The Infinite Layers of the Abyss Part I

They came from all corners of the Flanaess, summoned by a challenge issued by one of their own.  They were wanderers, adventurers, scholars, and nobles.  Each a power unto themselves, collectively they were known as the Grey Sages.  Rhineglade the Dreamcaster, Member of the Indigo Order, Emissary of Hyerune, began an epic work with a challenge to his peers – to add to their collective knowledge by exploring the infinite layers of the Abyss.   

Each Grey Sage was left to their own devices on how to gain such knowledge.  Some scoured forbidden texts and ancient lore.  Others secured the services of bold adventurers to relate their tales to them.  A very few even ventured into the horrid Abyss itself and related their discovered from first-hand experience!  As part of the challenge, when a Grey Sage came back with news from a particular layer, they would give a name of another layer they had uncovered to the group.  Then, another Grey Sage would take up the gauntlet and start on their quest for knowledge on the newly named plane.  Rhineglade himself began the process with the 79th layer – The Interlocking Domain.

Layer 79: The Interlocking Domain by Rhineglade

The Interlocking domain is the dread mechanized layer controlled by Qizzit, a minor demon princeling. The layer itself is an artificial construct formed of interlocking iron, steel and adamantium pieces, walls and gears. The layer has no sun and is thus under a continual blanket of night. Random torches and oil fires provide the only sources of light. Periodic rains of vicious oil shower the layer and keep the various moving parts lubricated.

Qizzit is a demonic cyborg with mechanized implants that add to his already frightening appearance. Qizzit stands 15 feet tall with a deep red complexion, two large lumbering arms and clawed feet. Half of his face is covered by steel and two curved steel horns erupt from his forehead. He also possesses two mechanic tentacles the come from his back and end in vicious claws. Qizzit’s eyes burn an eerie amber color and any exposed skin is covered with dark black tattoos forming various demonic runes and icons. His power is said to be quite formidable and he fights with a +3 unholy acidic burst greatsword.

Modern sages from the city of Greyhawk do not believe that the moving parts of this layer serve any purpose (at least none that is known). The layer is populated mainly by dretches, barbau and a small population of vrock and meriliths. A number of powerful demon sorcerers are also said to have hidden strongholds on this layer.

Layer 119: The Aerie of Baleful Breezes by Tedra

The Aerie of Baleful Breezes is comprised of an as yet undetermined level of cliffs. A venerable gray elven sage in Veluna City, Lasaris, who is of questionable sanity, claims the rock formations consist of basalt, andesite, dactite and rhyolite. All of these chemical compounds can be commonly found in volcanic rock to those who are of a mind to study such things. The sage's studies reportedly state however that the cliffs do not resemble in sight, touch, or texture any volcanic rock that can be found on Oerth.

It is said to be somewhat spongelike and covered in a thin coating of viscous fluid that makes moving about the cliffs somewhat trying. The components of said fluid have not been completely studied as of yet, but does contain low levels of acids.

These cliffs are buffeted by strong, foul and unbreathable bursts of air which create a howling crescendo to mortal ears. He claims the mucilaginous fluid could possibly aid in traversing these treacherous cliffs, if one was protected some way from its corrosive acid, as one does have a tendency to stick.

Only rumor surrounds this layer's ruler. Scholars at the University of Magic in Greyhawk claim this layer may be infested by Vrock. Lasaris disagrees with such statements claiming, "Leave it to humans to arrive at such a simple conclusion. Cliffs and strong breezes equal winged Vrock."

Lasaris' theory is thus: The Aerie of Baleful Breezes is ruled by a succubus by the name of Alharia. As some know, succubi reproduce with mortal men creating foul Alu-fiend offspring. Lasaris assists succubi to travel to this layer of the abyss to birth these foul creatures. The cliffs of the aerie is a fetid repository of such birthings as is the corrosive, acid contaminated sludge that permeates the aerie. The buffeting wind is the result of the efforts of hordes of the winged birthing succubi, and the howling is not only a byproduct of the wind, but their cries of agony.  Ages old, Alharia oversees this process with several erinyes.

Lasaris concludes his findings by stating there are indeed a large number of Alu-fiends roaming this level of the abyss. And one is left to wonder about the mental state of Lasaris and his vast knowledge and adamant stance on his theory. Was the elf once seduced and in a cruel twist brought to see his foul offspring pulled forth from its infernal mother?

