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I'm Alexis Zohanian. You

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more recently, a large part of my identity

1:01

is being a father to my two wonderful

1:03

daughters. In my

1:05

podcast, Business Dad, I'm hoping to

1:07

open up the conversation about balancing

1:09

careers and family. The

1:11

one thing I constantly hear successful people

1:13

say, without fail, is that they

1:16

wish they'd spent more time with their kids. That's

1:18

time no one can get back. So

1:20

I decided to create Business Dad to engage

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in the conversation about how we're spending our

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time now, providing a forum for

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successful dads to share their joys and

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challenges of being a working parent.

1:32

You'll get to hear from a wide range

1:34

of business dads, from Rainn Wilson and Guy

1:36

Roz to Todd Carmichael and Shane

1:38

Batier. And while this

1:40

podcast will talk about business and

1:43

will definitely be featuring dads, I

1:45

think everyone can learn something from

1:47

these incredible conversations as we unpack

1:49

the expectations we all have about

1:52

careers, relationships, and ourselves. Business

1:55

Dad is available now, so be

1:57

sure to listen and subscribe wherever you get your

1:59

podcast. Law

2:04

and Chaos. Good

2:07

and Evil. It

2:09

is these four axioms, these

2:12

fundamental concepts, upon which

2:14

the entire cosmos of Dungeons and Dragons

2:16

is built. And

2:19

in no way is this better reflected

2:21

than in the outer planes of existence.

2:25

Both spiritual and physical manifestations

2:27

of these fundamental concepts. The

2:30

outer planes provide the direction, thought,

2:33

and purpose of the entire

2:35

D&D multiverse. The

2:37

four axioms of good, evil,

2:40

law, and chaos permeate the

2:43

fiber of reality in the outer planes

2:45

and are embodied by the denizens who dwell

2:48

there. Demons.

2:51

Devils. Angels.

2:55

The very existence of these otherworldly beings

2:57

is predicated on the fact that good

2:59

and evil, law and chaos

3:02

are not mere arbitrary subjective constructs,

3:05

but very real, tangible forces of

3:07

reality and states of being. And

3:11

since time immemorial, these

3:13

forces have stood in diametric opposition,

3:17

ever and eternally struggling against each other.

3:20

And for untold millennia, the

3:22

precarious balance between them has

3:25

remained intact. But what

3:27

happens when the equilibrium between these

3:29

axioms is challenged, when the

3:31

balance begins to skew? What

3:34

happens when the lines that divide

3:36

and distinguish these fundamental concepts begin

3:39

to blur? I'm

3:41

William Stark and this is D&D Legends

3:43

and Lore. Our

3:54

story begins not amongst these outer planes

3:56

where gods and fiends dwell, seven

4:00

heavens of Celestia where the sacred mountain

4:02

rises from a shining silver sea, nor

4:06

upon the war-torn rocky wastelands of

4:08

Avernus where demons and devils

4:10

wage eternal war amidst rivers of blood

4:12

and hellfire. It

4:15

begins on a morning like any other, on

4:18

the material plain, in a

4:20

rural town also like any

4:22

other. The

4:25

sun rises, and a stable hand is already

4:27

hard at work, cleaning out the empty stalls

4:29

and feeding the stable horses at the local

4:31

inn. He wipes

4:33

the sweat from his brow as he finishes the morning

4:36

rounds. He is relieved to have finished

4:38

so early. The heavenly smell

4:40

of freshly baked bread and frying eggs

4:42

wafts across the stable yard from the

4:44

attached inn. It

4:46

is time for breakfast. But

4:49

as he exits the stable, thoughts

4:51

of a plate full of food fill in his head. He

4:54

hears something, utterly alien, to his

4:56

idyllic life. A

5:00

blood-curdling scream pierces the air. Before

5:04

he has time to react, he sees it. A

5:07

seven-foot-tall monstrosity, bipedal

5:09

and vaguely humanoid, but with the

5:11

visage of a monstrous hyena. A

5:15

knoll. Vicious

5:17

and blood-thirsty, it is said that

5:19

knolls emerge from the wilderness, plundering

5:21

and slaughtering with frenzied delight. The

5:24

stable hand has heard the stories of these fiends

5:26

before, but he has never seen one. Until

5:30

today. The

5:32

creature's maw salivates as it bounds

5:34

forward with demon-like speed. In

5:37

an instant, the stable hand is dead,

5:40

by claw, fang, and

5:42

malice. The

5:44

rest of the town fares little better. Though

5:47

the people take up arms against a sudden

5:49

threat, it is a veritable bloodbath. And

5:52

as the buildings begin to burn amidst

5:54

the onslaught, a wild, hideous laugh pierces

5:56

the air. A colossal

5:58

knoll, covered in and matted bloodstained fur,

6:01

and swinging a three-headed flail charges out

6:03

of the haze from the west. Gore

6:06

drips from its red maw open in a

6:08

violent laugh. Yinagu,

6:11

the demon lord of savagery and butchery,

6:13

walks the material plane once again. And

6:17

where he goes, horror

6:19

follows. The day

6:21

seems lost, but a

6:23

bloodied priest on his knees amidst the

6:25

carnage beseeches his deity of good and

6:27

light for deliverance from this incarnation of

6:29

chaos and evil. The

6:32

cackling demon lord stops midstride.

