#champion of asmodeus zerxus!!!

[ariadne-mouse]

Silly writing prompt: Asmodeus trying to be hot af in front of Zerxus, in any context you prefer.

"Trying" is the operative word - redux on the canon scene from EXU: Calamity. Asmodeus rolls to seduce, but Zerxus is rolling perpetual Nat 20s on actual parental mode

[screechingfromthevoid]

well now Brennan has to be a phone call away in case Braius wants to talk to asmodeus

[gorgynei]

If we get any sort of EXU/Crown Keeper content involving the current C3 story, I have three (probably unrealistic) hopes:

1. A tech-support-sequel call between Opal & Lolth that basically boils down to Lolth being like “ok, no big deal. We can deal with this. It’s just… wait, did you say Predathos?!” & panicking before giving some actual advice.

3. Jourreal, another servant of Lolth, possibly being asked to engage Otohan. Two bad bitches duking it out.

3. Zerxus being deployed. (Since both he & Jourreal are connected to Asmodeus, this isn’t too much of a stretch.)

omg i would love it if the biggest allies in the battle against predathos ended up being lolth and asmodeus. i definitely think the crownkeepers are going to get called in at some point, they're the closest ally group bell's hells has, and i want all three of these SO bad.

[quinn-of-aebradore]

Terrible painful thought that I’m now obsessed with;

Vax is a full blown Champion of the Divine and something bad just happened to him. What if the other current Champions could… feel that?

Pike, Scanlan, and Vex feeling something tear in their chests, an indescribable heartache coursing through the bond they have with their deities.

Yasha, waiting anxiously at home for Beau to return, feeling Vax’s scream through her connection to the Stormlord and is suddenly angry in a way she can’t quite place.

Caduceus and Fjord being met by cold winds from Melora and a bone-deep sense of dread.

Opal and Zerxus, deep within the thralls of their gods, having moments of clarity as they feel Lolth and Asmodeus fear for the first time.

(Cad and Fjord aren’t canonically Champions of the Wildmother, I know, but I love the idea of them being such so I don’t care)

[utilitycaster]

An ongoing theme, with regards to the gods (as opposed to Predathos and the Imperium) is that of free will. The gods are stringent in collecting on promises made, and the Betrayers will use initial consent as license to act freely, but it’s notable, in a campaign where nearly all the main player characters are shaped by entities that never once gave them a choice, the gods require an invitation. Except, worryingly, Predathos, a being of nigh-divine powers who does not seem bound by this limitation. And, of course, mortals can do as they will.

When Lolth overtakes Opal, the fact that Opal assumed both the crown, and the title of champion, willingly, is repeatedly mentioned, in DM narration and by Lolth herself. Lolth also mentions to Dorian, (perhaps untruthfully, though the events of EXU indicate this might be genuine), that she wished for him to become her champion instead - but he did not put on the crown, so she can’t have him. Obviously, Lolth takes many liberties with Opal once given entry, but she can only speak to people or act through someone who has permitted her. We see this too with Asmodeus: it is ultimately Zerxus’s choice not to walk away and face his death, but make good on his pact; some degree of initial consent is needed. K’nauth and Judicators are also both explicitly described as voluntary: once permission is given, they are bound, but this is no different than the contracts of warlocks and notably, with the gods, while we’ve seen them make deals under dire straits, we’ve never seen such unwitting participants in their pacts as Fjord with Uk’otoa or Laudna with Delilah among the gods. All entered in control of their faculties, to our knowledge, though not necessarily with the full knowledge of what it entailed.

