Gilles de Rais in the Lake of Fire 7

Turns 1-7
Turns 8-14
Turns 15-21
Turns 22-28
Turns 29-35
Turns 36-42

Turn 43 - The Fury of God
The intervention of the angels might prove enough to whack Asmodeus out of dominance... or it might not. Apparently, the archfiend's legions are very resilient and were able to survive a first confrontation. The Hammers of Hell have been decimated, however, and would not survive a second assault.
Gilles decides to observe the situation while amassing armies. He bids on the Sisters of Sorrow and the Throne of Skulls.

Turn 44 - Paimon attacked by the Tyrant of Heaven
The slaves of God are on a rampage. The dreadful Legion of the Maw has been destroyed in its entirety. Gilles begins to wonder if he could pull out a military victory. If Asmodeus and Paimon are subdued by the Tyrant of Heaven, he could potentially attack Pandemonium and hold it long enough.
In the meantime, Gilles orders the Sisters of Sorrow to a defensive position southeast of his palace.Gilles would like to give the Throne of Skulls to his own Slaves, so that Eligos could use its power, but Gilles's demons are not powerful enough to handle such an artifact. He stores it in his secret vault, waiting for the proper time to use it. Then he notices that the praetor Valac could prove valuable to lead the Slaves and he decides to bid on him.
Asmodeus lost one Canton to the burning swords of the angels and Gilles de Rais still wishes to keep the option of becoming the Power behind his Throne. He then decides to hurl an insult against Sitri, hoping that the archfiend will react and invade his territory.
Finally, I decide to increase Gilles's Cunning and Wickedness from 0 to 1.

Turn 45 - Eligos recalled to the Vault
Gilles asks Duke Eligos to leave the Slaves and come back to him for debriefing. Scouts have spotted the angels in Sitri's territory, on their way to the Gardens of Infernal Delight, and Gilles does not wish to lose his oldest champion. Unfortunately, he does not expect Sitri to fall to the bait now that angels are roaming his land.

Turn 46 - Demise of the Hell Blades
Sitri's Hell Blades did not even scratch the blazing armors of the angelic host, which still threatens to wreak havoc on the Slaves of Gilles de Rais. But Duke Eligos is safe!
Unsurprisingly, Sitri bowed before Gilles's insult. Too bad. Angry at this, Gilles demands tribute from Sitri.
Now, much depends on the direction the angels will choose to continue their vendetta against the Powers of Hell.
Gilles de Rais gives the Manual of Defense and the Manual of Infernal to Eligos, his most loyal servant. This way, if he ever needs a champion for single combat, he will have a decent fighter. He also bids on the Veil of Smoke, a combat manuscript available in the Bazaar.
I decide to increase again Gilles's Cunning and Wickedness, from 1 to 2. I have the souls and the time, so why not?

Turn 47 - The Aether of the Abyss
This time, Murmur seems to be the focus of the angelic attention. Hmm, let's insult Asmodeus and see how he reacts. I give the Veil of Smoke to Eligos to protect him if he ever needs to enter an arena.

Turn 48 - Valac becomes the new leader of the Slaves
The angels are reasonably far away. Gilles de Rais sends Valac to lead his army and prepare the way for the return of Duke Eligos. I increase the archfiend Martial Skill from 3 to 4.
Turn 49 - Asmodeus bullied
Gilles de Rais had forgotten that only one praetor may lead a legion. Valac cannot help Eligos... Gilles recalls Valac and ponders his next move, aware that 13 Conclave Tokens out of 20 have been revealed, and that the Plan B, codenamed "Operation Pandemonium", needs to be carefully prepared.
For this reason, and because he is filthy rich, Gilles de Rais decides to acquire the Puzzle Cube, a relic which allows for instant travel throughout Hell. With it, if he so decides, he will be able to launch sudden strikes against distant enemies and places of power. He also bids on the last missing tome of the Rite of Infernal Awe, offering extra tribute of two souls and nine flames of hellfire to the seller in the Bazaar in order to secure the deal.
The angels keep destroying the armies of Hell, much to the satisfaction of Gilles, who hopes to be able to seize Pandemonium without much opposition if he needs to.
The officials in Pandemonium share news of the Prestige of every archfiend: Asmodeus 200, Paimon 157, Murmur 80, Sitri 79, Gilles de Rais 69 and Lilith 37.

