The Wicked Kingdom

Map of the Wicked Kingdom

**The Wicked Kingdom**, also known as **Hell**, is comprised of the **Seven Circles**, the domains ruled over by the Wicked, or the seven princes of Hell: Wrath, Pride, Gluttony, Envy, Sloth, Greed, and Lust.

## Description

The Wicked Kingdom is a realm of "winter in all its harsh, unforgiving glory." The Wicked Kingdom is the realm where demons and other hell creatures reside, such as hellhounds and hell horses. Aside from fear, this world thrives on both sin and desire in equal measure. This world is influenced by those who rule it. Over time it's come to toy with all, even the princes. It depends on its inhabitants’ vices for its survival the same way the human world requires oxygen and water. If you lose control for a second, it will pounce. And not always in the way you believe it will. Time moves differently in Hell than in the human world. Sex isn’t viewed as shameful or sinful here. Attraction and desire are part of the natural order of life. Princes of Hell do not put restrictions on such things. People don't age in Hell.

Wrath gives three pieces of advice to Emilia before taking her into the Wicked Kingdom. His first piece of advice is to never reveal her true fears because this realm will "turn itself inside out to torture her." His second piece of advice is to control her desires, or they will taunt her with illusions easily confused with reality. Each of Emilia's desires will be magnified tenfold, particularly in the Sin Corridor. Wrath's third piece of advice is to be cautious when making blood bargains with a prince of Hell, and under no circumstances should she ever make one involving the devil.

## Notable Locations

### The Void

The place one first arrives upon entering the Wicked Kingdom is the Void. It is located outside of the Seven Circles, on the other side of the Gates of Hell. The Void is a cave similar to the one in Palermo where Emilia summoned Wrath. It's the place "stars fear to enter" according to Wrath. The walls are hewn from a strange, opaque gemstone that shoots up farther than the human eye can see. They are either deep blue or black. The air is frigid, and there is no sound, only a heavy and absolute silence. It can cause feelings of despair. The ground is desolate and scattered with frost-covered rocks.

### The Gates of Hell

Blocking the entrance to the Seven Circles are the gates of Hell. They're tall and menacing. There are columns carved from obsidian and depict people being tortured and murdered in brutal fashions. These columns bracket two doors made entirely of human, animal, and demon skulls. The handle of the gate is made from an elk skull with an enormous set of frost-coated antlers. To open the gate, Wrath presses a hand to the column closest to him and whispers a word in an unknown language. Gold light then pulses from his palm and flows into the black gemstone. Then the gates slowly creak open. With the return of the Horn of Hades, violet-blue, torn-covered vines wind through the bones making up the gate until they are covered and the gate is sealed.

As a result of the curse La Prima casts, the gates end up fracturing. Lesser demons began testing the Wicked by trying to slip through cracks in the gates. Creatures that didn't want to face trials in the Portals of a Thousand Fears were especially eager to escape. The gates continued to weaken, despite the princes' best efforts. It becomes only a matter of time before they completely break and demons can freely enter the human realm. With the return of the Horn of Hades to the realm, the gates are once again closed.

### The Sin Corridor

Once through the gates of Hell, one enters the Sin Corridor. The Sin Corridor is used to test new subjects of the realm to see which royal House their dominant sin aligns best with. They experience a prodding of each sin and emotion as they pass through. Any use of magic during the first journey in the Sin Corridor is considered interference. *Transvenio* magic is forbidden in the Sin Corridor the first time someone crosses into the realm. It's necessary for people to pass through the Sin Corridor so newcomers form alliances with others who share their dominant sin. One is more susceptible to falling under the influence of a particular sin when showing early attributes of it. Wrath tells Emilia to shut down as many of her emotions as possible because they’re only going to get more intense as she journeys through the Corridor. Being tested or prompted toward one particular emotion usually means it’s something this realm senses you struggle with.

The Sin Corridor is a gleaming mountaintop tundra. There's no sea, warmth, or sun. There's a hollow, steep, snow-covered trail that's barely wide enough to walk on side by side. A biting wind snarls through the mountain pass, and it's filled with bare-branched trees. On the right a sharp drop-off is carved through the landscape. In the distance, barely visible through either a covering of fog or a far-off storm, one can make out turrets of House Lust. Up a dizzying incline on the left is a smattering of bare-branched trees swaying in the arctic wind, with their limbs lightly cracking against one another. They remind Emilia of old crones sitting together, using bones as knitting needles. If she narrows her eyes, she almost swears she sees the shadowy outline of their figures. At the bottom of the mountain side is frozen stream, followed by a slightly wider, flatter expanse that peers over a smaller mountain range. Clusters of evergreens that look like juniper and cedar fan out in a semicircle around the easternmost corner. Lightning lashes out in the sky, followed by the roar of thunder. The Sin Corridor seems to be stuck in a permanent state of twilight. The atmosphere and weather are always overcast.

The Sin Corridor is a place where all seven sins are used equally and where none rule above the others. The Seven Sisters reside in the Sin Corridor. Within the Sin Corridor is a giant cedar tree with the Roman numeral for seven carved into it. The tree is average sized, and a bit sparser than the surrounding cluster of cedars. When Emilia smears a few drops of her blood across the Roman numeral, the trunk clicks open, which reveals a set of stairs hidden within it. At the bottom of the stairs is a stone chamber where the Seven Sisters appear before Emilia.

The Sin Corridor is also where coronations are held as it is considered neutral ground.

