Cania

Cania is the eighth layer of the Nine Layers of Hell. It is a relentless realm of seemingly living cold.

Geography

The layer is marked by moving glaciers and icebergs that drift as fast as a running person, constantly colliding with one another, and with surrounding mountains of enormous sizes. Snow avalanches are common and violent. The weather is dominated by snow storms that howl with incessant winds. Thin layers of accumulated snow often hide deep crevasses that could engulf incautious explorers.
The supernatural cold of Cania is substantially stronger than in Stygia, reaching temperatures of −50 ℃. It will quickly penetrate nonmagical clothing, freezing unprotected creatures within minutes and killing even those wearing gear designed to withstand cold temperatures in hours. Unsheltered creatures run a constant risk of freezing to death. Preserved corpses are frequently uncovered after collisions between glaciers, while other glaciers seem to hold unknown frozen creatures at their very centers. Some of the shapes within the ice suggest that they were angels fighting unknown spined creatures, while others seemed like entire alien cities.
The layer contains scattered laboratories and libraries within isolated citadels.

Government

The layer is ruled by the archdevil Mephistopheles, Lord of the Eighth. His rule consists of overseeing endless experiments with arcane magic and the nature of the planes, conducted throughout the wastes of the layer. Government duties are often filled by Hutijin, allowing Mephistopheles more time to focus on his experiments.

Defenses

The layer is constantly patrolled against spies that might pry into the secrets of arcane spells, magic items, and magic theory that are developed in its laboratories. Arcane spellcasters and other devils occasionally risk braving the cold wastes in search for knowledge. In particular, spies from Dis are common, since Dispater worries that Mephistopheles might acquire more information than him.

Notable Locations

• Kintyre, an enormous uninhabited city of strange architecture that was buried deep under the ice.

• Mephistar, home of Mephistopheles. A heated citadel carved out of the ice and located atop the giant glacier Nargus, whose movement is controlled by the Lord of the Eighth himself.

• The Pit, a dark and windy shaft several hundred feet in diameter. It is heavily guarded by ice devils, and end in a lake of frozen slush. At the bottom of the lake, at a depth of 1,001 fathoms lays a portal that was the primary access point to the ninth layer, Nessus.

Inhabitants

The main inhabitants of Cania are gelugons, whose activities in the layer remain largely unknown. The environment is so inhospitable that even other devils avoid visiting the layer.

Type

Dimensional plane

Location under

Nine Layers of Hell

Owner/Ruler

Mephistopheles, Lord of the Eighth

Characters in Location

• Mephistopheles, Lord of the Eighth