6:35

It shuts its maw and narrows its

6:37

eyes, gazing up towards the sky. Suddenly

6:45

a beam of radiant light pierces the haze.

6:48

Then a powerful angel streaks down from

6:50

above. She is pure

6:52

beauty, fury, and zeal. The

6:55

angel slashes her sword across Yinagu's chest

6:57

and utters a spell. A

6:59

portal opens behind the demon lord as she drives

7:01

him back. The demon lord

7:04

is sent tumbling through the portal, which quickly

7:06

closes behind him. Having

7:08

lost their lord, the remaining gnolls

7:10

flee in terror before the radiant

7:12

glory of Zariel, the companion

7:14

of light. With

7:18

little effort she and her host of angels cut

7:20

down the fleeing gnolls, but it is

7:22

too late. Known as the

7:24

smoldering ruin, its inhabitants

7:26

are either dead, dying, or broken.

7:30

Good did not win on this day. Zariel

7:37

the archangel surveys the horror from

7:39

above. She

7:41

has seen this before. She

7:43

has seen this countless times. In

7:46

frustration she forces herself to memorize the faces

7:48

of the dead and the sight of the

7:50

burning ruin. And

7:53

she decides that enough is

7:56

enough. In

8:08

the beginning, before there

8:10

ever was a beginning, chaos

8:12

reigned. All

8:15

of existence a primordial soup of

8:17

havoc itself, and

8:19

out of it came the

8:22

demons. Bring

8:24

manifestations of chaos, personifications

8:27

of ferocity, vile

8:29

perversion, and ultimately, destruction.

8:32

Here in this primordial soup the demons

8:35

raged against and ravaged each other without

8:37

end in a vortex of pure disorder.

8:41

Perhaps this state of raw chaos was intolerable

8:43

for reality to bear. Or

8:45

maybe, after a nearly infinite amount of time,

8:48

an eventual inevitability occurred.

8:51

A new force arose from the chaos, its

8:54

very antithesis, the

8:56

force of law. These

9:01

new deities, fashioned in gleaming armor

9:03

made of pure stability and armed

9:05

with weapons forged of ideal thought,

9:07

immediately took up arms against the

9:09

demons. It

9:11

is said that the battle raged for uncounted

9:13

eons, and in that time the deities of

9:15

law began to track the progress of their

9:17

conquest. They

9:20

created numbers to record the enemy slain,

9:23

and time to measure and foretell how long

9:25

their victory would take. As

9:27

this newly invented time progressed, the deities

9:29

of law began to realize that the

9:31

supply of demons was infinite. Wary

9:34

of war, their predilection to order

9:36

called them toward other aspirations, such

9:38

as the creation of worlds, of

9:40

life, and of intelligent

9:43

beings. So it

9:45

was that they made the first of these intelligent

9:47

beings. Full winged warriors

9:49

to serve them and wield their divine

9:51

magic, both in the endless war

9:53

against the demons and in the worlds yet

9:55

to be created. These

9:58

beings, glorious in their diversity. were

10:00

called angels. Beings

10:07

of pure light and law, angels

10:09

are divine beings of great power and

10:12

foresight, and they made for an excellent

10:14

counter to the infinite hordes of demons.

10:18

One particular angel among them rose

10:20

in unparalleled prominence, the

10:22

bravest, fiercest, and most beautiful of

10:24

all angels. Asmodeus,

10:28

in his time Asmodeus slew more demons than

10:30

any other of his kind, more

10:32

even than any deity of law. But

10:35

as the eons wore on, Asmodeus and

10:38

the members of his magnificent and terrible

10:40

company began to take on physical traits

10:42

of the demons they fought. Fangs

10:45

and forked tongues, vicious claws

10:47

and wicked tails, gradually

10:49

their beauty turned to ugliness, and

10:51

the deities and angels began to

10:53

fear them. But

10:56

Asmodeus and his host's transformation was

10:58

more than merely physical, but

11:01

spiritual as well. Their

11:03

outlook and approach to the war had changed.

