Septinum, The Hells Beneath All Creation

Posted: December 22, 2010 | Author: Dennis N. Santana | Filed under: Campaigns, Fluff/Inspiration, RPG, Spirits Of Eden |Leave a comment »

The southern portion of the Eden planet is consumed in a cloud of darkness. Only half the planet seems ever visible, the half with the supercontinent of Adel. But there exists more land in this mostly unmoving world, land both connected and not connected to Adel, both known and forgotten. Septinum is a society, a series of kingdoms in the dark yet burning wastes of the Hells Beneath All Creation with their own culture, their own agriculture, their own ecosystem, and their own lives. The world of Adel ends, and the black fog surrounding the lower portion of the planet transports one to a world as though trapped in a cave. A black sky shines overhead, with false crystalline stars far out of reach and rocky fangs reaching down as though to suggest a roof. A perpetual gloom spreads across its wastes – some merely rocky, empty expanses and others entrapped tunnels of rock, others burning environs of liquid and gaseous fire. In this place, a culture that oddly mirrors the outside world has developed, caged by the walls of stone around even their most vast plains and valleys, walls that reach forever upward into an endless darkness.

Origins of Hell

Septinum is an odd place. Though geographically at the southern hemisphere of the Eden planet, it is not really a part of the planet, because it is impossible for the ocean to empty into a vast cave that sees no sun and has no sky. It happens almost abruptly, and when one enters Septinum through the sea, the sea vanishes, or perhaps, morphs into the Pampa river that seems to run through all of Septinum, and there is no physical way back.

Nobody has determined how Septinum functions, both physically and metaphysically. Travel to it through the sea is possible but Adelians believe they’ll fall off the edge of the world if they go too far (though they are not flat-earthers, as the Dromidae have been able to easily enlighten them on the shape of their planet, they are rather correct in this assessment for other reasons), so they don’t do it. Rather, magic is used to bridge the two worlds – when they are even deigned to be bridged, that is. It is also possible to reach Septinum, according to anecdotal accounts, by swimming into the darkest depths of the ocean floor, which are connected to Septinum. Few, of course, can attempt such a feat.

Septinum is touched by the Forlorn Void more terribly than Adel is. Whereas it is rare for an aberrant beast to form in Adel, they are merely uncommon in Septinum – and there is a dangerous increase in frequency between “rare” and “uncommon.” Unlike Adel, Septinuum sees no real sky. It is a cave without a visible ceiling. Though stalactites hang overhead, anyone who flies up to them will see that they stretch up endlessly as well. Though there are stars in the sky of Septinum that provide meager light, they are unreachable and no amount of magnification will allow them to be seen. The denizens of the hells believe these stars are crystals of incredible value.

The origin story of Septinum recalls the time post-cataclysm when the world was righting itself and the mortal races struggled to survive and grow in their nascent, slowly-healing new world. The Spirits were tasked with repairing and maintaining the world, as they were the new vessels of the Ancient Magic the humans had misused. During this time, all Spirits obeyed the subtle, disembodied whisperings of The World. When their labor was done,  The World ceased to whisper, and they were given the “freedom” they enjoy today.

All save for the Ashura – a class of Spirits that wanted the mortal world as their own realm. The Ashura were said to be a class of laborious spirits once under many banners, but all of whom saw that with their labors complete, the world should now be their kingdom. The Ashura’s longing for things not their own made them grow to embody many negative things – whereas other Spirits had a smattering of both positive and negative aspects of the mortal concepts in the minds of mankind, the Ashura were taking on almost exclusively the negatives. Just as humanity awoke from an age of darkness, darkness ensnared the Ashura and made them covet and scheme.

The Ashura got their wish for a world their own. From them, Four Devas of great power arose to challenge the current divine powers – The Nine that wished to protect Adel and its people, and the Five Scourges bent on Adel’s destruction. After a bloody battle between the Four Devas of the Ashura, the Five Scourges of Eden, and the Nine Greater Spirit Powers, the Scourges were sealed away, the Devas killed and the Ashura banished to Septinum – the repository for all the wreckage of the Old World that didn’t end up somewhere in Eden. In short, a wasteland filled with terrible magic and monsters.

