Mephistus¶
"Upon his return to Hell he destroyed not just those demons which had betrayed him, but every demon under them." — Notable Demons of the Fifth Age
Mephistus is the Shade-Demon archdemon of wrath, "a shade demon who escaped his imprisonment on the material plane shortly before the Age of the Dark Sun". He has "a reputation for being especially ruthless", holds two of the Hells, and commands a host that is small, "all of them fanatically loyal and powerful", because he purged the rest. In Asmodeus's pantheon he is Dexinas, the Right Hand, the Voidbringer; whether he serves willingly the sources doubt.
Also called¶
Dexinas, "The Right Hand, Voidbringer", in the Daemiveus pantheon of Asmodeus.
Nature¶
Mephistus is a shade demon and is associated with wrath. He "escaped during the early Demon wars" with Asmodean, so that his soul is reborn into a mortal form after each death and he must be kept imprisoned alive. In the Sancturi Age summary he was "imprisoned by the Light of Kalar on the material"; "shortly before the Age of the Dark Sun" he escaped. "He has a reputation for being especially ruthless and upon his return to Hell he destroyed not just those demons which had betrayed him, but every demon under them, amounting to more than half of Mephistus's host and nearly one in ten of every demon." What remains to him is a fanatically loyal and powerful host, some fifteen per cent of the demons of the Hells.
History¶
Mephistus and Asmodean were the two archdemons the orc summoner Thu'karam let through his widened rift in the First Rift War of the Age of Magic (1689 to 1804 MA); the demons turned on him, and "battles along these ranges raged for 70 years, until the arch-demons were slain in the battle of Arne-Athosia" (see First Rift War). His mortal form was afterwards held by the Light of Kalar until his escape before the Dark Sun (see Archdemons on imprisonment).
In the Sancturi Age he stands at Asmodeus's right hand in the Daemiveus pantheon, with the question mark the notes attach to him: "Asmodeus ... and his 2 lieutenants: Mephistus? and Bhaal?".
Earlier accounts¶
The 2016 account of the Uk'Zarai gives Mephistus an altogether different origin, as the maker of the first intelligent demons. In that telling the Eldritch built the Elda'Primu, the Spiritfire Orb, and turned it on the Uk'Zarai cities, refocusing their Fel energies inward so that "the most powerful Fel beings consumed themselves quickly. However, the Orb's energies bound the souls of each of the consumed creatures and they became what are now referred to as Demons." "A powerful Fel Sorceror, Mephistus, came up with a temporary plan to extend their lives for a short time, but more notably to protect the Uk'Zarai's mind during the process. Almost without exception, the process left a crazed bloodthirsty animal in place of a Uk'Zarai. After successfully helping a small segment of the remaining population transition into the first intelligent Demons, they went about exacting their revenge on the Eldritch. Mephistus now has the Elda'Primu set into his staff. He has in the past occasionally corrupted a living being with Fel energy in order to use the Elda'Primu to convert them into a Demon. However, he generally keeps its power and significance a closely guarded secret." No later document repeats this, and the origin of demons is an open question held by Demons; the Orb is Elda'Primu.
The 2023 Notable Demons gives him Malebolge (Fraud) and Lethe (Heresy) under the nine-layer scheme.
Gap
No source describes Mephistus's form beyond his kind, his Hell, his cult, or the traitors who betrayed him and when. Nothing records how he was captured after Arne-Athosia or how he escaped before the Dark Sun.