To be continued...

Gilles de Rais in the Lake of Fire 6

Turns 1-7
Turns 8-14
Turns 15-21
Turns 22-28
Turns 29-35

Turn 36 - Mine, the Book of Enoch
"Asmodeus, what a pussy!" thinks Gilles de Rais. He thinks again "but a wise pussy".
More importantly, the Book of Enoch now belongs to Gilles de Rais! The Black Singularity, the time when Gilles's power will allow him to gain snowballing influence over the kingdom of Hell, has never been as close.
Ironically, the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, which has the exact same properties as the Book of Enoch, is now available in the Bazaar and, once again, Gilles needs more tribute before he can hope to scoop it. He decides to place the Book of Enoch in his Stronghold and to demand tribute twice, hoping to score three souls and as many drops of pure darkness in the process.

Turn 37 - More souls for the shopping spree
Gilles needs three more souls, only three, before he can grab the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, a powerful relic he does not want the other archfiends to possess. He focuses all his efforts on this task.

Turn 38 - Refining souls
Gilles refines his tribute of souls to be able to put everything in the rituals coffins he hopes to send soon to the Bazaar in exchange for the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum. He also performs twice the ancient ritual called Demand of Supplication (a mistake, as one was probably enough).

Turn 39 - A late bid
At last, Gilles bids on the relic, sweetening the deal with three drops of ichor.
Gilles bids on the first volume of the Rite of Flesh Rapture, rumored to be able to improve the very Cunning of an archfiend. He also bids on the second volume of Tentacle Rapture and the single volume of Mind Burn, both grimoires of combat magic.

Turn 40 - Mine, the Book With The Long Title
The Pseudomonarchia Daemonum is immediately placed within the inner vault of the Stronghold. Gilles offers two extra doses of hellfire for the first volume of the Machine of Vengeance. While visiting the Bazaar, Gilles decides to buy himself a new army to protect his Stronghold. He bids on the Iron Maidens, adding two extra ichor to impress their sergeant.Nothing much happens in Hell, but for the usual frontier provocations against Asmodeus. This time, Sitri tries to bully him. I expect Asmodeus to submit wisely to the threat.

Turn 41 - Asmodeus the Coward
Of course he did.
Gilles performs another Demand of Supplication and sends his armies in search of tribute.
An interesting situation has developed north and west of the Land of Gilles de Rais: a standoff between four armies belonging to Paimon and Asmodeus. Hopefully, there will be war soon.

Turn 42 - War?
Of course, there will be war. But it will not come the way everybody is expecting it from. The archfiends may have forgotten the One Above, but He has not forgotten them, and He will send an army to chastise them, and the one who will open the doors to the vengeful angels shall be... Gilles de Rais, using old connections from the time he was walking in the world!
I decide to increase Gilles's Martial Skill from 2 to 3.
Prestige at the end of Turn 42: Asmodeus 167, Paimon 122, Sitri 65, Murmur 61, Gilles de Rais 42, Lilith 30. Hmmm, Paimon has only 25 Cantons to my 16; he can not become my Blood Lord; not yet.

To be continued...

Gilles de Rais in the Lake of Fire 5

Turns 1-7
Turns 8-14
Turns 15-21
Turns 22-28

Turn 29 - A tiny taint of goodness
This is not enough to dispel the pure evil seeping out of Gilles de Rais's treasure room.
The end of the confiscation of Prestige opens the way to Asmodeus's victory.

Turn 30 - Random malice
I decide to play this event immediately, hoping to help Asmodeus gain a few Cantons.
Gilles does not forget his plan B. I raise his Martial Arts skill from 1 to 2.

Turn 31 - Lilith's loss, Murmur's gain
The Infernal Conclave did not decide the Canton ownership changes Gilles de Rais was hoping for. Lilith has been fragilized and that is a shame. Satellite states should not be vulnerable to third parties.
Observe how Lilith's Stronghold is now very easy for Murmur to attack, if he gets Blood Feud rights against her.

Turn 32 - Asmodeus bullied
Asmodeus is the brightest archfiend and everybody hates him for that. Everybody wants a piece of his Prestige and is ready to ransack his territory if he does not oblige. Wisely, Asmodeus makes small concessions, knowing well that time is his best ally.
In the meantime, Gilles de Rais keeps building his military. He hires the praetor Malacoda and sends him to the Gardens of Infernal Pleasure.

