At the genesis, and even before, there existed nothing but chaos. Out of this primordial state emerged demons, physical embodiments of disorder. Time had not yet come into being, and so the demons engaged in ceaseless battles within a swirling maelstrom of turmoil, spanning an immeasurable span.
The raw state of chaos became unbearable for the universe, necessitating the rise of a counterforce—the power of law. From this concept of abstract order, a collective of beings coalesced to confront the demons. These new deities of law adorned themselves with resplendent armor crafted from unwavering stability and wielded weapons forged from ideals and reason. They plunged into the fray, engaging the demons in combat.
As the battle raged on for countless ages, the deities of law felt the need to monitor their progress. They devised numbers to record the slain enemies and created the concept of time to measure the duration until victory would be achieved.
However, over time, the deities of law began to suspect that the supply of demons was inexhaustible. Weary of the perpetual conflict, they desired to pursue other endeavors such as fashioning worlds and bestowing intelligence upon beings. Hence, they created magnificent winged warriors, known as angels, to serve them and wield their divine magic both in the ongoing war against the demons and in the yet-to-be-formed realms. These angelic beings, diverse and glorious, came into existence.
Among the angels, the most valiant, indomitable, fierce, and beautiful was Asmodeus. He vanquished more demons than any of his brethren, even surpassing the accomplishments of the deities themselves. However, as the eons passed, Asmodeus and his formidable comrades began to adopt certain traits of their enemies to better combat them. Gradually, their beauty transformed into ugliness, and the deities and other angels started to fear them.
Eventually, the denizens of the celestial realms implored the mighty gods to exile Asmodeus and his most terrifying avenging angels. Thus, Asmodeus faced trial before Heironeous, the god of valor.
The darkest among the angels readily responded to the charges, citing passages from the tablets of law that he himself had contributed to shaping. "The primary duty of law is to eradicate chaos," he argued. "I have fulfilled this duty more effectively than anyone else."
"You have waged war, and you have excelled at it," agreed Heironeous. "Yet, in the process, you and your company have tainted yourselves. Could you not depart elsewhere, so as to prevent contaminating us as well?"
Asmodeus smiled, and the smoke of countless battlefields billowed from his lips. "As the Lord of Battle," he pointed out, "you should know better than anyone that war is a grim affair. We have darkened ourselves so that you may remain radiant. We have upheld the laws rather than breaking them. Therefore, you have no right to cast us out."
The gods huddled together, perplexed by what they had heard. Great consternation befell them as they could not find any counterarguments in their tablets of law to refute Asmodeus's claims. The dark angel possessed a superior knowledge of the laws, skillfully wielding their clauses like a knife.
With the passage of time, Asmodeus and his band of warriors grew increasingly alarming in appearance. Fangs protruded from their mouths, their tongues forked, and they cloaked themselves in mantles of fire. The deities constructed new citadels in an attempt to evade them, but Asmodeus and his followers penetrated these fortresses as well. They employed the laws themselves to sue the gods, demanding complete access to the privileges bestowed upon champions of order. The deities were distressed but unable to find any lawful means to halt them.
Thus, the gods retreated to their grand project—the creation of mortals and verdant worlds for these favored beings to inhabit. However, when demons invaded these worlds, Asmodeus and his dark angels were summoned to repel them. Although the voracious hordes of the tanar'ri proved as formidable on the newly formed realms of the Material Plane as they were on the battlefields of the Outer Planes, Asmodeus and his dark angels generally succeeded in driving them back. Collaborating with the gods, the angels erected barriers on the Material Plane to keep the demons at bay. They raised walls, constructed mountain ranges, covered portions of their realms with icy wastelands, and submerged the entrances utilized by the demons beneath vast oceans. Consequently, the newly created worlds, like Asmodeus and his cohorts, bore scars and were marred in order to serve the greater cause of law.
