Zariel
Archduchess of Avernus
When The Day of Fate tore apart the earth it also tore apart the interdimensional barriers. Extraordinarily powerful creatures from worlds with completely different laws than us could suddenly observe and study us. Many of them could even use their innate telepathic abilities to form a mental connection with many people on this new material plane and share a small portion of their own type of magic with them. The people of the surface, still shaken after the events of the Day of Fate, saw this as a divine sign. Several of the beings, known in their planes as either Aerions, Infiles and Deverards respectively, took advantage of this and answered the tiny humans crawling before them. And over the course of millenia religions came and went. Aerions were called gods, Infiles became dreaded as demons and Deverards were spoken of as devils.
One of the most notable Deverards were known as Zariel, also called Archduchess of Avernus (one of many names for the dimension officially known as Hell). A being who loved nothing more than start and encourage war among humanity and get into regular fights with other Deverards. She is feared among many a denicen of hell due to her high position, power and fierceness, and most of her earthly followers are motivated primarily by fear. This meant that she did not have many followers compared to the Aerions or more powerful Deverards such as Asmodeus. Thus she recently adopted a new false identity. Many people on the prime material plane have instead heard whispers and the presence of a never before heard of god: Andarta, Goddess of War.
Under a new name and false status as an Aerion, Zariel gained many followers (or at least a fairly large part of the greatly diminished post - Day of Fate population) preaching the art of war. At least a couple civilisations have fallen due to her influence starting civil wars or forming forces to brave the lethal surface. But they're doing their job, they spread war and conflict as far as they can. And more importantly, they leave traces of her otherworldly magic in their wake...
One of the most notable Deverards were known as Zariel, also called Archduchess of Avernus (one of many names for the dimension officially known as Hell). A being who loved nothing more than start and encourage war among humanity and get into regular fights with other Deverards. She is feared among many a denicen of hell due to her high position, power and fierceness, and most of her earthly followers are motivated primarily by fear. This meant that she did not have many followers compared to the Aerions or more powerful Deverards such as Asmodeus. Thus she recently adopted a new false identity. Many people on the prime material plane have instead heard whispers and the presence of a never before heard of god: Andarta, Goddess of War.
Under a new name and false status as an Aerion, Zariel gained many followers (or at least a fairly large part of the greatly diminished post - Day of Fate population) preaching the art of war. At least a couple civilisations have fallen due to her influence starting civil wars or forming forces to brave the lethal surface. But they're doing their job, they spread war and conflict as far as they can. And more importantly, they leave traces of her otherworldly magic in their wake...
Divine Domains
Whether as Zariel or Andarta she has always been heavily affiliated with war and conflict. Her followers spread this in any way they can and for a myriad of reasons, like directly lead attacks on city factions or just spread rumors in a small group. Her goal with these conflicts isn't to gain power of her own or to destroy a certain enemy, but simply to enjoy the ensuing chaos, bloodshed and conquests. And while Zariel can't join the conflict herself due to the difference in the laws of physics and the arcane between the two dimensions, being behind it is all that matters. And her followers believe her hand will guide them to victory and glory, so both sides are happy.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
When under the guise of Andarta Zariel gave her seal of approval on one particular symbol created in her name by her followers. The symbol is a greatsword with two folded angelic wings on its sides, with a thick chain surrounding them in a full circle. The sword to symbolize her domain of war, the wings to further her illusion of her angelic nature and the chain add a tough and fierce touch to her image. This sumbol shows up on banners, shields, armour, necklaces and many more places where Zariel's faith can be found.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Both the Deverard known as Zariel and the Aerion known as Andarta are known to want chaos and bloodshed in the name of glory and honor on the battlefield. Her followers seek to please her in turn for her guiding hand in battle. However, while this gives her great pleasure to witness this goal is just a means to an end. When an interdimensional being is connected to a person they give them a minuscule portion of their type of magic that they can wield, and when a spell is cast it leaves small traces of the patrons unique magic in its wake. The stronger the spell, the more magic remains. And when enough magic is left on the planet the being can gather it and create an avatar to which they can move their consciousness to, and can thus survive in a world with different universal laws. And since they bring their entire being into this shell made of their own stored magic this shell can become many times more powerful than the original body. In short, Zariel's goal is to make her followers leave enough magic behind them to form a shell for her in their world. Leaving her able to wreak havoc with the power of a true god.