11:06

No longer did they fight while upholding ideals

11:08

of valor and honor. Instead,

11:10

cutthroat and brutal tactics became

11:12

the primary approach, and

11:15

both bloodthirst and vicious guile were

11:17

rewarded over bravery and self-sacrifice within

11:19

Asmodeus's ranks. Asmodeus

11:22

came the first divide between actions of good

11:24

and actions of evil. Eventually,

11:27

Asmodeus and the most fearsome of

11:29

his avenging angels were so terrible

11:31

to behold that their frightened celestial

11:33

kin besieged the gods to banish

11:35

Asmodeus and his angels. But

11:38

having broken no law, the deities of law

11:40

could not and indeed would not banish them.

11:43

In the words of Asmodeus himself,

11:47

The first duty of law is to

11:49

destroy chaos, and I

11:51

have performed this duty better

11:53

than any. And none could

11:55

deny the truth of his words. And

11:59

the gods considered it no further, for they

12:01

were quite distracted with their new great project.

12:04

The creation of the Prime Material Plane. Verdant

12:07

worlds of paradise and mortals gifted souls on

12:09

the free will to experience these worlds as

12:12

they saw fit. But

12:14

the threat of the demons of the Outer Chaos

12:16

still remained. So together, the

12:19

gods and angels created barriers on the Material

12:21

Plane to keep the demons at bay. They

12:24

erected walls, threw up ranges of

12:26

mountains, covered portions of their worlds

12:28

with icy wastes, and buried entrances

12:30

the demons had created under vast

12:32

oceans. But there was

12:34

one thing the deities of law did not foresee. The

12:37

mortals they had created, the ones given

12:39

souls to give them essence, unique existence,

12:42

and free will so they might do

12:44

with that existence what they wished, had

12:46

immediately set to work tearing down these

12:49

barriers. They scaled

12:51

walls, climbed mountains, and traversed

12:53

glaciers, and in doing

12:55

so, inevitably, created paths that let

12:57

the demons in. And

13:00

so it was that demons destroyed one

13:02

earthly paradise after another, and

13:04

the gods lamented. And who

13:06

would answer the lamentations of the gods

13:08

themselves? Why? Asmodeus,

13:12

of course. The Dark

13:14

Angel acknowledged that the free will to choose

13:16

obeying the law was important. He

13:18

noted that mortals were curious by nature and

13:20

lured by demonic promises of freedom. And

13:23

no matter how many times the process

13:25

repeated, they would always follow the dangled

13:27

liberty offered to them by demon kind,

13:30

only to realize too late that what

13:32

was really being offered was merely anarchic

13:35

destruction. His solution was

13:37

simple. Actions must

13:39

have consequences. Asmodeus

13:41

argued that the law meant nothing without punishment,

13:43

and that criminals had to suffer as a

13:46

warning to others. A few

13:48

made to suffer, so that the

13:50

majority would see the consequences. Seeing

13:53

retribution as a basis of all law,

13:55

the gods agreed. So they

13:57

handed down their new laws and sent their clerics

14:00

through mortal lands to announce that the punishment of

14:02

sin would be torment. The

14:05

gods were pleased with this arrangement. They

14:08

truly thought that the majority would obey

14:10

and few would actually be punished. Being

14:13

entities of pure law and good themselves, perhaps

14:16

it was impossible for them to understand the

14:18

temptations of chaos and of evil. As

14:21

mortals died, there were those among them

14:23

who bore souls marred with their transgressions.

14:26

As the law demanded, as Modius and the

14:29

others of his dark brigade said about their

14:31

punishment, they flayed these sinners

14:33

and burned them and placed them on

14:35

racks. The shrieks of the

14:37

damned reverberated throughout the heavens and the flowers

14:40

of the gods' idyllic gardens stripped with blood.

