Avernus
Originally, the layer of Avernus was a beautiful domain, a bustling paradise filled with lush gardens, rural countryside, trade outposts, cities, and other grand locales. It had been so crafted by Asmodeus with the goal of tempting mortals. As a result of the constant demonic invasions coming through the Styx and the continuous carnage of the Blood War however, the pristine land was ruined, leaving behind only remnants of its former beauty such as ruins, mirages, pleasant sensory illusions without source, and ancient relics that caused fleeting moments of pure joy.
Avernus is now a domain of ruin, a war-torn wasteland covered in layers of bones, collapsed structures, and enormous, broken war machines as far as the eye can see. The rocky terrain is marked by rivers of blood, piles of corpses, and groaning nupperibo hordes that trawl the landscape like living lakes in search of food. Other natural hazards include bubbling tar pits, quicksand, lava lakes, and salt flats made from the mass tears of the damned. Food and drink from Avernus is tainted if not inedible, and even if brought from another source it tastes ashy or spoiled. The rarity of good food encourages mortal inhabitants to hoard it, and the plane itself supernaturally rewards selfish behavior.
Avernus' sky is filled by an ambient, blood-red light that seems to come from nine suns just below the horizon, with no visible celestial bodies in the sky. The light filters through the nightmarish clouds that obscure the sky, and the constant twilight makes it difficult to track the passage of time. A particularly dangerous phenomenon is the seemingly random, motion-tracking fireballs that rain from the sky and leave smoking craters in their wake.
The air smells of brimstone and burning tar and is often blasted by shrieking gusts of hot wind that occasionally stir dark sandstorms capable of tearing flesh from bone. The air is populated by biting flies, hellwasps, and stirges, which are known to flock on Coward's Way, feasting on the blood of Zariel's Hellrider betrayers as they hang crucified in metal trees.
Type
Dimensional plane
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Characters in Location
Comments