Eventually, the deities of order made a horrifying revelation. The mortals they had created—their source of pride and joy—immediately set about dismantling these barriers. They scaled walls, climbed mountains, and traversed glaciers to allow the demons' reentry. Upon their return to the Material Plane, the demons ran amok, obliterating one earthly paradise after another.
The deities were both angered and confounded. "Why have my gentle halflings done this to me?" cried Yondalla, their creator.
"I fashioned mountains and designated my clever dwarves as their guardians!" thundered Moradin. "Why have they tunneled beneath them and breached the demon crypts?"
The gods lamented and despaired until Asmodeus approached them with an answer. "Your mortals act in this manner because you have granted them minds of their own."
"Naturally, we did!" proclaimed the deities. "Without free will, the choice to abide by the law becomes meaningless."
"Indeed," responded Asmodeus, crushing a small insect that had emerged from his impeccably trimmed red beard. "These mortals are inquisitive creatures, and the demons have enticed them with the promise of freedom. Soon they will realize that the liberty dangled before them leads only to absolute anarchy, and within the realms of demons, they are free only to be destroyed. Yet, by then, it will be too late for them. You may create more worlds and populate them with more mortals, but I assure you, the same folly will recur eternally." When the gods comprehended the truth behind the dark angel's words, their spirits sank. They tore their garments and wailed in despair.
"I possess the solution that eludes you," declared Asmodeus, "one that will allow your precious mortals to retain the free will you have so benevolently bestowed upon them. The predicament lies in this: your law relies on voluntary obedience. You command the mortals to abstain from chaos, but what happens when they disobey you?"
The deities found themselves without an answer. "We are their creators," moaned Yondalla. "Surely, they should heed us."
"Indeed, they should," replied Asmodeus, bowing gallantly to the fair Yondalla. "But they do not, for there can be no law without punishment."
"Punishment?" murmured the assembly of deities and lesser gods. "What is this punishment you speak of?"
Asmodeus unsheathed it. At that time, Punishment took the form of a mighty sword, though it has assumed various shapes since then. "I have devised this instrument for you as the ultimate weapon of law. When laws are transgressed, the wrongdoers must
The raw state of chaos became unbearable for the universe, necessitating the rise of a counterforce—the power of law. From this concept of abstract order, a collective of beings coalesced to confront the demons. These new deities of law adorned themselves with resplendent armor crafted from unwavering stability and wielded weapons forged from ideals and reason. They plunged into the fray, engaging the demons in combat.
As the battle raged on for countless ages, the deities of law felt the need to monitor their progress. They devised numbers to record the slain enemies and created the concept of time to measure the duration until victory would be achieved.
However, over time, the deities of law began to suspect that the supply of demons was inexhaustible. Weary of the perpetual conflict, they desired to pursue other endeavors such as fashioning worlds and bestowing intelligence upon beings. Hence, they created magnificent winged warriors, known as angels, to serve them and wield their divine magic both in the ongoing war against the demons and in the yet-to-be-formed realms. These angelic beings, diverse and glorious, came into existence.
Among the angels, the most valiant, indomitable, fierce, and beautiful was Asmodeus. He vanquished more demons than any of his brethren, even surpassing the accomplishments of the deities themselves. However, as the eons passed, Asmodeus and his formidable comrades began to adopt certain traits of their enemies to better combat them. Gradually, their beauty transformed into ugliness, and the deities and other angels started to fear them.
Eventually, the denizens of the celestial realms implored the mighty gods to exile Asmodeus and his most terrifying avenging angels. Thus, Asmodeus faced trial before Heironeous, the god of valor.
The darkest among the angels readily responded to the charges, citing passages from the tablets of law that he himself had contributed to shaping. "The primary duty of law is to eradicate chaos," he argued. "I have fulfilled this duty more effectively than anyone else."
"You have waged war, and you have excelled at it," agreed Heironeous. "Yet, in the process, you and your company have tainted yourselves. Could you not depart elsewhere, so as to prevent contaminating us as well?"
