Given the Cold Shoulder: The Banishment of Dantalion Obrove; Or, On Thin Ice; Or, (No Longer) Taken Under His Wing
Sheol. Gehenna. Tartarus. Naraka. Hel. Heck. Down South. Hell is a place with many names and many variations, depending upon which extraplanar vertex one currently finds oneself positioned. Sometimes it's a realm of fire and brimstone, sometimes it's oppressively cold. Whatever its name, Hell is more often than not a place of prolonged and ghastly punishment for the immortal damned.
The infernal Great Duke Dantalion Obrove's Hell is referred to by mortals and immortals alike as
the B’low. Of the many categories of hellish afterlives, the B’low is the fire and brimstone variety--save for one location at its very center. More on that in a moment. The B’low is arranged in ten circles, each containing regions for punishments of ever-increasing severity. Each circle's operation is overseen by a complicated hierarchy of demonic princes, presidents, marquis, counts, and so on. Each subordinate infernal noble then ultimately answers to one of nine archfiends, each ruling over the nine outer circles.
They answer to the tenth archfiend, Belial, who instigated the archfiends’ initial rebellion against the throne of Heaven,
the ‘Bove.
The archfiend Belial is located in the tenth, central circle of the B’low, trapped from the waist down in the middle of a frozen lake. The wind produced from his beating wings only serves to keep the ice cool, rather than aid his escape in any way. Despite his debilitating condition, the other nine archfiends, their lesser demon nobles, and all their assembled legions recognize him as the de facto ruler of the B'low. Belial is not necessarily the most powerful of the archfiends, especially in his current state, but they regard him with respect for leading the charge out of the ‘Bove, and aiding in the creation of the B’low. Belial does not maintain any legions of his own, but the other nine archfiends often seek his counsel in the operation of their fiery domain.
As far as the hellish hierarchy goes, Dantalion Obrove was placed in a favorable position. As a Great Duke of the B'low, he commanded a considerable number of demonic legions. It was the Duke’s duty to make sure the forces under his command were trained in combat and magic, in preparation for war with their celestial rivals, should it someday occur. Dantalion’s other job was to make sure the damned souls in his cosy little sub-circumference were suitably tormented, boiling them in pitch and whipping them raw, all the work one would expect to occur in a realm dedicated to agony and malice.
It was a good life, if a little boring. The wailing and gnashing of teeth could only remain entertaining for so many eons. One day, Dantalion asked the souls under his charge to cut it out with the screaming for a moment, so that he could ask them a question. Dantalion wondered what hobbies the damned had pursued in their previous lives. He knew concepts like "fun" seemed rather out of reach in Hell’s flaying-pits, but he urged them to try and remember.
One of the most interesting answers the Duke received was from a soul that had been a figure skater. Distractions like poker games and model cars were hardly engaging, but skating would afford Dantalion a break from the B’low’s searing heat every now and then. He only needed the right gear and a rink to play around on. Dantalion commissioned his legionnaire craftsmen to create skates for him. The blades were hewn from obsidian and attached to boots fashioned from the tanned hides of imps, specially shaped so as to fit over the Duke’s cloven hooves. As for the matter of the ice rink, the only ice that could persist in all the B’low was a few circles in, but Dantalion was willing to make the trek.
Dantalion didn't know why old Belial counted it as a punishment, being embedded in the frozen lake. The tenth circle was incredibly refreshing compared to the fiery regions surrounding it. Dantalion started off practicing and being careful to avoid the enraged archfiend. Belial was a powerful being, old as time, but for all his strength, the ruler of this Hell...could not turn around to catch one of his subordinates zooming around and shirking off his duties.
Dantalion was free to use that portion of the ice at his leisure, at least until he was found out by his peers. He at first only came to the tenth circle on downtime; figure skating began as just a diversion. Then the lengths of time spent away from the torture halls grew longer and longer. The task of leading training sessions with the legions was deferred to Dantalion's underlings. Soon, other demonic overseers began to notice his absence. Dantalion was spotted boldly zipping away from the grasping hands of the anguished Belial. Dantalion’s skills at that point allowed him to dodge around the front of his master with impunity, using demonic sorcery and the constant draft of the archfiend's wings for a boost in speed.
The other demons couldn't let Dantalion continue, not at all. Many of them were guilty of their own vices, but nothing quite as--in their view--
childish as ice skating. It was bad for the B'low's public image! What if their enemies found out that a commander of legions was twirling around on the ice and making a laughingstock of their leader? The most swift-winged among the infernal ranks were sent to retrieve the rogue Duke, but none could catch him.
