A return home

[Ebiris]

"That'll help with sending reinforcements to Daun in time," Alicia says. She's a bit slower than everyone else at navigating the forest, coming to a stop a little bit from Antenora and Zariel.

[Anastasia]

"Daun," Zariel speaks up, "Mephisto's stoics are strong there, but locked in a long war with aboleths."

"We've heard," Syala agrees, leaning against a nearby tree. "Ugly business there with Lixer blundering, too."

[Ebiris]

"Demogorgon's backing the aboleths and the world is predominantly under their control," Alicia confirms what she knows, going to sit on a mossy rock. "It was Lixer's blundering in that helped us rope Empress Sulia into joining our attack on Avernus. So we're paying her back by helping her efforts in stemming the aboleths there."

[Anastasia]

"The high wizard of the empire is Xagubloop the Blue as well as a favored servant of Demogorgon." Zariel remarks, "A half fiend thanks to copulating with an avatar of Demogorgon. A devoted followers of demon rites, he has developed several spells to harm wizards. A fact that Mephisto likely does not know, as I never passed that intelligence to him. The bastard had nothing but contempt for me as a Fallen." With a cold look of her own, "I know he sought who created those spells, but Demogorgon's power shields his servant."

[Ebiris]

"Well, it has been thousands of years, but half-fiends can live a long time," Alicia says. "I'll pass it on to Empress Sulia anyway. We were actually discussing the other day; how the fallen/true devil split among Lords of the Nine is upset by Lixer's ascendance, since he and Glasya form a new bloc as spawn of Asmodeus. Divide and rule, it's an old trick."

[Anastasia]

"It is. Right now," Antenora begins to narrate, "I believe there's three power blocs. The first is Dispater, Mammon and Mephistopheles. The second is Belial and Baazlebub. The third is Lixer, Glasya and Asmodeus. Levistus stands aside of it all, being imprisoned and trusted by none of them. No matter how I look at it, it strengthens Asmodeus's position, as he has even more influence amid the Nine. Additionally, Lixer is consumed with defending Avernus while Mephisto and the Lord of the Flies occupy one another in an eternal cold war."

A beat as she goes on, "That leaves Dispater, Mammon, Belial, Glasya, Levistus and Asmodeus. Of them, Mammon is distrusted by his own allies for previous betrayals so he projects minimal power. That leaves Dispater, Glasya, Belial and Levistus as the only Lords of the Nine not occupied or in a weakened position. They are divided evenly, leaving Asmodeus to loom over it all. A reorganization caused by many things, but one that ultimately benefits Asmodeus, as always."

A soft noise, halfway between a hiss and a sigh, comes from Zariel. "Always to his benefit in the end. All to put Bel in position so he could be replaced by Lixer. I hear Bel managed to fail spectacularly."

[Ebiris]

"The invasion of Lifasa was a stunning success," Alicia says, shaking her head. "Bel had his army ready to go, Taelfagn's puppets were flawlessly recruited, trained, and positioned with no one on Lifasa or the upper planes being the least bit the wiser. And yet..." she smiles. "Just a few ragged refugees escaping that initial blitz were all it took to turn it all around. Finding Medicant, recruiting allies - of which I'm proud to count myself as one, and successfully rolling back all of Hell's gains. Bel staked much on those final battles, and he lost profoundly."

[Anastasia]

"Bel personally lost an entire world?" Zariel asks, voice deep in disbelief. "Bel is one of the best generals Hell has. How did he go so completely astray? I loathe him, but he is far from an incompetent mewling."

[Ebiris]

"Medicant was the X-factor," Alicia says. "That mobile fortress rife with arcana rivalling the gods gave those refugees an unassailable base from which to grow their strength. Even I'd hesitate to cross swords with some of Aurora's best. Aurora's what they named it, they wanted a fresh start," she explains the name in a brief aside. "They grew in power with startling speed, chaining victories together in guerrilla strikes against Hell's forces across the planes, bleeding away devils from Lifasa all while the resistance there grew in strength. There was also an incident with Abigor going rogue, ascending to divinity and hiding himself in Fury's Heart after eluding Bel's attempts at putting him down. Aurora's forces finished that job instead."

"When it came to the final battle, Talefagn's puppets were almost entirely slain, captured, or subverted before Aurora's crusade re-invaded Lifasa en masse. Bel trod upon the prime for a second time, having already been baited out when Aurora attacked one of Taelfagn's puppets but they fled before he could do anything, wasting the effort and solidifying everyone else's resolve against him. And when he took the field the second time, Seira and Amaryl were there to meet him and send him straight back to Hell."

[Anastasia]

"It was what made it all work," Syala agrees, "They're blessed in so many ways, so thus Bel lost."

"What happened to him? Death? Destruction? Lixer said he destroyed him but I do not trust that scrawny runt." Zariel declares, resting herself, sitting on the mossy ground.

[Ebiris]

"I'd thought you'd know better than us," Alicia shakes her head. "Lixer showed Seira a vision of him slaying Bel, but there are other theories. As you said, he's one of Hell's best generals, not a resource to throw aside casually."

[Anastasia]

"I don't, but I never felt him dying for sure," Zariel says, "But who can say with Asmodeus supporting him?" A sour look, "As if he had any reason for me to know."

[Ebiris]

"I think it's safe then to assume that Bel is still alive, even if he may not ever reappear again in the same form," Alicia says. "My familiar Marie posited he's already acting under disguise as one of Lixer's advisers to steady the transition, while keeping him on tap if any other lords need to be replaced in the future."

[Anastasia]

"The only question is that if Marie is right, what did Asmodeus give Bel to agree to that?" Antenora says, "To give up that position is unthinkable."

Zariel grunts at that, looking away into the foliage.

[Ebiris]

Alicia looks at Zariel and then back to Antenora. "And what does refusing get him?" she asks the obvious retort.

When in Hell it's Asmodeus's way or the high way.