Asmodeus smiled, and the smoke of countless battlefields billowed from his lips. "As the Lord of Battle," he pointed out, "you should know better than anyone that war is a grim affair. We have darkened ourselves so that you may remain radiant. We have upheld the laws rather than breaking them. Therefore, you have no right to cast us out."
The gods huddled together, perplexed by what they had heard. Great consternation befell them as they could not find any counterarguments in their tablets of law to refute Asmodeus's claims. The dark angel possessed a superior knowledge of the laws, skillfully wielding their clauses like a knife.
With the passage of time, Asmodeus and his band of warriors grew increasingly alarming in appearance. Fangs protruded from their mouths, their tongues forked, and they cloaked themselves in mantles of fire. The deities constructed new citadels in an attempt to evade them, but Asmodeus and his followers penetrated these fortresses as well. They employed the laws themselves to sue the gods, demanding complete access to the privileges bestowed upon champions of order. The deities were distressed but unable to find any lawful means to halt them.
Thus, the gods retreated to their grand project—the creation of mortals and verdant worlds for these favored beings to inhabit. However, when demons invaded these worlds, Asmodeus and his dark angels were summoned to repel them. Although the voracious hordes of the tanar'ri proved as formidable on the newly formed realms of the Material Plane as they were on the battlefields of the Outer Planes, Asmodeus and his dark angels generally succeeded in driving them back. Collaborating with the gods, the angels erected barriers on the Material Plane to keep the demons at bay. They raised walls, constructed mountain ranges, covered portions of their realms with icy wastelands, and submerged the entrances utilized by the demons beneath vast oceans. Consequently, the newly created worlds, like Asmodeus and his cohorts, bore scars and were marred in order to serve the greater cause of law.
Eventually, the deities of order made a horrifying revelation. The mortals they had created—their source of pride and joy—immediately set about dismantling these barriers. They scaled walls, climbed mountains, and traversed glaciers to allow the demons' reentry. Upon their return to the Material Plane, the demons ran amok, obliterating one earthly paradise after another.
The deities were both angered and confounded. "Why have my gentle halflings done this to me?" cried Yondalla, their creator.
"I fashioned mountains and designated my clever dwarves as their guardians!" thundered Moradin. "Why have they tunneled beneath them and breached the demon crypts?"
The gods lamented and despaired until Asmodeus approached them with an answer. "Your mortals act in this manner because you have granted them minds of their own."
"Naturally, we did!" proclaimed the deities. "Without free will, the choice to abide by the law becomes meaningless."
"Indeed," responded Asmodeus, crushing a small insect that had emerged from his impeccably trimmed red beard. "These mortals are inquisitive creatures, and the demons have enticed them with the promise of freedom. Soon they will realize that the liberty dangled before them leads only to absolute anarchy, and within the realms of demons, they are free only to be destroyed. Yet, by then, it will be too late for them. You may create more worlds and populate them with more mortals, but I assure you, the same folly will recur eternally." When the gods comprehended the truth behind the dark angel's words, their spirits sank. They tore their garments and wailed in despair.
"I possess the solution that eludes you," declared Asmodeus, "one that will allow your precious mortals to retain the free will you have so benevolently bestowed upon them. The predicament lies in this: your law relies on voluntary obedience. You command the mortals to abstain from chaos, but what happens when they disobey you?"
The deities found themselves without an answer. "We are their creators," moaned Yondalla. "Surely, they should heed us."
"Indeed, they should," replied Asmodeus, bowing gallantly to the fair Yondalla. "But they do not, for there can be no law without punishment."
"Punishment?" murmured the assembly of deities and lesser gods. "What is this punishment you speak of?"
Asmodeus unsheathed it. At that time, Punishment took the form of a mighty sword, though it has assumed various shapes since then. "I have devised this instrument for you as the ultimate weapon of law. When laws are transgressed, the wrongdoers must