Lord of the Fourth Hell

Lord of Pain and Suffering, the Worthless One, the Unbowed One of Phlegethos

Aliases: Beliel, Berial, Beliar, Feliar

AoC: Beauty and Sensation, Law as corruptor of individuals

Superior: the Dark Lord of Nessus

Allies: Euryale, Beelzebub, Pyremius, Talona, Tisiphone

Subordinates: Andrealphus, Naome, Chamo, the Lords of Laughter, the Barons of Knives, Balan (Master of the Hunt), Bathym, Gaziel, Philotanus (Lord of Sodomy), Ariel (Lord of Torture), Antaia (Witch Queen), Naamah (Countess of Duplicity), Belgephon (Master of Mount Erebus), Gazra, the magugons

Rivals: Dispater, Mephistopheles, Raphael, Uriel

"Belial of Sodom & Gomorrha, obscure Demon of Bribes and Secret

Assassinations, not worship'd nor ador'd, but with a finger on the lips & a back turned to the light" -- William Blake

Great Belial is by far the most beautiful of the archdevils. Ambassador of hell and teller of lies, Viceroy of Hell, devil of revolt and anarchy: he seems to be a bright solar or deva, androgynous and fair with large slanted eyes like shimmying fires, or a muscular red-skinned man with long and twisting horns, or a seductive temptress with scarlet wings.

Belial (the "worthless one") is a master of rhetoric, using persuasive arguments to convince others to follow his path of their own free will.

They tell us that when the great archon Iblis fell burning from the Seven Heavens there was one of his host who flew alongside to soothe and tend to the flames.

They say that when Iblis appointed generals over the four armies of Baator, that it was to Belial who they really answered.

Beelzebub, his form like an archon but his substance thousands of buzzing flies, came before the Lightbringer and told him that his machinations were welcome in Hell no more. Astaroth nodded his support of the Lord of the Flies.

When Belial heard the news, he was in the form of a beautiful flame-eyed courtesan. He nodded demurely. "I will follow my lord."

What none knew was that the armies of Hell still reported to him. At Belial's direction, Baalzebul's court was routed.

Iblis and Belial returned to Baator, but Iblis retired in favor of other goals, leaving the throne of darkness to Lord Asmodeus. This time, Belial remained behind as Lord of the Fourth.

The great secret is that Belial still never relinquished control over the infernal armies. Even when the generals who would become the Eight turned against the rebellious armies of Hell's princes, Belial was nowhere to be seen, having already seemingly given his throne to his servant Tisiphone, also known as Fierana. When the others were punished with reduced authority, Belial kept his strength behind the scenes.

There are those that whisper that the only reason it isn't Belial who rules from the ninth circle is that the true center of Hell is the fifth. Through lion-headed Ariel Belial commands the Pit of Flame, and thus has ultimate authority over all promotions and punishments in the nine pits. Through the pit fiend Gazra he controls the hamatulas who patrol the first four of Baator's layers.

Belial is unique among the lords of the Nine Circles in that he encourages individuality among mortals and even his own servants, believing that it is only as individuals that souls will come to serve him, and that it is as individuals that they will serve him best. For this reason, Belial sponsors artists, dissidents, rebels, thieves, and sociopaths, which is why lawbreakers are known as "sons of Belial." This does not make the Lord of Pain and Suffering any less of a power of Law; he expects complete obedience of those who do serve him, though he allows them much freedom in deciding how to do so.

Belial's consort, Naome, appears as a horned, fiendish solar of equally varying gender. In fact, she resembles no one so much as vanished Iblis. Andrealphus the Shining One, the baatezu Duke of Lust, reports to Belial and follows his orders. His vassals, commanding great expanses of Phlegethos, are Balan (the Angel of Poison), and Bathym (Giver of Knowledge). Tisiphone continues to rule the Fourth Circle at Belial's side.

On his home plane, Belial spends most of his time with Tisiphone lost in the boiling magma, his moods seemingly capricious. This is only a facade, however; everything Belial does is for a reason, and his acts in fact usually serve hundreds of different plans all gestating at once.

Few who visit Belial's city of Abriymoch are even aware that he lives there. Gazra's mighty fortress of crystal statues is obvious, as is the palace of jagged obsidian in which Lady Naome dwells. Those who ask about the presence in the volcano are told only of the Lord of Pain and Suffering, said to be an ancient deity slain by the Overlord of Baator eons ago.

This page is part of Hell.