History

The Great Beast, Bane of the Gods, and the Father of Demonkind was a mistake. For you see, when the Gods claimed a power that they did not truly understand and forged the Angelic race, they did so in haste. So much was their fear that the alliance of the Firstborn Dragons would overtake them, that they displayed uncharacteristic recklessness as they forged their new celestial legions. The Gods only managed to claim roughly half of the power that they had disturbed, and once it was awakened, the rest of it had to go somewhere. At least, this is what the most learned scholars of the Demonic believe, for this is the best theory they can construct from centuries of fragmented histories and uncovered scraps of hidden lore. The full truth of the matter is unknown to all save the Hell King himself.

Without a will to direct that power, it took shape on its own, in diametrical opposition to its Angelic brethren. Where they were hope, duty, and justice, the Hell King was despair, betrayal, vengeance, and many other foul and grim things besides. Neither was he divided into many forms like the Angels were, with all of his fearsome might being instead encapsulated into one form. Never before had the planes seen such terrible might, and all those that came before him, be they God or Dragon, met their end at his wicked claws.

And yet, while he was power incarnate, he was also ignorance personified. While the Angels had the benefit of tutelage from those Deities who lived on high, the Hell King knew nothing, and had no one. He simply wandered the planes, satiating hungers he didn’t understand and wielding strength he couldn’t comprehend. Perhaps he would have stayed that way for eons, remaining as little more than a raging beast, had it not been for the intervention of the Firstborn Ixiad.

For it was she who taught him what he was, educated him on the nature of spirits and the magic they fueled. She also provided him with seven mighty children, from seven red scales torn from her armoured hide. The first of the Demon Princes were born of these seven scales, crafted from the most primal magic by Ixiad’s Dragon Knight, a Grey Elven woman by the name of Nebbia Andranasta. Then, from the bones of a fallen God combined with an eighth black scale from Ixiad’s body, did the Dragon magically forge the Hell Crown and proclaim the Hell King ruler over the Demons.

He was bound to Ixiad for a time, although he would be loath to admit this fact to anyone. He and his newly created Demon Princes created legions of Demons to march on the Divine, slaughtering all they could before the last of the Deities fled to safety in their own Celestial Heavens. When his work began to fail to satisfy his hunger and he strained against his bondage, one of his children offered him an answer. Though the magic of the contract he had signed with Ixiad forbade him or his servants from interfering with its magic, one close to Ixiad had no such compunctions. And as luck would have it, Nebbia Andranasta was also beginning to have doubts. It was almost too easy to turn her against her former master, for the Hell King’s child Beleth bin-Amon could see into the heart of any creature, and could discover what they desired most. For the Grey Elven woman that would come to be known as the Black Wytch, it was freedom. Freedom from the Gods, and freedom from the Dragons. For herself, and her people.

When the Black Wytch slew all of her brethren Knights and thus sealed Ixiad in the Far Realm before she could manage to return, the magic of the contract faded, and the Hell King was truly unleashed. No more would he be a pawn in someone else’s scheme. When he claimed a soul or devoured a God, it would be for him, and him alone. When the last of the Gods were slain or had fled, he took several of their broken domains and fashioned the Hellstack Plane from these blasted remnants. He then divided it into the principalities that his demonic children claimed dominion over, and sat himself at the center of it all.

This center, and his domain, was the Spirit Tempest, the maelstrom of spirits that captured every mortal spirit not claimed by God or Dragon. There he studied himself, the nature of creation, and the sin that infested it like rot. Few can say what conclusions he came to, or why, but what is known is that vast centuries ago he abdicated his throne. He lifted his burning crown of blackened god-bone from his brow, and bid it to rest in the center of the Spirit Tempest before he left for parts unknown.

It is said that any Demon Prince who manages to claim his crown would become the new Hell King by right, but to this date, none have succeeded. The forces at work in the Tempest defeat all those that try alone, and the Demon Princes are far too untrusting and selfish to ever work together. Perhaps the Hell King got bored and set up this little game as entertainment, or perhaps he wished to see if any were strong enough to claim his position. Conceivably, it could be considered that he sought to leave his crown in the one place it would never be claimed in his absence, knowing none could breach the Tempest to attain it.

The truth of the matter is, as they say, a mystery.

Current Events

Ever since the Hell King abdicated his throne, his whereabouts, activities, and even his reason for doing so have seemingly remained a mystery to all.  Even the most learned Demonologists have only the faintest of educated guesses on where he might be, or what he has done in the intervening centuries. What is known is that it is likely that he still lives. The few beings that were able to forge pacts with him directly, such as the terrifying Black Wytch, are still able to draw Wytchcraft through the vile bond they share with him. Furthermore, while the details in the tales of his abdication differ, there is not one where he is overthrown or slain. Any Demon Prince or Princess who could slay their King would be the ruler of all Demons by the only law universally respected by all in the Hellstack. Thus, given that no other Kings, Queens, or otherwise have emerged from amongst their ranks, it remains a large possibility that he is out there, somewhere.