Appearance

Vandritas and Pergyntus are a difficult pair to describe. While any demon who is ‘lucky’ enough to have beheld them would insist that the two of them are the very definition of beauty, this calls into question what exactly demons find beautiful. The fact of the matter, however, is that most mortals find the Twinned Beguilers to be hideous to the point of distress or displeasure. Both are warped and twisted from the severance of a greater Demon Prince named Beleth bin-Amon, for they are now but incomplete halves of one once-perfect whole. Their bodies are mostly humanoid, unlike some of their Princely kin. While recorded sightings of them by moral eyes are quite rare, it is known that most reactions to seeing them in person range from nausea, to bleeding from the eyes. Despite the horror they inspire however, even by mortal standards there is also something almost hauntingly beautiful about them. They possess an indescribable sort of transcendence, as if they are so alien the mind cannot decide if it is fascinated or repulsed by their existence.

Mortal art depicting them varies wildly in their form, but a few standard features remain constant. The two of them have a matching set of horns, one large and curving and one small and pointed, that mirror each other. This is widely believed to be a holdover of when they were once a single whole demon, with a dual set of horns, and a four horned silhouette is often used as a symbol to quickly denote them in demonic scriptures. Another common trend in their depictions is both twins possessing one semicircle half of a jagged crown that hangs above their head.

Vandritas presents as male, and is described as wielding a shield inscribed with intricate hellish sigils and a sword of jagged obsidian glass. Pergyntus presents as female, with an outlandishly long spear that seems to be made from the barbed tail of some massive demonic creature. Both, in their goal of perfection, are utterly obsessed with their physical appearance, and many within their court attempt to mimic their stylings in order to garner favour or leniency. Woe to any creature that sullies or insults them, however, for if even a hair on their perfect heads is shifted out of place, or a drop of blood falls somewhere they haven’t deemed it appropriate to be bloodied, they have been known to obliterate the offender before carrying on as if nothing happened.

While no living mortal has set eyes upon Beleth bin-Amon, the original being that later became Vandritas and Pergyntus, they were known throughout hell as the most resplendent and captivating creature to have ever existed. If their twin sundered halves are considered beautiful by those same standards, most scholars of the Demonic can only guess at what sort of nightmarish abomination Beleth bin-Amon resembled in their prime.

Methods and Motivations

Vandritas and Pergyntus seek nothing shy of utter perfection. Where the confusion for mortals lies, however, is that their definition of perfection seems to be a mystery to all save for themselves. Certain standards remain constant. They consider themselves aesthetically perfect, despite the deformities that came from their sundering. Striving to better themselves and their servants is a common pastime, with the goal that their entire court someday may live up to the impossible standards they demand. They see themselves as above all other demons, usually speaking to others through proxies or mirrors, as every other creature in all the Realms is simply too far beneath them to be worth much of their time. Anything that displeases them is instantly removed, be it from sight or from existence, and they are happiest while alone in each other’s company.

While nearly all the Princes seek the Hell Crown in order to become the next ruler of the Hellstack Plane, the twins seek it specifically because they see it as the next logical step in their goal of perfection. In their eyes, no other could possibly be worthy enough to possess it but them, and with it they could finally become perfection incarnate.

Where other Demons would use force, Vandritas and Pergyntus prefer to employ guile, manipulation, and propaganda. While they lead their principality through no small measure of fear, a large number of their demonic legions are so indoctrinated within their cult of personality that they see service as something given gladly, rather than something demanded of them by someone more powerful than them. This is not the case for all of their servants however, and a number of their high ranking officers are just as prone to infighting and plotting against their rulers as any other demon. For the armies of the Twinned Beguilers, the best battle is one that is never fought. Agents go to great lengths to sabotage demons of rival Principalities and to sow discord or misinformation that benefits the interests of the Opulent Ones. The domination or ritual enslavement of enemy demons before turning them loose to return to their masters is a common practice, and suspicions that a demon has been compromised by the twins has led to countless perfectly loyal and uninfluenced demons being executed without cause.

