The Nine Layers of the Abyssal Hells of Baator, Planar Topography on the Inverted Spire

Written by Higovertz Ghelen, Monk and Scholar of He-Who-Would-Judge-Man Dyeus, printed 4th of Meridian, 455 A.E.

Each Prime Layer of the Hells is a hierarchical jungle where an Archdevil rules over the minor demonlings therein. For every Damnation (layer), there is a deadly sin; and for every deadly sin, there is a single, corrupted virtue beholden to one of the Seven. Beyond the Seven Damnations, there lie two more layers of which only the blackest of heart are condemned to.

Liminal Superlayer

The Void, the endless black in which floats the Inverted Spear of the Heavens. Calenthesus, an armament wielded by Oriath Sevagoth Himself to bind the Red Dragon to the black-between-the-stars and the abyss-beneath-the-firmament. The divine weapon pierced the Betrayer by the heart, and from Her blood came devils. The Darkness Ch'thon corrupted the Dragon, once a loyal godbeast to the Divine. And now, She laid with the Darkness, forever bound to it by the heart.

Her spawn, borne in from blood unwhole, hath made its way through the spear; termites upon wood. Nine layers were formed through their clawing and so the Nine Abyssal Hells were born; an inverted spire wrought from the remains of divinity, of the haft and spear-tip of Calenthesus.

As a nest of termites can bring down any construction of man given enough time, so hath the devilspawn brought low the Heavenly Spear.

The Hells are wrought of the communion of the Inverted Spire, the Void upon which Calenthesus resides, and the River Pallus that flows over the Spear and through its now-rotten pores.

The River Pallus, the shadow-artery of existence that binds souls to flow to their proper place, be it another life, a layer of the Hells, or one of the Heavenly Demesnes.

The Superficial Layer of Tsalmaveth, the Place Where Lost Shadows Dwell. Souls without a faith of any kind, be it Sevenfold or whatever else, that find themselves lost and without direction for their next life are sent here. Also called Sheol, the Lands of the Dead, this is a realm where distorted shades and remnant wills pace and pace and pace, never to find their way.

Called the Scummer’s Layer, this infernal realm is the debris that bubbles up from the festering cauldron of the Hells Proper, but leftover dross drifting through the River Pallus.

The Zeroth Layer of Limbus, the sands and banks of the Pale River closest to the Abyss. Limbus is a place of contemplation where sinners with hearts not black enough for the Nine proper dwell on their mistakes until their transgression is washed away by the cleansing, greyen waters.

Though this is a purgative layer, no soul ascends to the Seven Heavens; instead they are reincarnated, to live within the flesh once again so that they may prove worthy of ascension.

To live with the Seven Above is to absolve oneself of the Seven Deadly Sins, each leading to their respective Infernal Layer in the Seven Damnations; these are no simple transgressions, but instead a mixture between act and state of mind and spirit.

The Seven Deadly Sins are corruptions of divine ideals and portfolio, such as a man taking up unjust wrath, for only is Oriath’s and the Gods’ anger just.

The Seven Damnations are named as such for they are predicated upon a singular deadly sin. Each sinner bound to this layer may achieve absolution, for though they are damned—condemned—their punishment may be met and their souls cleansed.

The Two Perditions are eternal forevermore. Should a soul find themselves in the Perditions, they are well and truly lost to the Nine. Sin that takes one here is not to be committed, reserved only for the highest of taboos.

For a soul to ascend from Limbus, they must find their way from within the nebulous sand, and then lose themselves once more in the waters of Lethea, the Lake of Absolution. This supernatural body of water doth not truly absolve anyone of sin, simply providing those that have done so themselves with a method to reenter the Wheel of Reincarnation.

The Lethea purges memory, and as Limbus is a place of the purging of sin has been called Purgatory by many a khristi, by many a priest.