Phlegethos

Phlegethos was the fourth layer of the Nine Hells of Baator. Ruled by the archdevils Belial and Fierna, it was the center of the Nine Hells' judicial system, where devils and mortals alike navigated the impossibly intricate legalities of Baator and faced both the ecstatic highs of victory and the excruciating lows of defeat. The Heart of Flames, sometimes titled of the Flame, was the most classically infernal of the Nine Hells, a fiery desolation of officiated debauchery and damnation.
==Description==
Phlegethos was best described as a brutal expanse of giant volcanoes, a tortured, nightmare landscape of fire, lava, and heat antithetical to most forms of life. Here the powers of fire were enhanced, while those of water and cold were diminished and extremely difficult to use. Any creature without some resistance to fire present in Phlegethos would be quickly immolated, and its structures were designed to withstand the intense heat and occasional redirected lava flow.
Phlegethos was a plane that existed to burn. It was nearly identical to the Elemental Plane of Fire, moreso than any other place in the Great Wheel cosmology, distinguished by the greater presence of pain and malevolence. It was one of the most visited of Baator's layers, the legendary archetype most often envisioned by those of the Material Plane when thinking of the horrors of the Nine Hells (not realizing that the other eight were equally horrible).
==Geography==
The landscape of Phlegethos was bleak, featuring gouting fires, hills of ash, pits of smoking dung, and massive volcanoes underneath a dark, starless void. The volcanoes expelled rivers of lava that flowed into bubbling pools and seas of molten magma, which brewed hurricanes of hot wind, choking smoke and pyroclastic ash. So permeated by heat was Phlegethos that the ground was always uncomfortably hot, and the air temperature high enough to char meat and ripple the air with distortion.
Ironically for the most archetypal Hell, Phlegethos had the most chaotic and concealing physical environment in the Nine Hells. It was a violent land where ground tremors were common and eruptions occurred often, where jets of flame spouted from a million fissures and it was not unusual for more to suddenly open in the scalding, crystalline earth, and where long, worm-like volcanic tubes in the rock and other formations provided plentiful hiding spaces. Though the volcanic activity made the plane more dangerous, to the point it occasionally destroyed objects in mid-air, it also made the plane rich in mineral wealth. All major metals (including the metals unique to the Hells, arjale and tantulhor) could be found in Phlegethos; obsidian and diamonds were abound in hardened lava-flows, and rubies, sapphires, zircons, spinels, tourmalines and lazurite could be found under the earth. Here was made much of the mundane weaponry of the Hells, which Belial was paid handsomely for in treasure, services, and favors.
Despite its fiery nature, there were parts of Phlegethos with moisture. The plane's outlands were reeking fens which, like Phlegethos's neighbor Minauros, were wetter and lower than the interior. There was even a kind of plant life on the layer, the fire grapes, from which the somewhat subtle alcohol known as "infernal wine" was distilled.
===Fire===
While some of the burning flows of Phlegethos were ones of lava, many were instead literal rivers of fire. They ran across the 4 layer in liquid form, burning any who entered them as if they had just emerged into the Plane of Elemental Fire, into lakes, of which there were at least two large ones where they blazed brightest. The rivers were responsible for much of the traffic to Phlegethos, as magic-users often visited the plane's fabled "firefalls", natural forges where the fire tumbled from volcanic ridges down into clefts, due to reports that the flames in such spots were a potent element in the creation of magic items; supposedly the best flame tongues and helms of brilliance were made there. All these bodies of burning liquid were interconnected.
Beyond their magical utility, the fires of Phlegethos were evidently supernatural in another, more commonly expressed way: they were nearly sentient. The animated flames danced and wandered through the air, providing weird lighting to Phlegethos's otherwise empty sky. Furthermore, the fires had a purpose: to burn the unwary and unworthy. Seeking tendrils of fire leaped at and curved unnaturally towards those not expressly authorized by the baatezu to be in Phlegethos. They appeared attracted to fast movements and scorched intruders mercilessly, seemingly taking delight in setting things aflame, coiling their victims until they were charred corpses or until a fiend took over. Conversely, not only were Nine Hells natives left unharmed by the spiteful flames, but even those who were susceptible to fire suffered neither injury nor pain from exposure to them.
