Avernus

Keep waisting my time with your pointless words and die, or join my war bank and live. Choose swiftly. I have a plane to conquer. - Zariel addressing emissaries from Dis.

Geography

The layer was a charred wasteland of vast ashen plains covered in rubble and the occasional line of foothills and basalt mountains heaped with broken rocks of obsidian and quartz. The ubiquitous presence of rocks and boulders, some of which seemed to resemble tormented faces and shapes of creatures, rendered the terrain extremely treacherous and difficult to cross at any pace quicker than a fast walk.
A blood-red light suffused the very air and huge fireballs flew at random through the sky, occasionally impacting and exploding wherever they hit. There was no sun or stars in the Avernus sky. Travelers needed to get to shelter like a building or cave, lest they inevitably be struck.
As with all the lower planes, the River Styx ran through Avernus, with a number of offshoots and falls. Rivulets, lakes, and streams flowed across Avernus's plains and fed the Styx. The source of this blood was not known; devils claimed it probably came from all who had died on Avernus.
The layer's territory was also in a constant state of expansion by military conquest. The Styx, which at one point flowed at the edge of the layer, was later located at its center thanks to a relentless baatezu campaigning and conquering of gate-towns along the layer's edges.

Alternative Name(s)

Battlefield of Blood, First Layer of Baator

Type

Multiverse

Owner/Ruler

Zariel