Who the Hell Are These Guys 7: Ulcer of the Soul (Hell pt 13)
Envy, Pieter van der Heyden, 1558
Welcome back to my blog about a new and ‘better’ approach to Hell.
In earlier installments, we've covered that Hell Has Its Laws,
https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/hell-has-its-laws-part-1
Hell Has Its Place
https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/hell-has-its-place-hell-pt-2 ,
that Hell Hath No Fury
https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/hell-hath-no-fury-hell-part-3
, and the reasons Dungeons and Dragons, depicts Nine Hells, in How Many Hells and Why https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/how-many-hells-and-why-hell-part-4 .
We covered where names come from, in A Hell of a Set of Names.
https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/a-hell-of-a-set-of-names-hell-part-5
And then we talked about the Hells themselves, in What Fresh Hell Is This? https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/what-fresh-hell-is-this-hell-part-6
I wrote about Ibacar, Devil Princess of Despair, as well as some of her minions.
https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/abandon-all-hope
and then I covered Jajax Lal Anim, the Archdevil of Greed, Lord of Laqq.
https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/who-the-hell-are-these-guys-2-eye-of-the-needle
We recently talked about Immzebul, Lady of Flies, Archdevil of Gluttony and Rot.
https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/who-the-hell-are-these-guys-3-never-enough-hell-part-9
Then we cowered in terror from Malhamit, the diabolical Bull of War, the Archdevil of Wrath.
https://www.ofgodsandgamemasters.com/blog/who-the-hell-are-these-guys-4-war-is-hell-hell-part-10
More recently we spoke of repulsive Sha’Urcit, the Devil Prince of Lust.
Last week, we were proud to present Iddet-Leil, Devil Princess of Pride.
And now, our eyes go green as we discuss Hamarqal the Zealous, Archdevil of Envy, Diabolic Prince of the Self-Righteous, Lord of Jealousy.
Kinah, the Hell of Zeal, is a fractured landscape of factions and friction, forever divided against itself. Unlike most of the other Hells, the people here are not physically tortured. They have their needs met. But they are kept separated and hating, murdering and torturing *each other*, by the wiles of Hamarqal. From his high Pale Mansion, he promises support to each group, assures them he believes that each is the best and the others are to blame for what evils occur. Kinah is a place of never-ending strife, from factional disputes to blood feuds to political intrigues. As Byzantine as Ram-Tsor is, it is at least more orderly, more civil. Kinah is where the streets run with blood over the placement of a period or question mark, over a slight difference in shade of skin, over others receiving anything even vaguely good when ‘they don’t deserve it’. The factionalism runs from street gangs of the poor and downtrodden all the way up to the Senate, which is entirely powerless and performative. Nonetheless, death and pain follow every schism in its structure.
The Pale Mansion
Unsurprisingly, Kinah appears much like a diabolic interpretation of all major cities in 21st century USA, mixed together. It is sometimes simply referred to as the Dark City, and Hamarqal is called the Dark Man. The Pale Mansion itself, housing both Hamarqal’s domicile and the apparatus of government, such as it is, is as much palace as state seat.
The Dark Man, of course, does not appear dark. He is not dark of skin. He’s pale, well to do, in the finest robes and best cut suits. He’s just a little overweight, with un-calloused hands that have never known labor. He wears a green suit, has green eyes, bone white shirt, green tie. Green and gold and white adorn his robes when he wears those. He’s as likely to appear like a Mandarin or Byzantine noble as he is a ‘European’, but is often thought of in costume reminiscent of Versailles. He is always of whatever ethnicity is dominant . . . but pale in that context.
Hamarqal never loses control. He’s calm, cool, collected. He’s petty, punishing every minor slight, but he doesn’t ever panic or ‘freak out’. His lips are always quirked in a self satisfied smirk, but his eyes are hollow and cold, and nothing is ever enough. He has indulged each sin in turn and come to the last: destruction of others for his own amusement, for every difference, for every ‘unearned’ gift. His only joy is the pain of others, for he has nothing more to gain. When you have everything, the only thing left to strive for is keeping it to yourself, keeping prosperity exclusive, because if everyone is rich . . . no one is. What use is it to have everything if everyone else also has what they want? What good is being right if you cannot prove everyone else wrong, and punish them for it?
Hamarqal the Zealous
As such, he really has no more diabolic form. At most, he might allow himself the conceit of small horns, or an elegant tail. A slim, dangerous sword rides at his hip, sometimes resembling a smallsword, other times a jiann. He fights with grace and controlled, focused hate. If he must ever fight at all. He’s even better than most of the archdevils at talking his way out of fights, and especially talking others into doing his fighting for him.