The answer came from outside. The assembled overseers hatched a plot to whisper temptations of power into the ears of a young and misguided mage's apprentice and convince him to attempt to call Dantalion to the mortal world. Dantalion had yet to experience a summoning and lacked complete knowledge of how the ritual worked. The hope was that he would be unable to find his way home in time for the other demons to exile him. The ritual was performed, and as expected, Dantalion broke the weak-willed youth's binding circle and devoured him. Dantalion was free, yes, but without a mage to return him to the B’low, he was stranded.
At first, this seemed like a blessing. He was free of the B'low, free of responsibility, and free of the other demons’ nagging. He could explore the human world as much as he pleased. His first priority was to find somewhere cold so he could continue developing his choreography.
Dantalion didn't have to look far. It was winter at the time in that new world, so he promptly began skating on the nearest patch of ice. Almost immediately, Dantalion seared a hole into the water underneath. No matter, it was to be expected that his body would carry some of the burning heat of his home. He would just have to find someplace colder.
Dantalion journeyed to the northernmost point of the world, yet even there the ice could not last under his red-hot skates. Nowhere would prove cold enough without the constant gusts of the archfiend. Dantalion tried to return to the B'low, but found that he was magically prevented from ever coming back. He was banished, and all because his moves had proven too hot to handle.
The disgraced Great Duke now wanders from world to world trying to find a rink that won't immediately melt underfoot, or maybe a cryomancer with a soft spot for whimsy.
Ices and Virtues; Or, Ramble Dem-On; Or, Addtional Information
The B’low’s ten rulers, before becoming archfiends, were formerly celestials of the 'Bove who rebelled against the ruling powers and were cast down. Dantalion and his countless siblings are born of those fallen firsts' malice and resentment. They are native to The 'Blow, and therefore most of them are unlikely to know anywhere beyond its locales, unless they are given some task in the mortal world, or summoned there by a spellcaster.
Dantalion Obrove's natural appearance is of the typical red-skinned devil. He has a spade-tipped tail, hoofed feet, a pair of small horns poking out of his forehead, and impeccable facial symmetry. If need be, he can change his shape into something less conspicuous, more human, but in a multiverse populated by so many strange creatures, his appearance is hardly shocking to most.
While many demons possess wings, Dantalion has never seen much use in displaying his, since he can naturally float without them.
Dantalion Obrove values working a story into his skating routine. For this reason he carries a collection of funny masks with him on his travels, to represent different characters during the performance. The masks don’t possess any special powers at present, but that could change as time goes on. The Duke has considered binding souls to the masks, which would allow him to better adopt a given persona while on the ice...whenever he is next able to successfully take to the ice. For now, the masks dangle from a rope hanging at his side.
Dantalion is usually a good-natured and charismatic demon
despite his original occupation as a demonic torturer, and
despite devouring the young mage that initially summoned him. The Duke is notoriously hedonistic and prone to indulging his appetites if he feels the need, or if he judges that his victims deserve it. Sometimes even if they don’t. Dantalion isn’t
totally heartless, but centuries of subjecting the damned to painful tortures makes one a little unsympathetic to mortal despair. Sometimes, it’s difficult to go against one’s nature.
Dantalion Obrove is aligned to elemental fire and therefore possesses a proficiency for fire magic, though his talent for general spellcasting is nothing to sniff at. He also has an array of different forms he can adopt, from wild beasts to a figure skater-sized plume of smoke. In his vaporous form, he can seize control of other bodies.
As a former hellish overseer, Dantalion also has a sense for the sins an individual has committed, the secret vices of their hearts, and every bad habit they harbor. This ability was originally used to determine just punishment for a damned soul's wrongdoings, but now he mostly uses it to tease people.
Dantalion Obrove’s banishment from hell manifests on his body in the form of a large tattooed pattern on his back, stretches along his arms and legs, and terminates on his hands and feet. The mark on his back depicts the gates of the B’low, triple padlocked, chained, and stapled firmly shut. Winding along the Duke’s limbs is a spell written in the language of the B’low that lends additional power to his banishment, to really make sure he can never return. The demons of the B’low were
very annoyed with Dantalion toward the end. Dantalion imagines that if he can find a way to remove the locks on the mark, he can return home, but as of yet no solution to this quandary has presented itself.
Dantalion doesn’t
really want to return, anyway.
They’re awfully bossy down there in Hell.
The Hither and Thither Expanded; Or, Drawing Back the Curtain!
Dantalion Obrove is the alternate universe analogue of the daringly polytheistic holy man, Daniel Obrove. He is not his former life, his blood relative, or a close acquaintance. He's the Obrove if Obrove were a demonic ice skater lacking a suitable arena, while
the priest is Obrove armed with divine magic and incredible ambitions.
More tormented Obrove souls can be found on their alt list,
here.
There are more "Danalogues" to come, eventually, so we kindly ask that you...
STAY TUNED!