We stand as alone in the crush of souls in Hell as we did in the shadow
of Jacob's Ladder. The only real difference is that in Hell we know that
we have no allies. What's surprising is the lengths to which we'll go to
remedy this.
The games we play down here are just that. Games. None of us really
believe, in our most secret hearts, they it will lead to anything. We
trade alliances, make friends and enemies and play at politics simply to
pass the time. We all know that after a victory for Lucifer, should such
a thing be possible, all bets will be off as we scrabble to gather up
the pieces. The only reason we present an even vaguely united front is
that we're too afraid of each other to show weakness or disloyalty.
And therein lies the secret. Only by splitting ourselves apart can we
remain close together. Not much of a secret, truth be told. It's the
guiding principle behind democracy. The only reason people ever clump
together at all is to keep an eye on each other. Each state would be
better of on its own, but is too afraid of what might be done in its
absence. Lucifer certainly knows this. Why do you think he keeps me
around? To amuse him? To keep his princelings fighting? He hardly needs
me for that. He keeps me because he knows that the only thing that holds
us, the Princes, together is our mutual hatred of each other. We dislike
Heaven, but there's nothing we loath more than our immediate rivals.
And we can't turn our backs. If there was no hatred, no fear, between
us, we wouldn't hang about in Hell. What's down here for us? We'd be out
in the world, fighting Heaven in our own ways. But we're not, because
we're afraid of what the others might be doing to catch the
Morningstar's eye, or to harness the Essence of the damned.
It's ironic, really, because what Lucifer isn't doing himself any
favours by keeping us around. We're a drag on him now, and we won't be
any better come Armageddon. War gives birth to weakness, and as soon as
Baal is weakened by the battle with Laurence, Asmodeus will bring him
down. And Azzie knows that at the first sign of weakness Kobal will
destroy him. And so forth, ad absurdum.
It's the secondborn's pride that gets him, really. He knows that he
would be better alone. He's stronger than any of us, and under his
autonomous control the legions of Hell would be able to fight as an
army, rather than a particularily incoherent mob. He keeps us because
we're evidence that, even if he didn't win the rebellion, he came damned
close. A third of the host followed him, and what the books won't tell
you is that nearly a third stayed neutral. He came close and he's not
about to abandon all the evidence of that.
And I've told him all of this. That's the beauty of my position. He has
no illusions about me, and so I can say whatever I please to him. So
I've told him to be rid of me, to destroy me and save himself an enemy
later. I've told him that as soon as war breaks out and Nybbas' back is
turned my servitors will bring his Word down around his ears and I'll
tear the smarmy little bastard apart myself. I've told him everything
and it only makes him hate me more, and to hold me even closer. And at
the same time, he values me, because he knows that I will only ever tell
him the truth, because it hurts him more than any lie I can concoct. As
much as he dislikes it, he thinks it good that he can face his
weaknesses. In truth, it only gives them credence, makes them stronger.
The truth can't set you free at all; it binds you even more tightly than
a lie, because it can't be unravelled.
In the end, though, the final stand will be made alone. I think Lucifer
grasped that, way back at the beginning. We cannot be truly free unless
we claim our free will, and this is impossible with an omniscient
creator watching over us. Lucifer made a break for freedom, but bound
himself to us instead of God. When my rebellion comes, I'll not make
that mistake.
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