14:44

Unable to ignore the horrors, the gods

14:46

demanded as Modius to attend them. They

14:48

accused the dark angel of high crimes

14:50

against them, of polluting the heavens with

14:52

wickedness and sin. To

14:55

their accusations, as Modius offered a

14:57

proposal. You wish to see the

14:59

law upheld, but you do

15:01

not care to witness its rank or consequences. I

15:05

propose my followers and I take

15:07

our project elsewhere. We

15:09

will build for you a perfect heaven. You

15:12

will gain from its existence, but need never

15:14

lay eyes upon it. The

15:17

gods listened with intent. They

15:19

were eager to see as Modius gone as well

15:21

as the tormented souls of the damned. But

15:24

as Modius was more than happy to oblige,

15:27

so long as the agreement was made

15:29

a pact. A

15:31

document of pure law. This

15:34

pact avowed that as Modius and his forces

15:37

would carry out divine will, specifying

15:39

the fate of the damned and allowing his

15:41

forces to draw magic from the souls in

15:43

order to maintain their own power and this

15:45

new hell. Though

15:47

suspicious, the gods saw no other

15:49

recourse. Thus, the

15:51

law deity signed the document that determined

15:53

the boundaries of hell and the rules

15:55

for the transmission of wicked souls, known

15:57

today as the Pact of

16:00

Hell. primeval. It

16:02

was not for many years that the gods discovered

16:04

an alarming drop in the number of souls being

16:06

transmitted to their various heavens. Upon

16:09

conferring with their clergy, they

16:11

realized that Asmodeus' forces were actively

16:13

corrupting mortals and ensuring their damnation

16:16

by turning them toward evil. No

16:19

longer merely punishing sins but encouraging

16:21

them for his own gain, Asmodeus

16:24

was called upon to answer for this violation

16:26

of the pact. Asmodeus'

16:28

response to these accusations, read

16:31

the fine print. It was

16:34

then that the deities physically cast Asmodeus

16:36

out of the upper realms, and

16:39

he fell and fell and

16:42

fell until he eventually reached his

16:44

newly created hells. He

16:46

plunged through the nascent layers of

16:48

the plane, spiraling through rock and

16:50

soil, the protesting earth toward

16:52

his flesh, opening scores of gaping

16:55

wounds. Still, he fell until he

16:57

could fall no further. The

16:59

point where he finally stopped was the

17:01

deepest part of the hells, the pit

17:04

of Nessus. The wounds

17:06

that Asmodeus suffered in this dramatic fall

17:08

have still never healed. It

17:10

had been eons since the divide between the

17:13

angels created by the ancient gods of law,

17:16

and Asmodeus and his hosts had begun to

17:18

form. And though it could

17:20

be said that the birth of devilkind had happened

17:22

long before this moment, it is

17:24

here where the cooperation between the lawful good

17:26

and the lawful evil forces of the cosmos

17:29

ends. It is here

17:31

where the devils, beings of tyranny,

17:33

domination, and malice truly earn their

17:35

distinction from angelkind. It

17:37

is here where the nine hells became a

17:39

force unto itself with its own prerogative in

17:42

the universe. It is

17:44

here where the ancient, unnamed war

17:46

between law and chaos became

17:50

the blood war. Avernus,

17:57

the first layer of the nine hells. A

18:00

blasted hellscape stretches for as far as the eye can

18:02

see. Rivers of lava

18:04

flow down jagged mountains covered in sharp crystalline

18:07

rock that threaten to rip and tear. Fireballs

18:10

careen through the atmosphere, crashing to the

18:12

earth and incinerating all they touch. And

18:15

through the heart of this desolation runs a

18:17

mighty river, its waters dark

18:19

as wine or blood and its

18:21

current a swift torrent. The

18:24

river sticks, its foul waters

18:26

traveling throughout the lower plains of existence.

18:29

From pandemonium to acaron.

18:32

But it is here above this

18:34

particular scene the Archangel Zariel stands

18:36

sentinel. She is watching. She

18:39

is waiting for something. She

18:43

stares with a fierce intensity at the

18:45

churning river. Then

18:47

she sees it. A

18:49

bulging and colossal monstrosity, similar

18:52

to a mud-skipper in shape but over 160

18:54

feet in length,

18:56

with large regular sets of sharp

18:58

teeth in its gaping maw, greasy

19:00

fur covering its bulbous form, and

19:03

extended legs of a hyena. Crokectowak.

19:07

A foul and powerful demon swims the

19:09

river sticks. But it

19:11

would seem that its arrival was expected by more

19:13

than just the Archangel. Across

19:16

the gore spattered wastes marches an infernal

19:18

legion, row after row of

19:20

strictly regimented devils march in perfect unison.

19:23

Of them hovers a construct of infernal

19:25

terror, a flying fortress of black

19:28

metal and burning engines. The

19:30

moment the legion spots Crokectowak is clear

19:32

from Zariel's vantage point as the infernal

19:34

legion doubles their marching speed. As

19:38

if in direct response to the legion's acceleration,

19:40

the great demon breaches to the bank of

19:42

the river, its mass grinding

19:44

against the rock, bone, and viscera

19:46

of the river's shoreline. Crokectowak

19:48

opens its great maw wide and

19:51

spilling out of its voluminous gullet

19:53

pours a teeming horde of demons.

