AVALAS

The most populated layer of Acheron is its first, Avalas. Giant metal cubes float lazily in the poorly-lit smoke-filled air. All of them are pitted and scarred from the numerous collisions with other cubes, and most are larger than a house – and some are as large as continents! They are formed of iron, and it is widely believed by planar scholars that they coalesce naturally from the ore of the multiverse. Most cubes are hollow or riddled with tunnels, into which scurry the countless armies and military factions that fight their endless battles against one another. Each cube holds its own gravity, pulling things to their center and allowing creatures to walk along all six external faces with no impediment.

A cube collides with another in the smoky air of Avalas on an irregular basis, usually between one and four days, but whenever it happens the ringing can be heard across the layer. The goblins and orcs usually take this as a sign to mount an offensive against one another, while other military forces across the layer make plans for their never-ending wars.

The River Styx also winds its way through Avalas, a conduit to other locations across the lower planes. The river seems to obey no rational laws, however – on one cube, it may flow across a face in a deep channel, spilling over the side, only to disappear and reappear in another cube thousands of miles away. Sometimes the river’s flow changes, and there are some planar scholars who track the changes and believe it holds a key to unlocking a greater mystery within Acheron.