Asmodeus
Asmodeus's status as a deity is unique in the Dawn Lands, as he is the only known entity to have forcefully ascended from the role of a Devil to a full-fledged God while retaining his diabolical nature. His ascension was directly tied to the foundation of the nation of Tiss. The origins of Tiss lie with a group of settlers who arrived through a local portal gate from Earth, finding themselves stranded and vulnerable on a large island in the Dawn Lands (the island they later named Tiss). Faced with the existential threat of survival in this dangerous new realm, Asmodeus appeared to the desperate people. He did not merely intercede; he imposed a flawless, iron-clad contract upon the land and its people. By adhering to the terms—which demanded absolute fealty, unforgiving law, and the suppression of all individual freedom—the nascent nation survived and thrived. This grand act of preservation and political elevation, codified in law and blood, solidified his divine claim.
Divine Domains
- Absolute Law
- Contracts
- Societal Hierarchy
- Tyranny
- Ambition
- Necessary Cruelty
- Civilization's Structure
Artifacts
The Lex Aeterna (The Eternal Law)
This artifact is the single most powerful and terrifying relic in the possession of the Church of Tiss. It is believed to be the primordial, unbroken template for the original contract Asmodeus struck with the stranded settlers of Tiss, now a manifest object of divine and diabolical Law.
Appearance: The Lex Aeterna typically manifests as a massive, impossibly thin scroll of midnight-black obsidian, bound and sealed by seven chains forged from the deepest pits of the Hells. Its surface is engraved with shimmering, ever-shifting script that comprises the ultimate, perfected Tissian Legal Code.
Power - The Binding Clause: The wielder (usually the High Priest of the Church, or a designated agent) can use the Lex Aeterna to instantly identify any breach of contract or law committed by an individual within the Tissian domain. For Lawful Evil characters, it serves as the ultimate tool of enforcement. When invoked, it forces a targeted individual to adhere to the precise letter of a contract they have signed, regardless of loopholes or intention, resulting in immediate, painful legal consequence for any transgression.
Power - Perfect Scrutiny: It grants the wielder Perfect Scrutiny, allowing them to pierce disguises, mental shields, and legal obfuscation to determine an individual's True Rank within the social and divine hierarchy, making it impossible for inferiors to deceive their superiors in the Chain of Command.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
A stylized, downward-pointing pentagram wreathed in seven serpent heads, or a single contract scroll sealed with a bloody handprint.
Tenets of Faith
- The Law is Absolute: The written law, no matter how harsh, is the highest moral authority. There is no justice outside of the established legal code.
- Order Above All: Chaos is the ultimate evil. Stability, hierarchy, and systemization must be maintained at any cost.
- Honor the Contract: A pact sealed by oath or writing is inviolable. To break a promise is to invite your own ruin.
- Embrace Hierarchy: Know your place in the chain of command, obey those above you without question, and rule those beneath you with disciplined rigor.
- Cruelty Serves Purpose: Compassion is weakness when the integrity of the system is at stake. Necessary cruelty is a tool of order, not a sin.
Holidays
The Day of the Iron Seal
This is the most sacred national holiday, commemorating the day Asmodeus presented the founding contract to the stranded settlers, ensuring the survival of the Tissian people and establishing the Law. It is a day of cold, absolute dedication.
Tissian Observance: Mandatory public attendance at great civic plazas. All citizens must publicly reaffirm their Oath of Fealty to Asmodeus and the Law. All existing legal codices are reviewed, and any sections deemed obsolete or contradictory are ceremonially burned, signifying the Law's eternal, yet perfect, renewal. New state contracts of utmost importance (e.g., military alliances, trade deals) are always finalized on this date, often signed in blood.
The Festival of Scrutiny
This is a day dedicated to the rigorous enforcement of hierarchy and the systematic removal of internal weakness, embodying the Necessary Cruelty tenet.
Tissian Observance: The legal apparatus of the Church of Tiss operates at maximum efficiency. It is the customary day for high-profile public trials and executions for major crimes against the state (crimes of Disorder, Treason, or Chaos). Ambitious members of the elite use this day to formally challenge their superiors in legal-bureaucratic duels of law and contract, requiring them to demonstrate absolute superiority in knowledge and execution to advance their position in the state hierarchy.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
The Imperial Reman Republic (Inroads)
Asmodeus's influence in the Republic is subtle but growing, particularly among the wealthy, ambitious, and those involved in the legal and military systems.
Legal Scholars and Bureaucrats: They see Asmodeus as the patron of unbending, pragmatic Imperial Law. They pray to him for the wisdom to write unbreakable contracts and find loopholes in their rivals' legal frameworks.
The Ambitious Elite: Worship often involves discreet, formal rituals where contracts (sometimes infernal) are sought for power, wealth, or the destruction of political enemies. They view his cruelty as a necessary tool for maintaining superior civilization.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
In Tiss, Asmodeus is not a god to be merely worshipped; he is the God of their civilization. He is the official and literal head of the Church of Tiss, which acts simultaneously as the religious body, the supreme court, and the government's bureaucracy. Although he has not been seen on the Island, in person, in many many years, his presence is always felt.
The Tiss people view the Law of Asmodeus as the ultimate good—a necessary, cold tyranny that is the only bulwark against chaos and destruction. To break the law is not just a crime; it is blasphemy punishable by eternal damnation.
Reign
Worship here is systematic, public, and mandatory. It revolves around:
Codification: Veneration of the massive, ever-expanding Tissian Legal Codes.
Obedience: Public demonstrations of obedience and fealty to the hierarchy (from the High Priests down to the common citizens).
Purity: Enforcement of social order through purges and strict policing to maintain the state’s absolute stability.
Divine Classification
Deity, Devil
Alignment
Lawful Evil
Honorary & Occupational Titles
The Prince of Contracts, The Scarlet Sovereign, The Architects of Law, The God-Devil, Savior of Tiss
Children
Gender
Man
Presentation
Masculine
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