Layer 156: The Slithering Seas by Mortellan

This layer is covered in perpetual twilight above an endless miasma of polluted, unholy seas. The plane aptly gets its name from the abundance of water breathing creatures that live, eat and die here. In fact, the entirety of marine life here is from several thousand of species of snakes and eels, more than any loremaster has been able to catalogue to date. From the littlest snake to the most behemoth of fiendish eels, the seas are congested with these slithering beasts that writhe, swirl and shift in such numbers that they are what causes the currents in the seas. For any who ply the slithering seas on a boat these unpredictable slithering currents are a constant hindrance to travel. Falling overboard into the slithering deep is almost certain death. Even those immune to poisons or able to breath water soon are constricted to death by dozens of twining snakes. Dotted across the scaly waves of the Slithering Seas is small island pockets made of the petrified remains of serpents that coalesce together. These islands are oases for a myriad of crazed sailors from the across planes, such as Night Hags seeking a rare species of snake venom, or a Lich trying to capture a monstrous sized serpent to guard his moat.

Somewhere deep beneath these roiling seas of serpentine death is the de facto ruler of the Slithering Seas, Ssoletro, a Fiendish Yuan-ti Anathema. Ssoletro's origins are unknown outside Yuan-ti lore, where it is said he dared defy his god, Merrshaulk, and was cast into the Abyss where he survived and adapted to his new realm. Ssoletro's lair is inside the bowels of a Colossal Undead Sea Serpent. Ssoletro's is guarded by aquatic Thessalhydras and various aquatic demons that he has made pacts with.

Layer 404 : The Vanishing Plane by Anced Math

"Imagine a world from the perspective of a spider or krill...not a place, but a series of points that pass by, a point they hope to lock onto, if only for a moment; not a world like we know it but a shifting endless place where nothing is static, or ever the same again. A place where the only light is seen in the distance, before it vanishes.

Many scholars would think that this a description of Limbo or Pandemonium. Maybe the vanishing plane is the evil, perverse mirror of these places; one specifically designed to tear away the sanity of mortals.

Light is nonexistent, the world a place of near absolute darkness and emptiness. Something always floats at the periphery of vision, but nothing, not even a Cloak of Eyes allows one to see what is there. Unlike other planes, the Vanishing plane has no point of reference; there is no place to stand, no object to see. Occasionally an object seems to appear in the distance, maybe a castle, maybe a volcano, maybe home... but everything vanishes before it comes close enough to touch.

Persons visiting this plane cannot move, or if they can, it cannot be discerned. There is nothing to stand on, and one simply floats in the mists and shadows; if one is moving, flying, or walking, the endless plain is so unchanging that it cannot be identified. Simply keeping a reference on where a location is, or where other characters may be requires a Direction Check (DC 30) every round.

If that were the end of this insidious plane, it would be horrible enough, but it also seems to summon the worst fears of the visitor into reality. Creatures, of the lower planes, of home, of the elemental planes, of the outermost planes abound, always infused with both the energy of the infernal and that of chaos. They attack from the periphery, almost always achieving surprise, always vanishing before they can be destroyed. And they come in an unrelenting stream.

Finally, there is no rest... sleep is impossible, for every time one closes his eyes, the beasts attack. They know when the sleeper's consciousness leaves, and are almost never fooled (Bluff DC 35). So if you wish to leave, pray that you brought the means with you. No adventurer has ever found anything of use, no wizard has ever slept long enough to memorize that needed spell. And pray, for in the Vanishing Plane, the empty nothingness alone is enough to destroy most minds. "

Unnumbered Layer:  Jolly Anna the Succubus, Her House of Fun and its Gate to the Prime by WampaX

This raucous place is not a true layer of the Abyss, but more of a go-between. When a few of the layers suffered a tectonic shift of sorts, this pocket layer was squeezed off. Now, it floats around the layers, lingering in one place for a while before catching a dimensional eddy and becoming swept up into another layer. But that's just the back door.

"Welcome one and welcome all to Jolly Anna's House of Fun" emblazoned on the wall in glowing runes of shifting linguistic capacity is the first thing a being sees upon entering through the front door. A few enterprising Dao quickly change the decor and their appearances to match the desires of the being that has just stepped through the door. Jolly found that with her front door moving from place to place on the Prime, she would need an adaptive advertising schema as well as a flexible staff. In the eons that the House of Fun has been in business, Jolly has also collected a vast catalogue of erotic fantasies. Just when she thinks that she's seen it all, along comes another intimate grotesquery that it just has to go in the collection.

