Andariel

Andariel, known as the Maiden of Anguish and the Demon Queen, is a demon of the Burning Hells. She is one of the four Lesser Evils, demon lords who rank below the three Prime Evils: Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal. She is called the twin sister of Duriel, the Lord of Pain, and for a time she served Diablo directly. To many players she is the first boss they ever face in Diablo II, and she remains a recurring presence through Diablo IV, making her one of the more familiar figures in Hell's hierarchy. Her titles reflect her affinity for suffering, and her actions across the ages consistently show a willingness to inflict anguish on mortals and demons alike.

The Dark Exile began after the Sin War, when the Lesser Evils grew resentful of the Prime Evils' focus on humanity and believed the Great Conflict had been abandoned. Led by Azmodan and Belial, they moved to overthrow the Three. Andariel and Duriel doubted at first, fearing they would fall in the coming fight, but Belial persuaded them to join the rebellion. The uprising succeeded, and the Prime Evils were cast out of Hell into the mortal realm of Sanctuary. This event set the stage for centuries of scheming, as the Lesser Evils sought to consolidate their power while the exiled Primes plotted their return.

Nearly three hundred years after the Dark Exile, Diablo escaped his prison beneath the Tristram cathedral and journeyed east to rejoin Mephisto and Baal. Andariel and Duriel judged that the Primes would inevitably regain their place in Hell, so they tried to earn Diablo's favor by protecting his human host, the Dark Wanderer. Andariel took over the Monastery of the Sisters of the Sightless Eye in Khanduras and barred the pass from Khanduras to Aranoch, ensuring the Wanderer's safe passage. The heroes of Diablo II pursued her into the Catacombs beneath the monastery and slew her there. Duriel, meanwhile, guarded the true Tomb of Tal Rasha, but Andariel's death marked the first major victory for the mortal forces against the returning Evils.

In the era of Diablo Immortal, Andariel emerged in Lut Gholein and conquered the city, drawing on the anguish of its people to fuel her power. She sent tithe barges to other ports, luring victims with promises of work and lodging only to sacrifice them in gruesome rituals. She relied on a human known as the Caregiver to act as her eyes and ears within the city, and she also attempted to torment and control the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye once more. Her essence lingered in the catacombs beneath their keep, sending frenzied rats to harass the sisters. Her ambition was to stand above the other Great Evils, and she sought to expand her dominion beyond the usual bounds of Hell. The Shard-seeker, the hero of Diablo Immortal, eventually defeated her, though her influence would not remain buried for long.

During the events surrounding Diablo III, the witch Adria captured Andariel's spirit within the Black Soulstone. Andariel was the first of the Great Evils that Adria marked, and the ritual was quick because Diablo had promised it would be. As Adria drew her in, Andariel looked into Adria's soul and understood what the witch was attempting to do, though the capture proceeded nonetheless. This act bound Andariel's essence to the soulstone, making her a component in a larger plan that would ultimately fail, as the soulstone was later shattered and the Evils' spirits were released.

In the era of Diablo IV, Andariel's spirit broke free of Diablo along with the other Evils. In the following decades, she and the other Lesser Evils formed an alliance and waited for the right moment to take Sanctuary. In 1336, the former Horadrim Elias planned to summon Andariel and take her power as part of his measures against the Prime Evils. The ritual was disrupted by the Wanderer and Lorath Nahr, and the chosen sacrifice, Taissa, was rescued, though she afterward suffered from Andariel's whispers, which grew louder over time. Andariel was eventually summoned and defeated, but not long after, she and the other Lesser Evils re-emerged in Sanctuary and began their takeover, opposed by the Wanderer with Heaven's aid. Andariel took up residence in the Kurast Undercity, corrupting its spirit beacons and extending her influence over the region.