Tartarean Depths of Hell
Hell is the lowest of the Nine Realms, a nightmarish chasm that stretches far into the very bowels of the Multiverse. From above, its appearance is reminiscent of a giant target, a great circular pit with nine concentric circles that endlessly spiral downward into darkness. Though none are more or less treacherous than the other, each circle differs greatly from the last, and is governed by a different infernal duke, their dominion marked by the wails of the damned. The cold, lifeless water of the River Styx, the mouth of the River of Souls in the Lower Realms, courses through every one of Hell’s circles from its hidden source in the Astral Sea.
The plane is mainly inhabited by devils, a wicked class of creatures lead by the fallen celestial Asmodeus, who transformed Hell from a mere ominous pit into the ultimate prison it is today. Long ago, before the devils even existed, this realm was known as Tartarus by its original inhabitants, the asuras, who have since been relegated to the lower circles. These native asuras find no kinship with the devils, whom they perceive as foolish usurpers, obsessed with fighting the forces of good when they should be directing their hatred toward the gods themselves. Deep beneath Hell itself, the True-Form of Xol, the only evil god in The Nine, remains imprisoned. The other gods entrusted Asmodeus with the key to Xol’s cage for safekeeping, and throughout the plane, Xol’s ceaseless attempts to break free can be felt in the form of shuddering quakes and unintelligible rumbling from below.
For more about the nine circles of Hell and their rulers, see The Fallen Ones article in Legendary Creatures.
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