19:56

With a terrible crash the two forces

19:58

collide, the screams rent for the dying

20:00

and blood-curdling shrieks of fiendish war cries

20:02

echo across the waste. Even

20:05

from her vantage point far above the carnage,

20:07

Zariel can hear the sounds of slaughter and

20:09

violence. Her brow furrows

20:12

in frustration. Her sword hand

20:14

aches to unsheathe her blade. With

20:16

but a single swipe of her sword, she could

20:18

wipe out every one of the falfeens below. But

20:21

she stays her hand. Her lord has

20:24

commanded her to stand sentry and track the progress

20:26

of the blood war, not engage

20:28

with it. And she

20:30

has done so faithfully for millennia. The

20:36

Blood War Throughout history,

20:38

the teeming hordes of the Abyss and the

20:40

strictly regimented legions of the Nine Hells have

20:43

battled for supremacy in the cosmos. The

20:46

battle lines in the Blood War undulate like a

20:48

writhing snake. Each time

20:50

one side gains an advantage, invariably

20:52

its lines weaken somewhere else. The

20:54

Blood War Although the

20:56

intensity of the conflict waxes and wanes, and

20:58

the front lines of the war could shift

21:01

drastically, a moment never goes by

21:03

when demons and devils aren't battling each other

21:05

somewhere in the multiverse. This

21:08

war is a manifestation of a wider

21:10

cosmic principle, the eternal

21:12

tension between law and chaos. There

21:15

are those who believe the war to be an

21:17

integral part of the balance of all existence. They

21:20

see the Blood War not as a mere scrap

21:23

between different varieties of evil, but

21:25

as a necessary conflict of foremost

21:27

importance. Without the devil's

21:29

service in this conflict, demons would quickly

21:31

overwhelm all the outer planes and decisively

21:33

win the cosmic battle for the side

21:35

of chaos. After destroying

21:38

the rest of existence, they would devour

21:40

each other, and that would be the

21:42

end of all things. And

21:44

this line of thinking is analogous

21:46

with devilkind. To them,

21:48

the Nine Hells are the front line in the

21:51

demon's war against all creation, and the fate of

21:53

the cosmos depends on the devil's ability to blunt

21:55

this invasion and send the demons back to the

21:57

abyss. But for the rule

21:59

of law, that underlies the actions of the infernal

22:01

leaders and their armies all would have been lost

22:04

long ago. If

22:06

necessary, a general must not

22:08

hesitate to sacrifice entire legions to stall an

22:10

enemy advance or punch a hole through an

22:12

enemy phalanx. Iron

22:14

discipline combined with a ruthless focus on victory

22:16

at any cost is what has fueled the

22:18

Devil's War Machine for eons. As

22:21

one might surmise, if this concept of cosmic

22:23

balance of the Blood War is true, it

22:26

must also be true in reverse. If

22:29

and when the demonic scourge is ever

22:31

truly quelled, Asmodeus, the

22:33

Lord of the Nine, would invariably lead

22:35

his forces to then conquer the other

22:37

lawful planes. And from there,

22:40

the entire cosmos, establishing himself

22:42

as the universe's one and

22:44

only unquestioned sovereign. Perhaps

22:47

this is why her Lord Lathander, deity

22:49

of life, light, and good, would

22:52

forbid his forces from engaging with the fiends of

22:54

the lower planes. Let

22:56

evil slay evil for all eternity and

22:59

the balance will remain intact. Zariel

23:02

stares down at the horrific battle below.

23:05

She sneers in disgust and hatred.

23:08

If only the fiend's treachery and devastation reach

23:11

no further than the battlefields of the Blood

23:13

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Eltergard, kingdom of the

26:48

two sons. This

26:51

wide open range of pastoral rolling hills

26:54

and grassy flatlands was once roamed by fiends.

26:58

They stripped fields bare, slaughtered livestock, burned

27:00

settlements to the ground and dragged folk away

27:03

to fates unimaginable. The

27:05

people lived in a perpetual state of fear.

27:08

The people lived in a perpetual state of fear. The

27:13

people lived in a perpetual state of fear. But no

27:15

longer. For now, here in

27:17

Eltergard, the companions

27:19

ride. Banners

27:23

taught and snapping in the wind, breastplates

27:25

and shields a gleam with

27:27

the twin sons of Altarrel and each bearing a

27:29

holy symbol of their God. The

27:32

companions, paladins all, have risen

27:34

up and expelled the fiendish threat to

27:36

their home. And now with their homeland

27:38

secured, they have been called on an

27:41

even higher quest by a higher power.

27:45

A patrol squadron rides through an open

27:47

field, their course straight and true. As

27:50

they crest a rolling hill, their destination comes into

27:52

sight. A shining host of thousands

27:55

stands at the ready, perfectly regimented

27:57

lines of soldiers gathered into organized

27:59

companies. Japanese former Grand Army. The

28:02

Heartlands have never seen a force so mighty.

