Cania
Both pre- and post-Spellplague cosmologies agree that Cania was a bitterly cold-dominant realm of solid ice mountains, titanic, unnaturally fast-moving glaciers, and nearly continuous snowfall that made Stygia seem balmy by comparison. Unprotected travellers were exposed to temperatures of −51 ℃ but on the positive side there were few creatures that hunted in the icy wastes. Earlier lore described the great citadel Mephistar as being constructed of iron but later reports say the Lady of the Eighth's fortress/palace was made of ice. All accounts seemed to agree the tower had a heated, luxurious interior and sat atop a gargantuan glacier called Nargus whose speed and movement were under the control of Mephistopheles herself.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Nine_Hells
Mephistopehles's realm was the gloomy, frigid wasteland of Cania a realm of cold indescribable with words so bitter that it was practically alive. Cania outmatched the arctic sea of Stygia, which at least offered some relative form of comfort via the River Styx, in sheer harshness, the cold-hearted frost more like that of the Plane of Ice with the temperature in most areas being below −51 ℃. Without magical protection, the merciless chill would quickly kill most life in hours, if not minutes, if not seconds, depending on how prepared they were. Any warm-blooded creature could only survive for a few hours by wearing cold-weather clothes, and going to sleep (or otherwise being unable to move) was a death sentence in most cases.
Despite these conditions, some small amount of life was able to carve out a hungry existence in Cania, the icy caves, hidden mountain valleys and deep crevasses serving as decent hiding places. Fiendish dire polar bears and wolves were said to prowl the land, having evolved effective immunity to the bitter cold, and supposedly remorhaz and glacier worms of great rarity were also present. That withstanding, Cania was a layer so cold that even many devils found it inhospitable, the typically lower-layer dwelling pit fiends largely avoiding it. Only the gelugons, the primary residents and second in authority only to the pit fiends, although they were mainly guards, servants, and messengers, could comfortably exist in Cania. Even after their self-exile to Cania's relatively warmer fringes, they were still the most common devils in the plane. The few kocrachons that inhabited the layer were only mildly comfortable and left discipline mainly to the gelugons, although white abishai and hellcats were also found in some places.
Civilization-
Cania was, in effect, a giant laboratory/testing ground for the experiments of Mephistopheles and her scientists, where immense quantities of arcane energy could be released into the wastes without consequence. The testing of new spells, magic items and other supernatural techniques regularly caused local devastation, and the libraries and data storage areas of the plane were spread out enough so that one unexpected cataclysm didn't accidentally destroy other research. Insights could be made regarding the nature of the research by simply observing from a distance, and renowned archmages such as Mordenkainen were known to visit the horrible tundra looking for lost lore or information to help them in their own endeavours. As a result of Mephistopheles' wavering attention, supervising sages and spellcasters with incredible research could be found in long forgotten-citadels, as buried in ice and snow as they were in bureaucracy. Even uninhabited cities in Cania housed many secrets now buried under ice and only visible as distorted shapes, and when unearthed appeared prosaic and alien in architecture. Before Asmodeus even descended into Hell, Cania was a realm of grand cities, the remnants of that ancient power now preserved in ice in the form of strange spined creatures battling devas and archons, as well as their works, the icy tombs, lost libraries and palaces now haunted by ghosts and terrible undead. What kind of creatures dwelt inside these buildings was unknown and most devils would rather just leave the ruins alone, although the ice-embedded buildings were able to provide some shelter against Cania's cold. Perhaps it was this legacy of ancient power that compelled Mephistopheles to make her home in Cania, as it was said that it was in these tombs that Mephistopheles learnt of hellfire and obtained weapons powerful enough to give even Asmodeus some pause. The most famous example of these lost cities was Kintyre, encased between two icy mountains thousands of feet under the several ton glacier T'chemox. It was once inhabited by a duke who rebelled against Mephistopheles who, in response, entombed the city in ice, and many were loathe to try and undo her handiwork for fear of provoking her ire. Once it was only being explored by curious adventurers, but after recovering ancient texts, Mephistopheles learnt that her unfaithful duke's tomb may have been hiding several ancient relics invaluable to hellfire research, the Duchess of Brimstone's anger once again undermining her and forcing her to organize expeditions into the forgotten, warded keep. Mephistar-
