Levistus

Levistus was an archdevil who ruled Stygia, the Fifth layer of the Nine Hells of Baator.

Information
The Lord of the Fifth, Levistus, rules over the layer of Stygia. He appears as a six-foot-tall humanoid with very pale skin, dark hair, and a goatee. Were it not for his entirely black eyes and pointed teeth, he could pass for a human. In the days of his freedom, he wore loose, silken clothing and carried a glistening rapier. However, at the moment, he is visible only as a black speck a quarter-mile within a towering mountain of dark ice that floats about Stygia.

Asmodeus imprisoned Levistus in ice for a past betrayal, namely attempting to ravish, and eventually killing Bensozia, consort to Asmodeus and mother to Glasya. Levistus was, for millennia, trapped within his tomb, unable to act, but recently Asmodeus made an inexplicable gesture to his lover's murderer, displacing the formerly loyal ruler of Stygia, Geryon, and passing the position over to the frozen prince, though leaving him trapped within his tomb. Levistus rules his layer via telepathic instructions issued to his many Amnizu courtiers.



Asmodeus' strange actions puzzled both Levistus and the other seven archdukes. Levistus' open hostility to his peers endeared him to none of the Nine Hells' other rulers, and the Lord of the Nine's apparent indifference stymied followers of devilish politics for some time.

With Glasya's elevation, however, a theory has arisen to explain Asmodeus' maneuvering. Geryon's energy was never transferred to Levistus. Instead, the theory goes, it was used to promote Glasya, whose personal might ballooned in the wake of the Hag Countess's overthrow. In the meantime, Asmodeus tolerated Levistus' blatant trouble-making and arrogance as a distraction for the other archdukes from his plans for his daughter and Malbolge. Levistus himself has reluctantly come to accept the theory, though he doesn't much like its implications. He has stepped up his efforts to break out of his tomb, though it continues to thwart all attempts, magical and physical. His devils are chipping away at the iceberg, but for every inch they gain two more build from the sleet and snow constantly blowing across its surface.

Appearances

 * Novels:
 * Fire in the Blood