The Prime Deities are differentiated from the Betrayers in that they continue to provide free will to their champions and their faithful. The Raven Queen accepts Vax’s trade of his life for Vex’s, given without any direct communication from her, but she quickly does begin to communicate clearly; when Vax communes with her in Duskmeadow, she tells him what she wishes, putting him much more at ease. Later, after his death, she gives him an option to either remain dead, or to have a little more time left with Keyleth, Vex, and the others of Vox Machina before he completes his task and returns to her, and he makes a choice. When Morrighan asks for guidance, the Raven Queen’s response is to ask “why are you fighting, and what are you fighting for?” and stresses that she wishes to lay out the exact terms before Morrighan agrees to anything. When Percy asks her what to do she, ironically enough for a goddess of fate, tells him he possesses the capacity to do great things of his own accord. All of Vox Machina’s divine favors come willingly, only after a conversation; the Wildmother first reaches out to Fjord before he decides to accept. And mortals have the capacity to resist even these promises; Opal is only partially successful but she does not give the Spider Queen two deaths and she does not leave alone. Fy’ra Rai finds herself able to go against Lolth’s wishes even when the Wildmother does not wish to intervene; it is her choice not to kill Opal but to go with her.

When mortals express doubt in the gods, it’s typically not their actions. It’s because they don’t think they meddle in the matters of mortals enough. As mentioned, Percy struggles with the open-ended nature of the Raven Queen’s advice. Essek, frequently considered an “anti-god” character is actually quite mild in his doubt and ultimately more frustrated at the clerics of the Kryn Dynasty than the Luxon itself (put a pin in that). Ludinus Da’leth states the gods should have prevented the Calamity, despite us knowing that the Prime Deities avoided intervention and that ultimately, while the Calamity had a number of causes, mortals (Vespin, Laerryn, much of the city of Avalir) were at the root. Ashton and Imogen’s frustrations with the gods have both ultimately been that they asked for assistance and did not receive it.

The extension of the Prime Deities’ belief in the free will of mortals is sufficiently strong that even during the Age of Arcanum, when many mortals rejected them, and when they did not require mortal intermediaries, they still chose to preserve it until the Calamity began. Each major action by the gods as a group is ultimately one to preserve themselves (the sealing of Predathos; the destruction of Aeor; the current campaign’s truce) or to preserve mortals (the Primes during the Schism and in creating the Divine Gate).

Contrast this with Delilah, who seizes control of Laudna and who is never stated to have asked permission for any of her actions. Compare to FCG, designed by Aeorians to lose control and kill. Compare to Chetney, bitten by a werewolf in the wilderness (and the others of the Gorgynei as well) - indeed, what control he has is the legacy of magic granted by the Raven Queen and by a nature spirit tied to the Wildmother. Contrast this now with Predathos, whose Ruidusborn had no say in this connection and indeed, many are motivated in service to Predathos with the goal of freeing themselves. Enforcers within the Kreveris Imperium refer to themselves as The Will, and Elder Barthie refers to those who oppose them as being made “pliable”. Chetney’s loss of control under Ruidus is deliberately triggered by the Weave Mind, with whom he made no deal.

If we (in my opinion, rightfully) reject any argument that denies the right of sentient entities to self-preservation, we are left with the following accusations of the gods: failing to stop wrongdoing by mortals (both in their name and unrelated); and acting in accordance with pre-existing agreements. The latter we can also reject; it is not perhaps kind of the gods to hold people to their contracts, but this is not unique to them and as discussed extensively above, they do require that, at least initially, the promise be made willingly.

The former, unfortunately, will not be stopped by destroying the gods. Ultimately, such people as Tuldus, Bor’Dor, and the people of Hearthdell were oppressed by their fellow mortals. In-world, we have seen zealotry in the name not just of the Prime Deities but that of countless lesser ones, notably Uk’otoa; if only the Prime and Betrayer gods are at stake, this simply creates a power vacuum to be filled by other entities vastly more powerful than mortals. On the other hand, should all power-granting entities be devoured, setting aside the upheaval this will cause in society, this leaves no shortage of room for oppression on the basis of race or political affiliation, both of which we’ve seen. The Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting’s original incarnation, prior to the further development of Wildemount for Campaign 2, even stated the Dwendalian Empire forbade all religion and was still an authoritarian one. Colonization is the end goal of the Weave Mind and indeed the motivation for killing the gods per Edmuda. It also is not unheard of on Exandria for reasons not attributed to religion, notably the settling of the Menagerie Coast by Marquesians, and Tal’Dorei (formerly Gwessar) by human settlers from Issylra. And, of course, as we know in our real world, you do not need provable deities for religion to develop nor for colonization and oppression. Mortals do these things in reality and Exandria, whether or not the gods exist, and destroying the gods in Exandria achieves no prevention, only carnage.

