Hell Priest

Deag Ranak and Deag Nilox

The Hell Priests are the three former High Priests of the Order of the Deag who commanded Hell's forces on Earth. The Priests are Deag Grav, Ranak, and Nilox. They first appeared in Doom Eternal.

Description

The Deag Priests prior to corruption.

The Order of the Deag was founded in the earliest days of Sentinel civilization and were tasked to pay tribute to the Wraiths by appeasing their tempestuous hunger. During the Time of Grief, the Argenta shifted their worship of the Wraiths to the Maykrs, and the Order of the Deag began to preach the teachings of the Khan Maykr.

During the reign of King Novik, the Order judged an unknown outlander by having him sent to the Arena. This outlander proved his innocence in battle and would eventually earn the title of "Doom Slayer"; more pertinently for the Order, his constant rambling about "demons" piqued the Khan Maykr's interest. Sometime after the arrival of the Slayer, most of the Sentinels came under attack by demons from Hell. The Deag Priests were ordered by the Khan Maykr to study the demons to find any means to defeating them. Their research led to the discovery of Hell Essence that empowered the demons; combining this energy with Sentinel Energy from the Wraiths allowed them to create Argent Energy, which benefits the longevity of the Maykrs and enables the creation of powerful weapons to be use against Hell.

At some point, the Deag Priests learned that Hell Essence was created from the tortured souls of mortals, with the empty husks being converted into the very demons the Sentinels fought against. Any misgivings they had about the nature of Hell's power were swiftly quashed; they had become addicted to the power of Argent Energy, and agreed with the Khan Maykr's plans to forge an unholy pact with Hell's Dark Lord. With the help of the unsuspecting Sentinels, they built massive Soul Spires (Nekravol chief among them) in Hell's realm to harvest and process mortal souls more efficiently. In addition, they agreed to help Hell expand their dominion by finding new civilizations to attack across the cosmos. In return, the bulk of the Argent Energy was to be sent straight to Urdak for the Maykrs' use, prolonging their lifespans and feeding the Deag Priests' hunger for power.

The conspiracy between the Maykrs and Hell was eventually discovered by the Night Sentinels, leading to a schism and a civil war among them. The Deag Priests concealed their continued allegiance to the Khan Maykr and feigned loyalty to the Night Sentinels who had returned to worshipping the Wraiths. In time, the Priests tricked the Night Sentinels into launching an all-out attack on Hell's Argent facilities. Using their magic, they scattered the Sentinels across Hell, allowing the demons to kill them to the last man - except for the Doom Slayer. The High Priest, Deag Grav, also tricked the Night Sentinel Valen into betraying his order by giving Hell access to the Wraiths in exchange for resurrecting Valen's dead son. When the Wraiths were successfully captured, Hell fulfilled their end of the deal by turning Valen's son into the Icon of Sin.

Since the fall of the Argenta, the Deag priests became known as "Hell Priests". Now wielding dark arcane magics to suit their insidious purpose, they use their unholy powers to coordinate Hell's forces and increasing their battle effectiveness, harvesting the blood of mortals to be use in their occult rituals, corrupting mortals to serve Hell, and overseeing the conquest and transformation of viable civilizations into Argent Energy.

Doom Eternal

The Hell Priests were tasked in leading the Hell invasion of Earth under the command of the Khan Maykr. While preparing Earth for the final Blood Ritual that would consume the planet, their efforts are thwarted by the Doom Slayer. Deag Nilox became the first to die at the Slayer's hands in which his decapitated head was presented before his colleagues Grav and Ranak. The Khan Maykr then transported the remaining Hell Priests to safety; Grav was sent to Sentinel Prime, and Ranak was sent to the UAC Arctic facility.

The Slayer traveled towards the Arctic facility to confront Ranak, where the Hell Priest unleashed his Doom Hunters on the Slayer. However, Ranak's cybernetic demons were no match for the Slayer and he was decapitated while futilely pleading for his life. The last Hell Priest took shelter in the Arena, where he awaited the Slayer and unleashed the Gladiator against him. The Gladiator was slain and the Slayer killed Grav by blowing his head off.

Hell Priests

• Deag Grav
• Deag Nilox
• Deag Ranak

Trivia

• It is noted that the Hell Priests' souls were 'guarded,' a protection that the Slayer overcame via arcane medallions. It's unknown how he obtained the medallions he used on Nilox and Ranak, but he gained another by killing the Gladiator. This implies that the medallions are held by powerful demons appointed as the Priests' guardians. The exact nature of this "protection" also remains ambiguous; it could mean that the Priests were completely immortal, or that they would simply be resurrected by Hell after their death.