The Hells

## Origin

Long ago, the Darkness War spun into the most cataclysmic war in the history of the universe. The Rebel amassed great cosmic power with which he sought to overthrow the Gods and remake the world in his own image. He did all he could to spite the Gods and weaken their hold on the world. He sought forbidden knowledge from the Abyss, the great chasm of darkness not even the Gods dare look into, and withdrew power darker than any magic. He cursed afflictions upon those who revered the Gods, brought plagues and despair to the natural world, and raised up fiends that would destroy life with voracious hunger.

Such a fiend was Apep, wielder of cursed fire and god of chaos.

The unparalleled justice of the Gods brought down The Rebel and imprisoned within the Sun for eternity. The most wicked of his spawn were collected, Apep among them, and also imprisoned - but not in the Heavens. A prison much colder than the sun, formed at the very edge of the universe, would seal away The Rebel's ilk. For the first time, Mortalkind became aware of this mysterious, wretched plane of flame and misery which would go down in legend as the Underworld, Tartarus, Hell, and many other epithets.

Left prowling upon a barren canvas, Apep established himself as King of the Hells. He subjugated the land, twisting it with his flames and turning it into the chaotic realm of fire and brimstone feared in the myths of today. This chaos was contained by the Seals, the seven Words of the seven Gods which bound the Hells, but no power could stop Apep's cunning whispers from reaching the minds of the devoted.

The Rebel left behind worshippers who were faithful to all things which would overturn the Gods. Cults of the wicked and insane went to every length to even taste what lies beyond their world, and to bring forth the apocalypse yet again. With the help of these cults, Apep amassed a following of those those desperate and suicidal enough to bend their knee to his will. They offered great, bloody sacrifices and performed rituals of the most sickening acts. Through these deeds they earned their damnation rightfully, and they struck deals which signed their souls into Apep's possession.

And so the King of the Hells builds his army to this day; those who give themselves over to the darkness, and all those who turn away from the Gods will eventually become thralls enslaved by the flame.

## Inhabitants

### Demons

"Demon" is an informal term, often derogatory, that refers to an Infernal, which is a being that inhabits or comes from the Hells. Demons come in many types and are not one specific entity. They are entities forged by the Eternal Chaos, a force created by Apep, the first King of Hell and the Original Demon. Souls coaxed from mortalfolk are funneled into The Pits, where they are tortured by fiends for an incredible amount of time. When the will of the soul breaks, and all of its light is burnt away and the remnants are flowed through the River of Souls. Baphomet, Priest of the Dead, watches over this river and uses it to create new demons. What is forged from a broken soul and hellflame is known as a “Caligo”, an infernal term meaning “shade”. These shades are to demons what a soul is to a mortal, and what can be created from souls traumatized by torture and twisted by chaos is nothing friendly. The horrific process people must go through before they’re forced to become a fiend destroys any identity of the soul, turning it into a raw material to be used by Baphomet to create his demons. A being made of darkness and chaos is undoubtedly drawn to such things, as it is all they know, instilling this hatred for everything within demons the very day they are born. Just like mortals, demons can die, but unlike mortals, demons do not pass on to the astral plane. The soul is a thing made by the Gods, ordained to the way of the universe. A Caligo is a possession. Once a Caligo is rendered too unstable, by removing what it is bound to, it simply deforms and spins out of existence - and that demon is lost forever. This is why one must take caution when killing a demon, for the more desperate and cunning of the Infernals will bind themselves to an object or even a person, haunting a person, place, or thing after the “death” of their body.