==Cosmography==
By Asmodeus's decree, no planar portals could connect directly to any layer of Hell besides Avernus. This meant that in general, if one wanted to get to Phlegethos they would have to go the layer above it, Minauros, and find a portal, and likewise would need another to get to Stygia below. Portals existed from the Sinking City of Minauros to the only city in Phlegethos, Abriymoch, as well as from Abriymoch to It was also possible to reach Phlegethos from the lowest points of Minauros by way of constant dribbles of slimy water that sluiced into long and generally lethal falls. The Elemental Plane of Earth could be reached from Phlegethos using a diamond (of any size) as a portal key.
===World Axis===
In the World Axis cosmology model, the Nine Hells were a planet-shaped astral dominion floating in the Astral Sea, no longer of infinite size nor consisting of layers. In this cosmology Phlegethos was a long, twisting cavern about long, wide, and high. It sat far deeper than Minauros, and was reached by descending down the dripping steps cut into the stinking fumaroles of the Endless Bog for miles on end until one finally emerged from the steep stairway at the feet of great rocky columns in a black plain of cooling lava.
This Phlegethos was also a layer of fiery destruction, from the volcanoes rising from the cavern floor to the cascades of lava pouring down from fissures in the ceiling, forming slag-splattered rivers and great lakes of molten rock. To leave, one had to follow the Road of Cinders, a torturous, broken maze of old lava tubes and rifts that ran from the depths of Abyrimoch into the darkness below. The road was also dangerous, prone as it was to sudden lava flow spills, but eventually it grew colder and darker until it emerged on the Stygian shores. In contrast to the Minauros, Phlegethos and Stygia sat at roughly the same depth, the difference in space between them being horizontal. 
==Notable Locations==
* Abriymoch, called the Mount of Leaping Flames, the only city of Phlegethos and the strongest fortress of the middle Hells. The city of obsidian and crystal was located in the caldera of Phlegethos's largest volcano,The status of Abriymoch's volcano has changed over the years. Dragon #75 (p. 26) claimed the volcano was dead, and Planes of Law ("Baator", p. 19) claimed it had only occasional eruptions. As of Guide to Hell (p. 32) the volcano was described as fully active, and Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (p. 52) described its cauldron as being filled with molten lava. the volcanic heart of Phlegethos. It was from a palace there that Belial and Fierna ruled the city, but it was generally governed by the pit fiend Gazra from his manor of crystal statues within. The laws governing the city allowed it to function as a kind of carnival, with numerous infernal taverns, casinos, theatres, and other venues. It was also the home of the Diabolical Court, an independent institution under Belial's supervision that handled Baatorian legal disputes. 
* Fierna's palace, a lithe, sinuously stretching tower of crystal rock wreathed in blue flame which dominated the landscape of Phlegethos for miles around its ring of sputtering magma pools. Inside, a burning staircase spiraled down into Fierna's pleasure domes, deep caverns each dedicated to a specific vice. Floor grates provided easy access to the warren of prison cells below, allowing Fierna to jab at captives (including the likes of paladins and unicorns) with a lance at her leisure. Many cells were reserved for Fierna's ex-lovers, allowing her current paramours to see the growing ranks of their predecessors, which rarely led them to question their own fate. 
* The Hall of One Thousand Sighs and Screams, a place of elegant marble halls and bejeweled decor at the heart of Fierna's palace. None but Fierna and her closest companions were allowed within, for it was where Belial was sequestered. It was where he spent all his time, and where he personally taught his daughter all he knew of the "arts of love and pain".