Returning, finally, to Essek: when we look at the major characters who are PCs or are aligned with them who have expressed frustration with the gods, the only one who has much of a case for being influenced by the actions of a deity is Percy, who is staunchly on the side against Predathos. One could split hairs and note that Vecna was not a deity at the time of the murder of Percy’s family, his own torture, and the destruction and occupation of Whitestone, but rather merely a power-hungry wizard extending his lifespan via unscrupulous means, but Percy’s own choices render this moot. Meanwhile, the gods simply did not alleviate Imogen and Ashton’s experiences, both of which were in part due to powers caused by entities the gods, in fact, failed to sufficiently destroy (Predathos and Ka’Mort specifically) and mostly perpetuated by mortals reacting to Imogen’s abilities or Ashton finding themself orphaned on the outskirts of a notoriously rough city and later, caught as the fall guy in a failed heist by a morally questionable wealthy collector.

It is my belief that Keyleth’s anger is, on some level, extended towards someone who can’t respond nor change and who she feels she cannot be angry at, and that is Vax. Vax made the deal and the Raven Queen collected; Vax decided to take the Raven Queen’s second offer. He was forced into neither, and as discussed later, he likely would have responded poorly to a True Resurrection attempt given his faith. Vax is dead because of Vecna, but neutralizing Vecna didn’t fix it. I think Dorian’s anger at Lolth meanwhile is valid, but it’s also something I’d imagine he feels he cannot direct towards Opal, even though her actions are a part of it. And I’m sure both Keyleth and Dorian blame themselves, to an extent, whether or not that is rightful. The gods make just as convenient a scapegoat for those hurt by mortals as they do an excuse for cruelty.  But I don’t think killing them will bring back Vax, and certainly not Cyrus. Much as Derrig and Will and four other Ashari lie permanently dead at the hands of Otohan Thull despite her demise, and Orym’s trauma remains, killing the gods will not undo what happened to Imogen or Ashton. And since their main crime is considered to be inaction, killing them does not end suffering (and, indeed, should we dig into the infrastructures of Exandrian society and cosmology, may very well drastically increase it). It merely confirms that no one will receive their favor rather than only some; a bringing everyone down to your misery rather than striving to elevate all. An apt, if slightly tongue-in-cheek comparison to the real world is the fact that the cause of student loan forgiveness has been hamstrung and neutered by people furious that, since they didn’t receive help, no one else should - it is a self-centered and retaliatory mentality to lash out so far in jealousy that one would willingly destroy the life of another with the goal of increasing universal suffering.

Sources:

Timestamps available upon request but here are the episodes I’m drawing from. Printed works include pages.

Lolth, Opal, and Dorian: see 3x92-93; see also EXU Prime episode 8, EXU Kymal episode 2 for Opal willingly accepting and EXU Prime episodes 5 and 7 for the Spider Queen trying to get Dorian to put on the circlet.

K’nauth: EXU Calamity episode 2

Asmodeus and Zerxus: EXU Calamity episode 4

Judicators: 3x43

The Raven Queen and Vax: notably 1x44 (initial deal), 1x57 (Duskmeadow communion), 1x103 (her offering him the choice to pass or to become a revenant). Percy is also in 1x57.

The Raven Queen and Morrighan: 3x93.

Vox Machina’s divine favors: 1x104-1x106

Fjord and the Wildmother: 2x65; powers granted in 2x76.

Fy’ra and the Wildmother: 3x93

Essek’s feelings: see the final portion of this excellent post from essektheyless

Ludinus on the gods: 3x45

For causes of the Calamity, see EXU Calamity in its entirety, but Vespin specifically is episode 4, many of Avalir’s actions (including ignoring the hall of prophecy) are episode 2, and Laerryn denying the Arboreal Calix needed energy and casting Blight are in episode 3).

Ashton on the gods: 3x65

Imogen on the gods: 3x79

See page 12 of The Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount regarding the Prime Deities’ choice not to enforce their will during the Age of Arcanum.

