Belial

Belial was was the lord of Phlegethos who, along with Fierna, his daughter, were the only archdevils allowed to share rulership over one of the Nine Hells by Asmodeus. Belial was the veteran schemer in their abnormal alliance, contributing diabolical deviousness and greater conspiratorial experience.

Description
Belial was the most handsome of the archdevils, appearing as an impressively built, tall figure of masculine beauty. He was tall, dark and sensual, practically oozing carnality through the regal garments that clung to his body in such a way as to promise pleasure and further his libidinous image.

Before Mephistopheles took on a more infernal appearance, Belial was also the most devilish looking Lord of the Nine, an impression enhanced by the ranseur he always held in his claws. Some said his skin was scaly and ash-black while others purported it was red, and early reports claimed he had a glossy black tail and wings. Other signs of his hellishness could be seen in the small horns, the same black as his tail and wings, that emerged under his hairline, and his large, slanted eyes that glowed and smoldered red with lustful intent. His monstrous features however did little if any to detract from his aura of civility and overall mesmerizing physique.

Personality
Greatly confident, mesmerizing in personality, and said to be incredibly vain, Belial delighted in the use of manipulation and domination. He was a profane being of great lust with an insatiable hunger for physical pleasure and pain, as fond as killing and the feeling of hot blood against his skin as he was in traditional debauchery and gratification.

Despite his deep passions, Belial was also intelligent and experienced, not so rash as to become so caught up in his amusements that he didn't take proper precautions and prepare contingencies. The old devil was of shrewd judgement and cunning political prowess which, along with his good looks, aided him in his ambitious, diabolical machinations. He was also of glib tongue, always coming off as civil even despite the threatening, underlying messages that could be found in some of his words.

Powers
Several of Belial's abilities were as archetypically infernal as his appearance and personality; his magic could produce flames and create walls of fire as well as beguile and make his enemies prone to suggestion. His more powerful abilities allowed him to mentally dominate his foes, instill fear with his gaze or in an aura around himself, and create symbols of pain and insanity,  and he used these abilities to scatter his enemies and turn them on each other.

He was far more patient than Fierna when it came to combat, always casting spells such as magic circle and see invisibility before the fight began. He could summon baatezu ranging in power from spinagons, black abishai, barbazus, hamatulas, and cornugons, all the way up to summoning a pit fiend. Only once his summon or summons, typically a pit fiend, were distracting his opponents and only when his opposition was disorganized, weak, and quarreling would he move in and allow the pleasure of melee blood-spilling begin.

Possessions
Belial's ransuer, or military fork, was his favored, iconic weapon, and wasn't any regular polearm. It was a minor artifact that filled those it struck with wracking pain, slowing them down as their bodies and minds dealt with the agony and said to be powerful enough that a heal or break enchantment spell was needed to fully recover from the crippling torment.

Realm
Belial ruled the most literally infernal of the Hells, the fiery hellscape of Phlegethos, a tortured, violent land, composed of ashen hills, smoking plains, crystalline fissures and active volcanoes, where tremors and earth-breaking eruptions were commonplace. The air of the realm was distorted by the heat and plagued by hot wind hurricanes, smoke, and ash, the starless void above illuminated only by the leaping flames. Molten magma seas, spouting jets of fire and oozing lava were often seen, but the actual fire, of which there were literal rivers as well as lakes, was the most strange source of heat. The flames were said to be nearly sentient if not literally so, bending unnaturally to scorch with spiteful mercilessness but leaving even fire-vulnerable devils and invited planar guests be.

Inhabiting these liquid fires, all of which were interconnected, were wandering salamanders, brought long ago to be bound to Belial's service. Unfortunately for Belial, salamanders were creatures that took orders only if they so desired, and so most of them had to be immediately slain, the few survivors still bound to the plane and forced to survive by picking off individual creatures close to the rivers. They would have been rooted out earlier, given that they couldn't create more of themselves, but they could leave rivers at will and flee to new ones, not to mention that the devils of the plane were typically busy. The other inhabitants of the plane, constantly roaming and patrolling for some reason or another, consisted of many kinds of devils, particularly spinagons, imps, hamatulas and cornugons. The lower, wetter, reeking borderlands of the planes were inhabited by lemures, abishai, barbazus and a few amnizus, as well as hell hounds and certain mephits.

Society
Belial ruled his realm and its inhabitants from the city of Abriymoch, the Mount of Leaping Flames, a fortress city built on the interior walls of a volcano reported to be in varying stages of activity. Abriymoch was the strongest stronghold in the middle hells, protected by legion devils, fearsome osyluth policers and thousands of hamatulas. It was constructed of obsidian and crystalline rocks, basalt towers crowning the lips of the crater. The rest consisted of several tiered chambers that each opened up to the central shaft of the volcano like balconies and were connected to each other via stairs, shafts, and the giant spiral path that winded through the inside. The lowest levels were where Phlegethos's infamous hell hound kennels were kept, breeding specimens dangerous enough to compete with Nessus's warhounds. Wealth from transactions was also stored there but Belial's personal wealth was kept in his personal chambers high on the volcano's rim.

Abryimoch was something of a paradox, although an excellent parallel to the rest of Hell regardless. On one hand, it was something of a pleasure palace, a carnival of dark desires filled with infernal reflections of casinos, theaters, taverns and other similar establishments where devils on break could enjoy themselves. On the other hand, it was extremely well-policed, the laws allowing for fiendish fun rather than strict regimentation but order nonetheless being strongly enforced. After all, it was the home of the Court Infernal or Diabolic Courts, an impossibly complex labyrinth of confusing precedents, ancient codes, intricate laws and plentiful loopholes presided over by a circle of pit fiend judges. Belial himself didn't actually live in Abriymoch, instead spending most of his time in a serpentine spiral of crystal typically referred to as his daughter's palace.

Activities
In more recent times, Belial focused on the duties as the lord of Phlegethos, specifically overseeing the judicial system of the Diabolical Court. Though independent judges loyal to Asmodeus were in charge of the institution, responsible for overseeing contract disputes, accusations of battlefield cowardice and dereliction of duty, and other criminal charges, Belial still supervised the system. Him and his underlings were also the ones that administered promotion and demotion rituals for devils, a procedure that could leave the subject in wretched torment or in the throes of ecstasy. Aside from that, Belial's personals concerns revolved around his own scheming to overtake Stygia and indulging in his lusts. Though Fierna had a greater reputation for thoughtlessly going through men, Belial was no better, frequently sating his needs with captives, slaves or other devils.

History
Following the Reckoning, Belial was demoted from official to unofficial ruler of Phlegethos, with Fierna taking the mantle of rulership and Belial wearing the mantle of leadership. This situation suited both just fine until Glasya's ascension to rulership of Malbolge. Since then, Fierna struck a fast friendship with Glasya, and at her urging was moving to gain greater independence from her father (and rumored consort). Moreover, since the death of Fierna's mother Naome (Belial's former consort), both devils now shared the mutual grief of having a dead mother. This fact caused them to become even more united.

Belial, for his part, was attempting to keep tabs on his daughter's behavior without provoking her to greater autonomy, even putting many of his schemes against Levistus, Lord of Stygia, on hold. Belial was also considering various actions against Glasya to make her a less appealing role model for Fierna. He was fully aware that the line he trod was thin, however, as any obvious strikes against Asmodeus's daughter could not only inspire his own progeny to rebellion, but be construed as moves against Asmodeus himself.

Background
Belial is based on the Belial of medieval demonology, who is in turn based on various early Jewish and Christian references.