Abaddon, Grace of Wings, later known as the Lord of Filth, is the Archduke Devourer who led the Ebon Legion.
The Reliquary of Abaddon was an ancient tree that had been uprooted and was once easily 30 feet in height. It was carved with horrific faces and shot through with crimson veins of petrified wood.
Biography[]
Abaddon was once the Grace of Wings, one of the lieutenants of Ziana, the Seraph of the Cycle. His dominion was over all creatures of the air. Even during this time, Abaddon was discontent, soaring high over Creation and observing what he believed to be imperfections. He compiled his observations and the potential that was lost in the Book of Abaddon, a pair of white doves that accompained him on his travels across the world. He traveled deep into the domains of his brothers, Azag-Rhan and Nansheus, and even visited the ecosystem on the distant moon. After the Great Debate, Abaddon's superior Ziana refused to take part in the rebellion. While many Devourers jumped at Lucifer's call, Abaddon was indecisive. He could see both sides of the argument and the dangers that both carried. The Book of Abaddon fell into the possession of his subordinate Ningursu and Abaddon decided that he had no choice but to join Lucifer.
After the Long Night and the curses delivered by Michael, Abaddon chose to make a stand against Lucifer and his continued protection of humanity. He gathered those around him that felt wronged by Heaven, vowing to fight them at every turn. In return, the mortals would serve him for protection and education, shaping the lands according to angel's plans. Thus was born the Ebon Legion and Abaddon was named its Archduke.
The headquarters of the Ebon Legion, Dûdâêl, were constructed to be unassailable by the Host. When the fortress was ready, Abaddon was visited by one of the parts of the Book of Abaddon. Seeing deep into the essence of his former observations and of the potential that Creation once had, he only wanted to crush the bird in his fist. Yet he let it fly away. Abaddon took it then upon himself to lead his legion against the Host during the Silent War, laying siege to the High Cities.
When Caine's sin tainted Creation, Abaddon's scorn for human ignorance and weakness turned into outright derision and hatred. He led an onslaught against the High Cities that ravaged Sagun and destroyed the Great Library of Zebul, where the Book of Abaddon was kept. Numerous mortals were taken as slaves and brought to Dûdâêl to toil. Abaddon defended his actions against Lucifer, proclaiming the Earth as the domain of the Fallen, while God and the Host could have Heaven. Abaddon told Lucifer that their visions for humanity's future were irreconcilable and that his Legion would break away from him to explore this new path, refusing to follow blindly. With a heavy heart, Lucifer allowed it, beginning the Time of Atrocities.
During this age, Abaddon and his Legion delved deeply into the Lores of Creation, twisting them into weapons to use in their war. The war between the Ebon Legion and the Host took on a new pitch when Ningursu became a renowned general of the Host. Members of the Ebon Legion hoped to see their Archduke clash against his former subordinate. But instead, a new threat emerged: The Host send forth the Malhim when Abaddon launched an assault against the Bastion of Lament again. Finally facing an enemy that fought with equal ferocity, Abaddon's attention was fully concentrated on the war, leaving his Legion to do with mortals as they pleased.
When Lucifer sent the Crimson Legion to bring Abaddon and his followers to heel, the Devourer again bent the knee, but deep down, his resentment never vanished. When he was approached by Asmodeus, who feared that humans could eventually eclipse even their Fallen overlords, the two conspired to bring Lucifer's experiment down before that could happen. Using Abaddon's mastery of flesh and bone, the two experimented on mortals in the hidden city of Ziusudra, where their research gave fruit to the Nephilim. The fall of humanity quickly followed, along with the defeat of the rebels and their imprisonment within the Abyss. Abaddon quickly fell into Torment while imprisoned, brooding over his mistake during the Time of Babel.
Unbeknownst to him, Lucifer had plans to free his Archdukes. The palace of the Akkadians, home of King Sargon, was prepared by a select group of priestesses known as the Ur-Dalla, or the “Sisterhood of the Needle.” The marble floor of the palace was soaked in the blood of animal sacrifices, the carcasses ripe and festering as Abaddon’s soul was dragged into the reliquary, becoming one of the first Earthbound. When confronted by his former superior, Abaddon rejected him again, showing him a future where humanity would be shackled and serve them. In the following centuries, Abaddon would gather multiple cults around him. The Cult of Kybele worshipped him by turning all social and natural norms upside down, mocking the natural cycles that the Sixth House had once constructed. Abaddon's influence was mainly centered around the Mediterranean, where he influenced the civilizations in Egypt, Greece and Asia Minor. Abaddon was also responsible for the discovery of the Hebrews, whose religion mirrored the process of Creation. Fearing them, he used his Egyptian thralls to enslave them.
In order to rule humanity, Abbadon again conspired with Asmodeus. The two struck the non-aggression pact known as the Eleusinian Accords, conspiring to bring down Greek civilization in order to build a new one from the ashes, which would be a microcosm of the world to come. They found their vessel in the Roman Republic, using their cults in Persia to incite war between the Greeks and the Persians while their Reliquaries were moved to Rome. Over time, their cults became powerful, taking hold of numerous influential souls that would steer the Empire into the direction of their design. Numerous lesser Earthbound clustered around them, swearing fealty to the Archdukes in exchange for toleration. It seemed that the dominion of the two Archdukes was inviolable, until the small fringe religion known as Christianity gained traction. At first, Abaddon and Asmodeus deemed the threat insignificant, but soon found themselves threatened as their Faith supply dwindled. Using their influence, the pair persecuted Christians and Hebrew alike, until the Eleusinian Accords were broken in 310 CE. Abaddon chose to back Emperor Maxentius, while Asmodeus backed Emperor Constantine. Both were deceived when Constantine adopted the sign of the Cross.
Forced to abandon Rome, Abaddon relocated to the North, destroying any rival Earthbound already present or subdued them. His cult became the Black Blood tribe, a group of savage warriors that worshipped the Lord of Filth under the guise of Loki. Over the next centuries, the Viking invaders attacked countless towns, from Scandinavia all the way to England, sacking settlement after settlement. The war bands were led by some of the archduke’s most precious thralls, men learned in the ways of violence and terror. The Black Blood came into conflict with the local Garou, who saw the warriors as Wyrm-tainted, unaware of the larger threat that used them. In mainland Europe, Abaddon used the Tainted Saints to spread disease, preaching that leprosy was the Great Leveler. Abaddon also developed an interest in Cainites, conducting experiments on the blood of his thralls, hoping to make it both infectious and addictive to the palates of Cainites to gain their worship.
When his cults were diminished to the point that the Archduke had to face slumber in the 17th century, Abaddon decided to relocate. His followers brought his reliquary to the rainforest basin of Brazil, where it slumbered until the Sixth Maelstrom.
Abaddon is a lord of the flesh, and of its corruption and degradation. Disease and plague are his to command, as are poisons, cancers, and sores. He can reshape the flesh of his thralls, or of helpless innocents, with a whim, bursting them apart with tumors or ripping them to shreds with muscle spasms. He is a demon of wrath, although he tempers his constant rage with an inhuman intelligence, so that his true target is always the first to fall before his unstoppable rampages. He often gifts his thralls with inhuman strength or resilience, as well as both immunity to disease and the ability to spread it to others.
References[]
- DA: Devil's Due, p. 135-136
- DTF: Demon: The Fallen Rulebook, p. 45, 52
- DTF: Houses of the Fallen, p. 140-145
- DTF: Demon: Earthbound