Sealing of Predathos: 3x43; destruction of Aeor: EGTW 121; Truce mentioned in 3x67 and has appeared in 3x89 (Vezoden) and 3x92-93 (The Wildmother and Lolth).

Schism: EGTW 12; Divine Gate EGTW 13-14.

Delilah seizing control: 3x23

FCG’s design: 3x32 and 3x45

Chetney and Gorgynei (history and control): 3x40-41

Weave Mind control of Chetney: 3x91

Goals of Ruidusborn: multiple but see 3x48 and 3x89, 3x92 for a strong example with Liliana.

Imperium practices: 3x84

Tuldus: 3x44. Bor’Dor: 3x63. Hearthdell: 3x60-61.

Actions of Uk’otoa: much of Campaign 2 but notably 2x98 and The Mighty Nein Reunited.

Original description of the Dwendalian Empire: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting (not Reborn) page 99

Goals of the Weave Mind: 3x85

Colonization of the Menagerie Coast: EGTW 17 (largely a peaceful one); Colonization of Tal’Dorei: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn page 18 (explicitly stated to be against the wishes of the elves; led in part to the rule of Drassig and Scattered War).

Percy and Vecna: Vecna ascends in 1x106; the events of the Whitestone Occupation begin prior to campaign 1. Percy is in multiple war councils against the Vanguard and notably appears in the plans for a distraction to allow Bells Hells to take the Bloody Bridge in 3x81.

Imogen and Predathos: the revelation that Predathos may be within exaltants comes in 3x92; 3x83 and 3x87 both have involuntary experiences due to Predathos and see Liliana’s arguments in 3x48 as well as Imogen’s discussion of Gelvaan.

Ashton and Ka’Mort: emotional fallout most notably in 3x78; Evontra’vir’s description of what happened with the shard in 3x74. Memories of the Hexum Manor heist can be seen in 3x35.

[beedreamscape]

Braius is such a beautiful homage to their time in Calamity. Paladin Bard, the skin colors parallel Loquatius', being the Herald of Asmodeus, almost a direct contrast to all Zerxus represented but ended becoming anyway (and I hope we get mentions of him as champion[? Chewing toy?])

[arclundarchivist]

God I am so engaged with Downfall already.

The differing perspectives the lack of trust and disagreements amongst the Primes, the presence of the Emissary, who either is or very much is not everything he seems.

The Calamity has wore on them, and yet we saw their home, their unity, their origin.

The Everlight held Asmodeus as he burned and you juxtapose that with him killing all who worshipped her.

The harsh hand of the mortal turned god vs the caring nature of the “pityless sun”

Nature on the brink ready to join torment and ruin because the one who could guide her back, the one she loves refused to come. And then her wanting to hate the Matron, mourning the loss of her sibling, similarly morning what Torah used to be,

Torag in all his madness, snipping at the Mateon as well over it. “You should have asked Him.”

The Matron… acting like she is family, more flippant and chatty than we have ever seen, still relatively youthful in her divinity. Some excepting it, others very much not.

A celestial seeking possible power or perhaps compelled or maybe even out of altruism seeking the leaders of Aeor.

And then there is Corellon, just vibing despite it all.

Then you get into their chosen forms and there is so much more to dig into.

Sarenrae and her mortal family, Pelor’s youth vs Asmo’s age, Melora and her cabal of brutal wild folk, The Matron seeking to be raised by her Champion, still alive a century since we last saw him. Torag torturing himself because he went mad from seeing what must be Predathos eating their home and the pain distracts him from it. Fucking Asmo worshipping Pelor. Pelor worshipping Sarenrae!

I want to see where this goes, what new revelations and disagreements are shown. What of the Gods that refused to come, or just aren’t there. How and why did they stay away? Kord is waiting in the wings, but what of Bahamut? The Changebringer? Moradin and Moonweaver? Why did Etharis only send a proxy(If he is indeed, her proxy.) Where are Bane, Tiamat and Zehir? Asmo claimed they too betrayed them, but on the Primes’s side… did they not agree with the plan??

So far, I’m not seeing how Ludinus thought this would compel the party to view all the Gods as evil and releasing Predathos would be a good idea.

