Tiamat's Contract
Summary of Tiamat's Original Contract and the ICA's Role
The Pact of Eternal Leash
Tiamat, the Dragon Goddess of Greed, was bound to Avernus through an ancient infernal contract forged during the Age of Eternal Strife. This contract, known as the Pact of Eternal Leash, was brokered between Tiamat, Asmodeus, and a coalition of planar entities that sought to neutralize her destructive influence on the Material Plane.
The pact stipulated the following key terms:
Imprisonment in Avernus: Tiamat would be confined within Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells, effectively exiling her from the Material Plane and restricting her influence over mortal realms.
Restricted Autonomy: While in Avernus, Tiamat was allowed to maintain her divine essence and interact with her followers, provided her actions did not directly destabilize infernal operations or undermine the Blood War.
Guardianship of Avernus’s Stability: Tiamat’s presence was also intended to bolster Avernus’s defenses against incursions from the Abyss, making her a critical piece in the infernal strategy for the Blood War.
Reclamation Clause: Should her imprisonment be deemed invalid or unjustly tampered with, Tiamat’s soul would revert to its previous state of freedom, and all parties to the contract would bear the responsibility for the consequences.
The ICA’s Role
The Infernal Compliance Authority was created to oversee and maintain contracts of this magnitude, ensuring their enforcement and compliance across the Nine Hells. For the Pact of Eternal Leash, the ICA’s responsibilities included:
Contractual Oversight: Regular audits of the terms of Tiamat’s imprisonment to ensure her containment remained lawful and beneficial to the infernal hierarchy.
Administrative Management: Archiving and safeguarding the Pact within the Obsidian Archive, ensuring its details were meticulously recorded and protected.
Monitoring Compliance: Investigating any breaches or modifications to the contract, whether by Tiamat, her followers, or other infernal parties.
Mediator of Appeals: In the event of a legal dispute, such as a celestial claim or internal tampering, the ICA acts as the mediator to ensure a fair (though infernally biased) resolution.
The Current Crisis
The recent invalidation of Tiamat’s contract was the result of tampering by Margravine Zyxariel, an ambitious devil who sought to gain personal favor with Tiamat by subtly altering the pact to weaken her imprisonment. The ICA’s failure to detect this sooner has not only jeopardized the integrity of the contract but has also emboldened the celestials to intervene, claiming that Tiamat’s imprisonment was mishandled from the start.
This crisis threatens the ICA’s reputation and the delicate balance of power in Avernus. If Tiamat is released, her resurgence could destabilize the Blood War and unleash her wrath upon mortal and immortal realms alike, creating a multiversal catastrophe.
The Pact of Eternal Leash
Tiamat, the Dragon Goddess of Greed, was bound to Avernus through an ancient infernal contract forged during the Age of Eternal Strife. This contract, known as the Pact of Eternal Leash, was brokered between Tiamat, Asmodeus, and a coalition of planar entities that sought to neutralize her destructive influence on the Material Plane.
The pact stipulated the following key terms:
Imprisonment in Avernus: Tiamat would be confined within Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells, effectively exiling her from the Material Plane and restricting her influence over mortal realms.
Restricted Autonomy: While in Avernus, Tiamat was allowed to maintain her divine essence and interact with her followers, provided her actions did not directly destabilize infernal operations or undermine the Blood War.
Guardianship of Avernus’s Stability: Tiamat’s presence was also intended to bolster Avernus’s defenses against incursions from the Abyss, making her a critical piece in the infernal strategy for the Blood War.
Reclamation Clause: Should her imprisonment be deemed invalid or unjustly tampered with, Tiamat’s soul would revert to its previous state of freedom, and all parties to the contract would bear the responsibility for the consequences.
The ICA’s Role
The Infernal Compliance Authority was created to oversee and maintain contracts of this magnitude, ensuring their enforcement and compliance across the Nine Hells. For the Pact of Eternal Leash, the ICA’s responsibilities included:
Contractual Oversight: Regular audits of the terms of Tiamat’s imprisonment to ensure her containment remained lawful and beneficial to the infernal hierarchy.
Administrative Management: Archiving and safeguarding the Pact within the Obsidian Archive, ensuring its details were meticulously recorded and protected.
Monitoring Compliance: Investigating any breaches or modifications to the contract, whether by Tiamat, her followers, or other infernal parties.
Mediator of Appeals: In the event of a legal dispute, such as a celestial claim or internal tampering, the ICA acts as the mediator to ensure a fair (though infernally biased) resolution.
The Current Crisis
The recent invalidation of Tiamat’s contract was the result of tampering by Margravine Zyxariel, an ambitious devil who sought to gain personal favor with Tiamat by subtly altering the pact to weaken her imprisonment. The ICA’s failure to detect this sooner has not only jeopardized the integrity of the contract but has also emboldened the celestials to intervene, claiming that Tiamat’s imprisonment was mishandled from the start.
This crisis threatens the ICA’s reputation and the delicate balance of power in Avernus. If Tiamat is released, her resurgence could destabilize the Blood War and unleash her wrath upon mortal and immortal realms alike, creating a multiversal catastrophe.