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{{quote|''My name is Pazuzu; should you ever have need of me, speak it thrice and I shall appear.''}}
Pazuzu is a born survivalist and pragmatist, ranking amongst the oldest and most powerful demons in the Abyss. His power is such that he could rule over a large portion of the plane and perhaps even wrest the title of Prince of Demons from Demogorgon. That is, if he cared. But the Prince of Anarchy is loyal to no one but himselfunburdened by the political machinations of the Abyss, performing duties for anyone who can benefit him and avoiding the wrath of those who wish him harm.
Before the rise of the tanar’ri, Pazuzu was one of the strongest obyrith lords in existence, an impetuous and brutish being who used his own power and favor with the Queen of Chaos to bully his peers. At the same time, he was known for accepting consorts and servants of all kinds regardless of their backgrounds or agendas. One such creature was a demon named Lamashtu, known more commonly as the Queen of Monstrous Births. Upon getting close to Pazuzu, she asked him to reveal to her his true name. If he was truly confident in his abilities, her honeyed words reasoned, he would have no compunctions telling it to her.
In his arrogance, Pazuzu took the bait, and Lamashtu immediately invoked her hidden magic to assume control over his realm. She nearly overwhelmed the demon lord of anarchy in her attempt to take his essence for herself, but in the end only managed to force him to flee. Furious, Pazuzu goaded Lamashtu into following him to the deepest crevices of Terremor, where his maneuverability allowed him to gain an advantage over her true, disgustingly large form. Flitting around in the style of aerial combat that he has made famous, Pazuzu evaded her attacks until he dove inside her lamprey maw. Thinking the demon lord defeated, Lamashtu rejoiced, but soon realized her error as Pazuzu ripped a single massive tooth from her jaw. In a fearsome display of brutality, he carved through Lamashtu’s skull with the tooth, gouging out her eyes and condemning her to an eternity of agony in the endless chasm of Terremor (the 503rd layer of the Abyss).
Lamashtu’s betrayal affected a change in Pazuzu. Returning to his flying castle fortress, he slew every one of his minions, still clutching his former consort’s tooth. After soaking his domain in blood, he abandoned Terremor and absconded to the 1st layer of the Abyss, where he has remained ever since. He has now spurned minions of any sort, save for the vrocks and other powerful flying creatures that are inexplicably drawn to him against their will. He is no longer reckless and brash; every move is now carefully calculated to maximize his own benefit regardless of the cost to others. He has spurned any planar holdings in favor of a hermit-like lifestyle, content to spend eternity free of the responsibilities of controlling a realm.
During the great war in which the obyrith were called to the side of the Queen of Chaos, Pazuzu came to her side, continuing his favor in her eyes. But unbeknownst to her, Pazuzu had used the Queen’s trust in him to bring his armies into an ambush position in preparation for an assassination attempt; he had known from the beginning that the tanar’ri victory was inevitable, partly because he assisted their leaders—Demogorgon and Orcus among them—in marshaling sufficient military might against her. When the time came for her assassins to fight her directly, Pazuzu fought [[Obox-ob (3.5e Monster)|Obox-ob]] in order to prevent him from giving aid to their Queen.