They know not all of the gods are good, yet… this shows them not just in a light that could be understandable as refugees clinging to each other in a storm desperate for relief but also that they were called to Exandria by something.

They aren’t invaders or violators, they were invited, and I think we all know by what, and can also remember a very interesting rant by one Zerxus Ilerez.

But then, they get to literally see them being human.

I know things can and will change, this will get more brutal and heartfelt as things go on, and I do worry how the Bells will respond, but… I do not believe that Ludinus’s will get what he wants out of this. Not fully.

[ludinusdaleth]

i havent seen anyone else really post about him even if we all seem to think he's badass as hell (pun intended), so it's my duty to: teven could easily become one of the most interesting & complex c3 characters soon, and i am deeply excited.

conceptually, he's already a treat; one of asmodeus's biggest champions whose vices lead him to bind a pact with fearne, utterly unaware of what hes getting into. he thinks this will secure him & asmodeus power with fae royalty, only for fearne to thrust him into a situation where he is not only given the hunt of his life against a demon - asserting himself as an ultimate legend of all devils, which should be a dream - but instantly after is caught up in the biggest conspiracy against the gods - against his god - with proof.

teven is a devil in all his details - he values bloodlust & dark pleasure through pacts that others are caught in, through his honeyed words. it wasnt angelic of him to take fearne into the wings of the hells by kissing her hand with a seal of his lord's crest. but it interests me how, when he realized fearne didnt know the details of this pact, he not only explained what it entailed plainly, but encouraged her not to utilize it until she was sure she could handle losing a part of herself, which he could presently tell she couldn't. he is practically hungry with lust (of power and more), especially from fearne, but wanted her to know what she would benefit & lose from using this.... and thats frankly more than almost any other power source has done. he barely knows fearne but takes it upon himself to gruffly defend & include her whenever possible. it strikes me that teven has a code of honor. i mean, he should, as a paladin, but his is clear enough he would undermine his god (whom he clearly still loves) and burn the world if it meant assuring a woman he just met - who he should by all means completely manipulate - is safe.

with that code of honor that even undercuts his lord in mind, the group that will bear witness to the secrets that divinity hid consists of the bells, ludinus, essek... and him. no one asked him to follow ludinus to the occultus thalamus. matt should have forgotten him, juggling his 8 players as well as the world shaking villain of the campaign (and his once-protégé). but matt pointedly brought him in, last to enter. he is bearing witness to something his god would hate him ever knowing. of his own free will. (and if there's one thing we know, asmodeus is not fond of much free will at all.)

teven has only been present in 3 episodes so far; we dont know every detail about him, or what he will do in the future. but his setup and every implication around him is fascinating; it is hard not to hunger for his reaction to aeor's truth, not just because of him, but because of the ever-looming burden of history behind him, of zerxus chained away by asmodeus as avalir falls, of the way a fae & devil together are witnessing the worst of calamity when their people once allied to allow it. teven can see through smoke & mirrors; he knows that asmodeus is "shaken", that the gods are more familial than they want to admit. what else will he bluntly see in the memories he's about to witness? will he care about the mortals slaughtered for the crime of hubris & knowledge (especially with the theories he is a cambion, half human)? even if he doesnt care for the mortal suffering... what will he take out of actual proof of the gods uniting as one - to hide something fundamental from their followers? from him?

[genderless-ghost]

okay so i love the second half of e92 actually that was fucking great. like it was good break for the cast bc they need it but, they have always been driven by character and emotion so there gonna come back and give us even more hard hitting juicy emotional character moments that i fucking crave. they’re gonna be thinking up ways to hurt us with how they process, they just need time

but i fucking love that we get the crownkeepers cause it solidifies that this is a fucking all hands on deck time for not just exandria but especially the gods. like, it was kinda sudden but i am genuinely so happy to see the crownkeepers and what’s been happening, and how they can help and connect in with bells bells (also i am so fucking excited for doria/orym reunion, i’m ready for liam to break my heart into pieces), and more info on how the betrayers are moving in against predathos (opal baby, im so worried about you)

but also - with how connected the exu content is to this campaign, especially with the lore coming from calamity, i am hoping that we might get evandrin and zerxus coming in somehow. like evandrin changed into something of the astral sea finally making his way back to the material plane and maybe getting luis to play zerxus back as either barely holding on redemption paladin champion or full oathbreaker paladin champion of asmodeus would be so so good.

