Underworld
Hades is one of the Divine Planes and the finally resting place for a majority of Mortal Souls. The Plane is named after it's leader, the Chthonic Deity Hades, but as to avoid invoking Hades, the Plane is more colloquially known as the Underworld.
The Underworld is ruled by the Deities Hades and Persephone, and is managed by many of the other Chthonic Deities, as well as the Underworld Daimon.
When a Mortal creature dies, their Soul is transported to the Underworld by one of the Psychopomps, where they await to be judged by the three Judges of the Dead, Aeacus, Minos, and Rhadamanthus. The Souls are judges for their deeds in life, which determines whether they are sentenced to reside for the rest of eternity, or until they fade from Mortal memory, either the Asphodel Meadows, the Elysian Fields, or the Dungeons of the Damned.
Table of Contents
Geography
The Underworld is vast subterranean realm, a giant cavern hollowed into the earth. The cavern roof is tall, and from it protrudes long, sharp stalactites, which match the equally long stalagmites that cover the craggy landscape. The land is, for the most part, dark, damp and dismal, the only natural light emanating from the five Rivers of the Underworld, that flow through the Plane, and glow with an ethereal light.
The Underworld is split into three major regions, the Asphodel Meadows, the Elysian Fields, and the Dungeons of the Damned, each connected by the five Rivers of the Underworld.
Asphodel Meadows
The Asphodel Meadows, sometimes called the Field of Asphodel, is the location where the majority of sentenced Souls dwell.
The Asphodel Meadows is the largest of the Underworld's regions, a flat field filled with white Asphodel flowers, located within a vast cavern that spreads out for miles in all directions. The ground is covered in a layer of grey ash and countless shades roam between the dim, illuminating mists and ever-blossomed flowers. The glowing green waters of the Acheron flows through the Asphodel Meadows.
The Asphodel Meadows is the sentence for the Souls of the ordinary and indifferent, those Mortals who did not commit any significant crimes, nor performed any great feats of piety, heroism or virtue. It is a calm and peaceful place, where Souls can rest, or wander in contemplation.
The Asphodel Meadows is also the location of the Court of the Dead and the House of Hades.
Elysian Fields
The Elysian Fields, sometimes called the Isle of the Blessed, or just Elysium, is a utopian, eternal paradise, reserved for only the most distinguished Souls.
Elysium is a beautiful and vibrant landscape, filled with gardens of blooming plants and trees, lakes of calm, crystal water, dotted with islands, and pristine, white marble temples and buildings, the homes of the shades that reside here. Large courtyards, decorated with colourful tapestries and fountains, hold great celebrations, filled with endless food and drink. The glowing yellow waters of the Lethe flow passed the borders of Elysium.
Elysium is the sentence for the Souls that performed great feats of piety, heroism or virtue in life, with Elysium being their reward in Death. Here the souls of the dead rest in peace and luxury, celebrated for their devotion and good deeds in life. Many great heroes from history, as well as many and devote worshipers of the Gods, rest in Elysium, where their every need is met for all eternity.
Located between the Asphodel Meadows and Elysium, on the banks of the River Lethe, is Oneiron, the Land of Dreams, the home of the God Hypnos.
Dungeons of the Damned
The Dungeons of the Damned, sometimes called the Fields of Punishment, is a terrible place of eternal suffering and pain, reserved for the most retched and blasphemous of Souls.
The Dungeons of the Damned is a nightmarish, volcanic land of ingenious rock, filled with the screams of the damned. A cloud of grey smoke hangs in the sky, and both the River Cocytus and the River Phlegethon flows directly through the land, illuminating it with a mix of grey and fiery light.
The Dungeons of the Damned is the sentence for the Souls of those that committed terrible crimes against others, and particularly against the Gods. Within the Fields of Punishment, uniquely crafted punishments are designed and performed to specially torture those damned here for the rest of eternity. The Erinyes are said to reside here.
Rivers of the Underworld
There are five prominent rivers that flow through the Underworld, and are commonly used to transport shades and visitors through the land. Each of the river has either a God or Daimones personification of it, who serve as caretakers of the Underworld.
Acheron
The Acheron (Akheron) is the river of misery, pain and woe, and the domain of the Daimon Acheron. The Acheron the primary entrance to the Underworld, connecting the Veil to the Land of the Dead. The Souls of the dead linger on the far shores of the Acheron, waiting to be ferried across it's waters, primarily by the Daimon Charon, towards the Court of the Dead.
The waters of the Acheron are said to be a greenish colour, and to drink from the waters of the Acheron is said to result in a long, painful, and incurable death. The Acheron flows from the River Styx, through the Asphodel Meadows, and back into the Styx. Both the Rivers Cocytus and Phlegethon flow into the Acheron.
Cocytus
The Cocytus (Kokytos) is the river of wailing and lamentation, and the domain of the Daimon Cocytus. The waters of the Cocytus are said to be a dark grey colour, and perpetually ghostly cold. The Cocytus flows from the River Styx, through the Dungeons of the Damned, and into the River Acheron. The waters are said to wail with the cries of those murdered by your hands.
Lethe
The Lethe is the river of forgetfulness and oblivion, and the domain of the Daimon Lethe. The waters of the Lethe are said to be a dull yellowish colour, and drinking of the river’s waters is said to cause the drinker to forget all their memories. The Lethe flows from the River Styx, passing by the borders of Elysium and directly through Oneiron, the Land of Dreams, before returning to the Styx. The waters are said to murmur, inducing drowsiness in all that listen too closely.
Phlegethon
The Phlegethon (Pyriphlegethon) is the river of blazing-fire, and the domain of the Daimon Phlegethon. The Phlegethon is a stream of fire, lava and boiling mud that flows from the River Styx, through the Dungeons of the Damned, and into the River Acheron. It's fiery waters are said to be used in the torture of kinslayers, those who have killed their own family.
Styx
The Styx is the river of hatred and oaths, and the domain of the Goddess Styx. The River Styx marks the boundary between the world of the living, and the world of the dead, it is the largest of the Underworld Rivers and circles the entire realm. All the other four Rivers of the underworld flow from the Styx.
The waters of the Styx are said to be a bluish colour, and touching the river’s waters is said to cause intense and even lethal pain, but it is said that if you could withstand submerging yourself within the Styx, you would be bestowed with great power.
Any oath sworn on the waters of the River Styx is known as a Stygian Oath, the greatest and most dreadful oath that can be made, even for the Gods.
Local Language
Celestial
Comments