Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
Hell is a hollow sphere. The Hellsun at the seeming-centre, blasted earth forming bedrock and landmass, bitter tears for the seas, living nightmares in every darkened corner. Vast rust-deserts and factory-temples stud the surface, and Great Beast's squamous form crushes the unwary as it roams the plains, spawning parasite-kingdoms and fortress-beasts. A hierarchy of counts, earls, and dukes rules this strange wilderness from rusting satellites, enormous dark iron castles, or mansions made of paper. They command hordes of Demonic serfs, traffic in human thralls to fuel the great shrines and prayer-wheels from whence power flows, and twist the landscape to match their nature.
The heart of Hell is Pandemonium.
Wherever you go across the myriad realms of Hell, the Ur-City is in the distance. It is always at the centre. Pandemonium is city and reflection of cities. It is every structure raised and torn down, it is every material and style. It is endless. To go anywhere in Pandemonium, one need only know of the place, and walk. The path is fixed, after the first time, but time and space are more suggestions than rules. To walk without direction is to wander eternally down these glorious streets.
And they are glorious. From the hard-edged and crystalline perfection of Raw Pandemonium, to the brassy streets of Little Wroth or airy silks of Bitterhallow, everything is beauty and wonder. An intensity such that it destroys most mortals - but not all. Mortal slaves are hauled through the streets by soul-traders while mortal Citizens watch from parade floats. Mortal Magi host parties in the streets and Vampires lurk in the alleys.
In Pandemonium, the power to maintain one's freedom is respected, whence-ever it might proceed. At the heart of the Demon City is the miles-tall Spire of Perfection, surrounded by the great arena. Above the spire is Hell's sun, the First Circle-but this is an illusion. The Hellsun perceives itself thus and so must the majority of Demonkind or visitors to Hell.
Within the Spire is the Temple of the Principles; the terrible progenitors of Demonkind who dwell in the Palace Infernal. The Palace appears to orbit the Spire, giving Hell a passage of time and semblance of season.
The First Circle: The Hellsun
Associated with light, gold, bronze, ivory, and swords. The Lightbringers are Hell’s finest warriors, striving to attain and demonstrate perfection. They are normally very specialized but terrifyingly capable within their interests. They usually have a strong sense of honour and fair play, and despise slavery or servitude which means they often host monasteries to retain their power.
The Second Circle: Hell’s Night
Associated with ink, dreams, wood, rain, and books. The Unseen are Hell’s loremasters, spies, information brokers. They seek the greatest result for the least effort and often have broad skillsets. They think all knowledge is worth something, to someone, or even for its own sake, but can be somewhat overcautious.
The Third Circle: The Raging Earth
Associated with fire, rock, violence, energy, storms, and axes. The Brutes are savage fighters less principled than the Lightbringers, adept at dirty tricks and sheer overwhelming strength. Any Brute can handle a fistfight with a hydra and survive immense harm, making them excellent builders and guardians. Somewhat overly concerned with revenge.
The Fourth Circle: The Bleak Oceans
Associated with water, ice, salt, scales, poisons, and whips. The Drowners are cunning manipulators, wicked sages, savage pirates, and insidious poisoners. They are often specialized and hate those with greater skills than their own. Often their own worst enemies.
The Fifth Circle: The Great Beast
Associated with flesh, bone, blood, sex, transformation, obsession, and claws. The Devourers are charming incubi, alluring succubi, profane surgeons and impossibly flexible dancers, masters of beasts and vermin. They are highly versatile creatures, but prone to obsessing over personal matters and clashes of taste.
The Sixth Circle: The Infernal Machine
Associated with iron, smoke, oil, money, complexity, and hammers. The Breakers are living engines of war, rapacious predators, cold and callous manufacturers, genius hermit craftsmen, and bankers. They tend to heavily specialize in certain crafts, and any Breaker can build amazing devices with whatever materials come to hand.
Useful Facts
The heart of Hell is Pandemonium.
Wherever you go across the myriad realms of Hell, the Ur-City is in the distance. It is always at the centre. Pandemonium is city and reflection of cities. It is every structure raised and torn down, it is every material and style. It is endless. To go anywhere in Pandemonium, one need only know of the place, and walk. The path is fixed, after the first time, but time and space are more suggestions than rules. To walk without direction is to wander eternally down these glorious streets.
And they are glorious. From the hard-edged and crystalline perfection of Raw Pandemonium, to the brassy streets of Little Wroth or airy silks of Bitterhallow, everything is beauty and wonder. An intensity such that it destroys most mortals - but not all. Mortal slaves are hauled through the streets by soul-traders while mortal Citizens watch from parade floats. Mortal Magi host parties in the streets and Vampires lurk in the alleys.
In Pandemonium, the power to maintain one's freedom is respected, whence-ever it might proceed. At the heart of the Demon City is the miles-tall Spire of Perfection, surrounded by the great arena. Above the spire is Hell's sun, the First Circle-but this is an illusion. The Hellsun perceives itself thus and so must the majority of Demonkind or visitors to Hell.