* Tymphalos, also called the Mouth of Iron, a massive foundry worked by lesser devils and hundreds of duergar to forge weapons and infernal constructs for Hell, housed inside a volcano and supervised by the archdevil Tymphal.
===Divine Realms===
* Aeaea, the divine realm of Hecate of the Olympian pantheon. Her realm was much like the rest of Phlegethos with its charred land and rivers of fire, but volcanoes extended to the horizon, and in one of the craters was a throne of obsidian studded in fire opal where Hecate sat. The environment mirrored her mood, volcanoes exploding in response to her displeasure and flames flaring over a dozen feet high when she sighed. Eventually this realm was cited to exist in Minauros, but her hellish homes were ultimately secondary, the greater version of Aeaea being located in the Gray Waste.
* Jealous Heart, the divine realm of Inanna of the Untheric pantheon. The realm was a vast field of crimson dust featuring sweet fruit trees fed by rivers of blood. It was not as physically hot as the rest of the layer, but might appear that way given the realm's red tint, and awakened an equally hot passion for both battle and intimacy in its visitors and inhabitants. When Hecate's realm was stated to be in Phlegethos, hers was adjacent to it, and both had suitable conduits to reach the worlds where they were venerated.
===Pit of Flame===
The Pit of Flame, also called the Lake of Fire, exemplified Phlegethos and Hell overall; it was a place of pain and punishment but also of pleasure and purification that blurred the lines between the two so heavily that it was difficult to tell where either ended. Located in the center of Phlegethos, the Pit was a -wide lake of boiling filth and excreta that jettisoned columns of white flame over a hundred feet into the air. At first glance, this would seem harmless to the devils, most if not all of which were immune to fire, but not even devils could endure the agonizing flames of the pit. That was because the flames were not ordinary fire, but hellfire, a kind of unspeakably hot energy drawn from Hell itself that caused even those normally immune to extreme heat to writhe and convulse in unimaginable torment.
Osyluths, with the exception of pit fiends, could instantly (and supposedly magically) condemn devils that broke Baatorian law to the Pit of Flame, and devils of all layers could send their underlings there for disobedience or failure, Asmodeus himself being known to send those who provoked his ire to years of torture at a time. It was one of the worst punishments in Baator, one of the few threats that could make even most devils stammer in terror. At the same time, many devils, particularly the fierce and ambitious, were known to willingly subject themselves to the pain for all manner of reasons; to prove their resilience, gain mental strength, recover from spiritual wounds, redeem themselves with an act of penance or simply for the highs of ecstasy they somehow received from the torturous, purifying fire. Long had the location been a neutral ground in settling diabolic disputes.
Suspended above the columns were iron balls held in place by huge, cantilevered beams in which various devils were kept, the maintenance of which was partially kept by all archdevils as a form of paid subscription for using it. Scores of barbazus operated the beams, although they had been known to accept bribes to keep prisoners there longer than their stated sentence, while a force of 999 cornugons ensured that no devil escaped their judgement, forcing powerful devils into cages and making sure that none got out (or for that matter got in) before their time. For most trapped within, escape was literally all that could be conceived of while inside. They could be seen inside their dangling cells in torture and/or rapture, and according to legend, their screams heard for miles around.
The Pit was also used as a method of promotion and demotion for several devils. While most devils could be reduced to piteous, gibbering agony by the Lake of Fire, none were actually damaged by its flames. Rather, Belial and his underlings enacted a specially designed ritual to make devils temporarily vulnerable to the fires of Phlegethos, during which time their forms could be altered. Once the procedure was administered, the devil in question would either be reduced to a weaker form or granted a greater one, and brought agony or ecstasy by the transformation. The most infamous example of this phenomenon were the pit fiends, who came to be only when a gelugon or particularly strong-willed erinyes (the only such devils that could face such a prospect) spent 1,001 days in the Pit of Flame. They emerged with newfound understanding of their nature and desires once purged of the impurities of chaos and good, and uniquely could spend three days within the Pit to change their sex.
