant of the great war of Law against Chaos waged by the Wind Dukes of Aaqa against the forces of the Queen of Chaos. The yugoloths liked to entertain the notion that the War was their own personal experiment into the nature of evil, one which they created and would ultimately end on their own terms. Of course the other fiends had their own notions about the war, colored by their particular alignments and racial propaganda. Some demons and devils seemed to believe that their respective races could actually gain control over the other. However, the most powerful archdukes of the Hells and the most cunning princes of The Abyss paid the Blood War little concern, and if entities as ancient and formidable as them seemed unconcerned, then the cause would most likely be a fruitless one. Some philosophers speculated the Sigil's Lady of Pain had something to do with the Blood War, but what connection she actually had was not clear. Many lesser fiends actually embraced the War, for it staved away the cosmic boredom of being ageless. A few races survived on the carnage the Blood War produced; the armanites, centaur-like tanar'ri, must constantly battle with other creatures, for otherwise they would turn on one another; the molydei were another race of demons who prowled the Abyss, searching for deserters or Rogue demons, whom they press-ganged into fighting. Certain creatures were bred by other fiends exclusively for the Blood War, including the Nessian warhounds and the milvorn. Even the yugoloths were given purpose by the Blood War; forever shifting from one side to the other, they as a race gained much of their wealth and power from the spoils of war and the high price of their services, though some (including the yugoloths themselves) believed this to be simply a facade over older and darker motivations.[citation needed] Some sages dictated that the Blood War was a simple offshoot of the primordial wars between law and chaos. The lawful good-aligned Celestial archons and chaotic good aligned eladrins only marginally participated in the conflict, mostly ensuring that the battle remained confined to the lower planes. The demons and devils (in keeping with their sadistic and violent natures) simply would not cease their fight, even after the rest of the multiverse had grown more tolerant.
Deployment
The greatest powers of the Nine Hells and The Abyss did not take an active role in the Blood War. The sole exception was whomever served as the Lord of Avernus in the Hells.
The mightiest demon princes, such as Graz'zt, Orcus, and Demogorgon, were constantly at war with each other within the Abyss, and at times had little concern for the Nine Hells.
Baatezu
The Dark Eight were a coven of Pit Fiend generals who resided in the Ninth Layer of Hell, Nessus. They plotted and strategized the movements of Hell's armies. They had string ties to Bel, the one-time Lord of Avernus. Their relationship kept the relatively weak Bel safe from the other archdukes of Hell. He remained Lord of the First until he in turn was ousted by Zariel, reduced to serving as her lieutenant. Zariel herself was conscripted to the Blood War after being brought before Asmodeus. As a solar of Mount Celestia, Zariel ignored the orders of her superiors and led a group of mortal warriors into Avernus to join the Blood War. Her forces crumbled when faced with the horrors of the Hells, and Zariel was captured and sent to Nessus. Asmodeus was so impressed with her zeal for warfare, he offered her the legions of Hell to command against the endless hordes of demonic invaders. Duke Bael served as a general of Memnon in the Blood War, winning many victories and exaltation for himself. Each layer of the Nine Hells, save for Nessus, was forced to muster its own legion to fight for their cause in the Blood War.Tanar'ri
Baltazo, a grotesque minor Demon lord, was also a mighty general in the Blood War, but had since retired to the Plain of Infinite Portals. Eltab, was one demon lord that won many battles―and garnered much glory for himself―in the Blood War. The Demon Queen Lolth had some unknown involvement in the Blood War, employing spies on the plane of Avernus.Other Combatants
The ultroloth Mydianchlarus led denizens of the Blood Right in some of the most horrific battles of the Blood War, but was eventually deposed by one of his lieutenants.Battlefield
The main site of the majority of conflicts pertaining the Blood War was Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. Demonic forces sailed the River Styx into the layer and were repelled by diabolic legions that brought reinforcements from the lower layers of the Hells. The conflict, however, often did not remain confined to Avernus, as destructive skirmishes emerged anywhere in the multiverse where demons and devils could access.
