Shiro Tagachi and the Envoys

After Shiro is defeated at the end of Factions, the Envoys appear and promise him an eternity of agony which he would be unable to escape because his is stripped of his status as Envoy.
Later on in NF we run into him in the Realm of Torment, guarding Abaddon's resurrection. We also find that the souls of departed people which were supposed to have been escorted by the Envoys to the mists where also finding their way to the Real of Torment, where they are being channeled and exploited to serve Abaddon and Shiro [as constructs].
So how do we make sense of all this and do the Envoys really serve the other 5 gods or is there something amiss here?

When the Envoys banished Shiro to the Realm of Torment, nobody knew that Abaddon would try to break lose. When Shrio was first banished there, Abaddon was not trying to break out and it was a safe prison.

Shiro wasnt stripped of his envoy status, he got rid of it himself by becoming mortal. Envoys are chosen by the gods when they die. IF an envoy becomes mortal again they leave behind that status and so when they then die they are simply a normal dead soul.

And yes when the envoys sent Shiro to the Realm of Torment they did not know the realm was becoming corrupted/overtaken by Abaddon and since this realm is clearly the realm were evil forces are sent rather than into the mists. (ie the gw version of hell, with the mists being Heaven)

Mists sounds more original rather than 'Heaven'

~Lost Envoy Hellia~

Well, the whole Mists concept also harkens to an older concept of the afterlife. Remember that in most polytheistic religious concepts, there weren't completely separate areas like heaven and hell, but a single underworld (Hades, Hel, etc) where everyone was dumped. At best, the place would have a section roped off for the good or Noble (Elysian Fields), although there is the Scandinavian concept of Valhalla.

This sort of reminds me of the Terry Brooks' Shannara series. Where all the demons were banished to a parallel world, and they constantly strive to breach the boundary to take over the mortal realm and convert it into a replica of their dimension [whatever for?!]
You'd think Shiro Tagachi would end up in whatever sort of hell as a normal powerless tortured spirit [fit punishment?]. But No! he has to take control of that area and be the super bad ass in hell too. Interestingly, he is stronger than his god, Abaddon in his bound form. So in theory he could have destroyed Abaddon while that was bound and become a god.

Revenge? Or simply that they've grown to like their dimension, and they're just looking to terraform themselves some new real estate?

Shiro was sent "downstairs" as a mere soul, at the mercy of the envoys. Likely, he was then restored to his former power, presumably using the power of Abaddon.
The Lich, Shiro and Mallyx could take on (bound) Abaddon single handedly. However, since they don't do that - maybe their power is bound to Abaddon? A gift that may be taken back at any time?


BTW, as for Abaddon's weakness - bound in chains created by gods, he's easy to defeat. Now try to imagine him free. You'd need a week of hammering and axing to cut off a toenail...

Im pretty sure that if they had ever turned on him he would have removed there powers and left them for an eternity of torment. But they would never turn on him, they have been so corrupted by him that they now see only his wishes and are blind slaves of his will that can never escape his taint.