The Hells

One of the negative planes, and the home of Devils. The Hells are sometimes considered a necessary evil, a place where corrupted souls are flayed and the true barrier between the Abyss and the Material Plane.

The Hells consist of nine layers:

The Circle of Suspension

The first layer of the hells, where evil souls descend without a tie to a specific devil. The landscape is is flat and featureless, stretches of cracked rock under a gray sky. The only notable feature of this layer is the spire of a mountain at its heart: Mount Terminus.  

Carved into this mountain is the Execrated Market, where souls may be bought and sold and allocated as need requires.

The Circle of Excess

The second layer of hell, dedicated to corruption through over-consumption. It is a level of open plains, spiky grass and weeds underfoot and green clouds that cast the world in a sickly glow.  

The resources here are sparse, with never enough to go around. What cities have been constructed are polluted monstrosities. The towers of the devils that rule are bright pillars amid desolation and sickness of those below.  

Those who elect to wander the wilds tell of its curse. They find animals to hunt without enough meat for every belly. They find soft patches of grass without room for each body. They find pools of water that turn sour for the last to drink. Inevitably, the majority must suffer for the comfort of a few, or all must wither together.

The Circle of Avarice

The third layer of hell, a well-populated circle of tall, brassy buildings. The city glows in the fading light. Those that walk its streets are decorated to an excess, wearing fine jewels and priceless clothing — fine enough that they can ignore that the gems they wear form collars and chains.  

Here, devils may lead glamorous lifestyles, tempting mortals with promises of wealth and power. Some mortals even elect to join the devils in the hells, willingly donning beautiful chains for a few years of luxury before they join the ranks of the damned.

The Circle of Ruin

The fourth layer of hell, dedicated to the power-hungry who leave ruin in their wake. This is a fiery hellscape, cracked earth bleeding lava, spires rising and falling as the earth shakes underfoot. There is no sky, only a jagged ceiling that drips molten rock onto the sufferers below.  

Homes can be built into the spires, but none should expect them to remain. Great chains made of infernal iron hold the Archdevil's domain in place, and yet great chunks of it still crumble and fall to the teeth below. Here, suffering permeates day to day life, the futility of building what you know will be broken.

The Circle of Wrath

The fifth layer of hell, often home to those souls who chased their vices through fury — vengeance, riches, prestige, to gain it through violence is to damn yourself to this plane. The land is broken by swellings of blood that seep up through the wet earth, an iron stench cloying the air. High land is guarded viciously, a constant cycle of violence as rulers are deposed and thrown into the blood sea, where they cannot drown but still choke.

The Circle of Deceit

The sixth layer of hell, dedicated to those who use deception. Liars and manipulators slink through small and dark caverns, pursued by skittering beasts. This plane is a labyrinth, habitable caverns a rarity. Lights cast within this realm are reduced, and certain tunnels slip into magical darkness that only the fiends that dwell here can see.

The Circle of Treachery

The seventh layer of hell, belonging to betrayers. Traitors and deserters will find their justice here. It is a glacial landscape, with great rifts breaking through the ice, dropping into mist and far out of view. In the day, the light shines too bright and threatens to blind those that wander the landscape.

The Circle of Purity

The eighth circle of hell diverges from the previous seven. Very few souls see this layer, as only those who have been twisted beyond recognition are sent here. It is where the truly vile are tortured, those like liches who corrupted their souls and must have them flayed to the raw core. It is known that The Raven Queen works in conjunction with The Insatiate Maw, a god who descended into the hells to see those deserving of her wrath paid their dues.  

The Infernal Cage

The deepest and most secure layer of hell, where those too dangerous to be released are held.