#amdusius

[wildernessofstanthony]

Amdusius. 67th Goetic Spirit. Nature spirit who causes trees to bend and music to be heard.

Illustrated by Joel Innes

[morbranshoodoo]

[dicecast]

Infernal Duke: Amdusias, Duke of Instability

You know the deal ;) 

Amdusias, Duke of instability.

Patron: Lilith

Duke Amdusius serves as Lady Lilith's major domo and caretaker of her many fortresses on Malbolge. He is the perfect servant to the vicious Lady, the spawn of her lusts and the heir to her dominion over all Nature.

The Duke was born long ago, during Lilith's original stint as Lady of the Sixth. During one of the Lady's ventures to the Mortal Coil, she sought to seduce the original Lord of the Forest, a unicorn of immeasurable power. His fall began the Lady's mastery of Nature’s Mystery, allowing Hell a claim to the foolish Lord’s territory. His last act was to curse her womb with fertility, that none of her children would be able to be terminated before their birth.

Amdusias received no love from his mother; his was an existence of torture and abuse. He finally escaped the prison that Lilith's fortress had become, only to find that outside was no better. He was forced to survive on his own, a cruel existence for a fragile creature. He quickly learned the lessons of Hell, that mercy was weakness, hatred was power, and that the strong ruled the weak. He then turned his attentions to the material plane to forge himself his own kingdom.

His arrival upon the Mortal Coil alerted the leaders of the druidic circle, the masters of Nature's power. Amdusius was thought to be the King of the Forest reincarnated and given worship. As he learned from them, he realized foolish errors in their ways, and determined that as rightful ruler of all Nature he was obligated to reforge them in his image. A new order was needed in Nature, Amdusius' order. He cut down the members of the arch-druid circle, keeping their children alive. Amdusius shared with these children the secrets of subjugating Nature. He corrupted the sacred places of the world, reforming them into a proper monument to his glory. It was not long before the animals and plant creatures of the Mortal Coil were Amdusius' loyal subjects, bowing to his might.

Amdusius then turned his attentions to the hated cities that encroached upon his territory. Assuming the guise of a human, he entered with the intention of scouting. Upon coming across a child who was being beaten by her father, something changed in Amdusius. He identified with the poor abused soul, so much like his own younger self. He loathed the man above the sniveling child, so much like his own hated mother. His dark anger flooded into the child, infusing her with power. The child looked as surprised as the man when she crushed the fist descending to strike her. A wicked gleam stole into her eye, and she tore out the man's windpipe with a vicious chop to his throat.

This sparked a new focus of Amdusius' grand dream. He lured children into his fold, children who had reason to hate as he hated. They would be the catalysts of his new order alongside his warriors of nature. Once united, he would bring the entire world to its knees and then into Hell.

Nature itself rose up against Amdusius before he could bring about his grand plan. The fey, elves, and other sylvan creatures united and fought against him. Amdusius found himself banished back to Hell, trapped by potent eldritch weaving of fey origin. Not to be discouraged, Amdusius made his way back to his mother's abode and supplicated himself before her. The prodigal son returned. He had not set aside his hatred of her, but he buried it deep. He needed her power to return and conquer his kingdom, and so he became her servant. His ruthless power quickly elevated him through the ranks and soon he was Lilith's right-hand man. He was on the verge of obtaining the power he needed when The Great Fall heralded the arrival of the new Lord of the Sixth, Moloch. Rather than perish fighting against Moloch's inevitable victory, Amdusius faded into the background. When his mother was forced to bend her knee before the former astral deva, Amdusius was nowhere to be found. For millennia he roamed Malbolge, seeking a way to turn this humiliating retreat into victory. He supported his mother throughout her submission and sabotaged as many of Moloch's murderous plans for children as he could. He hunted those who would serve the Childslayer and was heartened when the Dies Irae ended Moloch's usurpation of his rightful throne.  And when Lilith left Hell for the Inferno, Amdusius served as her Duke in the Grey Wastes.  

Amdusius has now resumed his duties as Lilith's chief lieutenant and spends his time repairing the twice-rifted Court. He has exploited some loopholes in the banishment spell and made several forays to the Mortal Coil Material to continue his building of an army, of both beasts and children. His twin portfolios have afforded him a surprisingly diverse amount of power and he remains unchallenged among his fellow Dukes.   If he has one soft spot it is for children, and he protects children in however manner he can, often in a cruel and evil manner. Any method is acceptable to his cult when it comes to protecting children.  However he also has a bad habit of turning children into monsters (the process is painless) to "protect" them.  

Cult: Amdusius has two orders serving him, the Order of the Twisted Branch, made up of Druids and focusing upon harnessing the power of nature, and the Order of the Infanty.  The former focuses upon corrupting the forces of nature to serve the Will of the Domo, while the latter tires to save abused children.  Under VERY strict orders, Amdusius keeps these two orders divided for should they be seen together, the credibility of the Order of Infancy will be critically undermined and Amdusius truly does want to save as many children as possibly.  

Avatar: Sadly it was destroyed again by the forces of Nature, sucks to be you.  

Relationships:

Amdusius is allied with Duke Abigor of Avernus who respects both his sense of twisted honor and his combat skill. He is uncomfortable with those of the Court of Phlegethon (Phlegethos) as their focus on pain and suffering oppose his defense of children. Amdusius completely despises the Dukes of Minauros, whose focus on wealth and profit is in direct conflict with his ideal image of a natural order where all are given what they take for themselves. The Dukes of Cania are somewhat beyond him, as their rhetoric and philosophy have no place in his New Order, but he has no open hostilities with them. In fact, he respects Murmur’s teachings for he views their focus on grasping the power within one’s self as an integral facet of his own doctrine of power.   HE HATES his mother Lillith, because...well she eats babies. And he likes children.   He is also one of the few evil creatures who gets along quite well with The Great Maw, who

Realm- Amdusius is like everything the Mechanics fear about nature, it is dark, twisted, cruel and horrifying.  Its something out of berserk.  Most of the nature is alive....and it hates you.....a lot.  Like it really hates you.  The creatures of this realm are NOT nice, and they seriously want to hurt you in cruel and unusual ways.  Animals, plants, and the terrain itself is overgrown and sinister, though still natural, with druids gaining a great deal of power.  

Amdusius resembles a powerful humanoid unicorn, standing 9 feet tall. Gargoyle-like wings resembling those of a pit fiend sprout from his back. His arms end in savage claws rather than hooves, and his eyes glow red. His horn is pure ebony, and its very touch brings with it pain. His coat is black, although there is a large patch of red on his chest that resembles a burning bush. He is often accompanied by his two companions, Hroth and Kanar. Kanar is a fiendish boar, standing 5 foot tall at the shoulder with yellow glowing eyes. Hroth is a bonded legendary wolf, a vicious creature with bristling gray and white fur, powerful muscles and fangs that can tear through the hide of a dragon. Both of them are devoted to Amdusius and would willingly give their lives to defend him.