Zariel

Lady of the First, Archdevil of Avernus

For more information on all Archdevils, see: Archdevils

Zariel is the Lady of Avernus, an Archduchess dedicated to winning the unending Blood War between devils and demons. Originally, Zariel was a celestial under the command of the legions of Celestia, her name meaning "companion of light". From Celestia, Zariel was tasked with tracking the progress of the Blood War in Avernus, but from continued exposure to the conflict, grew an obsession with the war and a taste for battle. Zariel was impetuous in nature, and couldn't ignore the desire to fight within her, but her requests were consistently blocked by her angelic peers.
Zariel believed that it was the responsibility of the angelic host to defeat evil, and was of the opinion that an assault from the hosts of Celestia could wipe out both sides of the Blood War in one stroke, freeing the multiverse from the fiends who destroyed each other and vast chunks of it in the process. Despite her chastisement for their spectating stance, Zariel was repeatedly forbidden from entering the conflict. Zariel was frustrated by her superiors' refusal to engage in the war, and drew the line when demons slaughtered a village under her protection. Zariel defied her superiors and led the Hellriders, a host of personally trained mortal allies, into Avernus, in the battle that became known as the Ride. Outnumbered by the devils, the army was defeated and the survivors fled in terror and shame. Asmodeus sent a delegation to retrieve her unconscious body from underneath a mountain of the dead, whereupon the Lord of the Nine allowed her to recover and congratulated her. Zariel succumbed to the corrupting nature of Hell and Asmodeus made her an Archdevil and dubbed her his champion.

Divine Domains

The seat of Zariel's power is a massive basalt citadel that spans an area of 5 square miles. Its walls are festooned with the partially burned bodies of those that disappoint the Lady of the First, many still screaming and moaning in dying agony audible from up to 1 mile away.

Physical Description

Identifying Characteristics

Zariel's original form was that of a beautiful celestial with precious skin, gold-feathered wings, and a blindfold covering her eyes. After her descent, she took on a more diabolical appearance; a halo of fire burns atop her head, her once fine skin seems scorched, and her angelic wings, ruined by flame, took a leathery appearance. Her blindfold was abandoned, fully revealing eyes that glow with white-hot rage, and she had lost one of her hands and replaced it with a flail.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Zariel is a warmonger obsessed with battle, someone who lives to fight and judges others on their combat skills and willingness to use them. She prizes zealous fury as much as discipline and training, and leads her troops into battle herself with iron resolve, leaving many a structure in ruin as she carves her war path. However, neither her own battle prowess nor that of her forces can disguise the fact that Zariel is reckless and rash, relying on her troops' berserker rage and her own determination to win her fights.

Vices & Personality flaws

Zariel's pride and wrath has limits, and the burden of her duties weigh on her. Confronting the memories of what she has lost to achieve her desire to fight fills her with sorrow, and she hesitates to destroy reminders of her past. Even as she prides herself as a cosmic martyr, she can still be made to feel pangs of shame for the atrocities she committed to reach where she is. Despite her flaws, her conviction in the overall righteousness of her actions is not invincible, and if properly confronted, it is possible for the small sparks of good within her to emerge once more.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Zariel's disdain for governmental machinations and refusal to make alliances has made her a political pariah among her peers, and her origin is just one more justification for the devils scheming to overthrow her. Each Archdevil would happily depose her if given the chance, and many have made moves to do so in the past. Her return to prominence has set off the paranoia of Dispater, compelling him to retreat deeper within his Iron Tower, and Mephistopheles is wary of her wrath and seeks to gain leverage over her. Asmodeus admires Zariel's passion for warfare and welcomed her into the fold of the Archdevils, the angel-turned-fiend being something of a jewel in his crown. Despite this, it is said she actually desires vengeance against him, and plans to drive him from the Hells.

Social Aptitude

Her behavior has warped to match that of her peers, for she has also become a cruel being that inflicts psychological torment on her enemies and subjects those that displease her to horrible fates. She has also grown distrusting to the point of being taken aback by a heroic act of self-sacrifice, having become the kind of plotting person to set numerous schemes in motion at once and deal in contracts to bind people into servitude. While once a purveyor of blind justice, Zariel allows her emotions to color her decisions, twisting it into rage-fueled vengeance, and she refuses to forgive even decades after being wronged.
Zariel is notorious for her foul temper, her poor emotional control impeding her ability to act rationally and pragmatically, as exemplified by her refusal to play politics. Her approach of charging headfirst into dangerous situations lead by her righteous wrath is the opposite of her carefully calculating predecessor. He was, at heart, a realist, aware that the infinite nature of demonkind left him only capable of a stalemate against their innumerable horde. Zariel, despite her cynicism, is an idealist; she genuinely believes that a mere host of mortals will fare well in Avernus, only for a great number of them to flee from the fear-radiating fiends.
The nature of Hell is to corrupt, and Avernus in particular specializes in the abuse of a flaw that frequently affects angels: hubris. Angels have a sense of infallibility about their actions, and Zariel's anger is only further inflamed by the righteousness with which she perceives it. Asmodeus praises her for the strength of her convictions, but it is her unswerving rage that cemented her downfall. She has become so zealously hell-bent on fighting that she is willing to abandon her principles and sacrifice the very innocent lives she had once sworn to protect in order to destroy the demonic menace.

Divine Traits

General Information

Alternative Name(s)
Archdevil of Avernus
Hell's Warden
Lady of Avernus
Lady of the First

Alignment
Lawful Evil

Pantheon
Lesser Idol - Archdevil

Areas of Concern
Battle, Blood War, Duty, Rage

Favored Weapon
Hammer

Symbol
Winged longsword surrounded by chains

Worshippers
Berserkers, cultists, warriors

Plane
The Nine Hells - Avernus

Pathfinder 1e

Domains
Evil, Law, Strength, War

Subdomains
Blood, Corruption, Devil, Fear, Ferocity, Resolve

Pathfinder 2e

Domains
Confidence, Duty, Might, Zeal

Alternate Domains
None

Divine Ability
Strength or Constitution

Divine Font
Harm

Divine Skill
Intimidation

Cleric Spells
1st: ???
???: ???
???: ???