A Treatise on the Lower Planes

t looks mundane. Opening it, BugSaw is met with a title. A Treatise on the Lower Planes. It looks to be a HEAVILY biased book going over themes surrounding Abyssal and Hellish matters, describing a few minor fiends, their apparent importance to the greater whole, and a short bit about the Blood War- an eternal conflict watched over by [[../Lore/Religion/s a way to quell her thirst and, sometimes, used as proxies for their own conflicts.
The book mentions the concept of Archdevils, rulers of the Nine Hells, but none by name. A lot of pages have been ripped out, but one stands out, on the Demon PrYeenoghu]. Lord of Savagery, Consumer of Reality, Destroyer of Civilizations**. It delves deeper on the [Father of Gnolls], his insatiable hunger. It also contains a symbol that matches the priest's tattoo.

You do see a few notes at the end, that seem to be n Gnolls straight from the Abyss.

(Learnable rituals?)It would take a while but one could figure them out. It looks like a lengthy prot just a... Spend a spell slot an]] hu|Yeenoghu]] and Demon Princes) The book seems accurate, if a little too... Approving and praising if Yeenoghu.

• A dangerous foe who can corrupt Gnolls to act on their worst instincts.
  I will add that Ravik knows that demon princes are not that unlike gods. Made of the s. Not quite Gods. But... With enough worship and power?

#alex 4/20/25

From Riga's Date with the Book:

Reading through the book, Riga would have been bored, were it not for the rather fresh, horribly biased point of view from which the author discusses the themes and creatures portrayed within the book. With how most pages on Devils have been ripped out, it almost feels like a cult initiation informational booklet, which feels rather hilarious considering this book praises Yeenoghu. The text dives into how Yeenoghu hungers, and his eternal need to consume. In a way, he might be aligned with Tiamat's domain- another side of that coin, drawing from the same well. His hunger is not merely material- he wishes to consume all, from memory to light and space. Only when all rests in his stomach would he turn on himself, and forever be sated by the cycle.

What his children consume is also his, and the very act to consume as his follower is worship. The book briefly delves into the nature of demons as representing the worst and most impulsive aspects of the souls they once were, but it somehow is able to spin it in a way where the reader is supposed to be angry at the gods for forcing them into the plane in the first place- that their actions are justified revenge, and why not aid them now, if any soul could be damned? Start paving the way for the army you will soon join.

--- The ritual is disgusting. Oh, sure, it requires blood sacrifice and some very drab arrangement of organs that must be chewed on and regurgitated like an owl might do, but what really gets Riga? It's so unoptimized. There's so many points in the wording and markings that seem to be there just to make the ritual more costly for no benefit. Then it dawns o

her- someone is being benefitted. Someone is slurping up the power that overflows.

See Theories for more.