The space between the doors was mostly just a few dozen barren chambers upon the demi-layers creation. It trapped a few beings from both sides who immediately took to slaughtering each other until a particularly sharp and cunning succubus, named Jolt’ Anna, wandered into the back door and immediately saw the potential of the place. She charmed the socks of those she could and smooth talked to those immune to mind affecting magic. After a few transitions and acquiring the aid of a few like-minded Dao, Jolly Anne, as her workers had taken to calling her, invited in her first official guest. Once drained of all his possessions and several years of his life, the guest was given a vivacious send off out what he thought was the front door. Whatever layer he had actually stepped into isn't recorded in Jolly's records.

Well funded by clientele that eagerly bring their worldly possessions, the House of Fun has filled its rooms with beings from a dozen points on the prime material plane and a few from the many layers of the Abyss. Jolly Anne prides herself on being able to provide for any client, regardless of species, sex, or number of special parts.

Addendum by Anced Math

Sometime after her first millennium in business, the appreciative Demon Lord Ogúb-Shulurz, provided Jolt'Anna a with a magnificent portal; asking only that it bear his name. Unfortunately, one of Jolt'Anna's next victims from the prime immediately recognize the gate, declared it a Relic of the Realm of Dalt, and himself to be Aavod, a Patriarch of Dalt. Though he struggled mightily, he was doomed, being prepared for love, not war. Today you will still see him, sweeping up behind visitors who enter through Dalt's Gate.

It was also from Aavod that she learned that Dalt's portal could spawn other permanent portals. In Leukish, the small temple to Dalt still records that he was lost trying to convert a House of Vice. Jolt'Anna has actually sponsored a festival in his honor, as the patron of women of ill repute.

Oddly, it was this experience that led, all those years ago, to Jolt'Anna's adoption of her name, Jollyanna, and her favorite pastime... the seduction and conversion of priests and paladins. She heard legends of a young girl who was always happy, and adopted a moniker to mock the silly story. It is in this guise, a blond pigtailed beauty, that she lures the steadfast and righteous into her house. She has been amazingly successful, and keeps 21 fallen holy warriors and patriarchs as servants in the House of Fun.

Jolly Anna is not the average succubus, in that she extremely intelligent, takes the initiative, and is Chaotic Neutral. Some people see good, evil and neutrality as a spectrum, with Good as white, Evil as red, and Neutrality as the pink in the middle. Jolly Anna looks more like a peppermint stick. The parts of her that are good are pure and clean; the parts that are evil are as malignant as anything from her plane of origin.

As of CY 590 Jolly Anna has come to love Oerth, having established Portals in Redspan, Dyvers, Verbabonc, Niole Dra, and Hochoch. Oddly, she has established a well-deserved reputation as the patron of lost children, hosting large soup kitchens in each city, feeding thousands every day. She fences the arms, equipment, and relics of her "customer's," then she imports foodstuffs from where they are cheap, usually Keoland, and bring it through her portals to the other cities. This cover allows her to accomplish two things: she spends a great deal of time stalking the holy and self righteous, who like being seen frequenting her kitchens, and 2) it allows her to fool those who might detect her abyssal nature. Thus, she has been amazingly successful. She keeps 12 fallen holy warriors and 23 patriarchs as servants and janitors in the House of Fun. "and," she quips, "their hard work and wealth serve more children meals every day than they ever did flaunting around as wise men."

Layer 426: 'The Belly of the Beast' by Muscles

Imagine a cavern, lit only by a deep crimson glow. The stench of loosened bloodclots beg your nostrils to shut, but somehow you manage to keep your last meal down. You shut your eyes and pray your last prayer you will ever pray: "God help me". Reluctantly your eyes open to the red gloom and you stare at your feet, a snotty-slime slops slowly along the floor..? Vapors rise from it, stinging your eyes. As you blink back the tears to look up from your feet, you cry out something meaningless. The 'cavern's' arched wall is pulsing, fleshy. A passage..? Heading slowly down...

Bumped from behind you see a diminutive human (are you a giant here?) He/She claws for you briefly, but is caught in the fetid flow. It screams in a language you should not understand. You see it standing on its... knees? scrambling against the current. Where'd its feet go? You look at your own boots, they're smoking! You're nobody's fool, wickedly brave as you are. You turn to rush up the runny slope, but you're feet find no traction.