### The Seven Circles

After passing through the Sin Corridor, one enters the Seven Circles. These are the territories of the seven princes of Hell. They are House Wrath, House Pride, House Gluttony, House Envy, House Sloth, House Greed, and House Lust. Wrath compares the royal Houses and their members with mortals aligning themselves with political parties and causes but dealing in vice. One can think of the layout like the Seven Hills of Rome. Each prince controls their own region or summit. The most powerful Houses lie closest to the center. Lust's territory is the first circle. Wrath and Pride are the centermost circles. The more powerful the House, the colder the circle. Each demon House sits upon a mountain peak towering above their territory. Power is currency in the Seven Circles. While mortals accumulate wealth, the princes do the same with magic.

The royal Houses are ancient and antiquated in their ways. Those in the Seven Circles have strict rules they're governed by and there are severe penalties if they're broken. Even the princes must abide by them. Information is currency in the Seven Circles. No one expects to get something for free. If you ask for something, you better be prepared to pay a price. Fashion in the Seven Circles is a lot more formfitting and revealing than the clothing in the human world. The denizens won't give anyone anything if they demand it or openly ask about it because it's considered rude and uncouth, and because they don't believe in giving without gain. Even outside the Sin Corridor, there’s a magic that causes illusions and plays with one’s emotions. It's considered scandalous to overtly reference other sins than the one you're aligned with. Asking about the devil is a taboo subject. According to Fauna, "the Seven Circles may be governed by sin, but there are some acts too depraved even for their realm."

#### The Storm of Sins

The Storm of Sins is located between House Gluttony and House Sloth.

#### The Violent Winds

The Violent Winds are located between House Lust and House Gluttony. Emilia wonders if it's the cause of the howling sound she heard in the Sin Corridor.

#### The Flaming Tombs

The Flaming Tombs are located between House Sloth, House Pride, and House Envy.

#### The Lake of Fire

The Lake of Fire is visible from one of the landings in House Wrath. It is a large body of merlot-colored water pooled at the bottom of a valley. Lazy tendrils of smoke rise up from the surface. At one point, a branch falls into its depths and immediately bursts into flames. It separates House Wrath's territory from House Pride's territory. A bridge connects the two swaths of land with the dark waters churning below. The Lake of Fire feeds into the Crescent Shallows located underneath House Wrath.

#### The Black River

The Black River carves through the western Houses of Sin, dividing Wrath’s castle from both Greed and Pride’s territories. It forks off into a smaller tributary that runs behind Greed’s castle, winds through the lower portion of House Pride, and up along Envy’s northern border. The main portion of the river ends in the Lake of Fire. The Black River gets its name from the ebony color of the water.

#### The Bloodwood Forest

The Bloodwood Forest is a spectacular sight located to the southeast. It lies between Envy's lands and Greed's. No demon house may claim it; therefore, one doesn't need an invitation to travel there. The trick though is gaining passage through the territories that border it. The trees that make up the forest have a dark crimson bark. Deep into the woods puffs of smoke float along, created by the breath of large beats. The forest is filled with bugs and critters that chirp so loudly it's hard to hear anything else and disorienting. It's also home to various beats and creatures, such as Aper demons.

The Bloodwood Forest is home to the Curse Tree. The Curse Tree is an unmistakable, oversized tree with gnarled silver bark and ebony-and-silver-veined leaves located deep in the heart of the Bloodwood Forest amongst a thick outcropping of crimson wood. It's taller, wider, and different in color from all the other trees in the forest. Its silver bark gleams "like an enormous sword thrust deep into the earth." It's beautiful and frightening. The leaves are similar to a common birch. but are ebony with silver veins. They're sharp as blades and as fragile as glass. The Curse Tree was planted by the Crone herself. It is said, among other favors, the tree will consider hexing a sworn enemy if the desire to curse them is true. The magic from this tree is called a blood wish.

#### The Prison of Damnation

The Prison of Damnation is what mortals consider their version of "Hell." Wrath will sometimes sentence someone here, but it is no light matter for him to do so.

### The Shifting Isles

The Shifting Isles is an island, or group of Islands, that exists away from the Seven Circles. They're located just outside the mainland. Most mortals never reach the Sin Corridor and thus never reach the Seven Circles. Instead, they tend to imprison themselves on the Shifting Isles, which is located the gates of Hell, off the western shore. It's a self-inflicted punishment of sorts. The isle is the Prison of Damnation. The mortals there live in a reality of their own making. At any point they can leave, but most never do. They live and die on their isle and begin again. It's a hell in its own way.

It is revealed that Emilia and Vittoria were actually imprisoned on the Shifting Isles in a version of Palermo, Italy, but they grew up believing they were in the Italy of the human world.

### The Undying Lands

The Undying Lands are located to the northwest. Mortals who have been turned into nightmares by spells and hexes gone wrong roam here.

### The Merciless Reach

The Merciless Reach is an eastern mountain range. Mortals who have been turned into nightmares by spells and hexes gone wrong roam here.

### House Vengeance

House Vengeance is the Eighth Circle of Hell. It is existed before the other Houses, but is shrouded in mystery. The mountains bordering its territory cause anyone entering them to lose their memory.

### The Vampire Court

The vampires and their court is located in the south of the Seven Circles.

## Trivia

* The Seven Circles is also called the Walled City.
* The Merciless Reach is home to the mighty ice dragons, which can spit flames.
* Saylonia's tears are said to be gathered at a temple in the Shifting Isles.
* Very few chosen denizens of Hell can buy freedom collecting souls.