The Adversary

The undisputed masters of the Far East's Thousand Hells (also known as the Yomi realms) are the Yama Kings. Infernal entities of immense power, the Yama Kings draw their vast power from spiritual corruption and the suffering of the spirits trapped in their domains. There are a handful of Yama Kings who do not claim a domain, but most of the Thousand Hells are actively ruled by the lords of Yomi, who fancy themselves the dark gods of their domains. There is a clear spiritual connection between the lords of Yomi and the hells they rule, and it is common for a domain to take on the quirks and instabilities of the Yama King who rules it.

Yama Kings represent an evil of such magnitude that the mortal mind can scarcely conceive it, much less oppose it. Any direct confrontation with any of these entities is almost certain to result in an eternity of suffering in the hell of the Yama King's choosing. One might as well attempt to slay hate or pain as to seek to destroy a Yama King; the level of power necessary is something beyond mortal imagination...

Emma-o: The Daimyo of the Dark
Lord of the Kakuri Hell, Emma-o began his existence as a guide for the dead of the Ainu, the inhabitants of the island of Japan before the Japanese claimed it as their own. Emma-o was corrupted, and changed into a cold, calculating monstrosity, utterly devoid of mercy. None of the other Yama Kings has the experience with battle and conflict that Emma-o has, and he knows it.

Mikaboshi: Lord of the Wicked City
Mikaboshi is a product of his own ambition. He began his life as a philosopher and scholar in Japan, and eventually chose the way of Infernalism. Capturing and slaying a powerful demon, Mikaboshi used the demon's essence to grant himself the powers of Hell, and through careful manipulations in both the mortal world and the spirit realms he steadily increased his power. Now he is one of the most powerful Yama Kings, ruler of the Hell of the Wicked City.

Ravana: Rajah of Demons
In the ruined hell of Lanka can be found Ravana, the devastated lord. This fallen Yama King was once the most powerful of his kind, but he has fallen deep due to his arrogance and selfishness. Now his kingdom crumbles around him, his collection of souls dwindling, his power fading. Yet a wounded lion still has fangs and claws....

Rangda: The Pestilential Queen
Rangda is the Yama Queen who draws power and sustenance from those sinners who have met ill ends from disease. She is present wherever plagues and cancers ravage the Middle Kingdom. Her powers have waxed and waned over the years, but she is always there to strip the souls from those bodies that have been brought down by pestilence. She is the least arrogant of the Yama Kings. Neither haughty nor greedy, Rangda feels that disease and slow death should be available to all, rich or poor, city- and country-dwelling alike.

Tou Mu: The Iron Empress
Tou Mu is among the most malicious of the Yama Kings, and it is this hatefulness that has brought her immense power. The Iron Empress is by far the best-known Yama Queen, perhaps because unlike other Yama Kings who spread evil in myriad guises, Tou Mu always appears the same way: as a woman in elaborate iron armor complete with horned mask and talonlike gauntlets on each of her 18 arms.

Haha no Fumaki: The Empress of Pearls
Her name translates as the Mother of the Depths, and some would say she is not corrupt enough to stand among the Yama Kings. Only her dominion over one of the Thousand Hells puts her in such company. While her domain, the Hell of the Seven Burning Seas, is not particularly influential in Yomi, this Yama Queen has terrible cults throughout Micronesia and New Guinea. Her elemental nature gives her tremendous powers over oceans and the volcanic fires of the South Pacific.

The Wandering Overlord
Among Yomi's enigmas, the Wandering Overlord is one of its greatest, even to his fellow Yama Kings. He holds no domain, he has no servitors, and he seems equally at home in the Yomi and in the Middle Kingdom. None of the horrific conditions of the Thousand Hells seem to affect him, and none of the Yama Kings has ever bested him in any way. The greatest question concerning the Wandering Overlord is not who he is, but what he is...