Etarus was an archdevil of incarceration and subjugation that once sought to release himself from his massive prison in the hellish planes by bringing himself into Yeszket, the Material Plane. He once had control over the adventurer Wander, who he possessed for some time before being suppressed by the power of Tarisi, after which he attempted to subtly manipulate Wander to achieve his goals. He came close to opening a portal, but was ultimately killed when Wander's subconscious was sent to Etarus' prison when it was charged with ley energy, ultimately killing the demon over perceived centuries of repeated attempts.
Description
Appearance
Etarus was a large, red devil with many eyes, massive horns, and chains covering his entire form. When Wander found the devil within his cell, he seemed enormous in comparison, but it is unclear whether this was due to Wander's personal perception or the effects of the ley energy.
Personality
Etarus, like many devils, had a duality to his personality; most times, he was a calm, collected manipulator that held his cards close to his chest, revealing only what would have others playing into his hands. However, he was also possessed by greed and impatience, and the closer his goals were, the more excitable and impulsive he became. Near his death, Etarus was petulant and vindictive, enraged that his goals that he worked so long for had been dashed under such "unfair" circumstances.
Skills and Abilities
As an archdevil, it could be assumed that Etarus was capable of wielding great power, though much of this could not be displayed due to being trapped in an inescapable prison. Still, Etarus managed to organize a massive legion of devil to work for him, whispering to his loyalists through the walls of his cage.
While possessing Wander, Etarus was able to stay conscious in the hellish planes as well, allowing him to observe the world through Wander's eyes and report back through the hellish planes. When he was forced into Wander's subconscious by Tarisi, Etarus was unable to assert his full power over the tiefling, only capable of speaking to him in his dreams and sending shocks of pain down his spine. After Tarisi's defeat, he slowly began to grasp more power, exerting more control over Wander's body until finally being sealed deep away by the power of Aeltra herself. In this state, Etarus could not observe through Wander or speak to him unless spoken to first.
History
At some point long ago, Etarus likely slew the former archdevil of incarceration and took his place, eventually being sealed within a prison of his own design.
Etarus began sending his devout followers to the Material Plane, building a great organization that spanned all of Hazeron. Through a special ritual concocted by his followers, Etarus was able to send part of his consciousness into the Material Plane to occupy a host. While his attempts at possessing humans were fruitless, he managed to find a proper host in the form of Wander, after he was ousted as a spy in his organization working for the Kalhastian Empire. Through Wander, Etarus expanded the influence of his devils, sending them into a number of tieflings and tasking them to establish a way to bring his real body into the Material Plane. When Etarus was to enter Gessaria in order to investigate a promising lead found by the devils of Peralas, his personality was suppressed into Wander's subconscious, who awoke aboard the Dirty Whale with no knowledge of the time he spent under the devil's thrall.
Etarus slowly revealed himself to Wander through his dreams, making small attempts to goad the tiefling into accomplishing his goals. Initially attempting to appear powerless and weak to Wander, Etarus slowly lead the rogue to deliver the Sallow Stone to his trusted associate Burvakos, disguised as the elven mage Deowyn Centhos. As Wander continued unwittingly working towards Etarus' plans, delivering ritual supplies to Peralas and sealing Tarisi, Etarus began to grow in power, anticipating the realization of his goals, but also growing impatient. As his ritual required a being that had been to hell and back, he provided Wander with a contract in the form of a dagger, promising the rogue a place by his side in a kingdom of fire if he stabbed the paladin Inglis Alexandar with it. In the battle outside the Tomb of Zelvass, Wander fulfilled this condition, which transferred Etarus' consciousness into Inglis, along with full control. Mad with excitement, Etarus slaughtered the members of the Divine Branch and even attacked members of the Peas until he was finally knocked out. Etarus was brought into the interior of the Tomb of Zelvass by Phaelnah Ellarian, who made a plea to Aeltra to remove Etarus. While Phaelnah prayed, Etarus revealed his plan to convert Lake Faelance into a massive, transdimensional portal capable of transporting his entire prision. However, Aeltra answered Phaelnah, plucking Etarus from Inglis and returning him to Wander, albeit without any of his senses or ability to control the rogue.
Etarus remained in this state for some time as Wander journeyed to combat the Nightseeker. As his consciousness was trapped, he was incapable of speaking to his followers, leading to panic amongst the devils. He was eventually confronted by Wander when the tiefling's consciousness was sent into the hellish planes by a surge of ley magic, trapped in a sort of time loop. Etarus would kill Wander countless times over countless centuries, but each time the loop reset, he could not recall the past loops, while Wander kept his memory. Wander used these iterations to become familiar this his thought process and movements, eventually completely manipulated Etarus into choking himself with his own chains. Upon Etarus' defeat, he was never seen or heard from again.