Turn 33 - More souls for Gilles de Rais
After many turns of preparation, I raise Gilles's Charisma from 4 to 5. Tribute will be excellent in the future.
I decide also to bid on the Bowl of Abject Darkness. It will protect Gilles's attributes against nefarious attacks.

Turn 34 - Damn! The Book of Enoch!
The good news is the fact that the Bowl of Abject Darkness is now safe and secure in Gilles de Rais's vault. The bad news is the fact that it was replaced in the Bazaar relic store by the Book of Enoch, an item which grants one order slot... and Gilles does not have enough tribute anymore to bid on it. He decides to order all his armies to focus on the search for tribute and crosses his fingers, hoping that no archfiend will be able to bid for the Book of Enoch immediately.
Lord Gilles de Rais enjoys the help of the Infernal Conclave:

Turn 35 - Bidding on the Book
Thankfully, Gilles is now able to bid on the Book of Enoch. He does so but without offering additional tribute to win the bid, due to a lack of room in the coffins he sends to the Bazaar. The Bowl of Abject Darkness is placed under the shadow of the great trees of the Gardens of Infernal Delights.
An interesting situation is developing in Hell. The archfiends know that Asmodeus will win the throne if left undisturbed, and it does not please them. Asmodeus has currently 132 Prestige, Paimon 66 and Gilles only 21.

Turns 36-42

Gilles de Rais in the Lake of Fire 4

Turns 1-7
Turns 8-14
Turns 15-21

Turn 22 - Choices
There are multiple ways for Gilles de Rais to become the new King in Hell:
- he could become the Blood Slave of Asmodeus and casually wait for his "master's" victory; however, frontiers in Hell have become quite stable of late and Asmodeus needs to conquer a few Cantons or Gilles to lose some;
- he could focus on the Prestige race; with the help of rituals and a few choice conquests, Gilles could theoretically win despite the tremendous advance of Asmodeus; "accidents" happen and if Asmodeus would be destroyed, the road to kingship would be open to Gilles;
- he could, if all fails, try to conquer Pandemonium and hold it against all other archfiends for five turns. Difficult, but not impossible and Lilith's territory might act like a natural barrier against the stronger armies of other archfiends.
Gilles de Rais decide to build up his military strength and overall power while keeping a watchful eye on his enemies for opportunities to exploit.
To begin with, Gilles bids on the first volume of the Rite of Blood, a manuscript which can improve Wickedness.

Turn 23 - Paimon scoops the Palace on the Lake of Fire
Gilles pockets the volume of the Rite of Blood and bids on two volumes of the Rite of Infernal Awe, which is rumored to be able to improve martial abilities.
The recent decision by the Conclave seems positive. Nobody wants Asmodeus to pull too far ahead in Prestige.
Paimon conquered the Palace on the Lake of Fire, which procures him a strategic advantage. Murmur took the Pillars of Malebolge.

Turn 24 - Arms race
Gilles bids on the volume 3 of the Machine of Vengeance, which decreases the martial ability of all opponents.
I increase his Charisma from 3 to 4. The better tribute will help fuel future rituals and Bazaar shopping.

Turn 25 - Interesting event
The praetor Bune has been acquired by an unknown archfiend. My troops are searching the underworld for manuscripts.
As Regent, I receive the possibility to pick and use an event. I decide to unveil immediately any king maker in the Infernal Conclave.

Turn 26 - No Kingmaker
The knowledge is worth something... I decide to bid on the fourth volume of the Machine of Vengeance and also to acquire the services of the praetor Naphula.

Turn 27 - Naphula is mine
Both bids are unsurpassed by rival archfiends.

Turn 28 - Protecting my capitol
Somebody is trying to gather the pieces of the Machine of Gluttony (which can potentially decrease the Charisma of every archfiend and destroy the economy of Hell). To prevent such an outcome, I bid on the third volume of this manuscript, spending 2 more darkness than necessary.
Meantime, I send Naphula in the vicinity of my capitol city. She takes the head of the Burning Legion which protects the region. If all hell breaks loose, a strong military will prove essential.
At the end of turn 28, Asmodeus is still clearly the leader, but Paimon is not to be discarded too quickly, as his strong army and his conquest of the Palace on the Lake of Fire prove to be a dangerous combination.
Turns 29-35