Understanding Cheliax
The key to understanding modern Cheliax is recognizing its need for power, and that if ever there were a concrete illustration of power’s corrupting influence, Cheliax would serve admirably in that role. For centuries, the people of this land have paid tribute to the notion that power in any form is the highest achievement in life. Even before the Thrune Ascendancy took shape from the chaos that surrounded the failure of the Starfall Doctrine, the people of Cheliax believed in the goal of power for its own sake: military, economic, political, or magical.
This is what led to their downfall. When power becomes the goal, concerns about the way one achieves it fall by the wayside. It was only natural that some would seek to increase their power by supernatural means, and then by diabolical ones, and that once they achieved dominance, they would consolidate their standing by crushing their rivals and subjugating any who fell under their sway.
Those outside Cheliax accuse the country’s ruling class—and, indeed, any who seek standing in the country— of serving Hell. They point to the Hellknights, to the bloodsports, to the sanctioned worship of Asmodeus, and the increasing rigor and evil of the country as proof of their claim. But the Chelaxians maintain that their critics have it backward: Hell serves Cheliax.
Hellknights.
Though the Hellknights are not officially part of the hierarchy in Cheliax, they have a charter from the Queen certifying their rights, duties, and responsibilities to the law. Their citadels cover the land, from north to south and east to west, so that they can enforce the law. Contrary to popular depiction, many—even most—of the Hellknights are not evil; this is especially true of the lower-level Hellknights, whose exposure to the world has not yet embittered them to the criminals occupying it. Instead, like most Chelaxians, they strive for order in an imperfect world, choosing to model their organization and their methods on the armies of Hell in the belief that the social contracts of civilization are too tenuous to survive mercy. Further, the longer they spend as law enforcers, the more often they see the law broken by all manner of folk, leading to an inherent mistrust of people, which itself gives rise to harder hearts.