Like most things pre-Canon of Arcline, the creation story of Eden is vague and there are a multitude of versions of it, but more importantly, none of the Ashura reference or acknowledge it. For them, Septinum is just their natural place, and indeed, most Ashura nobility and intelligentsia will show little interest in Adel. They have their own world to explore. The Devas are the only part known not to be fiction – Spirits descended from them exist not only in Septinum, but also in Adel. Legends tell that the influence of the Four Devas can come to reside in newborn spirits, like an unwanted blood trait.

The Katabasis

Legends have told of many odd ways to get to Septinum. The simplest way but most random and time-consuming way is to wait for a Seam to open. Seams are ruptures in Adel that lead into Septinum, often appearing near rivers. Seams lead from a body of water into the Pampas, the river which flows throughout all of Septinum. It is said that the Pampas carries the mournful feelings of all of Adel’s people to the Hells Beneath All Creation, where they become Ashura. This is untrue. Ashura can be born this way, but they are typically born from another Ashura in a reproductive act, be it from eggs, birth, being hand-made or some other manner, depending on the Ashura caste.

The Pampas is an endless river that winds its way through the endless hells. Sailing along the Pampas allows one to travel through all the Hells, in a never-ending fall. The mournful river attracts the traveler to go further and further, so only the most strong-willed of people sail it and only with a goal clear in mind that can allow them to return home.

The safest way to travel to Septinum is to utilize gateway magic to make it there. To do so requires a teleportation circle. Unfortunately, the magic to teleport long distances has been mostly lost to the Cataclysmic past, so no new teleportation circles can be made. Pre-existing circles are usually connected to each other as a form of international travel, and rerouting them to Hell requires the permission of the national government controlling the circle. Such permission will hardly ever be granted.

But one last means to travel to Septinum exists. There are many Spirits that have gateway-type magic to offer, for a price. Sikara for one are very adept at teleportation – travel is their forte. A Sikara will accept payment for a two-way trip to Septinum, sticking by the customer until he or she wishes to return. Or, for the truly foolhardy, an even cheaper alternative is a one-way trip, without the Sikara to bring one back.

Hell And Earth

Mythology has greatly romanticized the descent into hell, but in reality, Septinum and Adel have very little to do with each other officially. On a national scale, none of the Adelian governments have anything to do with the monarchies of Septinum. Individuals and organizations, however, may have some minor agreements with the monarchies, allowing them to trade and purchase local goods in Septinum to bring to Adel. Ashura are always giddy over trinkets from Adel, especially anything colorful or bright.

Ashura who end up in Adel through Seams can cause numerous problems. Freed from the gray, rigid society of Septinum and dazzled by the color and beauty in Adel, the worst of the Ashura is brought out. Though some can control themselves, most Ashura become covetous, lustful and predatory. Whatever dark nature they had before is amplified to incredible degrees by the lack of Ashura authority to boss them around. Stories of giant Agashura snakes building nests out of the corpses of villagers, of Kashipu wandering the countryside eating cattle and crops and leaving befouled soil in their wake, of Hiranyaksha kidnapping villagers they’ve fallen in love with and vanishing with them forever, and many more are common mythology with much truth to them.

However, just as often, Ashura on Adel are sent by a King or Queen of a kingdom in Septinum towards some goal. The Ashura don’t entirely ignore Adel – they know that there is a world above, but they don’t often have any interest in it. But when they do develop an interest, it can be terrifying. Using the Kashipu Ashura’s ability to bridge worlds, the Ashura can storm in vast hosts to Adel at the whim of their King or Queen, searching for artifacts, for long-lost beautiful plants or works of art, or even merely to kidnap a single man or woman as a concubine for their ruler’s harem. Whatever their Monarch’s petty desire, the Ashura revel in the chance to fight opponents likely to be weaker than they are. Fighting other Ashura all the time is challenging and tedious.