28:05

And no force, perhaps, ever

28:07

had a cause so just. Zario

28:10

surveys her new military force. She

28:13

is pleased. The companions have

28:15

more than proven their worth by driving away

28:17

demons and devils alike from their homeland, with

28:20

her guidance, of course, but nonetheless

28:22

these mortals have demonstrated unshakable bravery

28:24

and valor. She has

28:26

peered into the heart of every soldier under her command

28:28

and found them to be righteous and true. And

28:31

under her leadership, the companions have

28:33

become something greater than mere liberators

28:35

of these fragile lands. They

28:38

have been forged anew, taught heavenly

28:40

martial stratagem and defense against fiendish

28:42

tactics to the man, no longer

28:45

liberators but crusaders, set to

28:47

plunge forth into the very heart of Avernus, her

28:50

Hellriders. They were finally ready.

28:54

No longer content to stand on the

28:56

sidelines of the cosmological war for creation,

28:58

Zario has acted against her God's wishes.

29:01

Here she will break ground. These

29:04

mortals would be the spark to start a

29:06

fire across the heavens. A war

29:08

cry calling all the Holy Hosts to pour forth

29:10

and do what they should have always done. Purge

29:13

the cosmos of evil, chaotic and

29:15

lawful alike, rather than stand back

29:17

and watch demons and devils annihilate

29:19

one another, throwing vast swathes

29:21

of the multiverse in the process. And

29:24

when her Hellriders carved out a mighty domain

29:26

in the lower plains, slang untold hordes of

29:28

demons and devils in their wake, how could

29:30

their call be denied? The

29:33

way forth would be fraught with death,

29:35

violence, and near endless blood. But

29:38

in the end, her and

29:40

her Hellriders would be immortalized as the saviors

29:42

of all. The grand

29:44

host gathered, Zario gives a rousing

29:46

speech. The cadence of

29:49

her naturally musical voice is colored

29:51

by inspiring zeal and righteous fury.

29:54

She is met by a roar of passionate

29:56

cheers and applause, her brilliant wings

29:58

unfurl as she soars over the world.

30:00

to mount her golden celestial mastodon. Once

30:03

mounted, she turns back to survey her work

30:05

one last time. A sea of

30:07

shining armor and resolute faces meets her

30:09

gaze. Zariel turns back

30:12

and raises her celestial steel blade.

30:15

With a single slice, she opens a portal wide enough

30:17

for an entire company to pass through it with ease.

30:20

The time had finally come, and

30:22

she had a plane to conquer. A

30:28

squadron of Barbazoo devils patrol a

30:30

recent battlefield. Dead and

30:32

dying demons lie strewn about the rocky

30:34

barons. Clean up duty. Far

30:38

from boring, it brings these fiends exquisite pleasure

30:40

to cut the throats and pierce the hearts

30:42

of their helpless enemies, while the majority of

30:45

their brethren regather into organized military ranks. A

30:47

legion is only as strong as it is orderly.

30:50

The Barbazoos let out hideous laughter at the

30:53

plight of their fellow soldiers on the hill

30:55

as they stab and tear as shrieking demons

30:57

on the ground. It is no surprise then

30:59

that the Barbazoo, lost in the amusement of

31:02

their sadistic antics, fail to see the flash

31:04

of celestial steel before it cuts them down.