The shinless man's screams echoing, jarring, familiar. Running like mad, moving slightly toward the wall you reach to climb the slickening wall. Grasping that wall, like so much flesh, it kneads away from your infamous iron grip, sucking the skin from your palms, beneath you, the ooze begins to pull... The faint echoes of a hysterical being rises from the gullet you're being dragged into, you join the infernal chorus. "God help me"

The 'tunnel' is an abysmal esophagi appendage. It eats the body as it slides down to the belly, where the body's trunk is burst and the souls larvae begins its eternal writhing for survival. Vrock circle the larvae masses taking some to their various masters pleasure. At the bottom of the stomach (like a gross lake) are 666 larvae sucking tubes that feed the denizens of the abyss, Doling out larvae as the strength of evil of the receiving plane can command. The only treasure here are the larvae, used throughout the lower planes as a gruesome currency.


Layer 606: The Shrieking Pit Of The Eternally Damned by Cruel Summer Lord

The Shrieking Pit of the Eternally Damned is a plane of the Abyss known to give devils nightmares, which speaks to its horrors and the crimes committed by those confined to its fell prisons, and worst of all the horrendous banquets that take place here...

The Pit, as it is commonly known to the inhabitants of the Abyss, is the home where the vilest of chaotic evil mortal scum are confined. Murderers, rapists, sadists, torturers, those who attack women and children, those who commit genocide for personal gain, those whose names send terror down the spines even of other wicked folk. Most souls judged chaotic and evil and sent to the Abyss are turned into manes or larvae, but these especially evil beings are confined here to serve several different purposes.

The first and most obvious is for the demons who control the Abyss to test these souls and choose the best of them to serve the demons as their servants and minions, bypassing the normal requirements to become a demon. The souls are tortured by the demons, forced to endure nightmarish brain-warping hallucinations, or made to fight bloody battles with one another. The winners of these sick contests are carried off by the demons, while the rest are left to wallow in the Pit, until the next round of contests sponsored by the demons begins, serving the other tasks the demons give to them.

For all their hatreds, horrific wars, and other atrocities they commit against one another, the demons frequently gather in the Pit to host the most sumptuous banquets, which involve everything from sacrifice, tortures, orgies, the eating alive of creatures captured from the Upper Planes of Good or from the lawful evil planes, and other activities too lurid and disgusting to mention here. The waiters and servants at these banquets are the evil souls of the Pit, who also provide entertainment of one form or another to the demons in attendance. This hellish existence has no respite, and lasts until some demon takes it into their black hearts to free one of the wretches.

Also, the Pit serves as an excellent source of knowledge, pleasure and advice. The souls of the Pit are often consulted by demons when the latter need information to answer a specific question or resolve one of their own dilemmas. If the souls refuse to comply, they are flogged, burned, abused, or otherwise made to suffer until they tell the demons what they want to know. Of course, the souls are always made to suffer in this manner, and demons can come down here to relieve frustrations, tensions, or boredom on the hapless beings of the Pit, or simply to relax and watch other demons take their turn and their pleasure abusing those who, in their mortal lives, did so much to deserve their fates.

Layer 317: The Lost City of Pandemonium by Anced Math

Many people believe that the moment of Creation occurred with the Advent of Light. Ogin knows that this is not true. Memory is the advent of creation, just as writing is consider by most as the indicator of civilization.  Ogin rules Layer 317 of the Abyss, the Lost City of Pandemonium. What Ogin is, is a matter of conjecture; when those can, remember to conject. It is noted in the Codex of Infinite Planes that he was there at the beginning.

It is also noted that he may have been the genesis of memory, and remembrance is his bane. Who or what he was in the beginning is unknown, but it is known that he was not evil in the incarnate way that demons and devils are evil. Rather, he committed an act, and relives it in his memory eternally. This has driven him mad, but he cannot die and cannot forget.

The lost city is not lost in the usual sense of the word, for some of the rulers of other layers know exactly where it is. They know however, that it is one of the most treacherous places in all the multiverse, and the fate that afflicts its residents afflicts all equally.

The City is lost in that it is difficult to remember. Oddly, it is the trick of civilization that defeats the trick of creation. What people cannot remember, they often write down. This has occurred on numerous occasions, so the Lost City is known.