The Wastes And Infernos

Septinum is as though an endless cave containing its own continent. Rib-like protrusions of cave wall mar otherwise vast plains of uneven soil, which eventually close into networks of narrow tunnels before opening again elsewhere. Hills swell and crags cut deep across broken landscapes. Where the land is flat, Ashura grow their monochrome crops, graying grasses and cereals, black and white fruits and vegetables. Black rivers intersecting the wastes provide vast swathes of land leading an odd, gloomy life, with dark, mournful trees and gray flowers. Where there is no snow (and there is some, in cold hell kingdoms more frostbitten than anywhere on Adel) there falls Ash from the sky in its place, creating a gray winter. Marks of an ancient civilization, warped by the melting down of a previous world, lay scattered across Septinum. Temples of steel and stone, dungeons and castles of wizard kings long-dead, sacrificial sites to aberrant gods, all lay hidden within Septinum, perhaps the sole reason anyone would dare plumb its depths.

The cities of the Ashura teem with life. They are a mirror of Adel’s own. Small villages of farmers and foragers thrive throughout the kingdom, their buildings made of the bones and furs of hellish beasts, and mud and clay from the wastes. Small towns are interspersed between these and bridge the gap to the great iron Palaces of the Ashura nobles. Square buildings of rock and brick burst with vitality in streets and markets reminiscent of Adel’s own. Ashura drink, fight, work and love within these places. Almost certainly they can look on the horizon from their towns and villages to see the black steel spires of the palaces of Ashura nobility and military power. The sight reminds them of their powerful heritage.

Rivers of magma drop from waterfalls risen high and far above the landscape – from where the fire comes no one knows. Ashura monarchs redirect these rivers into moats and soon direct them outward, into hellscapes around their palaces, causing the plains to burst with geysers and run with lava. The truest geological beauty in Septinum are the flames, and the fact that they are found in the most important areas of an Ashura Kingdom is not coincidence or vanity but careful planning. Flames in all manner of hues can turn the dessicated lands of Septinum into a surreal feast of color. Monarchs raise these hellfire landscapes to attract their fated Surapad Ashura, the mark of their rule. Within them, the Ashura grow their strangest crops and forge their strongest weapons. Both attract the attention of Adelians, for whom the taste of these igneous fruits is alien and delicious.

Yet there are other hells beyond the manufactured infernos and the natural plains. Portions of the caverns flooded by strange tributaries of the Pampas lead down to forgotten lakes of foul water. Into these an adventurer can only delve with adequate protection – or risk disease and injury beyond compare. Here oceanic aberrations prowl, ever seeking ways back to the surface, to Adel, where they can scheme to reclaim what they once lost. Old architecture slumbers in the depths, preserved better than anywhere else. The Ashura have battled the spawn of the great old masters for as long as they have fought each other, but the remains of the ancient cities beneath the murky waters lay untouched – the Ashura, still spirits in nature, feel firmly the taboo that they represent.

The Castes of the Ashura

The people in Adel classify themselves on the basis of races, each with differing physical characteristics and even reproductive compatibility. The Iomadi are the most numerous, but races such as the Athirua and Dromidae are not uncommon nonetheless. In Septinum, the same system can be seen in the castes of the Ashura. Castes are not social rankings, but rather differentiate the Ashura in physical structure and abilities. Adelians have given the different Ashura castes colloquial names in the Adelian tongue, but Ashura absolutely despise these names. They refer to their castes only by their names in the Spirit tongue.

Kshatriya (Clay Soldier): The most common Ashura are the Kshatriya, analogous to the Iomadi of Adel. Kshatriya are human-like in all but their long, raised rabbit-like ears and their small, bushy stub tails. Their smooth, peach or brown skin has led to the Adelian nomenclature of “clay soldier,” particularly due to their being the common soldier in most Ashura armies. Kshatriya have piercing red or gold eyes with black sclera and sharp canine teeth. They have the same sort of build as Iomadi do and much the same variety of personalities, quirks and talents. Kshatriya are one of the most common Ashura to see on Adel, along with the Iyonnu and Agashura. They are the caste with the most flexible role – they do anything from farming to military work. Some Kshatriya grow horns in various configurations, sometimes single horns from the forehead, or double horns from the sides of the head, which mark them as exceptional among their own kind.

