The Infernal Insurrection

The Infernal Insurrection (sometimes referred to as the Third Infernal Emergence) refers a period of chaos, between 925 PR and 943 PR, throughout the Ten Hells and the lower outer planes after the River Styx dried up. Most notably it involved a war between the Ten Hells and Mt. Celestia, destabilization throughout every layer of the Ten Hells, and the disappearance of Demons and the Abyss. While the River Styx was replaced by the Passage of Souls in 926 PR, there were still many small pockets of instability left throughout the lower planes.

About

Without Demons as an enemy to untite Devils against a common cause, and the flow of new souls getting cut off with the destruction of the River Styx, the Devil lords of the Ten Hells scrambled in a desperate ploy to maintain what power they had. This was only exacerbated by the apparent disappearance of Asmodeus, the Lord of Greed Mammon stocking the fires of chaos with huge investments of gold, and celestial angels gearing up for war.

Three major invasions occurred during this period, including an invasion of the Material Plane by Devils, the invasion of the Hells by angelic warriors, and an invasion throughout the planes by undead spirits after the rupturing of the Ethereal Plane.

The insurrection reached its peak though with the resurrection of the goddess of giants and calamity, Othea the Shattered Mountain. her worshippers in the Cult of the Shattered Mountain were manipulated by Mammon to destroy the River Styx in order to free their goddess' spirit it before summoning her out of the Ethereal Plane on the 10th level of the Hells, Hellmar. Othea would begin tearing her way through the layers of the Hells before she was sealed again after reaching the sixth layer of the hells, Malbolge. After Othea was sealed again, Mammon made a play to claim the Ruby Rod of Asmodeus for himself, only to get slain and banished as well.

The River Styx would be replaced with the Passage of Souls, but even with new souls entering the Hells, peace did not return to the Hells for many years, as the deaths of many prominent archdevils during the insurrection led to a large power vacuum.

Timeline

The Loss of the River Styx

In 925 PR, in a plot orchestrated by Mammon, a group known as the Cult of the Shattered Mountain with the aid of the Demon Lord Ratatrosk slew the ferryman Charon and used Charon's oar to destroy the River Styx. Charon was under divine protective magic that prevented any creation of the Gods from harming him, but since Demons weren't made from the gods, Ratatrosk was able to kill him.

With the River Styx destroyed, souls were no longer able to pass into their afterlives, and were trapped in the Ethereal Plane. This led to a period of panic in the Hells as no more new souls meant no more new devils.

The Disappearance of the Abyss

Another consequence of the Styx's destruction was the disappearance of all Demons from Quelmar, excluding the Demon Ratatrosk. All demons simultaneously vanished and all portals that led to the Abyss closed. Any attempts to contact the Abyss or travel there by planar means were also unsuccessful. Without the River Styx has a connecting thread, the Abyss had been cut off from Quelmar and the outer planes.

The Three Invasions

The Invasion of the Material Plane

In a bid to harvest new souls to maintain his power, the Lord of the Second layer of the Hells, Dispater, sent his armies of Iron Devils into the inner planes. These constructs were able to bypass the Pact Primeval and harm mortals, and so began a campaign of destruction across the Material Plane, Feywild, Shadowfell, and the Elemental Planes. Mortals killed by Iron Devils either had their souls sent to Dispater himself or had their souls transformed into new Iron Devils.

But soon after, Dispater's iron armies would be met on the battlefield by the angelic armies of the archangel Gabriel who used Dispater's war of aggression as an excuse to finally confront the devils he despised. But Gabriel cared more about killing devils then saving mortals, and his armies ended up inadvertently killing as many mortals as did Dispater's.

Even after Dispater's death, other devils would use similar tactics to harvest souls and would lead their own campaigns into the Material Realm to massacre mortals.

The Invasion of the Ten Hells

Eager to continue his campaign to exterminate devils, Gabriel pushed his celestial armies into the Ten Hells. They quickly passed through Duumal and began to siege to siege the walls of Dis. After Dispater's death, Gabriel and his armies were able to invade and destroy the city, continuing their campaign of infernal destruction through Minaurous, Phlegethos, Stygia, and eventually to Malbolge where they met the armies of the evil infernal dragon Barroth on the battlefield. Gabriel's invasion would devastate much of the Hells remaining infrastructure and lead to the deaths of millions of devils.

After Gabriel's defeat and imprisonment at the Ruby Headwaters, his angelic armies would be forced to retreat back to the safety of Mt. Celestia.