The unusual thing about Ogin is that he engenders forgetfulness. In the Lost City, thousands of souls wander aimlessly, unable to remember where they are, or what their motivations are. Anyone approaching the Layer must make a will save Hourly (DC 25), or simply forget where they are going. Writing down their destination reduces this DC by 5.

In the City, visitors must make a will save every 10 minutes (DC 30) or forget where they are, who they are, where they come from, or why they are here. Once this save is failed, the person can only retry when some event "triggers," a memory, but each time it becomes more difficult. Add 2 to the DC each additional attempt. These modifiers are cumulative, and have no maximum. Attempting to save 10 times would result in a DC of 50 on the last attempt.

Removing a person from the plane reduces the DC by 10, but the addition continues to occur. Thus, an afflicted mage returning to the Wizardry College of Greyhawk who has not attempted but one save must make a will save DC 20. If he fails it goes to 22.

Those who are afflicted cannot remember. They cannot do anything but eat and sleep. They cannot prepare meals or go to bed, they will simply chew what is placed in their mouth, or fall to sleep when they are tired.

This affect is strongest in the presence of Ogin. While Ogin is in sight, a character must save every other round. The DC is 30. Ogin can, at will suppress this ability. However, if a character has already forgotten their past (failed a save) then this just allows them to remember from that moment on. They will remember all of their skills and feats, but will not know why they can do such things.

Ogin uses these people to build his city. He calls the city Memory, but it's appearance is that of Pandemonium. Ogin cannot selectively suppress his forgetfulness, and therefore, he must allow the whole of the city to remember. The result of this is that the undead souls who are building the city often forget and then start over. Streets often dead end, rooms have no doors, buildings have no rooves, etc. The dead are effectively infernal shadows, but bear no malice or motivation. They will defend themselves if attacked, but only as long as Ogin suppresses his aura.

If a character touches or passes through one of the souls, then they are treated as if they were hit by a shadow, plus they must make an additional save versus forgetfulness.

Ogin wanders the city instructing his minions in the construction. Anyone who approaches Ogin can talk with him, provided they make their saves. He is the only resident of the city, other than the lost.  Only devices that affect will save have any affect upon this aura.

Layer 318: Houses of the Caged Legions by Osmund-Davizid

Eons ago, an ill fated baatezu force attempted to invade the Abyss as part of the Blood War. The great Marilith general, Rehnaremme, led the demonic army that crushed a large force of barbazu and abishi devils that became separated from its commanders and unable to retreat back to Baator.

Rehnaremme was anxious to understand and use her enemy, and so she directed her troops to try to take prisoners. Remarkably, some of her troops obeyed this order and a large amount of these lower level devils were disarmed and brought before Rehnaremme. She had these prisoners taken to layer 318, a wild and unstable Abyssal plane. There, she conducted vile experiments on the baatezu, attempting to create a demonic race with the outward appearance and abilities of devils.

The devils were placed in specially wrought cages and exposed to plumes of raw chaos that erupted from the plane's surface like volcanic lava. Some devils had grafts of demonic body parts put on them, some had demonic ichor transfused into their blood, others were endlessly treated to suggestion and charm spells until their minds broke.

Rehnaremme's experiments partially succeeded. A new type of hybrid fiend was created out of these efforts. Unfortunately, the tortures and mutations made the former baatezu totally out of any control of Rehnaremme and are now completely insane. The devil-demonic hybrid is now something not entirely baatezu and not wholly demonic. Some individual creatures appear physically unchanged, some have developed different abilities and immunities. In short, no two individuals are alike and all share a burning hatred of their captors.

Rehnaremme does not know what to do with her new army. An attempt to release them from their cages to throw at the baatezu resulted in an army that turned on the demons and shredded them. It is clear that Rehnaremme cannot control them and their mutations make them unable to act as infiltrators for the Blood War. To Rehnaremme's horror, the hybrid fiends have begun to reproduce themselves (probably the result of them being exposed to too much raw chaos) and seem to have an ability to pass on their insanity by wounding their opponents. The "Caged Legions" have now almost total control of the layer, making the "inmates running the asylum"!

Rehnaremme has what forces are left to her desperately making more cages to hold the ever-increasing legion of these hybrid fiends. The cages fill the whole of a grey plane, with great plumes of raw chaos erupting out of fissures scattered about the layer. The hybrids grind their teeth, and slaver at the thought of escape and are always madly struggling to break their cages and slay all demonic life they see.