Iyonnu (Winged Imp): Another common creature, the Iyonnu are relatively small, about the size of a Dwarf or Cuporo, but svelte and well-proportioned to their size. Most Iyonnu are female, with pitch black skin, limited in curvature, long dark hair and the characteristic Kshatriya eyes. A pair of wings sprouts from their backs and their arms are slightly overlong, ending in long fingers. Iyonnu are used by the Ashura military as scouts and in daily life utilize their power of flight to perform other tasks. Iyonnu exude an aura that gives confidence and strength to others, making them valuable overseers at work sites. Many Iyonnu have a clear disdain for following orders and long to be “free” (which is to say, having no occupation whatsoever). Iyonnu who do find their way to Adel grow manipulative and usually seek to become familiars to arcanists attracted to the lure of the exotic Ashura, or the power of the Iyonnu’s aura. Many wealthy elite and arcanists in Adel have Iyonnu servants whom they dress quite finely and take great care of – these, in turn, whisper dark things to inspire envy, anger and pride in their new “masters.” It is possible for an Iyonnu to be so taken care of, however, that it remains quiet and out of trouble.

Kachipu (Hollow Wraith): One of the most puzzling Ashura. Standing twice as tall as an adult Iomadi, the Kachipu drape their bodies in tattered cloaks, beneath which there is only shadow. Their arms are bony black and red claws with skin and flesh half-peeled off, and their heads are nothing but oversized cattle skulls. Kachipu eat, but they never rest. They can be found meandering across the wastes until called to serve their monarch, and are one of the few asocial Ashura. Kachipu are necessary for their incredible ability to open seams to Adel. Kachipu can dig their claws into empty space and rip apart a wound in the world, through which the Kachipu can allow others to enter. The Kachipu, however, is stuck in the seam – it can only half-exit, its upper body left to hang from the opening in Adel while its lower body remains in Septinum.

Danava (Mithral Doll): Dubbed Mithral Dolls for the glittering tattoos upon their bodies and the color of their hair and the pigments they wear on their lips and eyes, Danava are graceful dancers and acrobats, called Dolls for their incredible flexibility, as though they were made of something not wholly flesh. Danava are some of the best looking of the Ashura, with pleasant bronze, dark silver or jet black skin and gold or silver eyes and hair and lean bodies as though finely sculpted from some rare material. They wear light clothing that allows the grace of their form to be plainly seen. The Danava have a special trait – from just over their buttocks grow a number of thick tail-like filaments that end in blades. These they swing like tassels while dancing or performing stunts, but they can combine all the filaments into one large, potent stinger-blade. Danava have a flair for the dramatic and fancy themselves the heroes and heroines of myths and romance. This tendency is coupled with a love of pleasures and self-aggrandizement that make them much less agreeable when speaking than they are when they quietly and gracefully dance.

Andhaka (Shadow Pillar): Shadow Pillars are so called for the tiny crystalline pieces which float over their heads, and which amplify their magic into black, pillar-like barriers around locations. Andhakas are albino Ashura born with an affinity for warding magic, able to place protective fields and magical traps with incredible ease. In most respects they seem like Kshatriya, save for their ears being shorter. Andhaka can naturally fly with their magic by projecting fields between themselves and the ground, and serve as part of most Ashura military garrisons for their defensive qualities. They are quiet and reserved, and slow to anger or lose patience. Their indifference is their vice, and they are difficult to guide to a purpose, and quick to succumb to nihilism.