The Pit might also have some utility for non-devils, so long as they could survive regular exposure to flame, given that it burned flesh as easily as any ordinary fire. For one with the incredible will to focus on the sensation without showing signs of pain, release brought even deeper willpower for the following nine days. However, it was also reported that creatures without lawful and evil tendencies were instantly consumed by the fires. Some said that those killed were reborn as slaves to the fiends; this aspect could be mere children's tales, but given the effects of some versions of hellfire on mortal souls, perhaps not.
==Inhabitants==
The primary inhabitants of Phlegethos were its rulers, Belial and Fierna, who were permitted by Asmodeus to rule jointly in an exception to the typical rule that each layer should only have one ruler. The two reigned from Abriymoch, where they lived in a palace of basalt and obsidian on the volcano's lip, but they were also known to reign from and spend much of their time in their snaking palace. The two were reported to frequently relax in pools of magma while discussing political strategies, leaving Gazra to govern while ensuring he did not forget his station whenever his loyalties seemed questionable. While Fierna dealt with acquiring souls, Belial handled the administration of their layer. Theirs was a strange tandem, a relationship of cooperation and admiration mixed with wrath and rivalry. Constantly they would attempt to entrap and rise above each other, going so far as to instigate insurrections against each other despite sharing the same position, only to unite against their mutual enemies.
The archdevil dukes of Phlegethos laired in the vast, smoking plains surrounding Abriymoch, and after the Reckoning had their loyalties divided between Fierna and Belial. Of the generals, Bathym and the pit fiend Zapan were known to favor Fierna, while Balan and Gaziel stuck by Belial. The loyalties of the legate Chamo, who had harbored his own plans to supplant Belial back when he alone ruled, and his pit fiend deputy Zaebos remained unknown.Confusingly, Zapan and Zaebos are pit fiends stated to have joined the Dark Eight after the Reckoning of Hell, yet are stated to maintain both their old positions prior to that event and, in Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (p. 38), their roles leading the specialized armies of specific circles of Hell. It is possible that the pit fiends that now serve Belial and Fierna merely took on their names. Gazra was Fierna's constant companion and consort, and was secretly jealous and hateful towards Belial, although his loyalties might sway if Fierna's affections did. Tymphal meanwhile distrusted Fierna’s reckless passions, which drove him to immerse himself with his work and ignore events beyond his smithy.
Garrisoned on Phlegethos were the Walkers in Fire, a legion known specifically for exploiting the devilish immunity to fire. Led by General Pearza of the Dark Eight, the squadrons of Fierna, composed of fireball wielding erinyes and brachina wizards, screamed into the fray in a halo of billowing red and orange flame, raining fire from the skies on friend and foe alike.
===Devils===
Belial and Fierna surrounded themselves with a variety of devils, and Phlegethos was constantly being traversed by its inhabitants. Those devils who owed their allegiance to the master and mistress of the 4 Hell had their minds touched by a disturbing infatuation with pain and pleasure, and by assuming their perverse sensuality could draw strength from their own suffering and that of others. Devils from other layers could also be found there, since the other archdevils often tested their underlings by ordering them to accomplish something secretly there without being spotted by the patrols.
Arguably the most noteworthy of the devils of Phlegethos were the hamatula, or barbed devils, the guardians and patrollers who made up much of the legions of Belial and Fierna. In squads, usually of 12-16, they patrolled the outlands well, protecting them from those who would exploit the plane's natural resources. In particular, the firefalls were always guarded, with many devils near enough to be called for reinforcements, and the barbed devils seemed almost attracted to the falls, leaping and playing about them and using their fire powers as if excited. They were also the overseers keeping ceaseless watch over the spinagon laborers, spined devils being another particularly common sight in Phlegethos.