Powers and Abilities

Renowned for their control of Psionics and Enchantment magics, what the twins lack in raw physical strength, they make up for with charisma, potent rituals, and a mastery of charms and domination magics that would have made Ta-Ba-Ret or Salam take pause. Any magic they are capable of they tend to direct via ritual words of power rather than something as mundane as incanting, and they possess a unique ability to cast at targets visible to them through enchanted mirrors and spatial windows. This skill is one that some of their most powerful agents also can be granted, but even for those most-exalted servants that power is a rare gift. Their voices are enchanting to those that hear them speak, and even a few scant words can have the same effect on a mortal or demon as the most potent of bardic songs. This is at stark juxtaposition to the twins’ appearance, which causes any non-demon to either flee immediately or be paralyzed in place while their mind tries to process what exactly it is seeing

Vandritas and Pergyntus are stronger together, both metaphorically and literally. The two compliment each other, with Vandritas’ shield and Pergyntus’ spear making them a frightening pair on the battlefield. However, there is also a very tangible connection between their proximity and their strength. When in each others’ presence their magic is notably more powerful, bypassing all but the strongest of defenses without effort. Should the two join hands or otherwise be physically touching, the effect is amplified only further, and only is it then that the twins are able to unleash power comparable to that of when they were still whole.

Their command of Psionic magic is more often used for its mind altering properties than brute force, and at any given moment at least a quarter of their army is actually made up of soldiers stolen from other demons, who are either mind wiped or enslaved into serving them instead via such magic. Many wonder how the twins wield such an antithetical magic to their demonic existence with such ease, and many lesser demons are terrified of their mastery of it. Their use of Enchantment, meanwhile, tends to be for the purposes of communication and bolstering their forces, as well as enticing mortals into deals with powerful magical items. These are not the only two spheres the Twinned Beguilers are capable of, however, and Vandritas in particular is known to be particularly fond of Protection magic while his sister favours Sigil magic.

Weaknesses

The greatest weakness that Vandritas and Pergyntus face is how easily they can grow distracted from or disinterested in the task at hand, and the fact that their strength so greatly depends on proximity to one another. While alone both Vandritas and Pergyntus are capable of holding their own in a fight, both their raw magical prowess and their preferred fighting styles rely on fighting as a team. Separating them, either by forcing them apart physically or by them needing to split up and cover more ground, is a surefire way to have them on the defensive. The further the distance between them, the more dramatic the results. They are also loath to be apart for long, and one abandoning a task to return to the side of the other is commonplace.

The Princedom of the Immaculate’s army is also more spread out than most, and while their guile and craftiness is unparalleled within the Hellstack, in a flat out assault against a comparable or larger force, it is unlikely they will come out on top. This leads to the twin monarchs picking and choosing their engagements carefully, something they don’t always pay close attention to when they’re busy caring more about themselves or each other than the stakes of the battle. Their court itself also falls victim to the same political warfare that they employ against other demons, and there are times when generals within their infernal armies have just utterly failed to appear on a battlefield because they were tricked or blackmailed into being somewhere else.

Domain

Principality

The Princedom of the Immaculate is captivating in the way a fire consuming a cathedral draws the gaze; once dazzling glass and ancient architecture enveloped in smoke and scarred by the destruction of ages past. At a glance a mortal might be able to call it beautiful, but only if they did not stop to look too closely, or if they had their ears plugged to drown out the occasional screaming. It is the Hellstack, after all.

From the Everlasting Fields of Changeless Ostentation, stretching up to the Hippodromes of Unyielding Admiration, the principality is a wartorn testament to the former glory of the once undivided Hellstack. It resembles a massive city-state in layout, with the palace of the Twinned Beguilers situated perfectly within its center. This structure, known as the Mirrored Halls of Scrutiny, holds two main purposes. It serves as both the seat of power for the Opulent Ones, as well as the information crux of the principality. Stained glass murals depict grand displays of the twins’ victories over other demons, pivotal political moments, and the brutal massacre of any who dared oppose them. The throne room itself contains a single large throne, a leftover from when the Twinned Beguilers were once whole that they have never seen the need to change. Suspended in the air around this chamber are thousands of spatial windows, their mirrored surfaces either displaying information from their agents or transmitting the twin monarchs themselves as they give orders and direct their legions.

