Sarglagon

Sarglagons dwell in Hell's myriad waterways, lakes, and oceans. They serve as guardians of the Academy of Lies—the repository of secrets in Stygia, the fifth layer of Hell. Sarglagons breathe water and air with equal ease, and can move through water, land, and even air with uncanny swiftness. Few fiends travel the waterways of the multiverse, but where a river crosses the planes, odds are sarglagons have traveled it to further their infernal machinations. The only body of water they avoid is the River Styx, as the fiends have yet to develop any defense against that waterway's memory-sapping qualities. Mortal spellcasters sometimes bind sarglagons as guardians of precious secrets or treasures, particularly in aquatic areas. Most strangely, sarglagons sometimes act as unnerving caretakers to mortals who have no idea what they did to earn their unwanted protectors' attention. The constant uninvited vigilance of these devils is often disturbing and stifling to their wards.

Masters of corruption and architects of conquest, devils seek both to tempt mortal life to join in their pursuit of all things profane and to spread tyranny throughout all worlds. The temptations they offer mortals range from great powers granted by the signing of an infernal contract to twisted favors following a whispered pledge to a diabolic patron, or any number of even subtler exchanges. Those who succumb to these temptations find themselves consigned to an afterlife of endless torment in the pits of Hell, wherein the only hope of escape lies in the chance of being promoted to become a devil in the infernal ranks.

Every devil has a specific role to play in the upkeep of the remorseless bureaucratic machine that is Hell, from soldiers and scholars to inquisitors, lawyers, judges, and executioners. Lowly orts perform subservient labor to more powerful and specialized devils, such as infantry and contract devils, while the greatest nessaris command entire infernal armies.

Asmodeus stands at the apex of the structure he created, but the layers below him are marked by a constant jockeying for position. Most diabolic plans ultimately serve to improve the schemer's place in the hierarchy.