Saint Azazel and his lineage
In the Holy Infernal Empire, the members of the House of Azazel have a reputation of being ruthless warmongers. A reputation carefully and devotedly maintained in honor of their belove founder.
There was a War between Heaven and Hell that brought to the collapse of all the worlds beyond into the material reality. Angel and Devil made a truce and divided up the world. Azazel was one of the nine Devil Princes that founded the Holy Infernal Empire.
Azazel chose a mountain pass to build his city, Vinea, so his territory could extend on both sides of the Infernal Alps: he wanted his land, Erebus, to project outward, refusing the defensive embrace of the alpine mountain range. Azazel had a grandiose project of conquest ending with the subjugation (and therefore salvation) of all the Axam continent.
He never had a chance to put his grand strategy in place: the internal struggle of the nascent Holy Infernal Empire kept him busy. When, finally, the power-grabbing among the princes ended and the revolt of the demons was quelled, it was too late. Without the energies from Beyond, his immortality waned away and he died after a long illness.
Azazel was famous for his terrifying wrath, his powerful warrior skills, and most of all his signature spell: the Black Fire. His spark of divinity gave him powers unattainable by “conventional magic”: he could summon flames made of darkness, able to burn everything and gifted by a mind of their own. Wielding this black energy he made stone and metal burn like wood while keeping his allies unblemished. The flames took the shape of winged snakes, dragons, who would do Azazel bidding, following complex plans and choosing targets to kill or to spare.
When mortality took hold of Azazel his body withered and he was shaken by a never-ending fever. He became consumed to the point of being little more than a skeleton. He lost lucidity more and more, spouting rambling prophecies inspired by “the voice of the black flame” (all of them recorded in a book).
Once he died his body turned to ashes, the only remains were the bones of his hand, made of lapis lazuli. The “hand of Azazel” is one of the holiest relics of the Empire, kept safe in the heart of the ziggurat-cathedral of Vinea.
The descendant of Azazel took the conquest as their mission, and their motto “always forward” show their eagerness to act.
Many successors tried time and time again to expand their transalpine region of Erebus, clashing with the Beasts’ Nations most of all, but also with the two elvish nations, the Sultanate and the Khanate.
Not only: every time the opportunity arose, House Azazel turned their attention to the empire itself, trying to expand their cisalpine region at the expense of the neighboring principalities.
This restless move forward would come to an end.
Last Century, after more than 800 years of nonstop warring, Erebus found a sort of peace. The umpteenth war with the Beasts’ Nations ended in a crippling stalemate that forced the signing of a treaty to avoid a devastating famine in both countries.
House Azazel and all of Erebus’ Nobility had to sublimate their warring desires through fencing, jousting, and other sporting activity. They grew accustomed to the pretend battles and the vicarious glory of the arena. They became soft and decadent but still saw themselves as the fiercest warriors.
Almost 50 years ago, the III angel-devil war broke. The beast folks, allied with the Angelic Unison, made a surprise attack and invaded Erebus.
The ruling class of Erebus was under shock, they grew detached from the reality of war after years of peace. A perfect example of this was Nergal, the only son of ruling princess Astarte IV and heir to the throne.
Nergal grew in an environment where military strategy was the most common topic at dinner, yet nobody had ever put foot on a battlefield. He spent his childhood studying exotic fencing styles and practicing dressage with prized horses.
He was young when the war started, just sixteen. From a day to the next he found himself catapulted into a real and brutal war. The Beast Folk had ancient grudges against the devils’ scions and spent the decades of the truce preparing for this war.
Princess Astarte, his consort, and all the House Azazel had to go to the front to help spark the fighting spirit and inspire the troops: only them could shake the nation from its torpor.
Nergal was sent to war as well, and if he wasn’t on the frontlines he was still near the action. It was a risk and, eventually, a commando of Nagas, the snake people, infiltrated his camp and kidnapped him.