Within the Spire is the Temple of the Principles; the terrible progenitors of Demonkind who dwell in the Palace Infernal. The Palace appears to orbit the Spire, giving Hell a passage of time and semblance of season.
The First Circle: The Hellsun
Associated with light, gold, bronze, ivory, and swords. The Lightbringers are Hell’s finest warriors, striving to attain and demonstrate perfection. They are normally very specialized but terrifyingly capable within their interests. They usually have a strong sense of honour and fair play, and despise slavery or servitude which means they often host monasteries to retain their power.
The Second Circle: Hell’s Night
Associated with ink, dreams, wood, rain, and books. The Unseen are Hell’s loremasters, spies, information brokers. They seek the greatest result for the least effort and often have broad skillsets. They think all knowledge is worth something, to someone, or even for its own sake, but can be somewhat overcautious.
The Third Circle: The Raging Earth
Associated with fire, rock, violence, energy, storms, and axes. The Brutes are savage fighters less principled than the Lightbringers, adept at dirty tricks and sheer overwhelming strength. Any Brute can handle a fistfight with a hydra and survive immense harm, making them excellent builders and guardians. Somewhat overly concerned with revenge.
The Fourth Circle: The Bleak Oceans
Associated with water, ice, salt, scales, poisons, and whips. The Drowners are cunning manipulators, wicked sages, savage pirates, and insidious poisoners. They are often specialized and hate those with greater skills than their own. Often their own worst enemies.
The Fifth Circle: The Great Beast
Associated with flesh, bone, blood, sex, transformation, obsession, and claws. The Devourers are charming incubi, alluring succubi, profane surgeons and impossibly flexible dancers, masters of beasts and vermin. They are highly versatile creatures, but prone to obsessing over personal matters and clashes of taste.
The Sixth Circle: The Infernal Machine
Associated with iron, smoke, oil, money, complexity, and hammers. The Breakers are living engines of war, rapacious predators, cold and callous manufacturers, genius hermit craftsmen, and bankers. They tend to heavily specialize in certain crafts, and any Breaker can build amazing devices with whatever materials come to hand.
Useful Facts
- Demons rarely die. When their physical form is killed, they simply discorporate into the flows of Essence through Hell, and later reform in their home Circle or demesne. Only death by the weapons of the mortal Inquisition, by the talons of a Vampire, or if consumed by a more powerful Demon truly end a Demon’s existence.
- Outside of Pandemonium Hell is ruled over by six Kings, under whom are Princes, and beneath them Dukes, and beneath them Earls, and lower still Counts, and under them the Rabble. Beasts are technically lower than that, but lacking real minds the laws of the Infernal Hierarchy do not extend to them. Any Demon can, conceivably, ascend to become King. The Circles are a constant dance of rebellions, assassinations, betrayals, border wars, alliances, kidnappings, and thefts as Demons seek to usurp their superiors and keep their claws on their subordinates.
- As Demons ascend through the ranks of Nobility, their Resonance with their Circle increases, making their Infernal Powers stronger and refining their Essence. New traits evolve to match the personality of the Demon, and if they possess a Domain it shifts, bends, and expands to reflect its master.
- The only escapes from this cycle are Citizenship of Pandemonium, where a Demon serves no master but themselves - officially - and can pursue whatever passion drives them, or devotion to an esoteric monastic order. In these cases, a Demon rises in Resonance through deeds of great note, such that the mysterious and terrible Principles which watch from on high are pleased. It is said freed Demons beyond the city, or rebels of especial will, can also be elevated by the Principles.
- Any Demon which owns property will also, as it rises in Resonance, begin to generate subsidiary selves - lesser avatars which are the same entity and yet separate. Some Demons are simultaneously a humanoid warrior, a monstrous axe, and a blood-stained altar, each with their own Expressions of power. Often Demons will cast object-selves like weapons into the mortal world to be bound by some careless soul and secure a Pact.
- Demons like proper nouns.
- Within Pandemonium, the law is laid down by the Arbiters. Or perhaps the Arbiter. They can be anywhere at any time - indeed, they appear to possess power over time and space (rarely much more than guidelines in Hell to begin with) and if they are present, they have always been present. As one might imagine this can make criminality a challenge, but the law is that might makes right. If you have the power to do something without being caught, then clearly you were within your rights as decreed by The Principles.
- An extra layer of protection comes from the nature of avatars in the shape of buildings - the laws of Hell do not tell any individual what they can or cannot do with or within their body, and as grandiose structures which are themselves fragments of a Demon are common, any crimes committed therein are the problem of the host. Their justice is preferable to what the Arbiters may do to you.
- Pandemonium is infinite. The expected difficulties this may present are mitigated by its casual relationship with ideas like distance or consistency. If you know where you are going in Pandemonium, you will get there in whatever length of time you expect the trip to take. You’ll even pass familiar landmarks from the first time you made the journey. This can make finding locations kept secret or places to which you have not yet been a challenge, but there are plenty of guides for hire.
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