The House of Naelax and Baatezu

The House of Naelax has a history of at least two centu ries of dealing with fiends. Initially, this was simply individual mages within the house summoning lesser and least fiends and using them for petty services. However, it was Ivid's father, Ivenzen, who took a fatal step forward from that minor dabbling.

Ivenzen dealt with both tanar'ri and baatezu as his needs dictated, but after offending a minor tanar'ri Lord he concentrated on dealings with baatezu. This came to the attention of a pit fiend, Zuchanx, who alerted his own master, Baalzephon, to the situation.

Baalzephon, one of the eight greatest baatezu of Nesses, mulled this over for a decade or so. Baalzephon had little direct interest in humanity, but he was increasingly aware that human mages could be powerful, and enslav ing or allying with them might prove useful in the Blood War against the tanar'ri.

The problem, of course, was that baatezu cannot gate to the Prime Material plane, severely restricting their scope for action. However, Baalzephon bided his time and, when Ivenzen's house wizard cast a gate spell for planar travel purposes, Baalzephon expended powerful energies to warp the spell and use it to appear before Ivenzen. Casually dismembering the body of the stunned wizard in his powerful claws, Baalzephon offered a pact to Ivenzen.

Put simply, Baalzephon guided Ivenzen's men to the Cauldron of Night and instructed the priests and wizards how to fashion the malachite throne. The baatezu offered diabolic aid in the form of spinagon and barbazu troops for the House of Naelax. Further, it gave the House of Naelax dark magical artifacts which the overking and his mages hold to this day. (Several are described in the following chapter.)

In return, Baalzephon asked for two things. First, the House of Naelax had to agree to cease all dealings with tanar'ri—except for enslaving them and banishing them. Second, Baalzephon graciously demanded the souls of Ivenzen's heirs and descendants for 888 years—should they rule from the malachite throne.

A grim smile from the baatezu held the promise that Naelax would rule as overkings; else, the baatezu would gain nothing from the pact. Ivenzen, thinking of himself as the next overking, could hardly wait to offer little Prince Ivid up to the towering fiend who stood before him. With the blood hardly dry on the contract, Baalzephon returned to Nessus and waited.

What has happened since cannot be simply explained. Powerful magical resonances have been created by the conjunction of the malachite throne, the gating, the magic of baatezu, the spellcraft of the Naelax overkings and their mages, and the diabolic artifacts Ivenzen was granted. The insanity of the overkings has both contrib uted to, and been reinforced by, the complex magical effects created by these conjunctions and resonances.

Ivid V's current wasting disease is also surely the product of these same complex, fell magical forces. A monster has been created which has passed out of the control either of the Naelax mages and overkings, or even the baatezu themselves.

Baalzephon certainly doesn't wish to see Ivid V die from his disease; Ivid's continued reign gives the fiend access to Oerthly power and resources, and prestige among his fellow diabolic rulers in Nessus. The extrapla nar lore supplied to Baalzephon by the overking's sages and mages has also been very useful in the Blood War.

Yet, even this immensely powerful fiend seems unable to prevent the degeneration of the overking, even with Karoolck, his mage-pawn, virtually in control of the imperial court.