Nergal He was tortured for intelligence and used as leverage: as the only direct heir to the throne of Erebus was extremely valuable alive, no one would have risked his life, especially not his mother!
Princess Astarte decided to rescue her son, personally. To do this she broke a taboo: she took the Hand of Azazel, one of the holiest relics of the empire, secured in the heart of the ziggurat-cathedral of Vinea.
It’s not clear if it was a decision made by a mother blinded by rage or by a brave strategist calculating the odds, it was a risky gamble for sure: the powers of the holy hand were unclear, possibly lethal to the user. Furthermore, if anything happened to the relic, the morale of the whole empire would crumble.
Whatever the reasoning, or the lack thereof, behind it, the plan worked.
The princess and a selected elite team made a swift strike to the nagas headquarter. Through the Hand of Azazel, the princess created a small army of flying creatures made of black fire, snakelike dragons that burned everything they touched. The dragons and the flames themselves behave like they were sentient, knowing what to burn and what to keep safe. Nergal was able to escape, running among the screaming victims of that black inferno.
There was no way to cure the wounded: the magic was so powerful it depleted the Mana Field for days, making spellcasting impossible due to lack of source energy.
The spell took a toll on Princess Astarte too, her life force was drained and the thoughts of the Black Fire, as she called them, infected her mind. This daring mission not only permitted her to rescue her beloved son but also to hurt the enemies materially and in the spirit.
The “black inferno” was the turning point of the war on the Erebus front. Even if she was growing weaker day after day, the princess was always near the most crucial battles, wearing the Hand of Azazel on the neck. If she used the powers of the hand another time, she would certainly die, but there was no need: the simple rumor of her presence would give courage to the troops and instill fear in the enemy.
Nergal did his part: moved by a firey and personal hate for the Beast Folk he guided the troop in battle with bloodthirsty fervor. He gained many nicknames: the plague of the animal men, the son of the black inferno, the vindicator, the butcher of minotaurs.
The III angel-devil war ended with a victory for the Holy Infernal Empire. Astarte died soon after, withered and delirious, reduced to little more than a babbling skeleton.
Nergal saw the Beast Folk responsible for the death of her beloved mother, and once on the throne, he ruled the occupied territories with a sadistic iron fist.
After five years, the III angel-devil war ended with a victory for the Holy Infernal Empire.
Princess Astarte IV died soon after the peace was declared. She was withered and delirious, reduced to little more than a babbling skeleton by her use of the Azazel’s Hand and the Black fire.
Prince Nergal V sat on the throne at twenty-one.
Nergal saw the Beast Folk responsible for the death of her beloved mother, and once on the throne, he ruled the occupied territories with a sadistic iron fist. He saw himself as the spirit of House Azazel reborn, thanks to the martyrdom of his mother. This peace is just a stop in a journey of conquest, a pause to prepare for war. That’s what the Beasts’ Nations did the last time, after all.
The prince has devoted many resources to the creation and development of new and brutal weapons and spells. The jousting and fencing so popular in the principality are not simple entertainment anymore: they are a training ground and a chance to impress the noble and enter the military ranks. Nergal V dreams of conquering all the continent, as Azazel himself wanted, but he’s now past sixty. But the family should be able to continue his vision, in theory.
The problem is his heir. The firstborn, Shamash, reminds Nergal of himself before the war, fascinated by the trappings of the military but detached by the harsh reality of combat. His father considers Shamash a refined intellectual and strategist, but not a leader of men: even if he’s almost forty, Nergal won’t give him the throne yet, or maybe ever. To make things worse, Nergal has not yet any grandchild from him to project his hopes.
His five daughters gave him more satisfaction: they are all married to strategic and high-ranking nobles (one even to a prince-elector) and keep forwarding the interest of Erebus even in their new homes.
The problems are not limited to the succession: his quest for better and better weapons means bigger and bigger spending. Erebus treasury is amassing a debt with other principalities and with the banks of Mizani. Many wizards are working on credit and, at some point, they will ask for compensation.