Demonic Hosts

The demonic hosts of the Twinned Beguilers contain a staggering amount of Incubi and Succubi, far more than any other army in all the Hellstack. It also has its fair share of other more martially inclined demons, alongside the usual Imp and Dretch fodder that can be found within any force of demons. It can be easy at times to tell if a roaming demon works for the Twinned Beguilers due to how common it is for these contracted demons to carry a small mirror on their person for communication, or for the four-horned insignia of their master to appear somewhere branded into their flesh.

A unique feature of their demonic hosts, however, are constructs known as the Perfecti. Having drawn inspiration from the creation of the Faceless but seeing room for improvement, the twins commissioned the creation of a small army of flesh golems, fashioned from only the finest parts harvested from mortals deemed ‘worthy’ to contribute. Contributions are not voluntary. These golems lack any semblance of sentience or free will and effectively act as disposable manpower for when the armies of Vandritas and Pergyntus need extra numbers. While the bits of stolen flesh and limb used to create these constructs might have once come from mortals considered beautiful, the resulting stitched together horrors are stomach-churning in their appearance and movements. When not in use, the Perfecti tend to remain strewn about the principality like discarded corpses, ready and waiting to be mobilized against intruders or during offenses.

It is not unheard of for a demon to send a Perfecti into Arthos, controlling it via possession if the demon themselves does not want to risk being killed and barred entry to the mortal plane for a year and a day. This is generally not done without good reason, however, as it is difficult to retrieve the Perfecti should it be beaten into inoperation and the loss of one such construct is viewed as a waste of time and resources.

Cults

Mortal Cultists

Mortal cultists of the Twinned Beguilers can be found across all of Maud’madir, and are often harder to distinguish than cultists of Princes such as Nilestromus, who’s maddening influence takes a heavy toll on his followers. There are no small number of cults that sprung up after the death of Sabrina, the fallen Goddess of Beauty who was killed during the Celestial War. Some of these individuals, despising Baaagh for the murder of their goddess, turned to the forces of hell that Baaagh so despises, with the Opulent Ones being a logical shift in focus.

These cults do not often congregate in large groups unless necessity demands it, and leftovers of their sacrifices are often written off as the act of renegade Haldora followers, as the mutilation of the beautiful is something that she too favours. All that is beautiful belongs to Them, as Their servants are so fond of saying. These fawning sycophants are all too eager to slice off the best parts of themselves or others, leaving their best physical attributes upon their blood-soaked altars. Some might think it curious that those who serve the Demon Princes of Perfection are themselves imperfect, mutilated creatures, but they care not. For they know what an eternal existence of beauty and perfection awaits the most loyal, the most giving of Their followers.

Preferred Sacrifices

The most desired sacrifice from mortal cultists of Vandritas and Pergyntus are body parts and bits of flesh deemed perfect or beautiful by the cultist in question. This can be a matter of personal opinion to some degree, as one cultist might decide the legs of a particular victim are of great value while another might decide the unique colour of their eyes warrants sacrificing.

Once harvested, the parts are sacrificed via a complex demonic rite to the twins, and if accepted the part will vanish from the circle, collected for future use in the creation of a Perfecti or simply put on display somewhere within the principality. This does not necessarily kill the mortal victim who was mutilated, though obviously the loss of a limb is far more survivable than a head or heart.

Summoning and Rites

These are but two of the more commonly known demonic rites practiced by those that serve The Opulent Ones. It is said that only those who have their approving eye will enjoy the rewards they can bring, while other less-favoured servants oft-find themselves knee deep in innocent blood and with little to show for it.

The Rite of Stolen Youth

Many of those who enter into the service of the Opulent Ones are drawn to these beings because at their core, they are naught but spiritually empty beings, mere vessels for vanity and selfishness. While their outward appearance may be resplendent, their inner-self is far uglier than a putrid rat corpse floating atop the surface of a stinking bog. There is nothing that these cultists fear more than the effects of aging upon their physical forms, and they are often prepared to commit any act, no matter how base or vile, to guard against or reverse the ravages of time.

The Rite of Stolen Youth was a gift from Vandritas and Pergyntus to a man that was once one of the most awe-inspiring beauties of all Arthos, but since then it has spread far and wide and is now known to nearly every cultist of note in their service. A young child is required, a babe of no more than six months of age, free of any blemish or infirmity. The child must then be strapped to the back of a silver mirror with flesh taken from the mortal who desires its effects, before it is ultimately flayed alive with a newly-knapped obsidian blade. Once the child has expired, the cultist may then flip the mirror over and gaze upon their newly rejuvenated reflection, while the sacrifice’s flesh slowly crumbles to ash.