Physical Description
Body Features
Most people believe their gods or devils to be beyond comprehension or not have a physical body at all. However, this is far from the truth. In actuality the Aerions, Infiles and Deverards are as mortal as any humanoid. They are born, they live and they can die, and while they can live for up to hundreds of millennias they still age. Their interdimensional biology and their different laws of physics and arcana just makes them appear divine to our understanding. Zariel is no exception to this. From what we know she looks like a pale elf with a bald head and eyes burning with a bright orange light, and two dark feathery wings sprouting from her back. She is also about 7 times taller than an average human, standing at about 15-16 meters in height.
Identifying Characteristics
First and foremost Zariel, like most interdimensional beings, is several times larger than any person in the prime material plane. Zariel in particular is just under 16 meters tall from head to feet which is a fair bit above average among Deverards. Her skin is also a pale white similar to untransformed Changelings on the material plane, along with burning orange eyes. The most striking feature is her dark red feathered wings. They reach a total wingspan of over 30 meters, and while they constantly looks to be falling apart they never do completely, suggesting a regenerative factor.
Special abilities
As a Deverard, Zariel has extremely powerful psychic and magical abilities. Like all Deverards she can communicate telepathically with any living person in the closest neighboring plane which in this case is the Prime Material Plane. Also like many of the higher ranked Deverards she can split her body and soul into up to 13 pieces, all of which share an equal portion of her abilities and can communicate with different people at once. A third shared ability with her kin is the ability to give anyone she communicates with a fraction of her innate magic, granting them the ability to cast divine magic. This magic can develop and grow, then be taken away back to Zariel. However, as a patron deity of war and conflict she has some unique abilities. She can use her telepathic abilities to plant negative emotions in others, thus increasing tension and creating conflict. Lastly, naturally she can use her magic to cast incredibly powerful spells on her own. These ranges from devastating destructive evocation magic to mentally manipulative illusion and divination spells. Unlike what her followers believe she is not an omniscient and immortal god however. She holds no actual claim over a war dominion, she just possesses several powerful abilities related to it.
Specialized Equipment
The Sword of Zariel is an immensely powerful artifact that only a person chosen by Zariel herself can wield. It was created for Zariel herself by subservient lower Deverards and hold more of her magic abilities than anyone else. Very recently she managed to send it to her chosen champion of the prime material plane, the aasimar leader of Arcshire known as Juliette Harvey, to further Harvey's plans that would also greatly benefit the Archduchess herself. Just wielding the sword makes the leader stronger and more imposing, making them grow a full foot in height and greatly increases both strength and muscularity along with increasing any imposing attribute the wielder might have (ex. a tiefling's horns). The sword also increases their presence and charisma to staggering heights, and gives supernatural abilities such as spellcasting, truesight and photonkinesis. But the most powerful ability the sword can grant is much more dangerous than any other. By absorbing the power within the sword, the user can transform into a massively powerful devil. They grow in size to more than 11 feet tall and gain 4 extra arms along with dark feathered wings reminiscient of Zariel herself. However, traits of Zariel's personality comes along with her power. Upon transforming the user can't transform back, and their lust for battle and violence increases dramatically. After the user transforms the sword loses all its power, but if the user dies it regains it.
Symbol of Andarta, the false identity of Zariel
Divine Classification
Archdevil
Religions
Alignment
Chaotic Evil
Church/Cult
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Archduchess of Avernus, Lord of the First
Age
13 984
Birthplace
Avernus
Children
Gender
Female
Eyes
Burning orange
Hair
None
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale white
Height
15.6 m
Aligned Organization
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