Another important battlefield of the Blood War was Oinos, the first layer of Hades. Battles occasionally leaked to the deeper layers of Niflheim and Pluton.
The Blood Rift, an endless river of blood that wound through the planes, passed through both Avernus and various planes of The Abyss, such as the Barrens of Doom and Despair. This unique formation granted yet another passageway for demons into the first layer of the Nine Hells. Conversely, it also allowed battles between the fiends to spill out across the Barrens.
In the demonic front, Pazunia was one of the primary battlegrounds. Devils often attempted to conquer the first layer of the Abyss in the hope of controlling the entire plane.
At least on one occasion, the Blood War extended into the upper planes, spilling into The Beastlands by means of an open portal.
The Engagement
Despite millennia after millennia of constant strife, no side had been able to gain even a definitive, permanent advantage over the other. Despite their vast differences, the tanar'ri and the baatezu were surprisingly balanced combatants. The chaotic denizens of The Abyss, while far more numerous than the devils, were, true to their alignment, constantly warring amongst themselves. They could contest the might of the Nine Hells only through sheer individual power, and their seemingly limitless, if unorganized and uncoordinated supply of warriors. The baatezu, on the other hand, deployed smaller numbers onto the field, but their warriors were regimented, well-trained and well-disciplined, all the while making incredible use of their generals' ruthless strategies. This violent balance could have kept the Blood War fueled for an indefinite period of time.
One thing, however, was certain: had one side been able to eliminate all opposition, and thus gain control over the entirety of the Lower Planes, the multiverse as a whole would have been in great danger. With no enemies left in the Lower Planes, the fiendish rulers could then have turned their attentions towards other worlds and planes, and it was likely that no force could hope to stop them. Even The Celestial beings of the Upper Planes, formidable as they were, could face destruction at the hands of the tanar'ri or the baatezu, weighed down by their alignments demand by the needs of good and justice—the fiends, having no such compunctions or scruples, could easily have used the celestials' morality against them. In the past, agents of the heavenly races had even planted powerful weapons or artifacts among the ranks of the demons or the devils. This appeared to be a reliable indicator that even the beings of the Upper Planes did not want the war to end.
Outcome
The Blood War left the planes that served as its battlegrounds permanently scarred, warped by the endless warfare that was raged across their landscapes. Over millennia, the paradise of Avernus of transformed into a deformed wasteland, where fiery stones rained from the skies. The Iron Wastes in The Abyss were scattered with ruined outposts that dotted the surrounding desolation. The blasted battlefields led to the spawning of horrific viper trees, where alluring fauna once flourished. The River Styx remained littered with scrap metal, debris, and other wastes of warfare.
Some academics of interplanar affairs believe the Blood War was actually the most preferable outcome, to one of the three that could arise from the conflict between devils and demons. Their constant warring placed the Lower Planes in a twisted form of equilibrium, a Balance that―according to some―had to be maintained at all costs. For if one side of the Blood War were to emerge victorious, surely that victor would become a threat to other planes of the multiverse.
Historical Significance
“There are many theories about why it is called the Blood War, but I believe it is because the branches of the River Styx act like the blood vessels that circulate the conflict throughout the Lower Planes.”There was a prophecy that said that the Blood War would end when the Crawling City, a city on the plane of Gehenna that was home to millions of yugoloths, directly entered the Blood War. However, once Asmodeus regained his divinity by absorbing the divine power of Azuth, he professedly ended the Blood War by pushing The Abyss to the bottom of the Elemental Chaos in the World Axis cosmology. Thus, for the inhabitants of Realmspace, the seemingly eternal Blood War finally came to an end at the hands of the deified archdevil Asmodeous, with the devils thus victorious in a manner of speaking. However, this apparent victory was regarded across the multiverse as no more than an uneasy truce. Demons, scattered and consumed by infighting, could not muster the strength to resume the conflict, whereas devils kept themselves busy with strengthening their own realms, aware that an assault on The Abyss could be the pretext to unify the demon lords against them. In fact, observers across the multiverse reported that the conflict continued elsewhere, as both forces were forever kept in check and balanced despite temporary advances or apparent victories from either side.
— Mordenkainen
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