all in all, i’m finally caught up and so excited to see what comes next

[grewsomeart]

Zerxus Ilerez, First Knight of Avalir and Champion of Asmodeus

(Version 2)

[marcussour]

Some random thoughts about last night episode:

Loved seeing the Crown Keepers for this 2-part thingy, sad to see them go out like this. I would've loved for this whole storyline to play out over a regular, say, 4 episodes arc of EXU; like, don't get me wrong, I loved this idea of switching parties mid-episode and exploring the other half of the story and how Dorian ended up coming back, but the whole "what they were doing between EXU:Kymal and episodes 92 and 93" felt a bit rushed and condensed due to those restrains.

On a similar note, what happened with Deni$e? I know that having Aimee play 2 characters simultaneously would've been a lot (and also, an incredible power move and probably hilarious). Apparently I misremembered what Deni$e's saw through the portal at her exit in episode 63, 'cause I was sure that Dariax was there in Westruun, but it was more like, she was gonna try and find him, not that she saw him there. Glad that she still got a mention when Dorian reunited with Bells Hells.

Crown Keepers, oh sweet, poor, Crown Keepers. I expected something akin to a bad ending, but somehow they splitting and going their separate ways ended up hurting more than if all of most of them had died, instead of just Cyrus (RIP Cyrus, you delightful himbo with gambling problems).

Something I've been wondering if that we're gonna get some type of Avengers-like team up between the different champions of the gods. I know most people are expecting the big team up to end up happening between Vox Machina, the Mighty Nein and Bells Hells, but this whole idea of the gods talking and taking their champions to join the fight against Predathos got me thinking if we're gonna get some type of god squad EXU going on. We know Opal and Fy'ra are together now and probably on route to somewhere; there's also whatever Morrigan's gonna do now (and is she just an empowered champion but not THE champion of the Matron like Vax, or does she have multiple ones like other gods?). And we know of other champions like Teven Klask and Zerxus for Asmodeus (and come one, who wouldn't want Luis to be back as Zerxus), or Arkhan for Tiamat (tho in this case, considering he's Joe Manganiello's character, and how he was canonized in D&D lore, maybe he's off the table).

On a similar note, it does got me thinking about the fact that Vex, Scanlan, Pyke and Yasha are all champions of their respective gods (though in Vex and Scanlan's case, my guess is that it was only a temporary thing).

Back to the Crown Keepers, sad to see Dariax and Dorian separated. Like, I get the why (tho I would've loved to see Dariax with Bells Hells), doesn't mean I like it. Also, I guess it's kinda telling of Dorian to always make similar exists when confronted with a heavy emotional weight: the way he left Dariax playing in Zephrah felt pretty similar to him leaving the toy floating back in Jrusar when he left Bells Hells. I like the thematic consistency of him leaving a place kinda like a breeze or a gentle gust of wind.

Also, our blue boy is going through some stuff. Seeing him snap like that, love the complexity that Robbie put there, but also, got me worried about some decisions he could make.

Loved the reunion with Bells Hells of course and the brief glimpses of them catching up. Wish it could've gone for a little longer, I get the why (no one wants the live play equivalent of a clips episode).

Excited for next week, and for whoever's gonna be present and the camp in Bassuras and to see if they're going after Ludinus in Aeor or something else (also, I would be shocked if Sam's new character doesn't appear by then).

[grayintogreen]

There’s something so funny about Tivan Klask, Retribution of the Hells, because you know someone called Zerxus “Redemption of the Hells” once and Asmodeus got so mad about it, he made sure his next champion came out looking like Cooler Daniel.