The Invasion of Spirits

With the River Styx no longer able to transport the souls of the dead, the Ethereal Plane began to overflow with spirits. Trapped in the Ethereal Plane as well was the corpse of the goddess Othea, which served as a focal point for these lost spirits. As more spirits entered into the Ethereal Plane, the veil between the Ethereal Plane and the rest of the realms began to thin, until it burst entirely, allowing these lost souls to flood into the Material Plane and outer realms. Souls swam through the sky, briefly turning the sky purple, as corpses rose from the earth. With mortal defenses already destroyed by the warring of angels and devils, there was nothing the people of Quelmar could do to defend against the newly risen undead, leading to mass casualties.

Eventually, with the creation of the Passage of Souls, the lost spirits from the Ethereal Plane were brought back into the Ethereal Plane which had its veil mended and these lost spirits were finally sent to their destined afterlives.

The Emergence of the Shattered Mountain

Long ago, the Ten Hells used to be a realm known as Thalmyr, ruled by the goddess of Giants Othea. In order to create the cycle of souls, the creator gods sent the Archangel Asmodeus to slay Othea. Asmodeus would take Othea's heart and break it in two, turning one half into souls, and the other into the Ruby Rod, an artifact that gave him complete control over Thalmyr and elevated him to godhood. Asmodeus would transform Thalmyr into the Hells and would transform wicked souls into Devils to fight back the incursions of Demons from the Abyss.

What remained of Othea Asmodeus sealed beneath the River Styx. He then struck her name from the realm and removed all traces of her from Quelmar. her memory persisted though with the Cult of the Shattered Mountain, an order of giants who worshipped Othea and sough to resurrect her.

In his own schemes to conquer the Hells, the archdevil Mammon manipulated the cult into doing his bidding. He taught them how to draw power from Othea, how to destroy the River Styx, and how to resurrect their goddess. The cults plan required a Ruby Heart, one of the nine pieces of the Ruby Rod given to the rulers of the layers, and instigated chaos across every layer in hopes to unseat one of the devil lords. Their plans were successful, gaining not just one but three Ruby Hearts, taken from Elytria in Duumal and Mammon in Minarous, and freely given by Glasya in Nessus who allied herself with the cult.

With these shards the cult managed to resurrect Othea, though all that remained of her was a destructive and monstrous spirit that was a hollow shell of what she once was.

The Creation of the Passage of Souls

The Destruction of the Ruby Rod

The Years of Fiendish Blood

Chaos in the Hells

Duumal

With demons gone and the Blood War over, the armies of Hell were left without a purpose and quickly broke up into many waring factions hoping to grab whatever power they could in the confusion. The three most prominent factions to emerge was Bel's Militia, commanded and organized by the Pit Fiend Bel, one of Duumals former rulers, the Sinners League, a loose alliance of warlords and mercenaries from the Blood War, and the Fingers of Barroth, draconic devils serving the evil dragon Barroth.

Bel's militia quickly gained an edge in the fight by purchasing weapons from Dispater, the Lord of the second layer of the Hells, Dis, and with their control over the Bronze Citadel, Duumal's largest population center. His larges assest was a massive iron bull war machine called the Soulnaught. Infighting within the Sinner's League and a betrayal by one of their new members, the Hill Giant Angrboda, allowed Bel to ambush them at Bloodmaw Keep and scatter the forces of the Sinners League. With the Sinners League out of the picture Bel was quickly able to expand his influence over Duumal, bring more of Hell's armies under his command, and even campture the current archduke of Duumal, Elytria.

During Elytria's execution, Bel and his forces were ambushed by the remaining members of the Sinners League and an adventuring party known as the Hellraisers. This battle quickly turned sideways with the invasion of the angelic armies of the archangel Gabriel as well as the arrival of an Inevitable from Mechanus and infernal archmages from Cania. During the battle Elytria was saved and Bel was slain, but Angrboda stole Elytria's Ruby heart and fled before the armies of Gabriel could arrive in full force.

After the destruction of the Ruby Rod, Duumal would remain a hotspot for fighting in the Hells, with even more warlords beginning to claim territory. After the Years of Fiendish Blood concluded, these warlords entered into a loose peace, uniting to combat the newly returned demons.

Gehena War Profiteering

With the conclusion of the Blood War, the Yugoloths of Gehena lost their largest clients. But the mercenary fiends of Gehena were able to quickly pivot, offering their services to the newly risen factions in Duumal and charging premiums for their aid. Some Yugoloths though would seek to strike out their own as independent warlords themselves, with many of these warlords eventually joining the Sinners league.