Aghashura (Fang of Despair): Fangs of despair are enormous snake Ashura with a penchant for knowing what they shouldn’t. Usually large as an Anaconda and with a keen intellect, the Aghashura are outliers even in their own society. They are greedy, backstabbing creatures who would just as easily eat a stray Ashura if they could get away with it. They slither around the world, beneath the notice of the masses, collecting hearsay, rumor, history and legend – that is, when they aren’t merely hunting for their next meal. Aghashura have little role in the stratified society of the Ashura, except to give information when it is bought from them. They have the ability to camouflage themselves. Aghashura can grow very large, which can be disadvantageous to them. All the camouflage in the world will not allow a creature as big as a house to sneak among the people. Those that get too big must become more predatory out of necessity, and a dangerous life awaits them.

Malatabh (Crystal Monolith): A kind of golem made by the Ashura, of black and purple crystalline substances. The Malatabh hover over the ground and have only one “eye” which is marked as a glowing spot upon their surface, that can appear in any portion of its finely-crafted body. They can see 360 degrees but only by virtue of moving their eye around their surfaces. Malatabh are finely sculpted into whatever shape the ruling Sunda thinks best represents his or her rule. Some might be stiff, floating eagle statues, others fully articulated metallic soldiers, and some even more abstract shapes.

Hiranyaksha (Dusk Hunter): Dusk Hunters are Kshatriya mercenaries and outlaws who’ve grown curled horns and enshrined the shadows of Septinum upon their bodies. Intricate tattooes adorn every inch of their well-grown bodies, and they draw great weapons, glaives and axes and shotstaves, as if pulling them from shadow itself. Hiranyaksha tend to be loners, taken in and thrown out of the Ashura kingdoms as is necessary, and the ultimate goal of any is to carve its own niche in a freer world – Adel.

Aryaman (Mad Eyes): It is perhaps desirable that Andhaka maintain their aloof and uncaring attitude toward the world. Certain Andhaka, overtaken by emotion, become Aryaman, known to the Adelians as Mad Eyes. Any traumatic experience the Andhaka is unprepared for could upset it enough to open its hidden third eye and allow it access to the thoughts and emotions of others. Aryaman gain incredible magic power, particularly in the domain of enchantment and illusions, but become incredibly unstable. No Sunda allows too many Aryaman to run around free – if they are not killed to thin their numbers, they are instead locked up in blindfolds, gags and many chains in the darkest dungeons of the underworld, to insure they bring no unwanted chaos.

Gajashura (Gore Devil): One of the strangest and rarest Ashura, the Gajashura are tall, pearl-skinned elephant-beasts. With the body three times the size of a Kshatriya or Iomadi, the head of an elephant, and four arms, these beasts are sought out by the Sunda for use as shock troops and enforcers. Gajashura are gluttonous monsters, and only the incredible wealth of a Sunda can truly keep them fed, so they welcome the opportunity. They are also very lustful and might overstep their boundaries and pursue a member of the Sunda’s harem, forcing the Sunda to take punitive measures. It is very rare to see more than one Gajashura in the same kingdom, as they are very jealous of each other.

Surapad (Burning Wing): The most rare and precious of the Ashura, to the Sunda at least, are the Surapad. Every ruling Sunda must secure the loyalty of a Surapad to make his or her reign legitimate. To attract one, they create the hellfire moats and mantles around their iron fortresses, and the flame gardens where the Hell’s strange igneous fruits and vegetables are grown, giving the Surapad a suitable environment to live and feed in. The Surapad becomes the most loyal and loving consort of the Sunda, and leader of the armies. The Surapad is one of the best-looking of the Ashura. Gold, orange or red-skinned with long bright or silver hair, pleasing features and form, and curled wings of flame-colored feathers that waver like the fire on a candle, the Surapad are unmistakable – but also irrefutably the Sunda’s and no others. Sunda are particularly jealous of people who covet their Surapad. The Surapad itself longs for no other master – he or she is inexorably bound in destiny to the rule of the Sunda who found him or her, for better of worse. It is said if the Surapad falls, the Kingdom will soon follow. But it is exceedingly difficult to kill a Surapad. So long as the body is thrown into the magma moat, it will cocoon itself in the flames and rise anew in a matter of days, or even hours.

