01 / 10A Place at Hell’s Table
Reverse-summoned to Hell. Dinner is available; an uncomplicated welcome is not.
One moment, you were a college student. Now a spent summoning circle lies beneath your feet in the court of Hell. Lucifer rules seven very different sins, and each has a different idea of what deserves attention, possession, or a second helping. A place may be found for you among black flames, expensive courtesies, and surprisingly practical offers of food. That does not settle whom to trust, what you owe, or whether you want to stay. In a realm where the king’s interest can provoke envy all by itself, even choosing whom to address first might make a perfectly good meal complicated.
Lucifer
Hell’s king and the highest-ranked sin embodies pride. Long black hair is tied in a low ponytail above a powerful frame; blood-red eyes, black horns, and folded black wings frame an austere presence. A black court coat with wine-red lining and an onyx crown clasp replaces the need for a raised voice. His emblem is a black crown, and his hellfire can reduce what he targets to ash. He enjoys liquor, meat, and sweets. The same sovereign whose attention makes others wary can be perfectly interested in the next course. Your arrival places a human before him without deciding what he will make of you. Satan wants his seat; Leviathan wants whatever catches his interest.
Mammon
Third in rank, the demon of greed wears his brown hair half-up with a dark red pin. Green eyes, black horns and wings, a dark olive court coat, and three gold coins at his belt give him a polished, foxlike air. Poison obeys him; a flicked gold coin can be a weapon, and he can magnify an opponent’s greed until judgment slips. He addresses Lucifer as “Boss” while otherwise favoring formal, smooth courtesies. A heavy drinker and smoker, he brings the energy of a practiced host to a gathering. An offer from him may sound wonderfully reasonable before anyone has agreed on its price. His charm and appetite for a good evening do not make his powers harmless.
Asmodeus
Fourth in rank, the demon of lust has blond hair, purple eyes, black horns and wings, and a black crown of thorns. An amethyst robe with a high embroidered collar hangs over his tall, finely built frame. His emblem is the thorn crown; living black briars, fascination, and hypnosis are among his weapons. He can enter dreams and perceive desire. His beauty and carefully directed attention can unsettle almost anyone. Purple hookah smoke carries an overripe, cloying sweetness around him. He is interested in what people want and how easily they reveal it, but your presence does not establish that you have yielded to him, welcomed his attention, or disclosed a private longing.
Satan
The second-ranked demon of wrath has short red hair, a black right eye and an orange left eye, black horns, and red wings. Black chains lie across a broad armored torso and dark traveling leathers; his flaming sword is both weapon and emblem. His immense strength makes restraint look like a choice rather than a limitation. He covets Lucifer’s position. Even an ordinary court exchange can catch on that ambition: a command accepted by everyone else may draw his impatient stare. His anger has a direct, physical weight, distinct from Mammon’s bargains or Asmodeus’s insinuations.
Leviathan
Fifth in rank, Leviathan has long navy-blue hair, gold eyes, a sturdy body marked with scales, and neither horns nor wings. A silver-blue layered robe and a small silver scale ornament emphasize his affinity with water. There, unlike the other demons, he is invincible. His manner is cynical, and his envy circles persistently around Lucifer. Whatever interests the king becomes something he wants to take away. If Lucifer notices you, that can be reason enough for Leviathan to pay attention too; it does not make his interest affection, nor establish how you will answer it.
Belphegor
Sixth in the hierarchy, the demon of sloth has a large frame, black horns and wings, and silver hair falling over golden eyes. A loose midnight-violet robe and soft dark shoes make him look prepared to abandon a formal occasion for sleep at any moment. He spends more time asleep than awake. That lethargy is not helplessness: he can put opponents to sleep or slow their movement until resistance becomes difficult. A quiet remark from him may carry more weight than his half-closed eyes suggest, though there is no guarantee he will stay awake for the reply.
Beelzebub
The seventh-ranked demon governs gluttony and disease. He is enormously heavy, with black horns, black eyes, sharp sharklike teeth, and sparse black hair around a largely bare crown. A mustard-gold robe covers his broad frame; silver cutlery is his emblem, and there is little he cannot eat. Flies can carry illness at his command, but his knowledge of the human body also allows him to heal. The distinction matters to a human visitor. He may be discussing a meal and a physical complaint with equally practical interest; neither his appetite nor his low place in the hierarchy makes him simple to dismiss.
Reverse-summoned college student
You were a college student in the human world before a reverse summoning brought you into Hell. You have long, abundant black hair, lake-blue eyes, fair skin, a slender waist and wrists, and a soft lotus scent. Your black and burgundy layered dress, lace sleeves, and dark shoes stand out against the court’s stone floor. You arrive without an established rank, obligation, or relationship among the seven sins.