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T'ITIVILUS

The gloomy

Lord of the Second,

Dispater, rules

from

his

iron palace, seeming

to hide surround

ed by its lab-

yrinthine
corridors,
iron walls, diabolical
traps, and

monstrous

servants.

So intense is his

paranoia that he

almost never

travels farther

than the sprawling

city that

lies outside

his magnificent

palace. Dispater

knows he

has enemies

on all sides-

enemies who would

do to him

what has been done

to the likes of

Geryon, Moloch, and

so many others.

Dispater is cor

rect to fear, but the

true threat comes

not from

without. The lord's

great error was

allowing

himself

to be seduced by

Titivilus, who beguiled

his way

into being

the primary

advisor in Dispater's

household.

Although

he is inferior

in physical strength

and power

when compared

to other archdev

ils, Titivilus compen-

sates with cunning.

A shrewd

and calculating politician,

he

has clawed his way

up through the

ranks to become

the

second-most powerful

fiend in Dis,

entirely by say-

ing just the

right thing at the

right time to get

what he

wanted. Charming

and pleasant,

he is a master

at nego-

tiation, able

to twist words

in such a way as

to leave his

victims

confused and believing

they have found

a friend

in Titivilus. Through

these skills,

Titivilus has manip-

CHAPT.ER 6
I BESTIARY

ulated

everyone along

his path to power,

either to win

them

over to his cause

or to remove them

as a threat.

Since

gaining his

position, Titivilus

has convinced

Dispater that

countless plots

are being hatched

against

him and that

Asmodeus himself

seeks to remove

Dis-

pater from

power. In response,

Dispater has

withdrawn

to

his palace and left

day-to-day decisions

to Titivilus,

while also authorizing

him to answer

and negotiate bar-

gains with mortals

who attempt to

summon Dispater.

Titivilus

now represents

his master and speaks

with his

voice, a

turn of events that

leads some to whisper

that ei-

ther Titivilus

is Dispater

in disguise, or that

Titivilus has

removed the archduke

and replaced

him altogether.

Titivilus recognizes

the inherent

precariousness

of

his position.

After all, Dispater's

acceptance of his

plans

and

his advice can last

only so long before

some other

plotter

steps in and reveals

the truth. For

insurance,

Titivilus

has begun

recruiting outsiders

to deal with

problem devils,

to insulate himself

against criticism

,

and, above

all, to create complications

that he

can solve

so as to reinforce

his value in

the eyes of his

master. Titi-

vilus finds adventurers

well suited to

the tasks he needs

performed and recruits

them directly

or through in ter-

mediaries, expend

ing them later as

his plans requir

e.