Rehnaremme herself fears for her life as she controls the last major intact cell blocks on the planes. Other demon lords have declared this plane as a quarantine and nervously monitor the expansion of this enraged army. There remains a few pockets of demons who vainly attempt to keep the legion caged off from the portals that lead to other levels of the Abyss. Only time will tell if this legion will grow into a power to its own in the Abyss.

Layer 589: Dominion of the Sapphire Queen (formerly The Bloodheart) by Cebrion

The Dominion of the Sapphire Queen, or the Bloodheart as it is formerly known, is a plane of suspended highways made up of monstrous pulsating blue veins and deep red arteries, with pulsing structures of muscle and sinewy blood vessels thrusting skyward at main junctions throughout. The vesicular highways originate at the center of the plane, which is taken up by a massive pulsating heart, growing out of which is the Sanguine palace, a structure of muscle, sinew, and a mass of engorged blood vessels. Sages theorize that these vessels and tissues come from the body of a long dead god that fell prey to the lords of the Abyss, while yet others claim they are the remains of a vast demonic lord that once ruled the whole of the Abyss before being toppled from power by its traitorous minions, known now as the various demon lords of the Abyss. At the center of the Sanguine Palace within a pool of blood where all souls from the blood pools pass through sits the Throne of Blood. It is from here that the Sapphire Queen, a demonic mage of unknown power, rules her gory domain.

Along the periphery of the blood vessels that striate the plane are structures of muscle fiber and sinew that form pools which bubble with arterial blood and are constantly surrounded by the susurrating moans of the tortured souls of the damned that have arrived at the plane and are drawn into the pools, traveling along them to the Sanguine Palace, and the Bloodheart below it. Within the Bloodheart, the veins carrying the newly arrived souls terminate within a vast pool, where they are processed by the demonic servants of the Sapphire Queen. Some are consumed, while most are sent on their way to the arterial blood pools, which ring the Bloodheart. From these overflowing pools are birthed various demonic creatures from the corrupted souls of the damned. The most numerous of these are the dretch and babau, while a very select few become succubi, according to the Sapphire Queen’s will. Surrounding most of the arterial blood pools are clumps of swollen membranous tissue, from which burst forth larvae and the occasional quasit. The overflow of the various arterial blood pools falls to the floor of the plane, covering it in a sea of blood within which float islands of living tissues, some with living towers fashioned from muscle and sinew, where hezrou and cambion vampires make their lairs. A hazy reddish fog of blood is ever present in the breathable atmosphere of the Dominion of the Sapphire Queen, as are roving demonic vampiric mists that feed on the unwary. The blood mist coats all within the plane in a thin sheen of sticky red gore.

Throughout the arterial highways of the plane loom pulsating towers of living tissue, where the armies and other minions of the Sapphire Queen dwell. These are mainly composed of dretch and babau troops, which are often led by enhanced babau, succubi, hezrou, nabbasu, and more than a few vampire servants who find the arterial blood of the plane particularly invigorating. Uninvited visitors to the Dominion of the Sapphire Queen will either have their blood drained into the blood pools or, if they are less fortunate, taken to The Bloodheart for some much more personal attention at the hands of the Sapphire Queen and her court.

The Sapphire Queen:  Centuries ago, the offspring of a succubus and an unknown demon lord was summoned forth from The Bloodheart to be the plaything of a powerful arch mage. Her name was Murmyzyth, and she served the master of The Bloodheart, the balor Shaounok. For decades she was enslaved to her mortal master. Over time she succeeded in seducing her master and learning most of his magical secrets, becoming a powerful mage in her own right. It was not long before Murmyzyth was able to break free of her mortal master’s will and steal his soul, gaining even more power in the process. Before long she became too great a threat to the surrounding lands and was sought out by powerful servants of weal and banished to her true master’s realm, the five hundred and eighty-ninth plane of the Abyss, which was and still is known among sages as The Bloodheart.

Having returned to the Sanguine Palace of her true master, Murmyzyth used her newfound powers to seduce the balor. After a month of particularly base debauchery, the succubus succeeded in binding the sated Balor to her will and fed upon it’s essence to become something far more than what she had been born as. Murmyzyth took control of the Bloodheart, and took on the title of The Sapphire Queen, a reference to the colossal bluish veins that feed the blood pools of the Sanguine Palace with the newly arrived souls of the wayward and the damned. It is also an affectation of her favorite gemstone.

