Abyss

The Abyss is the damned world of demons that exists far beneath the Darkside of Aum.

## Geography

The Abyss is primarily divided into three malformed regions: the Abyssal Plains, the Abyssal Crater, and the Heart of the Abyss. While the Abyss itself exists at a definite location in space, its regions defy the laws of physics and span infinitely across their accursed world.

### Abyssal Plains

The Abyssal Plains are a chaotic space that exist in an infinitely spanning radius around Abyssal Crater. The thick Fog of Souls prevents perception of any kind beyond 52 hexes in any direction, making navigation difficult and requiring groups of wayward travelers to stay together lest they risk losing sight of one another and possibly becoming irrevocably separated as the terrain can shift at will when outside of active Ib perception. For this reason, if groups do wish to stay together for extended periods, then when they sleep, they must have at least one member of their party stay awake to keep watch, or else their comrades could all immediately disappear somewhere far away. The Abyssal Plains lack much in terms of logic and direction, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the city of chaos, Pandemonium, where insanity is law. Some other notable features that can be found straying through the Abyssal Plains are the Quagmire of Lost Hope, a swamp where the land is composed of the bodies of the damned who will grab, drag, and drown any unfortunate enough to be caught in their grasp, the Sulfur Fields, an area of fire, fury, and brimstone that no doubt form the foundation of how many envision the Abyss, and the River Styx and the River Lethe, both of which appear identical but only one of which can lead the way out of the Abyss while the other will direct unwary wanderers straight to Hell.

### Abyssal Crater

The Abyssal Crater consists of the region directly adjacent to and wrapping around the Heart of the Abyss, marked by the Infernal Canal and the Moaning Wall of Purgatory. Should one enter through the Gates of Hell, they will find themselves in the nine-tiered city of the damned where sinners go to suffer. Passing through the city of Hell all the way through the ninth ring will lead to the Edge of the Abyss, where even most demons do not even dare to tread. Under no circumstances should any being stand upon this precipice and gaze upon the Heart of the Abyss.

### Heart of the Abyss

The Heart of the Abyss.

Hell is a tiered, ringed city in the Abyss whose nine terraces loop around the infinite expanse of the Abyssal Crater. It is home to many refined demons as well as their demonic servants and tortured souls. The city is surrounded by a river of lava which protects its residents from the wilder monstrosities of the Abyssal Plains. The river also flows through the city itself through a network of canals and channels, all of which flow into the core of the crater in order to block passage between the city and the Heart of the Abyss, a place so foul that even demons fear the beasts that lurk there.

Pandemonium is a city of pure chaos that exists somewhere within the Abyssal Plains. Despite the constant state of anarchy and rampant carnage occurring at all times along its twisted, winding, and maddening streets, the city still stands and is always bounding with life both new and ancient. It is commonly understood that the city has a will of its own and tends to keep itself in some kind of equilibrium, albeit one that involves massive swings between states of destruction and renewal.

## Accessing The Abyss

### Route 666

The Highway of the Damned, Route 666, came into being during the late Victorious Era, following the series of Inferno Bombing Raids that burned away the souls of countless innocents. The victims' endless agony and utter devastation led to the formation of the one-way roadway that tunnels straight down into the earth, extending from the surface of Aum all the way to the Second Ring of Hell before terminating at the Skull Pike Roadblock.

### Chasm of the Condemned

The Chasm of the Condemned is an extradimensional pit found within the Emperyean Caverns of Sixth Heaven. Those who violate the Law of Heaven will find themselves cast into the chasm where they will fall down, ethereally phasing straight through all of Aum and descending directly into the Bottom of the Abyss.