Furthermore, among the hamatula were the most fearsome defenders of the Nine Hells, the patrol force led by the pit fiend Gazra from his crystal castle in Abriymoch. Consisting of at least 5,000 hamatula, among other devils, these police minded the security of the first four layers of Hell and stayed in Abriymoch to act as a reserve force in the event that demons ever penetrated as far as Phlegethos in one of their invasions. Any captured intruders were brought under Gazra's castle to be questioned and tortured; no mortals had ever escaped from this, and few lasted long. These hamatula also rooted out corruption among infernal officers, hunted down deserters from baatezu armies, and a select few even guarded Gazra himself.
The hamatula of Phlegethos were merciless and pitiless, refusing all negotiation, bargaining and bribery from intruders as per their orders. Loyal service to Gazra was the fastest way for them to rise to power, and too many had seen their brethren caught accepting the most enticing deals, only for the supposed intruder to be Gazra in disguise. However, not even they were immune to corruption; archdevils who sent their minions to Phlegethos marked their progress through the reports of spies among the barbed devils, of which there were many.
Of the wide array of devilkind that called Phlegethos home, besides the hamatulas and spinagons, imps and horned devils were also particularly common. There were several legions of bearded devils, who dwelt in the wetlands along with lemures and abishai. The black towers of Abriymoch housed vast numbers of experienced legion devils, and elite cadres of not only barbed devils, but also war devils and bone devils (the latter of which were often minions of Gazra). There was also a notable presence of chain devils.
Many types of high-ranking devils were notably absent from Phlegethos. Pit fiends were rare, as was usual, as were ice devils due to them finding the layer aesthetically displeasing. There were but a few styx devils in the fens, and a few miserable, bullied erinyes who served Zaebos as messengers between Abriymoch and vassal dukes or active patrols, erinyes who always had their eye on improving their position.
Though not strictly present in the layer itself, tieflings could learn to call on a kind of hellfire known as the Flames of Phlegethos, as could certain warlocks.
===Others===
Most non-devilish creatures were quickly burned away by Phlegethos's environment, and infravision was useless there given the tremendous amount of background heat. Furthermore, intruders had to remain constantly on the move. As for the layer's petitioners, the tortured souls were dropped into lava by their gleeful and wicked overseers.
There was a noteworthy presence of wandering salamanders on Phlegethos. The creatures were brought there long ago to be bound to Belial back when he alone ruled, yet were too intractable to be ordered and so mostly slain. A few escaped, despite still being bound by Belial's magic, and they were hunted down still. Though few and only diminishing in number, the salamanders continued to survive by avoiding large groups of devils, snatching lone creatures near the rivers of fire, and leaving rivers for others when detected. Their favorite hiding spots were the volcanic tubes, but they were also fond of burrowing into hills of ash until they collapsed. Though they did imperil the plane's security, the devils were often too busy to deal with them.
Phlegethos was also a primary stomping ground for a small coterie of lawful evil fire elementals and mephits, the latter of which populated the fens particularly, but also constantly flitted everywhere on the plane acting as spies for anyone willing to reward them. Efreeti were also abundant, as were hell hounds (creatures from the Plane of Fire despite what their name suggested). The hell hounds occupied the outlands too, but the lowest tiers of Abriymoch were also surrounded by kennels for them. Belial and Fierna were most famed for these breeding pits, for they produced hellish beasts to rival even Asmodeus's own Nessian warhounds; Phlegethos was also known to possess firebred hell hounds, a species specially selected for by the fire giants for size and prowess. Hellstinger scorpions could also be found in Phlegethos.
==History, Rumors and Legends==
There was relatively little known of Phlegethos; most strangers were burned to death by the flames, captured for their unauthorized entry, or killed by zealous guardsmen. Most individuals avoided the layer altogether for these reasons, and any who could not were advised to go quietly and leave even quieter. Even powers were known to leave the layer alone.
