Death & Afterlives · Era IV, Mystic Falls, 1864
Arcadius & Hell
A psychic burned at the stake in the second century who refused to stop existing. His consciousness became a dimension that consumes the souls of the guilty. Once the Other Side collapses, Cade's Hell is where dead supernaturals go. He is, functionally, the Devil, and he keeps a ledger.
Details
- He offers deals, not damnation — which makes him the only antagonist in the franchise who never technically lies.
- Hell has a physical anchor beneath Mystic Falls, which is how it can be destroyed.
- Arcadius was a genuine psychic in the 2nd century, burned by people who feared him. Nothing about his origin makes him wrong about human nature, which is the problem.
- He does not compel or curse. He negotiates, and he keeps every deal, and everybody who deals with him loses anyway.
- Stefan kills him with the Maxwell blade — and Katherine, of all people, inherits the throne.