THE GRIMOIRE OF LEGIONS
Azazel commands two hundred legions of spirits. To provide
a comparison, the Goetia lists the demonic King Beleth as
commanding eighty-five legions, Asmoday commanding seventytwo
legions, and the mighty King B elial commanding eighty legions.
Paimon is the only Demonic King who commands legions
in the hundreds; he also is in command of two-hundred legions of
infernal spirits.
Ancient philosophers assumed that all matter was composed
of the five elements of fire, water, earth, air, and spirit, only
to be later broken down into an elementary table of one hundred
and seventeen elements, a number that rises with new discoveries
of even more minute or rare, or even synthetic elements. Likewise,
the grimoires detail demons such as Beleth, Belial, and Azazel as
legionnaires in the Infernal Empire, detailing their attributes and
powers, yet do not inspect more closely those who serve such Kings,
as their powers produce the miraculous and their attributes are as
unique as their superiors.
Considering the "inferior hierarchy" beneath a demon, the
imagery of imps and sylphs bounding around the throne of the Demonic
Master far from prompts the Operator to put his trust in
these lesser creatures. Why not go to the Dark Lords themselves?
Often, when a demon, or any spiritual entity for that matter,
is evoked and issued a task, the Summoned will leave a number of
its familiars with the Operator, or the target of the ritual, to work
day and night on its success. The Summoned simply relays the information
to the descending hierarchy, and returns to the abyss
until called once more.
What is interesting about the legions under Azazel, however,
and what sets them apart from the aforementioned imps
under the command of most grimoired demons, is that those who
Azazel commands are not demonic at all, at least not in the traditional
sense of the word. Azazel is a unique sort of entity, a free
agent roaming the Infernal Empire, a devil of the wilderness. The
legions beneath him obey only him, and possess the same silent insubordination
to the plans of gods or hopeful tyrants. His legions
are filled with demons far more impressive than Fates, Familiars,
Nightmares, Black Angels, Watchers, Succubae, and Incubi.
Azazel commands two-hundred legions.
Each of my legions is commanded by a Nether. You can call
this a Dark Lord or a Demon Lord. They are more powerful
than most any other demon you will ever encounter.
Beneath the Nethers are nine Dukes, each with an army of
2, 000.
Knowing that these figures do not equate with the traditional
definition of a "legion:' I prompted the Demon further.
The term "legion" was used because the prophets who saw our
numbers could in no other way describe them. If we assumed
physical form, and if we all stood up at once, we would
blacken your sun with our numbers on this earth
You will command as many.