The Creation Dirge of the Perfecti

While creation of the Perfecti is commonly performed in the realm of Vandritas and Pergyntus, on rare occasions the Opulent Ones have granted permission to their most favoured mortal pets to perform this rite. First, the parts that will eventually become the Perfecti must be gathered. Not just any old body part will do, for each extremity must surpass the most strict aesthetical standards on Arthos. They must possess beauty beyond compare, although it should be said that those who perform this rite on anything approaching a consistent basis likely have a rather warped view on what beauty is, at least when compared with most mortal beings. Once every body part has been selected, they are to be laid in a rough humanoid shape atop the front of a bronze-backed mirror large enough for every extremity to rest cleanly upon its mirrored surface. Once that step has been completed, no less than at least three people must surround the soon-to-be Perfecti and sing the dirge in the secret, demonic tongue of the natives of the Hellstack. While most demons that have heard it claim that its tones are some of the most beautiful sounds that they have ever heard, the few non-cultist mortals that have had the displeasure of hearing these demonic words have claimed that all they heard was a high-pitched keening that seemed to tear at reality itself. Whatever the case may be, the song must be sung, without error, for seventy-two hours straight. For the Demons normally entrusted with their creation, this is an easy task, for they do not tire or require sustenance. When mortals attempt this rite, they are usually forced to ingest a dangerous alchemical cocktail of various drugs with suppressive and stimulative qualities to maintain the focus and awareness required to stay awake and alert for that long.

Once the dirge is complete, each performer must give a portion of their blood onto the mangled corpse that lies before them. Should the Opulent Ones find their performance favor, they will touch the mangled limbs with a portion of their power, causing the psuedo-flesh golem to knit itself together and rise under the command of its creators.

History

A Prelude to the Parting

The Age Of Lucidity

From the Archives of Professor Octavio Septium, Chancellor of the Royal Berphauntian Academy

In the time before the sundering of the hells, before the Hell King removed his crown, and before the forming of the Spirit Tempest, there existed Beleth bin-Amon, The Opulent One. A Demon Prince of unparalleled beauty and great power, no other amongst the Princes was more loyal to the King of Hell, and no other so beloved by their legions of lesser demons. To say they were narcissistic would be an understatement bordering on slander; the only one they thought their equal was the King of Hell himself. 

In that halcyon time when all in the Hellstack was whole, they were the foremost figure in entertainment, information, and intrigue within the demonic courts. There wasn’t a rumour or whisper in hell that didn’t pass through the ears of one of their agents, and all of it in turn found its way back to Beleth bin-Amon. The very best of the gossip was offered up to the Hell King during their frequent meetings, and Beleth bin-Amon basked in the adoration of those beneath them. Even the other Princes, turbulent and vicious as their personalities were, often sought Them out at some point in search of blackmail, or a leg up against another demon. While they were known to play both sides of the table during these conflicts, their word was still too indispensable to not seek out.

To write them off as just a pretty face back then, however, would be a grave mistake. Beleth bin-Amon’s temperament was usually lackadaisical, and while they were one of the most powerful of the Princes, at least back then, they usually had better things to do than exercise this strength. That was not to say they were a particularly calm or benign creature. They were still a demon, and viewed any being besides the Hell King as being so below Themselves that erasing their existence for even a slight annoyance was often done with hardly a thought.

After all, everything had to be perfect.

But all good things, especially in hell, must come to an end. The Hell King, without warning or reason, vanished. The Hellstack was sundered, his crown lost to the Spirit Tempest, and Beleth bin-Amon was left among the warring Princes without the only creature in the entirety of the Realms that they thought their equal.

While the others were quick to take up arms, Beleth bin-Amon was the only Prince to truly mourn the Hell King’s departure. While their armies scrambled to maintain their borders, they barred themselves in their palace and did not leave for months. That was the last time Beleth bin-Amon was ever seen whole.