### The Maean

Once mortals that have since been turned to infernal slaves, the Maean are beings that have been afflicted by the Eternal Chaos and turned to dark mockeries of the Gods’ finest creation - the soul. Possessing what is known as a Caligo, a wisp of chaotic darkness that composes the “soul” of a daemon. Maeans are mutated by this affliction of the soul, irreversibly becoming fiends of Hell that are robbed of any afterlife, sentenced to return to the Pits upon death - if not outright destroyed. Despite being afflicted, the Maean are rather hard to kill. Normal weaponry cannot inflict mortal damage upon them, the only *true* way to rid of them is through exorcism, silver, adamantite/mythrille, or a holy weapon. However, classical daemonic weaknesses are also applied to them, such as an inability to cross over lines of salt, enter sanctified grounds, and feeling repelled by holy symbols or the holy word. Furthermore, the dark malformation of the soul strips them of any former magical power they held, only capable of wielding infernal or dark magic. Maean have innate resilience to fire and dark magic as well, as their soul is born from mutation by the Eternal Chaos. Maean hold no lifespan, as they are technically considered Undead. Their very presence brings malice and corruption, almost like they are an infection to the world around them. Beings that become a Maean are sterilized as well. No demon babies. To become a Maean, one must sell their soul to a powerful Infernal, and then die - becoming a slave to said Infernal’s will. There is no method short of being pardoned by a divine being that can uplift one’s soul out of this accursed state.

### The Vokhar

Natives of Hell, the Vokhar are infernals arisen by the Eternal Chaos formed from the amalgamation and morphing of souls into daemons that walk the Underworld in servitude to the flame. “Normal” demons, as in those not born of damned souls, are these. The Vokhar are incredibly proud, sadistic, treacherous beings that seek only pain and destruction - just as their master. They hold an undying hatred for the mortal world, born of envy, and an even more passionate hatred for the Gods - those who cursed their home, and blame them for their very existence. They are less intelligent than mortal folk, more primitive and aggressive, but can be incredibly violent and dangerous with the flames they command and weapons they swing. The most elite Vokhar are known to enslave Maean, and handle contracts with mortals to earn their own souls to feed off of. Their name, Vokhar, stems from “ivoku” which means “bring forth”, and “harem”, which means “sin”. They exist as physical manifestations of Hell’s punishment, slaughtering mortals in the name of Apep, and devouring the light from any soul they get their claws on. Physically, they have tough leathery skin that is difficult to penetrate through mundane means, and comes in shades of red, purple, or gray. Their eyes are flames, and often bear horns or wings, with some access to Dark Spiritual magic. They are incapable of being saved, unlike Maean, for they were never mortal to begin with.

## Geography

### The Twisted Forest

A wide region of horrific trees melted into a hungry marsh, completely desolate in the frost that had been set over it. What a lonely place. Nothing wanders here.

### The Burning Wasteland

Wrapping the very borders of the Hells are it’s most uninhabited and empty regions, a desert-like stretch of 80 miles that holds ancient ruins and vicious demons of many kinds. Gangs of Infernals often claim fortresses or camps in the wasteland, running their operations outside of the influence of the Lords - who care little for what goes on in the wasteland. Hard sandstone, seething stones, parched dirt, and countless cliffs and ravines fill this wasteland - along with marauders and feral demons.

### The River of Souls

Once a vast and wild river that carried souls all throughout the Hells, it is now naught but a dry trench. It is cold, and empty… except for a lurking shadow.

### The Valley of Death

A massive valley spanning 5 miles wide and 3 miles deep cuts through the second tallest mountain in the Hells. The valley itself averages around 60 meters wall to wall. Mildly offset from the center is a 20 meter wide river of black water - boiling with tar and infernal acid, several corpses sunk into the river have been left there for years - however, if one is patient enough, they may notice a body pulled down deeper into the river every so often at random, never to be seen again. The atmosphere down here is high in sulfur and averages to be about 130°F, and is about 1.4 bar.\*

### The Labrynthe

A massive maze spanning countless miles that caps the north end of the Valley of Death, acting as the only way in or out. The maze spans for 2 miles, with possibly 40 miles of walking distance within - if a wanderer chooses the right direction through. The Black Presence watches over the Labrynthe, and punishes those who try and defy its path.

### The Cold Wasteland

Stretching nearly 20 miles from the Burning Wasteland to The Edge is a dark and relatively cold region of the Hells where lost souls wander aimlessly and foul monsters slumber in the shadows. Few Infernals dare trek the shadowy lands that border Hell, however, it is rumored that the Darkbloods still inhabit these cold reaches. Dried dirt, cold stone, and dead trees few and far between make up this region. It is slightly hilly, with many caves that wind deep into the Hells' barrows.