by Elyon Hadad

Most people know of Asuria only as a “hellish place”, ruled by demons in mortal skin. That kind of description gets a common man’s imagination racing. An infernal landscape of black rocks and molten lava immediately comes to mind, with whole pits filled with sinners, chained to rocks and suffering otherworldly tortures. People do not realize that Asuria is mostly a place like any other on this world, with its mortal inhabitants mostly just trying to live their lives. Even the loud proclamations of “Hell scourging the usurpers” don’t make Asuria much more than just another land ruled by religious or ideological fundamentalists.

This particular religion is, admittedly, particularly vicious as far as I could tell in my short time in Asuria. The rakshasas that rule the region are demons incarnated into mortal flesh and believe that their ancestors, the Great Devils, are the rightful rulers of this world, as they were the first thing to walk on its surface. Their banishment to Hell is considered “the First Atrocity” and the subsequent population of the world by mortal creatures is seen as an act of usurpation by lesser creatures. Virtually anyone who isn’t a rakshasa or their demonic allies is seen as a pest to be wiped out.

Throughout my entire visit, I had to remain in disguise as a tiefling, although I could tell at least a few of the natives were suspicious of my attitude. Fortunately, the magically powerful rakshasas aren’t the only inhabitants of Asuria, nor the most common ones. Like devas, they remain fairly rare because of their origin, while a whole army of creatures traditionally associated with evil serve as the backbone of their empire. Tieflings serve as laborers, oni and ogres maintain their slaves and capture new ones, great trolls enforce order. All of these creatures have very disparate origins and seemingly shouldn’t be allied, but they are joined by their faith and their purpose, the Hellfire.

Most Asurians are followers of this Hellfire movement, a religious group founded by Ahriman Aeshema, allegedly first of the Immortals. The Immortals are a small subsection of rakshasas who, unlike most individuals of the race, keep their memories after reincarnation. These Immortals are particularly dangerous foes, as they inevitably return for vengeance if you ever slay one in battle. Considered heroic figures in the Hellfire religion, they are the elite combat unit used to subjugate other lands – with the help of a special amulet, they rise again on the very battlefield where they were defeated.

Hellfire’s commandments are a curious mixture of a traditional code of loyalty with an infernal code of malice. Ahriman taught that one should reach out for whatever he desires, with no regard for the goods of others. In addition, he taught that property is the inalienable right and all thieves must be punished severely. The “usurpation of the world” by non-demonic forces is seen as an ancient and most reprehensible theft. Asurians want to destroy everyone else on the world’s surface, as nothing short of total bloodshed will be the rightful repayment for the millennia of dispossession. Interestingly, this philosophy stretches to other “ancient rights”, with rakshasa houses often fighting against and wiping out other houses for stealing their lands, even if the event happened as much as centuries ago.

It surprises me, really, that rakshasas want to fight each other for their lands in Asuria. Not only does their religion prohibit internal conflict until the “plague of angels and gods is wiped out”, the land does not appear to be very desirable. Majority of Asuria is covered in mountains and deserts, with their fortresses and cities located in some of the most inhospitable places in the world, where they believe “the world is closest to Hell”. Rakshasas abide by these unfriendly conditions, believing that in that way they are closer to their true heritage. They do not even care about death, as it is merely a short pause in their existence, and with their domination in the region, their ephemeral “families” quickly find their relatives in their new lives.

As suggested by the name, fire is very important to adherents of Hellfire. Many large rakshasa settlements host large sacrificial pits where animals and non-believers are thrown in during official ceremonies. Most often, the sacrifice is fully conscious and aware, but tied up to prevent escape. The pits are kept constantly on fire, so once the victim is thrown in, it perishes in one of the most excruciating deaths possible, as the green fire the rakshasas maintain burns not only body, but also scars the soul as well.

Interestingly, there are apparently a couple of nephilim who came to live in Asuria. Although normally our race is mocked for our angelic ancestry, our demonic part makes us prime recruits for Hellfire. These few amoral individuals joined the nation of demons for personal gain, not realizing how much they are being used by this fanatical regime. An especial hatred towards us is exhibited by the oni, curious ogre-like creatures that rule the ogres who bear some uncanny similarities to nephilim. If I was a biologist, perhaps I would speculate on the common origin of our species, but oni’s hostility does not make them very open for discussion with me.

In the end, I would like to say that Asuria’s policies sound very troubling for the balance of our world. The rakshasas are hell-bent, if you pardon the pun, on conquering the world and literally burning every single living thing on it, believing (quite properly, if you ask me) that all this evil will be enough to damage the Sun enough to let their ancestors out of Hell. The only thing that stops Asuria from enacting this mad plan is the lack of resources and the fairly limited numbers of the near-indestructible Immortals, with no ways of making more.