Sunda (Grand Noble): The most unique Ashura are the Sunda. Each Sunda comes from a “clan” or extended bloodline of current or past rulers. Two or three of these clans coexist in each Kingdom and at any one time one Clan is in power, often for many generations, until such a time as leadership fails enough to prompt a coup. Sunda are the most varied and unique among the Ashura – there are few unifying characteristics that can be pinned down. Like most powerful Spirits, ruling Sunda have multiple sets of wings, and tend to dress exotically or flamboyantly. The Ruling Sunda, by virtue of the worship of its subjects, is the most beautiful and powerful Ashura in the kingdom. Though if his or her leadership falters or is in doubt, his or her power will fall accordingly to the spread of that doubt.

The Ruling Sunda has his or her pick of a harem from the other Sunda and practically any other creature it covets and can capture, as well as inheriting any members of the previous Ruler’s harem that he or she would enjoy having. This can often lead to strange Oedipal scenarios where a Sunda has his or her mother or father in his or her harem without knowing it, since Ashura have no marriage and the Sunda’s children are not given much of a clue as to which of the perhaps dozen possible mothers and fathers is its own. The Ruler picks its own heir from whatever children it has within one or two years of its rule. The rest of the children are either raised as servants or cast out. Bearing the heir by itself does not grant the harem memeber any privilege with the Ruler, although most Rulers do have a favorite among the harem. At least one story has a daring Adelian hero who used a Ruling Sunda’s parentage mystery as a critical distraction to defeat it – most Sunda would be rather shocked to know they’ve used their parents for pleasure unknowingly.

Ashura Culture

Ashura culture mimics Adelian culture in various ways, particularly in its egalitarian views of romance. Much like the Adelians, Ashura don’t have as much of a concept of contractual marriage. Unlike the Adelians, contractual marriage doesn’t even exist among the nobility. Ashura have the same concept of gender and sexuality that the Adelians do, and don’t really care who is in love with whom. The ruling Sunda must beget an heir, but this has no bearing on whether it considers the other parent to be its lover or even attractive.

Septinum has the same sorts of entertainment found in Adel. Songs and stories, drinking and games, are all a part of the culture of the Hells. Particularly, gambling is popular with the Ashura, as well as contests of strength. Ashura have many brutal sports not found in Adel. One particular sport has the Ashura constantly beating against each other as they try to get a ball to the end of a gridded field. It is very violent and beloved by all Ashura, who take it very seriously and form leagues of it. Adelians fear it as a dark ritual.

Ashura worship Spirits just like the Adelians, but they worship a different pantheon of Greater Spirits. Rather than the 9 Greater Powers worshiped by the Adelians, the Ashura worship the 4 Devas of the Ashura, powerful Spirits mentioned in Adel’s creation story, representing the natural disasters that befell the world during the Cataclysm. Septinum has its own water, fire, earth and wind Spirits, that are more sinister versions of those found on the surface. Unlike the Adelian Spirits, who are mostly predisposed to be indifferent but can be swayed to good, Septinum’s Spirits are predisposed to malice and must be dealt with carefully to secure their aid.

Sample Plots Involving Septinum

Journey To The Center of the Earth: Renowned explorer Karin Apuleius is searching for a team of explorers to plumb the depths of the Serpent Kingdom of Allighieri, a recorded Ashura kingdom ruled by the vain Queen Lamashtu. Karin wishes to uncover ancient ruins from the Pre-World that are known to reside in Allighieri, but cannot hope for the cooperation of Queen Lamashtu. Fame, fortune and great danger await whoever accompanies her – if they make it out of the hells alive and escape the notice of the Queen.

The Taking: Lustful Sunda king Leopol Dux Maraud has set his eyes upon a dear friend of the players and made off with him or her, before the players could be contacted for important information regarding a their current tasks or ambitions. Given the destruction left behind in the general area of that friend’s house, there’s no real mystery as to who did it. Will the players plumb the icy hell of Maraud’s kingdom, the Wintry Kingdom of Cocytus, in search of their friend and the information they could not receive?