Mephistopheles' primary base of operations in Cania, and perhaps the only notable area on the entire plane, was the citadel of iron and ice, Mephistar. Mephistar was carved from the sparkling ice of the glacier it overlooked, the tremendous mountain of ice Nargus which, while temporarily settled between surrounding glaciers, could be controlled by Mephistopheles to steam over any lesser glacier. The city was like a gleaming, translucent, blue-white jewel of ice perched at the glacier's edge. Though several misinformed poets quipped about how Cania was as cold as Mephistopheles' heart, they weren't completely wrong about her home mirroring her; just as Mephisto's cold exterior masked fiery passion, so to did Cania's cold mask the oddly warm and inviting nature of Mephistar. Even before her hellfire experiments, Mephistar had lavish, heated baths and scented fires, and when the huge doors of the walled citadel were opened, a rare occasion since most devils could teleport, massive steam clouds poured out, though they rolled over the side of the walls anyway. It was from within this fortress city that Mephistopheles held court over ice devil legions as well as spinagon and cornugon staff all ceaselessly following strict, scheduled activities. The citadel's levels seemed endless, but the three topmost terraces housed thousands of safe and cosy living quarters vaulted impossibly upwards, the bottommost levels being cramped and warren-like and the topmost residences being grand suites. Befitting the strange kindness of Mephistar, its populace was reassigned quarters based on promotion and demotion for the mutual benefits of both sides, superiors and inferiors kept separate to avoid the distress of the former or terror of the latter. It was within the higher regions of Mephistar that Mephisto's true palatial manor was placed, a castle where all furnishings and contents, even her throne, were constructed of subtly and intricately detailed ice. Recently however, Mephistopheles's experiments in hellfire had been proving detrimental for the overall stability of her domain. The foggy cloud around the city had grown more established, and the details of her estate had become more muted as they thawed and puddles formed. Already the gelugons, once perfectly fine in the somewhat warm citadel, had begun leaving for the outer reaches of the plane, replaced by increasing numbers of pit fiends, cornugons and barbazus. The Garden of Frost, a perfect facsimile of an organic garden in Mephistar and one of the few beautiful, if saddening, places in Hell, had to be repeatedly blasted with cones of cold to keep it together. From the 99-story School of Hellfire elsewhere in Mephistar came toxic clouds of effluvia that left a fair fraction of the citadel uninhabitable for non-devil inhabitants. Eerie bursts of hellfire, were becoming signature characteristics of Cania, and the inherent risk of Mephisto's hellfire strategy had to be growing more and more obvious, even atop the Cold Lady's slowly melting throne. https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Mephistopheles
Cania was, in effect, a giant laboratory/testing ground for the experiments of Mephistopheles and her scientists, where immense quantities of arcane energy could be released into the wastes without consequence. The testing of new spells, magic items and other supernatural techniques regularly caused local devastation, and the libraries and data storage areas of the plane were spread out enough so that one unexpected cataclysm didn't accidentally destroy other research. Insights could be made regarding the nature of the research by simply observing from a distance, and renowned archmages such as Mordenkainen were known to visit the horrible tundra looking for lost lore or information to help them in their own endeavours. As a result of Mephistopheles' wavering attention, supervising sages and spellcasters with incredible research could be found in long forgotten-citadels, as buried in ice and snow as they were in bureaucracy. Even uninhabited cities in Cania housed many secrets now buried under ice and only visible as distorted shapes, and when unearthed appeared prosaic and alien in architecture. Before Asmodeus even descended into Hell, Cania was a realm of grand cities, the remnants of that ancient power now preserved in ice in the form of strange spined creatures battling devas and archons, as well as their works, the icy tombs, lost libraries and palaces now haunted by ghosts and terrible undead. What kind of creatures dwelt inside these buildings was unknown and most devils would rather just leave the ruins alone, although the ice-embedded buildings were able to provide some shelter against Cania's cold. Perhaps it was this legacy of ancient power that compelled Mephistopheles