AVERNUS

The top-most layer of the Nine Hells is the most frequently visited by outsiders and serves as a titanic battlefield in the never-ending Blood War. Countless ruined castles and fortresses sit amidst the broken landscape of crimson stone beneath an ever-red sky of anger and fiery ruthlessness. Rivers of blood weave in and around the small peaks and valleys created by the shifting landscape, though they pale in comparison to the waters of the River Styx.

There are more portals to the rest of the multiverse on Avernus than anywhere else in the Nine Hells, but when a devil commander discovers one of these they often move quickly to build a fortress around it in order to secure it from attacks by demons. The rule of Avernus has passed between multiple hands but currently sits with Zariel, a fallen angel who deposed the previous ruler Bel. Zariel rules from a floating basalt citadel and through arcane might and a deep connection with the layer she is able to rain fireballs down upon the landscape at irregular intervals.

Unlike the other Lords of the Nine, Zariel is not attended to by a host of devil dukes and duchesses. Instead, Avernus is home to the Outcast Dukes – powerful devils that have been banished from their realms in the lower Nine Hells and now must fight for scraps on the edge of the Blood War. Avernus is wracked by constant war and strife, and while Zariel rules, there is too much going on across the layer for her to keep her attention focused on all of it.