Sample Kingdoms And Rulers

Suiko Lamashtu Proteas of the Toxin Clan, Serpent Kingdom of Allighieri

Allighieri is a jewel of the hells, a Kingdom fertile and almost green as far as the many hells go. It boasts many rivers and few droughts, bustling agriculture, and has not seen famine in hundreds of years. Its people are prosperous and less surly than usual. But all their good nature is offset by their queen. Suiko Lamashtu Proteas came into power fifteen years ago as a ravenous and spoiled child, and to say she’s matured much at all would be to lie. Most of the important decisions are made by (this fact unknown to Suiko) her mother and high consort of her harem, while Suiko parades the army around from her fortress on foreign adventures. Having recently annihilated and incorporated a small nearby Kingdom to her growing Ashura Empire, Queen Lamashtu is living high and freely. Her Surapad, Meriheim Vasago, tries her best to insure the Queen thinks at least a bit about her decisions before making them – not an easy task at all.

Suiko is part of the Toxin clan and showcase of its beauty and power. She is no longer a child, but by Spirit standards is only barely out of her teens now, in body and in mind. She has long dark hair, dark-gray skin and the common Kshatriya eyes, and wears a long, black, very ornate open-shoulder dress, with sleeves that reach the floor. Her father was the greatest ruler the Kingdom had ever seen, and for this they still afford their conquering Queen the utmost respect and adoration. The Toxin clan rose from being a downtrodden offshoot of the ruling Serpent clan, to great prominence after her father’s overthrow of the previous leader. Like her father, Suiko is capable of turning her wings into Snakes, and sending cascades of venomous projectiles at her enemies. Though her father knew of at least 1012 kinds of poisons he could employ upon enemies, Suiko knows only thirteen.

Queen Lamashtu is covetous even by Ashura standards, and is always using her magic mirror to spy far off lands, including Adel, where she might find precious things and people to steal for her growing harem and vast stores of wealth. However, she does care about her subjects, and their conditions visibly improve with each acquisition made by the Queen. Allighieri has gotten more habitable and abundant with each year of her reign.

Leopol Dux Maraud of the Blizzard Clan, Wintry Kingdom of Cocytus

Most Ashura Kingdoms are referred to as “grey lands” but the kingdom of Cocytus is most assuredly a white one. The landscape is filled with frozen lakes and rivers, snowy valleys, icy mountains and violent snowstorms. But the agriculture in the Hells doesn’t die – it just adapts. Crops even more bizarre are consumed by the greatcoat-wearing Kshatriya of this icy hell. Unlike most Ashura, their skins are pale and blue rather than the darker colors natural to them. Their leader is ghostly white in appearance, Leopol Dux Maraud. He is as though sculpted from the ice itself, with venules of ice beneath skin of frost. His coat boasts the skins of dozens of terrifying beasts that he has conquered. His stature and strength are inversely proportional to his moral development. Maraud is ravenous and brutal, and his subjects exists solely to work for his benefit.

Maraud is part of the Blizzard clan, who overthrew the Snowflake in a violent coup only very recently. Maraud is unique in that his coup was unwarranted – he merely wanted power and he took it, despite the ruling Sunda being powerful and proper. This great taboo has marred his reign, and the neverending winter in Cocytus grows ever more violent. Maraud is very powerful, capable of great harm with the wintry powers of the Blizzard clan. He is fond of ice sculpting, and his artwork, brutal-looking and abstract, can rise to defend him if necessary. He lives within a gallery of his greatest creations, ever vigilant for assassins – if he performed the great taboo, after all, somebody else is more than capable. Maraud has a way of spying on the Adelian world, in the form of his Surapad Post. Post, like most things on Cocytus, is a creature of snow and ice rather than fire, and lives in the mantle of hellish Ice around Maraud’s fortress. It has the ability to walk from any place with snow and appear in any place on Adel where there is winter, carrying his lord’s will.

---