===Reign of Belial===
Phlegethos had an interesting position in the history of Hell. The city of Abriymoch was said to be built on the spot where a power died, and it was structured such that it seemed like a tortured god was rising above the surface of the surrounding lake of lava. Governor Gazra supported the rumor, claiming the city itself was the husk of one who lost their way. By some telling of the legend, the god was slain by none other than Asmodeus. Relatedly, it was said that the still-angelic army of Asmodeus was encamped in the spot that would be the Pit of Flame when Asmodeus slew He Who Was, and it was there that the dying god's wrathful curse was aimed, submerging them in fire. In any event, Belial was seemingly present during the earliest days of Asmodeus's regime and given dominion over Phlegethos.
===Reign of Fierna===
Few known changes of note occurred in Phlegethos up until the aftermath of the Reckoning of Hell, when Belial placed Fierna on the throne in a last gambit to avert the wrath of Asmodeus. The effort seemingly succeeded, and despite outward appearances, the Lord of Pain and Suffering actually came out of the coup stronger than ever, his power increased through his alliance with his daughter and his hated rivals Geryon and Moloch deposed. He believed that he and his daughter could quickly conquer Stygia and perhaps even Malbolge after, only for him to suffer a series of disappointments and frightening revelations.
For one, Geryon was replaced as archduke of Stygia by Levistus, a "devil of the old school" by Belial's assessment and a worthy opponen. The army headed by Gazra that Belial sent into Stygia was decimated but for the pit fiend himself, leading Belial to stick to the shadows and concentrate on politically outmaneuvering the Frozen Prince. The second problem came some time later, following the fall of Malagard (appointed directly after the Reckoning) and her replacement by none other than Asmodeus's own daughter Glasya. More armies had been assembled to invade the lower layers, with which Belial was confident he could overcome both Levistus and Malagard, but Glasya's ascendance completely halted these plans.
Glasya was not only Asmodeus's daughter, but a close "friend" of Fierna even before she came to rule Malbolge. Thus, not only could an attack on her be seen as one on Asmodeus, but turn his daughter - now the nominal ruler of Phlegethos - against him. Furthermore, Glasya had somehow driven a wedge between the two of them, primarily by driving Fierna into desiring greater autonomy. Previously content to go along with her father's agendas, having little interest in Stygia herself, her newfound ambition drove her to seek power in more than just name. Such was the terror that this came to strike in Belial that he began putting his plans against Levistus on hold and devote most of his scheming time to watching Fierna and thinking of ways to smear Glasya. 
Fierna's increasing ambition had the additional effect of exasperating the tensions that already existed between some of the archdevils of Phlegethos, particularly between Balan and Bathym. The former had stayed loyal to Belial for helping him fulfill his wicked desires, while the latter swore himself to Fierna, as he had always coveted her from afar and believed through her he could gain further power and perhaps even rise to be archdevil of Phlegethos himself. More and more Fierna would assert herself, and as she grew in strength her father would retreat deeper into the shadows while Bathym would move more against Balan. For a time, exactly who was the "true" lord of Phlegethos was in question; sometimes it seemed Belial was in decline and soon Fierna would seize control altogether, while at others Belial seemed to be the true power behind the throne, and at one point it seemed that the divided household of Phlegethos would come into direct conflict. 
===Fierna and Belial===
In the end, by the the 15 century DR, the seemingly mounting civil war of Phlegethos was apparently averted. Asmodeus, for whatever reason, saw fit to exempt the father and daughter from the usual restriction and allowed the two of them to rule Phlegethos together.
===Forlarren===
At some point in the distant past, the devils of Avernus attempted an expedition into the Feywild, one which Fierna was for some reason a part of. Her attempt to seduce a mighty archfey's soul failed, but not before a troop of satyrs bound to him were exposed to the dark delights of Phlegethos, satyrs Fierna then twisted into the first forlarren before returning them to the Feywild, the failure compensated for by the corruption of the fey.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===References===
===Connections===
Category:Locations in the Lower Planes
Category:Locations in the Outer Planes
Category:Locations in the Great Wheel planes