Being the most perfect creature in existence was lonely, you see. And that loneliness formed an aching void within them. It clawed at them, tore at the edges of their mind. There was no question in their mind that they were the only one worthy enough to hold that crown, to become the next ruler of the Hellstack. But they couldn’t do it alone, and no other was worth even a moment of their time where alliances were concerned.

“I suppose,” They said aloud when their mourning had ended. “That I am all I have left here.”

The force of whatever magic they unleashed to tear themselves apart in that moment was enough to break every mirror and window within The Mirrored Halls of Scrutiny, reverberating throughout the principality and killing any lesser demon caught too close to the blast.

When the dust and shards of glass had settled, Vandritas and Pergyntus sat silently within the empty throne room. They beheld each other, two ‘perfect’ halves of one being, blind to the new imperfections wrought by this haphazard sundering. 

When one of their many Heralds finally came to see what had caused the blast, they found the two of them perched on the arms of their throne, holding hands and looking around at the destruction they had wrought.

“Who are you?” The demon asked, already half aware of the answer but too confused as to how to fully grasp it. “Where is our Prince?”

“We are Vandritas and Pergyntus,” The two spoke as one, the cracked mirror the Herald carried sending their image to all the other mirrors of its network. “The Twinned Beguilers. The Opulent Ones. We are your Prince and Princess, and together we will take our rightful place as the rulers of the Hellstack”

Over millennia the existence of the original, singular Prince faded from memory and text. There are those both inside and outside hell who are not wholly convinced that Vandritas and Pergyntus were ever anything other than what they are now, but those people would be sorely mistaken. If need ever arises, many more veteran demons within their court hold out hope that the twin monarchs may some day retake their perfect, unified form. The siblings have shown little interest in such, however, and some demons claim they have either forgotten how or are too obsessed with each other to ever return to how they once were.

May the Gods and Firstborn protect Arthos if they are ever focused and driven enough towards a task to attempt reunification into their perfect form once more. Perhaps the Crown of the Hell King himself would serve as enough of an impetus…

The Webbed Mirror Treatise 

Exact Date Unknown, Believed to have occurred shortly after the sundering of Beleth bin-Amon. As recounted by the Deacons of Ixiad, Lynn and Eve Belhumeur, 2264 

“Vandritas and Pergyntus’ first all out battle within hell was nearly their last. While the two of them were by no means weak, in comparison to the other Princes and their massive armies, they were ill prepared for what was to come. While the two of them were hardly amnesiacs after they split, hell had changed since they strode its blasted sands with but one pair of hooves. Once allies were now enemies, and what had formerly been a unified kingdom, albeit with no small amount of infighting, was now a war zone. The two of them were not particularly well versed in warfare, for they were dramatists at heart, much more at home in their halls seeking absolute perfection than directing their legions of demons. After a not-insignificant period of time they would find a balance between their frivolity and their need to stay relevant in the unceasing war that grips the Hellstack, in the beginning they were utterly unprepared and outclassed for what was to come.

Their first trial came at the hands of Andromalius, Demon Prince of Destruction, who saw the Princedom of the Immaculate as an easy first target on a conquest towards the Hell Crown. Vastly outnumbered and outclassed, Vandritas and Pergyntus sought a deal with Ixiad, the Firstborn of Contracts. The terms, while weighed heavily against the twins, were relatively straightforward. Ixiad and her forces would bolster the ranks of the Twinned Beguilers and help defend their borders for a decade, and in return they agreed to a pact of non-aggression and non-interference with Ixiad and her agents. That decade, while a short time to a demon, was enough for the twins to find their foothold and establish their defenses properly. Their non-aggression contract, however, lasted millenia, only coming to a close in late 2263. While under any other circumstances no demon Prince would be caught dead agreeing to such a loaded deal, desperate times called for desperate measures.

Due to their history, and the contract providing a stable working relationship for centuries, it is hardly a secret that Ixiad has worked often with the Opulent Ones, with no small number of her contracts passing through them. Their non-aggression pact has, as of 2264, been worked into a pact of mutual aid. While the exact terms are unknown to any save Ixiad herself and her Vicar of Webs, it is assumed that if Ixiad has need of the twins or their forces, they will support her if they are able, and vice-versa.

Even though it has been untold centuries since they last met in person, the twins have extended an open invitation for Ixiad to visit their court whenever she wishes.

Ixiad has yet to take them up on this.”