The Sapphire Queen appears as a white-skinned succubus with lustrous wavy blue-black hair and wings of midnight black. Her cat-like eyes glow a deep blood red and are framed by sultry blue-black lashes. Her lips are brilliant azure in color while her teeth are purest gleaming white, and her horns and nails are jet black, fading to brilliant blue at the tips. She often wears evocative diaphanous robes of black silk, embroidered with designs in platinum and blue silk thread, along with a delicate platinum tiara set with sapphires and rubies. She has consorted with both Orcus and Grazzt in the past, though she has cleverly avoided allying with one over the other so far. She currently hosts an envoy of each within the Sanguine Palace. Murmyzyth spends most of her time seeking a means to increase her power and join the ranks of the lords of the Abyss. To that end she is constantly experimenting with the blood pools, and continues to absorb the essences of those of her minions who displease her. She also seeks powerful mortals to seduce into her service, so as to gain more agents on the prime material plane. She is particularly fascinated by vampires, and has no trouble luring any that interest her to her realm of blood.



Layer 227: The Hanging Gardens of Mahgra-Toh by GVDammerung

In Mahgra-Toh, all sense of spatial orientation vanishes. There is no sky and no ground below. There is only vast, verdant space in which hang multitudes of vines, lianas and creepers, which in turn support myriad orchid blooms, garlands of protea, shoots of anthuriums and uncounted varieties heliconias. No gravity defines up from down and the ever present greenery grows so thickly that distance is swallowed in the foreground, not even a stone’s throw away. A yellow-green light filters dimly for nowhere and everywhere and the warm air is thick with the humid scents of foliage - exotic flowers and decaying vegetation. These are the Hanging Gardens.

Floating in Mahgra-Toh movement is almost impossible. One cannot fall for there is no gravity. One cannot walk for there is no ground. One cannot swim for there is no water. One cannot fly as the hanging plants hang too densely. It is only possible to pull oneself along or swing from vine to vine. Nothing impedes such movement for the plants all seem anchored to nothing but each other and, then, only loosely.

Unbroken is the monotony of the all encompassing green, except splashes of flowering color that will flash then vanish when a seeming wind that comes from nowhere rustles the vines. No cities are to be found. No monuments. Nothing. The Hanging Gardens of Mahgra-Toh is a plane totally dominated by vegetation. Animals and insects are non-existent. Sentient life of any native sort appears non-existent. Only creatures and beings trapped from outside may be found within, struggling for survival. Neither will for long survive. While beautiful, Mahgra-Toh is deadly.

Every flower’s petals are razor sharp. Every bit of pollen, nectar or sap is poisonous. Worst are the fungi that grow in damp boles formed by overgrowths of plants, one upon the other. They take root wherever there is moisture. Human sweat. The oil on a blade. Leather kept supple. Beaded moisture on armor. They are omnivorous and, given time, will break down and compost any material or organism not native to Mahgra-Toh. Magic that prevents any and all physical contact with the environment is the only periapt. Indeed, without magical aid, survival within the Hanging Gardens is apt to be short and painfully unpleasant. Yet, something lurks here.

The Hanging Gardens of Mahgra-Toh are moved by breezes of unknown origin. In truth, it is not wind that moves through the foliage. The plane is the home of nearly incorporeal fiends whose invisible passing subtly disturbs the hanging plant life. These are the Mahgra-Toh. The souls of sinister druids, corrupt rangers, venal farmers and sentient plants of evil disposition may be drawn in death toward the Hanging Gardens. Amidst a verdant beauty that mocks their lives spent defiling nature upon the Prime Material Plane, they become prey of the Mahgra-Toh.

From among the ranks of the most powerful of the Mahgra-Toh, it happens that those grown most puissant feeding on souls may manifest physically on the Prime Material Plane, possessing and warping plants in areas saturated with evil or blighted with malignant growths. Plant Demons they are called and take an infinite variety of forms. They are, however, Mahgra-Toh and will resist all efforts to return then to the insubstantiality of their existence in the Hanging Gardens. Physicality is for the Mahgra-Toh a luxuriant sensation, an aphrodisiac existence in which they can not only sense but feel. And nothing feels better than the destruction of other physical beings with ones own appendages, be it bows, branches, roots, vines or flowers. Learning of Prime Material worlds from their fellows banished back to the Hanging Gardens after defeat, all Mahgra-Toh now long to seed the Prime Material Plane, to take root there and bloom in a new, fleshy garden.

To be continued…