Zariel
Archduchess Zariel
Once a mighty angel charged with watching the tides of the Blood War, Zariel succumbed to the corrupting influence of the Nine Hells and fell from grace. Asmodeus admired Zariel’s passion for war and offered her rulership of Avernus. She accepted his offer and was transformed by Asmodeus into an archdevil.
To replenish her legions, Zariel needs the souls of mortals to create lemures, which she can then promote to higher forms of devils. Only by tempting mortals with power on the Material Plane and striking bargains with them can she bind them to her in the afterlife. (https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/archduke-zariel-of-avernus)
An archduchess dedicated to winning the unending Blood War between devils and demons.
Personality- Zariel was a warmonger obsessed with battle, someone who lived to fight and judged others on their combat skills and willingness to use them. She prized zealous fury as much as discipline and training, and led her troops into battle herself with iron resolve, leaving many a structure in ruin as she carved her war path. However, neither her own battle prowess nor that of her forces could disguise the fact that Zariel was reckless and rash, relying on her troops' berserker rage and her own determination to win her fights.
Her behaviour had warped to match that of her peers, for she had also become a cruel being that inflicted psychological torment on her enemies and subjected those that displeased her to horrible fates. She had 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 had allowed her emotions to colour her decisions, twisting it into rage-fuelled vengeance, and she refused to forgive even decades after being wronged.
Activities- Prosecuting the Blood War took up much of Zariel's time and attention, and she had little room to deal with anything else. Her offensive military campaign often had her at the forefront of invasions when she wasn't within a flying fortress overseeing Avernus' defences. She apparently had a penchant for spawning cambions to serve as leaders for her followers.
It was also her responsibility to ensure the defences of the plane against outside attack, the River Styx being a particularly important area for demonic entry and infernal strikes against the Abyss. Styx devils guarded the citadels and outposts overlooking the river, but it fell to Zariel to manage travel to and from Avernus, and she had the final say over who could pass through. (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Zariel)
Zariel's most direct opponent was likely Bel, former Lord of the First. Despite instructions by Asmodeus to cooperate, the two utterly detested each other and invented distractions to avoid having to deal with one another. Zariel placed her assigned advisor in charge of weapons production to keep him busy although that did nothing to stop his treasonous schemes. The possibility that Asmodeus supported Zariel meant that Bel couldn't directly challenge her, though he would take steps to make her seem incompetent, and allowed her to continue her reckless manoeuvres in the hopes she'd overextend her forces and be removed due to a defeat. He'd even go so far as to help her be redeemed, even despite the low odds of success, since it would lead to him becoming archduke once more.
The haughty and aloof Tiamat had a somewhat complex relationship with Zariel, although it was certainly a hostile one. She resented the draconic goddess for having been at her mercy during the time of her demotion, and the former angel had once sent her agents to steal from her treasure hoards.
She and Yeenoghu, Demon Prince of Gnolls, had some history before her transformation into an archduke, for it was his slaughter of a village under her protection before she knocked him back into the Abyss that was potentially the final straw that led to her descent. Yeenoghu, for his part, hated Zariel with a passion and would love to destroy her.
Divine Domains
War, Blood, Evil
Personality Characteristics
Vices & Personality flaws
Zariel was 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 led by her righteous wrath was the opposite of the carefully calculating Bel. 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, was an idealist; she genuinely believed that a mere host of mortals would fare well in Avernus, only for a great number of them to flee from the fear-radiating fiends. (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Zariel)
Divine Classification
Archdevil
Alignment
Lawful Evil
Realm
Birthplace
Children
Current Residence
Ruled Locations
Comments