to make her home in Cania, as it was said that it was in these tombs that Mephistopheles learnt of hellfire and obtained weapons powerful enough to give even Asmodeus some pause. The most famous example of these lost cities was Kintyre, encased between two icy mountains thousands of feet under the several ton glacier T'chemox. It was once inhabited by a duke who rebelled against Mephistopheles who, in response, entombed the city in ice, and many were loathe to try and undo her handiwork for fear of provoking her ire. Once it was only being explored by curious adventurers, but after recovering ancient texts, Mephistopheles learnt that her unfaithful duke's tomb may have been hiding several ancient relics invaluable to hellfire research, the Duchess of Brimstone's anger once again undermining her and forcing her to organize expeditions into the forgotten, warded keep. Mephistar-
Mephistopheles' primary base of operations in Cania, and perhaps the only notable area on the entire plane, was the citadel of iron and ice, Mephistar. Mephistar was carved from the sparkling ice of the glacier it overlooked, the tremendous mountain of ice Nargus which, while temporarily settled between surrounding glaciers, could be controlled by Mephistopheles to steam over any lesser glacier. The city was like a gleaming, translucent, blue-white jewel of ice perched at the glacier's edge. Though several misinformed poets quipped about how Cania was as cold as Mephistopheles' heart, they weren't completely wrong about her home mirroring her; just as Mephisto's cold exterior masked fiery passion, so to did Cania's cold mask the oddly warm and inviting nature of Mephistar. Even before her hellfire experiments, Mephistar had lavish, heated baths and scented fires, and when the huge doors of the walled citadel were opened, a rare occasion since most devils could teleport, massive steam clouds poured out, though they rolled over the side of the walls anyway. It was from within this fortress city that Mephistopheles held court over ice devil legions as well as spinagon and cornugon staff all ceaselessly following strict, scheduled activities. The citadel's levels seemed endless, but the three topmost terraces housed thousands of safe and cosy living quarters vaulted impossibly upwards, the bottommost levels being cramped and warren-like and the topmost residences being grand suites. Befitting the strange kindness of Mephistar, its populace was reassigned quarters based on promotion and demotion for the mutual benefits of both sides, superiors and inferiors kept separate to avoid the distress of the former or terror of the latter. It was within the higher regions of Mephistar that Mephisto's true palatial manor was placed, a castle where all furnishings and contents, even her throne, were constructed of subtly and intricately detailed ice. Recently however, Mephistopheles's experiments in hellfire had been proving detrimental for the overall stability of her domain. The foggy cloud around the city had grown more established, and the details of her estate had become more muted as they thawed and puddles formed. Already the gelugons, once perfectly fine in the somewhat warm citadel, had begun leaving for the outer reaches of the plane, replaced by increasing numbers of pit fiends, cornugons and barbazus. The Garden of Frost, a perfect facsimile of an organic garden in Mephistar and one of the few beautiful, if saddening, places in Hell, had to be repeatedly blasted with cones of cold to keep it together. From the 99-story School of Hellfire elsewhere in Mephistar came toxic clouds of effluvia that left a fair fraction of the citadel uninhabitable for non-devil inhabitants. Eerie bursts of hellfire, were becoming signature characteristics of Cania, and the inherent risk of Mephisto's hellfire strategy had to be growing more and more obvious, even atop the Cold Lady's slowly melting throne. https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Mephistopheles
Geography
The icy hellscape suffered from violent snowstorms seemingly brought on by Mephistopheles herself, the blinding, howling wind spraying ice and dust that stung at best and tore flesh from bone at worst. Filling the wild, frozen expanse were jagged, cyclopean mountains and colossal glaciers that emanated a dim blue-white light, the only natural source of illumination in the entire layer. The glaciers endlessly grinded against and crashed into the mountains with the speed of a running man, causing avalanches consisting of several thousand tons of snow and icy rock to regularly collapse and overwhelm those below. Death in Cania was swiftly followed by freezing, which encased the corpses in clear coffins of ice, preserving the expressions of anguish even thousands of years after death presuming they weren't destroyed.
Alternative Name(s)
The Eighth Layer
Type
Dimensional plane
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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