Nessus

Nessus is the ninth and deepest layer of the Nine Layers of Hell.

Geography

The layer is a featureless plain with jagged edges that extended 2,500 miles from east to west and 1,100 miles from north to south, floating in an endless red void. The plains are scarred by chasms and ravines several thousand miles deep, and are frequently ravaged by fiery storm winds.

Geographical Features

The River Styx trickles down into Nessus through a little-known, small offshoot. It is heavily guarded by devils who slay any unauthorized visitors on sight. The river drains into a shallow pool known as the Forgotten Lake, then continues at the bottom of some of the crevasses before percolating through the earth and continuing its course into Gehenna.
The River Lethe also flows across Nessus, occasionally also falling into its trenches and ravines.

Government

The layer is ruled directly by Asmodeus, who present himself as an illusion of a tall, red-skinned, slender man. He is assisted by a court of archdevils that include the Chancellor of Hell Adramalech, Inquisitor Phongor, and several commanders. His pit fiend generals include Executioner Alastor, Asmodeus's majordomo Baalberith, and Constable Martinet.

History

Asmodeus allowed Zariel to recover in Nessus from the wounds sustained by her fall before assigning her as Duchess of Avernus.

Notable Locations

• Malsheem, the largest city in all of the Outer Planes and home to Asmodeus. Located at the bottom of an enormous trench directly below the portal from the Pit in Cania, it is inhabited by millions of devils held in reserve for an unknown cataclysmic battle. Asmodeus's citadel of Fortress Nessus rises far above the plain from the bottom of the rift.

• The Serpent's Coil, the deepest rift of the layer, is said to have been blasted as a result of Asmodeus's fall into the Hells. It is home to his true form as he healed from the wounds sustained by his fall. The blood shed by Asmodeus's wounds constantly sprouted new devils, perfect specimens of pit fiends and cornugons.

• Tabjari, a citadel made of copper that stands along the walls of Reaper's Canyon. It contains one of the three copies of the Pact Primeval―the other two remaining in Mechanus and Heaven.

Inhabitants

Nessus is inhabited by a majority of greater devils, including Asmodeus's legions of amnizus, pit fiends, and cornugons, among others.

Type

Dimensional plane

Location under

Nine Layers of Hell

Owner/Ruler

Asmodeus, Lord of the Ninth

Characters in Location

• Asmodeus, Lord of the Ninth