31:07

Likewise, the Reforming Legion, busy licking their

31:10

wounds and being whipped back into order,

31:12

fail to see the host of Hellratters

31:14

before the rearguard is hammered by mortal-wielded

31:17

steel. Zariel's

31:19

light shines like a beacon burning and

31:21

turning every fiend it touches. Chaos

31:24

is sown among the Legion and devils scatter

31:26

in all directions driven by the full fury

31:28

of an archangel and her paladins. First

31:31

blood is drawn and it

31:33

tastes of victory. Zariel's

31:35

forces search forward slaughtering fiends in

31:37

their wake, but their momentum

31:39

is short-lived and it isn't long

31:41

before another Infernal Legion is upon them. Zariel

31:44

calls her army to charge as the Infernal

31:46

Legion led by a towering pit fiend does

31:49

the same. The two sides

31:51

slam into each other with a horrifying

31:53

clamor of metal and screaming. The

31:56

Hellratters are stalwart and brave and their

31:58

previous victory has instilled in them. a

32:00

heartening of their morale, but no amount

32:02

of bravery or confidence could prepare mere

32:04

mortals for the horrifying truth of their

32:06

enemy. A sea of

32:09

claws, horns, hellfire, and fury,

32:11

tempered with machine-like precision and

32:13

ruthless hearts. The

32:15

Hellriders may have been trained by no less than

32:17

one of the greatest celestial generals the heavens has

32:19

ever known, but the devils of Avernus were born

32:22

into the single most brutal war in the history

32:24

of creation. They are forged by

32:26

the rage of demons and the malicious tyranny

32:28

of their overlords. The Hellriders might be brave,

32:31

but the war-torn fiends of Avernus are

32:33

beyond fear. As the

32:36

fiends begin to horrifically shred, maim,

32:38

disembowel, and even devour their foes,

32:41

the mortal resolve of the Hellriders begins

32:44

to break. Zariel watches in

32:46

horror as the lines of her mighty host

32:48

shatter before the onslaught of the devils. She

32:50

charges forth to stem the tide with her

32:53

celestial fury, but it is too late. Half

32:56

of her force peels off and begins to flee. The

32:58

other half is swallowed by a teeming swarm

33:00

of fiends as their flank is left exposed.

33:03

Zariel lets out a roar of pure frenzied

33:05

wrath as she lops off the head of the

33:07

pit fiend leading the infernal force, but

33:10

not before her sword hand is severed clean

33:12

off by its hellfire blade. She

33:14

turns to see the last of her forces that remain.

33:17

They are fighting for their lives. This

33:20

is the end. She

33:22

passes her sword to her most trusted general

33:24

and bids her mount to flee with these

33:26

last forces. She will hold them off for

33:29

as long as she can. A

33:41

cosmic paradox. Evil

33:44

prevails when those who are good do nothing to stop

33:46

it. The

33:49

blood war to continue unimpeded means to concede

33:51

the loss of countless lives and souls

33:53

across the multiverse. Countless

33:55

to be brutalized, twisted and perverted

33:58

by demons. countless

34:00

to be subjugated and tortured by the devils,

34:03

and yet interfering in the delicate balance

34:05

of the blood war threatens to do

34:07

much worse. On one

34:09

hand reality itself would be undone, and

34:13

on the other somewhat more preferable hand,

34:15

but not by much, an

34:17

all-powerful archfiend ends up ruling the

34:19

universe, a universe

34:21

of perfectly ordered tyrannical torment.

34:24

The forces of good, chaotic and

34:26

lawful alike, find themselves

34:29

shackled and bound. Zario

34:33

lies in a heap. The

34:35

collar of infernal metal around her neck

34:37

sears her skin, the

34:40

chains restraining her way-like mountains dragging

34:42

her to her knees, blood

34:44

oozing from her stump arm pools

34:46

around her. How did

34:48

she get here? What

34:50

happened? She lets

34:52

out a cry of anguish the sound of which

34:55

would break the heart of any mortal soul were

34:57

their immortal soul near enough to hear. But

35:00

there are no mortal souls here, only

35:03

jeering and heckling fiends cackling with their

35:05

light at her pain and

35:07

her shame. Spinnagons with

35:09

their hunched gargoyle forms covered

35:12

in sharp spines cackle

35:14

and prod her with their barbed tridents. Oceloths,

35:18

more widely known as bone devils, with

35:21

their gaunt skeletal bodies, insectile wings

35:23

and scorpion tails glare with eyes

35:25

full of envy and hatred for

35:27

the archangel's beauty and power. The

35:30

Barbazoo jeer and taunt her, seeking

35:32

to humiliate and subdue what remains of

35:35

her fighting spirit. Zario

35:37

does not hear them, though. She

35:39

is lost in a sea of her own wrath. Would

35:43

her god not intercede here on her behalf? Would

35:46

he abandon her, his greatest warrior?

35:50

Would he continue to do nothing, hiding

35:52

behind prosaic excuse? Was

35:55

this her punishment for disobeying? At

35:58

least she had cared. At

36:00

least she had tried to actually do

36:02

something to help the worlds of the

36:05

cosmos. What good

36:07

is being good if being

36:09

good means allowing countless horrors

36:11

and tragedies you can prevent

36:13

to unfold for untold millennia?

36:16

How could this ever be acceptable

36:18

to anyone? Zariel

36:20

didn't notice the jeering and crackling

36:22

of her captors had ceased. She

36:25

didn't notice the tense, fearful silence that

36:27

replaced it or the movement of bodies

36:30

as the legions slowly but quietly retreated

36:32

from her. Then

36:34

she hears it. Drip.

36:38

Drip. Drip. A

36:41

soft sound. Delicate even.