Dis

Minarous

with the ensuing chaos in the Hells, there was a run on the banks in Minarous as every devil quickly came to empty their infernal vaults. What resulted was an economic crash that left thousands of devils destitute, save for the Lord of Greed himself Mammon who began to use the chaos to purchase land all across the Hells.

Minarous would soon be invaded by the combined forces of Glasya and Dispater who had learned of Mammon's treachery and the part he played in the murder of Glasya's mother and Asmodeus' wife Azhazni. They attacked Mammon's palace and kidnapped the golden devil, leaving Minarous unprotected when the armies of Gabriel swept through.

Phlegethos

The many slaves and prisoners of Phlegethos would rise in revolt, encouraged by the words of the Storm Giant sorcerous Thrya Cloudbreaker. These former slaves would begin to overthrown their former archdevil masters, holding mass executions. many archdevils were forced to flee Phlegethos or else risk death at the hands of their now liberated slaves.

Stygia

Stygia would become ravaged by a massive storm conjured by the Frost Giant Druid Hrothgar Icevein that would begin to tear the glaciers and ice flows of the layer apart. Most major structures within Stygia would be destroyed, with the only survivors existing on the far outskirts of Stygia outside of the storms reach.

Malbolge

Malbolge would be invaded by the draconic armies of Barroth the Unredeemable, a fiendish dragon who sought to gain a foothold in the Hells for Tiamat. After hearing about the draconic devil Delphyne and her partner, the ruler of Malbolge, Philani, Barroth and his forces would travel to Malbolge to claim the title of "Dragon of the Hells" for himself to to take control of Delphyne's own draconic army. Barroth would gain control of a portal to Malbolge in Duumal called Glasya's Folly and use it to enter into Malbolge, also claiming for himself the nearby fortress of Drossmere as his base of operations. Both armies would engage in a brutal war with both Barroth and Philani sending diplomats across the planes in search of allies to aid them in their war.

Barroth would gain an edge in the war by forging an alliance with Dispater an adding iron Devils and war constructs to his army. Though his advances would be short lived due to the arrival of the armies of the archangel Gabriel whose armies had been traveling through the Hells layer by layer, slaying any devils they could find.

After Barroth and Gabriel's deaths, Philani would regain control of Malbolge and Delphyne would subjugate Barroth's draconic armies.

Maladomini

During the Infernal insurrection, Maladomini would fall into chaos as a scramble for the crown of Maladomini ensued, egged on by the Cult of the Shattered Mountain. It quickly turned into king of the hill of filth with devils fighting all across the filth filled city streets to climb the mountain of dung in the layers center to dethrone the current ruler Baalzebul.

Cania

The archdevil Mephistophales would engage the Storm Giant sorcerous Thrya Cloudbreaker in arcane battle above the skies of Cania. But the Storm Rune granted to her by her goddess gave Thrya immunity to Mephistophales' magic, and after a full week of battling, Thrya was able to force Mephistophales to retreat, allowing her forces to pillage Cania for all its arcane relics and secrets. In the chaos mages from across the planes would travel to Cania to join in the stealing of arcane artifacts, leading to hundreds of long lost dangerous and cursed magical relics being released upon the realm.

Nessus

Thanks to a deal struck between the archduchess Glasya and the Cult of the Shattered Mountain, Glasya was able to avoid the chaos that consumed the rest of the Hells. She would host members of the Cult within her fortress, Malsheem, and give them access to the tenth layer of the Hells, Hellmar. She would later claim the Hill Rune after the death of the Hill Giant Angrboda and join the remaining Ordained in their attempt to resurrect their goddess Othea. But she would be slain during the ritual by the heroes known as the Hellraisers.

Hellmar

As the deepest layer of the Hells, Hellmar was largely isolated from the chaos of the upper layers. That was until Asmodeus mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind his Ruby Rod which would hang in the sky like a red star. Asmodeus went into hiding, posing as a devil named Azrael to avoid the ire or the Cult of the Shattered Mountain, whose magic made them immune to the powers wielded by the Ruby Rod.

The ritual to summon the lost goddess Othea would be completed atop Asmodeus' fortress, Kashtar-Val, where the goddess would then breach into Nessus.

The survivors and mortals in Hellmar who had been trapped in the Hells since the second infernal emergence would be saved as the adventurers known as the Hellraisers would use the Ruby Rod to create a new plane for the survivors to call home.