Hades
Hades is the outer plane of the neutral evil alignment, accessible via the River Styx which flows from Stygia, the fifth layer of the Nine Hells. It is a bleak and gray expanse, often called the Gray Waste, governed by some level of order but not ruled by law in the same way as the Nine Hells. The fiends there mostly delight in tormenting those on other planes with visions of their home, without actually leaving. Its gloom and despair is all-consuming except to the strongest of wills. Specifically, this despair is a mortal fear of death. Escaping this dread to either of the adjacent planes, Nessus or the Abyss, is escaping into the arms of fiends who often kill or capture on sight. The fiends in Hades have never been known to kill, though they have attacked interlopers in apparent attempts to capture them.
The gray skies of Hades are changeless. There is no weather and no daytime, nor any celestial body to light the way. The only exception is over the central city of Nekros, home of the spirit Peltirisk, called Lord of the Lost, who commands a never-ending lightning storm which remains completely silent. There are also various lights, a phenomenon called ignis fatuus, which resemble distant torches that seem to offer some kind of direction but never really lead anywhere. Stone seems to form into disturbing shapes such as wailing faces, returning to an unworked state in the blink of an eye.
Outsiders visiting Hades do not seem to age while on the plane, and the worst thing to fear there is entrapment, for all time. Humanoids that remain in Hades for too long devolve into fragile wisps, shadows of their former selves. Hades even taints their memories of other places where they did feel safe, confident, and loved.
Comments