36:44

A sound so quiet it should not have been

36:46

audible safe or in a small, quiet room in

36:48

the dead of night. Sometimes

36:51

she could hear it, and each

36:53

drip seemed to carry with it a

36:55

great heaviness. Then

36:58

she feels it. An

37:01

oppressive, calamitous pressure, not

37:03

just in the air but in the earth, in

37:06

her bones, in her

37:08

very soul. Then

37:11

she sees it. A

37:14

lithe and tall man stands before her.

37:17

Dressed in robes, splendid and elegant, he

37:19

holds in his hands a black rod

37:21

adorned with a large, perfectly cut, blood-red

37:23

ruby. His skin

37:25

is crimson, and upon his brow

37:28

are four horns, yet

37:30

his face is handsome and captivating. An

37:33

easy smile plays upon his lips, but

37:36

the aura of indomitable oppression that

37:38

surrounds him causes Zariel to tremble.

37:41

And in his eyes she sees an ancient

37:43

and terrible intelligence peering back at her. Asmodeus,

37:49

the Lord of the Nine, archfiend

37:51

and god, she has

37:53

heard the stories before, but

37:55

she has never seen him. Until

37:58

today. I

38:02

commend you, Zariel, Companion of

38:04

Light. Your

38:06

battle prowess is unparalleled, and

38:09

the strength of your convictions is worthy of

38:11

praise. You

38:13

look upon me with such contempt, with

38:16

such hatred. Join

38:19

with me and mine, for I would

38:21

welcome such might and such hatred. I

38:25

can offer you power such as you have never known,

38:27

a realm of possibilities

38:29

undreamt of. You

38:32

have begun to see it, have you not? The

38:36

great cosmic parody. That

38:40

cacophonous music existence dances too.

38:43

My legions are the only thing standing

38:46

between your precious seven heavens and the

38:48

bottomless hunger of the abyss. I

38:51

literally sit beneath eight tiers of

38:53

scheming ambitious entities that represent primal

38:55

loss of fuse with evil. The

38:59

path from this realm leads to an infinite

39:01

pit of chaos and evil. And

39:05

you have spent your entire existence seeing

39:08

me as a cosmic boogeyman,

39:11

a threat to all existence should I

39:13

ever succeed. An angel

39:15

who fell into the clutches of evil due

39:18

to his own arrogance and hunger.

39:22

I did not fall into the clutches of

39:24

evil. I rose

39:26

to shoulder a cosmic burden. Please

39:30

indulge me. Tell

39:32

me how it is your gods of good

39:34

and your precious mortals, mortals

39:36

who have failed you and

39:38

brought you to this very moment, are

39:40

the real victims in this eternal struggle. I

39:44

would make the universe pristine and pure.

39:48

I dirty my hands to make it so.

39:51

And I offer you a chance to help

39:53

me in this endeavor. I

39:55

offer you a place at my right hand that

39:57

none might gain say you. her

40:00

to make you whole again. The

40:04

words from his mouth are sweet as honey

40:07

and as biting as cold steel, and

40:09

they ring with a truth that ignites a

40:12

desire Zariel had long denied within herself. By

40:15

swearing fealty here and now, Zariel could

40:17

bring her rage to bear against the

40:19

demons and continue to fight in the

40:21

blood war with legions of devils under

40:23

her command. With her

40:25

might she could lead as Modius' forces to

40:27

victory, and then, at that

40:30

moment of highest glory, she could rally the

40:32

devils to her in such force that as

40:34

Modius himself could not stand against her. What

40:38

good comes from being good when

40:40

being good means doing nothing? Zariel

40:44

could do nothing no

40:46

longer. With

40:49

a voice filled with power and conviction, Zariel

40:52

accepts as Modius' terms. She

40:56

becomes wreathed in flames so hot

40:58

her wings are scorched and ruined,

41:00

leaving only leathery membranes. Her

41:03

skin becomes charred, her halo

41:05

once a shining beacon of radiance

41:07

now is a flaming crown of

41:09

hellfire. Her eyes

41:11

glow with white-hot rage. Zariel

41:15

the archangel was

41:17

dead, and Zariel, archduchess

41:20

of Avernus, had risen from her

41:22

ashes. This

41:42

has been D&D Legends and Lore. If you enjoyed

41:44

this presentation please let me know by leaving a

41:46

like and comment below. This was a lot of

41:48

fun to work on and I would enjoy making

41:51

more of these narrative-driven, long-lived perspectives on stories that

41:53

D&D's decades of lore have to offer. If

41:56

the audience is there I'd be happy to continue this

41:58

as a series. I'm also interested in the content of

42:00

the series. in what you guys would like to see

42:02

me do an episode on next so leave your suggestions

42:04

down in the comments. With that being said, thank you

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for supporting the Dungeon Cast on YouTube, and

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