[jibril-thelibraryangel]

Now that we’ve met another champion of Asmodeus I just KNOW Zerxus it’s getting bullied so hard down there

Like all the other champions are out here trying to smash and be cool while Zerxus angsts about Avalir and his demi god/semi dead husband and son

[stacksofsstuff]

Just caught up on c3 and 👀 is that deities summoning their champions I hear

Here's how Essek champion of the Luxon can still win

Also looking forward to the chance to see Zerxus repping Asmodeus, as well as Lolth sending in Opal and/or Jourrael, the Inevitable End, who had great potential for Matt to make a c3 problem

[its-your-mind]

Y’all. I don’t think I’m ever gonna get over the emotional damage Calamity caused, but I think the thing I’m going to get over Least is my man Zerxus

Like. He was a paladin, but one whose belief in People, not a god, was what gave him his power and strength. He lost his husband in the line of duty, and immediately stepped up to fill Evandrin’s role because he knew that it was so vitally important. He met his son for the first time and immediately bonded with him, no hesitation, no second guessing. He has joined himself to a group of people who he truly believes want what is best for Avalier, and he gives them his full trust, despite the fact that all of them are the kind of people who hold secrets like jewels.

He had a dream that the world was going to end, that his son and husband were going to suffer (how could his husband suffer? he was already dead), and he chose in that dream to offer kindness to the being that had caused the destruction, but who was suffering, who was reaching out a hand for help, so Zerxus decided damn the consequences and whatever reasons the Dawnfather had for striking this god down.

When he met the Lord of the Hells (who looked like his lost husband) in the sickbed and found him suffering, helpless and dying, he didn’t hesitate to offer aid. He healed him and let him talk and share his hurts, with no goal beyond giving this being a small bit of the comfort he had clearly been denied. Only when he felt that this was the natural conclusion of Asmodeus’s words did he kneel, and invite him to kneel beside him, and begin to cast a Ceremony of Atonement. The Ceremony wouldn’t force the Atonement upon Asmodeus - it was there as an offering, an outstretched hand, a chance for Asmodeus to begin the road back to goodness, if that was what he wanted.

And Asmodeus is the Father of Lies. He had been watching Zerxus. He knew that the best way to entangle this man would be to expose vulnerabilities, to reach out a hand and ask for help, to offer up a story of poverty and misunderstandings and betrayals, because at the end of the day, Zerxus was, at his core, a good man whose belief in people was his power. He wasn’t looking for a project he could fix - he was always just looking to help anyone who asked for it to find their way back to compassion and kindness and peace.

Zerxus was shown time and again to believe with all his heart that anyone could be saved from their own evil choices, no matter how awful they were, as long as they truly were repentant. He didn’t offer the hand of friendship to every person or thing he fought - if someone was a threat, he struck them down without hesitation or remorse. And that’s why Asmodeus reached out in the way that he did - feigning a desire to be redeemed - because Zerxus would never strike down someone who was reaching out a hand towards him for help.

Even after it was clear that Asmodeus had betrayed him, had taken advantage of his kindness and slapped away his outstretched hand, Zerxus held fast to his conviction that everyone should be offered a chance to come back. Even as his skull is sprouting horns and his soul is being branded, he reaches out a hand to Vespin Chloras, a man who was so clearly being puppeted according to the will of another, and purified him, offered him a chance to undo some of the damage he had caused.

And y’all. Vespin didn’t run, didn’t try to figure out how to save himself - he used the few moments Zerxus had given him to give Zerxus more time, to do whatever he could to mitigate the horrible damage that Vespin himself had set into motion. Immediately after Zerxus had been betrayed by someone who had asked for help, he showed faith that a person could accept a path back if it was offered, and Vespin proved what Asmodeus had done his best to disprove - that anyone really can take a path back, so long as it is what they desire.

When Zerxus makes the decision at the end to stay alive as Asmodeus’s champion, he’s not doing it because he still thinks he can save Asmodeus. He gave up on that once Asmodeus revealed the truth about himself. Zerxus survives out of a hope that maybe, someday, someone will offer him a hand, offer him compassion, listen to his story, and give him a chance to atone. No one is too far gone to be saved from themselves, as long as some part of them wants to be saved. What kind of a hypocrite would he be if he didn’t believe the same thing about himself?

[createsasim]

Zerxus Ilerez. First Knight of Avalir Champion of Asmodeus.