Tartarus

**Tartarus** is the realm of the god of slaves Toshre. It is known as the Pit of Chains. Physically, it appears as a vast bottomless pit that stretches on for eternity.
Massive chains, stronger than any steel, criss cross this pit forming a
dense web that impairs movement. The air is thick and hot, and each
breath seems to scorch one’s lungs.

The only source illuminating
 the darkness is a faint light from the heavens, at the top of the pit. This light is
almost entirely blocked by the chains, but it seems as if it is
extremely close, and one could reach it if only one could climb far
enough. No matter how far one travels upward, however, the light always
stays tantalizingly out of reach. The pit is infinite and length, and divided into a series of layers. These "Chains" each house a certain kind of offending soul, and are each refined to exact maximum and fitting suffering onto their victims.

## Notable Locations

Many locations can be seen visually simply from looking around one's self should they have the misfortune of being in Tartarus. These are constants: No matter how high you climb or how deep you fall, they remain just as far as where they began.

#### The Depths

Occasionally, you might catch a glimpse of the deepest layers of Tartarus through chains and flames. It is a blackness that inspires utter terror in any that witness it. Gazing upon it is enough to know that there are things - nameless, primordial things - that dwell there that should never be known of, let alone encountered. It is the fear of these depths that prevents those trapped in Tartarus from giving up and embracing death, as far worse than death hides in the darkness.

In the finite end of the infinite Depths is chained Toshre himself, far beyond any light or companionship. He rages against his chains even as the things of the dark feast on his flesh. A single star can somehow be seen through the chains, a star that inspires in the Chained One the hope to continue his struggle.

#### The Chains of Blasphemy

The most vile and deserving of offenders are damned to reside in the Chains of Blasphemy: heathens and apostates, those who rejected the gods or attempted to overthrow the divine. There is no greater sin in existence. For these wretched souls, there is no hint of mercy. They are trapped in the lowers Chains above the Depths, so deep that the Heavens can barely be seen. Wrapped in chains, giant demonic avians swoop down and peck out their eyes, which beheld that which they were forbidden; their ears, which listened to words that defied the gods themselves; and their vile tongues, which spread rebellion against the divine.

#### The Chains of Monsters

Common murderers are judged by the laws of man while living, and the laws of the gods when death reaches them. But there are some monsters in human flesh for which no judgement seems sufficient. Those who delight in dealing deaths of agony and torment, who kill without head to age or gender, those who rape and steal and defile simply for the pleasure of doing so... for these fiends, their destination are the Chains of Monsters. Here, deep in the Pit, they live in terror of the creatures that slither across the chains. These are manifestations of their own evil: they take pleasure in sadism equal to that of their victim, which, for one to end up in these Chains, must by definition be great. Terror is their punishment, terror of their own sins made flesh.

#### The Chains of Traitors

The despicable betrayers are cast into the Chains of Traitors. Here, they hunted by their victims. Formed from their own memories, these shades follow them across the Chains, taking their vengeance slowly and painfully. The denizens of this layer hallucinate of their lives, and of the agony their decisions have caused. The most cold-hearted of traitors eventually finds themselves weeping of their crimes. But there is no respite from the guilt which follows them as implacably as their pursuers.

#### The Chains of Oathbreakers

The highest levels of chains are reserved for those who made oaths in the most sacred of names, only to reveal their duplicity by breaking those same oaths. Sacred oaths are enforced by sacred laws, and the judgement for such miscreants is universal: The Chains of Oathbreakers. They are painfully close to the Heavens, a punishment in of itself, and a reminder that their salvation is could have been achieved had they but kept their words. Occasionally, souls can be released from this layer if their oath is fulfilled after death: for example, a granddaughter realizing the blood-oath of her grandfather. Nevertheless, most are trapped for eternity in this most benign, but maddening layer.

#### The Heavens

Looking up allows glimpses of a vast and beautiful night sky. To many, it might seem strange that the realm dedicated to torment permits this display of beauty in an otherwise bleak existence, but as everything else in the Pit of Chains it serves a purpose. The souls trapped in Tartarus feel hope when seeing the Heavens, which drives them to climb ever further upward so that they may escape the Pit and its agony. But this is a false hope, just another form of torture. You could climb the chains for eternity and never reach the Heavens, and the realization of this fact breaks even the most willful of guests.

## Inhabitants

This
 pit is inhabited by the souls of those damned by the strictest laws of
gods and men. These are to remain trapped in the chains for eternity.
Other creatures, including many nameless horrors, also dwell here. They
feast upon the flesh of the trapped souls, which constantly regenerates
so as to prevent death from freeing them. The most prominent and
tormented of these souls is Toshre himself. Deep in the pit, far below
any of the mortals, he is restrained by a mass of chains such that he is
 incapable of moving even his fingers. Never does he stop struggling
against his imprisonment, yet never does he manage to free himself. That
 is the curse of his existence.

## Escape

A mortal whose soul becomes bound to Tartarus has a terrible fate: there is no escape or relief from the Pit, only an eternity of torment. Climbing the Chains never leads to any progress in escaping, no matter how far you reach. There are only two ways for trapped souls to leave the Pit of Chains. Firstly, other gods may pluck a trapped soul out of Tartarus, though the realm itself resists these interventions, making it difficult even for a god. In exceptional circumstances, however, a god might see fit to expend the necessary energy to free a particular denizen. Secondly, death does represent an escape, as the soul of the deceased would then be freed from Tartarus and flow to the death god Thaa. Oblivion is not a mercy Tartarus permits its guests, however: injuries heal so fast even mortal wounds cannot kill, and the chains of the pit prevent most acts of suicide. It would, once again, require exceptional circumstances for an inmate to actually die in this cursed realm.